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Platinum agents, which include cisplatin, oxaliplatin and carboplatin, are chemotherapeutic drugs that represent the first-line treatment for different types of solid tumors, such as ovarian, head and neck, testicular, and bladder cancers. Their beneficial effect is limited by the onset of drug resistance and severe toxicities, involving mainly ototoxicity, neurotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Recent studies highlight the supplementation of herbal products, vitamins and minerals with antioxidant properties to prevent and protect from side effects. In particular, the introduction of nutraceuticals associated with chemotherapy has improved the patients' quality of life. However, if from one side, complementary and alternative medicine ameliorates chemotherapeutics-induced toxicities, from the other side, it is important to take into consideration the possible interference with drug metabolism. This review aims to consider the current literature focusing on clinical trials that report an association between nutraceutical supplementation and platinum- based chemotherapy to prevent toxicities, highlighting both beneficial and side effects., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Background: Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), are considered a growing global disease, with about ten million people being affected worldwide. Maintenance of intestinal barrier integrity is crucial for preventing IBD onset and exacerbations. Some recent patents regarding oily formulations containing probiotics (WO2010122107A1 and WO2010103374A9) and the use of probiotics for gastrointestinal complaints (US20110110905A1 and US9057112B2) exist, or are pending application., Objective: In this work, we studied the effect of a fixed combination of registered Lactobacillus reuteri and Lactobacillus acidophilus strains and herbal extracts in an in vitro inflammation experimental model., Methods: Caco-2 cell monolayer was exposed to INF-γ+TNF-α or to LPS; Trans Epithelial Electrical Resistance (TEER) and paracellular permeability were investigated. ZO-1 and occludin Tight Junctions (TJs) were also investigated by mean of immunofluorescence., Results: Pre-treatment with the fixed combination of probiotics and herbal extracts prevented the inflammation-induced TEER decrease, paracellular permeability increase and TJs translocation., Conclusions: In summary, the fixed combination of probiotics and herbal extracts investigated in this research was found to be an interesting candidate for targeting the re-establishment of intestinal barrier function in IBD conditions., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

The way cancer cells escape cisplatin-induced apoptosis has not been completely elucidated yet. We questioned the relevance of "metabolic reprogramming" in cisplatin-resistance by studying mitochondrial function and metabolism in human ovarian carcinoma cell lines, both cisplatin-sensitive (2008) and resistant (C13). C13 cells, in comparison to 2008 cells, showed lower apoptotic response to cisplatin exposure, lower basal oxygen consumption (4.2±0.2 vs 6.5±0.7 fmol/cell/min, p<0.005) and a lower basal transmembrane mitochondrial potential (Δψm) (18.7±1.5 vs 32.2±1 MFI p<0.001). Moreover, C13 cells showed a lower sensitivity to rotenone and oligomycin, two mitochondrial respiratory chain inhibitors. To further investigate the impact of mitochondria on cisplatin-resistance, 2008 and C13 cells were depleted of their mitochondrial DNA (rho(0)-clones). The cytotoxicity of cisplatin was lower in 2008-rho(0)clones than in 2008 cells (IC(50) of 3.56 µM and 0.72 µM, respectively) but similar between C13-rho(0) and C13 cells (IC(50) of 5.49 µM and 6.49 µM, respectively). The time-course of cell viability in glucose-free galactose medium indicated that C13 cells are more strictly dependent on glucose than 2008 cells. (1)H-NMR spectroscopy showed a higher basal content of intracellular glutathione (GSH) and mobile lipids (MLs) in C13 cells as compared to 2008 cells, with higher lipid accumulation mainly within cytoplasmic droplets of the C13 cells. These findings allow us to propose a "metabolic remodelling" of ovarian carcinoma cells to a lipogenic phenotype, which includes alteration of mitochondrial function, as an advantageous mechanism to escape cisplatin-induced apoptosis. This hypothesis is of interest to exploit new pharmacological targets to improve the clinical impact of platinum drugs.