Effects of Fish Oil Supplementation on Reducing the Effects of Paternal Obesity and Preventing Fatty Liver in Offspring.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a serious public health concern, which calls for appropriate diet/nutrition intervention. Fish oil (FO) has several benefits in reducing obesity, but its intergenerational role in reducing the effects of paternal obesity has not been established. Hence, we hypothesized that FO supplementation to an obese father during the pre-conceptional period could improve the metabolic health of the offspring, specifically in the liver. Three groups of male mice were fed with a low-fat (LF), high-fat (HF), or high-fat diet supplemented with FO (HF-FO) for 10 weeks and were then allowed to mate with female mice fed a chow diet. Offspring were sacrificed at 16 weeks. The liver tissue was harvested for genomic and histological analyses. The offspring of HF and HF-FO fathers were heavier compared to that of the LF mice during 9-16 weeks. The glucose tolerance of the offspring of HF-FO fathers were significantly improved as compared to the offspring of HF fathers. Paternal FO supplementation significantly lowered inflammation and fatty acid synthesis biomarkers and increased fatty acid oxidation biomarkers in the offspring liver. In summary, FO supplementation in fathers shows the potential to reduce metabolic and cardiovascular diseases through genetic means in offspring.

Deciphering the chemical composition of Ganoderma lucidum from different geographical origins by mass spectrometry molecular networking coupled with multivariate analysis.

Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal fungus that has been widely used in China and many Asian countries for thousands of years. This once rare macrofungus has now been artificially cultivated in a number of regions in China. However, detailed knowledge of its composition across different geographical origins is still lacking, as are analytical methods for comprehensive profiling of the diverse phytochemicals contained in G. lucidum. In this work, an on-demand strategy based on high-resolution MS and molecular networking is applied for natural product characterization, which led to the identification of 84 constituents in G. lucidum. Moreover, multivariate analysis, including hierarchical cluster analysis and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis, was used to analyze the (dis)similarity of the G. lucidum samples collected from the three main production areas (i.e., Jilin, Henan and Shandong Province). The results revealed a significant variation in the chemical composition of samples from different provinces. Marker constituents corresponding to the differentiation were then screened in terms of the variable importance in projection value, P-value and fold change. A total of 24 constituents were identified as geoherbalism markers, such as ganoderenic acid A for Henan, ganolucidic acid B for Jilin and ganodernoid D for Shandong. This proof-of-concept application demonstrates that combining MS molecular networking with meticulous multivariate analysis can provide a sensitive and comprehensive analytical approach for the quality assessment of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients. This study also suggests that the bioactivity and efficacy from different origins should be further evaluated considering the large difference in chemical compositions.

Smart Lattice Structures with Self-Sensing Functionalities via Hybrid Additive Manufacturing Technology.

Lattice structures are a group of cellular materials composed of regular repeating unit cells. Due to their extraordinary mechanical properties, such as specific mechanical strength, ultra-low density, negative Poisson's ratio, etc., lattice structures have been widely applied in the fields of aviation and aerospace, medical devices, architecture, and automobiles. Hybrid additive manufacturing (HAM), an integrated manufacturing technology of 3D printing processes and other complementary processes, is becoming a competent candidate for conveniently delivering lattice structures with multifunctionalities, not just mechanical aspects. This work proposes a HAM technology that combines vat photopolymerization (VPP) and electroless plating process to fabricate smart metal-coated lattice structures. VPP 3D printing process is applied to create a highly precise polymer lattice structure, and thereafter electroless plating is conducted to deposit a thin layer of metal, which could be used as a resistive sensor for monitoring the mechanical loading on the structure. Ni-P layer and copper layer were successfully obtained with the resistivity of 8.2×10-7Ω⋅m and 2.0 ×10-8 Ω⋅m, respectively. Smart lattice structures with force-loading self-sensing functionality are fabricated to prove the feasibility of this HAM technology for fabricating multifunctional polymer-metal lattice composites.

Distribution of Zinc in Mycelial Cells and Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Mycelia Zinc Polysaccharides from Thelephora ganbajun TG-01.

This study demonstrates that Thelephora ganbajun had a strong ability to absorb zinc, and zinc can be compartmentally stored in the small vesicles and mainly accumulated in the form of zinc-enriched polysaccharides (zinc content was 25.0 ± 1.27 mg/g). Mycelia zinc polysaccharides (MZPS) and its fractions were isolated. The main fraction (MZPS-2) with the highest antioxidant activity in vitro was composed of mannose : galacturonic acid : glucose : galactose in a molar ratio of 61.19 : 1 : 39.67 : 48.67, with a weight-averaged molecular weight of 5.118 × 105 Da. MZPS-2 had both α-pyranose and ß-pyranose configuration and had a triple helical conformation. By establishing zebrafish models, we found that MZPS-2 can significantly scavenge free radicals, reduce the generation of reactive oxygen species caused by inflammation, and inhibit the recruitment of neutrophils toward the injury site. Therefore, MZPS-2 exhibited antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and can be used as a zinc supplement with specific biological activities to alleviate zinc deficiency complications, such as chronic oxidative stress or inflammation.

[Effects of Wine-processing on Rhei Radix et Rhizoma on Upper-energizer Disease and Effects on Activities of Energy Metabolism Enzymes in Liver].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of crude and wine-processed Rhei Radix et Rhizoma on upper-energizer disease and hepatic energy metabolism in mice. METHODS: The streptococcal pneumonia rats model and acetic acid burning mouth ulcers rats model were established and randomly divided into three groups: model group, crude Rhei Radix et Rhizoma group and wine-processed Rhei Radix et Rhizoma group. The pathologic changes were observed after the rats had been administrated with water extracts of crude and wine-processed Rhei Radix et Rhizoma respectively. The normal ICR mice were randomly divided into three groups: control group, crude Rhei Radix et Rhizoma group and wine-processed Rhei Radix et Rhizoma group. The influence of water extracts of crude and wine-processed Rhei Radix et Rhizoma on the activities of Na+, K-ATPase, Ca2+ -ATPase and succinic dehydrogenase(SDH) in the mice were compared. RESULTS: Compared with the crude one,the wine-processed Rhei Radix et Rhizoma significantly decreased the inflammation scores (P <0. 05), and promoted the tissue repair of acetic acid burning mouth ulcers rats model. The wine-processed one could also obviously reduce and normalize the level of leucocyte and neutrophilic granulocyte, lower the TNF-α level (P <0. 05), and relieve inflammatory exudation of the lung tissue. The inhibitory effects of wine-processed Rhei Radix et Rhizoma on the activities of SDH, Ca2+-ATPase and Na+, K + -ATPase were weaker than those of the crude one (P > 0. 05). CONCLUSION: After having been processed with wine, the efficacy of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma on upper-energizer disease is enhanced, and the inhibition on the activity of energy metabolism enzyme in liver tends to be weakened.

[Comparative analysis of volatile components of medicinal materials from Perilla frutescens].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the differences of volatile components of medicinal materials from Perilla frutescens (Perillae Folium; Perillae Caulis; Perillae Fructus). METHODS: The volatile components were identified by HSGC/MS. The relative percentage content of the components were determined by peak area normalization method and the content change of common components were determined. RESULTS: 47 compounds were separated and identified from Perillae Folium, 39 compounds were identified from Perillae Caulis, 46 compounds were identified from Perillae Fructus. There were 17 common components of the three groups. For example, beta-Caryophyllene, Perillaketone, Caryophyllene, Limonene, Linalool, 1-Octen-3-ol, alpha-Bergapten and Apiol. CONCLUSION: It provides basis scientific explanation to the differences of traditional efficacy of medicinal materials from Perilla frutescens.