Squalene is a triterpenic compound found in a large number of plants and other sources with a long tradition of research since it was first reported in 1926. Herein a systematic review of studies concerning squalene published in the last 8 years is presented. These studies have provided further support for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-atherosclerotic properties in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, an antineoplastic effect in nutrigenetic-type treatments, which depends on the failing metabolic pathway of tumors, has also been reported. The bioavailability of squalene in cell cultures, animal models, and in humans has been well established, and further progress has been made in regard to the intracellular transport of this lipophilic molecule. Squalene accumulates in the liver and decreases hepatic cholesterol and triglycerides, with these actions being exerted via a complex network of changes in gene expression at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Its presence in different biological fluids has also been studied. The combination of squalene with other bioactive compounds has been shown to enhance its pleiotropic properties and might lead to the formulation of functional foods and nutraceuticals to control oxidative stress and, therefore, numerous age-related diseases in human and veterinary medicine.

Current Insights into the Biological Action of Squalene

The present study illustrates the progress of the wheat grass bioactive-reinforced collagen-based aerogel system as an instructive scaffold for collagen turnover and angiogenesis for wound healing applications. The reinforcement of wheat grass bioactives in collagen resulted in the design and development of aerogels with enhanced physicochemical and biomechanical properties due to the intermolecular interaction between the active growth factors of wheat grass and collagen fibril. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis revealed an enhanced denaturation temperature when compared to those of native collagen aerogels. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis confirmed that the reinforcement of bioactives in the wheat grass did not affect the structural integrity of the collagen molecule. Additionally, the reinforced biomaterial with a systematic absorptive morphology resulted in a three-dimensional (3D) sponge-like aerogel exhibiting a potent highly oriented 3D structural assembly that showed incr...

Fabrication of Hybrid Collagen Aerogels Reinforced with Wheat Grass Bioactives as Instructive Scaffolds for Collagen Turnover and Angiogenesis for Wound Healing Applications

Biomaterials with porous structure and high surface area attract growing interest in biomedical research and applications. Aerogel-based biomaterials, as highly porous materials that are made from different sources of macromolecules, inorganic materials, and composites, mimic the structures of the biological extracellular matrix (ECM), which is a three-dimensional network of natural macromolecules (e.g., collagen and glycoproteins), and provide structural support and exert biochemical effects to surrounding cells in tissues. In recent years, the higher requirements on biomaterials significantly promote the design and development of aerogel-based biomaterials with high biocompatibility and biological activity. These biomaterials with multilevel hierarchical structures display excellent biological functions by promoting cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, which are critical for biomedical applications. This review highlights and discusses the recent progress in the preparation of aerogel-based biomaterials and their biomedical applications, including wound healing, bone regeneration, and drug delivery. Moreover, the current review provides different strategies for modulating the biological performance of aerogel-based biomaterials and further sheds light on the current status of these materials in biomedical research.

https://www.dovepress.com/getfile.php?fileID=57238

Engineering of Aerogel-Based Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications.

https://openaccess.iyte.edu.tr/bitstream/11147/6267/1/6267.pdf

Wheatgrass juice to wheat grass powder: Encapsulation, physical and chemical characterization

A wide range of health benefits have been attributed to wheatgrass, the young grass of the common wheat plant Triticum aestivum. Its components include chlorophyll, flavonoids, and vitamins C and E. Forms of wheatgrass include fresh juice, frozen juice, tablets, and powders, with compositions varying according to their production processes, as well as to the growing conditions of the wheatgrass. Laboratory in vitro studies, mostly using the fermented wheat germ extract, have demonstrated anti-cancer potential and have identified apoptosis as a possible mechanism. In animal experiments, wheatgrass demonstrated benefits in cancer prevention and as an adjunct to cancer treatment, as well as benefits to immunological activity and oxidative stress. Clinical trials show that wheatgrass may induce synergistic benefits to chemotherapy and may attenuate chemotherapy-related side effects, as well as benefit rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, hematological diseases, diabetes, obesity, and oxidative stress. However, all the trials were small and a number of methodological problems arose. No adverse events of wheatgrass have been reported, although some forms pose problems of tolerability. The popularity of wheatgrass continues to grow. Nevertheless, the advantages seen in the clinical trials need to be proved in larger studies before clinical recommendations for the public can be given.

The Medical Use of Wheatgrass: Review of the Gap Between Basic and Clinical Applications

Phytochemical screening and analysis of antioxidant properties of aqueous extract of wheatgrass.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide and oxidative stress is one of the factors responsible for causing cancer. Antioxidants play a very important role in prevention of cancer. Therefore, efforts have been made to identify natural antioxidants having anti-cancer potential. Various herbs, fruits and vegetables have diverse phytochemicals that display antioxidant properties and help in reducing the risk of cancer. Wheatgrass has a potent antioxidant efficacy and has been used as a health drink to cure many diseases in folk medicine.  In the present study, a number of solvent extracts of wheatgrass was tested for their antioxidant ability. The most effective solvent extract was further evaluated for cytotoxic effect in Hep2 cell lines and apoptotic induction was demonstrated by propidium iodide (PI) fluorescent staining. The bioactive constituents were analysed by GC-MS. Methanol extract (ME) showed the highest quantity of phenols and flavonoids. PI staining showed apoptotic features like nuclear fragmentation and chromatin condensation and GC-MS analysis showed the presence of nine bioactive phytoconstituents in methanol extract. Hence we conclude that wheatgrass has good antioxidant and cytotoxic property and being a natural product, could be a good candidate for cancer prevention and treatment.

https://www.imedpub.com/articles/gcms-analysis-in-vitro-antioxidant-andcytotoxic-studies-of-wheatgrass-extract.pdf

GC-MS Analysis, In Vitro Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Studies of Wheatgrass Extract

Alcoholism is a broad term used for problems related to alcohol, medically considered as disease, specifically an addictive illness, abuse, and dependence. It is the major cause of liver disease in western countries. Alcoholic liver disease encompasses the hepatic alterations leading to fatty liver, hepatitis, and fibrosis or cirrhosis. Fried food items prepared with repeatedly heated polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) exacerbate the disturbances induced by alcohol. The use of herbs to treat diseases is almost universal. Wheatgrass (WG) is used as a supplemental nutrition because of its unique curative properties. As it has antioxidant property, it prevents cancer, diabetes, and acts as liver cleanser. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of WG on preserving membrane integrity in liver damage induced by alcohol and heated PUFA (ΔPUFA).The rats were divided into four groups. The animals in group 1 served as normal (standard diet), group 2 served as hepatotoxic (alcohol + ΔPUFA), group 3 served as treated (alcohol + ΔPUFA + WG), and group 4 served as WG control. The compositions of membrane fatty acid, total phospholipids, phospholipase A, C (PLA and PLC) were analyzed in liver to evaluate the effects of WG. Changes in fatty acid composition, decrease in phospholipids levels, and increase in PLA, PLC were observed in the diseased group. Restoration effect was seen in WG-treated rats. Histopathological observations were in correlation with the biochemical parameters. From the results obtained, we conclude that WG effectively protects the liver against alcohol and ΔPUFA-induced changes in fatty acid composition and preserves membrane integrity.

Effect of Wheatgrass on Membrane Fatty Acid Composition During Hepatotoxicity Induced by Alcohol and Heated PUFA

Alcohol abuse is recognized as the most common cause for the development of various abnormalities including liver disease. Excessive free radicals are generated during the metabolism of ethanol. The ingestion of alcohol along with polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) aggravates the production of free radicals and enhances the oxidative stress. Medicinal plants contain active phytocomponents, which are the principal healthcare resources. We aimed to analyze the effect of wheatgrass extract on alcohol and thermally oxidized PUFA (ΔPUFA) induced oxidative stress in male albino Wistar rats. The levels of marker enzymes gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lipid peroxidative markers; thiobarbutric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and lipid hydroperoxides (LH), the levels of enzymatic (catalase [CAT], superoxide dismutase [SOD], glutathione peroxidase [GPx]) and nonenzymatic (reduced glutathione [GSH], vitamin E, vitamin C) antioxidants were analyzed in liver to evaluate the effects of wheatgrass. The levels of TBARS and LH were significantly (p ≤ .05) increased in alcohol + ΔPUFA group, which were found to be reduced on treatment with wheatgrass. The levels of both enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants were significantly (p ≤ .05) decreased in alcohol + ΔPUFA group, which were found to be restored on treatment with wheatgrass. From the results obtained, we conclude that wheatgrass protects the liver against alcohol and ΔPUFA induced oxidative stress.

Hepatoprotective Role of Wheatgrass on Alcohol and ΔPUFA-Induced Oxidative Stress in Rats.

Objective: Alcohol is one of the widely used and abused drugs in the society. Chronic alcohol consumption causes various hepatic lesions that are grouped under common term, alcoholic liver diseases. Dietary intake of fats, especially repeatedly heated polyunsaturated fatty acid (∆PUFA) produces various lipid peroxidative end products which can aggravate the pathological changes produced by ethanol. In the present study, we have investigated the effect of wheatgrass on alcohol and ΔPUFA induced hyperlipidemia in male albino wistar rats. Methods: In our study, we analysed the liver marker enzymes AST and ALT in plasma and lipid profiles: free fatty acids, triglycerides, cholesterol and phospholipids in liver. Results: Our results showed that there was an increase in the activities of AST and ALT in plasma of alcohol and ΔPUFA rats. Treatment with the wheatgrass effectively prevented the release of these marker enzymes. The levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and free fatty acids were increased whereas the levels of phospholipids were decreased in alcohol and ΔPUFA groups compared to normal. This was reversed significantly on treatment with wheatgrass. Histopathological observations were also in correlation with the biochemical parameters. Conclusion: Results obtained in the study proves that wheatgrass can effectively protect the liver and has hypolipidemic effect in alcohol and  PUFA induced liver toxicity.

Varalakshmi Durairaj

Papers

Phytochemical screening and analysis of antioxidant properties of aqueous extract of wheatgrass.

GC-MS Analysis, In Vitro Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Studies of Wheatgrass Extract

Effect of Wheatgrass on Membrane Fatty Acid Composition During Hepatotoxicity Induced by Alcohol and Heated PUFA

Hepatoprotective Role of Wheatgrass on Alcohol and ΔPUFA-Induced Oxidative Stress in Rats.

Antihyperlipidemic effect of wheatgrass on alcohol and ∆pufa induced liver toxicity in male albino wistar rats