Hovenia dulcis: a Chinese medicine that plays an essential role in alcohol-associated liver disease.

Globally, alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) has become an increased burden for society. Disulfirams, Benzodiazepines (BZDs), and corticosteroids are commonly used to treat ALD. However, the occurrence of side effects such as hepatotoxicity and dependence, impedes the achievement of desirable and optimal therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more effective and safer treatments. Hovenia dulcis is an herbal medicine promoting alcohol removal clearance, lipid-lowering, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective properties. Hovenia dulcis has a variety of chemical components such as dihydromyricetin, quercetin and beta-sitosterol, which can affect ALD through multiple pathways, including ethanol metabolism, immune response, hepatic fibrosis, oxidative stress, autophagy, lipid metabolism, and intestinal barrier, suggesting its promising role in the treatment of ALD. Thus, this work aims to comprehensively review the chemical composition of Hovenia dulcis and the molecular mechanisms involved in the process of ALD treatment.

Submerged Culture of Edible and Medicinal Mushroom Mycelia and Their Applications in Food Products: A Review.

Edible mushrooms have rich nutrition (e.g., proteins, dietary fibers, polysaccharides) and they can be potential sources of important ingredients in food processing. However, the cultivation of mushroom fruiting bodies needs a relatively long time, and they can be easily polluted during the growth process. At the same time, a lot of labor and larger planting areas are also required. As we all know, submerged fermentation is a good way to produce edible mushroom mycelia with less environmental pollution and small footprint, which are also rich in nutrition and bioactive components that are used as dietary supplements or health care products in the food industry. Therefore, it can be considered that the replacement of edible mushroom fruiting bodies with edible mushroom mycelia produced through submerged fermentation has great application potential in food production. At present, most of the research about edible mushroom mycelia focuses on the production of bioactive metabolites in fermentation liquid, but there are few reports that concentrate on their applications in food. This paper reviews the research progress of submerged culture of edible mushroom mycelia and their applications in food products.

Rapid screening and evaluation of natural antioxidants from leaf, stem, and root of Artemisia argyi by online liquid microextraction combined with HPLC-based antioxidant assay system coupled with calibration quantitative analysis.

To reveal the utilization value of leaf, stem, and root of Artemisia argyi, a rapid online liquid microextraction combined with a high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with 2,2-nitrogen-di (3-ethyl-benzothiazole-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt antioxidant assay system was established for analysis of antioxidants in the leaf, stem, and root of A. argyi, and a calibration quantitative method of antioxidant activity with equivalent chlorogenic acid was proposed. Thirty-three positive peaks were identified; among them, 12 compounds were found that possess good antioxidant activity including eleven organic acids (components 2-4, 8, 11-14, 17, 19, and 21) and one flavonoids (component 22). The proposed calibration quantitative method avoided the influence of content of compound and compared the extent of radical scavenging capacity of five antioxidant compounds, which were ranked as follow: 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid > 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid ≈ 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid > 1,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid > chlorogenic acid. In conclusion, this study provided composition and biological potential for the future development of the leaf, stem, and root of A. argyi. It is believed that the online liquid microextraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography based antioxidant assay system can be widely used for the rapid screening of natural antioxidant components in the different parts of natural products.

Bioactive polysaccharides in different plant parts of Aconitum carmichaelii.

BACKGROUND: Aconitum carmichaelii is an industrially cultivated medicinal plant in China and its lateral and mother roots are used in traditional Chinese medicine due to the presence of alkaloids. However, the rootlets and aerial parts are discarded after collection of the roots, and the non-toxic polysaccharides in this plant have attracted less attention than the alkaloids and poisonous features. In this study, five neutral and 14 acidic polysaccharide fractions were isolated systematically from different plant parts of A. carmichaelii, and their structural features and bioactivity were studied and compared. RESULTS: The neutral fraction isolated from the rootlets differed from those isolated from the lateral and mother roots. It consisted of less starch and more possible mannans, galactans, and/or xyloglucans, being similar to those of the aerial parts. Pectic polysaccharides containing homogalacturonan and branched type-I rhamnogalacturonan (RG-I) were present in all plant parts of A. carmichaelii. However, more arabinogalactan (AG)-II side chains in the RG-I backbone were present in the aerial parts of the plants, while more amounts of arabinans were found in the roots. Various immunomodulatory effects were observed, determined by complement fixation activity and anti-inflammatory effects on the intestinal epithelial cells of all polysaccharide fractions. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the diversity of polysaccharides present in A. carmichaelii, especially in the unutilized plant parts, and showed their potential medicinal value. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Zhilong Huoxue Tongyu capsule inhibits rabbit model of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis through NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway.

Objective: Zhilong Huoxue Tongyu capsule (ZL) is a Chinese patent medicine for treating cardio-cerebral diseases. However, the pharmacological mechanism by which it regulates blood lipids and treats atherosclerosis (AS) is unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the mechanism of ZL inhibiting hyperlipidemia and treating AS through NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway. Methods: Fifty New Zealand white rabbits were divided into control, model, model + ZL (3.12 g/kg/d, i.g.), model + atorvastatin (0.51 mg/kg/d, i.g.), and model + ZL + atorvastatin groups. Except for the control group, all other groups underwent carotid intima air drying and received a high-fat diet for 28 days to establish hyperlipidemia AS model, and drug treatment was given for the same period of time after modeling. Pathological changes and blood lipids were detected, NF-κB/NLRP3-related protein or gene expression levels were analyzed in carotid tissue. Results: ZL significantly reduced blood lipids and delayed the progression of AS. TC, TG, and LDL-C were decreased while HDL-C was increased in blood, IMT thickening and plaque formation of carotid arteries were inhibited, VRI was alleviated, and pathological features were improved. NF-κB, NLRP3 and IL-1ß in the carotid artery were significantly down-regulated after intervention with ZL. RT-PCR and western blot analysis showed that NF-κB (p-NF-κB), NLRP3, caspase-1, IL-1ß and IL-18 were significantly downregulated by ZL. Conclusions: ZL can be used effectively as adjuvant therapy for hyperlipidemia and AS, combining it with atorvastatin yielded more optimized efficacy, but its anti-inflammatory and pharmacological mechanisms of inhibiting pyroptosis should be studied further.

Vitamin D supplementation reduced blood inflammatory cytokines expression and improved graft function in kidney transplant recipients.

Background: Chronic allograft dysfunction(CAD) is the leading cause of graft loss in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). Inflammatory process is believed to be one of the major contributors to CAD. The aim of this study is to explore the anti-inflammatory effect of vitamin D (VD) supplementation in KTRs and its role in the graft function improvement(protection). Methods: A retrospective cohort of 39 KTRs with chronic antibody mediated rejection(CAMR)or stable renal function and a prospective cohort of 42 KTRs treated or untreated with VD were enrolled. Serum levels of vitamin D metabolism and serum inflammatory cytokines, renal graft function, and routine blood biomarkers were tested and dynamically tracked within 12 months post-transplant. Results: Compared with the stable group, the CAMR group exhibited significantly elevated serum levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-10, IP-10, and HMGB1 (P <0.05). The supplementation of vitamin D effectively increased the serum concentration of vitamin D in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) in the treated group. During the course of treatment, the treated group exhibited a gradual increase in eGFR levels, which were significantly higher than those observed in the untreated group at 12 months post-transplant (p<0.05). Notably, as eGFR improved, there was a significant decrease in levels of IL-1ß, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-10, IP-10 and HMGB1 in the treated group compared to the untreated group (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study confirmed that immune-inflammation is a crucial factor in the development of CAD in KTRs.VD deficiency impairs its anti-inflammatory activity. By assisting in the regulation of excessive immune inflammation and restoration of immune homeostasis, effective VD supplementation contributes to protection and maintenance of graft function in KTRs.

Angelica sinensis aboveground part polysaccharide and its metabolite 5-MT ameliorate colitis via modulating gut microbiota and TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway.

The roots of Angelica sinensis have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. However, tons of aerial parts of this herb (aboveground part) are commonly discarded during the process of root preparations. A polysaccharide (ASP-Ag-AP) in the aboveground parts of A. sinensis was isolated and preliminarily characterized as typical plant pectin. ASP-Ag-AP exhibited noticeable protective effects against dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis, including reduction of colonic inflammation, modulation of barrier function, and alteration of gut microbiota and serum metabolite profile. Anti-inflammatory effects of ASP-Ag-AP were observed by inhibiting TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, the level of serum metabolite 5-methyl-dl-tryptophan (5-MT) was reduced by DSS and restored by ASP-Ag-AP, which also negatively correlated with Bacteroides, Alistipes, Staphylococcus and pro-inflammatory factors. The protection from inflammatory stress on intestinal porcine enterocytes cells (IPEC-J2) of 5-MT was observed through the inhibition of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway. Besides, 5-MT also exhibited robust anti-inflammatory effect in colitis mice with improving colitis symptoms, barrier function and gut microbiota, which was the same as presented by ASP-Ag-AP. Therefore, ASP-Ag-AP could be a promising agent for colitis prevention and 5-MT could be the signal metabolite of ASP-Ag-AP on defending against intestinal inflammatory stress.

Salvia miltiorrhiza polysaccharide and its related metabolite 5-methoxyindole-3-carboxaldehyde ameliorate experimental colitis by regulating Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway.

The roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. However, tons of aerial parts of this plant are usually discarded in the production of roots preparation. To make better use of these plant resources, the polysaccharide isolated from the aerial part of S. miltiorrhiza was investigated for its potential protection against intestinal diseases. A pectic polysaccharide (SMAP-1) was isolated and characterized being composed of homogalacturonan as the main chain and rhamnogalacturonan type I as ramified region, with side chains including arabinans and possible arabinogalactan type I and II. SMAP-1 exhibited robust protective effects against dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis and restored colitis symptoms, colonic inflammation, and barrier functions. Anti-oxidative effects were also observed by up-regulating Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway. Additionally, the level of serum 5-methoxyindole-3-carboxaldehyde (5-MC) was restored by SMAP-1 identified in metabolomic analysis, being correlated with the aforementioned effects. Protection against oxidative stress on intestinal porcine enterocyte cells (IPEC-J2) by 5-MC was observed through the activation of Nrf2/Keap1 system, as also shown by SMAP-1. In conclusion, SMAP-1 could be a promising candidate for colitis prevention, and 5-MC could be the signal metabolite of SMAP-1 in protecting against oxidative stress in the intestine.

Online Microextraction Coupled with HPLC-ABTS for Rapid Analysis of Antioxidants from the Root of Polygonum bistorta.

The root of Polygonum bistorta (PB) is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant material widely used in China. It has been commonly used for the treatment of hemostasis, detumescence, diarrhea, snake bite, and acute gastroenteritis. However, the research on the antioxidant properties and bioactive compounds from PB is inadequate. In the current research, an online microextraction (OLME) coupled with a high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with the 2,2-nitrogen-di (3-ethyl-benzothiazole-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt antioxidant assay (HPLC-ABTS) system for rapid analysis of antioxidants from PB was proposed. The PB sample (0.17 mg) was online extracted by mobile phase (acetonitrile and 0.2% acetic acid); a Poroshell 120 SB-Aq column was used for separation; then, an online ABTS assay system was used for screening the antioxidants. Finally, ten components were found in PB, and among them, eight components possessed antioxidant activities. Furthermore, five components (gallic acid, neochlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and an unknown compound) were proved as major antioxidants when compared with rutin as an antioxidant marker. The results showed that the developed OLME-HPLC-ABTS system was a simple, rapid, green, and efficient instrument for the screening of antioxidants from PB, which provides a powerful tool for the discovery of natural antioxidants in Chinese medicines.

Heat-induced amorphous aggregates assembly of soy protein modulate in vitro digestibility of potato starch.

This research focused on the characteristics of amorphous aggregates derived from soy protein (SPAA), and their effects on the structural, physicochemical, and digestive properties of potato starch (PS). The SPAA induced by different heating temperatures at pH 7.0 formed an inhomogeneous spherical structure. The presence of SPAA could improve the degree of short-range order of starch, increase thermal stability, reduce pasting viscosity and breakdown, and setback viscosity values of PS. For the PS complexed with SPAAs under simulated cooking conditions, the fraction of digested starch at 300 min (C300) decreased by 6-14 %, and rapid digestible starch content (RDS) decreased by 18-25 %, while the slowly digestible starch (SDS) and resistant starch (RS) increased by 0.4-3 % and 15-23 %, respectively. The SPAA at higher temperature treatment (SPAA130) reduced digestive rate coefficient (k) values more significantly than SPAA at a lower temperature (SPAA70, SPAA90, SPAA110). And the SPAA had no inhibitory effect on α-amylase. The results of this study would significantly contribute to expanding the theoretical information about protein regulation in starch digestion and promoting the development of healthy foods with digestion-resistant properties.

Pectic polysaccharides from Aconitum carmichaelii leaves protects against DSS-induced ulcerative colitis in mice through modulations of metabolism and microbiota composition.

The industrial processing of Aconitum carmichaelii roots for use in Traditional Chinese Medicine generates a high amount of waste material, especially leaves. An acidic polysaccharide fraction isolated from these unutilized leaves, AL-I, was in our previous work shown to contain pectic polysaccharides. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of AL-I on ulcerative colitis for the possible application of A. carmichaelii leaves in the treatment of intestinal inflammatory diseases. AL-I was found to alleviate symptoms and colonic pathological injury in colitis mice, and ameliorate the levels of inflammatory indices in serum and colon. The production of short- and branched-chain fatty acids was also restored by AL-I. The observed protective effect could be due to the inhibition of NOD1 and TLR4 activation, the promotion of gene transcription of tight-junction proteins, and the modulation of gut microbiota composition like Bacteroides, Dubosiella, Alistipes and Prevotella,. A regulation of serum metabolomic profiles being relevant to the bacterial change, such as D-mannose 6-phosphate, D-erythrose 4-phosphate and uric acid, was also observed.

The comparison of preliminary structure and intestinal anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities of polysaccharides from different root parts of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The root of Angelica sinensis, has been commonly used in gynecology for centuries, and is normally applied divided into different parts in various clinical applications. At present, the majority of existing studies focus on the volatile oil and ferulic acid extracted from different parts of A. sinensis, but there is a dearth of scientific information on its water-soluble polysaccharides. AIM OF THE STUDY: The structures of polysaccharides from plants, have been reported contributing to multiple pharmacological activities such as anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and liver protection. Therefore, the focus of this study was on its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities in vitro, which would be based on the various polysaccharides with distinct structures obtained from different parts of the A. sinensis root. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four parts of A. sinensis root were separated according to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia: head, body, tail and whole body. Crude polysaccharides were obtained by water extraction and ethanol precipitation method, and were further fractionated by DEAE Sepharose chromatographic column and gel filtration. The comparison of ASPs from different root parts were performed, including chemical compositions determined by colorimetric analysis, monosaccharide compositions measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), glycosidic linkage units determined by methylation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), organic functional groups determined by FT-IR, molecular weight (Mw) demarcated by gel permeation chromatography, and the viscosities and solubilities were measured according to method published in the previous report with minor modification. In vitro biological activities of APSs were compared on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory and oxidative stress models on IPEC-J2 cells. RESULTS: Four purified polysaccharides, ASP-H-AP, ASP-B-AP, ASP-T-AP and ASP-Hb-AP from the root of A. sinensis, were obtained, and consisted of various contents of protein and the polyphenol. They were possibly pectic polysaccharides with a long homogalacturonan region as the main backbone and ramified with rhamnogalacturonan I region, but they were differed by subregions and the relative contents of glycosidic units. The Mw of four pectic polysaccharides were ranged from 67.9-267.7 kDa. The infrared spectrum also showed that the four polysaccharide fractions contained the characteristic peaks of polysaccharides. Their distinct primary structure could lead to a variety of biological activities. In vitro biological assays suggested that four polysaccharide fractions can protect IPEC-J2 cells against the LPS-induced inflammation by down-regulating inflammation factors and related genes on IPEC-J2 cells. These polysaccharides also could alleviate oxidative stress on IPEC-J2 cells by up-regulating the gene and protein expressions of antioxidant enzymes. It was concluded that ASP-H-AP possessed better anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects, while those of ASP-T-AP was relatively poor among the four polysaccharide fractions. CONCLUSION: All results indicated that the structure of pectic polysaccharides from different root parts of A. sinensis differed, which lead to their distinct anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities. This may also be one of the factors why different parts of A. sinensis showed various pharmacological activities and applied independently in traditional use. In addition, it would be valuable for further studies on structure-activity relationship of polysaccharides obtained by different root parts of A. sinensis.

Restorative Effects of Inulin From Codonopsis pilosula on Intestinal Mucosal Immunity, Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Gut Microbiota of Immunosuppressed Mice.

An inulin (CPPF), isolated from a traditional Chinese herbal medicine Codonopsis pilosula, was characterized and demonstrated with potential prebiotic activity in vitro before. Based on its non-digested feature, the intestinal mucosa and microbiota modulatory effects in vivo on immunosuppressed mice were investigated after oral administration of 200, 100 and 50 mg/kg of CPPF for 7 days. It was demonstrated that the secretions of sIgA and mucin 2 (Muc2) in ileum were improved by CPPF, and the anti-inflammatory activities in different intestine parts were revealed. The intestine before colon could be the target active position of CPPF. As a potential prebiotic substance, a gut microbiota restorative effect was also presented by mainly modulating the relative abundance of Eubacteriales, including Oscillibacter, unidentified Ruminococcus and Lachnospiraceae after high-throughput pyrosequencing of V4 region of 16S rRNA analysis. All these results indicated that this main bioactive ingredient inulin from C. pilosula was a medicinal prebiotic with enhancing mucosal immune, anti-inflammatory and microbiota modulatory activities.

Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux: A systematic review on traditional use, and the chemical structures and pharmacological properties of polysaccharides and phenolic compounds in the roots.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Aconitum carmichaelii, belonging to the Ranunculaceae family, is a widely used traditional herbal plant in Asian countries, especially in China. The lateral ("Fuzi") and mother ("Chuanwu") roots are the two main plant parts used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), where they are used in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, rheumatoid arthritis, and as analgesics. AIM OF THE STUDY: In order to further guide the research direction and application of A. carmichaelii, this study aims to give a systematic and in-depth overview on the phytochemical and pharmacological studies of non-alkaloid natural products with focus on polysaccharides and phenolic compounds. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive search in the literature was conducted based on the databases Google Scholar, SciFinder (American Chemical Society), Springer Link, PubMed Science, Science Direct and China National Knowledge Internet, Wanfang Data, in addition to books, doctoral and master's dissertations, and official website. The main keywords were: "Aconitum carmichaelii", "Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata", "Fuzi", "Chuanwu", "Aconiti Radix", "monkshood" and "Bushi". RESULTS: A. carmichaelii is known for the use of its different root parts, including "Fuzi" and "Chuanwu". Different types of polysaccharides, both neutral and acidic, and 39 phenolic compounds like flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, lignans, neolignans, and benzoic acid derivatives have been isolated and identified from the roots. Pharmacological studies of the isolated polysaccharides have demonstrated various biological effects such as hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, cardiovascular, immunomodulatory, anti-tumor, and neuropharmacological activities. Studies on pharmacological effects of the phenolic compounds isolated from the roots are however limited. CONCLUSIONS: This review shows that polysaccharides could be one of the active components in the roots of A. carmichaelii, and they are promising for future applications due to their pharmacological properties. In addition, polysaccharides are generally non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable. This review also sheds light on new research directions for A. carmichaelii. A more detailed structural characterization of polysaccharides from different root parts of A. carmichaelii, and their structure-activity relationships are required. Additionally, their pharmacological properties as immunomodulators in the intestinal system should be investigated. Further, more knowledge about the pharmacological effects and molecular mechanisms of the phenolic compounds that have been identified are needed.

Photothermal combined with intratumoral injection of annonaceous acetogenin nanoparticles for breast cancer therapy.

ACGs (annonaceous acetogenins) possess excellent antitumor activity, but their serious accompanying toxicity has prevented their application in the clinic. To address this problem, we therefore constructed an intratumoral drug delivery system integrating chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. The PEGylation of polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA-PEG NPs) possessed an excellent biocompatibility with size of 70.96 ± 2.55 nm, thus can be used as good photothermal materials in the body. Moreover, PDA-PEG NPs can kill half of cancer cells under NIR (near-infrared) laser irradiation, and the survival rate of 4T1 cells is only 1% when ACG NPs and PDA-PEG NPs are combined. In vivo distribution studies showed that the 0.1 mg/kg ACGs NPs + PDA-PEG NPs + NIR group had the highest tumor inhibition rate, which was significantly superior to that of the 0.1 mg/kg ACGs NPs intratumoral injection group (82.65% vs. 59.08%). Altogether, the combination of PDA-PEG NPs + NIR with chemotherapy drugs may provide a feasible and effective strategy for the treatment of superficial tumors.

[Effect of oblique needling at Ashi-point on expression of MyoD1/Pax7 in mice with quadriceps femoris injury].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of oblique needling at Ashi-point on behavior, and cell morphology, myogenic differentiation antigen (MyoD1) and paired box transcription factor Pax7 (Pax7) of quadriceps femoris tissue in quadriceps femoris injured mice. METHODS: A total of 24 C57BL/6 male mice were randomly divided into control, model, shallow insertion and deep insertion groups, with 6 mice in each group. The quadriceps femoris injury model was established by single intramuscular injection of 0.5% bupivacaine (BPVC). Twenty-four hours after modeling, mice of the two acupuncture groups were received oblique needling on the surface or through the muscle belly of quadriceps femoris for once, the oblique needling was lifted and inserted 3 times. The climbing pole test was conducted 24 h after modeling and 24 h after EA. Histopathological changes of quadriceps femoris was observed by H.E. staining. The expressions of MyoD1 and Pax7 were detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the score of climbing pole test was lower (P<0.01), and the expressions of MyoD1 and Pax7 significantly increased (P<0.01) in the model group. After the intervention and compared with the model group, the score of climbing pole test was higher (P<0.01), and the expressions of MyoD1 and Pax7 obviously increased (P<0.01) in the two acupuncture groups. The therapeutic effect of deep insertion group was apparently superior to that of shallow insertion group in up-regulating the climbing pole test score and expressions of MyoD1 and Pax7 (P<0.05, P<0.01). H.E. stain showed large areas of inflammatory infiltration, muscle cells swelling, atrophy, rupture, degeneration and necrosis, different cell sizes and morphologies, enlarged intervals, nuclear aggregation, deep nuclear staining, nuclear pyknosis, and hemorrhage in the model group, which was relatively milder in both needling groups. CONCLUSION: Oblique needling at Ashi-point can effectively promote the benign repair of injured quadriceps muscle and promote the recovery of exercise ability in mice, which may be associated with its effect in up-regulating the expression of MyoD1 and Pax7 protein. The role of deep insertion is superior to that of shallow insertion.

Pectic polysaccharide from Nelumbo nucifera leaves promotes intestinal antioxidant defense in vitro and in vivo.

In this study, the Nelumbo nucifera leaf polysaccharide (NNLP) was isolated by hot water extraction and ethanol precipitation. DEAE anion exchange chromatography and gel filtration were further performed to obtained the purified fraction NNLP-I-I, the molecular weight of which was 16.4 kDa. The monosaccharide composition analysis and linkage units determination showed that the fraction NNLP-I-I was a pectic polysaccharide. In addition, the NMR spectra analysis revealed that NNLP-I-I mainly consisted of a homogalacturonan backbone and rhamnogalacturonan I, containing a long HG region and short RG-I region, with AG-II and 1-3 linked rhamnose as side chains. The biological studies demonstrated that NNLP-I-I displayed antioxidant properties through mediating the Nrf2-regulated intestinal cellular antioxidant defense, which could protect cultured intestinal cells from oxidative stress and improve the intestinal function of aged mice.

Enhancement of carotenoid production and its regulation in edible mushroom Cordyceps militaris by abiotic stresses.

Cordyceps militaris carotenoids are widely used as food additives, animal feed supplements, and so on. However, the biosynthetic pathway of carotenoids in C. militaris is still obscure. In this paper, changes of mycelial morphology and carotenoid accumulation of C. militaris were investigated under oxidative (KMnO4) and osmotic stress (NaCl). Subsequently, qRT-PCR was employed to detect the expression levels of genes related to carotenogenesis to explore the mechanism of adaptation to abiotic stress. When the concentrations of KMnO4 and NaCl were respectively 0.4 g/L and 2 g/L, carotenoid accumulation reached a maximum of 6616.82 ±â€¯666.43 µg/g and 6416.77 ±â€¯537.02 µg/g. Under the oxidative stress condition of KMnO4, the expressions of psy and hsp70 increased significantly compared with control. Besides, the genes fus3 and hog1 were significantly enriched in the MAPK signal pathway. Compared with the control group, there was no significant difference in expression of psy in the NaCl group. Moreover, the accumulation of triacylglycerols may contribute significantly to the increase in carotenoid accumulation. The increased accumulation of antioxidant carotenoids induced under environmental stress is to resist oxidative conditions. Fus3 and Hog1 signaling in the MAPK pathway was activated and subsequently take effects on the resistance of oxidative condition by regulating related metabolic processes. C. militaris resist the stress of high oxygen by producing a large amount of glycerol and carotenoids when this fungus is cultured in a saline environment for a long time.

Pterostilbene nanoparticles with small particle size show excellent anti-breast cancer activityin vitroandin vivo.

Pterostilbene (PTE) is known as resveratrol of the next generation and it has attracted extensive attention in recent years. PTE can inhibit the growth of a variety of tumor cells. To overcome the problem of insolubility, PTE was loaded into nanoparticles (NPs) by anti-solvent precipitation technique using soybean lecithin (SPC) and D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) as stabilizers. The obtained PTE-NPs had an average particle size of 71.0 nm, a polydispersity index （PDI） value of 0.258, and a high zeta potential of -40.8 mV. PTE-NPs can maintain particle size stability in various physiological media. The entrapment efficiency of PTE-NPs was 98.24%. And the apparently water solubility of PTE-NPs was about 53 times higher than the solubility of PTE (54.41µg ml-1v-1s-1. 2.89 mg ml-1). M-1T-1T-1assay showed that the antitumor activity of PTE-NPs on 4T1 breast cancer cells, MCF-7 breast cancer cells and Hela cervical cancer cells was significantly increased by 4, 6 and 8 times than that of free PTE, respectively.In vivostudies have shown that PTE-NPs has a certain dose dependence. When injected intraperitoneally, PTE-NPs showed a similar therapeutic effect as paclitaxel injection (TIR was 57.53% versus 57.23%) against 4T1 tumor-bearing mice. This should be due to the improved bioavailability of the drug caused by nano-drug delivery system (nano-DDS). These results indicate that PTE-NPs may be a clinically promising anti-tumor drug for breast cancer treatment.

New pectic polysaccharides from Codonopsis pilosula and Codonopsis tangshen: structural characterization and cellular antioxidant activities.

BACKGROUND: Codonopsis pilosula and Codonopsis tangshen are plants widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. Two pectic polysaccharides from the roots of C. pilosula and C. tangshen named as CPP-1 and CTP-1 were obtained by boiling water extraction and column chromatography. RESULTS: The core structures of both CPP-1 and CTP-1 comprise the long homogalacturonan region (HG) as the backbone and the rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I) region as the side chains. CPP-1 has methyl esterified galacturonic acid units and a slightly lower molecular weight than CTP-1. Biological testing suggested that CPP-1 and CTP-1 can protect IPEC-J2 cells against the H2 O2 -induced oxidative stress by up-regulating nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 and related genes in IPEC-J2 cells. The different antioxidative activities of polysaccharides from different source of C. pilosula may be result of differences in their structures. CONCLUSION: All of the results indicated that pectic polysaccharides CPP-1 and CTP-1 from different species of C. pilosula roots could be used as a potential natural antioxidant source. These findings will be valuable for further studies and new applications of pectin-containing health products. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.