4-5 stars Advanced knowledge

Advanced knowledge

A case for carnitine supplementation

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

This 2020 review subject was carnitine, acetyl-L-carnitine, and its other molecular forms:

“Carnitine is necessary to deliver long-chain fatty acids from cytosol into mitochondria. Carnitine homeostasis is maintained by diet and renal absorption, as only a small amount (about 25%) is obtained by endogenous biosynthesis.

Defective fatty acid oxidation occurs with reduced intracellular levels of carnitine, leading to glucose consumption instead of lipid consumption, resulting in hypoglycemia. Non-metabolized lipids accumulate in tissues such as heart, skeletal muscle, and liver, resulting in myopathy and hepatic steatosis.

2000 mg/day is unlikely to provoke unwanted side effects and is safe for humans. In-depth studies are needed to identify a unique method of analysis which can guarantee efficient monitoring of supplement active component amounts.”

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/9/2127/htm “The Nutraceutical Value of Carnitine and Its Use in Dietary Supplements”

The review listed animal studies of L-carnitine alone and in combination with:

  • Vitamin D3;
  • Coenzyme Q10;
  • Nicotinamide riboside;
  • Selenium;
  • L-arginine;
  • Anti-histamine drugs cetirizine hydrochloride and chlorpheniramine maleate; and
  • Hypertension drug olmesartan.

Human studies of its effects included:

  • Muscle soreness, damage biomarkers, and cramps;
  • Osteoarthritis knee pain and inflammation markers;
  • Ischemic cerebrovascular injury;
  • Peripheral neuropathy;
  • Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease;
  • Insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes;
  • Kidney diseases;
  • Inherited diseases phenylketonuria and maple syrup urine;
  • Stress, depression, and anxiety;
  • Male infertility; and
  • Hepatitis C.

Sprouting hulled oats

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

My Sprouting whole oats trial was a hassle with hulls and a poor germination rate. This week I used hulled oat seeds from a different vendor, and a different study, Degree of oat sprouting, as my model.

  • Oat variety of Avena sativa was a small seed, 7 mm x 2 mm. The model used “huskless oat ‘Gehl'” which is a different species (Avena nuda).
  • 100 seeds weighed 1.5 grams. There were over 1,300 seeds per 20 g batches.
  • Oat sprout batches were processed the same way I do broccoli sprout batches. A new batch started soaking to start germination every 12 hours, then was rinsed three times every 24 hours on a 6 hours – 6 hours – 12 hours cycle. I have an open question to the model’s corresponding coauthor to explain their “4.5‐hr wet steeping, 19‐hr air rest, and 4‐hr steeping, all at 20°C” procedures to start germination, since I didn’t have access to its cited study. The model grew oat sprouts for 1, 2, and 3 days.
  • Temperature in my kitchen was 21°C (70°F) because it’s winter outside. The model grew oat sprouts at 10, 14, 20, 25, and 30°C. Their findings included “Temperatures between 20° and 25°C yielded the most dramatic changes in properties of sprouted oats.”

I evaluated germination results per the model’s Degree of Sprouting finding:

“Length of the coleoptile [shoot] was selected as a criterion of categorization of degree of sprouting. Grains of degree 0 do not show any radicle [root] or coleoptile growth. Degree:

  1. Has visible embryos (small white point), while radicles and coleoptile are not visible;
  2. Shows a developed embryo emerging from the seed coat;
  3. Coleoptile lengths of at least half the oat grain length;
  4. Coleoptile lengths between half and a full grain length; and
  5. Coleoptile longer than a full grain length.”

Most of this trial wasn’t a big deal, adding just a few extra minutes onto what I do three times a day with broccoli sprouts. Here’s what this oat variety’s hulled seeds and 3-day-old sprouts looked like:

The tedious part was evaluating degrees of sprouting. I took as large a bottom-to-top sample as I could tolerate sorting (235 seeds / sprouts, about 17%), with these results:

A 97% germination rate. 🙂 Average weight of three 3-day-old batches was 51.9 grams, for a 260% weight gain. My 5-day-old whole oat sprouts trial had a 22% germination rate and a 221% weight gain.

The model’s Figure 3 Degree of Sprouting finding for 20°C and 25°C at 3 days was hard to read:

Don’t know how > 1% 0 degrees of sprouting at 20°C and 25°C reconciled with their statement “Germinability after 3 days was about 99% at all temperatures.” A numerical table wasn’t provided – yet another question for the corresponding author. Meanwhile, I’ll estimate:

Their hard-to-read Figure 3 also wasn’t completely congruent with their statement:

“Around 20% of grains sprouted at 20° and 25°C had a coleoptile longer than a full grain length (degree of sprouting 5).”

These oat sprouts tasted milder than my previous trial’s. With more than a third at a degree-of-sprouting 5 measurement, they’re sweet, concurrent with the model’s findings that:

“Increased amounts of reducing sugars and ascorbic acid were found particularly in the radicles and coleoptile. Coleoptile and radicle growth (input parameters for the degree of sprouting) and reducing sugars and α‐amylase activity are interdependent.”

Corresponding increased enzyme concentrations produced an aftertaste, though. I ate them along with either food or drink.

Can eating three-day-old oat sprouts of this Montana cultivated variety help with what I’m already doing? Here’s what I expect, given the model was a different oat species, and the Sprouting oats and Oat sprouts analysis studies used different oat cultivars.

1. In order of magnitude: increased antioxidants, GABA, phenolic compounds, protein, amino acids, β-glucan, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Don’t know about GABA and protein, but the others may help counter inflammation.

2. Increased enzyme intake. The model study used α-amylase as a marker for α-amylase enzymes (catalyze starches), protease enzymes (catalyze proteins), and lipase enzymes (catalyze fats).

Oat sprouts analysis characterized increased α-amylase and lipase activities as undesirable in a sprouted oat flour context. More on enzymes in Part 2 of Sprouting hulled oats.

Week 37 of Changing to a youthful phenotype with broccoli sprouts

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Beliefs, Cerebrum, Cortisol, Dopamine, Glutamate, Limbic system, Lower brain, Memory, Neurochemicals, Primal Therapy, Stress , , , , , , ,

1. Been wrong about a few things this past week:

A. I thought in Week 28 that extrapolating A rejuvenation therapy and sulforaphane results to humans would produce personal results by this week. An 8-day rat treatment period ≈ 258 human days, and 258 / 7 ≈ 37 weeks.

There are just too many unknowns to say why that didn’t happen. So I’ll patiently continue eating a clinically relevant 65.5 gram dose of microwaved broccoli sprouts twice every day.

PXL_20201015_105645362

The study’s lead researcher answered:

“Depends, it might take 37 weeks or more for some aspects of ‘youthening’ to become obvious. It might even take years for others.

Who really cares if you are growing younger every day?

For change at the epigenomic/cellular level to travel up the biological hierarchy from cells to organ systems seems to take time. But the process can be repeated indefinitely (so far as we know) so by the second rejuvenation you’re already starting at ‘young’. (That would be every eight to ten years I believe.)”

His framework is in An environmental signaling paradigm of aging.

B. I thought that adding 2% mustard seed powder to microwaved broccoli sprouts per Does sulforaphane reach the colon? would work. Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn’t, but my stomach and gut said that wasn’t for me.

C. I thought I could easily add Sprouting whole oats to my routine. I ran another trial Sprouting hulled oats using oat seeds from a different company and Degree of oat sprouting as a model.

2. Oat sprouts analysis paired studies were very informative, don’t you think? One study produced evidence over 18 germination-parameter combinations (hulled / dehulled seeds of two varieties, for 1-to-9 days, at 12-to-20°C).

Those researchers evaluated what mix of germination parameters would simultaneously maximize four parameters (β-glucan, free phenolic compounds, protease activity, and antioxidant capacity) while minimizing two (enzymes α-amylase and lipase). Then they followed with a study that characterized oat seeds sprouted under these optimal conditions.

I doubted PubMed’s “oat sprout” 20 search results for research 1977 to the present. Don’t know why they didn’t pick up both of these 2020 studies, but I’m sure that .gov obvious hindrances to obtaining relevant information like this won’t be fixed. What other search terms won’t return adequate PubMed results?

3. The blog post readers viewed this week that I made even better was Do delusions have therapeutic value? from May 2019. Sometimes I’ve done good posts describing why papers are poorly researched.

4. I’ve often changed my Week 4 recipe for an AGE-less Chicken Vegetable Soup dinner (half) then the next day for lunch. The biggest change brought about by 33 weeks of behavioral contagion is that I now care more about whether vegetables are available than whether or not they’re organic. Coincidentally, I’ve developed a Costco addiction that may require intervention.

  • 1/2 lemon
  • 4 Roma tomatoes
  • 4 large carrots
  • 6 stalks organic celery
  • 6 mushrooms
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 6 oz. organic chicken breast fillet
  • 1 yellow squash, alternated with 1 zucchini
  • 1 cup sauvignon blanc
  • 32 oz. “unsalted” chicken broth, which still contains 24% of the sodium RDA

Pour wine into a 6-quart Instant Pot; cut and strain squeezed lemon; cut chicken into 1/4″ cubes and add; start mixture on Sauté. Wash and cut celery and stir in. Wash and cut carrots and stir in.

When pot boils around 8 minutes, add chicken broth and stir. Wash mushrooms, slicing into spoon sizes.

Wash and slice yellow squash / zucchini. Crush and peel garlic, tear but don’t slice. Turn off pot when it boils again around 15 minutes.

Wait 2-3 minutes for boiling to subside, then add yellow squash / zucchini, mushrooms, garlic, whole tomatoes. Let set for 20 minutes; stir bottom-to-top 5 and 15 minutes after turning off, and again before serving.

AGE-less Chicken Vegetable Soup is tasty enough to not need seasoning.

Sprouting oats

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

Three 2020 studies investigated properties of sprouted oats. This first study compared one oat cultivar’s seed and sprout contents for phenolic compounds, and evaluated oat sprouts’ protection against developing colon cancer:

“The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate whether sprouted oats (SO) of the Turquesa variety still possessed effective physiologically bioactive compounds, i.e., phenolics, flavonoids, AVAs [avenanthramides], and phytosterols, and whether it exerted antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as the capacity to improve relevant intestinal parameters, in an AOM [azoxymethane] / DSS [dextran sulfate sodium]-induced CRC [colorectal cancer] mouse model.

Suboptimal intake of whole grains (38 g/d) was associated with CRC burden across 16 European countries. An optimal intake of 50–100 g/d was considered in our study to establish the dose administered in the AOM/DSS-induced CRC mouse model (75 g/d).

Seeds (100 g) were soaked in distilled water for 12 h then watered daily. Temperature and relative humidity were set at 25 °C and 60%. Germination was performed in darkness for five days. Germination percentage was determined based on total number of fully emerged seedlings.

We reached 100% of germination and a radicle length of 6.47 ± 0.22 cm. Sprouts were dried at 50 °C for 12 h, milled to a particle size of 0.5 mm, and stored at 4 °C until analyses.

Protein and lipid contents were higher in SO, whereas carbohydrate and ash contents were lower. A more than four-fold increase [0.64 mg/g to 2.79 mg/g] in TPC [total phenolic compounds] was obtained after five days.

We identified AVA-D as the most abundant AVA, followed by AVA-L, which had not been reported as one of the three most abundant AVAs in other oat varieties. Of the three most abundant AVAs previously reported, only AVA-B had a higher abundance in germination.

Phytic acid, an antinutritional compound present in oats, was 10 times lower in oat sprouts. Phytic acid has its content decreased by 15%–35% during even a short three-day germination due to activation of phytase activity. Although high doses of phytic acid inhibit absorption of metals and minerals in humans, it has been observed that, in small doses, it can function as a protective factor in several chronic degenerative diseases.

Mice in groups 3 and 4 were gavaged every morning with phenolic-AVA extract (0.084 mg GAE) and 30 mg of SO, respectively. We observed a mild anti-inflammatory effect of SO and AVA treatments, and a reduced adenocarcinoma incidence of 52.5% and 21.3%, respectively.

SO was more efficient in activating the Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway compared to treatment with AVA. Oat phenolic compounds together with β-glucans may be acting synergistically, thus offering greater protection for cancer prevention and treatment.”

https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/9/2/169/htm “Chemopreventive Effect of the Germinated Oat and Its Phenolic-AVA Extract in Azoxymethane/Dextran Sulfate Sodium (AOM/DSS) Model of Colon Carcinogenesis in Mice”

The supplementary material developed this oat cultivar’s seed and sprout profiles for 138 phenolic compounds. It measured C-type AVAs, but not A-type AVAs.

This was my model study for Sprouting whole oats.

A second study was reviewed in Eat oats today! and repeated here:

“The first evaluation of anti-inflammation effects of A-type AVAs was published from our own group. Fifteen A-type AVAs from commercial sprouted oat products interacted with lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production and iNOS expression.”

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jafc.9b06812 “Quantitative Analysis and Anti-inflammatory Activity Evaluation of the A-Type Avenanthramides in Commercial Sprouted Oat Products” (not freely available)

Oat variety and sprout age weren’t available for the six sprouted oat products tested, so oat seed-to-sprout comparisons weren’t possible. A-type AVA comparisons among products were performed, but weren’t meaningful due to unknown varieties, ages, product processing, and storage.

A third study compared four grains’ sprouted and unsprouted contents:

“Seeds were soaked at 25°C in 1 L of distilled water for 20 (brown rice), 12 (sorghum and millet) and 8 h (oat), respectively. Hydrated grains were allowed to germinate with layering over wet cellulose pads in a humid chamber for 60 h at 25°C (oat seeds) or 30°C (brown rice, sorghum, and millet seeds) with 95% relative humidity.

All seeds derived from brown rice and oat were germinated after 48 h in the humid chamber. Germinated grains were dried at 50°C until reaching a moisture content of 10%. Sample seeds were milled to fine flour, screened through a 100-mesh sieve and stored at 4°C for further analysis.

After 60 h of germination, sprout length in sorghum and millet ranged from 8 to 24 mm, while sprouts obtained from brown rice and oat ranged from 3 to 6 mm.

Compared to raw flours, germinated flours derived from brown rice, sorghum, and millet had lower gelatinization enthalpy, whereas germinated oat flour showed higher gelatinization enthalpy.

During germination, enzymes are activated, catalyzing starch degradation, which may disrupt the double helical structure of starch. Consequently, less energy is required to unravel and melt double helices of starch in germinated flours. The increase in gelatinization enthalpy of germinated oat flour may be due to dissolution of hydrolyzed starch granules during germination.”

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10068-020-00770-2 “Influence of germination on physicochemical properties of flours from brown rice, oat, sorghum, and millet” (not freely available)

The first study sprouted oats for five days to full germination and a minimum radicle length of 6.25 cm. The third study sprouted oats to full germination in 60 hours and a 3 mm minimum total length.

At the same 25°C, with 60% relative humidity and daily watering, it took 120 hours to achieve full germination. With 95% relative humidity, it took half that time.

Was humidity a relevant difference in oat sprout growth? Would Choyang variety oat sprouts increase their minimum 3 mm total length more than 20 times between Hours 60 and 120 to match the minimum Turquesa radicle length?

This is a count of PubMed “oat sprout” search results, 20 results total:

A “broccoli sprout” search returned 648 results. Is oat sprout research just getting started?

Part 2 of The transgenerational impact of Roundup exposure

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Epigenetics, Memory, Stress , , ,

This 2020 study followed up The transgenerational impact of Roundup exposure using the Washington State Unversity research group’s most recent methodology in DEET and permethrin cause transgenerational diseases:

“The herbicide glyphosate has been shown to promote epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of pathology and disease in subsequent great-grand offspring (F3 generation). The current study was designed to identify epigenetic biomarkers for glyphosate-induced transgenerational diseases using an epigenome-wide association study.

Pathologies investigated included prostate disease [13 of 44 subjects], kidney disease [11 of 44], obesity [19 of 45], and presence of multiple disease [10 of 45]. Sperm were collected from F3 glyphosate lineage males and used to identify specific differential DNA methylation regions (DMRs) and differential histone retention sites (DHRs).

The number of DHRs were less than the number of DMRs, and DHRs were found to have disease specificity. The combination of DMRs and DHRs is anticipated to facilitate pathology diagnosis.

Low sample number is a limitation in the current analysis. Potential higher variability in data needs to be considered.

This is one of the first observations of DHRs as potential biomarkers for disease. The current study used glyphosate induction of transgenerational disease as a proof of concept such environmental biomarkers can be identified and potentially used as diagnostics for disease susceptibility in the future.”

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15592294.2020.1853319 “Epigenome-wide association study for glyphosate induced transgenerational sperm DNA methylation and histone retention epigenetic biomarkers for disease”

Eat oats today!

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

This 2020 food chemistry review provided phenolic-compound reasons to eat oats:

“Phenolamides result from the conjugation of hydroxycinnamic acids with amines. These products contain a variety of metabolic, chemical, and functional capabilities due to the large number of possible combinations among the parent compounds.

Of the currently known phenolamides, the most common are avenanthramides (AVAs), which are unique in oats. AVAs possess anti-inflammatory, anti-itch, anti-atherosclerosis, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-obesity, anti-fungal, anti-microbial, and neuroprotective properties.

Twenty-nine C-type AVAs have been identified in oats, and twenty-six A-type AVAs.

  • C-type AVAs in commercially available oat products range from 36.49-61.77 mg/kg (fresh weight).
  • A-type AVAs represent approximately 22.5% of total AVA levels in regular oats and 24.7-33.0% in commercial sprouted oats.

Steeping raw groats increased AVA concentrations.”

These reviews were referenced:

“Since publication of these two reviews, a few new studies reported AVAs’ beneficial health effects, mainly related to their anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. AVAs can:

  • Significantly decrease IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 in endothelial cells;
  • Inhibit IL-1β- and TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation; as well as
  • Expression of adhesion molecules; and
  • Adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cell monolayer.

In 2020, the first evaluation of anti-inflammation effects of A-type AVAs was published from our own group. Fifteen A-type AVAs from commercial sprouted oat products interacted with lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production and iNOS expression.

Colloidal oatmeal’s natural components, AVAs, help to restore and maintain skin barrier function. AVAs are safe, well tolerated, and can be effective as adjuvant treatment in atopic dermatitis.

In one mouse model, a C-type AVA was able to mitigate many adverse effects of Alzheimer’s Disease. It restored hippocampal long-term potentiation and synaptic function, enhanced memory function, suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 levels, reduced caspase-3 levels, and increased pS9GSK-3β and IL-10 levels.

AVAs downregulated expression of hTERT and MDR1, pro-survival genes for cancer cells, and COX-2 mRNA and PGE2 levels, known pro-inflammatory markers. AVAs induced apoptosis by activating caspases 8, 3, and 2.”

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.0c02605 “The Chemistry and Health Benefits of Dietary Phenolamides” (not freely available)

Hadn’t thought about sprouting oats before this paper.

Week 34 of Changing to a youthful phenotype with broccoli sprouts

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

1. Thank you to readers of this blog who find the 650+ curations and other posts worth their time. I reread blog posts after you read them, and sometimes improve them for our mutual benefit.

One such post this week was Broccoli sprout compounds include sinapic acid derivatives. Although it was already fairly detailed, it received a half-dozen improvements.

  • Those researchers measured composition changes of 31 compounds (18 sinapic acid derivatives, 8 glucosinolates, and 5 flavonoids) identified in seed-2-4-6-day germination stages of one cultivar. They provided convertible dry weight and fresh weight measurements in mg / g.
  • It complemented the 3-day-old broccoli sprouts have the optimal yields study comparisons of six cultivated varieties’ seed-3-5-7-day germination stage weights and measurements with their origins using a milligram-per-gram-of-seeds scale:

    “To be comparable, the content of these bioactive compounds from 100 fresh sprouts was divided by the weight (g) of 100 seeds, and then this value was compared with their content from one gram seeds.”

  • The sinapic acid study discussed another study for:

    “In a study, diminishing amounts of total phenolic acids in sprouts of three broccoli cultivars was observed only between 3rd and 7th day of germination under photoperiod conditions and only when expressed on fresh weight basis. After recalculating results to dry weight, amounts were increasing during the whole 14-day observation period.”

All studies were scientifically informative. Still, results depended on researchers’ operative paradigms, and human behavior such as unconscious act-outs of unsatisfied needs to feel important.

2. Speaking of which, I viewed a 1:48 video with broccoli sprout experts who disparaged microwaving around the 1:10 mark. I’m not an expert, but I’ve eaten a clinically-relevant dose of microwaved broccoli sprouts every day for 34 weeks now. Read this post’s comment.

Here are a few studies of microwaving’s effects on phenolic, glucosinolate, and flavonoid broccoli compounds. Just for those who value evidence more than opinion.

  • Microwaving broccoli sprouts may not affect phenolic levels found four of five test cases didn’t significantly diminish total phenolic fresh weight contents of whole broccoli. They blended 100 grams broccoli in 200 ml water, halved the purée, then microwaved half on 700W power for 30 seconds. No disclosure of what temperature was achieved, but it was probably < 60°C (140°F). Microwaving significantly increased the glucosinolate hydrolysis product indole-3-carbinol:

    “I3C in broccoli was increased by 3.1, 9.1 and 1.9 folds respectively using blenders 1, 2 and 5 with microwaving.”

  • Microwave broccoli to increase flavonoid levels study design was “Broccoli florets (150 g) were put in a microwave safe bowl with a 1 tablespoon [15 ml] of water” and a 1200W microwave on full power for one minute. Although this may have produced temperatures > 60°C, flavonoid fresh weight contents increased > 30%:

    “Microwaving may increase extractability and/or release from binding to other compounds as a result of matrix softening.“

  • Microwave broccoli to increase sulforaphane levels demonstrated significant differences for 475W (LL) and 950W (HL) power settings in glucoraphanin and sulforaphane dry weight amounts when broccoli florets were microwaved to the same temperatures. Compare white bar sulforaphane amounts for LL60 and HL60 (both 60°C), annotated as E and F:

    “Microwave treatment causes a sudden collapse of cell structure due to the increase in osmotic pressure difference over vacuole membrane. Microwave irradiation might help to release more conjugated forms of glucosinolates and then get hydrolyzed by released myrosinase.“

  • Enhancing sulforaphane content confirmed the above 60°C finding with broccoli florets:

    “The best treatment temperature for maximizing sulforaphane yield was 60 °C. The slightly higher sulforaphane yield than would be predicted from the level of glucoraphanin in raw broccoli requires further investigation. Sulforaphane yield of broccoli after 5 min thermal treatment at 65 °C was even lower than the value obtained for raw broccoli.“

3. I see socialistic animal behavior often during beach walks. If one seagull pecks a food morsel, a half-dozen others immediately position themselves to take it. It’s a race to the bottom of existence.

Too bad we humans don’t learn pertinent lessons from others’ experiences, much less our own. Today’s US Thanksgiving provides one example.

Richard Ebeling presented the factual Thanksgiving story a while back. Have you read about collectivism that arrived with the Mayflower in 1620? Do you think we’ve learned what we needed to learn about communism from four centuries ago through today?

4. Seagulls are also inspirational in their flock behavior of joie de vivre predawn flying.

Part 2 of Eat broccoli sprouts for your eyes

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Epigenetics, Memory, Stress , ,

I was a little bothered by an unreferenced statement in Eat broccoli sprouts for your eyes that:

“Once AGEs are formed, most are irreversible.”

I searched curated 2020 studies for “revers” and found that recent blog studies favored reversibility of epigenetic changes 12-to-2. Do they reflect my selection bias, or is there something different about AGEs?

Let’s start with this statement:

“Although AGEs are irreversible adducts and cross-links in our tissues, these can be removed through different proteolytic capacities:

  • The ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) – Ubiquitin is a protein that when conjugated to a protein substrate can facilitate degradation of that substrate by the proteasome. Obsolete or damaged proteins are tagged with ubiquitin and these ubiquitinated substrates are degraded by the proteasome. Operates mainly on soluble substrates.
  • Autophagy – Can operate on insoluble substrates, including organelles such as mitochondria. Autophagy requires macromolecular assemblies and organelles to identify, sequester, and eventually degrade substrates via the lysosome.

Unfortunately, the function of both proteolytic pathways declines with extensive glycative stress and upon aging in many tissues, resulting in intracellular accumulation of protein aggregates (also glycated conjugates) and dysfunctional organelles. This thwarts strategies to lower AGEs accumulation by boosting proteolytic capacities.”

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/9/11/1062/htm “Glyoxalase System as a Therapeutic Target against Diabetic Retinopathy”

So humans can remove irreversible AGE epigenetic changes as long as the individual isn’t too stressed or old? Studies from 2008 to 2012 were cited for the above statement and graphic.

Citation 211 Sulforaphane delays diabetes-induced retinal photoreceptor cell degeneration (not freely available) 2020 findings were instructive:

“SF [sulforaphane] can delay photoreceptor degeneration in diabetes. The underlying mechanism is related to:

  • Inhibition of ER [endoplasmic reticulum] stress;
  • Inflammation; and
  • Txnip [thioredoxin-interacting protein] expression through activation of the AMPK [adenosine 5′-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase] pathway.

Function of the retina in diabetic mice [DM] as determined by ERG [electroretinography].”

This chart demonstrated that preventing diabetes’ negative effects on retinal function (i.e. controls) was measurably better than trying to fix subjects’ vision after onset of diabetes. Are future choices of humans who give themselves this non-communicable disease also limited to addressing symptoms?

The AMPK pathway was previously mentioned in:

  1. Reversal of aging and immunosenescent trends with sulforaphane:

    “Dihydroxyvitamin D3 and sulforaphane are compounds that safely induce AMPK activation, and may have wide-ranging implications for both normal and pathological aging.”

  2. Part 2 of Reversal of aging and immunosenescent trends with sulforaphane:

    “NQO1 plays a key role in AMPK-induced cancer cell death through the CD38/cADPR/RyR/Ca2+/CaMKII signaling pathway. Expression of NQO1 is elevated by hypoxia / reoxygenation or inflammatory stresses through nuclear accumulation of the NQO1 transcription factor, Nrf2. Activation of the cytoprotective Nrf2 antioxidant pathway by sulforaphane protects immature neurons and astrocytes from death caused by exposure to combined hypoxia and glucose deprivation.”

This first example was vitamin D3’s separate yet connected signaling pathway that acts both additively and synergistically with broccoli sprout compound effects. The second was signaling pathways becoming cascadingly activated from sulforaphane’s main effect, Nrf2 signaling pathway activation.

Eat broccoli sprouts for your eyes

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

This 2020 review subject concerned a leading cause of blindness:

“Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are toxic compounds that have adverse effects on many tissues including the retina and lens. AGEs promote formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which, in turn, boost production of AGEs, a vicious cycle.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a devastating microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus and the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. The onset and development of DR is multifactorial. Lowering AGEs accumulation may represent a potential therapeutic approach.

Once AGEs are formed, most are irreversible. Cataracts are perhaps the earliest pathobiology of AGEs:

Nε-(carboxymethyl)-lysine (CML) [a representative AGE] in lens crystallins from diabetic (■) and non-diabetic (♦) subjects as a function of age.

The glyoxalase system is a protective mechanism that slows down synthesis of AGEs by limiting reactive dicarbonyls formed during sugar metabolism. Glutathione (GSH) in the eye is present at concentrations many times blood levels, and is a critical component of the glyoxalase system.

Proteomic analysis identified GLO1 [glyoxalase 1] as a protein differentially expressed in cells treated with sulforaphane. Sulforaphane inhibited AGEs-derived pericyte damage and delayed diabetes-induced retinal photoreceptor cell degeneration.

No AGE inhibitors have reached clinical use. The glyoxalase system and discovery of compounds that enhance this detoxifying activity represent a therapeutic alternative to fight glycation-derived damage.”

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/9/11/1062/htm “Glyoxalase System as a Therapeutic Target against Diabetic Retinopathy”

The above graph – plotting a cataract AGE level against chronological age – represented life stage progression without effective personal agency, without taking responsibility for your one precious life.

Citation 156 was Activation of Nrf2 attenuates carbonyl stress induced by methylglyoxal in human neuroblastoma cells: Increase in GSH levels is a critical event for the detoxification mechanism (not freely available):

“The present study focused on the methylglyoxal (MG) detoxification mechanism. MG treatment resulted in accumulation of modified proteins bearing the structure of AGEs.

This accumulation was suppressed by activation of the Nrf2 pathway prior to MG exposure via pre-treatment with an Nrf2 activator:

Although pre-treatment with the Nrf2 activator did not affect mRNA levels of GLO1, expressions of GCL and xCT mRNA, involved in GSH synthesis, were induced prior to increase in GSH levels.

These results indicated that increase in GSH levels promoted formation of the GLO1 substrate, thereby accelerating MG metabolism via the glyoxalase system and suppressing its toxicity. Promotion of GSH synthesis via the Nrf2/Keap1 pathway is important in MG detoxification.”

Continued in Part 2.

PXL_20201121_113656177

Nrf2 and Parkinson’s disease

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Brainstem, Dopamine, Epigenetics, Lower brain, Neurochemicals, Stress , , ,

This 2020 rodent study investigated a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in Parkinson’s disease:

“Knockdown of MALAT1 (metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1) lncRNA inhibited elevated nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like-2 factor (NRF2) expression, thereby inhibiting inflammasome activation and ROS (reactive oxygen species) production. MALAT1 was shown to promote neuroinflammation by recruiting enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (EZH2) to the promoter of NRF2, suppressing Nrf2 expression.

EZH2 catalyses generation of trimethylated H3K27 (H3K27me3) from histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27). EZH2 plays an important role in regulating the essential genes for inflammation in microglial activation, which induces neurodegeneration in the central nervous system.

Our results also validated MALAT1 binding to EZH2 in LPS-treated BV2 cells, which further recruited H3K27me3 to the gene promoter loci of Nrf2 to repress Nrf2 transcription. Although silencing MALAT1 did not alter global EZH2 expression levels, decreased binding between EZH2 and the Nrf2 promoter was observed. Previous studies have revealed that lncRNAs regulate the function of EZH2 in a similar manner.

MALAT1 epigenetically inhibits NRF2, thereby inducing inflammasome activation and ROS production in PD mouse and microglial cell models. To the best of our knowledge, it is first report of the important role of EZH2 in regulating the expression of Nrf2 to activate microglial inflammation.”

https://molecularbrain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13041-020-00656-8 “LncRNA MALAT1 facilitates inflammasome activation via epigenetic suppression of Nrf2 in Parkinson’s disease”

Eat broccoli sprouts today! referenced a letter to the editor that cited The Ezh2 Polycomb Group Protein Drives an Aggressive Phenotype in Melanoma Cancer Stem Cells and is a Target of Diet Derived Sulforaphane which found:

“SFN treatment is associated with reduced Ezh2 level and H3K27me3 formation.”

However, that study didn’t link sulforaphane’s main effect of Nrf2 signaling pathway activation to these specific treatment effects.

This post was inspired by our latest subscriber, Dr. Albert F. Wright, who is battling PD with – among other treatments – broccoli seeds.

DES-exposure descendants and cancer

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Epigenetics , ,

A 2020 case study to follow up the wretched Burying human transgenerational epigenetic evidence:

“Diethylstilbestrol (DES) has strengthened concepts of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and the fetal basis of adult disease. It is well-known that in-utero exposure to DES induces a wide range of reproductive tract abnormalities, with reports of alterations in Müllerian duct development, fertility problems, ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, premature births and cancers, particularly clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCAC) of the vagina and cervix.

We report for the first time cervical CCAC in an 8-year-old girl whose maternal grandmother was given DES during pregnancy. She underwent fertility-sparing surgery and radiotherapy. No sign of recurrence was detected throughout a 10-year follow-up.

Her maternal grandmother reported six miscarriages and then DES treatment during the entire 9 months of pregnancy with the patient’s mother. The patient’s mother reported the surgical removal of two-thirds of her left ovary at the age of 12 years for a rapidly growing cyst.

In DES grandsons, we and others have reported a high prevalence of hypospadias, particularly with severe phenotypes, as well as several cases of disorders of sex development. In addition, a cohort study of 47,540 women found significantly elevated odds for attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder in the DES grandchildren, suggesting a role of EDCs in multigenerational neurodevelopmental deficits.”

https://academic.oup.com/humrep/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/humrep/deaa267/5956098 “Diethylstilbestrol exposure during pregnancy with primary clear cell carcinoma of the cervix in an 8-year-old granddaughter: a multigenerational effect of endocrine disruptors?” (not freely available)

Are researchers and physicians prepared for the great-grandchildren, the transgenerational descendants of DES exposure, who had no possible direct exposure to the toxin?

Have they read everything Dr. Michael Skinner at Washington State University coauthored in the past five years, not just the older review this paper cited? Have they paid close attention to his studies where disease symptoms spared the children and grandchildren, and weren’t evidenced until the great-grandchildren?

There will be abundant evidence to discover if researchers and physicians take their fields seriously. As many as 10 million of these great-grandchildren are alive today, just in the US.

Broccoli sprout compounds include sinapic acid derivatives

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

This 2020 study provided details about healthy sinapic acid broccoli sprout compounds:

“Anti-inflammatory effects of broccoli sprouts have been demonstrated in vivo, but the connection with composition is not yet fully explained. The aim of the present study was:

  • Provide a complex qualitative / quantitative insight into variability of SADs [sinapic acid derivatives] during germination of broccoli sprouts; and
  • Investigate their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that might result from the presence of phenolics.

Sprouting in darkness results in overall decrease in total content of SADs with growth time, but promotes replacement of relatively low active constituents, such as sinapine, by stronger antioxidants. These structural changes are beneficial for total antioxidant capacity of broccoli sprouts, and are correlated with their increasing ability to scavenge free radicals, reduce transition metal ions, and inhibit lipid peroxidation.”

The graphic’s dotted line is sinapine.

“Anti-TNF-α activity of broccoli sprout extract and sinapic acid was less relevant than that of an anti-inflammatory drug DEX [dexamethasone]. However, contrary to DEX, they significantly stimulated release of IL-10, which is an anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive factor. By downregulating secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-10 may impede immunopathology by inhibiting activity of macrophages, natural killer cells and lymphocytes.

Most of the previous studies ascribed anti-inflammatory effects of broccoli sprouts to their sulfur compounds only. Research data from in vivo models confirmed that glucosinolates may stimulate IL-10 release while isothiocyanates do not influence significantly or even decrease its production.

The present study indicates that phenolic constituents may also be responsible for anti-inflammatory effects of broccoli sprouts, and stimulation of IL-10 might be most relevant in this context.”

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2020/FO/D0FO01387K “Variability of sinapic acid derivatives during germination and their contribution to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of broccoli sprouts on human plasma and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells” (not freely available)

Some aspects of this study:

1. Seed-2-4-6 day measurements complemented seed-3-5-7 day measurements of the superb 3-day-old broccoli sprouts have the optimal yields. Both studies used standard methodologies, provided convertible dry weight and fresh weight measurements in mg / g, and grew their sprouts in darkness, with the current study watering every 12 hours.

The current study measured composition changes of 31 compounds (18 sinapic acid derivatives, 8 glucosinolates, and 5 flavonoids). It was too complicated for me to sum up and convert these granular dry weight measurements to make them directly comparable with 3-day study total phenolics (TP below, and TF is total flavonoids). They decreased similarly to TP mg / g fresh weight measurements.

The 3-day study also compared each cultivated variety’s germination stage weights and measurements with its origin using a milligram-per-gram-of-seeds scale:

“To be comparable, the content of these bioactive compounds from 100 fresh sprouts was divided by the weight (g) of 100 seeds, and then this value was compared with their content from one gram seeds.

The seed weight of XM was nearly twice that of other varieties and its sprouts weight also had the highest increasing rate. LWW and LY had the lowest weight of seeds as well as sprouts.”

phenolics and flavonoids

Different lowercase letters meant significant differences in the same cultivar among sampling days, and uppercase in the same sampling day among cultivars.

A. That study’s mg / g fresh weight trend favored broccoli seeds, a subject explored in Microwave broccoli seeds to create sulforaphane. Seeds of all six cultivars were significantly higher than their sprouts in TP, TF, and sulforaphane in this paradigm.

B. The mg / g seed trend favored 3-day-old broccoli sprouts for TP (five of six cultivars), TF (all), but not sulforaphane (two of six). Both trends were scientifically informed.

Which paradigm suits you?

2. A 2005 study was cited for:

“Total glucosinolate content in fresh broccoli sprouts were reported to reach 4.02 μmol/g fw, which corresponds to 0.71 mg/g fw of active isothiocyanates. In our study, total content of SADs in 6-day-sprouts was 4.85 mg/g dw. Recalculating to fresh weight gives 0.37 mg/g fw, which suggests that SADs might well influence biological effects of glucosinolates.”

The current study measured eight glucosinolates but no isothiocyanates. Don’t think this 2005 study provided bases for close comparisons, since it had unknown broccoli cultivar, unknown sprout age, and unanalyzed isothiocyanates.

Comparisons to a two-decimal-point precision should use the same cultivar and contexts, to include growing conditions. For example:

  • The 3-day study showed wide variation in sulforaphane weights among six broccoli cultivars’ seeds, from 2.43 mg to 12.07 mg per gram of seeds. And:

    “Knowledge concerning the bioavailability of plant ITCs is essential to predict the potential level of exposure as GL determination alone may not accurately reflect how much of the final active ITC can be formed from sprouts.”

  • The three cultivars studied in Lab analyses of broccoli sprout compounds had broccoli sprout sulforaphane amounts vary from 0.3 to 1.2 μmol / g fw in one growing season, then from 0.2 to 0.6 μmol / g fw the next year.

But these researchers knew that:

“In a study, diminishing amounts of total phenolic acids in sprouts of three broccoli cultivars was observed only between 3rd and 7th day of germination under photoperiod conditions and only when expressed on fresh weight basis. After recalculating results to dry weight, amounts were increasing during the whole 14-day observation period.

Trends cannot be treated as universal, but are dependent on growth conditions and variety of the plant.”

“0.37 mg/g fw” of Day 6 sinapic acid derivatives would be lower than Day 7 of four 3-day study cultivars’ total phenolics, and between Days 5 and 7 of the other two. I’d guess that the current study’s cultivar, Cezar, would be neither the lowest nor the highest cultivar if comparably measured for total phenolics.

3. These researchers compared other studies to an extent that isn’t usually seen. The result was good information such as:

“The most significant difference is sinapine that was not detected in either of the two above mentioned works, but is a major component of extracts investigated in the present work.

In one study, 7-day-sprouts were germinated under photoperiod conditions and without monitoring the phenolic profile in preceding growing days. Dominating constituents identified were trisinapoyl-gentiobiose, that was also present in relevant quantities in 6-day-sprouts, and sinapoyl-malate, that was not detected in our study.

Taking into account the significant role of these compounds (especially sinapoyl-malate) in UV-protection, light availability might have caused much quicker sinapine degradation and synthesis of SADs more suitable for those conditions. The same study also demonstrated that additional UVA and UVB irradiation before harvest further induced production of some of the constituents.“

4. Flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acids are subgroups of phenolic compounds. Sinapic acid derivatives are a category of hydroxycinnamic acids.

Would microwaving sinapic acid derivatives have similar effects to what was described in Microwave broccoli to increase flavonoid levels? That’s the subject of Microwaving broccoli sprouts may not affect phenolic levels.

Eat broccoli sprouts to inhibit β-amyloid

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Epigenetics ,

This 2020 lab study investigated sulforaphane’s effects on an Alzheimer’s disease enzyme:

“BACE1 is the rate-limiting enzyme responsible for the production of Aβ [amyloid-beta] from APP [amyloid precursor protein]. Both the expression level and activity of this enzyme are aberrantly elevated in the brains of patients with AD.

Sulforaphane exhibited six times more potent activity against BACE1 compared to well-known positive controls including resveratrol and quercetin. Sulforaphane presented selective and non-competitive BACE1 inhibitory activity with low off-target inhibition.

Molecular docking simulation was used to analyze whether the compound can reach the target enzyme to produce the biological effect safely and interact with the targeted sites.

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is constituted by neurovascular units that contain endothelial cells. A previous study reported that gavage administration of sulforaphane penetrated BBB in its intact structure and accumulated in brain tissues with a maximum increase and disappearance after 15 min and 2 h, respectively.”

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/10/3026/htm ” Discovery of Sulforaphane as a Potent BACE1 Inhibitor Based on Kinetics and Computational Studies”

Nano-sulforaphane vs. barbecue chemicals

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Brain development, Epigenetics, Stress , , ,

This 2020 chicken study investigated the capability of nano-sulforaphane to protect embryonic survival and neurogenesis from a barbecued meat chemical:

“Common teratogenic [of, relating to, or causing malformations of an embryo or a fetus] factors related to the development of the nervous system, such as alcohol consumption and smoking, have attracted wide attention. Teratogenic factors such as PhIP, the most abundant amine produced in common cooking procedures, can affect early embryonic development, leading to abnormal development of the nervous system.

Nano-sized medicine, in comparison with conventional medicine, leads to increased active concentrations and bioavailability. Both PhIP and nanoparticles can cross the placental barrier and enter the fetus from the external environment.

Chick embryos (100 per group) were incubated with 0.1% DMSO (Control); 20μM, 100μM, 200μM, or 300μM PhIP; or 200μM PhIP + 5μM Nano-SFN [sulforaphane] for 36 h:

  • Mortality rates were 0% for the Control, 8% with 20μM PhIP, 20% with 100μM PhIP, 53% with 200μM PhIP, 85% with 300μM PhIP, and 7% with 200μM PhIP + 5μM Nano-SFN.
  • Neural tube malformation rates [for the remaining live embryos] were 0% for the Control, 5% with 20μM PhIP, 14% with 100μM PhIP, 36% with 200μM PhIP, 14% with 300μM PhIP, and 6% with 200μM PhIP + 5μM Nano-SFN.

Women at the early stage of pregnancy should avoid barbecue. Instead, increase intake amount of cruciferous vegetables, which benefits fetal neural development.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0940960220301618 “Nano-sulforaphane attenuates PhIP-induced early abnormal embryonic neuro-development” (not freely available)

PXL_20201022_225011002.NIGHT

Dietary contexts matter

gettingwell4 4-5 stars Advanced knowledge, Acetylcholine, Dopamine, Epigenetics, Glutamate, Hippocampus, Hypothalamus, Immune system, Limbic system, Memory, Neurochemicals, Serotonin, Stress , , ,

Two papers illustrated how actions of food compounds are affected by their contexts. The first was a 2020 UCLA rodent study:

“Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs, have been indicated to play important roles in various aspects of human health. Controversies are observed in epidemiological and experimental studies regarding the benefits or lack of benefits of n-3 PUFAs.

Dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 n-3) supplementation improved select metabolic traits and brain function, and induced transcriptomic and epigenetic alterations in hypothalamic and hippocampal tissues in both context-independent and context-specific manners:

  • In terms of serum triglyceride, glycemic phenotypes, insulin resistance index, and memory retention, DHA did not affect these phenotypes significantly when examined on the chow diet background, but significantly improved these phenotypes in fructose-treated animals.
  • Genes and pathways related with tissue structure were affected by DHA regardless of the dietary context, although the direction of changes are not necessarily the same between contexts. These pathways may represent the core functions of DHA in maintaining cell membrane function and cell signaling.
  • DHA affected the mTOR signaling pathway in hippocampus. In the hypothalamus, altered pathways were more related to innate immunity, such as cytokine-cytokine receptors, NF-κB signaling pathway, and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway.

DHA exhibits differential influence on epigenetic loci, genes, pathways, and metabolic and cognitive phenotypes under different dietary contexts.”

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mnfr.202000788 “Multi‐tissue Multi‐omics Nutrigenomics Indicates Context‐specific Effects of DHA on Rat Brain” (not freely available)

A human equivalent age period of the subjects was 12 to 20 years old. If these researchers want to make their study outstanding, they’ll contact their UCLA colleague Dr. Steven Horvath, and apply his new human-rat relative biological age epigenetic clock per A rejuvenation therapy and sulforaphane.

The second paper was a 2016 review Interactions between phytochemicals from fruits and vegetables: Effects on bioactivities and bioavailability (not freely available):

“The biological activities of food phytochemicals depend upon their bioaccessibility and bioavailability which can be affected by the presence of other food components including other bioactive constituents. For instance, α-tocopherol mixed with a flavonol (kaempferol or myricetin) is more effective in inhibiting lipid oxidation induced by free radicals than each component alone.

Interactions of phytochemicals may enhance or reduce the bioavailability of a given compound, depending on the facilitation/competition for cellular uptake and transportation. For example, β-carotene increases the bioavailability of lycopene in human plasma, and quercetin-3-glucoside reduces the absorption of anthocyanins.

Combinations of food extracts containing hydrophilic antioxidants and lipophilic antioxidants showed very high synergistic effects on free radical scavenging activities. A number of phytochemical mixtures and food combinations provide synergistic effects on inhibiting inflammation.

More research should be conducted to understand mechanisms of bioavailability interference considering physiological concentrations, food matrices, and food processing.”

Each of us can set appropriate contexts for our food consumption. Broccoli sprout synergies covered how I take supplements and broccoli sprouts together an hour or two before meals to keep meal contents from lowering sulforaphane bioavailability.

Combinations of my 19 supplements and broccoli sprouts are too many (616,645) for complete analyses. Just pairwise comparisons like the second paper’s example below would be 190 combinations.

binary isobologram

Contexts for each combination’s synergistic, antagonistic, or additive activities may also be influenced by other combinations’ results.

My consumption of flax oil (alpha linolenic acid C18:3) probably has effects similar to DHA since it’s an omega-3 PUFA and I take it with food. The first study’s human equivalent DHA dose was 100mg/kg, with its citation for clinical trials stating “1–9 g/day (0.45–4% of calories) n-3 PUFA.”

A 2020 review Functional Ingredients From Brassicaceae Species: Overview and Perspectives had perspectives such as:

“In many circumstances, the isolated bioactive is not as bioavailable or metabolically active as in the natural food matrix.”

It discussed categories but not combinations of phenolics, carotenoids, phytoalexins, terpenes, phytosteroids, and tocopherols, along with more well-known broccoli compounds.

Diving for breakfast