Pollination plays a significant role in the agriculture sector and serves as a basic pillar for crop production. Plants depend on vectors to move pollen, which can include water, wind, and animal pollinators like bats, moths, hoverflies, birds, bees, butterflies, wasps, thrips, and beetles. Cultivated plants are typically pollinated by animals. Animal-based pollination contributes to 30% of global food production, and bee-pollinated crops contribute to approximately one-third of the total human dietary supply. Bees are considered significant pollinators due to their effectiveness and wide availability. Bee pollination provides excellent value to crop quality and quantity, improving global economic and dietary outcomes. This review highlights the role played by bee pollination, which influences the economy, and enlists the different types of bees and other insects associated with pollination.
Obesity is a serious global problem that is considered a great pandemic. It was related to many non-communicable diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Crab (Crustacea: Decapoda) is one of the healthiest sea foods all over the world, being very rich in unsaturated fatty acids, especially in the female gonads and hepatopancreas. Therefore, this study was designed to explore the anti-obesity effect for the soft tissue extract of the female Nile crab Potamonautes niloticus. The chemical constituents of methanol extract from crab´s meat and soft Dichloromethane were evaluated using Liquid Chromatography with tandem mass spectrometryand Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Also, the effect of this extract on obesity induced in zebra fish adults was studied in vivo, using real time PCR (qPCR) quantification of different lipid-metabolizing enzymes´ genes. More specifically, these analyzed transcripts were for enzymes related to de novo lipogenesis [i.e., fatty acids synthase (FASN) and acetyl- CoA carboxylase alpha (accα)]; adipogenesis [i.e. diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2 (dgat2)]; and lipid catabolism through β-oxidation [i.e. acetyl-CoA oxidase 1 (acox1)]. Moreover, the body contents of free cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) were assessed. The results showed that the extract contains amino acids such as cyclo-(Ala-4-hydroxy-Pro, Ile-pro, isoleucyl-proline, cyclo-(Leu-Leu), cycloleucylleucine, valyl-Leucine, L-valyl-L-phenylalanine, cyclo(L-leucyl-L-phenylalanyl), cyclo-[Tyr-(4-hydroxy-Pro)], and leucyl-phenylalanine); long chain unsaturated fatty acids such as (9-octadecenoic acid, 13-keto-9Z,11E-octadecadienoic acid, (+/-)-11-Hydroxy-5Z,8Z,12E,14Z,17Z-Eicosapentaenoic acid, and (.+/-.)-17-hydroxy-4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,15E,19Z-docosahexaenoic acid); long chain saturated fatty acids such as (3-Hydroxyoctadecanoic Acid and 1-stearoyl-2-hydroxy-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine); sphingolipids; fatty amide; and Monoacylglycerol. Furthermore, injection of crab extract to adult zebrafish induced a significant decrease of TG levels and the expression of the gene of the primary enzymes’ genes related to fatty acids β-oxidation, i.e., acox1. Meanwhile, crab extract injection induced significant down-regulation in the key lipogenic enzymes´ genes, i.e. accα, fasn, and dgat2. Therefore, P. niloticus soft tissue extract showed promising ingredients and capabilities that could reduce obesity through interference with lipids´ synthesis and stimulation of lipids´ degradation. Further investigations are recommended to elucidate the mechanism of action of Nile crab bioactive ingredients on obesity and other related health problems, such as T2DM.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.