Aging is associated with a decline in physiological performance leading to increased inflammation and impaired immune function. Polysaccharides (PLs) found in plants, fruits, and fungi are emerging as potential targets for therapeutic intervention, but little is known about their effects on chronic inflammation and aging. This review aims to highlight the current advances related to the use of PLs, with the presence of arabinose, to attenuate oxidative stress and chronic and acute inflammation, and their immunomodulatory effects associated with antioxidant status in monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophil infiltration, and leukocyte rolling adhesion in neutrophils. In addition, recent studies have shown the importance of investigating the ‘major’ monosaccharide, such as arabinose, present in several of these polysaccharides, and with described effects on gut microbiome, glucose, inflammation, allergy, cancer cell proliferation, neuromodulation, and metabolic stress. Perspectives and opportunities for further investigation are provided. By promoting a balanced immune response and reducing inflammation, PLs with arabinose or even arabinose per se may alleviate the immune dysregulation and inflammation seen in the elderly, therefore providing a promising strategy to mitigate a variety of diseases.

Tamoxifen (TAM) is required for gene recombination in the inducible Cre/lox system. The TAM‐enriched diet is considered safe, with negligible impact on animal wellbeing. However, studies reporting the long‐term effects of the TAM diet and its potential impact on experimental outcomes are scarce. We conducted a longitudinal study on mice exposed to a 4‐week dietary TAM citrate supplementation. Several parameters were recorded, such as body weight, body composition, mortality, and cardiac function. The collagen1a2 (Col1a2) transgenic mouse was used to assess TAM‐induced recombination in vivo in cardiac fibroblasts followed by myocardial infarction (MI). The impact of TAM on the MI outcome was also evaluated. The recombination efficiency and cytotoxic effect of the TAM active metabolite, 4‐hydroxy‐tamoxifen (4‐OHT), were assessed in vitro. Mice exposed to a TAM diet showed body weight loss and a 10% increase in mortality (P = 0.045). The TAM diet decreased cardiac function and induced cardiac remodeling, indicated by decreased fractional shortening from 32.23% to 19.23% (P = 0.001) and left ventricular (LV) wall thinning. All measured parameters were reversed to normal when mice were returned to a normal diet. Infarcted Col1a2‐CreER mice on the TAM regimen showed gene recombination in fibroblasts, but it was associated with a substantial increase in mortality post‐surgery (2.5‐fold) compared to the controls. In vitro, 4‐OHT induced gene editing in fibroblasts; however, cell growth arrest and cytotoxicity were observed at high concentrations. In conclusion, prolonged exposure to the TAM diet can be detrimental and necessitates careful model selection and interpretation of the results.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is an antimetabolite widely prescribed in cancer treatments, but its use in highly proliferative tissues can cause significant problems such as mucositis. Bacillus clausii is a probiotic commonly used for protection against acute diarrhea, gastrointestinal dysbiosis and inflammatory bowel diseases. We investigated the effect of B. clausii on 5-FU intestinal mucositis in mice. B. clausii was administered concomitantly with 5-FU on the first day and alone for the other two days. After the third day of 5-FU (450 mg/kg, ip), the animals were euthanized. Ileum samples were removed for evaluation for histopathological and biochemical analyses (myeloperoxidase (MPO), glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). In addition, we investigated gastric emptying and intestinal transit, intestinal permeability, intestinal smooth muscle contractility, transepithelial electrical resistance and intestinal transport of water and electrolytes. B. clausii reduced histopathological scores and increased the villus/crypt ratio in all intestinal segments after mucositis. B. clausii attenuated 5-FU-induced weight loss. The probiotic treatment increased GSH levels, reduced MPO and CAT activity, and also reduced MDA, IL-1β and TNF-α levels. B. clausii attenuated the delay in gastric emptying, water and electrolyte secretion and intestinal hypercontractility, and increased 5-FU-induced intestinal permeability. Thus, our data suggest that B. clausii may be a potential candidate for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that includes deficits in social interaction, communication and behavior, whose exact cause remains unknown. Its symptoms, such as food selectivity, food refusal and resistance to new habits affect children´s ability to consume food. The aim of this study is to answer the following questions: Do children with ASD have a different nutritional and behavioral profile from neurotypical children? Are dietician interventions capable of bringing benefits in terms of improvements in behavior, communication and socialization status? The methodology used was a systematic review. The authors produced two guiding questions; defined keywords; researched for papers in databases; applied inclusion and exclusion criteria; and analyzed the data obtained from papers that answered the guiding questions. The results revealed 27 publications in the Pubmed, Lilacs, and Capes databases that included keywords cross-referenced between ASD and gluten free, eating behavior, casein-free, nutritional status, food selectivity, vitamin deficiency, nutritional strategy. An analysis of 16 papers in Pubmed, 6 papers in Lilacs and 5 papers in Capes showed that 33.3% of the works had been published in Brazil. Randomized clinical trials (RCT) and cross-sectional studies were the most used methodologies. The analysis concluded that non-nutritional interventions have been effective in modifying unsatisfactory behaviors. Also, a combination of dietary and social/behavioral interventions is effective in circumventing food selectivity, thereby improving food acceptance.

We show that Orai actively contributes to organellar Ca²⁺ concentration and energy homeostasis of the cardiac fibroblast. These findings can have a significant impact during fibrogenesis.

O uso terapêutico das plantas ao longo da história baseou-se no conhecimento intuitivo e especulativo de homens e mulheres, que, ao longo do tempo, aprenderam a diferenciar as ervas benéficas daquelas tóxicas à saúde. Este estudo teve como objetivo compreender a influência das plantas medicinais no tratamento terapêutico em uma comunidade indígena de Maracanaú-CE. Um caso observacional e descritivo com o grupo indígena Pitaguary, no uso de plantas naturais como tratamento medicinal, em Maracanaú-CE. As entrevistas ocorreram nos dias 09-11/2017 com a utilização de um questionário adaptado da escala SATIS-BR. Nossos resultados mostraram 25 tipos de plantas medicinais utilizadas pelas comunidades do Pitaguary e 15 tipos de associação entre produtos naturais úteis no tratamento de diversos distúrbios fisiológicos. O artigo mostra a importância de conhecer o tratamento com produtos naturais e a influência no tratamento tradicional.