Effect of Content of Sulfate Groups in Seaweed Polysaccharides on Antioxidant Activity and Repair Effect of Subcellular Organelles in Injured HK-2 Cells.

This study aims to investigate the repair effect of subcellular structure injuries of the HK-2 cells of four degraded seaweed polysaccharides (DSPs), namely, the degraded Porphyra yezoensis, Gracilaria lemaneiformis, Sargassum fusiform, and Undaria pinnatifida polysaccharides. The four DSPs have similar molecular weight, but with different content of sulfate groups (i.e., 17.9%, 13.3%, 8.2%, and 5.5%, resp.). The damaged model was established using 2.8 mmol/L oxalate to injure HK-2 cells, and 60 µg/mL of various DSPs was used to repair the damaged cells. With the increase of sulfate group content in DSPs, the scavenging activity of radicals and their reducing power were all improved. Four kinds of DSPs have repair effect on the subcellular organelles of damaged HK-2 cells. After being repaired by DSPs, the release amount of lactate dehydrogenase was decreased, the integrity of cell membrane and lysosome increased, the Δψm increased, the cell of G1 phase arrest was inhibited, the proportion of S phase increased, and cell apoptotic and necrosis rates were significantly reduced. The greater the content of sulfate group is, the stronger is the repair ability of the polysaccharide. These DSPs, particularly the polysaccharide with higher sulfate group content, may be a potential drug for the prevention and cure of kidney stones.

Medical nutrition therapy for pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus-A retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: Women diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remain at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus in the future. The effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy (MNT) acting on GDM is increasingly becoming noteworthy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study involving 488 GDM cases was conducted. The prepregnancy weight, weight changes during pregnancy, glucose levels, GDM management, follow-up, and birth outcomes were recorded from 2008 to 2012. RESULTS: Overall, 62.91% of the women received MNT, with an increasing trend from 2008 to 2012 (p < 0.01). The fasting plasma glucose, 2-hour blood glucose, and weight gain at 28 weeks, 32 weeks, and 36 weeks as well as intrapartum were lower in the MNT group than in the non-MNT group. Total weight gain during pregnancy and the rates of adverse events during pregnancy were lower in the MNT group compared to the non-MNT group (all p < 0.05). Moreover, 92.2% of the participants in the MNT group had a normal oral glucose tolerance test result, and the rate of exclusive breastfeeding within 4 months after delivery was 54.4% in the MNT group; both were higher than those of the non-MNT group (66.3%, p < 0.001; 29.3%, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: MNT can reduce the incidence of pregnancy complications, increase the exclusive breastfeeding rate, and improve pregnancy outcomes.

[Relationship between Life Habits and Constitution Types of Chinese Medicine in the Senile Living at Home in Beijing Downtown].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of constitution types of Chinese medicine (CM) in the elderly living at home in Beijing downtown, and to explore its relationship with life habits. METHODS: A total of 3894 senile more than 60 years old were enrolled in this study. Their constitution types of CM were typed using CM constitution questionnaire. Meanwhile, their demographic features, disease condition, diet habits, exercise habits, sleep habits, and so on were investigated. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between life habits and constitution types of CM. RESULTS: The number of mild type constitution senile was 1111 (28.53%) and the number of biased constitutions 2783 (71.47%). Biased constitutions of the top three were qi deficiency constitution (662, 17.00%), yang deficiency constitution (445, 11.43%), and blood stasis constitution (363, 9.32%). Univariate analysis showed that different habits of diet, exercise, and sleep exist among the senile of different constitutions (P < 0.05). By taking mild type constitution, multivariate Logistic regression analysis (except demographic indices and chronic history) showed that significantly positive correlation existed between qi deficiency constitution and favor for hot food (OR = 1.349, P = 0.015), yang deficiency constitution and favor for hot food (OR = 2.448, P < 0.01), phlegm-wetness constitution and favor for barbecue food (OR = 2.144, P = 0.003), wet-heat constitution and favor for sweet food (OR = 1.355, P = 0.032), wet-heat constitution and favor for tea (OR = 1.359, P = 0.047), blood stasis constitution and favor for hot food (OR = 1.422, P = 0.017), and qi depression constitution and favor for hot food (OR = 1.446, P = 0.031). Regular exercise had negative correlation with qi deficiency constitution (OR = 0.397, P < 0.01), yang deficiency constitution (OR = 0.522, P < 0.01) , phlegm-wetness constitution (OR = 0.475, P < 0.01), wet-heat constitution (OR = 0.647, P = 0.015), blood stasis constitution (OR = 0.608, P = 0.001), qi depression constitution (OR = 0.541, P = 0.001), and special diathesis constitution (OR = 0.466, P < 0.01). Early sleep and rise habit had negative with phlegm-wetness constitution (OR = 0.414, P < 0.01), wet-heat constitution (OR = 0.536, P = 0.015), blood stasis constitution (OR = 0.515, P = 0.004), and special diathesis constitution (OR = 0.526, P = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS: Different constitution types of CM might be highly related to specific life habits. Cultivating better life habits can improve biased constitutions of CM.