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Atherosclerosis, the major underlying pathology of cardiovascular disease, commences with the binding and trapping of lipids on modified proteoglycans, with hyperelongated glycosaminoglycan chains. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β stimulates glycosaminoglycan elongation in vascular smooth muscle cells. We have recently shown that this TGF-β signaling pathway involves reactive oxygen species (ROS). YY-11 is a dodecapeptide derived from camel milk and it has antioxidant activity. We have investigated the role of YY-11 in blocking ROS signaling and downstream atherogenic responses. YY-11 inhibited TGF-β stimulated ROS production and inhibited the expression of genes for glycosaminoglycan chain elongation as a component of an in vitro model of atherosclerosis. This study provides a biochemical mechanism for the role of camel milk as a potential nutritional product to contribute to the worldwide amelioration of cardiovascular disease. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The identification of readily accessible foods with antioxidant properties would provide a convenient and cost-effective approach community wide reducing oxidative stress induced pathologies such as atherosclerosis. We demonstrate that camel milk-derived peptide is an antioxidant that can inhibit growth factor-mediated proteoglycan modification in vitro. As proteoglycan modification is being recognized as one of the earliest atherogenic responses, these data support the notion of camel milk as a suitable nutritional product to contribute to the prevention of early stage of atherosclerosis development., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The study reports the phenolic composition of propolis from Bangladesh and its ameliorative effects against tetracycline-induced hepatonephrotoxicity in rats. Male Wistar Albino rats (n = 18) were randomly divided into three following groups: (1) normal control, (2) tetracycline-treatment (200 mg kg -1  rat -1 ), and (3) tetracycline (200 mg kg -1  rat -1 ) + propolis (100 mg kg -1  rat -1 ) treatments. The ethanolic extract of propolis contained major phenolic acids as well as a flavonoid, rutin. Oral exposure to tetracycline caused severe hepatic and renal damage as indicated by significant alterations in liver marker enzymes in rat serum: bilirubin and protein concentrations, lipid profile, and markers of kidney function when compared with controls. The observed biochemical perturbations were accompanied by histopathological changes. Co-administration with propolis extract, however, prevented the changes in biochemical parameters, as revealed by maintenance of cell membrane integrity and regulation of lipid profile and the conservation of the histoarchitecture. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Propolis is a resinous honeybee product which is becoming increasingly popular due to its potential contributions to human health. The phenolic compounds identified in propolis from Bangladesh were effective against tetracycline-induced hepatic and renal toxicity. Propolis may be a promising natural product in reducing the effects of chronic liver and kidney damage., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)