Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields have been classified as a possible human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and this has raised some concern about its health effects on employees extensively exposed to these fields at thermal power plants. In this study, the effect of using vitamin E and C supplements have been examined on employees working at a thermal power plant. In this randomized controlled, double-blind clinical trial, 81 employees from different parts of the thermal power plant were enrolled between July and November 2017, and divided into four groups: Group 1 received vitamin E (400 units/day), Group 2: vitamin C (1000 mg/day), Group 3: vitamin E + C and Group 4: no intervention. DNA damage was measured in peripheral blood lymphocytes using comet assay and apoptosis, using flow cytometry. Based on the results, tail intensity and tail length in the vitamin E group, and all comet assay indices in the vitamin E + C and vitamin C groups (except DNA damage index) significantly decreased after the intervention, while the comet assay indices did not change significantly in the control group. None of the flow cytometry indices including early apoptosis, late apoptosis and necrosis changed after intervention in either group. The use of antioxidant vitamins such as E and C, can increase the activity of the non-enzymatic antioxidant defense system, and protect DNA from damage caused by exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields. But, taking these vitamins has no effect on apoptosis. It seems that consumption of vitamin E affected all investigated comet assay indices and can be probably considered as the best intervention.

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Gamma-tocopherol methyltransferase (γ-TMT) converts γ-toc to α-toc-the rate limiting step in toc biosynthesis. Sequencing results revealed that the coding regions of γ-TMT1 and γ-TMT3 were strongly similar to each other (93% at amino acid level). Based on the differences in the N-terminal amino acids, Glycine max–γ-TMT proteins are categorized into three isoforms: γ-TMT1, 2 and 3. In silico structural analysis revealed the presence of chloroplast transit peptide (cTP) in γ-TMT1 and γ-TMT3 protein. However, other properties of transit peptide like presence of hydrophobic amino acids at the first three positions of N-terminal end and lower level of acidic amino acids were revealed only in γ-TMT3 protein. Subcellular localization of GFP fused γ-TMT1 and γ-TMT3 under 35S promoter was studied in Nicotiana benthamiana using confocal microscopy. Results showed that γ-TMT1 was found in the cytosol and γ-TMT3 was found to be localized both in cytosol and chloroplast. Further the presence γ-TMT3 in chloroplast was validated by quantifying α-tocopherol through UPLC. Thus the present study of cytosolic localization of the both γ-TMT1 and γ-TMT3 proteins and chloroplastic localization of γ-TMT3 will help to reveal the importance of γ-TMT encoded α-toc in protecting both chloroplastic and cell membrane from plant oxidative stress.

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One of the major mechanisms of heavy metal toxicity is the induction of oxidative stress. Redox-active heavy metals, like chromium, can induce it directly, whereas redox-inactive metals, like cadmium, play an indirect role in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Living organisms defend themselves against oxidative stress taking advantage of low-molecular-weight antioxidants and ROS-detoxifying enzymes. Tocopherols and plastoquinol are important plastid prenyllipid antioxidants, playing a role during acclimation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to heavy metal-induced stress. However, partial inhibition of synthesis of these prenyllipids by pyrazolate did not decrease the tolerance of C. reinhardtii to Cr- and Cd-induced stress, suggesting redundancy between antioxidant mechanisms. To verify this hypothesis we have performed comparative analyses of growth, photosynthetic pigments, low-molecular-weight antioxidants (tocopherols, plastoquinol, plastochromanol, ascorbate, soluble thiols, proline), activities of the ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and cumulative superoxide production in C. reinhardtii exposed to Cd²⁺ and Cr₂O₇^2- ions in the presence or absence of pyrazolate. The decreased α-tocopherol and plastoquinol content resulted in the increase in superoxide generation and APX activity in pyrazolate-treated algae. The application of heavy metal ions and pyrazolate had a pronounced impact on Asc and total thiol content, as well as SOD and APX activities (the latter only in Cd-exposed cultures), when compared with algae grown in the presence of heavy metal ions or pyrazolate alone. The superoxide production in cultures exposed to heavy metal ions and pyrazolate decreased when compared to the cultures exposed to either heavy metal ions or an inhibitor alone.

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BACKGROUND:

Male infertility is a tough problem in medicine. This article aims to provide the latest evidence for the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) combined with vitamins in the treatment of male infertility.

METHOD:

All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that used TCM combined with vitamins for male infertility treatment were included in databases of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, VIP Database, China Biology Medicine disc (CBM), MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library. The quality of the included articles was evaluated using the Cochrane Reviewer’s Handbook 5.3, and meta-analysis was performed using Stata 15.

RESULTS:

A total of 14 eligible studies with 1488 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The results suggested that, compared with vitamin E or vitamin E + C alone, combination of TCM with vitamins increased significantly sperm concentration, sperm motility, sperm viability, liquefaction time of semen, the activity of acrosome enzyme, and the pregnancy rate of patients with male infertility. Three kinds of TCM (Shengjing capsule, Huanshao capsule, and compound Xuanju capsule) showed significant improvement for male infertility in terms of pregnancy rate, sperm concentration, or sperm motility. In addition, the results of the publication bias test demonstrated that no significant bias occurred.

CONCLUSION:

Traditional Chinese medicine combined with vitamins has significant efficacy in the treatment of male infertility with no increase in side effects. The specific implementing regulations still need more long-term, multicenter, randomized, and double-blind clinical trials.

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A previous analysis of the Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene (ATBC) Study on male smokers found that β-carotene supplementation increased the risk of pneumonia 4-fold in those who started smoking at the age of ≥21 years and smoked ≥21 cigarettes/d (a subgroup of 7 % of the study population). The present study hypothesised that β-carotene increases mortality in the same subgroup. The ATBC Study (1985-1993) recruited 29 133 Finnish male smokers (≥5 cigarettes/d) aged 50-69 years. Cox regression models were constructed to estimate the effect of β-carotene supplementation in subgroups. β-Carotene increased mortality (risk ratio 1·56; 95 % CI 1·06, 2·3) in those who started to smoke at ≥21 years and smoked ≥21 cigarettes/d. Within this subgroup, there was strong evidence of further heterogeneity. The effect of β-carotene supplementation was further modified by dietary vitamin C intake, fruit and vegetable intake (P = 0·0004), and by vitamin E supplementation (P = 0·011). Thus, harm from β-carotene was not uniform within the study population. Interactions between β-carotene and vitamins C and E were seen only within a subgroup of 7 % of the ATBC participants, and therefore should not be extrapolated to the general population. Heterogeneity of the β-carotene effect on mortality challenges the validity of previous meta-analyses that have pooled many diverse antioxidants for one single estimate of effect using the assumption that a single estimate equally applies to all antioxidants and all people.

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The present work was aimed to evaluate the protective effects of alpha-tocopherol (α-toco) and/or Lactobacillus plantarum (LCB) against testicular atrophy induced by mercuric chloride (MCH). Rats were injected with 5 mg/kg MCH for 5 days consecutively, then treated with 100 mg/kg α-toco and 6 × 10¹⁰ CFU 1.8701/kg LCB alone or together for 3 weeks. The MCH elevated serum TNF-α, IL- 6, caspase-3, and testicular malondialdehyde. However, serum testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, testicular messenger RNA of a steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, 17-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, glutathione level, and superoxide dismutase activity were decreased. Protein expression of Nrf2 was downregulated whereas that of Bax and DNA fragmentation was upregulated in the testicular tissues. Treatment with α-toco and LCB ameliorated the deviated biochemical parameters and improved tissue injury. It was concluded that the combination of LCB and α-toco achieved promising results in the amelioration of MCH-induced testicular atrophy. Nrf2, Bax expressions, and DNA fragmentation are involved in the testicular atrophy induced by MCH.

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