Increasing minor ginsenosides contents and enhancing neuroprotective effects of total ginsenosides fermented by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum.

Minor ginsenosides have been proven to have higher pharmacological activity than the major ginsenosides. The transformation of major ginsenosides to minor ginsenosides by lactic acid bacteria was considered to be a promising method. Therefore, this study focuses on utilizing glycosidase-producing Lactiplantibacillus plantarum GLP40 to transform total ginsenosides (TG) and increase the content of minor ginsenosides, as well as investigate the neuroprotective effects of fermented total ginsenosides (FTG). After 21d fermentation, the transformation products were purified using D101 macroporous resin column chromatography, and identified by HPLC and LC-MS analyses. The neuroprotective effect of FTG was evaluated using MPTP-induced neural injury mice model. Lact. plantarum GLP40 fermentation increased the contents of minor ginsenosides in TG, such as Rg3, Rh2, CK, and Rk3. FTG showed stronger alleviation of 1-Methyl-4-Phenyl-1,2,3,6-Tetrahydropyridine Hydrochloride (MPTP) induced memory loss and dyskinesia in mice, and inhibited tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) depletion and ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba-1) production than TG. Further, FTG significantly increased serum IL-10 levels and inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines compared to TG. Moreover, FTG treatment activated the anti-apoptotic PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and inhibited the expression of the inflammatory NF-κB/COX-2/iNOS pathway. In conclusion, Lact. plantarum GLP40 fermentation enhances the neuroprotective effects of total ginsenosides by increasing minor ginsenosides. FTG protected MPTP induced neural injury in mice by regulating inflammation and cell apoptosis signaling pathways.

Weizmannia coagulans JA845 improves atherosclerosis induced by vitamin D3 and high-fat diet in rats through modulating lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and endothelial vascular injury.

AIMS: Probiotics have been proved to be strongly linked to the occurrence and progression of atherosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate the improved effects and mechanisms underlying a potential probiotic, Weizmannia coagulans JA845, on atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats supported on a high-fat diet with vitamin D3 supplementation were subjected to W. coagulans JA845 treatment. W. coagulans JA845 obviously alleviated histological abnormalities of the abdominal aorta. After 6 weeks of W. coagulans JA845 administration, levels of TG, TC, LDL, ox-LDL, ROS, and MDA in the JA845 group decreased significantly, and those of HDL, GSH-Px, and SOD were markedly elevated. Treatment with W. coagulans JA845 also inhibited the secretion of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 and regulated the plasma NO and eNOS content. In brief, administration of W. coagulans JA845 promoted the expression of the SIRT3/SOD2/FOXO3A pathway, inhibited the lipid metabolism pathway, SREBP-1c/FAS/DGAT2, and suppressed the JNK2/P38 MAPK/VEGF pathway implicated in endothelial injury. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated W. coagulans JA845 improved atherosclerosis by regulating lipid metabolism, antioxidative stress, and protecting against endothelial injury.

Chondroitin sulfate stimulates the secretion of H2S by Desulfovibrio to improve insulin sensitivity in NAFLD mice.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a bioactive gas regulating insulin secretion and sensitivity, produced by sulfate-reducing bacteria in the gut. The present study investigated the effect of chondroitin sulfate (CS) treatment, which indirectly increased the H2S production on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). A 7-week CS supplementation had beneficial effects on body weight gain, liver function, hepatic histology, and serum lipid levels. CS could ameliorate diet-induced insulin resistance and improve insulin sensitivity via the AKT pathway, and modulate gut microbiota composition, especially increased the abundance of Desulfovibrio and elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Collectively, these findings suggested that CS treatment was positively correlated with Desulfovibrio in the gut, and the metabolic H2S flowed into the liver via the gut-liver axis, thereby triggering the AKT signaling pathway and improving insulin resistance. Thus, CS-induced alterations in the gut microbiota seem a promising for ameliorating NAFLD.

Transcriptome Analysis Revealed the Mechanisms Involved in Ultrasonic Seed Treatment-Induced Aluminum Tolerance in Peanut.

Ultrasonic (US) treatment is an efficient method to induce crop tolerance against heavy metal toxicity; however, US-induced aluminum (Al) tolerance in peanuts was rarely studied. This study was comprised of two treatments, namely, CK, without ultrasonic treatment, and US, an ultrasonic seed treatment, for 15 min. Both treated and non-treated treatments were applied with Al in the form of AlCl3.18H2O at 5 mmol L-1 in Hoagland solution at one leaf stage. Results depicted that plant height, main root length, and number of lateral roots increased significantly under US treatment. Transcriptome analysis revealed that plant hormone signal transduction and transcription factors (TFs) were significantly enriched in the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in US treatment, and the plant hormones were measured, including salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid (ABA) contents, were substantially increased, while indole acetic acid (IAA) and jasmonic acid (JA) contents were decreased significantly in US treatment. The TFs were verified using quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR, and it was found that multiple TFs genes were significantly upregulated in US treatment, and ALMT9 and FRDL1 genes were also significantly upregulated in US treatment. Overall, the US treatment induced the regulation of hormone content and regulated gene expression by regulating TFs to improve Al tolerance in peanuts. This study provided a theoretical rationale for US treatment to improve Al tolerance in peanuts.

Reduction of Aflatoxin B1 Toxicity by Lactobacillus plantarum C88: A Potential Probiotic Strain Isolated from Chinese Traditional Fermented Food "Tofu".

In this study, we investigated the potential of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from Chinese traditional fermented foods to reduce the toxicity of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), and its subsequent detoxification mechanism. Among all the investigated L. plantarum strains, L. plantarum C88 showed the strongest AFB1 binding capacity in vitro, and was orally administered to mice with liver oxidative damage induced by AFB1. In the therapy groups, the mice that received L. plantarum C88, especially heat-killed L. plantarum C88, after a single dose of AFB1 exposure, showed an increase in unabsorbed AFB1 in the feces. Moreover, the effects of L. plantarum C88 on the enzymes and non-enzymes antioxidant abilities in serum and liver, histological alterations of liver were assayed. The results indicated that compared to the control group, L. plantarum C88 alone administration induced significant increase of antioxidant capacity, but did not induce any significant changes in the histological picture. Compared to the mice that received AFB1 only, L. plantarum C88 treatment could weaken oxidative stress by enhancing the activity of antioxidant enzymes and elevating the expression of Glutathione S-transferase (GST) A3 through Nuclear factor erythroid (derived factor 2) related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway. Furthermore, cytochrome P450 (CYP 450) 1A2 and CYP 3A4 expression was inhibited by L. plantarum C88, and urinary aflatoxin B1-N7-guanine (AFB-N7-guanine), a AFB1 metabolite formed by CYP 1A2 and CYP 3A4, was significantly reduced by the presence of viable L. plantarum C88. Meanwhile, the significant improvements were showed in histological pictures of the liver tissues in mice orally administered with viable L. plantarum C88. Collectively, L. plantarum C88 may alleviate AFB1 toxicity by increasing fecal AFB1 excretion, reversing deficits in antioxidant defense systems and regulating the metabolism of AFB1.

[Experiment on pruning of Cistanche deserticola inoculated in artificial Haloxylon ammodendron forest].

At present, the objective of cutting and pruning Cistanche deserticola is to harvest in successive years and enhance the harvesting yield and quality of C. deserticola in the process of the artificial cultivating C. deserticola. An experiment was conducted focusing on cutting and pruning C. deserticola in artificial forests of Haloxylon ammodendron drip-irrigated with saline water at the hinter-land of the Taklimakan desert, according to different growth stages and lengths. The results were following: (1) The effect of cutting on C. deserticola was similar to that of pruning, which resulted in three kinds of morphological types, not related to the bloom and size of C. deserticola. (2) The growth forms were diversified after pruning. Among them, there had sprouting new body, died or maintaining life with no sprouting, mildewed on its surface layer, etc. However, some of new bodies were sprouting from the lower part of the old body. The death rate of bloomed C. deserticola was higher than that of the underground, and the death rate of the 40 cm in stubble height for C. deserticola was higher than those with the stubble height of 20 cm and 5 cm. (3) Most of the diameter of living C. deserticola after pruning was increasing, but some of them changed little. (4) The mildew and rot of C. deserticola and the broken of the roots of the H. ammodendron and the fallen of the point of the inoculated when it was dug, which would cause the death of the C. deserticola. On the other, the yield-increasing effect and the economic benefit of the techniques of the pruning of Cistanche would need further research and evaluate. Therefore, the application of this technique needs to be cautious.

In vivo antimalarial activities of glycoalkaloids isolated from Solanaceae plants.

CONTEXT: Malaria is one of the most common and serious protozoan tropical diseases. Multi-drug resistance remains pervasive, necessitating the continuous development of new antimalarial agents. OBJECTIVE: Many glycosides, such as triterpenoid saponins, were shown to have antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. This study was to elucidate the ability of five glycoalkaloids against Plasmodium yoelii and develop new antimalarial lead compounds. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Glycoalkaloids were isolated from three kinds of Solanaceae plants: chaconine and solanine were isolated from Solanum tuberosum L. sprouts, solamargine and solasonine from Solanum nigrum L. fruit, tomatine from Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. fruit. The five isolated glycoalkaloids were evaluated against Plasmodium yoelii 17XL in mice with 4-day parasitemia suppression test in different concentrations. RESULTS: Chaconine showed a dose-dependent suppression of malaria infection, ED50, 4.49 mg/kg; therapeutic index (TI), approximately 9. At a dose of 7.50 mg/kg, the parasitemia suppressions of chaconine, tomatine, solamargine, solasonine and solanine were 71.38, 65.25, 64.89, 57.47 and 41.30%, respectively. At 3.75 mg/kg, the parasitemia suppression of chaconine was 42.66%, but the derivative, chaconine-6-O-sulfate, appeared to show no antimalarial activity. Simultaneous administration of chaconine and solanine in 1:1 did not show any synergistic effects. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The results showed that the glycoalkaloids with chacotriose (chaconine and solamargine) were more active than those with solatriose (solanine and solasonine). Chaconine was the most active among the five glycoalkaloids. We propose that the activity is dependent upon non-specific carbohydrate interactions. The 6-OH of chaconine is important for antimalarial activity.

Effects of glycoalkaloids from Solanum plants on cucumber root growth.

The phytotoxic effect of four glycoalkaloids and two 6-O-sulfated glycoalkaloid derivatives were evaluated by testing their inhibition of cucumber root growth. The bioassays were performed using both compounds singly and in equimolar mixtures, respectively. Cucumber root growth was reduced by chaconine (C), solanine (S), solamargine (SM) and solasonine (SS) with IC(50) values of 260 (C), 380 (S), 530 (SM), and 610 microM (SS). The inhibitory effect was concentration-dependent. 6-O-sulfated chaconine and 6-O-sulfated solamargine had no inhibitory effects, which indicated that the carbohydrate moieties play an important role in inhibiting cucumber root growth. The equimolar mixtures of paired glycoalkaloids, both chaconine/solanine and solamargine/solasonine, produced synergistic effects on inhibition of cucumber root growth. By contrast, mixtures of unpaired glycoalkaloids from different plants had no obviously synergistic effects. The growth inhibited plant roots lacked hairs, which implied that inhibition was perhaps at the level of root hair growth.