Selenium-containing soybean peptides ameliorate intestinal inflammation and modulate gut microbiota dysbacteriosis in DSS-induced ulcerative colitis mice.

The purpose of this study was to explore the protective effects of selenium containing soybean peptides (SePPs) on inflammatory bowel disease in colitis mice. During the experimental period, the mice were administered with SePPs for 14 days, and then treated with drinking water containing 2.5% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) for 9 days, while the intervention of SePPs was continued. The results showed that low-dose SePPs (15 µg Se per kg per d bw) could effectively alleviate DSS-induced inflammatory bowel disease through the improvement of the antioxidant levels, reduction of inflammatory factor levels, and increase of tight junction protein expression of ZO-1 and occludin in the colon, thus improving the structure of the colon and strengthening the barrier function of the small intestine. Additionally, SePPs were found to significantly improve the production of short chain fatty acids (P < 0.05). Moreover, SePPs could improve intestinal microbiota diversity, significantly increasing the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and the abundance of some beneficial genera, such as Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group and Lactobacillus (P < 0.05). Though high-dose SePPs (30 µg Se per kg per d bw) could improve DSS induced bowel disease, the effect was worse than that in the low-dose SePP group. These findings provide new insights into Se-containing peptides as a functional food against inflammatory bowel disease and dietary selenium supplementation.

Dietary interventions for better management of osteoporosis: An overview.

Osteoporosis is a public health concern and a cause of bone loss, increased risk of skeletal fracture, and a heavy economic burden. It is common in postmenopausal women and the elderly and is impacted by dietary factors, lifestyle and some secondary factors. Although many drugs are available for the treatment of osteoporosis, these therapies are accompanied by subsequent side effects. Hence, dietary interventions are highly important to prevent osteoporosis. This review was aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the roles of dietary nutrients derived from natural foods and of common dietary patterns in the regulation of osteoporosis. Nutrients from daily diets, such as unsaturated fatty acids, proteins, minerals, peptides, phytoestrogens, and prebiotics, can regulate bone metabolism and reverse bone loss. Meanwhile, these nutrients generally existed in food groups and certain dietary patterns also play critical roles in skeletal health. Appropriate dietary interventions (nutrients and dietary patterns) could be primary and effective strategies to prevent and treat osteoporosis across the lifespan for the consumers and food enterprises.

Selenium-containing soybean antioxidant peptides: Preparation and comprehensive comparison of different selenium supplements.

Present study aimed to prepare and identify antioxidative peptides from selenium-containing soybeans, and to investigate their bioavailability and protective effects against oxidative stress-related diseases. Selenium-containing soybean antioxidative peptides (Mw < 1 kDa, SePPs) hydrolyzed by Neutrase and Alcalase reached the highest cellular antioxidant activity (EC50 value 320.5 ± 39.71 µg/L). SePPs could be efficiently absorbed through Caco-2 monolayer, and then significantly reverse the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced inflammatory cytokine, phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinases (p-JNK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) levels in EA. hy926 cells (p < 0.05). d-galactose-induced aging mice model showed that liver superoxidase dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) were enhanced, while aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and NF-κB were decreased by SePPs significantly (p < 0.05). SePPs could inhibit brain oxidative stress via regulating MAPK/NF-κB pathway. Comparing with Na2SeO3, selenomethionine (SeMet) and selenium-free peptides, SePPs was found to present synergistic effects of selenium and peptides in antioxidant activity.

Triterpenic acids-enriched fraction from Cyclocarya paliurus attenuates insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis via PI3K/Akt/GSK3ß pathway.

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent form of chronic liver diseases. Cyclocarya paliurus (C. paliurus), an edible and medicinal plant in Chinese folk, has been demonstrated to ameliorate diabetes, obesity and lipid metabolism disorders. However, its effects on NAFLD and its potential molecular mechanism have not been clearly expounded. PURPOSE: The present study was designed to explore the therapeutic potential of triterpenic acids-enriched fraction from C. paliurus (CPT), as well as its underlying mechanism in vivo and in vitro models of NAFLD. METHODS: The metabolic effects and possible molecular mechanism of CPT were examined using HepG2 cells and primary hepatocytes (isolated from C57BL/6 J mice) models of fatty liver induced by palmitic acid (PA) and a high fat diet mouse model. RESULTS: In high fat diet-induced C57BL/6 J mice, CPT significantly reduced liver weight index, serum alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and hepatic TG, TC levels. Moreover, CPT dramatically decreased the contents of blood glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index. Meanwhile, CPT significantly increased the tyrosine phosphorylation level of IRS and the uptake of 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) in PA-induced HepG2 cells and primary hepatocytes fatty liver models. Furthermore, in PA-induced HepG2 cells and primary hepatocytes, CPT significantly decreased the number of lipid droplets and intracellular TG content. In addition, mechanism investigation showed that CPT increased the phosphorylation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (Akt) and glycogen synthase-3ß (GSK3ß) in vivo and in vitro models, which were abrogated by PI3K inhibitor LY294002 in vitro models. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that CPT may exert the therapeutic effects on NAFLD via regulating PI3K/Akt/GSK3ß pathway.

Characteristics and mechanism of toluene removal from gas by novelty array double dielectric barrier discharge combined with TiO2/Al2O3 catalyst.

A new reactor of array double dielectric barrier discharge (DDBD) combined with catalysis was prepared, and the effect of different factors on removal efficiency of toluene at pilot scale were investigated. The possible degradation mechanism was explored. The results indicate that the removal efficiency of toluene in the exhaust gas decreases with the increasing of the toluene initial concentration and the gas flow rate, but increases with the increasing of the specific energy density. When the air relative humidity is 55%, the removal efficiency of toluene is higher than that of the relative humidity by 85%. The results of XPS, FT-IR and GC-MS analysis show that the main intermediate products of removing toluene by DDBD combined with TiO2/Al2O3 catalyst are phenol, benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, benzoic acid, N-benzyl formamide, dimethyl terephthalate, dimethyl isophthalate and other substances. There are five possible pathways to degrade toluene by DDBD combined with TiO2/Al2O3.

Pentacyclic triterpenoids from Cyclocarya paliurus and their antioxidant activities in FFA-induced HepG2 steatosis cells.

Six undescribed pentacyclic triterpenoids including four triterpenoid aglycones, 1ß,2a,3ß,23-tetrahydroxyurs-12-en-28-ursolic acid, 2a,3a,6ß,19α,23-pentahydroxyurs-12-en-28-ursolic acid, 2α,3α,20ß,23-tetrahydroxyurs-12-en-28-ursolic acid and 1ß,2a,3ß,23-tetrahydroxyurs-12,20(30)-dien-28-ursolic acid, and two triterpenoid glucosides, 2a,3a,23-trihydroxy-12,20(30)-dien-28-ursolic acid 28-O-ß-d-glucopyranoside and 1-oxo-3ß,23-dihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid 28-O-ß-d-xylopyranoside, along with 5 known triterpenoids were isolated from a CH3Cl-soluble extract of the leaves of Cyclocarya paliurus. Their structures were established on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic approaches. These compounds were assessed for their antioxidant effects on FFA-induced hepatic steatosis in HepG2 cells. The results revealed that three saponins and two aglycones markedly increased SOD activity and reduced MDA level.

Triterpenoids from Cyclocarya paliurus and their inhibitory effect on the secretion of apoliprotein B48 in Caco-2 cells.

Five previously undescribed compounds including two triterpenoid aglycones, 3ß,23-dihydroxy-1,12-dioxo-olean-28-oic acid and 3ß,23,27-trihydroxy-1-oxo-olean-12-ene-28-oic acid, and three triterpenoid glucosides cyclocarioside L-N, along with 17 known compounds were isolated from a CH3Cl-soluble extract of the leaves of Cyclocarya paliurus. Two 27-nor-triterpenoid glycosides were isolated from the genus for the first time. Furthermore, the characterized compounds were tested for the inhibitory effects on apoliprotein B48 secretion in Caco-2 cells. Seven triterpenoid aglycones together with four triterpenoid saponins significantly decreased the apoliprotein B48 oversecretion induced by oleic acid in Caco-2 cells.