Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius), a perennial plant of the family Asteraceae native to the Andean regions of South America, is an abundant source of fructooligosaccharides (FOS). This comprehensive review of the literature addressed the role of yacon supplementation in promoting health and reducing the risk of chronic diseases. According to several preclinical and clinical trials, FOS intake favors the growth of health-promoting bacteria while reducing pathogenic bacteria populations. Moreover, the endproducts of FOS fermentation by the intestinal microbiota, short chain fatty acids (SCFA), act as substrates or signaling molecules in the regulation of the immune response, glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism. As a result, glycemic levels, body weight and colon cancer risk can be reduced. Based on these findings, most studies reviewed concluded that due to their functional properties, yacon roots may be effectively used as a dietary supplement to prevent and treat chronic diseases.
Coffee intake has been inversely related to the incidence of liver diseases, although there are controversies on whether these beneficial effects on human health are because of caffeine or other specific components in this popular beverage. Thus, this study evaluated the protective effects of coffee or caffeine intake on liver injury induced by repeated thioacetamide (TAA) administration in male Wistar rats. Rats were randomized into five groups: one untreated group (G1) and four groups (G2-G5) treated with the hepatotoxicant TAA (200 mg/kg b.w., i.p.) twice a week for 8 weeks. Concomitantly, rats received tap water (G1 and G2), conventional coffee (G3), decaffeinated coffee (G4) or 0.1% caffeine (G5). After 8 weeks of treatment, rats were killed and blood and liver samples were collected. Conventional and decaffeinated coffee and caffeine intake significantly reduced serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (p < 0.001) and oxidized glutathione (p < 0.05), fibrosis/inflammation scores (p < 0.001), collagen volume fraction (p < 0.01) and transforming growth factor b-1 (TGF-b1) protein expression (p 0.001) in the liver from TAA-treated groups. In addition, conventional coffee and caffeine intake significantly reduced proliferating cellular nuclear antigen (PCNA) S-phase indexes (p < 0.001), but only conventional coffee reduced cleaved caspase-3 indexes (p < 0.001), active metalloproteinase 2 (p 0.004) and the number of glutathione S-transferase placental form (GST-P)-positive preneoplastic lesions (p < 0.05) in the liver from TAA-treated groups. In conclusion, conventional coffee and 0.1% caffeine intake presented better beneficial effects than decaffeinated coffee against liver injury induced by TAA in male Wistar rats.
A class of small non-coding RNAs, the microRNAs (miRNAs), has been shown to be essential for the regulation of specific cell pathways, including skeletal muscle development, maintenance and homeostasis in vertebrates. However, the relative contribution of miRNAs for determining the red and white muscle cell phenotypes is far from being fully comprehended. To better characterize the role of miRNA in skeletal muscle cell biology, we investigated muscle-specific miRNA (myomiR) signatures in Nile tilapia fish. Quantitative (RT-qPCR) and spatial (FISH) expression analyses revealed a highly differential expression (forty-four-fold) of miR-499 in red skeletal muscle compared to white skeletal muscle, whereas the remaining known myomiRs were equally expressed in both muscle cell types. Detailed examination of the miR-499 targets through bioinformatics led us to the sox6 and rod1 genes, which had low expression in red muscle cells according to RT-qPCR, FISH, and protein immunofluorescence profiling experiments. Interestingly, we verified that the high expression of miR-499 perfectly correlates with a low expression of sox6 and rod1 target genes, as verified by a distinctive predominance of mRNA destabilization and protein translational decay to these genes, respectively. Through a genome-wide comparative analysis of SOX6 and ROD1 protein domains and through an in silico gene regulatory network, we also demonstrate that both proteins are essentially similar in vertebrate genomes, suggesting their gene regulatory network may also be widely conserved. Overall, our data shed light on the potential regulation of targets by miR-499 associated with the slow-twitch muscle fiber type phenotype. Additionally the results provide novel insights into the evolutionary dynamics of miRNA and target genes enrolled in a putative constrained molecular pathway in the skeletal muscle cells of vertebrates.
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