No abstract

Melamine is a nitrogenous organic compound containing high amounts of nitrogen, which is interpreted as high protein in various standard protein measuring tests, therefore added to foods to boost the protein content. Illegal addition of melamine has been in practice by food manufacturers, which leads to toxicity and stone formation in kidneys of individuals consuming melamine-contaminated milk products. A focused and thorough structured search of bibliographic databases for peer-reviewed researches reported in the literature was carried out with a focused attention on melamine contamination, associated health risks, and the role of gut microbiota. The overall outcomes of the research and review articles pertaining to searched keywords along with analysis of the interventions have been described employing a deductive qualitative content analysis approach. Current review focuses on the various health risks associated with consumption of melamine-contaminated foods and the need to develop better and effective methods for its testing. Moreover, the importance of gut microbiota in mediating toxicity due to melamine has also been discussed as there is a link between toxicity and activities of gut microbiota.

Several lines of evidence attest to the fact that the Liver X Receptor (LXR) -α dependent cross talk between lipid metabolism and inflammation may be of crucial importance in atherogenesis. The present study unambiguously revealed that the serum derived from coronary heart disease (CHD) patients does not possess any factor that had the inherent capacity to induce the observed LXR-α gene mutation in such patients. Surprisingly our experiments clearly indicated that vitamin D 3 could restore in part the functional activity of mutated LXR-α gene found in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of CHD patients. Our data also indicated that CHD patients contain significant low level of vitamin D 3 in their serum and this level is increased in such patients who are treated with atorvastatin. Based upon our findings, it's not unlikely that restoration of serum vitamin D 3 level in such patients may be useful in arresting the progression of coronary atherosclerosis.