@article{komarnytsky_wagner_gutierrez_shaw_2023, title={Berries in Microbiome-Mediated Gastrointestinal, Metabolic, and Immune Health}, volume={2}, ISSN={["2161-3311"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-023-00449-0}, DOI={10.1007/s13668-023-00449-0}, abstractNote={{"Label"=>"PURPOSE OF REVIEW"} Current research has shown that berry-derived polymeric substrates that resist human digestion (dietary fibers and polyphenols) are extensively metabolized in the gastrointestinal tract dominated by microbiota. This review assesses current epidemiological, experimental, and clinical evidence of how berry (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, cranberry, black currant, and grapes) phytochemicals interact with the microbiome and shape health or metabolic risk factor outcomes. {"Label"=>"RECENT FINDINGS"} There is a growing evidence that the compositional differences among complex carbohydrate fractions and classes of polyphenols define reversible shifts in microbial populations and human metabolome to promote gastrointestinal health. Interventions to prevent gastrointestinal inflammation and improve metabolic outcomes may be achieved with selection of berries that provide distinct polysaccharide substrates for selective multiplication of beneficial microbiota or oligomeric decoys for binding and elimination of the pathogens, as well as phenolic substrates that hold potential to modulate gastrointestinal mucins, reduce luminal oxygen, and release small phenolic metabolites signatures capable of ameliorating inflammatory and metabolic perturbations. These mechanisms may explain many of the differences in microbiota and host gastrointestinal responses associated with increased consumption of berries, and highlight potential opportunities to intentionally shift gut microbiome profiles or to modulate risk factors associated with better nutrition and health outcomes.}, journal={CURRENT NUTRITION REPORTS}, author={Komarnytsky, Slavko and Wagner, Charles and Gutierrez, Janelle and Shaw, Odette M.}, year={2023}, month={Feb} }
 @misc{komarnytsky_rathinasabapathy_wagner_metzger_carlisle_panda_le brun-blashka_troup_varadharaj_2021, title={Endocannabinoid System and Its Regulation by Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Full Spectrum Hemp Oils}, volume={22}, ISSN={["1422-0067"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22115479}, DOI={10.3390/ijms22115479}, abstractNote={The endocannabinoid system (ECS) consists of endogenous cannabinoids, their receptors, and metabolic enzymes that play a critical homeostatic role in modulating polyunsaturated omega fatty acid (PUFA) signaling to maintain a balanced inflammatory and redox state. Whole food-based diets and dietary interventions linked to PUFAs of animal (fish, calamari, krill) or plant (hemp, flax, walnut, algae) origin, as well as full-spectrum hemp oils, are increasingly used to support the ECS tone, promote healthy metabolism, improve risk factors associated with cardiovascular disorders, encourage brain health and emotional well-being, and ameliorate inflammation. While hemp cannabinoids of THC and CBD groups show distinct but complementary actions through a variety of cannabinoid (CB1 and CB2), adenosine (A2A), and vanilloid (TRPV1) receptors, they also modulate PUFA metabolism within a wide variety of specialized lipid mediators that promote or resolve inflammation and oxidative stress. Clinical evidence reviewed in this study links PUFAs and cannabinoids to changes in ECS tone, immune function, metabolic and oxidative stress adaptation, and overall maintenance of a well-balanced systemic function of the body. Understanding how the body coordinates signals from the exogenous and endogenous ECS modulators is critical for discerning the underlying molecular mechanisms of the ECS tone in healthy and disease states. Nutritional and lifestyle interventions represent promising approaches to address chronic metabolic and inflammatory disorders that may overlap in the population at risk. Further investigation and validation of dietary interventions that modulate the ECS are required in order to devise clinically successful second-generation management strategies.}, number={11}, journal={INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES}, author={Komarnytsky, Slavko and Rathinasabapathy, Thirumurugan and Wagner, Charles and Metzger, Brandon and Carlisle, Carolina and Panda, Chinmayee and Le Brun-Blashka, Sara and Troup, John P. and Varadharaj, Saradhadevi}, year={2021}, month={Jun} }
 @misc{wagner_de gezelle_komarnytsky_2020, title={Celtic Provenance in Traditional Herbal Medicine of Medieval Wales and Classical Antiquity}, volume={11}, ISSN={["1663-9812"]}, DOI={10.3389/fphar.2020.00105}, abstractNote={The Celtic linguistic community dominated large spans of Central and Western Europe between 800 BC and 500 AD, but knowledge of their traditional medicine is very limited. Multiple progressive plant gains in Neolithic settlements along the Danube and up the Rhine valleys suggested that taxon diversity of gathered plants peaked at the Balkans and was subsequently reduced as crop and gathered plants packages were adopted and dispersed throughout Neolithic Europe. This process coincided with the Bronze Age migration of the R1b proto-Celtic tribes, and their herbal traditions were occasionally recorded in the classic Greco-Roman texts on herbal medicines. The provenance of Celtic (Gallic) healing methods and magical formulas as recorded by Pliny, Scribonius Largus, and Marcellus Empiricus can still be found in the first part of the medieval Welsh (Cymry) herbal manuscript Meddygon Myddfai (recipes 1–188). Although the majority of Myddfai I recipes were based on the Mediterranean herbal tradition of Dioscorides and Macer Floridus, they preserved the unique herbal preparation signatures distinct from continental and Anglo-Saxon counterparts in increased use of whey and ashes as vehicles for formulation of herbal remedies. Six plants could be hypothetically attributed to the Celtic (Welsh) herbal tradition including foxglove (Digitalis purpurea L.), corn bellflower (Legousia speculum-veneris L.), self-heal (Prunella vulgaris L.), sharp dock (Rumex conglomeratus Murray), water pimpernel (Samolus valerandi L.), and river startip (Scapania undulata L.) This review provides initial evidence for traces of Celtic framework in the Welsh herbal tradition and warrants further investigations of bioactivity and clinical applications of the described plant leads.}, journal={FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY}, author={Wagner, Charles and De Gezelle, Jillian and Komarnytsky, Slavko}, year={2020}, month={Feb} }
 @misc{moore_wagner_komarnytsky_2020, title={The Enigma of Bioactivity and Toxicity of Botanical Oils for Skin Care}, volume={11}, ISSN={["1663-9812"]}, DOI={10.3389/fphar.2020.00785}, abstractNote={Botanical oils have a long history of traditional use and are routinely applied to skin care. The focus of this review is to contrast the functionality of skin oils versus the differential biological and toxicological effects of major plant oils, and to correlate them to their compositional changes. In total, over 70 vegetable oils were clustered according to their lipid composition to promote awareness of health practitioners and botanical product manufacturers for the safety and efficacy of oil-based interventions based on their fatty acid profiles. Since multiple skin disorders result in depletion or disturbance of skin lipids, a tailored mixture of multiple botanical oils to simultaneously maintain natural skin-barrier function, promote repair and regeneration of wounded tissues, and achieve corrective modulation of immune disorders may be required. As bioactive constituents of botanical oils enter the human body by oral or topical application and often accumulate in measurable blood concentrations, there is also a critical need for monitoring their hazardous effects to reduce the possible over-added toxicity and promote maximal normal tissue sparing. The review also provides a useful tool to improve efficacy and functionality of fatty acid profiles in cosmetic applications.}, journal={FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY}, author={Moore, Erin M. and Wagner, Charles and Komarnytsky, Slavko}, year={2020}, month={May} }
 @article{kozlowska_wagner_moore_matkowski_komarnytsky_2018, title={Botanical Provenance of Traditional Medicines From Carpathian Mountains at the Ukrainian-Polish Border}, volume={9}, ISSN={["1663-9812"]}, DOI={10.3389/fphar.2018.00295}, abstractNote={Plants were an essential part of foraging for food and health, and for centuries remained the only medicines available to people from the remote mountain regions. Their correct botanical provenance is an essential basis for understanding the ethnic cultures, as well as for chemical identification of the novel bioactive molecules with therapeutic effects. This work describes the use of herbal medicines in the Beskid mountain ranges located south of Krakow and Lviv, two influential medieval centers of apothecary tradition in the region. Local botanical remedies shared by Boyko, Lemko, and Gorale ethnic groups were a part of the medieval European system of medicine, used according to their Dioscoridean and Galenic qualities. Within the context of ethnic plant medicine and botanical classification, this review identified strong preferences for local use of St John's-wort (Hypericum perforatum L.), wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.), garlic (Allium sativum L.), gentian (Gentiana lutea L.), lovage (Levisticum officinale W.D.J. Koch), and lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor L.). While Ukrainian ethnic groups favored the use of guilder-rose (Viburnum opulus L.) and yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.), Polish inhabitants especially valued angelica (Angelica archangelica L.) and carline thistle (Carlina acaulis L.). The region also holds a strong potential for collection, cultivation, and manufacture of medicinal plants and plant-based natural specialty ingredients for the food, health and cosmetic industries, in part due to high degree of biodiversity and ecological preservation. Many of these products, including whole food nutritional supplements, will soon complement conventional medicines in prevention and treatment of diseases, while adding value to agriculture and local economies.}, journal={FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY}, author={Kozlowska, Weronika and Wagner, Charles and Moore, Erin M. and Matkowski, Adam and Komarnytsky, Slavko}, year={2018}, month={Apr} }
 @article{wagner_de gezelle_robertson_robertson_wilson_komarnytsky_2017, title={Antibacterial activity of medicinal plants from The Physicians of Myddvai, a 14th century Welsh medical manuscript}, volume={203}, ISSN={["1872-7573"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.jep.2017.03.039}, abstractNote={Antimicrobial drug resistance is a growing threat to global public health. Historical records and herbal texts relating to traditional Celtic medicine indicate an extensive pharmacopeia of plants for treating infections likely caused by microbes. However, a major barrier for successful integration of these remedies into mainstream practice is the current lack of accurate interpretation and scientific validation. We investigated the flora of the Isle of Arran, Scotland, via in situ targeted screening of 83 out of 138 plants identified in Meddygion Myddvai (a 14th century Welsh manuscript) to treat conditions related to microbial infections, and an additional 18 plants from modern ethnobotanical knowledge on the island (Scottish School of Herbal Medicine). In a follow-up proof-of-concept study, bioassay-guided fractionation was performed to identify bioactive constituents from two high scoring hits that inhibited Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) bacterial growth. 67 historical plants (80.7%) and 14 modern plants (77.8%) were found to have detectable levels of antimicrobial activity when tested using Mobile Discovery kits, with human saliva as a source of bacteria for screening. Sabinene, a natural bicyclic monoterpene from juniper “berries” (Juniperus communis L.) and alliin, a natural sulfoxide from garlic cloves (Allium sativum L.), were isolated and confirmed as primary antibacterial leads. Using historical medical sources such as those associated with traditional Celtic medicine to guide rigorous, evidence-based scientific investigation, provides additional leads for new and alternative bioactive molecules for combating bacterial diseases.}, journal={JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Wagner, Charles Stephen and De Gezelle, Jillian and Robertson, Maureen and Robertson, Keith and Wilson, Mickey and Komarnytsky, Slavko}, year={2017}, month={May}, pages={171–181} }