Blueberry Anthocyanins Extract Attenuates Acrylamide-Induced Oxidative Stress and Neuroinflammation in Rats.

Acrylamide (AA) is a widespread environmental and dietary-derived neurotoxin, which can induce oxidative stress and associated inflammation in the brain. Anthocyanins widely occur as natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytochemicals. Herein, the protective effects of blueberry anthocyanins extract (BAE) against AA-induced neurotoxicity were investigated in rats. The rats were pretreated with BAE (175 mg/kg body weight/day) by oral gavage for the first 7 days, followed by the co-administration of BAE and AA (35 mg/kg body weight/day) by oral gavage for the next 12 days. Results showed that BAE significantly decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) production, and increased glutathione (GSH) and antioxidant enzyme levels; and it also suppressed microglial activation, astrocytic reaction, and pro-inflammatory cytokine expressions. Furthermore, BAE elevated the extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK)/cAMP response elements binding protein (CREB)/brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) pathway, and relieved the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aß) 1-42 and 1-40 after AA exposure. Consequently, AA-induced neuronal necrosis and downregulation of synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25) were attenuated by BAE in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. In conclusion, BAE can exert a protective function on neurons and synapses against AA-induced oxidative stress and neuroinflammation.

Jiawei Yanghe Decoction Regulates Bone-Lipid Balance through the BMP-SMAD Signaling Pathway to Promote Osteogenic Differentiation of Bone Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Background: The Jiawei Yanghe decoction (JWYHD) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula for the treatment of osteoporosis, but its therapeutic mechanism has not been fully elucidated, and the therapeutic target of the intervention disease needs to be further verified. The dysfunction of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) is considered to be an important pathogenesis of postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP). The purpose of this study was to explore how JWYHD regulates BMSC differentiation through the BMP-SMAD signal pathway. Methods: In the in vivo study, we used an ovariectomized PMOP rat (n = 36, 2-month-old, 200 ± 20 g) model and femur micro-CT analysis to study the effect of JWYHD on bone loss in rats. By immunofluorescence, the translocation expression of BMP2, a key protein in the pathway, was detected. Serum bone metabolism was detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was detected by alkaline phosphatase staining (ALPS), osteogenesis and matrix mineralization were detected by alizarin red staining (ARS), the adipogenic ability of BMSCs was detected by oil red staining (ORS), and CFU is used to detect the ability of cells to form colonies. The expression of related proteins was detected by western blotting. Results: In vivo and in vitro, the OP phenotypes of SD rats induced by ovariectomy (OVX) included impaired bone mineral density and microstructure, abnormal bone metabolism, and impaired MSC differentiation potential. JWYHD treatment reversed this trend and restored the differentiation potential of MSCs. JWYHD medicated serum and direct intervention of drugs activated the BMP-SMAD signaling pathway, promoted the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, and inhibited their adipogenic differentiation. Conclusions: Our data identified that JWYHD is an effective alternative drug for the treatment of PMOP that functions to stimulate the differentiation of BMSCs into osteoblasts in the BMP-SMAD signaling-dependent mechanism.

Clinical acupuncture therapy for chronic cholecystitis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT: Chronic cholecystitis is a common chronic disease in clinical practice. The incidence of chronic cholecystitis is gradually increasing due to changes in eating habits and even if acute infections aren't treated in time, it can cause serious complications, continue to plague people's daily life and become an economic burden to society. Currently, the curative effect of chronic cholecystitis under the control of western medicine is still lacking and there are adverse reactions. However, based on current clinical controlled trials acupuncture therapy for chronic cholecystitis has gradually become a complementary treatment. Therefore, this systematic review aims to explore the safety and feasibility of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of chronic cholecystitis. METHODS: We will search the following databases: Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Embase, Chinese Biomedical Literatures Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wang Fang Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database from inception to February 2021 without any language restriction. At the same time, relevant literature will be searched manually. The main search terms include: "Acupuncture," "Cholecystitis." Data entry will be completed by 2 researchers separately. After entry, cross-checking will be performed to ensure the authenticity of the information. The main outcome criteria include: including the total effective rate of the patient; the traditional Chinese medicine symptom score of the patient includes: abdominal pain, tenderness in the right upper abdomen, and so on; secondary outcome criteria include: gallbladder contraction function and gallbladder thickness, VAS scores, recurrence rate, adverse reactions; use Cochrane risk bias assessment to evaluate and score the included randomized controlled trial; meta-analysis will be performed using RevMan 5.4.0 software. The heterogeneity test is based on the thresholds of P and I2, In order to use solid or random effects models. RESULTS: This systematic review only evaluates the safety and limitations of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of chronic cholecystitis. We will report the full text in the near future. CONCLUSION: This study will explore the safety and limitations of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of chronic cholecystitis, so that acupuncture therapy will be more widely used clinically. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202120020.

2-(6-Hydroxyhexylthio)-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone Induces Apoptosis through ROS-Mediated MAPK, STAT3, and NF-κB Signalling Pathways in Lung Cancer A549 Cells.

Two novel compounds, 2-(2-hydroxyethylthio)-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (HEDMNQ) and 2-(6-hydroxyhexylthio)-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (HHDMNQ), were synthesized to investigate the kill effects and mechanism of 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives in lung cancer cells. The results of the CCK-8 assay showed that HEDMNQ and HHDMNQ had significant cytotoxic effects on A549, NCI-H23, and NCI-H460 NSCLC cells. Flow cytometry and western blot results indicated that HHDMNQ induced A549 cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase by decreasing the expression levels of cyclin-dependent kinase 1/2 and cyclin B1. Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry results indicated that HHDMNQ could induce A549 cell apoptosis, and western blot analysis showed that HHDMNQ induced apoptosis through regulating the mitochondria pathway, as well as the MAPK, STAT3, and NF-κB signalling pathways. Flow cytometry results showed that intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were increased after HHDMNQ treatment, and western blot showed that ROS could modulate the intrinsic pathway and MAPK, STAT3, and NF-κB signalling pathways. These effects were blocked by the ROS inhibitor N-acetyl-L-cysteine in A549 cells. Our findings suggest that compared with HEDMNQ, HHDMNQ had the stronger ability to inhibit the cell viability of lung cancer cells and induce apoptosis by regulating the ROS-mediated intrinsic pathway and MAPK/STAT3/NF-κB signalling pathways. Thus, HHDMNQ might be a potential antitumour compound for treating lung cancer.

Chemical compositions of chrysanthemum teas and their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Seventeen commercial chrysanthemum teas (Chrysanthemum morifolium and Coreopsis tinctoria) were extracted with hot-H2O, and examined and compared to the 75% methanol extracts for their chemical compositions using UPLC/Q-TOF-MS analysis. For the first time, 6, 8-C,C-diglucosylapigenin and eriodicyol-7-O-glucoside were detected in the Snow chrysanthemum, and acetylmarein was detected in HangJu, GongJu and HuaiJu. The extracts were also examined for their radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory activities in vitro. The hot-H2O extract of Kunlunmiju 1 had the greatest total phenolic content, and relative DPPH and oxygen radical absorbance capacity values of 12.72 mg gallic acid equivalents/g, 105.48 and 1222.50 µmol Trolox equivalents/g, respectively. In addition, all the hot-H2O extracts suppressed the lipopolysaccharide-induced interleukin-6, IL-1ß and cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA expressions, and H2O2-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species production in cultured cells. The results from this research may be used to promote the consumption of chrysanthemum as a functional tea.

Triacylglycerol compositions of sunflower, corn and soybean oils examined with supercritical CO2 ultra-performance convergence chromatography combined with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

A supercritical CO2 ultra-performance convergence chromatography (UPC2) system was utilized with a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Q-TOF MS) to examine the triacylglycerol compositions of sunflower, corn and soybean oils. UPC2 provided an excellent resolution and separation for the triacylglycerols, while the high performance Q-TOF MS system was able to provide the molecular weight and fragment ions information for triacylglycerol compound characterization. A total of 33 triacylglycerols were identified based on their elementary compositions and MS2 fragment ion profiles, and their levels in the three oils were estimated. The combination of UPC2 and Q-TOF MS may determine triacylglycerol compositions for oils and fats, and provide sn-position information for fatty acids, which may be important for food nutritional value and stability.

Simultaneous determination of free amino acids in Pu-erh tea and their changes during fermentation.

Pu-erh ripened tea is produced through a unique microbial fermentation process from the sun-dried leaves of large-leaf tea species (Camellia sinensis (Linn.) var. assamica (Masters) Kitamura) in Yunnan province of China. In this study, the changes of amino acid profiles during fermentation of Pu-erh tea were investigated, based on the improved HPLC-UV method with PITC pre-column derivatization for the simultaneous determination of twenty free amino acids. Results showed that aspartic acid, glutamic acid, arginine, alanine, theanine and tyrosine were the major amino acids in tea samples. Fermentation significantly influenced on the amino acid profiles. The total free amino acid contents significantly decreased during fermentation (p<0.05). Meanwhile, low amount of acrylamide were detected. Its concentration increased after 7-days' fermentation and then decreased gradually. The results provided the useful information for the manipulation of fermentation process according to the changes of amino acids and acrylamide contents in Pu-erh ripened tea.

Evaluation of protective effect of freeze-dried strawberry, grape, and blueberry powder on acrylamide toxicity in mice.

Berries are dietary plants with high antioxidant activity. The aim of this study is to investigate the protective effect of berries (strawberry, grape, and blueberry) against the acrylamide (AA)-induced general toxicity, genotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity in mice model, respectively. Mice were treated with 50 mg/kg b.w./day AA intraperitoneal injection for 5 d after feeding control diet or diet containing freeze-dried strawberry, grape, and blueberry powder. The results showed that AA induced a significant general toxicity, genotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity in mice. Compared with the control diet, the diets containing berries could reverse the AA-induced alterations in liver antioxidant enzymes activities (P < 0.05). Moreover, the AA-induced genotoxicity could be prevented by the diet containing berries. The DNA damage in the lymphocyte and liver cells and the micronucleus formation in bone marrow cell were significantly alleviated (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the mice fed with diets containing berries showed a recovery in the sperm count, the sperm activity rate, sperm motility parameters, and the abnormal sperm rate (P < 0.05). Berry powders have remarkable intervention against the AA-induced general toxicity, genotoxicity, reproductive toxicity. Abundant phenolics, especially anthocyanins, may contribute to the intervention.