Zinc effects on cadmium toxicity in two wheat varieties (Triticum aestivum L.) differing in grain cadmium accumulation.

Presence of cadmium (Cd) in food poses serious risks to human health. Understanding the effects of zinc (Zn) on Cd absorption by crops could help provide a theoretical basis for the treatment with Zn on contaminated soils. In this study, two wheat varieties, differing in grain-Cd accumulation ability (L979, a Cd low-accumulation variety, and H27, a high-accumulation variety) were selected to investigate the effect of Zn addition on Cd toxicity. Cd was applied to nutrient solutions at 0 and 10 µM, and added Zn were 0, 50 and 100 µM. Zn supplements alleviated decreases in biomass induced by Cd toxicity for both varieties, and both varieties had different reduced concentrations of Cd in their shoots. Application of 50 µM Zn to H27 resulted in a 17% decrease in Cd concentrations. When treated with 100 µM Zn, only L979 showed a reduction in Cd concentration. The higher proportion of Cd in the soluble fraction was found in L979. In addition, ion-selective scanning at the root-surface indicated that Zn supplements reduced net root Cd2+ flux by 55% for L979, and 69% for H27. These mitigating effects of Zn in both varieties involved mechanisms related to photosynthesis, root growth, and antioxidant production. Additionally, both Zn available in the medium and absorbed in plant tissue causes antagonistic effects on Cd absorption for wheat. It seemed that vacuolar compartmentation could contribute Cd detoxification especially for low accumulation variety.

α-Mangostin suppresses ethanol-induced gastric ulceration by regulating the Nrf2/HO-1 and NF-κB/NLRP3/caspase-1 signaling pathways and gut microbiota.

α-Mangostin is a natural xanthone derivative isolated from Camellia atrophy (CA), commonly known as Lichuan black tea (LBT). The present study investigated the ameliorating effect and mechanism of α-mangostin on alcoholic gastric ulcers (GU) in rats. In vivo, α-mangostin relieved pathological symptoms. Moreover, α-mangostin regulated the activation of the nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)/NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3)/caspase-1 pathways. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) were significantly decreased and IL-10 were increased, the microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3)-II/LC3-I ratio was increased, p62 protein expression was decreased, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) protein expression was down-regulated. The relevant mechanisms were validated using GSE-1 and RAW264.7 cells in an in vitro model. Furthermore, α-mangostin increased Ligilactobacillus and Muribaculum abundance as well as propionic acid and butyric acid contents. Therefore, α-mangostin possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and remodels intestinal flora dysbiosis through mechanisms that may involve regulation of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and NF-κB/NLRP3/caspase-1 pathway. It also increases propionic acid and butyric acid contents. This study provides novel evidence regarding the use of α-mangostin for treating GU.

Exogenous ascorbic acid application alleviates cadmium toxicity in seedlings of two wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties by reducing cadmium uptake and enhancing antioxidative capacity.

The aggravation of soil cadmium (Cd) pollution is a serious threat to human food health and safety. To reduce Cd uptake and alleviate Cd toxicity in staple food of wheat, a completely random experiment was performed to investigate the effect of exogenous ascorbic acid (AsA) on Cd toxicity in two wheat varieties (L979 and H27). In this study, the treatments with combinations of Cd (0, 5, and 10 µmol L-1) and AsA (0, 50, and 200 µmol L-1) were applied in a hydroponic system. Toxicity induced by Cd inhibited biomass accumulation; decreased wheat growth, photosynthesis, and chlorophyll content; increased lipid peroxidation; and reduced activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), but stimulated catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD). The addition of AsA significantly improved the growth status by increasing the wheat biomass, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, protein concentrations, and antioxidant enzyme activity. Besides, AsA significantly decreased Cd concentration of shoot and root by 14.1-53.9% and 20.8-59.5% in L979 and 23.7-58.8% and 22.1-58.1% in H27 under Cd5, and 23.7-53.6% and 16.6-57.1% in L979 and 21.5-51.6% and 15.3-54.0% in H27 under Cd10, respectively. Malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation was decreased remarkably with the addition of AsA by 31.2-32.9% in L979 and 27.1-45.2% in H27 under Cd10, respectively. Overall, exogenous application of AsA alleviated the Cd toxicity in wheat plants by improving the wheat growth, soluble protein content, photosynthesis, and antioxidant defense systems, and decreasing MDA accumulation.

[A multi-center, randomized control trial on clinical research education to diabetes patients].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of implementing education about clinical research in changing the awareness and attitudes of diabetic patients. METHODS: A randomized control trial was implemented in 258 patients with diabetes from 6 hospitals. The participants were assigned to the intervention group (129 cases, who received education about the clinical research) and the control group (129 cases, who received no intervention). The outcome indicators were the variables on knowledge, attitude for the clinical research between before and after intervention in the same group and between the two groups. RESULTS: There was no withdrawal or lost in the two groups. Comparing the contents between inter-groups and intra-group for 19 assignment questions, it showed statistical significance (P<0.05). After the patients received education, their knowledge about and attitude towards clinical research, informed consent, placebo, follow-up, random allocation, and ethics, etc. were markedly improved. Their attitudes for the participants to join in scientific research, opinion, confidence were obviously changed, and it also showed that the method was feasible. The patients' education level was positively correlated with the clinical research educated outputs. CONCLUSION: This study proved the necessity for patients participating in future clinical trials to receive education, as well as its feasibility and effectiveness.

Eutectic-based liposome as a potential delivery system of paeonol.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs), as a new type of green solvent, show great advantages of easy preparation and no need of purification after synthesis and have great potential applications in various fields. Moreover, when combining active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) with DESs, a new type of drug delivery system called a therapeutic deep eutectic solvent (THEDES) can be developed to increase the solubility of the APIs and/or their permeation ability as well as bioactivity. Herein, we have designed a new THEDES based on paeonol and lauric acid with a molar ratio of 1 : 1. The physicochemical properties as well as the bioactivity were investigated by a series of techniques. The THEDES showed better solubility in water and similar bioactivities as compared to the pure APIs. Besides, we further prepared a THEDES liposome, which possessed an average size of about 120 nm with an encapsulation efficiency of 84%. The obtained liposome showed good stability during the experimental period, which indicated a potential application for the delivery of paeonol. The results presented herein suggested that THEDES may be regarded as a new strategy for the effective delivery of APIs.

Silicon alleviates cadmium toxicity in wheat seedlings (Triticum aestivum L.) by reducing cadmium ion uptake and enhancing antioxidative capacity.

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic element that poses a great threat to human health, while silicon (Si) is a beneficial element and has been shown to have a mitigation effect on plants under Cd toxicity. However, the mechanisms underlying the role of Si in alleviating Cd toxicity are still poorly understood in wheat. Therefore, growth status, photosynthesis parameters, root morphology, antioxidant system, and Cd2+ uptake and flux under Cd toxicity were studied through hydroponic experiment, aiming to explore the mitigation of Si on Cd toxicity in wheat seedlings. The results showed that Si supply improved plant biomass as well as photosynthetic but had little effects on root morphology of seedlings under Cd stress. Si addition decreased Cd contents both in shoots and roots. In situ measurements of Cd2+ flux showed that Si significantly inhibited the net Cd2+ influx in roots of wheat. Si also mitigated the oxidative stress in wheat leaves by decreasing malondialdialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) contents as well as by increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) and guaiacol peroxidase (POD) activity. Overall, the results revealed that Si could alleviate Cd toxicity in wheat seedlings by improving plant growth and antioxidant capacity and by decreasing Cd uptake and lipid peroxidation.

[Response of Maize to Lead Stress and Relevant Chemical Forms of Lead].

A sand-culture experiment was carried out to research the differences in lead (Pb) chemical-form among different maize varieties for roots and shoots under Pb stress, and further investigate into the mechanism of maize endurance to resist Pb. The results showed that the wheat varieties of Zhengdan 958 and Longping 206 have the maximum Pb tolerance, whereas Lianchuang 5's tolerance of Pb was the minimum. Pb form in roots and shoots were mainly harmfulness HAc-extractable and HCl-extractable, accounting for a high proportion of 60% - 87%. Moreover, these values in roots were slightly higher than those in shoots. And concentrations of alcohol-extractable and water-extractable Pb accounted for the proportion of 6% - 20%. Under 100 mg x L(-1) Pb stress, the alcohol-extractable together with water-extractable Pb content in shoots of Longping 206 was the lowest (0.52 mg x kg(-1)), and that of in Zhengdan 958 shoots was 0.93 mg x kg(-1) which was also very low. However, for Lianchuang 5, the content could reach 2.78 mg x kg(-1). Under the stress of 800 mg x L(-1) Pb, content of alcohol-extractable together with water-extractable Pb in Zhengdan 958 shoots was 2.41 mg x kg(-1), which was still the lowest. These were probable reasons why Zhengdan 958 was more resistant to Pb stress than other varieties. Tolerance of Zhengdan 958 to Pb stress was related to it's strong ability to convert toxic Pb into non-toxic Pb.