Background: One of the major obstacles in the treatment of breast cancer is breast cancer stem cells (BCSC) which are resistant to standard chemotherapeutic drugs. It has been proven that microRNA-200c (miR-200c) can restore sensitivity to microtubule-targeting chemothera­peutic drugs by reducing the expression of class III β-tubulin. In this study, combination therapy with miR-200c and paclitaxel (PTX) mediated by lipid nanoparticles was investigated as an alternative strategy against BCSC. Materials and methods: A cationic lipid 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane was strategically selected to formulate solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) for miR-200c delivery. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) with 20 wt% oleic acid were prepared for PTX delivery. Mammospheres, which gained the characteristics of BCSC, were used as a cell model to evaluate the efficiency of combination therapy. Results: The cationic SLN could condense anionic miRNA to form SLN/miRNA complexes via charge interactions and could protect miRNA from degradation by ribonuclease. SLN/miR-200c complexes achieved 11.6-fold expression of miR-200c after incubation for 24 hours, compared with that of Lipofectamine™ 2000/miR-200c complexes (*P<0.05). Intracellular drug release assay proved that miRNA can be released from SLN/miRNA complexes efficiently in 12 hours after cellular uptake. After BCSC were transfected with SLN/miR-200c, the expression of class III β-tubulin was effectively downregulated and the cellular cytotoxicity of PTX-loaded NLC (NLC/PTX) against BCSC was enhanced significantly (**P<0.01). Conclusion: The results indicated that the cationic SLN could serve as a promising carrier for miRNA delivery. In addition, the combination therapy of miR-200c and PTX revealed a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of BCSC.

The dietary effect on gut health has long been recognized through the empirical practice of soothing gastric discomfort with certain types of food, and recently the correlation between specific diets with lower incidences of several gastrointestinal diseases has been revealed. Ingredients from those considered beneficial foods have been isolated and studied, and some of them have already been put into the supplement market. In this review, we focus on latest studies of these food-derived ingredients for their proposed preventive and therapeutic roles in gastrointestinal disorders, with the attempt of drawing evidence-based suggestions on consuming these products.