Epigenetics

Eat mushrooms every day?

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Cerebrum, Epigenetics, Hippocampus, Immune system, Limbic system, Memory, Stress , , ,

Three 2022 papers on amino acid ergothioneine, starting with a human study:

“We examined temporal relationships between plasma ergothioneine (ET) status and cognition in a cohort of 470 elderly subjects attending memory clinics in Singapore. All participants underwent baseline plasma ET measurements as well as neuroimaging for cerebrovascular disease (CeVD) and brain atrophy. Neuropsychological tests of cognition and function were assessed at baseline and follow-up visits for up to five years.

Lower plasma ET levels were associated with poorer baseline cognitive performance and faster rates of decline in function as well as in multiple cognitive domains including memory, executive function, attention, visuomotor speed, and language. In subgroup analyses, longitudinal associations were found only in non-demented individuals.

Mediation analyses showed that effects of ET on cognition seemed to be largely explainable by severity of concomitant CeVD, specifically white matter hyperintensities, and brain atrophy. Our findings support further assessment of plasma ET as a prognostic biomarker for accelerated cognitive and functional decline in pre-dementia and suggest possible therapeutic and preventative measures.”

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/11/9/1717 “Low Plasma Ergothioneine Predicts Cognitive and Functional Decline in an Elderly Cohort Attending Memory Clinics”

Earlier this year, two of the study’s coauthors put together a collection of 11 ergothioneine papers:

“One catalyst for this upsurge of interest was the discovery in 2005 of a transporter for ET (OCTN1, often now called the ergothioneine transporter, ETT), which accounts for the fact that animals (including humans) take up and avidly retain ET from the diet. The presence of a specific transporter together with the avid retention of ET in the body implies that this compound is important to us.

To quote an old phrase ‘correlation does not imply causation.’ Low ET levels may predispose to disease, but disease could also lead to low ET levels. Possible reasons could include:

  • Alterations in diet due to illness so that less ET is consumed;
  • Decreases in ETT activity in the gut (leading to less ET uptake) or kidney (impairing ET reabsorption) with age and disease.
  • Changes in gut microbiota might influence uptake and accumulation in the body.
  • ET is being consumed as it scavenges oxygen radicals and other reactive oxygen species, the production of which is known to increase in these diseases and during ageing in general.

Only the gold standard of placebo-controlled double-blinded clinical studies can definitively establish the value (if any) of ET in preventing or treating human disease. Several such trials are being planned or in progress; we await the results with interest, and a streak of optimism.”

https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1873-3468.14350 “Ergothioneine, where are we now?”

One of the collection’s papers focused on what ETT research findings could or could not be replicated:

“ETT is not expressed ubiquitously and only cells with high ETT cell-surface levels can accumulate ET to high concentration. Without ETT, there is no uptake because the plasma membrane is essentially impermeable. We review substrate specificity and localization of ETT, which is prominently expressed in neutrophils, monocytes/macrophages, and developing erythrocytes.

Comparison of transport efficiency (TE) for acknowledged substrates of the ETT. Bar length represents approximate TE of wild-type human ETT.

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We have not found in the literature any other ET transporters. However, it is highly probable that additional ET transporters work in the human body:

  • Uptake of ET from the small intestine into epithelial cells occurs through apically localized ETT. The very hydrophilic ET cannot then exit these cells toward the blood without help – a basolateral efflux transporter is required.
  • After oral administration of 3H-ET, a considerable amount of ET was still absorbed into the body in the ETT KO [knockout] mice. There must be another transporter for apical uptake at least in the small intestine of the mouse.
  • When ET was administered intravenously, ETT KO mice showed no change in ET concentration in the brain compared to wild type. The little ET that enters the brain must therefore pass through the BBB via a different transporter.”

https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1873-3468.14269 “The ergothioneine transporter (ETT): substrates and locations, an inventory”

It’s persuasive that there’s an evolutionarily conserved transmitter specific to ergothioneine. It isn’t persuasive that this compound once consumed is almost always in stand-by mode to do: what?

Ergothioneine isn’t a substitute for the related glutathione, especially since its supply isn’t similarly available from an endogenous source. It isn’t an active participant in day-to-day human life.

Still, I hedge my bets. I eat ergothioneine every day via white button mushrooms in AGE-less chicken vegetable soup at a cost of about $1.30.

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Eat broccoli sprouts to epigenetically regulate histones

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Five papers on beneficial effects from sulforaphane inhibiting histone deacetylases (HDACs), starting with a 2022 rodent cell study:

“Sulforaphane (SFN) has tissue specificity for subtypes of HDACs that are downregulated. For example:

  • In breast cancer cells, HDAC1-3 are inhibited by SFN to induce cell apoptosis;
  • In skin cells, HDAC1-4 are regulated by SFN [anti-skin cancer]; and
  • In the cochlea, SFN inhibits HDAC2, 4, and 5 [attenuates hearing loss].

In the present study, SFN significantly inhibited HDAC2, 3, and 5 expression and HDACs activity in cardiomyocytes, thereby increasing H3 acetylation levels in the Nrf2 promoter and upregulating Nrf2 expression. Mechanism by which SFN prevents Ang II-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis:

  • Ang II activates oxidative stress by increasing ROS leading to inflammation, oxidative stress and fibrosis in cardiomyocytes.
  • SFN prevents Ang II-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis by inhibiting HDACs to activate Nrf2 and downstream antioxidant genes.

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SFN activates Nrf2 by inhibiting HDACs expression and activation.”

https://www.aging-us.com/article/204247/text “Sulforaphane inhibits angiotensin II-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis by acetylation modification of Nrf2”

A 2021 rodent study found:

“SFN significantly attenuated diabetes-induced renal fibrosis in vivo. SFN inhibited diabetes-induced increase in HDAC2 activity.

Bone morphologic protein 7 (BMP-7) has been shown to reduce renal fibrosis induced by transforming growth factor-beta1. SFN protects against diabetes-induced renal fibrosis through epigenetic up-regulation of BMP-7.”

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https://e-dmj.org/journal/view.php?doi=10.4093/dmj.2020.0168 “Sulforaphane Ameliorates Diabetes-Induced Renal Fibrosis through Epigenetic Up-Regulation of BMP-7”

A 2019 human osteosarcoma cell study found:

“SFN inhibits mTOR in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. This inhibition occurs in the presence or in the absence of NRF2.

SFN inhibits HDAC6 and decreases catalytic activity of AKT, which partially explains the mechanism by which SFN inhibits mTOR.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711319302284 “The isothiocyanate sulforaphane inhibits mTOR in an NRF2-independent manner”

A 2022 review cited a 2018 cell study:

“HDAC expression and activity are dysregulated in various diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, cardiac hypertrophy, and neurodegenerative and psychological disorders. HDAC inhibitors could be a potential therapeutic target for many diseases.

In hypertension, aortic stiffness is usually increased and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) contribute to vascular stiffness. We used VSMCs to test the degree of acetylation of histones in this study.

Sulforaphane weakly inhibited HDAC2 and effectively inhibited HDAC9.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006295222002052 “Zinc-dependent histone deacetylases: Potential therapeutic targets for arterial hypertension”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0753332217364636 “Inhibition of class IIa histone deacetylase activity by gallic acid, sulforaphane, TMP269, and panobinostat” (not freely available)

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What do we know about human aging from mouse models?

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Cortisol, Epigenetics, Hippocampus, Immune system, Limbic system, Memory, Neurochemicals, Stress , ,

Here is a 2021 rodent study and relevant parts from 3 of its 26 citing papers:

“A long line of evidence has established the laboratory mouse as the prime model of human aging. However, relatively little is known about detailed behavioral and functional changes that occur across their lifespan, and how this maps onto the phenotype of human aging.

To better understand age-related changes across the lifespan, we characterized functional aging in male C57BL/6J mice of five different ages (3, 6, 12, 18, and 22 months of age) using a multi-domain behavioral test battery. Assessment of functional aging in humans and mice: age-related patterns were determined based on representative data (Table 2), and then superimposed onto survival rate. (A) Body weight, (B) locomotor activity, (C) gait velocity, (D) grip strength, (E) trait anxiety, (F) memory requiring low attention level, and (G) memory requiring high attention level.

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These functional alterations across ages are non-linear, and patterns are unique for each behavioral trait. Physical function progressively declines, starting as early as 6 months of age in mice, while cognitive function begins to decline later, with considerable impairment present at 22 months of age.

Functional aging of male C57BL/6J mice starts at younger relative ages compared to when it starts in humans. Our study suggests that human-equivalent ages of mice might be better determined on the basis of its functional capabilities.”

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2021.697621/full “Functional Aging in Male C57BL/6J Mice Across the Life-Span: A Systematic Behavioral Analysis of Motor, Emotional, and Memory Function to Define an Aging Phenotype”

“Studies in mice show that physical function (i.e., locomotor activity, gait velocity, grip strength) begins to deteriorate around post-natal day (PND) 180, but cognitive functions (i.e., memory) do not exhibit impairment until roughly PND 660. Our results should be considered within the context of behavior changing throughout vole adulthood. Caution should be taken to avoid categorizing the oldest age group in our study as ‘elderly’ or ‘geriatric.'”

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0276897 “Behavioral trajectories of aging prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster): Adapting behavior to social context wanes with advanced age”

“We used adult mice ranging in age from 5-6 months, not enough to modify experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis progression. Mice are considered adult after 8 weeks; however, rapid growth for most biological processes is observed until 3 months of age, while past 6 months, mice might be affected by senescence.”

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1036680/full “Age related immune modulation of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in PINK1 knockout mice”

“Locomotor activity and gait velocity of 12 months old male C57BL/6 correlates with an elderly human being aged 60 or older, supporting that the ~15 months old mice we used in our study were aged mice at the time of tissue collection.”

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/20/12461 “Genomic Basis for Individual Differences in Susceptibility to the Neurotoxic Effects of Diesel Exhaust”

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Do broccoli sprouts treat gout and kidney stones?

gettingwell4 2-3 stars Required further work, Epigenetics, Glutamate, Immune system, Neurochemicals, Stress , ,

This 2022 rodent study investigated glucoraphanin’s effects on reducing uric acid:

“Hyperuricemia is a chronic disease characterized by abnormally elevated serum uric acid levels. Sulforaphane could lower uric acid by decreasing urate synthesis and increasing renal urate excretion in hyperuricemic rats.

A hyperuricemia model was established by administering feedstuffs with 4% potassium oxonate and 20% yeast. Forty male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into the normal control, hyperuricemia, allopurinol, and sulforaphane groups. Animals were treated by oral gavage for six consecutive weeks, and then phenotypic parameters, metabolomic profiling, and metagenomic sequencing were performed.

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We identified succinic acid and oxoglutaric acid as critical host-gut microbiome co-metabolites. Sulforaphane improved diversity of microbial ecosystems and functions, as well as metabolic control of the kidney. Sulforaphane exerted its renoprotective effect through epigenetic modification of Nrf2 and interaction between gut microbiota and epigenetic modification in hyperuricemic rats.

Limitations of this study include:

  1. We used glucoraphanin bioactivated with myrosinase for our experiments. Future experiments may directly involve sulforaphane.
  2. Bioinformatics analysis resulted in speculations that require further experimental testing.
  3. Further investigation of interactions between microbiota and the host epigenome is still needed.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S209012322200251X “Sulforaphane-driven reprogramming of gut microbiome and metabolome ameliorates the progression of hyperuricemia”

It was a stretch to label treatment subjects as the “sulforaphane group” by claiming “Glucoraphanin (10 mg/kg) was metabolized to SFN by myrosinase as described in previous studies.” Both this and the referenced 2014 study “(RS)-glucoraphanin purified from Tuscan black kale and bioactivated with myrosinase enzyme protects against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats” measured glucoraphanin and myrosinase, but not sulforaphane.

A human equivalent to this study’s daily glucoraphanin intake of 10 mg / kg weight would be (.162 x 10 mg) x 70 kg = 113 mg. Whether 10 mg was dry or wet weight wasn’t disclosed.

If 10 mg was wet, 113 mg is a little more than twice our model clinical trial’s average glucoraphanin intake of 51 mg fresh weight from eating 30 grams / day of super sprouts. In April 2020’s Understanding a clinical trial’s broccoli sprout amount, a study coauthor said:

“We considered 30 g and 60 g to be 1/2 and 1 portion per day, respectively, of broccoli sprouts. When we carried out tests with consumers, previous to the bioavailability studies, higher amounts per day were not easy to consume and to get eaten by participants.”

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Broccoli sprouts activate the AMPK pathway, Part 4

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Cerebrum, Dopamine, Epigenetics, Hippocampus, Immune system, Limbic system, Memory, Neurochemicals, Stress , , , , ,

Today someone viewed the 2020 Part 3 of Broccoli sprouts activate the AMPK pathway which lacked citations at the time. Checking again, here are three citing 2022 papers, starting with a review:

“Nrf2 is an important transcription factor that regulates expression of a large number of genes in healthy and disease states. Nrf2 regulates expression of several key components of oxidative stress, mitochondrial biogenesis, mitophagy, autophagy, and mitochondrial function in all organs of the human body, and in the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Overall, therapeutic drugs including sulforaphane that target Nrf2 expression and Nrf2/ARE pathway are promising. This article proposes additional research in Nrf2’s role within Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and ischemic stroke in preclinical mouse models and humans with age-related neurodegenerative diseases.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568163722001982 “Role of Nrf2 in aging, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases” (not freely available) Thanks to Dr. P. Hemachandra Reddy for providing a copy.

One of the Part 3 study’s coauthors contributed to this very detailed review:

“Due to observed overlapping cellular responses upon AMPK or NRF2 activation and common stressors impinging on both AMPK and NRF2 signaling, it is plausible to assume that AMPK and NRF2 signaling may interdepend and cooperate to readjust cellular homeostasis.

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The outcome and underlying signaling events of AMPK-NRF2 crosstalk may diverge between:

  1. in vitro and in vivo studies (one cell type in isolation vs inter-organ crosstalk in living organisms);
  2. Different cell types/organs/organisms of different cultivation conditions, genetic background, age or sex;
  3. Different stress-regimens (chronic vs acute, nature of stress (lipotoxicity, redox stress, xenobiotic, starvation, etc));
  4. Different modes of Nrf2 or AMPK activation and inhibition (genetic vs pharmacological, constitutive vs transient/intermittent, systemic vs organ-specific, electrophilic vs PPI, allosteric vs covalent, or pan vs subtype-specific);
  5. Different target genes with distinct promoter and enhancer structure; or
  6. Different timing of activation.

The latter should deserve increased attention as Nrf2 is one of the most cycling genes under control of the circadian clock. Feeding behavior, metabolism and hence AMPK activity follow and substantiate the biological clock, indicating an entangled circadian regulation of metabolic and redox homeostasis.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089158492200497X “AMPK and NRF2: Interactive players in the same team for cellular homeostasis?”

A third citing paper was a study of lens cells that provided an example of similar metformin effects noted in Part 2 of Broccoli sprouts activate the AMPK pathway:

“Loss of Nrf2 and Nrf2 antioxidant genes expression and activity in aging cells leads to an array of oxidative-induced deleterious responses, impaired function, and aging pathologies. This deterioration is proposed to be the primary risk factor for age-related diseases such as cataracts.

AMPK regulates energy at physiological levels during metabolic imbalance and stress. AMPK is a redox sensing molecule, and can be activated under cellular accumulation of reactive oxygen species, which are endogenously produced due to loss of antioxidant enzymes.

The therapeutic potential of AMPK activation has context-dependent beneficial effects, from cell survival to cell death. AMPK activation was a requisite for Bmal1/Nrf2-antioxidants-mediated defense, as pharmacologically inactivating AMPK impeded metformin’s effect.

Using lens epithelial cell lines (LECs) of human or mouse aging primary LECs along with lenses as model systems, we demonstrated that metformin could correct deteriorated Bmal1/Nrf2/ARE pathway by reviving AMPK-activation and transcriptional activities of Bmal1/Nrf2, resulting in increased antioxidants enzymatic activity and expression of Phase II enzymes. Results uncovered crosstalk between AMPK and Bmal1/Nrf2/antioxidants mediated by metformin for blunting oxidative/aging-linked pathobiology.”

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/19/3021/htm “Obligatory Role of AMPK Activation and Antioxidant Defense Pathway in the Regulatory Effects of Metformin on Cellular Protection and Prevention of Lens Opacity”

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Eat broccoli sprouts for longevity

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Epigenetics, Immune system, Stress ,

This 2022 rodent study investigated effects of broccoli sprouts intake on health and longevity:

“The objective of this study was to assess effects of long-term broccoli sprouts (BrSp) feeding on longevity in rats, as well as on cardiometabolic health parameters. Twelve-week-old Long-Evans rats were randomized to control or BrSp groups.

Broccoli seeds were sprouted for 4 days then air dried for 7 days before use. Rats were fed 300 mg/kg body weight BrSp 3 days per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, to limit rat agitation) beginning at 4 months of age until death/euthanasia.

Mean age at death for the oldest 25% of male rats was higher in BrSp-fed rats (838 ± 18 days) than controls (754 ± 17 days). In females, BrSp feeding improved survival.

ijerph-19-13468-g001

BrSp feeding of rodents starting at 4 months of age caused:

  1. Extended life span in rats, albeit this was observed predominantly in females;
  2. Reduced body weight gain in females;
  3. Modest improvements in glucose handling in males;
  4. Marked blood pressure reduction in males; and
  5. Modest changes in behavioral traits examined at 18 months in both sexes.

These findings highlight sex-dependent benefits of BrSp on improving longevity and delaying cardiometabolic decline associated with aging in rats.”

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13468/htm “Broccoli Sprouts Promote Sex-Dependent Cardiometabolic Health and Longevity in Long-Evans Rats”

A human equivalent to this study’s dose is (.162 x 300 mg/kg)  x 70 kg = 3.4 grams dry weight three times a week. Per Drying broccoli sprouts, dried 3-day-old broccoli sprouts contain 10% moisture, and fresh 3-day-old broccoli sprouts contain 82.6% moisture. So 3.4 grams of broccoli sprout powder may be an approximate equivalent of 3.4 g x (.826 / .1) = 28 grams fresh broccoli sprouts.

Not sure why a dose regimen of “(Monday, Wednesday, Friday, to limit rat agitation)” was necessary, as that limited human applicability, lifespan results, and healthspan results. Still, this study was a step forward, and encouraged further lifespan and healthspan studies on broccoli sprout consumption.

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Broccoli leaves and stems vs. highly-processed food

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This 2022 rodent study investigated whether obesity caused by typical diets could be affected by adding a flour made of broccoli by-products:

“Obesity usually arises as a consequence of an excess of energy intake relative to the expense of energy via metabolic and physical activity. However, combinations of genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors can also contribute to obesity.

Broccoli by-products flour (BF) supplementation helped to maintain a lower body weight, reduced adipose tissue accumulation, and enhanced basal activity of superoxide dismutase and glutathione S-transferase.

treatment groups

  1. CTR – Western diet, control group;
  2. WD – Western diet plus 0.20% cholesterol;
  3. CTR+1.34BF – control diet containing 1.34% BF;
  4. WD+0.67BF – Western diet plus 0.20% cholesterol with 0.67% BF;
  5. WD+1.34BF – Western diet plus 0.20% cholesterol with 1.34% BF;
  6. WD+0.67BF(4w) – Western diet plus 0.20% cholesterol for 10 weeks and then fed with the corresponding diet supplemented with BF at 0.67% for 4 weeks;
  7. WD+1.34BF(4w) – Western diet plus 0.20% cholesterol for 10 weeks and then fed with the corresponding diet supplemented with BF at 1.34% for 4 weeks.

The dose of BF used in testing was established assuming that an adult person of 60 kg consumes around 150 g fresh broccoli per serving, which corresponds to around 19.05 g dry weight according to our laboratory. Consumption of 19.05 g BF per person corresponds to a dose of 317.5 mg/kg. Applying a dose conversion formula between humans (60 kg) and mice (20 g) (25), the equivalent dose will be 3905.25 mg/kg in a mouse, corresponding to around 78 mg BF/mouse.

Assuming that an adult person consumes on average 3 servings of broccoli per week, the intake of 78 mg BF three times a week is equivalent to the intake of 234 mg BF/week/mouse, corresponding to an average daily intake of 33.43 mg BF/mouse. For a mouse with a 5 g average daily food intake, this corresponds to 0.67% (w/w) of the daily feed.

results

Care must be taken with interpreting results obtained from preclinical animal models, as doses and administration protocols are often not comparable between experimental animals and humans. It is difficult to mimic the complexity of human diseases, and effective doses are different due to differences between species. Another limitation is concentrations of beneficial compounds may vary according to different climatic conditions, growing seasons, and cultivars.

BF appears to have a beneficial effect in preventing weight gain and fat accumulation induced by hypercholesterolemic diets.”

https://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/36/5/2173 “Beneficial Effects of Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var italica) By-products in Diet-induced Obese Mice”

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If you were given a lens to see clearly, would you accept it?

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Amygdala, Brainstem, Cerebrum, Cortisol, Epigenetics, Hippocampus, Hypothalamus, Limbic system, Locus coeruleus, Lower brain, Memory, Neurochemicals, Primal Therapy, Serotonin, Stress , , , , , , , ,

Two papers, starting with a 2022 rodent study of maternal behaviors’ effects on offspring physiologies:

“Early life adversity (ELA) is a major risk factor for development of pathology. Predictability of parental care may be a distinguishing feature of different forms of ELA.

We tested the hypothesis that changes in maternal behavior in mice would be contingent on the type of ELA experienced, directly comparing predictability of care in the limited bedding and nesting (LBN) and maternal separation (MS) paradigms. We then tested whether predictability of the ELA environment altered expression of corticotropin-releasing hormone (Crh), a sexually-dimorphic neuropeptide that regulates threat-related learning.

MS was associated with increased expression of Crh-related genes in males, but not females. LBN primarily increased expression of these genes in females, but not males.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289522000595 “Resource scarcity but not maternal separation provokes unpredictable maternal care sequences in mice and both upregulate Crh-associated gene expression in the amygdala”

I came across this first study by it citing a republished version of 2005 epigenetic research from McGill University:

“Early experience permanently alters behavior and physiology. A critical question concerns the mechanism of these environmental programming effects.

We propose that epigenomic changes serve as an intermediate process that imprints dynamic environmental experiences on the fixed genome resulting in stable alterations in phenotype. These findings demonstrate that structural modifications of DNA can be established through environmental programming and that, in spite of the inherent stability of this epigenomic marker, it is dynamic and potentially reversible.”

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.31887/DCNS.2005.7.2/mmeaney “Environmental programming of stress responses through DNA methylation: life at the interface between a dynamic environment and a fixed genome”

This post commemorates the five-year anniversary of Dr. Arthur Janov’s death. Its title is taken from my reaction to his comment on Beyond Belief: Symptoms of hopelessness. Search his blog for mentions of the second paper’s coauthors, Drs. Meaney and Szyf.

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All about walnuts’ effects

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Five 2022 papers focusing on walnuts, starting with a comparison of eight tree nuts:

“The aim of the present study was to examine 8 different popular nuts – pecan, pine, hazelnuts, pistachio, almonds, cashew, walnuts, and macadamia. Total content of phenolic compounds in nuts ranged from 5.9 (pistachio) to 432.9 (walnuts) mg/100 g.

Walnuts had the highest content of polymeric procyanidins, which are of great interest as important compounds in nutrition and biological activity, as they exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, cardio- and neuroprotective action. Walnuts are good sources of fatty acids, especially omega-3 and omega-6.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590157522002164 “Nuts as functional foods: Variation of nutritional and phytochemical profiles and their in vitro bioactive properties”

A second study compared the same eight tree nuts plus Brazil nuts and peanuts:

“The highest total content of all analyzed flavonoids was determined in walnuts (114.861 µg/g) with epicatechin the most abundant, while the lowest was in almonds (1.717 µg/g). Epicatechin has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and anti-diabetic properties. Epicatechin has beneficial effects on the nervous system, enhances muscle performance, and improves cardiac function.”

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/14/4326/htm “The Content of Phenolic Compounds and Mineral Elements in Edible Nuts”

Next, two systematic reviews and meta-analyses of human studies:

“We carried out a systematic review of cohort studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating walnut consumption, compared with no or lower walnut consumption, including those with subjects from within the general population and those with existing health conditions, published from 2017 to 5 May 2021.

  • Evidence published since 2017 is consistent with previous research suggesting that walnut consumption improves lipid profiles and is associated with reduced CVD risk.
  • Evidence pointing to effects on blood pressure, inflammation, hemostatic markers, and glucose metabolism remains conflicting.
  • Evidence from human studies showing that walnut consumption may benefit cognitive health, which is needed to corroborate findings from animal studies, is now beginning to accumulate.”

https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nutrit/nuac040/6651942 “Walnut consumption and health outcomes with public health relevance – a systematic review of cohort studies and randomized controlled trials published from 2017 to present”

“We aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs to thoroughly assess data concerning effects of walnut intake on selected markers of inflammation and metabolic syndrome in mature adults. Our findings showed that:

  • Walnut-enriched diets significantly decreased TG, TC, and LDL-C concentrations, while HDL-C levels were not significantly affected.
  • No significant changes were noticed on anthropometric, cardiometabolic, and glycemic indices after higher walnut consumption.
  • Inflammatory biomarkers did not record statistically significant results.”

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/11/7/1412/htm “Walnut Intake Interventions Targeting Biomarkers of Metabolic Syndrome and Inflammation in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials”

Finishing with a rodent study that gave subjects diabetes with a high-fat diet, then mixed two concentrations of walnut extract in with the treatment groups’ chow:

“This study was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of Gimcheon 1ho cultivar walnut (GC) on cerebral disorder by insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and inflammation in HFD-induced diabetic disorder mice. After HFD feed was supplied for 12 weeks, samples were orally ingested for 4 weeks to GC20 and GC50 groups (20 and 50 mg/kg of body weight, respectively).

  • Administration of GC improved mitochondrial membrane potential function, and suppressed oxidative stress in the brain.
  • GC inhibited hepatic and cerebral lipid peroxidation and the formation of serum AGEs, and increased serum antioxidant activity to improve HFD-induced oxidative stress.
  • The HFD group showed significant memory impairment in behavioral tests. On the other hand, administration of GC showed improvement in spatial learning and memory function.

walnut brain effects

Based on these physiological activities, GC showed protective effects against HFD-induced diabetic dysfunctions through complex and diverse pathways.”

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/16/5316/htm “Walnut Prevents Cognitive Impairment by Regulating the Synaptic and Mitochondrial Dysfunction via JNK Signaling and Apoptosis Pathway in High-Fat Diet-Induced C57BL/6 Mice”

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Measuring epigenetic DNA causes

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This 2022 human cell study investigated DNA methylation and aging:

“Models based on DNA methylation can be used to predict the age of biological samples, but their interpretability is limited due to the lack of causal inferences. Neither existing epigenetic clocks nor DNA methylation changes are enriched in causal CpG sites. Causal CpGs include similar numbers of sites that contribute to aging and protect against it, yet their combined contribution negatively affects age-related traits.

One general approach for developing anti-aging interventions is to identify molecular changes during aging and use these changes as targets to modulate the aging process. A similar idea has also been applied to evaluate potential longevity interventions. However, this logic is intrinsically flawed, as correlation does not imply causation, and age-related changes are not necessarily causal to age-associated declines.

We developed a framework for integrating causal knowledge into epigenetic clock models and constructed DamAge and AdaptAge that measure age-related damaging and adaptive changes, respectively. DamAge acceleration is associated with various adverse conditions (e.g., mortality risk), whereas AdaptAge acceleration is related to beneficial adaptations.

causality clocks

We found that transcription factor (TF)-binding sites of BRD4 and CREB1 are enriched with CpG sites whose methylation levels promote healthy longevity, and TF-binding sites for HDAC1 are enriched with CpG sites whose methylation levels decrease healthy longevity.

  • BRD4 contributes to cell senescence and promotes inflammation, and higher DNA methylation at BRD4 binding sites may inhibit the downstream effects of BRD4 and promote healthy longevity.
  • CREB1 is related to type II diabetes and neurodegeneration, and mediates the effect of calorie restriction. Our data suggest that higher methylation at CREB1-binding sites may support its longevity effects.
  • HDAC1 is a histone deacetylase, and its activity increases with aging and may promote age-related phenotypes. Increased DNA methylation at HDAC1 binding sites may causally inhibit healthy longevity.

Our causality-informed clock models provide novel insights into the aging mechanisms and testing interventions that delay aging and reverse biological age.”

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.07.511382v1 “Causal Epigenetic Age Uncouples Damage and Adaptation”

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Eat broccoli sprouts to combat effects of BPA?

gettingwell4 2-3 stars Required further work, Epigenetics ,

This 2022 rodent study investigated abilities of both glucoraphanin and sulforaphane to reduce bisphenol A’s effects:

“There are only a few studies on the anti-obesogenic activity of sulforaphane (SFN) in bisphenol A (BPA)-induced obese C57BL/6J mice and 3T3-L1 cells. BPA is one of the endocrine disrupting chemicals that mimics bioidentical hormones and acts as an active agonist of glucocorticoid receptors to promote adipogenesis.

We investigated anti-obesogenic effects of broccoli sprouts powder (BSP) with a high glucoraphanin (GRA) content, mustard (Sinapis alba L.) seed powder (MSP) that has a high myrosinase activity, and sulforaphane-rich MSP-BSP mixture powder (MBP).

  • GRA content in BSP was 131.11 ± 1.84 μmol/g, and SFN was not detected.
  • SFN content in MBP was 162.29 ± 1.24 μmol/g, and GRA was not detected.
  • GRA and SFN were not detected in MSP.

Mice were administered:

  • BPA (500 μg/kg/day);
  • BPA supplemented with 100 mg/kg/day Gar (BPA + Gar);
  • 15 mg/kg/day MSP (BPA + MSP);
  • 150 mg/kg/day BSP (BPA + BSP); or
  • 100 mg/kg/day MBP (BPA + MBP)

for 12 weeks. The BPA + Gar group served as the positive control group, since studies showed that Garcinia cambogia extract induces weight loss.

bpa weight gain

Mice in the BPA group showed a significantly high body weight and epididymal adipose tissue weight, compared to the ND group mice. MSP treatment had no significant effects. Gar, BSP, and MBP treatment significantly decreased body weight and epididymal adipose tissue weight in BPA-induced obese mice.

BSP and MBP exert anti-obesogenic effects by activating the AMPK signaling pathway. Our results suggest that BSP and MBP could be effective in the treatment and prevention of BPA-induced obesity.”

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/18/3814/htm “Anti-Obesogenic Effects of Sulforaphane-Rich Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) Sprouts and Myrosinase-Rich Mustard (Sinapis alba L.) Seeds In Vitro and In Vivo”

Human daily equivalent doses:

  • Sulforaphane was (.081 * 100 mg) x 70 kg = 567 mg, or (.567 g * 162.29 μmol/g) = 92 μmol. The μmol amount is reasonable, but the mg weight would be intolerable. I’ve contacted these researchers for clarification, and will update with their response.
  • Glucoraphanin in broccoli sprout powder at (.081 * 150 mg) x 70 kg = 851 mg looks reasonable. Broccoli sprout powder vendors recommend 1 gram.

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How to measure biological age?

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Epigenetics, Immune system, Stress, Telomeres ,

As mentioned in Week 127, I had biological age measured earlier this month, and received five reports two days ago on Sunday. Part of the company’s process is to follow up their reports (intrinsic aging, immune aging, pace of aging, telomere length, weight loss) with a consulting session to review and interpret, which lasted an hour yesterday.

Part of our conversation revolved around comparing my measurements with other customers. These people are a different population than people usually sampled for aging and other biomarkers, because people who pay to get their biological age measured probably actionably want to improve it.

We’ll see which items I asked the consultant to pass on to the company produce responses, and which interfere with their business or they’re too busy to get back to me. I offered more than a half-dozen specifics, but held back on items I didn’t think the consultant would adequately communicate.

I didn’t argue with the consultant’s recommendations for quercetin supplementation (at 4% bioavailability?) as part of a treatment for senescence (not measured in any of the reports?). I didn’t offer to follow-up with studies demonstrating yeast cell wall β-glucan (new to the consultant) effects on immune report findings here in my 19th year of taking it every day.

I did argue with their recommendation to take DHEA-S. I changed my mind about taking it a year and a half ago, but left blog posts up such as Take responsibility for your one precious life – DHEA for evidence that I’m learning.

Epigenetic clocks per The epigenetic clock theory of aging generally view biological aging as “an unintended consequence of both developmental programmes and maintenance programmes, the molecular footprints of which give rise to DNAm [DNA methylation] age estimators.”

So what would be appropriate anti-aging actions for customers to take? Should customers try to emulate youthful biological markers, and supplement DHEA-S to impact serum levels of insulin-like growth factor 1?

I don’t think so. Our bodies never evolved feedback mechanisms to determine “Time to stop the growth programs, you’ve survived to reproduction age.” Older people achieving teenagers’ DHEA-S levels and activating IGF-1 pathways, pretty much guarantees further biological aging as “an unintended consequence of both developmental programmes and maintenance programmes.”

It’s too early to recommend these biological aging measurements. We’ll see where it goes.

One good thing is the company wants their customers to tell them everything about what they’re doing. I exercise at least a half hour every day, eat Avena nuda oats for breakfast and AGE-less chicken vegetable soup for dinner, and take the following:

Before breakfast
– 3-day-old microwaved broccoli / red cabbage / mustard sprouts started from 10.7 grams of seeds, with nothing else an hour before or after
– Yeast cell wall β-glucan (Glucan 300), 1500 mg, with nothing else an hour before or after

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
– Hyaluronic acid, Nature’s Lab, 1 serving total
– Boron, Swanson Triple Boron Complex, 9 mg total

Breakfast and dinner
– Acetyl-L-carnitine, 1 g total
– Balance oil, which blends linoleic acid 1400 mg with linolenic acid 350 mg, 2 times
– Betaine anhydrous, 3 g total
– Glucosamine hydroxychloride 1.5 g total, with chondroitin sulfate 1.2 g total
– Taurine, 2 g total
– 3-day-old Avena sativa oat sprouts started from 20 g seeds, 2 times

Breakfast only
– Minerals and vitamins, RDA mainly, Kirkland Signature Daily Multi
– D3 25 mcg
– Calcium alpha-ketoglutarate 1 g

Lunch only
– Vitamin K2 MK-7 600 mcg

Dinner only
– D3 50 mcg
– Zinc monomethionine 30 mg with 0.3 mg copper
– Lutein 25 mg with 5 mg zeaxanthin

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Broccoli sprout compounds at different growth stages

gettingwell4 2-3 stars Required further work, Epigenetics

This 2022 study investigated 12 glucosinolate compounds in 9 broccoli cultivars across seeds, 3-, 11-, and 17-day-old sprouts:

“Broccoli is rich in glucosinolates (GLs) which makes it an excellent source of these nutraceuticals. Composition and concentration of GLs vary among broccoli cultivars and throughout developmental stages of the plant.

9 aliphatic GLs and 3 indole GLs were identified from 9 broccoli cultivars. Aliphatic GLs concentrations decreased with broccoli sprouts and seedling growth for most cultivars. Indole GLs amounts increased after germination and reached the highest level in Stage B 3-day sprouts or C 11-day seedlings, and fell back to a low level in D 17-day seedlings.

Stage B was a stage that sprouts grew with no lights in medium and were about to be transplanted into pots. Stage C was a period that seedlings began to grow a main leaf, while in Stage D they were growing the second main leaf.

stages

Relatively high accumulation of glucoraphanin and glucoerucin in Chunqiujiali seeds suggests that CQJL broccoli seeds could be used for extraction of beneficial aliphatic GLs in nutraceutical industry.”

https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/12/1563/htm “Variation in Glucosinolate Accumulation among Different Sprout and Seedling Stages of Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica)”

These researchers are probably early in their careers. They may have otherwise measured broccoli sprout compounds like glucosinolate-hydrosolate isothiocyanates and others, as did the cited 3-day-old broccoli sprouts have the optimal yields. As those researchers said:

“From the perspective of comparison methods, broccoli varieties, and germination processes, there is still lack of a systematic comparison of SF yields and other bioactive compounds contents between broccoli seeds and sprouts.”

Glucoraphanin is not sulforaphane highlighted one pitfall in concluding “CQJL broccoli seeds could be used for extraction of beneficial aliphatic GLs in nutraceutical industry.” Selecting broccoli varieties highlighted another, and provided an example of how human-applicable broccoli sprout compound research across different varieties could be done:

“We found a clear difference in selecting functional broccoli by considering only the GSL content or hydrolysates.

  • Even if total GSL content and individual GSL content were high, ITC content could not be produced at a high level.
  • When GSL content is high, if nitrile formation rate was also high, more nitrile than ITC would be produced.”

Preteen practicing handstands 15 minutes before sunrise

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Week 127 of Changing to a youthful phenotype with sprouts

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Epigenetics, Immune system, Stress ,

1. My third gut microbiome test results came in this week. I submitted a sample earlier this month to follow methods in the second paper of Improving dietary fiber research in a continuing effort to treat my gut microbiota well.

But that study’s vendor was unable to ship an EU-approved product from The Netherlands to the US because it wasn’t FDA-approved. Our US pets can eat dried chicory root products every day, but we can’t? I haven’t received any positive responses from US vendors of dried chicory root products, so I’ll keep taking up to 10 grams of EU-manufactured inulin daily.

I also followed Dr. Horvath’s suggestion in Epigenetic clocks so far in 2022 to “measure epigenetic age because there’s always an opportunity to make a discovery” and submitted a blood test. Will link to those results when they arrive – How to measure biological age?

2. These gut microbiome test results highlight a 16S ribosomal RNA technology flaw that Resistant starch therapy pointed out:

“Relative abundances of smaller keystone communities (e.g. primary degraders) may increase, but appear to decrease simply because cross-feeders increase in relative abundance to a greater extent.”

Here are my top two relative abundance results, genus Faecalibacterium and genus Bacteroides:

relative abundance2

  • 25.330% (46,844 total count) of my gut microbiota being a butyrate producer is relatively higher than 22.567% (42,156 total count) 14 months ago. Here’s a review of butyrate’s effects.
  • 25% cross-feeder genus Faecalibacterium didn’t relatively crowd out a primary degrader, genus Ruminococcus, which comparatively stayed at 6%. It may have relatively reduced secondary degrader genus Eubacterium abundance from 6% to 5%.

I don’t assign importance per the above graphic that other people achieve 12% relative abundance of a butyrate producer but I have 25%. Our 10,000+ microbiota species perform many overlapping functions.

Conversely, why should I care that other people host an average 25% genus Bacteroides and I relatively have 17% as I did 14 months ago? It’s similar to irrelevant comparisons of clinical biomarkers in Week 120 of Changing to a youthful phenotype with sprouts.

3. So what are appropriate gut microbiome measurements? They aren’t fine-grained relative measurements of my current gut microbiome, either vs. my previous measurements or vs. other people.

I could make a p < .05 finding out of 25.330% vs. 22.567%. But would those numbers be an adequate proxy for understanding truth?

I think science and industry will affordably catch up to these discrepancies as it has with epigenetic clocks. Haven’t come across well-designed gut microbiota studies that use technologically preferable shotgun metagenomic sequencing with absolute measures of both form and function. I’ve read plenty that are stuck in a relative abundance paradigm.

In the meantime, I’m alright, but have to toughen up quickly so that I can transition later this month from summer weather on my sunrise walk every day to a freezing destination.

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Minds of their own

gettingwell4 5+ stars Premium, Brain development, Brain hemispheres, Epigenetics, Memory, Neurochemicals, Serotonin, Stress , , , , , ,

It’s the weekend, so it’s time for: Running errands? Watching sports? Other conditioned behavior?

Or maybe broadening our cognitive ability with Dr. Michael Levin’s follow-ups to his 2021 Basal cognition paper and 2020 Electroceuticals presentation with a 2022 paper and presentation starting around the 13:30 mark:

Michael Levin - Cell Intelligence in Physiological and Morphological Spaces

“A homeostatic feedback is usually thought of as a single variable such as temperature or pH. The set point has been found to be a large-scale geometry, a descriptor of a complex data structure.”

His 2022 paper Technological Approach to Mind Everywhere: An Experimentally-Grounded Framework for Understanding Diverse Bodies and Minds:

“It is proposed that the traditional problem-solving behavior we see in standard animals in 3D space is just a variant of evolutionarily more ancient capacity to solve problems in metabolic, physiological, transcriptional, and morphogenetic spaces (as one possible sequential timeline along which evolution pivoted some of the same strategies to solve problems in new spaces).

Developmental bioelectricity works alongside other modalities such as gene-regulatory networks, biomechanics, and biochemical systems. Developmental bioelectricity provides a bridge between the early problem-solving of body anatomy and the more recent complexity of behavioral sophistication via brains.

This unification of two disciplines suggests a number of hypotheses about the evolutionary path that pivoted morphogenetic control mechanisms into cognitive capacities of behavior, and sheds light on how Selves arise and expand.

While being very careful with powerful advances, it must also be kept in mind that existing balance was not achieved by optimizing happiness or any other quality commensurate with modern values. It is the result of dynamical systems properties shaped by meanderings of the evolutionary process and the harsh process of selection for survival capacity.”

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