Petroleum ether extract of Njavara rice (Oryza sativa) bran upregulates the JAK2-STAT3-mediated anti-inflammatory profile in macrophages and aortic endothelial cells promoting regression of atherosclerosis.

"Njavara" (Oryza sativa L.) is a unique rice variety grown in Kerala that is reported to have significantly higher antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, chemical indices, and bioactive components compared with staple rice varieties. However, the role of NBE in reversing the atherosclerosis development remains unclear.

Attenuation of atherosclerotic complications by modulating inflammatory responses in hypercholesterolemic rats with dietary Njavara rice bran oil.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease. The role of inflammation in atherosclerosis is well established, with all stages of disease progression being assessed as inflammatory response to injury. Preventive treatments and drugs identified so far are based on lipid lowering strategies which also involves functional foods and dietary supplementation.

Tricin, flavonoid from Njavara reduces inflammatory responses in hPBMCs by modulating the p38MAPK and PI3K/Akt pathways and prevents inflammation associated endothelial dysfunction in HUVECs.

Previous studies revealed the potent anti-inflammatory activity of tricin, the active component of Njavara rice bran. Here, we report the involvement of specific signaling pathways in the protective effect of tricin against LPS induced inflammation in hPBMCs and the role of tricin in modulating endothelial dysfunction in LPS induced HUVECs. Pretreatment with tricin (15μM) significantly inhibited the release of TNF-α and was comparable to the specific pathway blockers like ERK inhibitor (PD98059), JNK inhibitor (SP600125) and p38 inhibitor (SB203580), whereas an increased release of TNF-α was observed in PI3K/Akt inhibitor (LY294002) treated cells.

Dietary Njavara rice bran oil reduces experimentally induced hypercholesterolaemia by regulating genes involved in lipid metabolism.

The present study was carried out to evaluate the anti-atherogenic effect of Njavara rice bran oil (NjRBO) on atherosclerosis by modulating enzymes and genes involved in lipid metabolism in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet (HCD). Adult male rats (Sprague-Dawley strain, weighing 100-120 g) were divided into three groups of nine animals each. Group I served as the control, group II were fed a HCD and group III were fed a HCD and NjRBO (100 mg/kg body weight).

Tricin 4'-O-(erythro-β-guaiacylglyceryl) ether and tricin 4'-O-(threo-β-guaiacylglyceryl) ether isolated from Njavara (Oryza sativa L. var. Njavara), induce apoptosis in multiple tumor cells by mitochondrial pathway.

Njavara is an important medicinal rice variety of Kerala, India widely used in Ayurveda for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, paralysis, neurodegenerative diseases and in rejuvenation therapy. The study evaluated, for the first time, antitumor effects of the two rare flavonolignans, tricin 4'-O-(erythro-β-guaiacylglyceryl) ether (compound 1) and tricin 4'-O-(threo-β-guaiacylglyceryl) ether (compound 2), isolated from 'Njavara' black. Both the compounds induced apoptosis in three cancer cell lines colon adenocarcinoma cell line HCT 116, ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 and breast cancer cell line MCF-7.

Molecular mechanisms of anti-inflammatory action of the flavonoid, tricin from Njavara rice (Oryza sativa L.) in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells: possible role in the inflammatory signaling.

Flavonoids are a group of natural substances that are located in sources of vegetal origin and are able to regulate acute and chronic inflammatory responses. The anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects corroborate with the preferential use of Njavara, a rice variety in indigenous medicine and the phytochemical investigations revealed the occurrence of a flavonoid, tricin at significantly higher levels compared to staple varieties. This study describes the new aspects of inflammatory suppression by the Njavara rice by evaluating the role of active constituent, tricin in the regulation of production of various pro-inflammatory markers by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide.

DPPH radical scavenging activity of tricin and its conjugates isolated from "Njavara" rice bran: a density functional theory study.

Structural, electronic, and energetic characteristics of tricin, tricin-4'-O-(erythro-β-guaiacylglyceryl)ether (TEGE), and tricin-4'-O-(threo-β-guaiacylglyceryl)ether (TTGE), isolated from "Njavara" rice bran have been studied using DFT to explain their experimentally determined radical scavenging activity (EC(50) values) in comparison with known standards such as quercetin, myricetin, and catechin. Among the three mechanisms proposed for explaining the antioxidant activity, proton coupled-electron transfer (PC-ET), sequential proton loss electron transfer (SPLET), and electron transfer-proton transfer (ET-PT), our results support the second one. The O-H bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE) and the spin density on the oxygen with the radical character are excellent descriptors of radical scavenging activity.

Isolation, characterization and quantification of tricin and flavonolignans in the medicinal rice Njavara (Oryza sativa L.), as compared to staple varieties.

Njavara is an important medicinal rice variety of Kerala, India, widely used in Ayurveda as a 'health food' and in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, paralysis, neurodegenerative diseases and in rejuvenation therapy. Phytochemical investigations and spectroscopic studies of the diethyl ether fraction of methanolic extract of Njavara Black (NB) rice bran gave three important compounds namely, tricin and two rare flavonolignans- tricin 4'-O-(erythro-β-guaiacylglyceryl) ether and tricin 4'-O-(threo-β-guaiacylglyceryl) ether. The EC(50) values of these compounds in DPPH system were 90.

Free radical scavenging behavior of antioxidant compounds of sesame (sesamum indicum L.) in DPPH(*) system.

The free radical scavenging capacity (RSC) of antioxidants from sesame cake extract was studied using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH(*)()) on a kinetic model. Pure lignans and lignan glycosides isolated from methanolic extract by preparative HPLC were used in the study. To understand the kinetic behavior better and to determine the RSC of sesame antioxidants, the second-order rate constant (k(2)) was calculated for the quenching reaction with [DPPH(*)] radical.

Impact of vitamin A supplementation through different dosages of red palm oil and retinol palmitate on preschool children.

Red palm oil (5 ml and 10 ml), ground nut oil fortified with 400 and 800 retinol equivalent retinol palmitate, and ground nut oil (5 and 10 ml), were administered to six groups of preschool children (four experimental and two control groups) in randomly assigned balwadis of Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu for a period of 7 months, to monitor the difference in the efficacy of the mode of supplementation and the optimum dose for improving vitamin A status. Results show that red palm oil groups recorded more gain in retinol and beta-carotene levels compared to other dosage groups, and that administration of 10 ml did not offer any substantial improvement over the 5-ml daily dose.