[Study on the ultraviolet protective effects of the cream of the total flavonoids from Oxytropis falcata].

OBJECTIVE: To study the protective effects of the cream of the total flavonoids from Oxytropis falcata on the destructed skin of mice induced by moderate-wave ultraviolet (UVB) irradiation. METHODS: Dorsal skin of Wistar mice were treated with the cream of the total flavonoids from Oxytropis falcata and then irradiated with UVB in the dosage of 5 min once a day for one week. The tissue of skin was pathological diagnosed and the activities or contents of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), hydroxyproline (Hyp), glutathione peroxidease (GSH-Px), glutathione (GSH), glutathion-s-transferase (GST), catalase (CAT) and hydroxy radical (*OH) were determined with chromatometry. RESULTS: The ultraviolet protective effects of the cream could be observed with appearance and pathology examine. The cream could increase the activities of SOD (P < 0.001), GSH-Px (P < 0.001), GST (P < 0.05) and CAT (P < 0.01), raise the content of Hyp (P < 0.001) significantly. The cream could also decrease the contents of MDA and *OH (P < 0.001), and the activities of GSH significantly (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The cream of the total flavonoids from Oxytropis falcata has protective effect on the destructed skin of mice induced by moderate-wave ultraviolet (UVB) irradiation.

High Value-Added Application of Two Renewable Sources as Healthy Food: The Nutritional Properties, Chemical Compositions, Antioxidant, and Antiinflammatory Activities of the Stalks of Rheum officinale Baill. and Rheum tanguticum Maxim. ex Regel.

Rhubarb plants (Rheum officinale and R. tanguticum) have edible stalks. In this work, we aimed to compare the nutritional properties, chemical compositions, and bioactivities of R. officinale (SRO) and R. tanguticum (SRT) stalks and to analyze the composition-function relationship. Results showed that the two stalks were good sources of fiber, as well as minerals. They contained abundant essential amino acids and essential fatty acids to regulate the immunity and prevent some chronic diseases; the contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids were 2,244.32 mg/100 g and 2,844.69 mg/100 g, respectively. The antioxidant activity were also proved. Metabolomics showed that SRO and SRT contained abundant phenolic acids. Due to the higher concentrations of flavones, SRT has better antiinflammatory activities than SRO by inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway. Rhubarb stalks exhibited good safety in acute toxicity and cytotoxicity tests. This work indicated that the two stalks have nutritional value, safety, and bioactivities, and could be used as sources of nutritional ingredients for regulating the immunity of body in food industry.

Low-grade fever during COVID-19 convalescence: A report of 3 cases.

BACKGROUND: Low-grade fever during convalescence is an atypical symptom of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Reports of such cases are rare, and the mechanism and outcome of low-grade fever during COVID-19 convalescence are not completely clear. We report 3 cases with low-grade fever during COVID-19 convalescence and highlight the main clinical, radiographic, and laboratory characteristics, thereby increasing the level of expertise in the clinical management of COVID-19 during convalescence and facilitating individualized decision-making. CASE SUMMARY: We describe 3 patients with COVID-19, two females aged 62 and 66 years and a male 55 years, who had low-grade fever during COVID-19 convalescence. All 3 patients had no other discomfort or comorbidities during low-grade process. Lesions on computed tomography in all 3 patients had resolved during this period. Two patients tested negative on two consecutive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 tests with an interval of at least 24 h between tests. Body temperature in all 3 patients returned to normal after several days without treatment, and fever recurrence was not observed. CONCLUSION: Enhancing the knowledge of low-grade fever during COVID-19 convalescence may increase the expertise in the delivery of optimal healthcare services.

Betaine Effects on Morphology, Proliferation, and p53-induced Apoptosis of HeLa Cervical Carcinoma Cells in Vitro.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of betaine on HeLa cell growth and apoptosis and molecular mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Concentrations of 0.1, 1.0, 5.0, 20.0, 100.0 mg/ml of betaine were used to evaluate the anticancer efficacy for HeLa cells respectively, and MCF-10A was also detected as a normal diploid cell control. RESULTS: We found that proliferation of HeLa cells was inhibited significantly upon exposure to increasing betaine levels with the MTT test (p<0.05). The percentage of S phase cells in the low dose groups (< 5mg/ml) were distinctly higher than in high dose groups, and the rates of Sub-G1 phase were the opposite (p<0.01); A high concentration of betaine (>5.0mg/ml) significantly promoted the apoptosis of HeLa cells (p<0.01). SOD activities of the low dose groups were slightly higher than the control group (p<0.05) and there were obvious synchronicity and correlation among the expression of promoting apoptosis genes Bax, P53, Caspase 3 and apoptosis suppression gene Bcl-2. In response to an apoptosis-inducing stimulus, p53 and cyclin D1 could be activated with blockage of the cell cycle at G1/S or S/G2 checkpoints. CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed that betaine could promote HeLa cells proliferation in vitro at low concentrations.In contrast, high concentrations could significantly inhibit cell growth and migration, and induce apoptosis of HeLa cells through caspase 3 signaling and further promoted necrosis. This might imply that betaine exhibits tumoricidal effects and acts as a biological response modifier in cancer treatment by inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in a dose and time-dependent manner.