A review on heavy metal pollution, toxicity and remedial measures: Current trends and future perspectives

Phenolic composition, antioxidant potential and health benefits of citrus peel.

Menopause is clinically diagnosed as a condition when a woman has not menstruated for one year. During the menopausal transition period, there is an emergence of various lipid metabolic disorders due to hormonal changes, such as decreased levels of estrogens and increased levels of circulating androgens; these may lead to the development of metabolic syndromes including cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. Dysregulation of lipid metabolism affects the body fat mass, fat-free mass, fatty acid metabolism, and various aspects of energy metabolism, such as basal metabolic ratio, adiposity, and obesity. Moreover, menopause is also associated with alterations in the levels of various lipids circulating in the blood, such as lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and triacylglycerol (TG). Alterations in lipid metabolism and excessive adipose tissue play a key role in the synthesis of excess fatty acids, adipocytokines, proinflammatory cytokines, and reactive oxygen species, which cause lipid peroxidation and result in the development of insulin resistance, abdominal adiposity, and dyslipidemia. This review discusses dietary recommendations and beneficial compounds, such as vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, phytochemicals—and their food sources—to aid the management of abnormal lipid metabolism in postmenopausal women.

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/1/202/pdf

Menopause-Associated Lipid Metabolic Disorders and Foods Beneficial for Postmenopausal Women.

Subcritical water extraction (SWE) is a green process that uses water as a solvent for extracting non-polar flavonoids by varying the temperature-dependent dielectric constant. Flavanones, including hesperidin and narirutin, constitute the majority of the flavonoids that occur naturally in citrus fruits. The effects of operating parameters temperature (110 − 150 °C) and water flow rate (10 − 30 mL/min) on the SWE of flavonoids from defatted orange peel (DOP) were studied. The maximum yields of hesperidin (188.74 ± 0.51 mg/g extract) and narirutin (21.98 ± 1.39 mg/g extract) were obtained at 150 °C and 10 mL/min. These yields accounted for approximately 21% of the total amount of these flavanones in the extracts, leading to the purest extracts. SWE was compared with three conventional extraction methods and the results demonstrated that, compared to conventional extractions, SWE is a highly efficient method for the recovery bioactive compounds with high antioxidant activity.

Subcritical water extraction of flavanones from defatted orange peel

Centella asiatica (also known as Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. or Gotu kola) is a traditional Chinese medicine with extensive medicinal value, which is commonly used in Southeast Asian countries. This study aimed to summarize the effects of C. asiatica and its main components on neurological diseases, endocrine diseases, skin diseases, cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, immune diseases, and gynecological diseases, as well as potential molecular mechanisms, to study the pathological mechanism of these diseases based on the changes at the molecular level. The results showed that C. asiatica and its triterpenoids had extensive beneficial effects on neurological and skin diseases, which were confirmed through clinical studies. They exhibited anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress, anti-apoptotic effects, and improvement in mitochondrial function. However, further clinical studies are urgently required due to the low level of evidence and lack of patients.

/pdf/therapeutic-potential-of-centella-asiatica-and-its-4s7lqc9qtz.pdf

Therapeutic Potential of Centella asiatica and Its Triterpenes: A Review.

Citrus peels prevent cancer

Protection of mouse brain from paracetamol-induced stress by Centella asiatica methanol extract

Ficus krishnae stem bark and leaves are used for diabetes treatment in traditional medicines Stem bark of F krishnae was sequentially extracted with hexane, methanol and water, and these extracts were tested for their antihyperglyceamic activity by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in overnight fasted glucose loaded normal rats Hexane extract showed significant glucose lowering activity in OGTT, and the triterpene alcohols (cycloartenol+24-methylenecycloartanol) (CA+24-MCA) were isolated together from it by activity guided isolation and characterized by NMR and mass spectroscopy The ratio of the chemical constituents CA and 24-MCA in (CA+24-MCA) was determined as 227:100 by chemical derivatization and gas chromatographic quantification (CA+24-MCA) in high fat diet-streptozotocin induced type II diabetic rats showed significant antidiabetes activity at 1 mg/kg and ameliorated derailed blood glucose and other serum biochemical parameters Cytoprotective activity of (CA+24-MCA) from glucose toxicity was evaluated in cultured RIN-5F cells by MTT assay and fluorescent microscopy (CA+24-MCA) in in vitro studies showed enhanced cell viability in RIN-5F cells and significant protection of beta cells from glucose toxicity Both in in vivo and in vitro studies (CA+24-MCA) showed enhancement in insulin release from the beta cells In short term toxicity studies in mice (CA+24-MCA) did not show any conspicuous toxic symptoms The combination of the phytosterols (CA+24-MCA) obtained through activity guided isolation of the stem bark of F krishnae showed significant activity, and therefore is a promising candidate for new generation antidiabetes drug development

/pdf/antidiabetes-constituents-cycloartenol-and-24-2hytuu7ti8.pdf

Akhila Sasikumar Nair

Papers

Citrus peels prevent cancer

Protection of mouse brain from paracetamol-induced stress by Centella asiatica methanol extract

Antidiabetes constituents, cycloartenol and 24-methylenecycloartanol, from Ficus krishnae.