Oxygen

Globally, among different types of cancers, breast cancer is identified as the chief cause of mortality among females, and it is a challenge to find new effective treatment strategies with minimal side effects and increased efficacy. Plants are an integral part of the traditional indigenous healthcare system and are becoming the concrete source of new drug discovery. Thus, there is a need to obtain a scientific basis for applying traditionally used plants in cancer treatments that may harbour novel phytochemicals. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the antioxidant and anticancer potential of selected plants of ethnobotanical importance. Five plants of ethnobotanical importance were selected and screened to determine their antioxidant potential through various in vitro free radical scavenging assays (such as DPPH, ABTS, hydroxyl, and superoxide radical scavenging), ferric chelation, and total antioxidant potential, and the total phenolic and flavonoid content was estimated for the selected plants. In contrast, the anticancer potential of crude plant extracts was assessed using MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) against different breast cancer (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and MDA-MB-435S) and hepatic cancer cell lines (HepG2), and human PBMCs (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) were used for toxicity studies. The MTT results showed that among all of the crude plant extracts (CAN = Etlingera linguiformis, SES = Sesbania grandiflora, LEX = Smilax ovalifolia, DES = Desmodium triflorum, and CA = Chenopodium album), it was CAN and LEX that showed the best cytotoxic potential on exposed breast cancer cell lines in contrast to SES, DES, and CA. In addition, at the selected dosages that were exposed to breast cancer cells, none of the extracts from any of the five plants showed any cytotoxicity against human PBMCs. Thus, the crude extracts can be explored further for chemopreventive and anticancer activity on murine models to understand their underlying mechanism for effective cancer management. Full article

Blood flow restriction (BFR) may become ineffective or potentially dangerous without sufficient standardization. The purpose of this investigation was therefore to (1) assess the viability of multiple sizes of a novel BFR cuff to determine arterial occlusion pressure (AOP) and (2) compare resting arterial, venous and calf muscle pump (cMP)-mediated blood flow between the aforementioned conditions and a commonly employed wide-rigid, tourniquet-style cuff. In randomized, counter-balanced, and crossover fashion, 20 apparently healthy males (18–40 years) donned a widely employed wide-rigid (WR) cuff, along with the largest (NE) and manufacturer-recommended sizes (NER) of a novel narrow-elastic cuff. Participants subsequently assessed AOP, as well as (at 80%AOP) arterial, venous, and venous cMP flow relative to baseline values via ultrasound. All analyses were performed at a significance level of p < 0.05. Analyses revealed a significant condition effect for AOP (p < 0.001; η_p² = 0.907) whereby WR was significantly lower than both NE and NER; in addition, the latter two did not differ. Compared with baseline, there were no statistically significant differences between cuffs for either arterial or cMP-mediated blood flow. Unsurprisingly, no participants demonstrated venous blood flow at 80% AOP. These findings support the viability of a novel narrow-elastic BFR product, evidenced by consistent AOP acquisition and equivocal blood flow parameters. Full article

Propolis is a natural honeybee product, which is known for its beneficial pharmacological effects and use in traditional medicine. This study aspired to investigate the chemical and antioxidant properties of five propolis specimens, followed by the analysis of their in vitro impact on bovine spermatozoa vitality and oxidative profile. Semen samples from 10 breeding bulls were incubated in the absence or presence of 50 µg/mL propolis extracts, and selected sperm quality parameters including motility, mitochondrial activity, cAMP concentration, NAD⁺/NADH ratio, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and superoxide production were assessed at 2 h and 24 h. Sperm motion behavior and mitochondrial function were stabilized particularly in the presence of propolis collected from Hrabské and Litpovský Hrádok, Slovakia. At the same time, all propolis specimens acted as significant ROS quenchers and stabilized the oxidative milieu of the sperm cultures. Our data suggest that propolis may stabilize the mitochondrial function of spermatozoa while preventing excessive oxidative insults, thereby showing the potential to sustain the sperm motility of extended semen. Full article

Mitochondrial oxidative stress has been implicated in various forms of brain injury, both traumatic and non-traumatic. Due to its oxidative demand, the brain is intimately dependent on its mitochondrial functioning. However, there remains appreciable heterogeneity in the development of these injuries regarding ROS and their effect on the sequelae. These include traumatic insults such as TBIs and intracranial hemorrhaging secondary to this. In a different vein, such injuries may be attributed to other etiologies such as infection, neoplasm, or spontaneous hemorrhage (strokes, aneurysms). Clinically, the manner of treatment may also be adjusted in relation to each injury and its unique progression in the context of ROS. In the current review, then, the authors highlight the role of mitochondrial ROS in various forms of brain injury, emphasizing both the collective and unique elements of each form. Lastly, these narratives are met with the current therapeutic landscape and the role of emerging therapies in treating reactive oxygen species in brain injuries. Full article

Over 2000 publications including more than 100 human studies seem to indicate that humans have only recently benefited from or known about the medical effects of H₂ within the past 15 years. However, we have unknowingly benefited from H₂ since the dawn of time, from H₂-producing bacteria to the use of naturally occurring hydrogen-rich waters. Moreover, the first writings on the therapeutic effects of H₂ date to around 1793. Since then, papers appeared sporadically in the literature every few decades but never exploded until Ohsawa et al. again demonstrated hydrogen’s therapeutic effects in 2007. This landmark paper appears to have been the spark that ignited the medical interest in hydrogen. Although H₂ was used in the 1880s to locate intestinal perforations, in the 1940s in deep sea diving, and in the 1960s to measure blood flow, H₂ was largely viewed as biologically inert. This review highlights the history of hydrogen in the genesis/evolution of life and its medicinal and non-medicinal use in humans. Although hydrogen medicine has a long and erratic history, perhaps future history will show that, this time around, these 15 years of ignited interest resulted in a self-sustaining explosion of its unique medical effects. Full article

Red spinach extract is high in inorganic nitrate/nitrite (NO₃/NO₂) which has been shown to enhance vascular function, cognition, and physical performance. To date, there have been no investigations as to whether red spinach extract serves as an effective strategy to improve repeated exercise performance, which is applicable to many sports and activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of acute red spinach extract ingestion on repeated sprint ability in female athletes. Eleven Division I NCAA female athletes (ages 18–24) were recruited. In a double-blinded, randomized, counterbalanced design, participants completed two separate visits each with a different treatment: placebo (placebo; tomato juice) or red spinach extract (~400 mg nitrate). For each trial, participants consumed their respective treatment two hours before exercise. Following a warm-up, participants completed 3 × 15 s Wingate Anaerobic Tests (WAnTs) separated by 2 min of recovery. A capillary blood sample was obtained pre-exercise to measure NO₂ concentrations. Performance outcomes, heart rate (heart rate), and rate of perceived exertion were measured following each WAnT. Blood lactate (La-) was obtained prior to exercise (PRE) and after the completion of the repeated sprints (POST). Each visit was separated by a minimal recovery period of 72 h. Mean power (p = 0.204), peak power (p = 0.067), heart rate (p = 0.151), and rate of perceived exertion (p = 0.379) were not significantly different between treatments. POST La- concentration was significantly higher with red spinach extract when compared to the placebo (p = 0.030). Furthermore, the fatigue index (p = 0.018) was significantly lower with red spinach extract. The results do not support the use of red spinach extract for the enhancement of power output during repeated anaerobic exercise. However, it may result in improved La-/H⁺ removal from the muscle, thereby combating physical fatigue. Full article

Flooding induces low-oxygen stress, which reduces plant growth. The activity of the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) shunt is crucial for plant stress adaptation, in which it acts by changing cytosolic pH, limiting reactive oxygen species production, regulating nitrogen metabolism, and bypassing steps in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. GABA accumulates under osmotic stress as well as flooding stress. To clarify the dynamic roles of GABA accumulation in wheat under flooding stress, biochemical and enzymatic analyses were performed using a plant-derived smoke solution (PDSS), which rescued wheat growth from flooding stress. Alcohol dehydrogenase abundance increased under flooding stress; however, under the same conditions, pyruvic acid content increased only following PDSS application. Glutamic acid content increased under flooding stress, but decreased following the application of PDSS after 2 days of flooding. Glutamate decarboxylase abundance and GABA content increased under flooding stress, and further increased after 1 day of application of PDSS. Succinyl semialdehyde dehydrogenase accumulated after 2 days of flooding. These results suggest that flooding stress increases GABA content along with the increase and decrease of glutamate decarboxylase and succinyl semialdehyde dehydrogenase, respectively. Additionally, PDSS increased GABA content along with the increase of glutamate decarboxylase abundance at the initial stage of application. Full article

In 2007 a paper in Nature Medicine sparked a new wave of interest in the use of molecular hydrogen (H₂) for medical treatments. Since then there has been a flurry of papers looking at a range of medical aspects, from neurodegenerative disease to sports injuries. Several methods of application have been developed, including breathing the gas, or making a hydrogen-rich solution that can be ingested, or administered as saline. H₂ treatments are deemed to be safe and can be used in agricultural practice as well as in the biomedical arena. However, the first studies to investigate the use of H₂ in medicine were carried out by those interested in the use of a range of gases and how this may affect respiration in humans. Beddoes was published in 1793 and Cavallo in 1798, with Davy following shortly after in 1800. With so many papers now appearing on H₂ in biological systems, it seems timely, and interesting, to revisit the early papers, to humbly remind us of what these pioneers of respiratory research did. Full article

Oxygen binds to hemoglobin cooperatively, and a correct description of this binding is relevant not only for understanding the mechanisms of involved molecular processes but also for clinical purposes. Hill’s equation, derived over a hundred years ago, is still the simplest and most efficient way to perform this description. However, in terms of accuracy, it is inferior to Adair´s equation, which contains more parameters. We proposed to use a modified Hill equation and showed that it allows a more accurate description of the binding of oxygen to hemoglobin than Adair’s equation. At the same time, unlike Adair’s equation, our model retains the physical meaning given to the original Hill equation. We considered and analyzed the influence of the equation parameters on the course of the oxygenation curve and presented the relationship between the fitting parameters and other parameters derived from them in the form of a diagram-graph, which, in our opinion, simplifies the perception of these estimates and can be useful in solving a number of problems for which the traditional way of analyzing the degree of cooperative interaction was via the Hill equation. We suggest that the newly proposed parameter h_max introduced in our model should be regarded as crucial for a better description of the oxygenation curve. Full article

Catalase is a key antioxidative enzyme, and a deficiency or malfunction of catalase is hypothesized to be related to various diseases. To investigate catalase activity, it is important to use reliable methods and experimental protocols enabling consistent fallouts. One major problem, however, is that the activity values obtained with different techniques and procedures can vary to a large extent. The aim of this work was to identify experimental conditions that provide similar catalase activity values with two different methods based on either spectrophotometry or chronoamperometry. The investigated parameters include the concentration of catalase and its substrate (H₂O₂), as well as the effect of deoxygenation of the catalase medium by nitrogen (N₂). Within the frame of investigated conditions, we show that spectrophotometry is strongly affected by the catalase concentration, whereas chronoamperometry is shown to be more dependent on the substrate concentration. Deoxygenation leads to elevated catalase activity values in the case of chronoamperometry, whereas it shows no influence on the results obtained with spectrophotometry. In particular, in the case of low substrate concentrations (i.e., low catalase reaction rates), higher and more accurate results are obtained with deoxygenation in the case of chronoamperometry measurements due to minimized oxygen escape. The effect of deoxygenation, giving rise to elevated catalase activity values, however, is not statistically significant at high substrate concentrations, implying that the protocol can be simplified by excluding this step as long as the other parameters are optimized. Finally, by comparing the two methods at different experimental conditions, we identified protocols resulting in similar results, i.e., 10 mM H₂O₂ and catalase activity of 4–5 U/mL. Based on this work, improved consistency of catalase activity data obtained with different methodologies and in different labs is expected. Full article

Low tissue oxygenation, termed hypoxia, is a characteristic of solid tumors with negative consequences. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) accumulate in hypoxic tumor regions and correlate with worse outcomes in cancer patients across several tumor types. Thus, the molecular mechanism in which macrophages respond to low oxygen tension has been increasingly investigated in the last decade. Hypoxia stabilizes a group of hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIFs) reported to drive transcriptional programs involved in cell survival, metabolism, and angiogenesis. Though both tumor macrophage HIF-1α and HIF-2α correlate with unfavorable tumor microenvironments, most research focuses on HIF-1α as the master regulator of hypoxia signaling, because HIF-1α expression was originally identified in several cancer types and correlates with worse outcome in cancer patients. The relative contribution of each HIFα subunit to cell phenotypes is poorly understood especially in TAMs. Once thought to have overlapping roles, recent investigation of macrophage HIF-2α has demonstrated a diverse function from HIF-1α. Little work has been published on the differential role of hypoxia-dependent macrophage HIF-2α when compared to HIF-1α in the context of tumor biology. This review highlights cellular HIF-2α functions and emphasizes the gap in research investigating oxygen-dependent functions of tumor macrophage HIF-2α. Full article

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a multifaceted neurodevelopmental disorder that comprises a complex aetiology, where a genetic component has been suggested, together with multiple environmental risk factors. Because of its increasing incidence in the paediatric population and the lack of successful curative therapies, ASD is one of the most puzzling disorders for medicine. In the last two decades and more, the relationship between oxidative stress (OS) and ASD has been recurrently documented. For this reason, the former hypothesis, according to which reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) play an important role in ASD, is now a certainty. Thus, in this review, we will discuss many aspects of the role of OS in ASD. In addition, we will describe, in the context of the most recent literature, the possibility that free radicals promote lipid peroxidation, as well as an increase in other OS biomarkers. Finally, we will outline the possibility of novel nutritional interventions aimed at counteracting ROS production in people with ASD. In fact, new strategies have investigated the possibility that ASD symptoms, as well behavioral anomalies, may be improved after interventions using antioxidants as supplements or included in foods. Full article

Synthetic CpG oligonucleotides are promising components of immunomodulatory drugs for the treatment and prophylaxis of infectious diseases, cancers, and allergies. Phosphorothioate modification stabilizes these compounds, contributing to the achievement of a clinical effect, but at the same time changes their immunomodulatory properties. We used the diffusible fluorescent dye dihydroethidium and the non-diffusible 6-carboxy-2′,7′dihydrochlorofluorescein diacetate and cytochrome c probes to demonstrate that it is the phosphorothioate backbones that determine the pronounced nonspecific pro-oxidant effect of CpG ODN on neutrophils. At the same time, as was shown using diaminofluorescein diacetate, the potentiation of nitric oxide synthesis in these leucocytes by CpG ODN class A strictly depends on the presence of CpG motifs and a palindromic “hairpin”. The results obtained will contribute to a more complete understanding of the physiological action of therapeutic agents based on synthetic CpG oligonucleotides. Full article

The development of novel biologically active nanopharmaceuticals is a topical problem of medicine. Water-soluble fullerene derivatives are of particular interest due to their ability to regulate intracellular metabolism of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by direct oxidation or effects on oxidative and signaling enzymes. Here, we studied the effect of a water-soluble chlorine-containing derivative of C₆₀ fullerene on human embryonic lung fibroblasts. MTT tests, intracellular ROS visualization, detection of the ROS-associated gene and protein expression, repair, cell proliferation and cell cycle regulation, and quantitation of oxidative DNA damage were used. Within the first three hours after exposure, antioxidant effects were revealed. Later, oxidative damage appeared. Thus, the studied compound had an ambiguous effect on ROS metabolism associated with a switch in the regulatory effect, which must be taken into account when assessing its biological activity and toxicity. Full article

The current study aimed to evidence the strengths and weaknesses of two indirect methods for assessing the anaerobic alactic contribution to a specific CrossFit^® workout. Thirty experienced crossfitters performed the Fran workout at maximal intensity, and ventilatory data were collected during the recovery period using a telemetric portable gas analyser to assess the oxygen uptake (VO₂) of the off-kinetics fast component (Ana_recovery). The kinetics of maximal phosphocreatine splitting (Ana_PCr) were determined based on the literature. No differences between the two methods were observed (31.4 ± 4.0 vs. 30.4 ± 4.1 kJ for Ana_recovery and Ana_PCr, respectively). Despite the existence of some caveats (e.g., errors derived from a delay at the onset of VO₂ recovery and the assumption of given values in the concentration of phosphocreatine per kilogram of wet muscle, respectively) in both methods, the data indicate that they yield similar results and allow for estimations of alactic energy contribution from a short-duration and high intensity CrossFit^® routine. The current data contributes to CrossFit^® workout evaluations and training strategies, helping researchers to evaluate crossfitters more accurately. The advantage of the two methods used in the current study is that they are non-invasive, which differs greatly from muscle biopsies. Full article

Gas embolism is a potentially fatal occurrence in which bubbles are introduced into the arterial/venous circulation. A multifocal ischemia could be the life-threatening scenario of that and occurring after diving-related activities, or pulmonary barotrauma, or even iatrogenic procedure capable to cause an accidental introduction of gas into the vasculature. The case here reported concerns the good outcome of one of these rare occurrences thanks to a prompt diagnosis and proper management of the ongoing gaseous lesion. Unfortunately, it remains ethically and technically complex to consider feasible Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) in hyperbaric medicine in general, and even more so in this type of eventuality. We are happy to share this further favorable result as we believe it is just thanks to growing documented clinical evidence that now anyone, if ever had to be suffering from gas embolism, in presence of a RCT would widely prefer to be included in the arm that can take advantage of oxygen hyperbaric (HBO) therapy. Full article

The beers’ lag time measured with the PBN (N-t-Butyl-α-phenylnitrone) spin trapping experiments coupled with EPR spectroscopy is related to their antioxidant capacity and shelf life. The effect on the lag time of the alcohol content of the beer (starting values, 9 and 13%) and PBN concentration (50 or 200 mM) was analyzed on three samples, a pilsner, a strong lager, and a blonde Ale heated at 60 °C to trigger the production of the 1-hydroxyethyl radical. The lag time was determined only for the strong lager beer, with the values depending on the experimental conditions, being higher when PBN had a lower concentration. The antioxidant activity of the three beers gave the following values: 0.9089 mL pilsner beer/mg DPPH, 0.8510 mL strong lager beer/mg DPPH, and 0.7184 mL blonde Ale beer/mg DPPH, indicating that the unsuccessful determination of the lag time was not due to stale beers. The EPR intensity of the PBN adduct after 150 min (I₁₅₀) and the area under the curve (AUC) were also measured and related to the oxidative stability of beers. Further studies are needed to verify the influence of the heating temperature in samples that do not show a lag time at 60 °C. Full article

The usage of nanoparticles became inevitable in medicine and other fields when it was found that they could be administered to hosts to act as oxidants or antioxidants. These oxidative nanoparticles act as pro-oxidants and induce oxidative stress-mediated toxicity through the generation of free radicals. Some nanoparticles can act as antioxidants to scavenge these free radicals and help in maintaining normal metabolism. The oxidant and antioxidant properties of nanoparticles rely on various factors including size, shape, chemical composition, etc. These properties also help them to be taken up by cells and lead to further interaction with cell organelles/biological macromolecules, leading to either the prevention of oxidative damage, the creation of mitochondrial dysfunction, damage to genetic material, or cytotoxic effects. It is important to know the properties that make these nanoparticles act as oxidants/antioxidants and the mechanisms behind them. In this review, the roles and mechanisms of nanoparticles as oxidants and antioxidants are explained. Full article