Enterococcus exceedances related to environmental variability at New Jersey ocean beaches.

Microbial pollution at ocean beaches is a global public health problem that can be exacerbated by excessive rainfall, particularly at beaches adjacent to urban areas. Rain is acknowledged as a predictive factor of Enterococcus levels at NJ beaches, but to date no study has explicitly examined the link. Here, five beaches (156 observations) in Monmouth County, NJ, with storm drain outflows present were sampled for Enterococcus and water quality during dry and wet periods.

Ellagic Acid, a Dietary Polyphenol, Selectively Cytotoxic to HSC-2 Oral Carcinoma Cells.

Background: The antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of ellagic acid, a dietary polyphenol, were studied.

Materials And Methods: The neutral red cytotoxicity assay compared the sensitivities of gingival fibroblasts and HSC-2 oral carcinoma cells to ellagic acid. The ferrous ion oxidation xylenol orange assay and levels of intracellular reduced glutathione were used to assess pro-oxidant nature of ellagic acid.

Cranberry juice extract, a mild prooxidant with cytotoxic properties independent of reactive oxygen species.

A cranberry juice extract (CJE), rich in proanthocyanidins, had weak prooxidant properties, generating low levels of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and superoxide. Generation of H₂O₂ was pH dependent, increasing at alkaline pH, and was lowered in the presence of catalase and, to a lesser extent, of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Growth inhibition and cytotoxicity were noted towards human oral carcinoma HSC-2 cells, with midpoint cytotoxicity at 200 µg/mL CJE, but not towards human gingival HF-1 fibroblasts.

Research strategies in the study of the pro-oxidant nature of polyphenol nutraceuticals.

Polyphenols of phytochemicals are thought to exhibit chemopreventive effects against cancer. These plant-derived antioxidant polyphenols have a dual nature, also acting as pro-oxidants, generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), and causing oxidative stress. When studying the overall cytotoxicity of polyphenols, research strategies need to distinguish the cytotoxic component derived from the polyphenol per se from that derived from the generated ROS.

Pomegranate extract, a prooxidant with antiproliferative and proapoptotic activities preferentially towards carcinoma cells.

The antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of pomegranate extract (PE), as correlated with its prooxidant activity, were studied. PE exerted greater antiproliferative effects towards cancer, than to normal, cells, isolated from the human oral cavity. In cell-free systems, PE generated hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) in cell culture media and in phosphate buffered saline, with prooxidant activity increasing from acidic to alkaline pH, and oxidized glutathione (GSH) in an alkaline, phosphate buffer.