Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide. Factors increasing the risks for CVD development are related to obesity, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and lifestyle. CVD risk factors may be treated with appropriate drugs, but prolonged can use cause undesirable side-effects. Among the natural products used in complementary and alternative medicines, are the β-ᴅ-glucans; biopolymers found in foods (cereals, mushrooms), and can easily be produced by microbial fermentation. Independent of source, β-glucans of the mixed-linked types [(1 → 3)(1 → 6)-β-ᴅ-glucans - fungal, and (1 → 3)(1 → 4)-β-ᴅ-glucans - cereal] have widely been studied because of their biological activities, and have demonstrated cardiovascular protective effects. In this review, we discuss the roles of β-ᴅ-glucans in various pathophysiological conditions that lead to CVDs including obesity, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, oxidative stress, hypertension, atherosclerosis and stroke. The β-glucans from all of the sources cited demonstrated potential hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic and anti-obesogenicity activities, reduced hypertension and ameliorated the atherosclerosis condition. More recently, β-glucans are recognized as possessing prebiotic properties that modulate the gut microbiome and impact on the health benefits including cardiovascular. Overall, all the studies investigated unequivocally demonstrated the dietary benefits of consuming β-glucans regardless of source, thus constituting a promising panaceutical approach to reduce CVD risk factors.Domestication of silkworm has led to alterations in various gene expression patterns. For instance, many protease inhibitors were significantly downregulated in the domestic silkworm cocoon compared to its wild progenitor. Considering that SPI51 is the most abundant protease inhibitor in silkworm cocoons, herein, we compared the gene structures and sequences of SPI51 from B. mori (BmoSPI51) and B. mandarina (BmaSPI51). Comparing to the "RGGFR" active site in BmaSPI51, that of BmoPI51 is "KGSFP" and the C-terminal "YNTCECSCP" tail sequence is lost in the latter. To investigate the effect elicited by the active site and tail sequences on the function of SPI51, we expressed two mutated forms of BmoSPI51, namely, BmoSPI51 + tail and BmoSPI51M. BmoSPI51, BmoSPI51 + tail and BmoSPI51M were compared and found to have similar levels of inhibitory activity against trypsin. However, the BmoSPI51 + tail and BmoSPI51M proteins exhibited significantly stronger capacities to inhibit fungi growth, compared to BmoSPI51. We concluded that the specific amino acid sequence of the active site, as well as its the disulfide bond formed by C-terminal sequence in the BmaSPI51, represent the key factors responsible for its higher antifungal activity. This study provided new insights into the antifungal mechanisms elicited by protease inhibitors in the cocoons of silkworms.Nature provides concepts and materials with interesting functionalities to be implemented in innovative and sustainable materials. In this review, it is illustrated how the combination of biological macromolecules, i.e. polydopamine and polysaccharides (cellulose, chitin/chitosan, alginate), enables to create functional materials with controlled properties. The mussel-adhesive properties rely on the secretion of proteins having 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine amino acid with catechol groups. Fundamental understanding on the biological functionality and interaction mechanisms of dopamine in the mussel foot plaque is presented in parallel with the development of synthetic analogues through extraction or chemical polymer synthesis. Subsequently, modification of cellulose, chitin/chitosan or alginate and their nanoscale structures with polydopamine is discussed for various technical applications, including bio- and nanocomposites, films, filtration or medical membranes, adhesives, aerogels, or hydrogels.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/arv-110.html  The presence of polydopamine stretches far beyond surface adhesive properties, as it can be used as an intermediate to provide additional performance of hydrophobicity, self-healing, antimicrobial, photocatalytic, sensoric, adsorption, biocompatibility, conductivity, coloring or mechanical properties. The dopamine-based 'green' chemistry can be extended towards generalized catechol chemistry for modification of polysaccharides with tannic acid, caffeic acid or laccase-mediated catechol functionalization. Therefore, the modification of polysaccharides with polydopamine or catechol analogues provides a general platform for sustainable material functionalization.Here we report the preparation of biomimetic fibrin/chitosan/keratin hybrid scaffolds with a synergistic combination of ferulic acid loaded silica microspheres for antimicrobial wound dressing applications. The infrared and X-ray powder diffraction studies confirm the homogenous nature of the prepared hybrid scaffolds without any major interactions between the constituents. The developed hybrid scaffolds show good thermal, porosity, compression and water uptake properties. Scanning electron microscopic analysis shows that the as-synthesized ferulic acid loaded silica microspheres exhibit an average size of 35 ± 10 μm and also exposes the smooth surface with interconnected porosity in the prepared hybrid scaffolds. The incorporated ferulic acid loaded silica microspheres hybrid scaffolds show effective antimicrobial activity against the common wound pathogens. In vitro NIH3T3 fibroblast cell culture and drug release studies reveal that the prepared hybrid scaffolds have enhanced cell proliferation and adhesion with a prolonged drug release for about 72 h. In vitro wound healing and actin cytoskeleton analysis reveal that the incorporated ferulic acid loaded silica microspheres in fibrin/chitosan/keratin hybrid scaffolds facilitates cell growth and migration to damaged area through cell-cell interactions. These results suggest that the prepared hybrid scaffolds with ferulic acid loaded silica microspheres have great potential for soft tissue engineering applications particularly for the treatment of chronic and infected wounds.