RESUMEN
Obesity has become a significant global public health problem. Functional drinks have been an essential direction for obesity prevention research. The present study investigated the preventive effect and safety of winter melon and lotus leaf Tibetan tea (WLTT, a compound tea drink based on Ya'an Tibetan Tea and medicine food homology herbs) on obesity. The rats' hypercaloric high-fat diet (HFD) obesity model was established to evaluate obesity prevention and explored the mechanism through intestinal flora regulation. The results showed that in obese rats with the intervention of WLTT (400, 800, and 1600 mg/kg BW), the body weight, fat accumulation, adipocyte cell size, serum lipid levels, and antioxidant enzyme activity (SOD, GSH-Px, and MDA) were progressively improved. 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing showed that WLTT could improve intestinal flora disorders due to HFD, which significantly reversed the relative abundance of Firmicutes and the F/B ratio associated with an HFD, and significantly upregulated the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia. At the genus level, the downregulation of the relative abundance of Akkermansia and unclassified_Lachnospiraceae groups, and the upregulation of the relative abundance of Romboutsia, Ruminococcus, Corynebacteriume, and Saccharibacteria_genera_incertae_sedis groups brought about by the HFD were significantly reversed. The results of the above experiments were compared favorably with those of a parallel experiment with Bi -Sheng -Yuan slimming tea (BSY, a functional drink based on green tea and medicine food homology herbs). Overall, the findings have provided that WLTT can prevent obesity owing to an HFD by regulating intestinal flora and has a good safety profile, and combinations of Tibetan tea and medicine food homology herbs could be a new option for obesity prevention.
RESUMEN
We investigated the clinical epidemiology of mineral bone disorder markers in prevalent hemodialysis (HD) patients in Xinjiang, the largest province in China. Data were obtained from 59 hospitals. A total of 3725 patients tracked from January 1 to December 31, 2014, were enrolled. Serum calcium (Ca) levels, phosphorus (P) levels, and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels were analyzed. Serum Ca levels were lower compared to the International Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS4) and the Chinese DOPPS. The hypercalcemia rate was similar to DOPPS4 and lower than in the Chinese DOPPS. Serum P levels were higher than in DOPPS4 and lower than those in the Chinese DOPPS. Hyperphosphatemia rates were higher than DOPPS4 and lower than Chinese DOPPS. Serum iPTH levels were higher than in DOPPS4 and the Chinese DOPPS. We demonstrated higher serum P and iPTH levels in Xinjiang HD patients than in the DOPPS4 and Chinese DOPPS. In contrast, serum Ca levels were lower than the other two studies. High hypocalcemia and hyperphosphatemia rates may suggest that HD services in Xinjiang are inadequate. A multidiscipline chronic kidney disease (CKD) care program needs to be established to improve chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) target achievement in Xinjiang.