Nutrition
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Pantothenic acid (PaA) is a vitamin that is an integral part of coenzyme A (CoA). CoA is an essential coenzyme in fat metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine whether PaA deficiency causes the accumulation of tissue fats and, if so, can refeeding of PaA decrease such accumulated fat. ⋯ PaA deficiency causes fat accumulation, and readministration of PaA decreases the tissue fat in rats fed the pantothenic acid-free diet. Ethanol accelerated the accumulation of fat in rats fed the PaA-free diet. PaA could be beneficial for decreasing accumulated tissue fat.
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The aim of the study was to evaluate the protective efficacy of ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol, and selenium by measuring the glutathione (GSH) levels and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) expression in the ovarian tissues of rats treated with cyclophosphamide (CP) therapy. ⋯ CP was found to cause remarkable degenerative effects in normal ovarian tissue, and we believe that this damage can be reduced and ovarian tissue can be spared from the toxic effects of CP by using antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol, and selenium.
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The aim of this study is to determine the effect of wheat germ oil (WGO) compared with groundnut oil (GNO) and mixed micelles (control) on lutein bioavailability and bioactivity in mice. The choice of carrier lipid is critical to achieve an enhanced bioavailability of lutein. ⋯ The increased lutein bioavailability in the WGO group compared with the other two groups may be attributed to the polar lipids and intestinal lipase activity found in this study. The results imply a new insight into the application of WGO for improving lutein bioavailability.
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To study the antioxidant activity of melatonin in diabetes in relation to the regulation and levels of plasma copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and selenium (Se) in Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) and lean (ZL) rats. ⋯ The higher mean plasma Cu, Fe, and Mn levels in the ZDF group are related to the enhanced oxidative stress in diabetes and obesity. Melatonin administration significantly enhanced plasma Se levels in both groups (M-ZDF and M-ZL). This is the first study to report that melatonin treatment increases plasma Se levels.