Cofán, M., S. Rajaram, A. Sala-Vila, C. Valls-Pedret, M. Serra-Mir, I. Roth, T.M. Freitas-Simoes, E. Bitok, J. Sabaté, E. Ros, 2020. Effects of 2-Year walnut-supplemented diet on inflammatory biomarkers. J Am Coll Cardiol. 76(19):2282–2284
Robust epidemiological evidence suggests that regular nut consumption is associated with lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. As summarized in a recent meta-analysis of 19 prospective studies (1),when comparing extreme quantiles of total nut consumption (2.5 to 28 g/day), total CVD and CVD mortality were 15% and 23% lower, respectively. Walnut consumption independent from other nutsrevealed similar inverse associations with CVD in 3 studies
Bishop, N., K. Zuniga, 2020. Investigating walnut consumption and cognitive trajectories in a representative sample of older US adults. Public Health Nutrition. 1-12. doi:10.1017/S1368980020001287
Objective: Existing research suggests walnut intake may be associated with better cognitive function in older adults, yet few studies utilise longitudinal data from observational studies of ageing populations. Our objective was to estimate the association between whole walnut intake and cognitive change in a representative sample of older Americans. Design: Secondary analysis of the Health and Retirement Study and Health Care and Nutrition Study. Walnut consumption was defined as a categorical measure (none, low intake (0·01–0·08 1 oz. servings per day) and moderate intake (>0·08 1 oz. servings per day)) and cognitive function was measured using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status. Latent growth modelling estimated the association between walnut consumption and trajectories of cognitive status over a 4-year observational period. Sensitivity analyses assessing non-random dropout and Monte Carlo power analyses were conducted to contextualise results. Setting: The USA. Participants: A sample of 3632 US adults aged 65 years and older. Results: Those reporting any walnut consumption had greater cognitive scores at baseline than those not consuming walnuts (low walnut consumption, b = 1·53, se = 0·21, P < 0·001; moderate walnut consumption, b = 2·22, se = 0·27, P < 0·001), but walnut consumption was not associated with cognitive change. Walnut consumption was positively associated with socioeconomic status and health behaviours as well as intake of nutrients identified to have neuroprotective benefits. Conclusions: We identified an association between walnut consumption and cognitive function in older adults, although we did not find that walnut consumption was protective against age-related cognitive decline.
An, J.M., E.H. Kim, H. Lee, H.J. Lee, K.B. Hahm, 2020. Dietary walnut as food factor to rescue from NSAID-induced gastrointestinal mucosal damages. Arch Biochem Biophys. 689:108466. doi: 10.1016/j.abb.2020.108466. Epub 2020 Jun 23.
Nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-like 2 (Nrf-2) is transcription factor implicated in the antioxidant response element-mediated induction of endogenous antioxidant enzyme such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), glutamatecysteine ligase, and NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1, among which HO-1 is an enzyme catalyzing the degradation of heme.producing biliverdin, ferrous iron, and carbon monoxide. In the stomach, as much as regulating gastric acid secretions, well-coordinated establishment of defense system stands for maintaining gastric integrity. In previous study, author et al. for the first time discovered HO-1 induction was critical in affording faithful gastric defense against various irritants including Helicobacter pylori infection, stress, alcohol, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), aspirin, and toxic bile acids. In this review article, we can add the novel evidence that dietary walnut intake can be reliable way to rescue from NSAIDs-induced gastrointestinal damages via the induction of HO-1 transcribed with Nrf-2 through specific inactivation of Keap-1. From molecular exploration to translational animal model of indomethacin-induced gastrointestinal damages, significant induction of HO-1 contributed to rescuing from damages. In addition to HO-1 induction action relevant to walnut, we added the description the general actions of walnut extracts or dietary intake of walnut regarding cytoprotection and why we have focused on to NSAID damages.
Ho, K.-V., A. Roy, S. Foote, P.H. Vo, N. Lall, C.-H. Lin, 2020. Profiling anticancer and antioxidant activities of phenolic compounds present in Black Walnuts (Juglans nigra) using a high-throughput screening approach. Molecules. 25, 4516; doi:10.3390/molecules25194516
Our recent studies have demonstrated multiple health-promoting benefits from black walnut kernels. These biological functions of black walnuts are likely associated with their bioactive constituents. Characterization of phenolic compounds found in black walnut could point out underexplored bioactive activities of black walnut extracts and promote the development of novel applications of black walnut and its by-products. In the present study, we assessed bioactivity profiles of phenolic compounds identified in the kernels of black walnuts using a high-throughput screening (HTS) approach. Black walnut phenolic compounds were evaluated in terms of their total antioxidant capacity, antioxidant response element (ARE) induction, and anticancer activities. The anticancer activities were identified by evaluating the effects of the phenolic compounds on the growth of the tumorigenic alveolar epithelial cells (A549) and non-tumorigenic lung fibroblast cells (MRC-5). Out of 16 phenolic compounds tested, several compounds (penta-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose, epicatechin gallate, quercetin, (–)-epicatechin, rutin, quercetin 3-β-d-glucoside, gallic acid, (+)-catechin, ferulic acid, syringic acid) exerted antioxidant activities that were significantly higher compared to Trolox, which was used as a control. Two phenolic compounds, penta-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose and quercetin 3-β-d-glucoside, exhibited antiproliferative activities against both the tumorigenic alveolar epithelial cells (A549) and non-tumorigenic lung fibroblast cells (MRC-5). The antioxidant activity of black walnut is likely driven not only by penta-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose but also by a combination of multiple phenolic compounds. Our findings suggested that black walnut extracts possibly possess anticancer activities and supported that penta-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose could be a potential bioactive agent for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
