Animal manures promoted soil phosphorus transformation via affecting soil microbial community in paddy soil.

Animal manures are reported as good substitutes for chemical fertilizers to mobilize soil phosphorus (P). However, the mechanisms on how different types of manures regulate microbial biomass involved in P mobilization remain unclear. In this study, we conducted a two-year field experiment to investigate variations in soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and P (MBP) and P fractions after 30% animal manures substitution (pig manure (PM), chicken manure (CM), and dairy manure (DM)) in paddy soil. Furthermore, a 30-day incubation experiment was used to explore the mechanisms of soil P transformation induced by 100% manures addition. Two-year field experiment results showed that, compared to the chemical NPK fertilizer, 30% manure substitution didn't influence rice and wheat yields significantly but decreased soil total P loss from runoff by 3.2%. However, 30% manure substitution significantly enhanced MBC and MBP by 11.3-18.4% and 57.1-81.2%, respectively, which also promoted the transformation of moderately labile P (M-P) to labile P (L-P). Moreover, the incubation experiment also convinced that all manures caused higher MBC than chemical P fertilizer. Meanwhile, compared to the no P fertilizer, manures increased L-P and organic P by 2.7%-14.7% and 6.4%-20.0%, respectively. Redundancy analysis indicated that soil MBC/MBP ratio was the main factor to soil L-P and M-P, indicating that animal manures can improve soil microbial abundance and thus promote M-P to L-P in soil. Among three animal manures, PM could improve the mobilization potential of P mostly, due to the highest C source activity by 13C NMR analysis. Our study indicated that animal manures especially PM can be considered as a good candidate for agricultural P management in paddy soils because of their capacity to promote soil P transformation.

Protective effects of iridoid glycosides on acute colitis via inhibition of the inflammatory response mediated by the STAT3/NF-кB pathway.

Morroniside and loganin are iridoid glycosides extracted from Cornus officinalis, a plant species widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. However, the anti-inflammatory effects of morroniside and loganin in colitis are barely understood. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of morroniside and loganin on the dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced murine model of colitis and an LPS-induced colorectal cancer (CRC) cell inflammation model, and to clarify the underlying mechanisms. We found that morroniside and loganin were able to ameliorate clinical features, including disease activity index (DAI), histological inflammation score and periodic acid-Schiff staining (PAS). In the mouse model, morroniside and loganin treatment increased expression of tight junction proteins (TJs) and decreased pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Moreover, our findings showed that the expression of p-STAT3 and p-p65 were suppressed compared to the disease group. In in vitro experiments, treatment with morroniside and loganin had no obvious effects on proliferative activity in HCT116 cells and HIEC-6 cells. Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines was inhibited by morroniside and loganin treatment in comparison with the LPS-treated group. Taken together, morroniside and loganin have beneficial effects on colitis in vivo and are anti-inflammatory in vitro. Possible mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory response may include blockade of the STAT3/NF-κB pathway.

Small-scale interaction of iron and phosphorus in flooded soils with rice growth.

In the rhizosphere of flooded paddy soils, the solubilization, efflux, and uptake of phosphorus (P) are highly intertwined with iron (Fe) redox cycling. However, the direct observation of Fe-P coupling in the rhizosphere is challenging. This study combined high-resolution dialysis (HR-Peeper) and diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) techniques to capture the one-dimensional distributions of soluble reactive P (SRP), soluble Fe(II), and labile P and Fe in the root zone of rice (Oryza sativa L.), respectively. The results show a depletion of soluble/labile P and Fe concentrations around the rice root zone, compared to anaerobic bulk soils that have two different soil Olsen-P levels. Two-dimensional (2D) measurements of DGT-labile P concentrations exhibited similar but stronger trends of P depletion due to uptake of P from soil solids. In low-P soil treatment, 97.8% soluble Fe(II) was depleted in the rice root zone relative to bulk soil, and a 540% enrichment of total Fe in Fe plaques appeared in comparison to that in high-P soil. This demonstrated that the rice plant showed an adaptive metabolic reaction to combat P deficiency in low-P soil by increasing Fe plaque formation. This reaction directly resulted in stronger depletion of P in low-P soil, as indicated by the results of 2D measurements of DGT-labile P concentrations. Moreover, the significant (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.175-0.951) positive corrections between SRP vs. soluble Fe(II), and DGT-labile P vs. Fe were observed in combination with pronounced peaks at the same position in the rice root zone, thus verifying that the cycling of Fe dictated P depletion. A notably lower value of the DGT-labile Fe/P ratio was found in high-P soil, which indicates a relatively higher risk of P release compared to that in low-P soil.

Corilagin induces apoptosis, autophagy and ROS generation in gastric cancer cells in vitro.

Corilagin, a unique component of the tannin family, has been identified in several medicinal plants. In previous literature, corilagin exhibited a marked anticancer property in a variety of human cancer cells. However, the biological effects of corilagin on gastric cancer and the mechanisms involved remain to be fully elucidated. In the present study, it was reported that corilagin induced inhibition of cell growth in SGC7901 and BGC823 cells in a concentration­dependent manner. It was found that corilagin exhibited less toxicity towards normal GES­1 cells. Furthermore, the study showed that corilagin induced the apoptosis of gastric cancer cells mainly via activating caspase­8, ­9, ­3 and poly ADP­ribose polymerase proteins. Simultaneously, it was verified that corilagin triggered autophagy in gastric cancer cells and the inhibition of autophagy improved the activity of corilagin on cell growth suppression. In addition, corilagin significantly increased intracellular reactive oxygen species production, which is important in inhibiting the growth of gastric cancer cells. Finally, it was shown that necroptosis cannot be induced by corilagin­incubation in SGC7901 and BGC823 cell lines. Consequently, these findings indicate that corilagin may be developed as a potential therapeutic drug for gastric cancer.