Dietary Qi-Weng-Huangbo powder enhances growth performance, diarrhoea and immune function of weaned piglets by modulating gut health and microbial profiles.

Introduction: The evolution of nutritional strategies to improve the gut health and microbiota profiles of early-weaned piglets is essential to reduce diarrhoea caused by weaning stress. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of Qi-Weng-Huangbo powder, a traditional herbal medicine consisting of a mixture of Pulsatilla chinensis, Chinese Schneid and Astragalus extracts (PCE), on the growth performance, diarrhoea rate, immune function and intestinal health of weaned piglets. Methods: 162 piglets were randomly assigned to the CON group (no PCE added), the PCEL group (300 mg/kg PCE) and the PCEH group (500 mg/kg PCE) at the end of the third week post farrowing. There were 9 replicates of each group with 6 pigs per replicate. The experiment lasted for 28 days and sampling was performed on the final day. Results: The results showed that the PCE diet increased the average daily gain (ADG) and final body weight (BW) compared to the CON group. Both supplemented doses of PCE reduced the faecal scores of piglets, and the diarrhoea rate in the PCEL group was significantly lower than that in the CON group. The application of PCE diets promoted the development of the spleen in piglets and up-regulated serum immunoglobulin concentrations to enhance immune function, which was also reflected in the down-regulated gene expression of the colonic TLR/MyD88/NF-κB pathway. Supplementation with PCE improved intestinal morphology, and all doses of PCE significantly increased villus height (VH) in the ileum, whereas colonic crypt depth (CD) was significantly lower in the PCEH group than in the CON group. The PCEH diet significantly increased the levels of valeric and isovaleric acid in the colon content. Dietary PCEH also improved the colonic microbial community profile, reflected by a significant increase in Shannon's index compared with CON group. The abundance of Veillonellaceae and Rhodospirillales was significantly increased in the PCEH group at the family level. Discussion: In conclusion, dietary PCE reduced diarrhoea rates, improved growth performance and enhanced immune function in weaned piglets. These improvements were potentially supported by altered ileum and colonic morphology, elevated colonic VFA levels, and modulation of colonic microbial profiles.

Fabrication of multifunctional materials based on chitosan/gelatin incorporating curcumin-clove oil emulsion for meat freshness monitoring and shelf-life extension.

A new multifunctional film with active and intelligent effects was developed by incorporating curcumin-clove oil emulsion into natural materials. The basic properties, functional characteristics, and pH/NH3-sensitivity of films were investigated, and then these films were applied to extend shelf-life and monitor freshness of meat. Curcumin solution and emulsion illustrated significant color variations at different pH values. The incorporation of emulsion improved the UV-vis barrier and water resistance properties of films, which blocked most of UV-light and its water contact angle reached 100.03°. Meanwhile, the films had stronger mechanical strength and higher thermal stability, with elongation at break reaching 79.18 % and the maximum degradation temperature rising to 316 °C. Moreover, emulsion made films have a slow-release effect on clove oil, which not only enhanced the antioxidant property but also significantly improved their antibacterial activity. Additionally, the multifunctional films presented a significant color response to acidic/alkaline environments over a short time interval and could be easily identified by naked eyes. Finally, the films effectively extended the shelf-life of fresh meat by 3 days at 4 °C and visually monitored freshness through color changes in real-time. This knowledge provides insights and ideas for the development of novel food packaging with both active and intelligent functions.

Virtual screening of active compounds from jasminum lanceolarium and potential targets against primary dysmenorrhea based on network pharmacology.

In present study, multi-target and multi-pathway mechanisms of Jasminum lanceolarium Roxb (JL) on primary dysmenorrhea (PDM) treatment were predicted by the approach of network pharmacology and molecular docking, leading to the obtaining of 22 predicted targets for 69 compounds in JL. The Compound-Target analysis displayed intimate association among targets and compounds. Meanwhile, the Compound-Target-Target revealed PTGS2, OPRD1 and NOS3 were the key targets with intensive interaction. The Compound-Target-Pathway network indicated these pathways were closely related to hormone regulation, central analgesia, spasmolysis and inflammation. The anti-inflammation pathways might be the key mechanism of JL for the treatment of PDM based on KEGG pathway enrichment analysis and pharmacological experiment, and 10-hydroxyoleoside dimethyl ester might be a promising leading compound due to its good molecular docking scores and previous experimental evaluation.

Rare benzonaphthoxanthenones from Chinese folk herbal medicine Polytrichum commune and their anti-neuroinflammatory activities in vitro.

Two new (1-2) as well as five known (3-7) compounds were isolated from Polytrichum commune, a folk herbal medicine in China, and three of them (2, 4, 5) belong to benzonaphthoxanthenones that are rarely found in nature. Their structures were elucidated by the approach to 1D and 2D NMR spectra. The absolute configuration of 2 was assigned by comparing its experimental and calculated ECD data. 1-5 were investigated for their anti-neuroinflammatory activity against LPS-induced BV-2 cells. 1 and 3 exhibited well protective effect at a concentration of 2.5 µmol/mL. Molecular docking studies were adopted to further investigate the possible mechanism, whose results suggested that 1 might exert anti-neuroinflammatory effect by inhibiting activity of p38α, JNK2 and TAK1 to reduce the liberation of pro-inflammatory cytokines.