Methanolic extract was obtained from Melipona beecheii honey and quantitative analysis of components like total amount of phenolic compounds, flavonoids and flavonols were estimated. Phenolic acids and flavonoids were fractionated by reverse phase HPLC and assessed for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities by in vitro methods. Total phenol content was estimated as 63.22 mg of Gallic acid equivalents/100 g of honey. Total flavonoids and flavonols were found to be 3.61 and 3.16 mg of Catechin or Naringenin equivalents/100 g of honey, respectively. The flavonoids fraction exhibited the highest antioxidant activity, with IC 50 values of 0.33, 0.92 and 0.36 mg/mL for radical scavenging activity, chelating effects and reducing power, respectively. Inhibition of albumin denaturation, membrane stabilization and proteinase inhibition assays indicated that flavonoids extract showed anti-inflammatory activity. Phenolic compounds like phenolic acids and flavonoids present in the M. beecheii honey could be partially responsible for their antioxidant and antiinflammatory activities.
Sea cucumber is widely consumed as a putative functional food. It contains many biologically-active substances, but only limited research on its properties in vivo has been done. The effects of different meals containing Isostichopus badionotus, a sea cucumber from southeast Mexico, on growth performance and body lipid profile in young rats were analyzed. Sea cucumber body wall was either lyophilized, cooked (100 °C, 1 h in water) and lyophilized, or oven-dried (70 °C for 12 h). It was then ground and incorporated into cholesterol-containing diets. I. badionotus meals supported growth and improved lipid profile in rats. In particular, serum cholesterol, low density lipoproteins, triglycerides concentration and atherogenic index values were greatly reduced by some I. badionotus containing diets. Liver total lipids, triglycerides and cholesterol were also reduced. Cooking or heat-treatment of the meals lowered but did not abolish their hypolipidemic potency. Gene expression analysis of several key genes involved in cholesterol and lipid metabolism in liver showed that diets containing I. badionotus repressed the induction of key genes associated with dyslipidemia exerted by cholesterol supplementation. Consumption of I. badionotus from the Yucatan Peninsula is beneficial for dyslipidemia, although biological effect is clearly dependent on preparation method.
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