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"Chopra, Deepak"
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Return of the rishi : a doctor's story of spiritual transformation and ayurvedic healing
The author recounts his medical career, describes his introduction to Ayurvedic medicine, and shares his views on health and healing.
Effects of Turmeric and Curcumin Dietary Supplementation on Human Gut Microbiota: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study
Background.
Curcuma longa (common name: turmeric) and one of its biologically active constituents, curcumin, have received increased clinical attention. Insufficient data exist on the effects of curcumin and turmeric on the gut microbiota and such studies in humans are lacking.
Methods.
Turmeric tablets with extract of piperine (Bioperine) (n = 6), curcumin with Bioperine tablets (n = 5), or placebo tablets (n = 3) were provided to healthy human subjects and subsequent changes in the gut microbiota were determined by 16S rDNA sequencing.
Results.
The number of taxa detected ranged from 172 to 325 bacterial species. The placebo group displayed an overall reduction in species by 15%, whereas turmeric-treated subjects displayed a modest 7% increase in observed species posttreatment. Subjects taking curcumin displayed an average increase of 69% in detected species. The gut microbiota response to treatment was highly personalized, thus leading to responders and nonresponders displaying response concordance. These “responsive” subjects defined a signature involving uniform increases in most Clostridium spp., Bacteroides spp., Citrobacter spp., Cronobacter spp., Enterobacter spp., Enterococcus spp., Klebsiella spp., Parabacteroides spp., and Pseudomonas spp. Common to these subjects was the reduced relative abundance of several Blautia spp. and most Ruminococcus spp.
Conclusions.
All participants’ microbiota displayed significant variation over time and individualized response to treatment. Among the responsive participants, both turmeric and curcumin altered the gut microbiota in a highly similar manner, suggesting that curcumin may drive the majority of observed changes observed in turmeric-treated subjects.
Journal Article
Short-Chain Fatty Acids Modulate Healthy Gut Microbiota Composition and Functional Potential
Many studies have focused on the metabolic capacity of human gut microbiota to produce short-chain fatty acids and subsequent effects on host physiology. Given scarce data on how SCFAs produced by gut bacteria participate in cross-feeding to influence community structure and function, we evaluated the potential of SCFAs to modulate human gut microbiota in vitro. We employed anaerobic fecal cultivation in chemically defined medium supplemented with one of nine SCFAs to determine effects on both gut microbial community structure via 16S rRNA sequencing and function via genome reconstruction analysis. Each SCFA displayed significant and unique modulatory potential with respect to the relative abundance of bacterial taxa. Analysis of SCFA-supplemented communities revealed that alterations of individual closely related phylotypes displayed coherent changes, although exceptions were also observed which suggest strain-dependent differences in SCFA-induced changes. We used genome reconstruction to evaluate the functional implications of SCFA-mediated restructuring of fecal communities. We note that some SCFA-supplemented cultures displayed a reduction in the predicted abundance of SCFA producers, which suggests a possible undefined negative feedback mechanism. We conclude that SCFAs are not simply end-products of metabolism but also serve to modulate the gut microbiota through cross-feeding that alters the fitness of specified taxa. These results are important in the identification of prebiotics that elevate specific SCFAs for therapeutic benefit and highlight SCFA consumers as a salient part of the overall metabolic flux pertaining to bacterial fermentative processes.
Journal Article
Muhammad : a story of God's messenger and the revelation that changed the world
\"\"Without guides who reached higher consciousness, the world would be bereft of its greatest visionaries - fatally bereft, in fact. Muhammad sensed this aching gap in the world around him. He appeals to me most because he remade the world by going inward. That's the kind of achievement only available on the spiritual path. In the light of what the Prophet achieved, he raises my hope that all of us who lead everyday lives can be touched by the divine. The Koran deserves its place as a song of the soul, to be celebrated wherever the soul matters.\"--The Introduction Born into the factious world of war-torn Arabia, Muhammad's life is a gripping and inspiring story of one man's tireless fight for unity and peace. In a world where greed and injustice ruled, Muhammad created change by affecting hearts and minds. Just as the story of Jesus embodies the message of Christianity, Muhammad's life reveals the core of Islam. Deepak Chopra shares the life of Muhammad as never before, putting his teachings in a new light. Following the historical record but offering a unique perspective, Chopra's Muhammad captures the historical prophet but more importantly shows us why his teachings are more important now than ever before\"--Provided by publisher.
Book
Ultrasensitive colorimetric detection of fluoride and arsenate in water and mammalian cells using recyclable metal oxacalixarene probe: a lateral flow assay
Globally 3 billion people are consuming water with moderately high concentrations of fluoride and arsenic. The development of a simple point of care (PoC) device or home device for the detection of fluoride/arsenic ensures safety before consuming water. Till date, lateral flow assay (LFA) based PoC devices can detect nucleic acids, viruses and diseases. An aluminium complex of rhodamine B functionalized oxacalix[4]arene (L) was designed to execute the LFA-based PoC device. Initially, Al
and Fe
ions were involved in complexation with the rhodamine B functionalized oxacalix[4]arene (L), resulting C
(L-Al
) and C
(L-Fe
) complexes respectively. The receptor L, as well as the probes (C
, C
), were characterized thoroughly using mass spectroscopy, FTIR, NMR, and EA. C
and C
were further utilized as recyclable probes for the detection of aqueous fluoride (21 ppb) and arsenate (1.92 ppb) respectively. The computational calculation indicates that upon complexation, the spirolactam ring opening at the rhodamine B site leads to optoelectronic changes. The consistency of LFA-based portable sensing device has been tested with water samples, synthetic fluoride standards and dental care products like toothpaste and mouthwash with concentrations ≥ 3 ppm. Moreover, fixed cell imaging experiments were performed to ascertain the in-vitro sensing phenomena.
Journal Article
The zinc dyshomeostasis hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly. Hallmark AD neuropathology includes extracellular amyloid plaques composed largely of the amyloid-β protein (Aβ), intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of hyper-phosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau (MAP-tau), and microtubule destabilization. Early-onset autosomal dominant AD genes are associated with excessive Aβ accumulation, however cognitive impairment best correlates with NFTs and disrupted microtubules. The mechanisms linking Aβ and NFT pathologies in AD are unknown. Here, we propose that sequestration of zinc by Aβ-amyloid deposits (Aβ oligomers and plaques) not only drives Aβ aggregation, but also disrupts zinc homeostasis in zinc-enriched brain regions important for memory and vulnerable to AD pathology, resulting in intra-neuronal zinc levels, which are either too low, or excessively high. To evaluate this hypothesis, we 1) used molecular modeling of zinc binding to the microtubule component protein tubulin, identifying specific, high-affinity zinc binding sites that influence side-to-side tubulin interaction, the sensitive link in microtubule polymerization and stability. We also 2) performed kinetic modeling showing zinc distribution in extra-neuronal Aβ deposits can reduce intra-neuronal zinc binding to microtubules, destabilizing microtubules. Finally, we 3) used metallomic imaging mass spectrometry (MIMS) to show anatomically-localized and age-dependent zinc dyshomeostasis in specific brain regions of Tg2576 transgenic, mice, a model for AD. We found excess zinc in brain regions associated with memory processing and NFT pathology. Overall, we present a theoretical framework and support for a new theory of AD linking extra-neuronal Aβ amyloid to intra-neuronal NFTs and cognitive dysfunction. The connection, we propose, is based on β-amyloid-induced alterations in zinc ion concentration inside neurons affecting stability of polymerized microtubules, their binding to MAP-tau, and molecular dynamics involved in cognition. Further, our theory supports novel AD therapeutic strategies targeting intra-neuronal zinc homeostasis and microtubule dynamics to prevent neurodegeneration and cognitive decline.
Journal Article
عشق الروح : قصائد خالدة عن نشوة الروح وسموها للشعراء : رومي وحافظ وكبير وميرابي وطاغور
قصائد خالدة عن نشوة الروح وسموها وجاء فيها (العشق الخالد ليس تحاجة إلى الشعر؛ ولكن من حسن الطالع، أن بعضا من أولئك المتماهين في عشق الله دونوا كلمات سمحت لنا نحن القراء، بالولوج إلى عالمهم المعفم بالنشوة. في اشرق على وجه الخصوص : أي ضمن ذلك الحزام من الجغرافيا، والممتد من المنطقة العربية إلى شبه القارة الهندية يكاد المرء لا يلحظ فارقا بين الشاعر والقديس. ومن بين هؤلاء نذكر على سبيل المثال لا الحصر كلا منم رومي وميرابي؛ ذلك أن هناك أعدادا أخرى كثيرة من مثل هؤلاء. جمع الكاتب في هذا الديوان أشعار قليلة من الشعراء الأكثر احتراما بدءا من العصور الوسطى وانتهاءا بالقرن الحالي. نال إسم رومي الكثير من الشهرة مؤخرا، لكن الآخرين-وأعني بهم كلا من كبير وحافظ وطاغور وميرابي-يستحقون أن تسلط عليهم الأضواء بنفس الدرجة. يعتبر كل منهم في ثقافة موطنه الأصلي منارة ملهمة بالنسبة إلى شعبه، ويعزى ذلك بدرجة كبيرة إلى أن الناس العاديين قد أفردوا لهم في قلوبهم مكانة خاصة، وهم ينشدون أشعارهم يوميا.
Book
16S rRNA gene profiling and genome reconstruction reveal community metabolic interactions and prebiotic potential of medicinal herbs used in neurodegenerative disease and as nootropics
The prebiotic potential of nervine herbal medicines has been scarcely studied. We therefore used anaerobic human fecal cultivation to investigate whether medicinal herbs commonly used as treatment in neurological health and disease in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine modulate gut microbiota. Profiling of fecal cultures supplemented with either Kapikacchu, Gotu Kola, Bacopa/Brahmi, Shankhapushpi, Boswellia/Frankincense, Jatamansi, Bhringaraj, Guduchi, Ashwagandha or Shatavari by 16S rRNA sequencing revealed profound changes in diverse taxa. Principal coordinate analysis highlights that each herb drives the formation of unique microbial communities predicted to display unique metabolic potential. The relative abundance of approximately one-third of the 243 enumerated species was altered by all herbs. Additional species were impacted in an herb-specific manner. In this study, we combine genome reconstruction of sugar utilization and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) pathways encoded in the genomes of 216 profiled taxa with monosaccharide composition analysis of each medicinal herb by quantitative mass spectrometry to enhance the interpretation of resulting microbial communities and discern potential drivers of microbiota restructuring. Collectively, our results indicate that gut microbiota engage in both protein and glycan catabolism, providing amino acid and sugar substrates that are consumed by fermentative species. We identified taxa that are efficient amino acid fermenters and those capable of both amino acid and sugar fermentation. Herb-induced microbial communities are predicted to alter the relative abundance of taxa encoding SCFA (butyrate and propionate) pathways. Co-occurrence network analyses identified a large number of taxa pairs in medicinal herb cultures. Some of these pairs displayed related culture growth relationships in replicate cultures highlighting potential functional interactions among medicinal herb-induced taxa.
Journal Article