Giovanni Panighel , Irene Ferrarese , Maria Giovanna Lupo , Stefania Sut , Stefano Dall'Acqua , Nicola Ferri
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引用次数: 1
Abstract
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) have been introduced as food relatively recently in Europe. It is native to India and one of the most important vegetables in Nigeria. The leaves can be consumed but also the fruit is rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds (i.e., dietary fiber, vitamins, oils, polysaccharides, polyphenols) and several health promoting actions have been ascribed, including a lipid-lowering properties. In this work the effects of fruit and leaf extracts on expression of key mediators of cholesterol metabolism, i.e., the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), were investigated in human hepatoma cell line Huh7. Furthermore, effects on proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) expressed by THP1-derived macrophages were studied to assess potential anti-inflammatory actions.
Okra fruit extract significantly induced the mRNA and protein levels of the LDLR by 1.4 ± 0.3 and 4.8 ± 1.5-fold, respectively without any significant modification of PCSK9 expression. In addition, fruit extract showed a significant sequestering ability of cholic acid. Leaf butanol extract exerted similar action by inducing the expression of both the LDLR (+3.1 ± 1.6-fold vs control) and PCSK9 (+1.3 ± 0.4-fold vs control). The evaluation of the potential anti-inflammatory effect revealed a significant action of leaf butanol extract with reduced mRNA levels of IL-1β (−28 ± 8 % vs control), IL-6 (−11 ± 1 % vs control) and TNF-α (−43 ± 8 % vs control), while fruit extract did not show any anti-inflammatory activity. Finally, leaf ethyl acetate extract showed a significant antioxidant capacity comparable to ascorbic acid. Taken together, we provided evidence that leaf butanol extract and, more effectively, fruit extract induced the LDLR expression, effect that may explain the previously reported hypocholesterolemic action of okra. In addition, okra’s extracts reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines from THP1-derived macrophages, an effect that may suggest a vascular protective action of okra.
期刊介绍:
Food Chemistry: Molecular Sciences is one of three companion journals to the highly respected Food Chemistry.
Food Chemistry: Molecular Sciences is an open access journal publishing research advancing the theory and practice of molecular sciences of foods.
The types of articles considered are original research articles, analytical methods, comprehensive reviews and commentaries.
Topics include:
Molecular sciences relating to major and minor components of food (nutrients and bioactives) and their physiological, sensory, flavour, and microbiological aspects; data must be sufficient to demonstrate relevance to foods and as consumed by humans
Changes in molecular composition or structure in foods occurring or induced during growth, distribution and processing (industrial or domestic) or as a result of human metabolism
Quality, safety, authenticity and traceability of foods and packaging materials
Valorisation of food waste arising from processing and exploitation of by-products
Molecular sciences of additives, contaminants including agro-chemicals, together with their metabolism, food fate and benefit: risk to human health
Novel analytical and computational (bioinformatics) methods related to foods as consumed, nutrients and bioactives, sensory, metabolic fate, and origins of foods. Articles must be concerned with new or novel methods or novel uses and must be applied to real-world samples to demonstrate robustness. Those dealing with significant improvements to existing methods or foods and commodities from different regions, and re-use of existing data will be considered, provided authors can establish sufficient originality.