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Flaxseed, a Functional Food—Constituents and Their Health Benefits
Published in Robert Fried, Richard M. Carlton, Flaxseed, 2023
Robert Fried, Richard M. Carlton
Besides lignans, other phenolic compounds found in flaxseed are p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid. P-coumaric acid is a plant metabolic by-product that exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It also shows bactericidal activity by damaging bacterial cell membranes and by interacting with bacterial DNA. Ferulic acid is an antioxidant that works to boost the effects of other antioxidants. It is commonly used in skin care products to protect overall skin integrity by reducing the development of fine lines, spots and wrinkles.
Anti-Cancer Agents from Natural Sources
Published in Rohit Dutt, Anil K. Sharma, Raj K. Keservani, Vandana Garg, Promising Drug Molecules of Natural Origin, 2020
Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Felipe Gonzalez
There are roughly 1.4 million new cases of colon cancer are detected every year that resulted in about 700,000 deaths (Gandomani et al., 2017). The risk of colon cancer is increasing, primarily due to poor dieting and lack of exercise. The mortality and prognosis depend on the phase it is diagnosed. Statistically, individuals diagnosed at early stages are far likely to receive a better prognosis than those diagnosed at a later stage (Colorectal Cancer, 2018). New and novel medicines are needed to treat this disease. Recent studies to assess the antineoplastic efficacy of p-coumaric acid on HCT-15 and HT 29 (colorectal cancer) cells revealed that p-coumaric acid could successfully prevent cell multiplication and growth. Under the electron microscope, p-coumaric acid-treated HCT-15 cells showed a shrinkage in size compared to untreated HCT-15assumed possible apoptosis. It (p-coumaric acid) did not affect in vitro colony formation either in HCT-15 or intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) (Jaganathan et al., 2013).
Increasing the Sensitivity of Adipocytes and Skeletal Muscle Cells to Insulin
Published in Christophe Wiart, Medicinal Plants in Asia for Metabolic Syndrome, 2017
Ethanol extract of seeds of Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc. given orally for 42 days to Sprague–Dawley rats on high-fat diet lowered body weights from 307 to 252 g.118 Food intake was reduced from 6 week of treatment onward. This treatment lowered plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, very low-density lipoprotein, very low-density lipoprotein, and increased high-density lipoprotein, whereas increased fecal cholesterol was observed.118 The seeds of this plant contains phenolic acids of which p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid.119 Konishi et al. provided evidence that p-coumaric is absorbed orally in rats.120 This phenolic acid at a concentration of 50 μM increased the phosphorylation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase in L6 skeletal muscle, phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and the expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1.121 It induced peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α, promoting thus the β-oxidation of fatty acids.121 In skeletal muscles, increased AMP, low ATP levels, hypoxia, glucose deprivation induced by muscular contraction or mitochondrial poisons activate allosterically activate adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase.107 Besides, this heterotrimeric protein is directly activated by LKB1 which is a target for metformin and CaMKK in response to increased cytoplasmic calcium concentration.122 This energy sensor is also activated by silent information regulator T1 (SIRT1) in response to increased NAD+.107 Activation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase commands the phosphorylation of TBC1D1 (also known as AS160) and subsequent translocation of glucose transporter-4 allowing glucose uptake by skeletal muscle.123 In skeletal muscles, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase induces fatty acids uptake by fatty acid translocase, and phosphorylates and inhibits acetyl-CoA carboxylase and therefore the synthesis of malonyl-CoA from acetyl-CoA decreasing thus the rate of fatty acid synthesis.124 Malonyl-CoA is the precursor for fatty acid synthesis and an inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 and therefore adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase activation stimulates mitochondrial β-oxidation of fatty acids.125
Protective effects of p-coumaric acid against gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats
Published in Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 2022
Ismail Necati Hakyemez, Mehmet Nuri Cevizci, Elif Aksoz, Kenan Yilmaz, Saliha Uysal, Eren Altun
p-Coumaric acid (PCA) is commonly found in fruits (e.g., apples, pears, grapes, oranges, tomatoes, and strawberries), vegetables (e.g., beans, potatoes, and onions), and grains (e.g., corn, oats, and wheat) in free or bound form. It is a polyphenolic hydroxycinnamic acid. Scientific research has shown that it has multiple bioactive properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, antiulcer, antiplatelet, anti-cancer, and immunomodulatory activities, in addition to attenuating atherosclerosis, oxidative cardiac damage, UV, and can improve the outcome of some chronic diseases. Also, the role of PCA in reducing neurotoxicity is a well-known phenomenon. In most experimental studies, PCA has been shown to be effective at a dose of 100 mg/kg/day (Pei et al.2016, Poklar Ulrih et al.2019).
Açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) presents anti-neuroinflammatory capacity in LPS-activated microglia cells
Published in Nutritional Neuroscience, 2022
Diulie Valente de Souza, Lauren Pappis, Thuany Teixeira Bandeira, Gabriela Geraldo Sangoi, Tuyla Fontana, Vitor Braga Rissi, Michele Rorato Sagrillo, Marta Maria Duarte, Thiago Duarte, David Frederick Bodenstein, Ana Cristina Andreazza, Ivana Beatrice Mânica da Cruz, Euler Esteves Ribeiro, Alfredo Antoniazzi, Aline Ferreira Ourique, Alencar Kolinski Machado
Freeze-dried hydroalcoholic açaí extract was made and characterized by HPLC, which found 10 different bioactive molecules. The most abundant molecules were orientin, p-coumaric acid, and luteolin, respectively. These results replicated the characterization of a previously prepared açaí extract using the complete fruit by Machado et al. [21]. It is already known that these molecules present several bioactive properties, such as the ability to modulate different cellular responses. Specifically, orientin has neuroprotective [35,36] and anti-inflammatory effects [37,38]. In a study using in vivo and in vitro experimental models, it was shown that p-coumaric acid has anti-inflammatory effects by attenuating LPS activation [39]. Additionally, studies demonstrated that luteolin is capable of reducing inflammatory response via modulation of NF-κB expression [40]. In an in vivo study, it was shown that an açaí-enriched diet could modulate oxidative stress and the inflammatory response [22]. These authors suggested a correlation between oxidative imbalance, inflammatory activation, and autophagy, where açaí could act as a positive enhancing agent.
Dimethyl Sulfoxide Extract of Dianthus carmelitarum Induces S Phase Arrest and Apoptosis in Human Colon Cancer Cells
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2019
Ibrahim Turan, Selim Demir, Rezzan Aliyazicioglu, Kagan Kilinc, Serap Ozer Yaman, Kubra Akbulut Cakiroglu, Seyda Kanbolat, Elif Ayazoglu Demir, Ahmet Mentese, Yuksel Aliyazicioglu, Orhan Deger
Cancer involves decreasing control of the cell cycle progression and apoptosis. Enhancement of the cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of cancer cells is therefore a target strategy in the treatment of the disease (18). As shown in Figure 2, D. carmelitarum extract induced significant accumulation of cells at the S phase, while the G1 phase population decreased. Both the various Dianthus extracts and their constituents, such as cinnamic acid, benzoic acid derivatives, kaempferide, and p-coumaric acid, are capable of causing cell cycle arrest at various stages, depending on the particular type of colon cancer cells involved. For example, Martineti et al. reported that kaempferide triglycoside from Dianthus caryophyllus exhibits a growth inhibitor effect on human colon cancer cells by inducing cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase (28). Jaganathan et al. also demonstrated that p-coumaric acid reduces the viability of colon cancer cells by inhibiting the cell cycle at the sub-G1 phase (29). Both cinnamic and benzoic acid derivatives are capable of enhancing cell cycle arrest by up-regulation of the tumor suppressor genes, thereby reducing cancer cell proliferation (30).