Macleaya cordata extract improves growth performance, immune responses and anti-inflammatory capacity in neonatal piglets.

Macleaya cordata was a kind of traditional herbal medicine, which may a potential substitute for antibiotics. However, the effects of Macleaya cordata on neonatal piglets have rarely been reported. In this study, three groups were designed, including normal saline (Control group, CON), 8 mg/mL Macleaya cordata extract (MCE group, MCE) and 5 mg/mL Chlortetracycline Hydrochloride (CCH group, CCH), to investigate the effects of MCE on growth performance, blood parameters, inflammatory cytokines, regenerating islet-derived 3 gamma (REG3γ) expression and the transcriptomes of neonatal piglets. The results showed that, compared with the control group, MCE significantly increased the average daily gain (p < 0.01); spleen index (p < 0.05) contents of IL-10, TGF-ß, IgG in serum and sIgA in the ileum mucus of neonatal piglets at 7 d and 21 d (p < 0.01). The diarrhoea incidence and serum TNF-α and IFN-γ contents of neonatal piglets at 7 d and 21 d were significantly decreased (p < 0.01). In addition, MCE significantly increased the mRNA expression of TGF-ß, IL-10, and REG3γ (p < 0.01) and significantly decreased the mRNA expression of IL-33, TNF-α and IFN-γ in the ileal mucosa of neonatal piglets at 21 d (p < 0.01). The differentially expressed genes and the signal pathways, related to cytokine generation and regulation, immunoregulation and inflammation were identified. In conclusion, MCE can significantly improve growth performance, reduce diarrhoea incidence, relieve inflammation, improve immune function, and improve disease resistance in neonatal piglets. MCE can be used as a potential substitute for antibiotics in neonatal piglets.

The Interaction Effect between Blood Stasis Constitution and Atherosclerotic Factors on Cognitive Impairment in Elderly People.

OBJECTIVE: Blood stasis (BS) constitution represents a tendency to stagnation and positively associates with the severity of atherosclerosis. In this study, we have identified the interaction effect between BS constitution and atherosclerosis on cognitive impairment in the elderly people. METHODS: Eligible elderly people ≥65 years old who attended physical examination in the Mawei community of Fuzhou city during 2015 were enrolled in this study. We explored the characteristics of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) constitution and atherosclerotic factors in the normal and cognitive impairment groups and their interaction effect between participants' Minimental State Examination (MMSE) scores in the elderly people. RESULTS: The prevalence of cognitive impairment in the elderly people was 13.0%. Red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (HB), ankle brachial index (ABI), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (BaPWV), and blood stasis (BS) were significantly different between normal and cognitive impairment group (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis indicated that RBC (odds ratio (OR)=0.530 (0.343-0.817), P=0.004), HB (OR=0.980 (0.967-0.993), P=0.003), ABI (OR=2.199(1.112-4.347), P=0.023), and blood stasis constitution (OR=1.808 (1.022-3.202), P=0.042) were correlated with cognitive impairment. The interactions of blood stasis with HB, ABI, and BaPWV significantly impacted the MMSE score (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Elderly individuals with blood stasis may be at a higher risk of arterial stenosis and sclerosis, leading to susceptibility to cognitive impairment.