Acorus tatarinowii Schott: A Review of Its Botany, Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacology.

Acorus tatarinowii Schott (A. tatarinowii) is a natural medicinal plant. It plays an indispensable role in the treatment of diseases by the empirical medicine system and has achieved remarkable curative effects. A. tatarinowii is often used to treat various diseases, such as depression, epilepsy, fever, dizziness, heartache, stomachache, etc. More than 160 compounds of different structural types have been identified in A. tatarinowii, including phenylpropanoids, terpenoids, lignans, flavonoids, alkaloids, amides, and organic acids. These bioactive ingredients make A. tatarinowii remarkable for its pharmacological effects, including antidepressant, antiepileptic, anticonvulsant, antianxiety, neuroprotective, antifatigue, and antifungal effects, improving Alzheimer's disease, and so on. It is noteworthy that A. tatarinowii has been widely used in the treatment of brain diseases and nervous system diseases and has achieved satisfactory therapeutic effects. This review focused on the research publications of A. tatarinowii and aimed to summarize the advances in the botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology, which will provide a reference for further studies and applications of A. tatarinowii.

Evaluation for the effects of nutritional education on Chinese elite male young soccer players: The application of adjusted dietary balance index (DBI).

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of nutrition education on Chinese elite male young soccer players through the knowledge, attitude, behavior (KAP) survey and an adjusted dietary balance index (DBI). METHODS: 30 Chinese elite male young soccer players were randomly divided into two groups: lecture group (N = 15, Age: 16.7 ±â€¯1.8 years, Height: 173.9 ±â€¯9.0 cm; Weight: 62.4 ±â€¯13.0 kg; Training years: 5.6 ±â€¯2.7 years) and non-lecture group (N = 15, Age: 16.8 ±â€¯1.7 years, Height: 175.5 ±â€¯7.9 cm; Weight: 62.5 ±â€¯12.3 kg; Training years: 6.2 ±â€¯3.3). The comics book was given to the non-lecture group, while the a four-week nutritional quality education along with comic books were given to the lecture group. Before and after 4 weeks nutritional education, dietary nutritional status of both groups was assessed. The main outcome measurements included the scores for each part of the KAP survey, diet status (food-weighing method) and the dietary index in the adjusted DBI-07 system (DBI-low bound score, LBS; DBI-high bound score, HBS; and DBI-diet quality distance, DQD). RESULTS: In the lecture group, significant differences were found in the scores of general nutrition knowledge, sports nutrition knowledge and total scores of KAP dietary questionnaire after 4 weeks nutritional education (P < 0.01). However, there is no significant difference in dietary attitude and dietary behavior (P > 0.05) on both two groups. There is no significant change in the DBI-low bound score (LBS), DBI-high bound score (HBS) and DBI-diet quality distance (DQD) of dietary quality index (P > 0.05) in both two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Four weeks nutritional quality education improved the understanding of dietary nutrition among Chinese elite male young soccer players.

Extraction, purification, structural characteristics, biological activities, and applications of polysaccharides from the genus Lilium: A review.

The genus Lilium (Lilium) has been widely used in East Asia for over 2000 years due to its rich nutritional and medicinal value, serving as both food and medicinal ingredient. Polysaccharides, as one of the most important bioactive components in Lilium, offer various health benefits. Recently, polysaccharides from Lilium plants have garnered significant attention from researchers due to their diverse biological properties including immunomodulatory, anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-tumor, anti-bacterial, anti-aging and anti-radiation effects. However, the limited comprehensive understanding of polysaccharides from Lilium plants has hindered their development and utilization. This review focuses on the extraction, purification, structural characteristics, biological activities, structure-activity relationships, applications, and relevant bibliometrics of polysaccharides from Lilium plants. Additionally, it delves into the potential development and future research directions. The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive understanding of polysaccharides from Lilium plants and to serve as a basis for further research and development as therapeutic agents and multifunctional biomaterials.

Effects of Three Commercially Available Sports Drinks on Substrate Metabolism and Subsequent Endurance Performance in a Postprandial State.

Purpose: To examine the effects of commercially available sports beverages with various components on substrate metabolism and subsequent performance. Methods: Two studies were conducted in a double-blinded, counterbalanced manner. Study I was designed to determine the glycemic index, while study II determined the utilization of substrates and subsequent exercise performance. Ten healthy male participants (age 21.70 ± 2.41 years, height 176.60 ± 5.23 cm, weight 66.58 ± 5.38 kg, V̇O2max 48.1 ± 8.4 mL/kg/min) participated in both study I and study II. Three types of commercially available sports beverage powders were used. The powders consisted primarily of oligosaccharides (low molecular weight carbohydrates, L-CHO), hydrolyzed starch (high molecular weight CHO, H-CHO), and whey protein powder with carbohydrate (CHO-PRO). They were dissolved in purified water with identical CHO concentration of 8% (w/v). In study I, each participant underwent two oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) and one glycemic response test for each sports drink. In study II, participants cycled for 60 min at 70% V̇O2max, one hour after consuming a standardized breakfast. One of four prescribed beverages (L-CHO, H-CHO, CHO-PRO, and Placebo control, PLA) was served at 0, 15, 30, 45 min during the exercise. Six hours after the first exercise session, participants came back for a "time to exhaustion test" (TTE). Blood samples were drawn at 0, 30, and 60 min in the first exercise session, while arterial blood gas analysis was conducted at 0, 30, and 60 min in both sessions. Subjective feelings (rating of perceived exertion and abdominal discomfort) were also evaluated every 30 min during exercise. Results: Compared to the reference standardized glucose solution, the glycemic index of the L-CHO beverage was 117.70 ± 14.25, while H-CHO was 105.50 ± 12.82, and CHO-PRO was 67.23 ± 5.88. During the exercise test, the insulin level at 30 and 60 min was significantly lower than baseline following the treatment of L-CHO, H-CHO, and PLA (p < 0.05). The CHO oxidation rate at 60 min in the first exercise session was significantly higher than that at 60 min in the second exercise session following the L-CHO treatment (p < 0.05). Time to exhaustion was not significantly different (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The CHO sports beverage with additional PRO maintains insulin production during endurance cycling at 70% V̇O2max in the postprandial state. L-CHO sports beverage suppresses fat utilization during the subsequent exercise performance test. The subsequent exercise performance (as evaluated by TTE) was not influenced by the type of CHO or the addition of PRO in the commercially available sports beverages used in the present study.