Effect of dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 on seizure thresholds and antiseizure potency of sodium valproate in mice.

OBJECTIVE: Both animal and human studies, though limited, showed that multi-strain probiotic supplementation may reduce the number of seizures and/or seizure severity. Here, we evaluated the effect of a single strain probiotic supplementation on seizure susceptibility, antiseizure efficacy of sodium valproate, and several behavioral parameters in mice. METHODS: Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 was given orally for 28 days. Its influence on seizure thresholds was evaluated in the ivPTZ- and electrically-induced seizure tests. The effect on the antiseizure potency of valproate was assessed in the scPTZ test. We also investigated the effects of probiotic supplementation on anxiety-related behavior (in the elevated plus maze and light/dark box tests), motor coordination (in the accelerating rotarod test), neuromuscular strength (in the grip-strength test), and spontaneous locomotor activity. Serum and brain concentrations of valproate as well as cecal contents of SCFAs and lactate were determined using HPLC method. RESULTS: L. helveticus R0052 significantly increased the threshold for the 6 Hz-induced psychomotor seizure. There was also a slight increase in the threshold for myoclonic and clonic seizure in the ivPTZ test. L. helveticus R0052 did not affect the threshold for tonic seizures both in the maximal electroshock- and ivPTZ-induced seizure tests. No changes in the antiseizure potency of valproate against the PTZ-induced seizures were reported. Interestingly, L. helveticus R0052 increased valproate concentration in serum, but not in the brain. Moreover, L. helveticus R0052 did not produce any significant effects on anxiety-related behavior, motor coordination, neuromuscular strength, and locomotor activity. L. helveticus R0052 supplementation resulted in increased concentrations of total SCFAs, acetate, and butyrate. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, this study shows that a single-strain probiotic - L. helveticus R0052 may decrease seizure susceptibility and this effect can be mediated, at least in part, by increased production of SCFAs. In addition, L. helveticus R0052 may affect bioavailability of valproate, which warrants further investigations.

The Expression Profiles of the Salvia miltiorrhiza 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A Reductase 4 Gene and Its Influence on the Biosynthesis of Tanshinones

Salvia miltiorrhiza is a medicinal plant that synthesises biologically-active tanshinones with numerous therapeutic properties. An important rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of their precursors is 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR). This study presents the organ-specific expression profile of the S. miltiorrhiza HMGR4 gene and its sensitivity to potential regulators, viz. gibberellic acid (GA3), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and salicylic acid (SA). In addition, it demonstrates the importance of the HMGR4 gene, the hormone used, the plant organ, and the culture environment for the biosynthesis of tanshinones. HMGR4 overexpression was found to significantly boost the accumulation of dihydrotanshinone I (DHTI), cryptotanshinone (CT), tanshinone I (TI) and tanshinone IIA (TIIA) in roots by 0.44 to 5.39 mg/g dry weight (DW), as well as TIIA in stems and leaves. S. miltiorrhiza roots cultivated in soil demonstrated higher concentrations of the examined metabolites than those grown in vitro. GA3 caused a considerable increase in the quantity of CT (by 794.2 µg/g DW) and TIIA (by 88.1 µg/g DW) in roots. In turn, IAA significantly inhibited the biosynthesis of the studied tanshinones in root material.

The effect of supplementing sheep with rapeseed and linseed oils on the activity of pancreatic digestive enzymes.

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of rapeseed and linseed oils added to the diet on pancreatic enzyme activities in sheep. The experiment was conducted on six adult sheep with a catheter introduced into the common bile-pancreatic duct and a T-cannula into the duodenum. The animals were divided into three groups, two sheep in each. A twice-replicated 3 × 3 Latin square was used in the experimental design. The sheep were fed meadow hay and the concentrate alone or the same ration supplemented with rapeseed or linseed oils at a dose of 5% of the basal diet. After adaptation period, a mixture of pancreatic and bile juice was collected for three consecutive days. The secretion of bile-pancreatic juice showed an increasing trend in sheep fed rapeseed and linseed oils (69.5 and 68.5 ml/hr respectively) in comparison with control ones (59.8 ml/hr). Lipase and trypsin activities were significantly increased when sheep were fed diets with rapeseed or linseed oils (175 and 21.6 or 179 and 23.2 U/L respectively) in comparison with those fed control diet (128 and 13.1 U/L respectively). It was concluded that oil as a dietary supplement can mainly modify the secretion of bile-pancreatic juice and enzymatic activity of the pancreas and also might affect animal production.

Microbially mediated cadmium sorption/desorption processes in soil amended with sewage sludge.

A multi-compartment system was used to study the importance of microorganisms for Cd desorption from soil amended with sewage sludge and simultaneous resorption of the mobilized metal by soil constituents. Using this system made it possible to study the participation of microorganisms (Arthrobacter, Trichoderma), montmorillonite, humic acids, and iron oxides in resorption of the released Cd. A filter-sterilized water extract of root-free soil of pH 6.7 (RF) or RF supplemented with glucose (RFG) were used to mobilize Cd from soil at 14 degrees C in 48 h. Cadmium found in those extracts after 48-h incubation was recognized as bioavailable. Changes in pH values and enrichment of soil extracts with organic acids and siderophores resulted from microbial growth. RFG with lower pH and a higher content of ligands mobilized, on average, 40% of Cd introduced with sewage sludge amended soil, whereas RF mobilized only 20% of it. Sequential extractions of Cd at time 0 and Cd remaining in soil showed that RFG had mobilized Cd mostly from the fraction bound with Fe and Mn oxides. Microbial biomass accounted for only up to 3.4% (w/w) of the soil constituents used in the experiments but resorbed 25% of mobilized Cd. The chemical composition of mobilizing soil extracts and the solid-to-mobilizing-extracts volume ratio had a significant effect on the amount of bioavailable Cd. The results of the study suggest that microbial metabolites were involved in Cd mobilization, while the biomass of microorganisms was involved in Cd resorption as a biosorbent.