Osteoporosis has been defined as the silent disease of the 21st century, becoming a public health risk due to its severity, chronicity and progression and affecting mainly postmenopausal women and older adults. Osteoporosis is characterized by an imbalance between bone resorption and bone production. It is diagnosed through different methods such as bone densitometry and dual X-rays. The treatment of this pathology focuses on different aspects. On the one hand, pharmacological treatments are characterized by the use of anti-resorptive drugs, as well as emerging regenerative medicine treatments such as cell therapies and the use of bioactive hydrogels. On the other hand, non-pharmacological treatments are associated with lifestyle habits that should be incorporated, such as physical activity, diet and the cessation of harmful habits such as a high consumption of alcohol or smoking. This review seeks to provide an overview of the theoretical basis in relation to bone biology, the existing methods for diagnosis and the treatments of osteoporosis, including the development of new strategies.

The physicochemical features of the avian eggshell membrane play an essential role in the process of calcium carbonate deposition during shell mineralization, giving rise to a porous mineralized tissue with remarkable mechanical properties and biological functions. The membrane could be useful by itself or as a bi-dimensional scaffold to build future bone-regenerative materials. This review focuses on the biological, physical, and mechanical properties of the eggshell membrane that could be useful for that purpose. Due to its low cost and wide availability as a waste byproduct of the egg processing industry, repurposing the eggshell membrane for bone bio-material manufacturing fulfills the principles of a circular economy. In addition, eggshell membrane particles have has the potential to be used as bio-ink for 3D printing of tailored implantable scaffolds. Herein, a literature review was conducted to ascertain the degree to which the properties of the eggshell membrane satisfy the requirements for the development of bone scaffolds. In principle, it is biocompatible and non-cytotoxic, and induces proliferation and differentiation of different cell types. Moreover, when implanted in animal models, it elicits a mild inflammatory response and displays characteristics of stability and biodegradability. Furthermore, the eggshell membrane possesses a mechanical viscoelastic behavior comparable to other collagen-based systems. Overall, the biological, physical, and mechanical features of the eggshell membrane, which can be further tuned and improved, make this natural polymer suitable as a basic component for developing new bone graft materials.

Bell peppers are one of the most important species consumed and cultivated in Spain. Peppers are a source of carotenoids and phenolic compounds widely associated with biological activities such as antimicrobial, antiseptic, anticancer, counterirritant, cardioprotective, appetite stimulator, antioxidant, and immunomodulator. However, undersized and damaged fruits are usually wasted. Thus, in order to evaluate the phenolic content, a Box–Behnken design has been carried out to optimize the extraction from Capsicum annuum yellow pepper by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). The independent factors were time (min), ethanol/water (% v/v) and solvent/sample ratio (v/w). The model was validated by ANOVA and confirmed. Furthermore, the whole pepper and the pepper without peduncles and seeds were extracted using optimal conditions and characterized by HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS. Moreover, their antioxidant activities, measured by three different methods (DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP), carotenoid composition, assessed by HPLC-MS, and chlorophyll content, assessed by a spectrophotometric method, were compared. A total of 38 polar compounds were found of which seven have been identified in pepper fruit extracts for the first time. According to the results, whole pepper (WP) samples presented higher content in phenolic acids; meanwhile, the edible portion (EP) was higher in flavonoids. No differences were found in the antioxidant activity except for the FRAP assay where the WP sample showed higher radical scavenging activity. EP samples showed the highest content of carotenoids and WP ones in chlorophylls.

Purpose: Evaluate the efficacy of hydroxytyrosol in the local treatment of inflammatory colitis. Currently, the existing treatments for inflammatory bowel diseases does not cure the disease and it is associated with high rates of side effects and complications. Hydroxytyrosol is a phenyl-ethyl-alcohol derived from the hydrolysis of oleuropein and present in olive oil, previous studies have demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effect of dietary hydroxytyrosol supplement, with no toxicity. Materials & Methods: Colitis has been induced by using Trinitrobenzene Sulfonic Acid at 40 rats. They were divided into four groups randomly: 10 rats without treatment; 10 rats with pectin/alginate mixture; 10 rats treated with pectin/alginate + olive oil; 10 rats treated with pectin/alginate + olive oil + hydroxytyrosol. Animals were sacrificed 10 days after induction of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid, receiving 5 days of continuous treatment. Samples of the rectal area were studied and observed under a microscope to determine the damage by Hunter scoring modified, assessing inflammatory infiltration, number of intestinal walls involved, damage to the mucosal architecture, and edema. Results: When the rectum was analyzed in a global way, nonsignificant differences were observed; however, when performing an individualized analysis, statistically significant differences in the inflammatory infiltrate are present in the samples, which were evaluated using the ANOVA and Student-T statistics. Conclusions: Local treatment with the natural antioxidant hydroxytyrosol combined with pectin/alginate and olive oil of inflammatory bowel disease has been shown to be effective against inflammatory infiltration of TNBS-induced colitis.

Background/Objectives: Three-dimensional bioprinting technology has enabled great advances in the treatment of articular cartilage (AC) defects by the biofabrication of biomimetic constructs that restore and/or regenerate damaged tissue. In this sense, the selection of suitable cells and biomaterials to bioprint constructs that mimic the architecture, composition, and functionality of the natural extracellular matrix (ECM) of the native tissue is crucial. In the present study, a novel cartilage-like biomimetic hybrid construct (CBC) was developed by 3D bioprinting to facilitate and promote AC regeneration. Methods: The CBC was biofabricated by the co-bioprinting of a bioink based on hyaluronic acid (HA) and alginate (AL) loaded with human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs), with polylactic acid supporting the biomaterial, in order to mimic the microenvironment and structural properties of native AC, respectively. The CBC was biologically in vitro characterized. In addition, its physiochemical characteristics were evaluated in order to determine if the presence of hMSCs modified its properties. Results: Results from biological analysis demonstrated that CBC supported the high viability and proliferation of hMSCs, facilitating chondrogenesis after 5 weeks in vitro. The evaluation of physicochemical properties in the CBCs confirmed that the CBC developed could be suitable for use in cartilage tissue engineering. Conclusions: The results demonstrated that the use of bioprinted CBCs based on hMSC-AL/HA-bioink for AC repair could enhance the regeneration and/or formation of hyaline cartilaginous tissue.