Dietary supplementation with pseudostellaria heterophylla polysaccharide enhanced immunity and changed mRNA expression of spleen in chicks.

In recent years, increasing interest has focused on natural components extracted from plants, among which plant polysaccharides as natural immunomodulators that can promote animal immunity. The present study was performed to investigate the effect of feed supplement Pseudostellaria Heterophylla Polysaccharide (PHP) on serum Immunoglobulins, T lymphocyte subpopulations, Cytokines and Lysozyme (LZM) activity in chicks. In addition, the influence of PHP on splenic gene expression was investigated by transcriptome sequencing. Four hundred 7-day-old Gushi cocks were randomly divided into four groups in a completely randomized design. The chicks were fed with a basal diet supplemented with 0 (CON-A), 100 (PHP-L), 200 (PHP-M) and 400 (PHP-H) mg/kg PHP. Blood and spleen samples were collected from 6 randomly selected chicks in each group at 14, 21, 28, and 35 days of age. The results showed that compared to the CON-A group, the PHP-M group exhibited significant increases in the levels of IgA, IgG, IgM, CD3, and LZM in the serum at 14, 21, 28, and 35 days (P < 0.05), and at 28 d, there was a significant quadratic relationship between the levels of dietary PHP and the levels of IgG, IgM, IFN-γ, IL-2, CD3, and LZM. Furthermore, a total of 470 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in spleen from PHP-M and CON-A at 28 d. These DEGs were significantly enriched in the Phagosome, Intestinal immune network for IgA production and Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathways. The present investigation highlights the ameliorating effect of dietary PHP on immunological variables and spleen of chicks, the study suggests that PHP supplementation can enhance immunity and positively impact spleen mRNA expression in chicks.

Organ- and Age-Specific Differences of Dioscorea polystachya Compounds Measured by UPLC-QTOF/MS.

Dioscorea polystachya, named Chinese yam, is widely cultivated as a functional food and natural medicine in China. There is currently little information about the chemical characteristics of Dioscorea polystachya in different organs (tuber cortex and tuber flesh) and at various ages. In this study, an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS) was used to profile chemical compounds in Dioscorea polystachya. As a result, thirty-eight compounds were detected in yam tuber cortex and tuber flesh. More compounds were detected in yam tuber cortex than in tuber flesh. Compounds such as dehydroepiandrosterone, allantoin and flavonoids were selected as biomarker candidates. Dehydroepiandrosterone was found more abundant in tuber flesh, while allantoin and flavonoids showed higher levels in tuber cortex. Furthermore, the levels of dioscin, malvalic acid and sucrose differed significantly among age groups and were highest in the tubers at 2 years. While the levels of allantoin, adenosine and glutamine increased with the growing years and were highest at 4 years. Thus, 2-year old Dioscorea polystachya tubers could be harvested to prepare dioscin, malvalic acid and sucrose supplements. The 4-year-old Dioscorea polystachya tubers would be the best choice for obtaining a large amount of allantoin and adenosine in industrial production.

Bivariate Correlation Analysis of the Chemometric Profiles of Chinese Wild Salvia miltiorrhiza Based on UPLC-Qqq-MS and Antioxidant Activities.

To better understand the mechanisms underlying the pharmacological actions of Salvia miltiorrhiza, correlation between the chemical profiles and in vitro antioxidant activities in 50 batches of wild S. miltiorrhiza samples was analyzed. Our ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis detected twelve phenolic acids and five tanshinones and obtained various chemical profiles from different origins. In a principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis, the tanshinones cryptotanshinone, tanshinone IIA and dihydrotanshinone I exhibited higher weights in PC1, whereas the phenolic acids danshensu, salvianolic acids A and B and lithospermic acid were highly loaded in PC2. All components could be optimized as markers of different locations and might be suitable for S. miltiorrhiza quality analyses. Additionally, the DPPH and ABTS assays used to comprehensively evaluate antioxidant activities indicated large variations, with mean DPPH and ABTS scavenging potencies of 32.24 and 23.39 µg/mL, respectively, among S. miltiorrhiza extract solutions. Notably, samples that exceeded the mean IC50 values had higher phenolic acid contents. A correlation analysis indicated a strong correlation between the antioxidant activities and phenolic acid contents. Caffeic acid, danshensu, rosmarinic acid, lithospermic acid and salvianolic acid B were major contributors to antioxidant activity. In conclusion, phenolic compounds were the predominant antioxidant components in the investigated plant species. These plants may be sources of potent natural antioxidants and beneficial chemopreventive agents.

Comparison study of phosphorus adsorption on different waste solids: Fly ash, red mud and ferric-alum water treatment residues.

The adsorption of phosphorus (P) onto three industrial solid wastes (fly ash, red mud and ferric-alum water treatment residual (FAR)) and their modified materials was studied systematically via batch experiments. Compared with two natural adsorbents (zeolite and diatomite), three solid wastes possessed a higher adsorption capacity for P because of the higher Fe, Al and Ca contents. After modification (i.e., the fly ash and red mud modified by FeCl3 and FARs modified by HCl), the adsorption capacity increased, especially for the modified red mud, where more Fe bonded P was observed. The P adsorption kinetics can be satisfactorily fitted using the pseudo-second-order model. The Langmuir model can describe well the P adsorption on all of the samples in our study. pH and dissolved organic matter (DOM) are two important factors for P adsorption. Under neutral conditions, the maximum adsorption amount on the modified materials was observed. With the deviation from pH7, the adsorption amount decreased, which resulted from the change of P species in water and surface charges of the adsorbents. The DOM in water can promote P adsorption, which may be due to the promotion effects of humic-Fe(Al) complexes and the pH buffer function exceeds the depression of competitive adsorption.