Dietary Wolfberry Extract Modifies Oxidative Stress by Controlling the Expression of Inflammatory mRNAs in Overweight and Hypercholesterolemic Subjects: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Abstract

In the present study, we evaluated the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects of an aqueous extract of wolfberry fruit (WBE) in mild hypercholesterolemic and overweight subjects. This study was a double-blind randomized trial of two parallel groups of free-living subjects (n = 53). The participants consumed the contents of an 80 mL pouch containing 13.5 g WBE or placebo after one meal per day over an 8-week period. Following 8 weeks of WBE supplementation, we observed a slight but significant decrease in erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activity and an increase in catalase activity. Furthermore, to assess endogenous DNA damage in lymphocytes, the alkaline comet assay was performed, showing that the percentage of DNA in the tail was significantly decreased by 8-week WBE intake. Additionally, the proportion of significantly deregulated mRNAs related to oxidative or inflammatory stress was considerably higher in the WBE intake group. The present data indicate that WBE intake has antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects in overweight and hypercholesterolemic subjects by modulating mRNA expression.

Plant-Derived Bioactives and Oxidative Stress-Related Disorders: A Key Trend towards Healthy Aging and Longevity Promotion

“…Dietary wolfberry extract has reduced oxidative stress in overweight and hypercholesterolemic patients through decreasing erythrocyte SOD activity, increasing CAT activity, and controlling inflammatory mRNAs expression. Likewise, the percentage of DNA damage in lymphocytes was significantly lower after 8-week wolfberry extract intake [150]. The beneficial effects of Korean red ginseng on lymphocyte DNA damage, antioxidant enzyme activity, and LDL oxidation were demonstrated in healthy individuals, following a regulatory mechanism of plasma SOD, GSH, and CAT [151].…”

The effect of diet on oxidative stress and metabolic diseases—Clinically controlled trials

“…In the first one, the consumption of 20 grams of Baru almonds in subjects with hypercholesterolemia for 6 weeks had no effect on SOD, MDA, or TAC (Bento, Cominetti, Filho, & Naves, ). In the second, the administration of a drink with 13.5 g of Goji berries (Wolfberry) during 8 weeks decreased the oxidative damage in the DNA and increased the activity of erythrocyte CAT; however, it decreased the expression of SOD mRNA and its activity; this drink also decreased the expression of toll‐like receptors 4 (TLR 4), TNF, and IL‐6, suggesting an anti‐inflammatory effect (Lee et al, ).…”

“…It should be noted that the increase in antioxidant activity may not be mediated by an increase in enzymatic activity (Constans et al, ; Lee et al, ) since, as mentioned above, some bioactive compounds present in food have direct antioxidant activity.…”

In search for potential antidiabetic compounds from natural sources: docking, synthesis and biological screening of small molecules from Lycium spp. (Goji)

“…In a randomized, double-blinded placebo-controlled trial, dietary wolfberry extract was reported to modify oxidative stress by controlling the expression of inflammatory mRNAs with slight but significant decrease in erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activity and increase in catalase activity [26]. This indicates that TDs could possibly be acting on non-PPARγ dependent biological targets to possess antiinflammatory and hypocholesterolemic activities.…”

“…Plants such as Lycium barbarum and L. chinense, also known as gou qi zi or Goji, wolfberry, Chinese wolfberry or matrimony wine, have been widely used in Asian countries for the treatment of a number of symptoms related to [12,19] diabetes, inflammation and as a tonic for well-being. The phytochemicals reported from Goji were claimed to exhibit antioxidant, antitumor, immunomodulatory, cardioprotective, antidiabetic and neuroprotective activities [19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32]. The dried root bark of L. barbarum, has been shown to produce long-term hypoglycemic effects and reduced body weight in diabetic mice [23].…”