BACKGROUND: The discovery of herbal ingredients for antihypercholesterolemic and to improve male reproductive function is very necessary due to high-cholesterol diet factors. Blumea balsamifera leaf extract (BBLE) is known to be able to increase the number and diameter of Leydig cells in rats given high-fat feed. This study was to conducted to determine the levels of total cholesterol, body weight, plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Luteinizing Hormone (LH) in high-cholesterol-fed male rats provided with BBLE.METHODS: This research utilized a randomized post-test only control group. Ethanol was used to extract the BBLE, which was then evaporated. For 21 days, 16 Wistar rats were given a high-cholesterol diet. To determine the effect of BBLE on the high-cholesterol diet, the samples were divided into two groups (control and BBLE group) on day 22. The treatments lasted 30 days. SOD, plasma MDA, LH, and total cholesterol were measured.RESULTS: The results showed that the SOD and LH parameters were significantly higher in the treatment of BBLE compared to the control group (p<0.05). The parameters of total cholesterol levels, bodyweight, and MDA of rats given BBLE were significantly lower than those of the control group (p<0.05).CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight that BBLE has antihypercholesterolemic and antioxidant effects. The BBLE also has potential to be used as a therapy to maintain male reproductive function because it has a positive effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary axis through increasing LH secretion.KEYWORDS: Malondialdehyde, Superoxide dismutase, Luteinizing hormone, Blumea balsamifera extract, High-cholesterol diet

Highlight Research Brown seaweed heavy metals content varies between species Risk assessment showed low health risk for heavy metal from intake of the three brown seaweed The three types of brown seaweed did not show carcinogenic properties to metal Arsenic (As) Abstract Marine brown seaweed are known as one of the potential biological agents to be developed as functional food and medicinal sectors. This study aims to examine the concentration of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Hg, and As) in brown algae (Sargassum aquifolium, Padina australis, and Turbinaria ornata.) and the possible exposure to health risks caused by consumption.  Heavy metal concentrations were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) on brown seaweed samples obtained from three different sites. The average concentration of heavy metals in the dry weight of brown seaweed remains within the guidelines established by The Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) Number 32 of 2019 concerning the Safety and Quality of Traditional Medicines, which is then used to calculate the estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ and TTHQ), and target cancer risk (TCR) for arsenic associated with food exposure to potentially toxic metallic elements. Each species of brown seaweed has a THQ and TTHQ level of <1, indicating that one or more toxic metal elements in the same meal provide no significant non-carcinogenic risk. The TCR for arsenic in these seaweeds are all less than 1 x 10-4, indicating no cancer risk. There are no chronic health hazards related with the ingestion of brown seaweed harvested from the coast of Sanur Beach at Denpasar, Bali.

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia has been shown to be able to induce adiposity. However, the mechanism and factors involved in this effect still remains unclear. Hence, we sought to investigate the role of oxygensensitive factors regarding hypoxia-induced adiposity in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.METHODS: The C. elegans were grown on nematode growth medium (NGM) agar plates seeded with Escherichia coli OP50 at 20°C. The ratio of width/body length was measured using the morphometry analysis. Fat accumulation was examined using Sudan Black methods. Protein levels of sterol binding protein (SBP)-1 were assessed by immunoblotting. Lifespan assay was performed at 20°C and was monitored every two days.RESULTS: The results showed that of all mutant used, only hif-1 mutant which did not experience an increase in the ratio of width/body length (p>0.05) and fat accumulation (p>0.05), indicating that hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF)-1 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of hypoxia-induced adiposity. Both siah-1 and skn-1 mutants experienced SBP-1 protein elevation (p<0.05), and increased fat-6 mRNA expression (p<0.05) which were not experienced by a hif-1 mutant (p>0.05) further supporting that HIF-1 acts as an upstream regulator fromSBP-1.CONCLUSION: In general, the results of this study provide evidences of the involvement of the transcription factor HIF-1 in inducing adiposity under the hypoxic conditions. However, we did not find the involvement of seven in absentia homolog-1 (Siah-1) and skinhead-1 (SKN-1).KEYWORDS: hypoxia, adiposity, fat, HIF-1, Siah-1, SKN-1, C. elegans

Moderate Physical Exercise Increases Serum Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Stromal Cell-Derived Factor-1 Level Physical exercise affects many systems in the body that play a role in maintaining physical fitness and slowing down the aging process. This study aimed to identity VEGF and SDF-1 as the mechanism of exercise-related anti-aging therapy. This study was a randomized pretest-posttest control group design study, using 24 Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus), male, 2.5-3 months old, weighing 180-200 g, and healthy. Rats were divided into two groups (n = 12). The control group was a sedentary lifestyle-treated group (P0) and the treatment group was subjected to moderate physical exercise for 4 weeks (P1). Both VEGF and SDF-1 levels were examined using the ELISA method. The results showed that moderate physical exercise increased VEGF (43.88 ± 6.24 to 69.80 ± 10.04 pg mL-1; p< 0.001) and SDF-1 (1.82±0.17 to 3.81±0.39 ng mL-1; p< 0.001) levels significantly. This study, therefore, suggested the possibility of VEGF and SDF-1 as a mediator of moderate physical exercise-induced anti-aging effect. Pelatihan fisik mempengaruhi berbagai sistem dalam tubuh yang berperan mempertahankan kebugaran fisik dan memperlambat proses penuaan. Penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kadar vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) dan stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) menurun seiring dengan penuaan. Penelitian ini bertujuan membuktikan bahwa pelatihan fisik sedang meningkatkan kadar VEGF dan SDF-1 sebagai salah satu mekanisme penghambat proses penuaan. Penelitian ini menggunakan randomized pre-post test control group design dengan menggunakan 24 ekor tikus wistar (Rattus norvegicus) jantan sehat dengan umur 2,5 - 3 bulan, berat badan 180 -200 g yang dibagi dalam dua kelompok (n= 12 ekor). Kelompok kontrol tidak diberikan perlakuan atau sedentary lifestyle (P0) dan kelompok perlakuan diberi pelatihan fisik sedang selama 4 minggu (P1).  Kadar VEGF dan SDF-1 diperiksa menggunakan ELISA. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pelatihan fisik sedang meningkatkan kadar VEGF (43,88±6,24 menjadi 69,80 ± 10,04 pg mL-1; p<0,001) dan SDF-1 (1,82 ± 0,17 to 3,81±0,39 ng mL-1; p< 0,001). Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan kemungkinan VEGF dan SDF-1 sebagai mediator efek yang memperlambat penuaan. Namun, perlu dilakukan penelitian lebih lanjut untuk mengidentifikasi korelasi antara peningkatan kadar VEGF dan SDF-1 dengan fenotip penuaan.