The Positive Influence of Polyphenols Extracted From Pueraria lobata Root on the Gut Microbiota and Its Antioxidant Capability.

Pueraria lobata, an edible food and medicinal plant, is a rich source of bioactive components. In this study, a polyphenol-rich extract was isolated from P. lobata. Puerarin was identified, and the high antioxidant bioactivity of the P. lobata extract was evaluated using the methods of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonate) (ABTS), and hydroxyl free radical scavenging ratio. Additionally, the IC50 values of DPPH, ABTS, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities were 50.8, 13.9, and 100.4 µg/ml, respectively. Then, the P. lobata extract was administered to C57Bl/6J mice and confirmed to have a superior effect on enhancing the antioxidant status including improving superoxide dismutase activity, glutathione peroxidase peroxide activity, total antioxidant capacity activity, and malondialdehyde contents in vivo. Furthermore, the P. lobata extract had beneficial and prebiotic effects on the composition and structure of gut microbiota. Results showed that the P. lobata extract significantly increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria, involving Lactobacillaceae and Bacteroidetes, and decreased the abundance of Ruminococcaceae, Prevotellaceae, and Burkholderiaceae. Overall, our results provided a basis for using the P. lobata extract as a promising and potential functional ingredient for the food industry.

Effect of music therapy on pain behaviors in rats with bone cancer pain.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of music therapy on the pain behaviors and survival of rats with bone cancer pain and analyze the mediating mechanism of mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction pathway. METHODS: Male Wistar rats aged 5-8 weeks and weighing 160-200 g were collected. The rat models of colorectal cancer bone cancer pain was successfully established. Animals were divided into experimental and control group, each with 10 rats. The animals in the observation group were given Mozart K448 sonata, sound intensity of 60 db, played the sonata once every 1 hr in the daytime, stopped playing during the night, and this cycle was kept for 2 weeks. On the other hand, rats in the control group were kept under the same environment without music. RESULTS: Animals in the experimental group consumed more feed and gained significant weight in comparison to the control group. The tumor volume of the experimental group was significantly smaller than that of the control group (p<0.05). After 1-2 weeks of treatment, spontaneous foot withdrawal reflection caused by pain in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group, heat pain threshold and free walking pain scoring in the experimental group were also significantly higher as compared with the control group (p<0.05). The expression of p38á and p38ß in animals' spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group (p< 0.05). CONCLUSION: Music therapy may improve the pain behaviors in rats with bone cancer pain, which might be related with low expression of p38á and p38ß in the MAPK signal transduction pathway.