Exploring possible benefits of Litsea cubeba Pers. extract on growth, meat quality, and gut flora in white-feather broilers.

White-feather broiler chickens are the dominant species in global poultry meat production. Yet there is growing concern about their health, quality, and growth efficiency. While feed additives, often antibiotics or synthetic chemicals, are used to maintain the health of the animals, drug resistance limits their use. Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers., a traditional Chinese herb with antibiotic-like benefits but without the risk of drug resistance, has not yet been explored as an additive to broiler diets. In the present study, broilers of the AA+ hybrid strain were randomly divided into three groups of 16: a control group (regular feed), a low-dose group (1.25 g/kg added L. cubeba extract), and a high-dose group (2.50 g/kg added L. cubeba extract). After 35 days, we found that the extract had no effect on growth. However, gut flora analysis revealed that both doses of the extract had a positive influence on amino acid content and minor unsaturated fatty acids, thus improving the flavor and nutritional value of the meat. These findings suggest that L. cubeba extract, at either dose, could serve as a sustainable alternative to antibiotics, thus reducing the risk of drug resistance while improving meat quality, nutrition, and flavor.

Quality of life predicts rehabilitation prognosis in Parkinson's disease patients: Factors influence rehabilitation prognosis: Factors influence rehabilitation prognosis.

BACKGROUND: Rehabilitation has been reported to improve the quality of life (QoL) of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Nevertheless, not all patients are satisfied with rehabilitation outcomes and could achieve a significant improvement in QoL. OBJECTIVE: To detect possible predictors of QoL improvement in patients with PD after rehabilitation. METHODS: A total of 86 PD patients were included and followed up for 3 months with a 39-item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire summary index (PDQ-39 SI) as the primary endpoint. All patients received 2 weeks of multidisciplinary intensive rehabilitation treatment (MIRT). Changes in patients' QoL were assessed using the PDQ-39 at baseline and at the 3-month follow-up. The reliable change index (RCI) was adapted to determine the individual QoL outcome. The predictors of QoL outcome were detected using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: After a 3-month follow-up, PDQ-39 SI decreased significantly from 22.95 ± 9.75 to 18.73 ± 10.32 (P < 0.001). Scores for QoL improved (RCI>10.9) after rehabilitation for 18.6% of the patients, and 74.4% of patients reported an unchanged QoL (-10.9≤RCI≤10.9), while 7.0% of patients reported a worsening of QoL (RCI<-10.9). Among the baseline parameters, the PDQ-39 SI was a baseline predictor for changes in QoL in the logistic regression model (OR: 1.15, CI: 1.07-1.24, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: MIRT could improve QoL for some patients with PD, and PDQ-39 score at baseline is the most important predictor for QoL improvements after rehabilitation for this patients.

Ethnopharmacology, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Applications of Radix Astragali.

Radix Astragali (RA), a traditional Chinese medicine from the dried root of Astragalus species, is widely distributed throughout the temperate regions of the world. The major bioactive constituents of RA are triterpene glycosides, flavonoids, saponins, and alkaloids, and these compounds mostly exert pharmacological activities on the cardiovascular, immune, respiratory, and hepatic systems. This review summarizes the recent studies on RA and provides a comprehensive summary regarding the status of resources, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, clinical application, and patent release of RA. We hope this review can provide a guidance for further development of therapeutic agents from RA.