ABSTRACT
Sonneratia apetala seeds are considered as prospective nutraceuticals with a high content of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) which are mainly distributed in the oil. It is well-known that UFAs could exhibit urate-lowering potency and protect against renal injury, indicating that S. apetala seed oil (SSO) may possess hypouricemic and nephroprotective effects. Consequently, the present work attempted to probe into the effects and mechanisms of SSO on potassium oxonate/hypoxanthine-induced hyperuricemia and associated renal injury. The results indicated that SSO treatment prominently inhibited the increase of serum uric acid (UA), creatinine (CRE), and urea nitrogen (BUN) levels and hepatic xanthine oxidase (XOD) activity in hyperuricemia mice. Kidney indexes and histopathological lesions were also remarkably ameliorated. Additionally, SSO treatment improved the renal anti-oxidant status in hyperuricemia mice by significantly reversing the increase in ROS and MDA levels as well as the decline in SOD, CAT and GSH-Px activities. SSO dramatically downregulated the expression and secretion of pro-inflammatory factors involving MCP-1, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-18 and TNF-α elicited by hyperuricemia. Furthermore, after SSO treatment, increased protein expressions of GLUT9, URAT1 and OAT1 in the hyperuricemia mice were obviously reversed. SSO treatment enormously restored Nrf2 activation and subsequent translation of related anti-oxidative enzymes in the kidneys. TXNIP/NLRP3 inflammasome activation was also obviously suppressed by SSO. In conclusion, SSO exerted favorable hypouricemic effects owing to its dual functions of downregulating the XOD activity and modulating the expressions of renal urate transport-associated proteins, and it also could alleviate hyperuricemia-induced renal injury by restoring the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway and blocking the TXNIP/NLRP3 inflammasome activation.
Subject(s)
Acute Kidney Injury/diet therapy , Dietary Supplements , Hyperuricemia/diet therapy , Lythraceae/chemistry , Plant Oils/administration & dosage , Seeds/chemistry , Acute Kidney Injury/chemically induced , Acute Kidney Injury/pathology , Acute Kidney Injury/physiopathology , Animals , Animals, Outbred Strains , Carrier Proteins/metabolism , Cytokines/metabolism , Fatty Acids/analysis , Hyperuricemia/chemically induced , Hyperuricemia/metabolism , Hypoxanthine , Kelch-Like ECH-Associated Protein 1/metabolism , Kidney/pathology , Kidney/physiopathology , Male , Mice , NF-E2-Related Factor 2/metabolism , NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/metabolism , Organic Anion Transporters/metabolism , Oxidative Stress , Oxonic Acid , Plant Oils/chemistry , Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism , Signal Transduction , Thioredoxins/metabolism , Uric Acid/blood , Uric Acid/metabolismABSTRACT
The carbon sequestration capacity of the forest ecosystem normally increases overage due to the carbon dynamic in below canopy and soil. The carbon dynamic is reflective of the forest characteristics and their interactions with climate, topographic, and soil conditions. In this study, we measured the carbon content and carbon density of canopy, shrub, understory vegetation, litter, and soil, and assessed carbon dynamics in three forest ecosystems (Cunninghamia lanceolate, Pinus massoniana, and Evergreen broad-leaved forests) with a combination of data from Fujian Provincial forest resource inventory. This study showed that the carbon content of the canopy layers increased over time, and the carbon content of the topsoil (0-30 cm) in the young forests was significantly higher than that in other age groups in Cunninghamia lanceolata forest and Pinus massoniana forest. Due to the carbon differences in the soil layer, the carbon stocks of the C. lanceolata forest and the P. massoniana forest declined from 1996 to 2007, but the carbon stocks of Evergreen broad-leaved forest increased. Besides, using the traditional carbon content coefficient (0.5) might underestimate the carbon sequestration potential of these forest ecosystems, especially for the mature forests. The coniferous forests displayed a short-term reduction in the carbon stocks of ecosystems between 10 and 20 years after afforestation, and the decline cannot be ignored in the carbon budget.
