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The most important objectives frequently found in analytical and bioanalytical chemistry involve advancement of analytical techniques and its application to relevant medical/clinical problems. Keeping in view to these aspects, the present chapter is primarily focused on the development of advanced analytical techniques applied in the medical field. For example, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) enzyme is a specific biomarker of acute kidney injury. A biomarker is an entity that is purposely measured and estimated as an indicator of normal biological process, pathogenic process, or pharmacological responses to a therapeutic intervention. Hence, successive measurements of urinary NAG may enhance its clinical use as an indicator of ongoing tubular injury. Hence, in order to obtain information for selective monitoring of biomarker, the development of a practical and valid analytical method is important. Experimentation is driven by the need to know more about the medical effects and safety features of the biologically active analyte. It is therefore more important to evaluate the information that is already available for that particular analyte and to quantify the level of uncertainty for the proposed technique.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are encountered by many healthcare providers such as interventional radiologists, vascular surgeons, cardiologists, and general practitioners. Much effort has been placed in the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of AAA with somewhat little understanding of its pathophysiology. AAA is a complex disease typically segmented into a process of proteolysis, inflammation, and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) apoptosis with oxidative stress balancing its components. AAA and other aortic syndromes such as aortic dissection share this same process. On the other hand, AAA formation and aortic pathology may be acquired through infection like in mycotic aneurysm or may be genetic in origin such as seen with Ehlers-Danlos and Marfan syndromes.

Ebola virus (EBV) is a deadly virus that has resulted in a number of deaths during its outbreaks in Africa in 2014–2016 and 2018–2019. This virus causes a hemorrhagic fever like other pathogenic viruses of the Filoviridae family with high mortality rate. The exact reservoir of the ebola virus is not known, but different mammal groups are the source from which it is transferred to the human population. The transmission among the human population is through body fluids of patients and also through aersol droplets in the air. The role of different glycoproteins in the budding formation has helped a lot in understanding the physiology of the ebola virus. Most of these viral glycoproteins synthesis and the replication enzymes offer a good inhibitory target for drug design against the ebola virus. Recently, different groups have claimed the development of a successful vaccine for the ebola virus. However, the availability of the vaccines to the poor population of Africa and other parts of the world is still not practical.

With increasing global obesity, there is a growing body of research looking at the impact of this on reproduction. Both male and female fertility are impacted on by being overweight or obese. Although the pathophysiology is not clear, it appears that obesity impacts endocrine function in men and women, oocyte and sperm quality, embryo quality, endocrine receptivity, and implantation. Miscarriage, pregnancy, and live birth rates and the risk of congenital malformations are all influenced by obesity. Transgenerational health is also affected, with metabolic, endocrine, and reproductive outcomes in the offspring being negatively affected by both paternal and maternal obesity. It appears that weight loss results in improvements in these outcomes and various strategies have been employed including lifestyle and behavior modification, pharmacological agents, and also bariatric surgery. This chapter aims to explore the reproductive outcomes of obesity and how this can be best managed to improve outcomes.

Cytokines are potent molecules produced mainly by specific activated immune cells to control inflammatory responses besides other biologic processes. Although active participation of cytokines provides defense against carcinogenesis on the other hand, deregulation at the genetic level influences their activity to promote tumor development. Among many aspects, constitutional polymorphic sequence variations are key factors that derange the cytokine expression to lead an individual’s propensity to risk for different cancers. Cytokine polymorphisms are now believed to alter these critical molecules that have a dual face in carcinogenesis as, when implicated in the activation of the immune response, these molecules check the cancer development while their persistent inflammatory reaction can envisage the development of malignancy and tumor growth. We have given ample evidence of case-control studies in a range of cancers where substantial evidence, as reported in this chapter, links polymorphism of cytokine gene susceptibility with numerous cancers. Cytokine gene polymorphism is vital to be significant bimolecular genetic determinants of susceptibility and prognosis of cancer. A strong need is felt for more case-control association studies in cytokine candidate genes involved in specific pathways for particular cancer in bigger powered sample sizes involving additional variables to disclose their factual risk for cancer.

Carnauba wax, the most important vegetable wax under the economic and extracted from the leaves of the carnauba (Copernicia prunifera (Miller) H. E. Moore), is extensively applied in food due to its physiochemical characteristics with a majority of esters. p-Methoxycinnamic acid diesters obtained from the ceriferous powder of carnauba wax (PCO-C) have been associated with biological actions. However, being a versatile product, many types of research have been carried out seeking to expand the possibilities of applications of this raw material. Furthermore, different experimental studies on the pharmacological activities have also been undertaken in recent years and have tested various biological activities, such as hypolipidemic, hypocholesterolemic and hypoglycemic effects in mice. Therefore, in this book chapter, it is reviewing the development of a process of extraction of 4-hydroxycinnamic acid diesters of carnauba wax powder and investigates their biological actions and physical and chemical characteristics.

Gene transcription and transcriptional regulation are crucial biological processes in all cellular life. Through the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, transcriptome data from different tissues and developmental stages can be easily obtained, which provides us a powerful tool to reveal the transcriptional landscape of investigated tissue(s) at special developmental stage(s). Anther development is an important process not only for sexual plant reproduction but also for genic male sterility (GMS) used in agriculture production. Plant comparative transcriptomics has been widely used to uncover molecular mechanism of GMS. Here, we focused on researches of anther developmental process and plant GMS genes by using comparative transcriptomics method. In detail, the contents include the following: (1) we described the commonly used flowchart in comparative transcriptomics; (2) we summarized the comparative strategies used to analyze transcriptome data; (3) we presented a case study on a maize GMS gene, ZmMs33; (4) we described the methods and results previously reported on gene co-expression and gene regulatory networks; (5) we presented the workflow of a case study on gene regulatory network reconstruction. The further development of comparative transcriptomics will provide us more powerful theoretical and application tools to investigate molecular mechanism underlying anther development and plant male sterility.

Carbapenems are usually regarded as the last treatment option for serious infections caused by Gram-negative and Gram-positive microorganisms. Although they are stable to hydrolysis by most β-lactamases, their usage as the last resort antbiotics was seriously compromised by the appearance of carbapenem-hydrolyzing enzymes called carbapenemases. These enzymes are produced mostly by Enterobacteriaceae and Gram-negative nonfermentative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii. True carbapenemases belonging to Ambler molecular classes A, B, and D are often encoded by genes embedded in mobile genetic elements like plasmids, integrons, and transposons, which often harbor multiple resistance determinants limiting further the treatment options. At present, large number of nosocomial and community-acquired infections caused by worldwide spread of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria have become a major public health problem. Although polymyxins remain active, in vitro reports of benefits of combination schemes favor this strategy against carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative bacilli.

Coffee as a cash crop, reduces food insecurity by providing regular incomes and is a major foreign exchange earner in more than fifty tropical countries where it is grown either as Arabica (Coffea arabica) or Robust (Coffea canepora). In Kenya which grow some Robusta but mostly Arabica coffee, the production has been declining, mainly because world coffee prices have plummeted to about 5 USD for a 650Kg of un-hulled beans per acre. The only way world prices are likely to increase and benefit the small-scale farmers, is by improving the cup quality and enabling these countries to sell their coffee in specialty markets. This review, underscores the importance of analyzing and estimating organoleptic, sensory and biochemical compounds diversity in Arabica coffee, since these are the factors that determine cup quality. In an attempt to do so, the chapter presents experimental data that analyzed various sensory and organoleptic traits of Arabica coffee and their Arabusta hybrids that proves that tremendous genetic diversity exists in coffee genotypes grown in Kenya and it is possible to utilize this genetic variation to improve cup quality.

Time-lapse microscopy is a powerful, versatile and constantly developing tool for real-time imaging of living cells. This review outlines the advances of time-lapse microscopy and refers to the most interesting reports, thus pointing at the fact that the modern biology and medicine are entering the thrilling and promising age of molecular cinematography.

Hyperglycemia accelerates the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs are a heterogeneous group of compounds generated by non-enzymatic glycation of proteins or lipids with glucose through Amadori rearrangement and its accumulation increases with aging in diabetes. AGEs augments ROS generation, diminishes the antioxidant defense of the cells, decreases mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP production, and elevates the levels of mitochondrial fission protein (Drp1) and mitophagic proteins (Parkin and PTEN) leading to dysfunction of mitochondria. In this chapter, we have discussed how AGEs trigger the endoplasmic reticulum stress and inflammation and mediate endothelial dysfunction in diabetes and also have discussed the role played by endogenous Paraoxonase 2 (PON2) in mitigating endothelial dysfunction by inhibiting the adverse effects of AGE.

Cannabis sativa is a cheap hallucinating agent used in different parts of the world from time unknown as a part of various religious as well as social practices. Cannabis which is a special type of Marijuana can provide temporary relief from analgesia, body pain, and in some other clinical conditions. But impacts of Cannabis on reproductive health of males and females are multi-faceted and differentially fatal. In males, Cannabis can cause changes in testicular morphology, sperm parameters (in terms of semen quality, sperm morphology, sperm mortality, and sperm motility), male reproductive hormones and finally causing reduced libido. In females, Cannabis can reduce female fertility by disrupting hypothalamic release of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH), leading to reduced estrogen and progesterone production and anovulatory menstrual cycles. Current research suggest that Cannabis may negatively impact on male and female fertility conditions. However, male sterility considering the Cannabis impact is totally lacking in human as well as in sub-human primates. However, very limited studies are available on Cannabis effect on primate female reproduction considering Rhesus monkeys. Hence, further studies are needed to validate that robust findings in animal models will carry over into human experience.

Hypersaline environments are those with salt concentrations 9–10 times higher (30–35% of NaCl) than sea water (3.5% of NaCl). At high concentrations of soluble salts, cytoplasm—mainly of bacteria and archaea—is exposed to high ionic strength and achieves osmotic equilibrium by maintaining a cytoplasmic salt concentration similar to that of the surrounding media. Halophilic enzymes are extremozymes produced by halophilic microorganisms; they have similar characteristics to regular enzymes but different properties, mainly structural. Among these properties is a high requirement of salt for biological functions. Furthermore, the discovery of enzymes capable of degrading biopolymers offer a new perspective in the treatment of residues from oil deposits, under typically high conditions of salt and temperature, while giving valuable information on heterotrophic processes in saline environments.

The study of chitin and chitosan has stood out for many years due to their potential application in various areas such as the food industry, where they are either used as additives, prebiotics, or bio-conservatives; as to biomedical and pharmaceutical industries, where they function to treat diseases. Besides, in the agriculture field, it is known that they can cause a positive effect on the development of plants and optimize nitrogen fixation. In recent years, attention has been paid to their derivatives, chito-oligosaccharides which, unlike chitin and chitosan, they have different chemical characteristics, like their solubility, a characteristic that facilitates their use, contrary to chitin and chitosan. Moreover, the small size of chito-oligosaccharides can facilitate their entry into the cell. This review covers recent studies on the biological functions of chito-oligosaccharides and their impact on a priority area such as agriculture, where these compounds could be used to substitute the demand for chemical compounds that, until now, have generated serious health issues as well as environmental pollution.

The use of more than one herb in a medicinal preparation also known as polyherbal has increased geometrically in recent times. Over a hundred thousand scientists have cited “herbal” to strengthen its ethnopharmacological relevance in literature. Polyherbal (PH) is effective potential therapeutic compound used globally to treat oxidative stress-induced injuries which give credence for their traditional applications. However, some issues related to safety and adverse reactions due to PH have raised important public health debates. Lipid peroxidation (LPO) assay is widely used to assess the toxic endpoint of PH. This paper discusses some important roles that PH plays during oxidation–reduction processes.

Vasculitis is the inflammation of blood vessels in the human body. It causes changes and remodeling in the walls of the vessels that include thickening, narrowing and scarring. As a result, the blood flow to the organs and tissues gets restricted leading to organ damage. The cause of primary vasculitis is not known; however, most cases are thought to be autoimmune. In the present era, it is getting difficult to treat vasculitis with conventional therapies, which includes cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil, with increasing rates of relapses. Since ever, corticosteroids and cytotoxic agents or immunosuppressants have been the mainstay for treating systemic vasculitis. However, the introduction of newer biological agents have bring about a revolution in the treatment of relapses and in cases where there is failure to induce and sustain remission.

This chapter will describe the antioxidant and biological activity of Cissus sicyoides and Rosmarinus officinalis leaf extracts, which represent an important natural source of antioxidants. These plants contain several bioactive compounds with high antioxidant activity, such as phenolic compounds, which are compounds that prevent or delay oxidative stress, acting as free radical scavengers (FRSs), and thus reduce the onset of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, stroke, among other diseases. The supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) has been studied to obtain antioxidant compounds from natural sources, without the drawbacks associated with conventional extraction processes, such as the use of organic solvents, which present toxicity and contaminate the extracts, is proposed.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is an important carcinogen for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHCC). However, the values of blood AFB1-DNA adducts predicting HCC risk and prognosis have not still been clear. We conducted a hospital-based case-control study, consisting of 380 patients with pathologically diagnosed PHCC and 588 controls without any evidence of liver diseases, to elucidate the associations between the amount of AFB1-DNA adducts in the peripheral blood and the risk and outcome of HCC. All subjects had not the history of hepatitis B and C virus infection. AFB1-DNA adducts were tested using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Cases with PHCC featured an increasing blood amount of AFB1-DNA adducts compared with controls (2.01 ± 0.71 vs. 0.98 ± 0.63 μmol/DNA). Increasing adduct amount significantly grew the risk of PHCC [risk values, 1.82 (1.34–2.48) and 3.82 (2.71–5.40) for medium and high adduct level, respectively]. Furthermore, compared with patients with low adduct level, these with medium or high adduct level faced a higher death and tumor-recurrence risk. These results suggest that the blood AFB1-DNA adducts may act as a potential biomarker for predicting the risk and prognosis of PHCC.

An estimated 300,000 babies are born each year with severe Inherited Disorders of Hemoglobin (IDH). Despite major advances in the understanding of the molecular pathology, control, and management of the IDH thousands of infants and children with these diseases are dying due to the accessibility to appropriate medical care. In addition, as malaria has been the principal cause of early mortality in several parts of the world for much of the last 5000 years, as a result, it is the strongest force for selective pressure on the human genome. That is why, in the world, there is an overlap of malaria endemicity and IDH. Over the past twenty years several studies have shown that IDH such us hemoglobin and/or red cell membrane abnormalities confer resistance to malaria reducing hence the mortality during the first years of life. This has led to the selection of populations with IDH in malaria-endemic areas. This may explain the overlap between these two pathologies. This chapter aims to present the relationship between IDH and malaria susceptibility, make an overview of the current state of knowledge and the burden of IDH, and highlight steps that require to be taken urgently to improve the situation.

Vitamin-K is a demanding multi-functional health product in the market and belongs to a class of isoprenoid molecules that comprises methylnaphthoquinone (MK) unit attached to an isoprene side chain. They are fat soluble and differ in the extent of side chain & obtained in the nature as vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), menaquinone/vitamin K2, and other lipoquinones. Owing to their owned polyprenyl side chain, they are hydrophobic/lipophilic in nature. Generally, the synthesis of vitamin K and its variants suffers with isomerization (for example 11 isomers were identified for cis/trans MK-7). Naturally, in bio-systems vitamin K produces through shikimic acid pathway and terpene biosynthetic pathway for the synthesis of menaquinone part & prenyl side chain parts respectively. Menadione or its auxiliaries are commonly being used as substrates to the synthesis of vitamin K variants through the involvement of condensation reactions, Friedel-Craft alkylation’s, Claisen rearrangement, Diels-Alder reactions and others. Importantly, organometallic reagents, such as Grignard, Gilman, organotelluride and other reagents could be the promising and consistent choice of substrate to the synthesis of various vitamin K’s. Vitamin K is well known for blood coagulation. As an antihaemorrhagic vitamin, it’s also being the current interest for the treatment of bone and vascular diseases. In addition, vitamin k is indispensable for the activation of vitamin K dependent (VKD) proteins and that are present almost in all tissues and responsible for hemostasis, bone mineralization, arterial calcification, apoptosis, phagocytosis, growth control, chemotaxis, and signal transduction. This chapter summarizes various synthetic approaches of vitamin K & derivatives and their biological functions.

Cells can use chemical modifications in chromatin to regulate accessibility to DNA to the repair complexes and to prevent transcription in case of damage. We analyzed the relationship between repair systems and epigenetic mechanisms in DNA and RNA. We searched the PubMed database for genes involved in DNA damage response (DDR) and methylation in mRNA and DNA repair, in cancer. Epigenetic modifications, particularly histone modifications and nucleosome remodeling, trigger a signaling cascade of kinases in DNA damage response (DDR) toward efficient repair. SWI/SNF remodelers promote the recruitment of repair factors in DNA, such as DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) that activate kinases in DDR. RNA methylation via m6A has recently attracted attention as a possible alternative pathway for repairing DNA damage. m6A is a dynamic methylation mark on mRNA that accumulates after UV irradiation and regulates transcription to facilitate DNA repair. Currently, studies seek to understand how signaling pathways activate proteins in the early response to damage. The repair maintains DNA integrity, which is a challenge in cancer because this process also represents a potential barrier to anticancer agents. The impact that epigenetic regulation can have on DNA repair is beginning to be understood.

Apoptosis, known as programmed cell death, has been considered a potent target for the pharmacy industry. The scientific community has actively participated to research which evaluate active molecules for possible inhibition or induction of apoptosis. Nanocarriers especially for cancer targeting are widely found through literature; they mainly based on inorganic, lipid or polymer nanoparticles which incorporate anticancer drugs. Another important and innovative category of anticancer agents is that of microRNAs. In this chapter, a discussion about the most recent applications of apoptosis-based agents mainly focusing on cancer target is done.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common cause of vision loss and blindness. Healthy CD34+ stem cells are capable of homing to vascular lesions and facilitating vascular repair. However, many diabetic patients have dysfunctional CD34+ stem cells with no reparative potential. CD34+ dysfunction is corrected by transiently inhibiting endogenous transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) within the patient’s own dysfunctional CD34+ stem cells using phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMOs). Antisense TGF-β1-treated dysfunctional CD34+ stem cells are now functional, no longer require growth factor stimulation to evade apoptosis, and are stable at 37°C ex vivo for >5 days. We identified three markers of restored stem cell function: (1) upregulation of CXCR4 expression necessary for stem cell homing and adhesion, (2) SDF-1-mediated nitric oxide (NO) production required for cell mobility, and (3) restoration of the ability of CD34+ cells to migrate and repair vascular lesions. The antisense targets autocrine TGF-β expression, whereas neutralizing antibodies do not. The PMO antisense triggers a cascade of hematopoietic proliferation and differentiation that paracrine TGF-β cannot alter. We describe optimal PMO manipulation of CD34+ stem cells ex vivo for transplantation, screening multiple gene targets leading to the identification of TGF-β1, and a lead TGF-β1 inhibitor evaluated in clinical studies.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the most important cause of chronic viral hepatitis worldwide. The genome of HBV is 3.2 kb partially double-stranded DNA, which is translocated to the nuclei of infected hepatocytes and converted to complete double-stranded DNA, aka covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA). Typical course of chronic HBV infection results in inactive carrier state with clearance of viral particles in the bloodstream. However, the cccDNA can be detected in the hepatocytes from inactive carriers by sensitive methods. It has been increasingly known that epigenetic mechanisms contribute to the control of HBV replication in the inactive stage of HBV infection. Histone modification and DNA methylation have been identified in the HBV cccDNA, leading to modification of transcriptional activity. The understanding of epigenetic control of transcription will shed light on the development of new therapeutic strategy against HBV cccDNA.

Efforts put in overriding the inulin abundant invader nastiest category I weeds are infeasible that lead into its impermanent confiscation. Hence, their heedful exploitation is obligatory. These invasive weeds have ample amount of inulin, which serves as a renewable, cheap raw substrate for inulinase production. Therefore, they have enticed intention of many researchers toward exploring more idiosyncratic inulinase producing microbial strains that utilize invasive inulin-rich weeds as substrate for fructose liberation. Plenteous industrial applications of inulinases have marked it distinctly crucial in recent biotechnological epoch. This review thus elaborates the literature on infused footprints embedded by the substituted low calorie healthy sweetener in new advancing fields.

Cancer cells tend to make metabolism changes in the human body for their growth and survival. One of the most interesting changes is the alteration of fatty acid metabolism in order for the high rate of fatty acid synthesis required to increase the level of fatty acids needed for cancer cell proliferation. Thus, the reprogramming of fatty acid metabolism is needed for cancer cell survival. Fatty acid metabolic reprogramming is one of the hallmarks of the cancer condition since it can affect cellular functions. The reprogramming of fatty acid synthesis includes increased exogenous fatty acid uptake, de novo fatty acid synthesis, and oxidation of fatty acids. Identifying biochemical targets in fatty acid metabolism is useful for diagnosing and predicting the therapeutic efficiency in tumor treatment.

The roles of diet and environment on health have been known since ancient times. Cancer is both a genetic and an epigenetic disease and a complex interplay mechanism of genetic and environmental factors composed of multiple stages in which gene expression, protein and metabolite function operate synchronically. Disruption of epigenetic processes results in life-threatening diseases, in particular, cancer. Epigenetics involves altered gene expression without any change of nucleotide sequences, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNAs in the regulation of genome. According to current studies, cancer is preventable with appropriate or balanced food and nutrition, in some cases. Nutrient intake is an environmental factor, and dietary components play an importent role in both cancer development and prevention. Due to epigenetic events induce changes in DNA and thus influencing over all gene expression in response to the food components, bioactive compounds and phytochemicals as potent antioxidants and cancer preventive agents have important roles in human diet. Several dietray components can alter cancer cell behavior and cancer risk by influencing key pathways and steps in carcinogenesis, including signaling, apoptosis, differentiation, or inflammation. To date, multiple biologically active food components are strongly suggested to have protective potential against cancer formation, such as methyl-group donors, fatty acids, phytochemicals, flavonoids, isothiocyanates, etc. Diet considered as a source of either carcinogens that are present in certain foods or acting in a protective manner such as vitamins, antioxidants, detoxifying substances, chelating agents etc. Thus, dietary phytochemicals as epigenetic modifiers in cancer and effects of dietary phytochemicals on gene expression and signaling pathways have been widely studied in cancer. In this chapter, current knowledge on interactions between cancer metabolism, epigenetic gene regulation, and how both processes are affected by dietary components are summerized. A comprehensive overview of natural compounds with epigenetic activity on tumorogenesis mechanisms by which natural compounds alter the cancer epigenome is provided. Studies made in epigenetics and cancer research demonstrated that genetic and epigenetic mechanisms are not separate events in cancer; they influence each other during carcinogenesis, highlighting plant-derived anticancer compounds with epigenetic mechanisms of action, and potential use in epigenetic therapy. Recent investigations involving epigenetic modulations suggest that diet rich in phytochemicals not only reduce the risk of developing cancer, but also affect the treatment outcome.

Essential oils have received increasing interest due to the high potential of their novel properties, i.e. antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activities. Essential oils are obtained from various parts of aromatic cultures, i.e. roots, leaves, seeds, bark, fruits, flowers, stems, etc. by various oil production methods, i.e. field distillation unit (FDU), steam distillation, water and steam distillation & several advanced (supercritical fluid extraction). Therefore, it is necessary to understand the characterization of the essential oils. This study reports on the method of determination of physiochemical properties with the test parameters, i.e. odor, color, optical rotation, solubility, refractive index, specific gravity, acid value, ester value, and ester value after acetylation. There is also discussion about instruments such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry due to one of the best tools for identifying and quantifying the constituents of essential oils as its simplicity, rapidity, accuracy, and efficiency.

With the increasing childbearing age, the number of mothers with diabetes and gestational diabetes is escalating. Maternal hyperglycemia creates an intrauterine hyperglycemic environment via the placenta, which causes signaling abnormalities in various fetal organs due to excessive glycation. This is associated with future disease development in the child. We have shown that insulin signaling defects are induced in fetal cardiomyoblasts using a rat gestational diabetes mellitus model and cellular models. Furthermore, we reported that maternal intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), an n-3 unsaturated fatty acid, during pregnancy can ameliorate this signaling defect. However, EPA has anti-coagulant effects, and the pollution of marine fish oil, the source for EPA supplements, raises concerns about active intake by pregnant women. Recently, palmitoleic acid, an n-7 unsaturated fatty acid, garnered attention as a candidate functional lipid alternative to EPA because it has been reported to have anti-obesity, lipid metabolism improvement, and cardioprotective effects similar to those of EPA. Palmitoleic acid has cis and trans structural isomers, which differ in their food intake route and metabolism in humans. This article introduces recent findings on the biological functions of palmitoleic acid in lifestyle-related diseases and cardiovascular diseases, ranging from basic research to clinical studies.

This chapter deals with the ozonization process of the emu oil, the objective of this study was to quantitatively determine the peroxide value (PV) to measure the degree of ozonation, the peroxide value measures the number of peroxide groups in the ozonized oil. The ozone oxidizes the unsaturated chemical functions present in the oil giving a high cure rate for epidermal wounds. The healing process is not completely understood and there are different approaches, therefore, it was determined qualitatively if it has healing and inflammation properties, but the results of our studies have shown that the length and width of the wounds were healing quickly thanks to the peroxidation rate of the oils. In addition, both tests were correlated to obtain a greater appreciation of their functions, the mechanism involves a decrease in the inflammation of the wounds and stimulates the process of scar formation.

Cardiovascular diseases encompass a range of pathologies that affect the heart or blood vessels. Oxidative stress is an important factor that contributes to the development of these pathologies. Adverse effects due to oxidative stress manifest when there is an imbalance between the production and elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS), or when physiological mechanisms of repair for oxidative injury are overburdened. This chapter focuses on ROS accumulation and antioxidant system deficiencies in the context of their influence on cardiovascular disease. We also discuss the importance of high throughput approaches, such as proteomics, with regard to their role in advancing the field of precision medicine for cardiovascular diseases, while keeping in mind the ultimate goal of improving patient care and quality of life.

Asparagus species are naturally distributed along Asia, Africa, and Europe and are known to have numerous biological properties. This review article was aimed to provide an organized summary of current studies on the traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacological and toxicological studies of Asparagus laricinus Burch., Asparagus africanus Lam., Asparagus officinalis L., Asparagus racemosus Willd., and Asparagus densiflorus (Kunth) Jessop to attain and establish new insights for further researches. Information used in this review was obtained from electronic database including PubMed central, Google scholars, Science direct, Scopus, and Sabinet. Based on the present findings, the existing literature still presents some breaches about the mechanism of action of various constituents of these plants, and their relation to other plant compounds in poly-herbal formulations, as well as their long-term use and safety. More in-depth studies are still needed for active compounds and biological activities of Asparagus laricinus, Asparagus africanus, and Asparagus densiflorus. Therefore, innumerable opportunities and possibilities for investigation are still available in novel areas of these plants for future research stud¬ies. It can be concluded that all selected Asparagus species have tremendous potential to improve human health and the pharmacological activities of these plants can be attributed to bioactive phytochemicals they possess.

The microencapsulation technology consists of a trap of a compound inside a tiny sphere known as microsphere. The microencapsulation concerns many different active materials such as bioactive compounds, drugs, vitamins, enzymes, flavors, and pesticides. This technology has gained real interest in numerous fields such as agriculture, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, textile, and food. This chapter highlights the encapsulation of essential oils into nanoemulsion-based delivery system as a model for the encapsulation of natural bioactive compounds. Moreover, an investigation of different parameters affecting the stability of produced nanoemulsion was conducted, in addition to the study of the effect of the nanoencapsulation of essential oils on their antibacterial activity. Finally, an enumeration of the advantages of encapsulating essential oils into nanoemulsion-based delivery systems in order to provide a natural food preservatives has been provided.

BCR-ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms are classically represented by primary myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera, and essential thrombocythemia. These entities are stem cell-derived clonal disorders characterized by hematopoietic progenitor autonomy or hypersensitivity to cytokines, most of them presenting mutations in Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), calreticulin (CALR), or myeloproliferative leukemia virus oncogene (MPL). Deregulation of pro- and antiapoptotic genes is also claimed as an important mechanism involved in cell resistance to cell death and accumulation of myeloid cells in myeloproliferative neoplasms. Apoptosis, as one of the best-characterized types of programmed cell death, has a clear role in hematopoiesis control. However, the exact pathways affected in BCR-ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms have not yet been fully clarified. This chapter will explore the modifications affecting programmed cell death pathways involved in myeloid proliferation and how these alterations might be exploited in single or combined targeted therapeutic strategies.

The significant challenges faced by modern-day medicine include designing a target-specific drug delivery system with a controlled release mechanism, having the potential to avoid opsonization and reduce bio-toxicity. Nanoparticles are materials with nanoscale dimensions and maybe natural and synthetic in origin. Engineered nano-sized materials are playing an indispensable role in the field of nanomedicine and nanobiotechnology. Besides, engineered nano-sized particles impart therapeutic applications with enhanced specificity because of their unique bespoke properties. Moreover, such application-customized nanoparticles offer an enormous possibility for their compatibility with different biological molecules like proteins, genetic materials, cell membranes, and organelles at the nano-bio frame. Besides, surface functionalization with targeting moieties such as small molecule ligands, monoclonal antibodies, aptamers, cell-penetrating peptides, and proteins facilitate nanoparticle-based specific tissue targeting. This review summarizes some of the advances in nanoparticle-based therapeutics and theranostics. A better understanding of idealistic preparation methods, physicochemical attributes, surface functionalization, biocompatibility can empower the potential translation of nanomaterials from the ‘bench-to-bedside’. In modern-day medicine, engineered nanoparticles have a wide range of demands ranging from bio-imaging, theranostics, tissue engineering, sensors, drug and nucleic acid delivery, and other pharmaceuticals applications. 2D and 3D mammalian cell-based assays are widely used to model diseases, screening of drugs, drug discovery, and toxicity analyses. Recent advances in cell culture technology and associated progress in nanotechnology have enabled researchers to study a wide variety of physiologically relevant questions. This chapter explores the properties of nanoparticles, different targeted delivery methods, biological analysis, and theranostics. Moreover, this chapter also emphasizes biosafety and bioethics associated with mammalian cell culture and discusses the significance of intellectual property rights from an industrial and academic perspective.

The recovery of skin wounds is a complex biological process involving three basic mechanisms: inflammatory phase, re-epithelialization followed by granulation and tissue remodeling. The interactions between inflammatory cells, fibroblasts, and keratinocytes induce microenvironmental changes at the wound site. Tissue remodeling is initiated by matrix-producing proteins and protease enzymes and collagen fibers in the dermis. A saponin extracted from ginseng, known as ginsenoside, has been shown to accelerate neovascularization in burn wounds in mice. It also increases levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and interleukin (IL-β). IL-β accelerate wound healing by promoting accumulation of macrophages at skin wound sites. Saponins are major active constituents of ginseng. They contain many ginsenosides. The purified ginsenosides or the extracts of ginseng root have been reported to have beneficial effects on damaged skin. For instance, red ginseng root extract protected skin from acute UVB-irradiation. Ginsenoside F1, an enzymatically modified derivative of the ginsenoside Rg1, protected HaCaT against UVB-induced apoptosis. Panax ginseng root extract promotes type I collagen synthesis in human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) via the Smad activation pathway and exhibits antioxidant activity against free radicles including diphenyl-p-picrylhydrazyl treatment. In addition, ginsenoside Rb1 promotes healing process of burn wound by enhancing angiogenesis. Among the various ginsenosides, ginsenoside Rb1 has been found to most potent agent for wound healing.

DNA repair pathway is considered to be one of the most important mechanisms that protect cells from intrinsic and extrinsic stresses. It has been established that DNA repair activity has a crucial role in the way that cancer cells respond to treatment. Sarcomas are a group of tumors with mesenchymal origin in which their association with DNA repair aberrations has been reported in numerous studies. Special attention has been focused on exploiting these alterations to improve the patient’s overall survival and overcome drug resistance in cancer. While there is a large degree of heterogeneity among different types of sarcomas, DNA repair alteration is found to be a common defect in the majority of patients. In this chapter, we will introduce and review some of the most important dysregulated components involved in the DNA repair system, and discuss their association with tumorigenesis, cancer aggressiveness, drug resistance, and overall prognosis in the patients with sarcomas.

For centuries, crop improvement has served as the basis of food security of ever increasing human population. Though vast germplasm collections are available; their exploitation for crop improvement still depends upon efficient assessment of genetic diversity. Genetic variability is the key element in adaptation of plants to varying climates. While crops with narrow genetic diversity are vulnerable to stresses. The estimation of extent and pattern of genetic variability is a prerequisite for generating superior varieties. Genetic diversity analysis generates key information to dissect genetic variations in crop germplasm with the help of morphometrical, biochemical and molecular tools. Among these, DNA markers provide a reliable and detailed insight into the similarities and differences among crops. In this chapter, we discuss the applications of phenotypic and molecular markers to probe genetic divergence in crops and present case studies that describe the significance of these tools to characterize sorghum germplasm. Furthermore, we spotlight sorghum biodiversity exploration efforts worldwide and propose future directions.

Cheese is one of the most demanded dairy products worldwide. However, during the conversion of milk to cheese, about 10 liters of milk are employed and about 9 liters of whey are generated for each 1 kg of cheese produced. The whey has traditionally been used for animal feed and as starting material for obtaining whey proteins. Furthermore, whey has the significant values of BOD and COD, becoming the most important contaminant in the dairy industry. For this reason, further growth of cheese sector is being limited by the surplus of whey as a by-product of the production of the cheeses. One of the many possibilities offered by the whey is its use as a starting material to produce many biotech products with a higher added value. The kefiran is a degradable biopolymer and is formed by galactose and glucose units, in almost similar proportions, which have been found with numerous benefits for human health. It is produced by a consortium of acid-lactic bacteria and yeasts, which coexist within the kefir granules, which are able to grow and multiply using the lactose present in the whey. The objective of the present study is to establish a small-scale process that allows the obtaining of kefiran.

This work presents a research of intermolecular interactions on the example of the antigen antibody interactions of the ABO system. This model could be successfully used in the future due to the lack of knowledge in the area of the ABO antigen’s behavior as a biomolecule and the integration of these structures into chain of metabolic processes in a human being. Using computer PASS system (“in silico” research), we describe the possible biological effects of pyruvate, lactate, and antigen determinants A and B. Glycoproteins A and B are very perspective to study as biological active connectors due to the wide range of their biological effects. The obtained knowledge proves that ABO antigen, as well as other glycoprotein conjugates, could play an important role in intercellular adhesion and signal transmission, which could be used in perspective in personalized medicine, target therapy, and evaluation of lab results in clinical practice.

Cancer is the most lethal ailment throughout the world in the present era. The development of new anticancer remedies with minor unhealthful effects and an alternate mechanism is crucial. Benzimidazole is a distinguished heterocyclic compound and is now recognized as the privileged scaffold for new drug discovery. This chapter deals with the anticancer capability of benzimidazolium salts and their metal complexes. The benzimidazolium derivatives have been prepared by the introduction of aliphatic and aromatic groups at two nitrogen atoms of the benzimidazole ring. Other modifications include hybridization with other pharmacophores and the preparation of metal complexes. The potent derivatives presented in this review can serve as novel drug candidates against cancer.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent cell-specific carriers of bioactive cargos that can be of importance in either physiological or pathological processes. Frequently, EVs are seen as intercellular communication vehicles, but it has become more and more evident that their usefulness can vary from circulating biomarkers for an early disease diagnosis to future therapeutic carriers for slowing down the evolution of different afflictions and their ability to restore damaged tissue/organs. Here, we summarize the latest progress of EVs classification, biogenesis, and characteristics. We also briefly discuss their therapeutic potential, with emphasis on their potential application in regenerative medicine.