Yiqi Yangjing recipe stimulates apoptosis while suppressing the energy metabolism via under-expression of PFKFB3 in A549 cells.

Background: Lung cancer is a malignant tumor associated with high morbidity and mortality. Yiqi Yangjing recipe (YYR) is a formula of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that is commonly used for the treatment of lung cancer with good clinical efficacy. The specific anti-cancer mechanism of YYR is still unknown. We need to embark on a more in-depth pharmacological study of YYR to determine the complex compound ingredients, which could be promoted in clinical practice to achieve efficacy in prolonging recurrent metastasis of lung cancer. Methods: The cytotoxic effects of YYR on A549 cells were evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The PFKFB3-under-expressed and overexpressed A549 cell lines were constructed via PFK15 treatment and transfection, respectively. The effects of YYR on PFKFB3 messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expression were detected by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot. The pro-apoptotic and anti-glycolytic abilities of YYR were measured using flow cytometry assay and hippocampal XF96 extracellular flux analyzer. An in vivo tumorigenicity assay was performed on nude mice to confirm the anti-cancer effects of YYR. Results: YYR has a noticeable cytotoxic activity on A549 cells, with the treatment with both YYR and PFK15 significantly inducing apoptosis. YYR and PFK15 treatment reduced the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) and oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in A549 cells. Similar to PFK15, YYR can down-regulate PFKFB3 expression, and PFKFB3 overexpression suppressed the apoptosis, which was reversed by YYR. Animal experiments confirmed that YYR was able to inhibit tumor growth, induce tumor cell apoptosis, and down-regulate PFKFB3 in tumor tissues. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that YYR promoted lung cancer cell apoptosis and inhibited energy metabolism by targeting PFKFB3. Furthermore, we believe that YYR may be a suitable supplement or alternative drug for lung cancer treatment.

Non-destructive Detection of Fatty Acid Content of Camellia Seed Based on Hyperspectral.

As a unique traditional vegetable oil in China, camellia seed oil has very high edible value. Camellia seed kernel is mainly composed of fatty acids, which not only determines the oil yield of camellia seed, but also exert an important impact on the storage performance of camellia seed. In order to quickly and accurately determine the fatty acid content of camellia seed, this paper took camellia seed as the research object, used hyperspectral technology to determine the fatty acid content of camellia seed, and establishes a spectral model. 8 pretreatment methods, such as Savitzky-Golay smoothing, normalization, baseline correction, multivariate scattering correction, standard normal variable transformation, detrending algorithm, first derivative and second derivative, were adopted in this paper. The spectral prediction model of fatty acid content in camellia seed was established by combining 4 modeling methods: principal components regression (PCR), partial least square regression (PLSR), back propagation neural network (BP), radial basis function neural network (RBF). The optimal prediction model was selected by comparing the coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE) of various models. The results showed that the spectral sensitive bands with high correlation coefficients (r) were 410-420 nm, 450-460 nm, 490-510 nm, 545-580 nm, 845-870 nm and 905-925 nm, respectively. The r obtained by MSC pretreatment of spectral data was the largest. The data obtained by 8 different pretreatment methods combined with RBF neural network model was the best, in which the average value of coefficient of determination (RC2) in the calibration set was 0.8654, and the root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) was 0.0777; the average value of coefficient of determination (RP2) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) in the prediction set model were 0.8437 and 0.0827, respectively. It could be seen that the best accuracy could be achieved by MSC pretreatment combined with RBF neural network modeling. This paper can provide reference for rapid nondestructive detection of fatty acid content in camellia seed by hyperspectral technology.

Massage Therapy in Children with Asthma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the efficacy of massage, a traditional treatment method of traditional Chinese medicine on children with asthma. METHODS: Literatures from 5 databases using the date ranging from 1 January, 1990, to 13 December, 2016, were reviewed, which were all randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy on children with asthma and effect on lung function mainly by massage therapy. RESULTS: 14 researches with 1299 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with control group, a better efficacy was found in treatment group, which focused on massage therapy. Compared with control group, there was remarkable increase on FEV1 as well as PEF in treatment group. CONCLUSION: All studies have shown that massage therapy has a significantly positive effect on children with asthma, improves the pulmonary function parameters of large airway, reduces the plasma concentrations of PAF and prostaglandin, and increases the levels of PAF-AH and DP1; therefore, it greatly improves pulmonary function. However, the limited research designs of included studies lead to high risk of bias. More randomized controlled trials with better methodological quality are needed to further confirm the effectiveness of massage.

Impacts of phosphorus and zinc levels on phosphorus and zinc nutrition and phytic acid concentration in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

BACKGROUND: Zinc (Zn) and phytic acid content in grain crops are directly related to their nutritional quality and therefore human health. To investigate the nutritional influences of phosphorus (P) and Zn levels on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), plants were grown hydroponically to maturity in chelator-buffered solutions. RESULTS: Appropriate amounts of P, coupled with sufficient Zn, increased P and Zn concentrations in wheat grain. The Zn supply decreased both phytic acid and the molar ratios of phytic acid to Zn in wheat grain with respect to the Zn(0) treatment. Furthermore, proportions of Zn and P content in the grain relative to that of the whole plant were improved. With increasing P, the proportion of Zn and P content in the grain relative to the whole plant decreased. P and Zn acted antagonistically in roots. Excess P inhibited Zn uptake in roots, while Zn decreased the transfer of P from roots to shoots. For P that had been transported to the shoots, supplemental Zn facilitated its transfer to the grain. CONCLUSION: Excess P decreased the distribution of Zn in grain, while Zn enhanced the uptake of Zn and P in grain, The combined application of Zn fertilizer with the extensive use of P fertilizer can effectively increase the P and Zn concentration and Zn bioavailability of wheat grain, and hence Zn nutritional quality.