From type 2 diabetes to antioxidant activity: a systematic review of the safety and efficacy of common and cassia cinnamon bark

Common (Cinnamomum verum, C. zeylanicum) and cassia (C. aromaticum) cinnamon have a long history of use as spices and flavouring agents. A number of pharmacological and clinical effects have been observed with their use. The objective of this study was to systematically review the scientific literature for preclinical and clinical evidence of safety, efficacy, and pharmacological activity of common and cassia cinnamon. Using the principles of evidence-based practice, we searched 9 electronic databases and compiled data according to the grade of evidence found. One pharmacological study on antioxidant activity and 7 clinical studies on various medical conditions were reported in the scientific literature including type 2 diabetes (3), Helicobacter pylori infection (1), activation of olfactory cortex of the brain (1), oral candidiasis in HIV (1), and chronic salmonellosis (1). Two of 3 randomized clinical trials on type 2 diabetes provided strong scientific evidence that cassia cinnamon demonstrates a therapeutic effect in reducing fasting blood glucose by 10.3%-29%; the third clinical trial did not observe this effect. Cassia cinnamon, however, did not have an effect at lowering glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). One randomized clinical trial reported that cassia cinnamon lowered total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides; the other 2 trials, however, did not observe this effect. There was good scientific evidence that a species of cinnamon was not effective at eradicating H. pylori infection. Common cinnamon showed weak to very weak evidence of efficacy in treating oral candidiasis in HIV patients and chronic salmonellosis.     

Genetic, biochemical, and behavioral uniformity among populations of Myzus nicotianae and Myzus persicae

Prior to designation as distinct species, an appellation presently in question, the tobacco aphid, Myzus nicotianae Blackman (Homoptera: Aphididae), was classified as a tobacco-feeding form of the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer). In this study, RAPD polymorphisms distinguished members of the Myzus persicae complex (M. persicae and M. nicotianae) from three outgroup Myzus species (M. cerasi (F.), M. hemerocallis Takahashi, and M. varians Davidson). Polymorphisms within the complex did not separate populations on the basis of host association (tobacco versus other host plants) or geographic origin (collections from the United States, Europe, and Japan). Similarly, while GC-MS analysis of cuticular hydrocarbon profiles revealed both developmental and inter-populational differences within the M. persicae complex, it did not separate populations of tobacco feeding aphids from those collected off non-tobacco hosts. Finally, with the exception of their responses to a choice between lettuce and collards, the host preference behavior of a green peach aphid population, a red tobacco aphid population, and a green tobacco aphid population was indistinguishable in host preference experiments. These results add to a growing body of evidence suggesting M. nicotianae and M. persicae are conspecific.     

Efficacy and Safety of Inhaled Carbon Monoxide during Pulmonary Inflammation in Mice

Background

Pulmonary inflammation is a major contributor to morbidity in a variety of respiratory disorders, but treatment options are limited. Here we investigate the efficacy, safety and mechanism of action of low dose inhaled carbon monoxide (CO) using a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pulmonary inflammation.

Methodology

Mice were exposed to 0–500 ppm inhaled CO for periods of up to 24 hours prior to and following intratracheal instillation of 10 ng LPS. Animals were sacrificed and assessed for intraalveolar neutrophil influx and cytokine levels, flow cytometric determination of neutrophil number and activation in blood, lung and lavage fluid samples, or neutrophil mobilisation from bone marrow.

Principal Findings

When administered for 24 hours both before and after LPS, inhaled CO of 100 ppm or more reduced intraalveolar neutrophil infiltration by 40–50%, although doses above 100 ppm were associated with either high carboxyhemoglobin, weight loss or reduced physical activity. This anti-inflammatory effect of CO did not require pre-exposure before induction of injury. 100 ppm CO exposure attenuated neutrophil sequestration within the pulmonary vasculature as well as LPS-induced neutrophilia at 6 hours after LPS, likely due to abrogation of neutrophil mobilisation from bone marrow. In contrast to such apparently beneficial effects, 100 ppm inhaled CO induced an increase in pulmonary barrier permeability as determined by lavage fluid protein content and translocation of labelled albumin from blood to the alveolar space.

Conclusions

Overall, these data confirm some protective role for inhaled CO during pulmonary inflammation, although this required a dose that produced carboxyhemoglobin values close to potentially toxic levels for humans, and increased lung permeability.     

Cyclophilin A regulates secretion of tumour-derived extracellular vesicles

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) are a heterogenous population of particles that play an important role in cell-cell communication in physiological and pathophysiological situations. In this study we reveal that the peptidyl prolyl isomerase Cyclophilin A (CypA) is enriched in cancer-derived EVs from a range of haematopoietic malignancies. CypA-enriched blood cancer EVs were taken up by normal monocytes independent of EV surface trypsin-sensitive proteins and potently stimulated pro-inflammatory MMP9 and IL-6 secretion. Further characterisation revealed that CypA is intravesicular, however, it is not present in all EVs derived from the haematopoietic cells, instead, it is predominantly located in high density EVs with a range of 1.15–1.18 g/ml. Furthermore, loss of CypA expression in haematological cancer cells attenuates high density EV-induced pro-inflammatory MMP9 and IL-6 secretion from monocytes. Mechanistically, we reveal that homozygous loss or siRNA knockdown of CypA expression significantly reduced the secretion of EVs in the range of 100–200 nm from blood cancer cells under normal and hypoxic conditions. Overall, this work reveals a novel role for CypA in cancer cell EV biogenesis.     

Escaping the fate of Sisyphus: assessing resistome hybridization baits for antimicrobial resistance gene capture

Finding, characterizing and monitoring reservoirs for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is vital to protecting public health. Hybridization capture baits are an accurate, sensitive and cost-effective technique used to enrich and characterize DNA sequences of interest, including antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs), in complex environmental samples. We demonstrate the continued utility of a set of 19 933 hybridization capture baits designed from the Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD)v1.1.2 and Pathogenicity Island Database (PAIDB)v2.0, targeting 3565 unique nucleotide sequences that confer resistance. We demonstrate the efficiency of our bait set on a custom-made resistance mock community and complex environmental samples to increase the proportion of on-target reads as much as >200-fold. However, keeping pace with newly discovered ARGs poses a challenge when studying AMR, because novel ARGs are continually being identified and would not be included in bait sets designed prior to discovery. We provide imperative information on how our bait set performs against CARDv3.3.1, as well as a generalizable approach for deciding when and how to update hybridization capture bait sets. This research encapsulates the full life cycle of baits for hybridization capture of the resistome from design and validation (both in silico and in vitro) to utilization and forecasting updates and retirement.     

Thermodynamic rarity of electrical and electronic waste: Assessment and policy implications for critical materials

The strategic relevance of extracting raw materials from waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the EU is increasing due to value chain risks caused by geopolitical instability, accessibility of specific minerals, and decreasing reserves due to growing extraction rates. This article examines the quantities of so-called critical raw materials (CRMs) originating within WEEE streams from a depletion perspective. Presently, current recycling targets are based solely on mass collection and recycling rates. We examine the potential limitations of this approach using an exergy-based indicator named thermodynamic rarity. This indicator represents the exergy costs needed for producing materials from the bare rock to market. The case of Italy is used to explore the application of the indicator at the macro (national) and micro (company) level for the product categories “small electronics” and “screens and monitors.” Our estimations show significant differences between the mass and rarity of materials within Italian WEEE streams. While iron accounts for more than 70% of the weight of the product categories analyzed, it accounts for less than 15% of the rarity. Similarly, several CRMs with a small mass have a higher rarity value, for example, tungsten with less than 0.1% of the mass and over 6% of the rarity. The policy context is reflected upon, where it is argued that thermodynamic rarity can provide novel insights to support end-of-life WEEE decision-making processes, for example, target development and recycling standards setting to help prioritize material monitoring and recovery options.