Association between healthy eating index-2015 and various cognitive domains in US adults aged 60 years or older: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2014.

BACKGROUND: Diet, as a modifiable factor, plays an important role in cognitive function. However, the association between adherence to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), measured by Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015, and cognitive function remains unclear. This study aims to explore whether HEI-2015 is associated with various cognitive domains and whether such association is modified by age, gender, or ethnicity in the US adults aged 60 years or older using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2014. METHODS: HEI-2015 scores were calculated from 24-h dietary recall interviews. Cognitive function was evaluated by Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST, a measure of processing speed), Animal Fluency Test (AFT, a measure of executive function), a subtest from Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD, a measure of memory), and a composite-z score calculated by summing z scores of individual tests. The associations between HEI-2015 scores and cognitive performance were explored using multiple linear regression models. RESULTS: A total of 2450 participants aged 60 years or older were included. Participants with higher HEI-2015 scores were more likely to have higher DSST, AFT as well as composite-z scores (P<0.05). Significant interaction effects were identified between HEI-2015 and ethnicity in specific cognitive domains (Pinteraction<0.05). Among HEI-2015 components, higher intakes of whole fruits and seafood and plant protein were associated with better cognitive performance (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Higher adherence to DGA is associated with better cognitive performance, especially regarding processing speed and executive function among the US adults aged 60 years or older.

Nuciferine Inhibits Proinflammatory Cytokines via the PPARs in LPS-Induced RAW264.7 Cells.

Inflammation is important and has been found to be an underlying cause in many acute and chronic human diseases. Nuciferine, a natural alkaloid containing an aromatic ring, is found in the nelumbo nucifera leaves. It has been shown to have potential anti-inflammatory activities, but the molecular mechanism has remained unclear. In this study, we found that nuciferine (10 µM) significantly inhibited the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and TNF-α production in RAW 264.7 cells. In addition, the luciferase reporter assay results of different subtypes of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) showed that nuciferine dose-dependently activated all the PPAR activities. Specific inhibitors of PPARα and PPARγ significantly abolished the production of inflammatory cytokines as well as IκBα degradation. However, PPARδ inhibitor did not show this effect. Our results suggested a potential molecular mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effects of nuciferine in LPS-induced inflammation, at least in part, by activating PPARα and PPARγ in RAW 264.7 cells.

A Novel Reversibly Glycosylated Polypeptide-2 of Bee Pollen from Rape (Brassica napus L.): Purification and Characterization.

BACKGROUND: Reversibly glycosylated polypeptide (RGP), a kind of hydrosoluble and plasmodesmal-associated protein found in plants, plays a crucial role in the development of pollen. OBJECTIVE: A novel RGP 2 was isolated and identified from rape (Brassica napus L.) bee pollen. METHODS: RGP2 was isolated and purified by ion-exchange column and gel filtration chromatography, and characterized by MALDI-TOF-MS, LC-MS, immunological histological chemistry, and transmission electron microscope. RESULTS: Our results indicated that the RGP2 is an acidic protein (pI=5.46) with the molecular weight 42388 Da. It contained 17 kinds of amino acids, among which aspartic acid had the highest amount (71.56 mg/g). Homologous alignment of amino acid sequence results showed that RGP2 was 80.33%, 85.02%, 86.06%, and 88.93% identical to Arabidopsis thaliana RGP2 (AtRGP2), Oryza sativa RGP (OsRGP), Triticum aestivum RGP (TaRGP), and Zea maize RGP (ZmRGP), respectively. The localization results showed that RGP2 in rape anther existed in exine and intine of anther cells of rape flower by immunological histological chemistry and the subcellular localization identified that RGP2 appeared around the Golgi apparatus in cytoplasm by transmission electron microscope. CONCLUSION: RGP2 has a highly conserved sequence of amino acid residues and potential glycosylation sites.

Kiwifruit seed oil prevents obesity by regulating inflammation, thermogenesis, and gut microbiota in high-fat diet-induced obese C57BL/6 mice.

Obesity is considered as a chronic disease which seriously affecting people's health and daily life. Kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis Planch) seed oil (KSO), as a by-product of kiwifruit processing, is rich in fatty acids. Conventional wisdom holds that KSO has many health benefits, but there is no scientific basis. Here, the relieving effects of KSO on obesity and its potential mechanism were investigated in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced C57BL/6 mice. Mice were divided into four groups: ND (normal diet); HFD; L-KSO and H-KSO (HFD supplemented with 1.0 and 3.0 mL/kg·bw of KSO per day, respectively). Results showed that continuous supplementation KSO for 12 weeks significantly decreased bodyweight, inguinal fat tissue weight, blood glucose, and HOMA-IR index and ameliorated serum lipids accumulation (TC, TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C). Relative mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1ß, COX-2, and iNOS) was down-regulated and expression of thermogenesis-related genes (PPAR-γ, UCP1, PGC1-α, and PRDM16) was up-regulated in the inguinal fat tissue of KSO treated mice. Principal component analysis showed that the microbial community compositions of four groups were different. KSO supplementation dramatically decreased the Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio. Together, our findings demonstrated that long-term supplementation KSO ameliorates obesity by reducing inflammation, adipose thermogenesis and gut microbiota dysbiosis.

Nuciferine ameliorates hepatic steatosis in high-fat diet/streptozocin-induced diabetic mice through a PPARα/PPARγ coactivator-1α pathway.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Nuciferine, an alkaloid found in Nelumbo nucifera leaves, alleviates dyslipidemia in vivo. However, whether it improves liver injury in diabetic conditions and the underlying mechanism is unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of nuciferine on lipid and glucose metabolism in a murine model of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to determine the underlying mechanisms of these effects. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: A murine model of T2DM was induced by high-fat diet (HFD) feeding combined with streptozocin (STZ) injections, and the diabetic mice were treated with nuciferine in their food. The underlying mechanism of the anti-steatotic effect of nuciferine was further explored in HepG2 hepatocytes cultured with palmitic acid. Major signalling profiles involved in fatty acid oxidation were then evaluated, using Western blot, RT-qPCR and si-RNA techniques, along with immunohistochemistry. KEY RESULTS: Nuciferine restored impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in diabetic mice. Hepatic levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL were decreased, as were the number of lipid droplets, by nuciferine treatment. Furthermore, nuciferine up-regulated ß-oxidation related genes in livers of diabetic mice. Luciferase reporter cell assay showed that nuciferine directly reversed palmitic acid-induced inhibition of PPARα transcriptional activity. Silencing PPARγ coactivator-1α (PGC1α) expression in HepG2 cells abolished the effects of nuciferine in accelerating ß-oxidation. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Nuciferine improved lipid profile and attenuated hepatic steatosis in HFD/STZ-induced diabetic mice by activating the PPARα/PGC1α pathway. Nuciferine may be a potentially important candidate in improving hepatic steatosis and the management of T2DM.