Effect of Fermented Milk Supplemented with Nisin or Plantaricin Q7 on Inflammatory Factors and Gut Microbiota in Mice.

Lactic-acid-bacteria-derived bacteriocins are used as food biological preservatives widely. Little information is available on the impact of bacteriocin intake with food on gut microbiota in vivo. In this study, the effects of fermented milk supplemented with nisin (FM-nisin) or plantaricin Q7 (FM-Q7) from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Q7 on inflammatory factors and the gut microbiota of mice were investigated. The results showed that FM-nisin or FM-Q7 up-regulated IFN-γ and down-regulated IL-17 and IL-12 in serum significantly. FM-nisin down-regulated TNF-α and IL-10 while FM-Q7 up-regulated them. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis suggested that the gut microbiome in mice was changed by FM-nisin or FM-Q7. The Firmicutes/Bacteroides ratio was reduced significantly in both groups. It was observed that the volume of Akkermansia_Muciniphila was significantly reduced whereas those of Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae were increased. The total number of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the mouse feces of the FM-nisin group and FM-Q7 group was increased. The content of acetic acid was increased while the butyric acid content was decreased significantly. These findings indicated that FM-nisin or FM-Q7 could stimulate the inflammation response and alter gut microbiota and metabolic components in mice. Further in-depth study is needed to determine the impact of FM-nisin or FM-Q7 on the host's health.

Peptide-Calcium Chelate from Antler (Cervus elaphus) Bone Enhances Calcium Absorption in Intestinal Caco-2 Cells and D-gal-Induced Aging Mouse Model.

Antler bone calcium (AB-Ca) and bioactive peptides (ABPs) were extracted from antler bones (Cervus elaphus) to maximize their value. In this study, 0.14 g calcium was obtained from 1 g antler bone. The peptide-calcium chelate rate was 53.68 ± 1.80%, and the Gly, Pro, and Glu in ABPs were identified to donate most to the increased calcium affinity through the mass spectrometry. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that calcium predominantly interacted with amino nitrogen atoms and carboxyl oxygen atoms, thereby generating a peptide-calcium chelate. The peptide-calcium chelates were characterized using scanning electron microscopy. A Caco-2 cell monolayer model showed that ABPs significantly increased calcium transport. Furthermore, the D-gal-induced aging mouse model indicated that the ABPs + AB-Ca group showed higher Ca and PINP levels, lower P, ALP, and CTX-1content in serum, and considerably higher tibia index and tibia calcium content. Results showed that ABPs + AB-Ca increased bone formation and inhibited bone resorption, thereby providing calcium supplements for ameliorating senile osteoporosis (SOP).

Arsenic removal from water and river water by the combined adsorption - UF membrane process.

In this study, a pilot-scale adsorption-UF process equipped with an aerated system is established for arsenic removal from As-spiked Songhua river water. A newly synthesized amino-functionalized coffee cellulose adsorbent (PEI-coffee) which is derived from spent coffee powder is fully characterized and used for arsenic removal from water. The batch experiments revealed that the adsorption process could be well described by Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 13.2 and 46.1 mg/g for As(III) and As(V), respectively. The negative value of △H and △G indicated the exothermic and spontaneous nature of As adsorption on PEI-coffee. The effects of operating parameters such as pH, initial concentration and adsorbent dosage, were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) based on a central composite design (CCD). The combined adsorption - UF process was employed for arsenic removal from As-spiked Songhua river water. It was demonstrated that aeration not only increased the removal efficiency by oxidizing As(III) to As(V), but mitigated the membrane fouling process. Besides of the adsorption process, UF membrane could also reject arsenic through the electrostatic repulsion between arsenic species and membrane surface. After UF filtration, the dissolved As, suspended solids (SS), and TOC can be effectively eliminated. The saturated adsorbent was regenerated by using an eluting agent of 10 wt% NaCl and 10 wt% NaOH, the regenerated adsorbent still sustained a very high adsorption capacity after 6 cycles of adsorption-regeneration process.

Reduced somatostatin in hypothalamus of young male mouse increases local but not circulatory GH.

The release of growth hormone (GH) from the pituitary gland is primarily inhibited by somatostatin (SRIF) from the hypothalamus via interactions with five types of SRIF receptors (SSTRs). However, the inhibition mechanism of SRIF on GH has not been fully examined. In this study, we repressed the hypothalamic SRIF in young male mice by stereotaxic injection of the lentiviral-shRNA against SRIF to investigate the role of hypothalamic SRIF on hormone secretion in the GH/IGF-1 axis. We found that the reduction of SRIF in hypothalamus was associated with an increase in the protein, but not the mRNA level, of the GH in the pituitary where SSTR 2 and SSTR 5 act importantly. Interestingly, the level of blood circulatory SRIF, GH, IGF-1 and the body weight were not significantly influenced by the downregulation of hypothalamic SRIF. Our findings provide insights into the mechanisms underlying the inhibition of SRIF on GH secretion.