Hormetics

Current and thorough information on the ecotoxicological consequences of pharmaceuticals is accessible globally. However, there remains a substantial gap in knowledge concerning the potentially toxic effects of COVID-19 used drugs, individually and combined, on aquatic organisms. Given the factors above, our investigation assumes pivotal importance in elucidating whether or not paracetamol, dexamethasone, metformin, and their tertiary mixtures might prompt histological impairment, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in the liver of zebrafish...

Thiamethoxam, a second-generation neonicotinoid insecticide is widely used for controlling sap-sucking insect pests including Rhopalosiphum padi . The current study aimed to investigate the life-history parameters and feeding behavior of R. padi following treatments with sublethal concentrations of thiamethoxam. The lethal concentration 50 (LC50 ) value of thiamethoxam against adult R. padi was 11.458 mg L-1 after 48 h exposure. The sublethal concentrations of thiamethoxam (LC5 and LC10 ) significantly decreased the adult longevity, fecundity, and reproductive days in the directly exposed aphids (F0 generation)...

The concept of low-dose radiation (LDR)-induced hormetic responses was initially observed approximately 70 years ago and systematically reviewed along with the discovery of LDR-induced adaptive responses in a cytogenetic in vitro study in 1980s. By the end of the 1990s, discussions regarding the potential applications of LDR-induced hormesis and adaptive responses for preventing or treating chronic diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) had taken place. Until 2016, reports on radiotherapy for the subjects with AD and for genetic AD model mice were published...

Allelopathy has a profound impact on the germination and growth of plants, influencing the establishment of plant populations and shaping community ecological patterns. However, the allelopathic potential of many grassland species remains poorly understood. In this study, we prepared aqueous extracts from 17 herbaceous plants to investigate their allelopathic effects on the seed germination and seedling growth of Leymus chinensis, a dominant grassland species. Our results revealed that the response of L. chinensis to allelopathic compounds was dependent on the specific plant species, extract concentration, and target plant organ...

The linear no-threshold (LNT) model has been the regulatory "law of the land" for decades. Despite the long-standing use of LNT, there is significant ongoing scientific disagreement on the applicability of LNT to low-dose radiation risk. A review of the low-dose risk literature of the last 10 y does not provide a clear answer, but rather the body of literature seems to be split between LNT, non-linear risk functions (e.g., supra- or sub-linear), and hormetic models. Furthermore, recent studies have started to explore whether radiation can play a role in the development of several non-cancer effects, such as heart disease, Parkinson's disease, and diabetes, the mechanisms of which are still being explored...

Rutin is a flavonoid present in numerous fruits and vegetables and therefore widely consumed by humans. It is also a popular dietary supplement of 250-500 mg/day. There is considerable consumer interest in rutin due to numerous reports in the biomedical literature of its multi-system chemo-preventive properties. The present paper provides the first assessment of rutin-induced hormetic concentration/dose responses, their quantitative features and mechanistic basis, along with their biological, biomedical, clinical, and public health implications...

The rising global demand for agricultural products is leading to the widespread application of pesticides, such as spinetoram, resulting in environmental pollution and ecotoxicity to nontarget organisms in aquatic ecosystems. This research focused on assessing the toxicity of spinetoram at various concentrations (0, 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 3.0 mg L-1 ) on two common freshwater microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris and Microcystis aeruginosa, to shed light on the ecotoxicological effects of insecticides...

Common variants in the iron regulatory protein HFE contribute to systematically increased iron levels, yet the effects in the brain are not fully characterized. It is commonly believed that iron dysregulation is a key contributor to neurodegenerative disease due to iron's ability to catalyze reactive oxygen species production. However, whether HFE variants exacerbate or protect against neurodegeneration has been heavily debated. Some claim that mutated HFE exacerbates oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, thus predisposing carriers to neurodegeneration-linked pathologies...

BACKGROUND: Employing a developmental psychopathology framework, we tested the utility of the hormesis model in examining the strengthening of children and youth through limited levels of adversity in relation to internalizing and externalizing outcomes within a brain-by-development context. METHODS: Analyzing data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study ( N = 11,878), we formed latent factors of threat, deprivation, and unpredictability. We examined linear and nonlinear associations between adversity dimensions and youth psychopathology symptoms and how change of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the default mode network (DMN) from Time 1 to Time 5 moderates these associations...

Molybdenum (Mo) is a critical micronutrient for nitrogen (N) metabolism in legumes, yet the impact of Mo on legume N metabolism in the context of natural coexistence with soil microorganisms remains poorly understood. This study investigated the dose-dependent effects of Mo on soil N biogeochemical cycling, N accumulation, and assimilation in alfalfa under conditions simulating the coexistence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and earthworms. The findings indicated that Mo exerted a hormetic effect on alfalfa N accumulation, facilitating it at low concentrations (below 29...

The eight biological hallmarks of health that we initially postulated ( Cell . 2021 Jan 7;184(1):33-63) include features of spatial compartmentalization (integrity of barriers, containment of local perturbations), maintenance of homeostasis over time (recycling & turnover, integration of circuitries, rhythmic oscillations) and an array of adequate responses to stress (homeostatic resilience, hormetic regulation, repair & regeneration). These hallmarks affect all eight somatic strata of the human body (molecules, organelles, cells, supracellular units, organs, organ systems, systemic circuitries and meta-organism)...

BACKGROUND: Myzus persicae, a serious sap-sucking pest of a large variety of host plants in agriculture, is traditionally controlled using chemical insecticides but there is interest in using biopesticides as restrictions are increasingly placed on the use of broad-spectrum pesticides. RESULTS: Here we show that in petri dish experiments high concentrations of the fungal entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana lead to rapid mortality of M. persicae but at a low concentration (1 × 104 conidia mL-1 ) there is a hormetic effect where survival and fecundity are enhanced...

In agroecosystems, insects contend with chemical insecticides often encountered at sublethal concentrations. Insects' exposure to these mild stresses may induce hormetic effects, which has consequences for managing insect pests. In this study, we used an electrical penetration graph (EPG) technique to investigate the feeding behavior and an age-stage, two-sex life table approach to estimate the sublethal effects of thiamethoxam on greenbug, Schizaphis graminum. The LC5 and LC10 of thiamethoxam significantly decreased longevity and fecundity of directly exposed adult aphids (F0 )...

The generally undesired effects of exocannabinoids on male reproduction include alterations in testicular cell proliferation and function, as well as apoptosis induction. However, this paradigm has been challenged by the ability of endocannabinoids to regulate reproductive function. The present study addresses these paradoxical facts by investigating the effects of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) on mouse Sertoli cells' survival and apoptosis, with a mechanistic insight into Sertoli cell-based growth factors' production...

BACKGROUND: Aronia melanocarpa is a berry rich in polyphenols known for health benefits. However, the bioavailability of polyphenols has been questioned, and the individual taste acceptance of the fruit with its specific flavor varies. We recently observed substantial differences in the tolerability of aronia juice among healthy females, with half of the individuals tolerating aronia juice without complaints. Given the importance of the gut microbiome in food digestion, we investigated in this secondary analysis of the randomized placebo-controlled parallel intervention study (ClinicalTrials...

BACKGROUND: Indoor residual spraying (IRS) capitalizes on the natural behavior of mosquitoes because Aedes aegypti commonly seeks indoor resting sites after a blood meal. This behavior allows mosquitoes to be exposed to insecticide-treated surfaces and subsequently killed. Combinations of deltamethrin and clothianidin with different modes of action have shown promise in IRS, effectively targeting both susceptible and pyrethroid-resistant malaria vectors. However, the effects of this approach on Aedes mosquitoes remain unclear...

Various models for ageing, each focussing on different biochemical and/or cellular pathways have been proposed. This has resulted in a complex and non-coherent portrayal of ageing. Here, we describe a concise and comprehensive model for the biochemistry of ageing consisting of three interacting signalling hubs. These are the nuclear factor kappa B complex (NFκB), controlling the innate immune system, the mammalian target for rapamycin complex, controlling cell growth, and the integrated stress responses, controlling homeostasis...

The use of pesticides to control pests, weeds, and diseases or to regulate plant growth is indispensable in agricultural production. However, the excessive use of these chemicals has led to significant concern about their potential negative impacts on health and the environment. Phosmet is one such pesticide that is commonly used on plants and animals against cold moth, aphids, mites, suckers, and fruit flies. Here, we investigated the effects of phosmet on a model organism, Daphnia magna using acute and chronic toxicity endpoints such as lethality, mobility, genotoxicity, reproduction, and gene expression...

This paper represents the first integrative assessment and documentation of taurine-induced hormetic effects in the biological and biomedical areas, their dose response features, mechanistic frameworks, and possible public health, therapeutic and commercial applications. Taurine-induced hormetic effects are documented in a wide range of experimental models, cell types and for numerous biological endpoints, with most of these experimental findings being reported within the past five years. It is suggested that the concept of hormesis may have a transformative effect on taurine research and its public health and therapeutic applications...

INTRODUCTION: Metformin, a biguanide on the WHO's list of essential medicines has a long history of 50 years or more in treating hyperglycemia, and its therapeutic saga continues beyond diabetes treatment. Glucoregulatory actions are central to the physiological effects of metformin; surprisingly, the precise mechanism with which metformin regulates glucose metabolism is not thoroughly understood yet. METHOD: The main aim of this review is to explore the recent implications of metformin in hepatic gluconeogenesis, AMPKs, and SHIP2 and subsequently to elucidate the metformin action across intestine and gut microbiota...