Effect of Lactobacillus salivarius SNK-6 on egg quality, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbial community of laying hens.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of Lactobacillus salivarius (L. salivarius) SNK-6 supple-mentation on the laying performance, egg quality, blood parameters, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbial community of laying hens. A total of 432 healthy 30-wk-age laying hens were randomly divided into 3 groups with 6 replicates under the same husbandry and dietary regimes: control (CON); 2.0 × 108 CFU/kg L. salivarius supplementation (T1); 2.0 × 109 CFU/kg L. salivarius supplementation (T2). The experiment lasted for 10 wk. The results indicated that the supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in the broken egg and unqualified egg ratios, and a significant increase in the eggshell strength, eggshell relative weight, albumen height, and Haugh units (P < 0.05). The L. salivarius-treated hens exhibited significantly reduced serum malondialdehyde levels (P < 0.05); significantly increased total protein, phosphorus, calcitonin, and immunoglobulin M (P < 0.05); significantly increased cecal secretory immunoglobulin A concentration (P < 0.05); significantly improved villus height (VH) in the duodenum and VH to crypt depth ratio in the jejunum (P < 0.05). The serum globulin and interleukin-1ß, immunoglobulin G concentrations, and catalase activity significantly increased in T2 (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the serum interferon-α level in T1 was significantly higher than that of the CON (P < 0.05). The intestinal barrier-related mRNA gene ZO-1, CLDN1, and MUC2 expression in the jejunum was significantly upregulated in the T1 and T2 groups (P < 0.05). The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was higher and the relative abundances of Flavonifractor and Clostridiales_noname were significantly higher in the T1 group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with L. salivarius SNK-6 may improve hen egg quality, serum antioxidant capacity, immune function, and intestinal health.

Jiawei Yanghe Decoction Regulates Bone-Lipid Balance through the BMP-SMAD Signaling Pathway to Promote Osteogenic Differentiation of Bone Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Background: The Jiawei Yanghe decoction (JWYHD) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula for the treatment of osteoporosis, but its therapeutic mechanism has not been fully elucidated, and the therapeutic target of the intervention disease needs to be further verified. The dysfunction of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) is considered to be an important pathogenesis of postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP). The purpose of this study was to explore how JWYHD regulates BMSC differentiation through the BMP-SMAD signal pathway. Methods: In the in vivo study, we used an ovariectomized PMOP rat (n = 36, 2-month-old, 200 ± 20 g) model and femur micro-CT analysis to study the effect of JWYHD on bone loss in rats. By immunofluorescence, the translocation expression of BMP2, a key protein in the pathway, was detected. Serum bone metabolism was detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was detected by alkaline phosphatase staining (ALPS), osteogenesis and matrix mineralization were detected by alizarin red staining (ARS), the adipogenic ability of BMSCs was detected by oil red staining (ORS), and CFU is used to detect the ability of cells to form colonies. The expression of related proteins was detected by western blotting. Results: In vivo and in vitro, the OP phenotypes of SD rats induced by ovariectomy (OVX) included impaired bone mineral density and microstructure, abnormal bone metabolism, and impaired MSC differentiation potential. JWYHD treatment reversed this trend and restored the differentiation potential of MSCs. JWYHD medicated serum and direct intervention of drugs activated the BMP-SMAD signaling pathway, promoted the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, and inhibited their adipogenic differentiation. Conclusions: Our data identified that JWYHD is an effective alternative drug for the treatment of PMOP that functions to stimulate the differentiation of BMSCs into osteoblasts in the BMP-SMAD signaling-dependent mechanism.

Effects of Oil Types and Fat Concentrations on Production Performance, Egg Quality, and Antioxidant Capacity of Laying Hens.

In this study, soybean oil, lard and mixed oils were added to the feed in two concentrations (1.5% and 3% of each), resulting in six experimental groups. The control group was fed with a base diet without additions, and used to compare the effects of feeding on production performance and egg quality of laying hens. The results demonstrated that: (1) the 3% supplemented-oils or lard group showed a decrease in laying rate; (2) 1.5% and 3% added-lard significantly increased the total amount of unsaturated fatty acids in eggs, compared to the control group; (3) 1.5% and 3% soybean oil increased the content of mono/polyunsaturated fatty acids, cholesterol, phospholipids and choline in eggs; (4) glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) contents were increased in all groups, being the most evident in the lard-treated group; (5) all experimental groups showed an increase in the content of essential and non-essential amino acids in albumen; (6) 3% oils, especially the mixed oils, damaged the structure of globules of cooked egg yolks. Therefore, the use of 1.5% soybean oil in the feed diet of Hyline brown hens resulted in the most adequate oil to ensure animal health and economic significant improvements in this experiment.

Clinical acupuncture therapy for femur head necrosis: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis.

BACKGROUND: Femur Head Necrosis (FHN) is a common clinical joint orthopedic-related disease, and its incidence is increasing year by year. Symptoms include dull pain and dull pain in the affected hip joint or its surrounding joints. More severely, it can lead to limited joint movement and inability to walk autonomously. Surgical treatment has many sequelae. The high cost makes it unaffordable for patients, and the side effects of drug treatment are unknown. A large number of clinical studies have shown that acupuncture is effective in treating femoral head necrosis. Therefore, this systematic review aims to explore the safety and effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of femoral head necrosis. METHODS: We will conduct a comprehensive literature search in Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Embase, Chinese Biomedical Literatures Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wang FangDatabase (WF), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP) from inception to May 2021 without any language restriction. In addition, we will retrieve the unpublished studies and the references of initially included literature manually. The two reviewers will identify studies, extract data, and assess the quality independently. The outcomes of interest include: total effective rate; the total nasal symptom score; Hip function (Hip Harris joint score, WOMAC hip score, hip joint Lequesne index score, Merle D 'Aubigne and hip joint Postel score); Adverse events. Randomized clinical trials will be collected, methodological quality will be evaluated using the Cochrane risk-of-bias assessment tool, and the level of evidence will be rated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. Meta-analysis will be performed using RevMan 5.4.0 software. The heterogeneity test will be conducted between the studies, P < .1 and I2 > 50% are the thresholds for the tests. We will utilize the fixed effects model or the random effects model according to the size of heterogeneity. RESULTS: The meta-analysis program will systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of FHN patients. CONCLUSION: This study will investigate whether acupuncture can be used as one of the non-surgical and non-pharmacological therapies for the prevention or treatment of FHN. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202150035.

Application of analytical and preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography for the separation of Z-ligustilide from a crude extract of Angelica sinensis.

Z-Ligustilide was separated and purified from the traditional Chinese medicinal plant Angelica sinensis by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). Analytical HSCCC was first used for the systematic selection of the two-phase solvent system. Preparative HSCCC separation was performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of petroleum ether (60-90 degrees C)-ethanol-water at an optimum volume ratio of 10:17:10 (v/v). A total of 38 mg Z-ligustilide at 98.8% purity was obtained in one step from 200 mg crude extract as determined by HPLC analysis. The structure of the target compound was identified by electron impact ionisation mass spectrometry.

Large-scale separation of salvianolic acid B from the Chinese medicinal plant Salvia miltiorrhiza by pH-zone-refining countercurrent chromatography.

pH-Zone-refining countercurrent chromatography was successfully applied to the separation of salvianolic acid B from the Chinese medicinal plant, Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, using a multilayer coil planet centrifuge. A 2.0 g quantity of sample was separated using the following two-phase solvent system: methyl tert-butyl ether (MtBE)-water, 10 mM TFA in organic stationary phase and 10 mM ammonia in aqueous mobile phase. The obtained fractions were analyzed by HPLC and ESI-MS. The separation yielded 572 mg of the main component of salvianolic acid B with a purity of 94.1%.

Application of preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography for separation and purification of arctiin from Fructus Arctii.

Following an initial clean-up step on the AB-8 resin (polystyrene resin, 0.3-1.25 mm: NanKai Chemical Factory, Tianjin, China), high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was used to purify an arctiin from an extract of the fruits of the Arctium lappa L. Arctiin is a major lignan compound in the traditional Chinese medicinal herb A. lappa L. The two-phase solvent system used was composed of ethyl acetate-n-butanol-ethanol-water at an optimized volume ratio of 5:0.5:1:5 (v/v/v/v). The upper phase was used as the mobile phase in the head to tail elution mode. A total amount of 159 mg of arctiin at 98% purity was obtained from 350 mg of the crude extract (containing 49% arctiin) with 91% recovery. The preparative isolation and purification of arctiin by HSCCC was completed in 5 h in a separation. Identification of the target compound was performed by LC-electrospray ionization MS and 13C-NMR. The structure of the product was further confirmed by comparison with authentic sample (National Institute of the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products, Beijing, China).

Isolation and purification of honokiol and magnolol from cortex Magnoliae officinalis by high-speed counter-current chromatography.

High-speed counter-current chromatography was used to isolate and purify honokiol and magnolol from cortex Magnoliae Officinalis (Magnolia officinalis Rehd. et Wils.), a plant used in the traditional Chinese medicine. A crude sample, 150 mg, was successfully separated with a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (1:0.4:1:0.4, v/v), and the fractions were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The separation produced 80 and 45 mg of honokiol and magnolol with purities of 99.2 and 98.2%, respectively, in 2.5 h.