Glyconutrients Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Glyconutrients - Essay Example N-acetylneuraminic acid Breast milk Important for brain development and learning lowers the LDL and inhibits strains of influenza A and B, bacteria and other pathogens Glyconutrients Food sources Main feature Effects of individuals well being as claimed by drug companies Xylose Grains- wheat, rye and barley Carrot, beet, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, lettuce, parsley, rhubarb, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage and asparagus Used as a substitute for sucrose and corn sweeteners Antibacterial, antifungal and prevent cancer Galactose Dairy products, legumes, algae, many fruits and vegetables Found in combination with glucose to form a disaccharide called lactose Inhibit tumour growth, enhances healing of wounds , decrease inflammation and triggers long-term memory formation Glucose Milk, mushrooms, various fruits and vegetables and grains Ubiquitous saccharide Memory enhancement, proper calcium absorption Table 2. Concentration of glycoprotein on different tissues. The graph shows the specific activity of radio labelled glycoprotein administered to rats at 1 and 8 hrs expressed as d.p.m/gm wet weight of tissue. As noted , "only the liver and intestines decrease whereas all the other organs show a 2- to 6-fold increase in specific activity" (Alton et al 1997 Figure 7). Table 3. "Peripheral neutrophil counts and other therapy parameters during discontinuation and resumption of fucose therapy. Peripheral neutrophil counts, fucose doses, serum fucose levels, body temperature, and C reactive protein (CRP) were recorded for each time point as indicated." (Luhn et al. 2001, Figure 1) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Functions of the Glycoprotein (Nature 1995 cited in GoGlyco 2005) Figure 2. Illustration of...2001, Figure 1) As evidenced by the increasing literature, one of the "hottest" new fields of medical and nutritional break through is glycobiology. Glyconutrients are monosaccharides or carbohydrates that are attached to proteins or lipids and are collectively called glycocongugates. These glycocongugates, found in surface of cells play an important role in biological activities and any imbalance of these glyconutrients would then result to disease. Controlled clinical studies in humans and animals utilizing state-of-the-art analytical and diagnostic are presented in this report showing that glyconutrients 1) play important roles in both normal physiology and disease, 2) can be effectively assimilated when provided as dietary supplements, 3) have biological activities that are beneficial or potentially therapeutic for certain diseases and 4) are safe when provided in the diet. However, the claim of drug companies that glyconutrients "heals" diseases is still vague; more research still needs to be conducted. Glycobiology, dubbed by Science Magazine (2001) as the Cinderella, is now the new wave moving through the walls of modern medicine and science.