Dietary nitrate (NO3-), consumed primarily from leafy green and root vegetables, lowers blood pressure, improves vascular function and aerobic exercise performance. This performance-enhancing effect of nitrate supplementation is largely attributed to the increased bioavailability of the signaling molecule, nitric oxide (NO). Nitric oxide is a ubiquitous free radical signaling molecule...
Obesity is a complex multifactorial disease resulting from excessive energy intake compared to energy expenditure. The excess energy is mostly stored as fat in enlarged adipocytes, but some lipids may infiltrate other organs such as the liver to form ectopic fat. Adipose tissue and ectopic fat produce and secrete a...
Phytochemicals from the genus, Fagonia, have been attracting increasing attention due to their potential beneficial effects on human health, particularly, anti-cancer properties. Certain Fagonia species contain various types of phytochemicals such as saponins, alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, terpenoids, and tannins. In this study, we investigated the phytochemical composition of a...
Nitric oxide (NO) is a signaling molecule that regulates blood pressure and vascular tone. Humans produce NO by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), which is impaired in patients with cardiovascular disease leading to increased blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction, and an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Maintaining optimal levels of...
Obesity is achieved at the point where fat accumulation begins to exert deleterious effects on an organism. The human body accrues fat when there is an energy imbalance occurring, where caloric intake exceeds expenditure.Many anti-obesity drugs used in the past have had undesirable side effects, and currently there is a...
Metabolic syndrome, characterized by a collection of risk factors including abdominal obesity, insulin insensitivity, elevated plasma triglycerides, hypertension and low plasma high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), is a major contributing factor to the development of cardiovascular diseases and type II diabetes (T2D). Xanthohumol (XN), a flavonoid isolated from Humulus lupulus cones, has...
Metabolomics is a comprehensive analysis of small molecules, or metabolites, in a system. Metabolomics is a hypothesis-generating experiment and offers an unbiased analysis of cell metabolism that can aid in the understanding of fundamental biological processes. Metabolomics is widely and broadly applicable in the biological sciences and has been used...
Oxidative stress occurs when the balance between reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defense mechanisms in the body becomes tipped heavily in favor of the reactive oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species can be present in excess due to elevated O2 levels, radiation, infection, smoking, or even excessive exercise. It is also...