YuPingFengSan ameliorates LPS-induced acute lung injury and gut barrier dysfunction in mice.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Yupingfengsan (YPFS) is a traditional Chinese medicine decoction. YPFS comprises Astragalus mongholicus Bunge (Huangqi), Atractylodes rubra Dekker (Baizhu), and Saposhnikovia divaricata (Turcz.ex Ledeb.) Schischk (Fangfeng). YPFS is commonly used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, respiratory infections, and pneumonia, but the mechanism of action remains unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: Acute lung injury (ALI) and its severe form of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) cause morbidity and mortality in critical patients. YPFS is a commonly used herbal soup to treat respiratory and immune system diseases. Nevertheless, the effect of YPFS on ALI remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of YPFS on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI in mice and elucidate its potential molecular mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The major components of YPFS were detected by High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). C57BL/6J mice were given YPFS for seven days and then treated with LPS. IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-8, iNOS, NLRP3, PPARγ, HO-1, ZO-1, Occludin, Claudin-1, AQP3, AQP4, AQP5, ENaCα, ENaCß, EnaCγ mRNA in lung and ZO-1, Occludin, Claudin-1, AQP3, AQP4, AQP5, ENaCα, ENaCß, and EnaCγ mRNA in colon tissues were measured by Real-Time Quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The expressions of TLR4, MyD88, NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3), ASC, MAPK signaling pathway, Nrf2, and HO-1 in the lung were detected by Western blot. Plasma inflammatory factors Interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) were determined by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Lung tissues were processed for H & E staining, and colon tissues for HE, WGA-FITC, and Alcian Blue staining. RESULTS: The results showed that YPFS administration alleviated lung injury and suppressed the production of inflammatory factors, including IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α. Additionally, YPFS reduced pulmonary edema by promoting the expressions of aquaporin and sodium channel-related genes (AQP3, AQP4, AQP5, ENaCα, ENaCß, and EnaCγ). Further, YPFS intervention exhibited a therapeutic effect on ALI by inhibiting the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and MAPK signaling pathways. Finally, YPFS improved gut barrier integrity and suppressed intestinal inflammation in LPS-challenged mice. CONCLUSIONS: YPFS protected mice against LPS-induced ALI by attenuating lung and intestinal tissue damage. This study sheds light on the potential application of YPFS to treat ALI/ARDS.

In vitro digestion and human gut microbiota fermentation of Bletilla striata polysaccharides and oligosaccharides.

Background: Bletilla striata is one of the commonly used traditional Chinese medicine. B. striata polysaccharides (BP) and oligosaccharides (BO) are one of the main components of B. striata, which have been proved to have a variety of biological activities. However, the digestion and fermentation characteristics of BP and BO are still unclear. Methods: The study evaluated different prebiotic effects of BP and BO by in vitro simulating digestion and gut microbiota fermentation. Results: The results show that the simulating saliva partly degraded BP, but had no effect on BO. The molecular weights of BP and BO remained basically unchanged in gastric and intestinal digestion. In addition, BP and BO could be rapidly degraded and utilized by gut microbiota. During in vitro fermentation, the growth rates of the BP and BO groups were higher than that of the Control group and the pH value and total carbohydrate content in BP group and BO group decreased significantly. Although the reducing sugar level in the BO group decreased rapidly, it remained at a low level in the BP group. Both BP and BO improved the composition and structure of gut microbiota, indicative of the upregulated abundances of Streptococcus and Veillonella, and the downregulated populations of Escherichia and Bacteroides. There were differences in the SCFA production by gut microbiota and antioxidant activities between the BP and BO groups. The fermentation broth of the BP group displayed a stronger suppression of O2-, but a higher scavenging effect on DPPH for the BO group. Conclusions: BP and BO displayed different digestion and fermentation characteristics in vitro due to their distinct polymerization degrees. The study point towards the potential of BP and BO as prebiotics in the application to human diseases by selectively regulating gut microbiota in the future.

Vine Tea (Ampelopsis grossedentata) Extract Attenuates CCl4 -Induced Liver Injury by Restoring Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Mice.

SCOPE: Vine tea (Ampelopsis grossedentata), a traditional Chinese tea, has displayed various biological activities. The authors aim to investigate the effect of Vine Tea (Ampelopsis grossedentata) extract (VTE) on carbon tetrachlorid (CCl4 )induced acute liver injury (ALI) in mice and to explore the underlying role of gut microbiota during the treatment. METHODS AND RESULTS: C57BL/6J mice injected with CCl4 are treated with VTE for 6 weeks. By using H&E staining, immunofluorescence staining, quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR, and western blot, it is shown that VTE treatment significantly ameliorates hepatocyte necrosis, alleviates the mRNA levels of toll-like receptor 4 (Tlr4), interleukin (Il)-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (Acc1), and increases the mRNA levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (Ppar-γ) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (Hmg-coar) compared to the CCl4 group. Also, VTE abrogates the decreased mRNA expressions of zonula occludens-1 (Zo-1), Occludin, and Mucin1 in colon tissues. Using microbial 16S rDNA sequencing, VTE treatment significantly downregulates the abundances of some harmful intestinal bacteria like Helicobacter and Oscillibacter. In contrast, VTE upregulates the contents of several beneficial bacteria, such as Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014 and Eubacterium_fissicatena_group. Further, VTE fails to improve ALI in the mice with gut microbiota depletion using antibiotic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The studies suggest that VTE exhibits a protective effect against CCl4 -induced ALI in mice by alleviating hepatic inflammation, suppressing intestinal epithelial barrier injury, and restoring gut microbiota dysbiosis.

Bletilla striata oligosaccharides improve metabolic syndrome through modulation of gut microbiota and intestinal metabolites in high fat diet-fed mice.

As traditional Chinese medicine, Bletilla striata has been widely applied to clinical treatment for its unique pharmacological profiles. This study aimed to investigate the beneficial role of Bletilla striata oligosaccharides (BO) in improving the metabolic syndrome by regulation of gut microbiota and intestinal metabolites. Treatment of HFD-fed mice with BO prevented weight gain, reversed the glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, and inhibited adipocyte hypertrophy. BO-treated mice also suppressed chronic inflammation and protected intestinal barrier from damage. These effects were linked to the reversal of gut microbiota dysbiosis, which contributed to the homeostasis of intestinal metabolites including bile acids, short-chain fatty acids and tryptophan catabolites. The depletion and reconstitution of intestinal flora from BO- or HFD-treated mice confirmed the significance of gut microbiota in regulation of HFD-induced metabolic disorders. We demonstrated for the first time that BO improved metabolic syndrome through the regulation of gut microbiota and intestinal metabolites. The modulation initiated by BO represents a promising strategy for treatment of obesity and related metabolic diseases.