Structure characterisation of polysaccharides purified from Boletus aereus Bull. and its improvement on AD-like behaviours via reliving neuroinflammation in APP/PS1 mice.

The water-soluble neutral polysaccharide BEP2, with a molecular weight of 26.65 kDa, was isolated from the aqueous extract obtained from the fruiting bodies of Boletus aereus Bull. BEP2 primarily comprises Gal, with specific site substitutions speculated at partial positions, such as the substitution of -OCH3 at position H-3 or the branch at position C-2 including α-L-Fucp-(1→, α-D-Manp-(1 â†’ and α-D-Manp-(1 â†’ 3)-α-L-Fucp-(1 â†’ 6)-ß-D-Glcp-(1→. Treatment with BEP2 significantly enhanced learning, memory, and cognitive function, while concurrently reducing the accumulation of ß-amyloid and suppressing neuroinflammation within the brains of APP/PS1 mice. Based on the results of biochemical detection, gut microbiota analysis, and metabolomic profiling, we found that BEP2 significantly upregulated the abundance of two bacterial families while downregulation that of seven bacterial families within the intestinal ecosystem. Notably, the abundance of the S24-7 family was significantly increased. Treatment with BEP2 upregulated five metabolites, while downregulating three metabolites, including norepinephrine. Additionally, BEP2 decreased the levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-6, regulated the activities of microglial cells and astrocytes and increased the levels of the chemokine fractalkine (CX3CL1) and its receptor on microglia (CX3CR1), as well as that of transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1. These findings confirmed the suppressive effects of BEP2 on neuroinflammation.

Chroogomphus rutilus Regulates Bone Metabolism to Prevent Periodontal Bone Loss during Orthodontic Tooth Movement in Osteoporotic Rats.

Osteoporosis (OP) leads to the acceleration of tooth movement and aggravation of periodontal bone loss during orthodontic treatment. Chroogomphus rutilus (CR) is abundant in nutrients and demonstrates remarkable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In the present study, the components of CR, including 35.00% total sugar, 0.69% reducing sugar, 14.40% crude protein, 7.30% total ash, 6.10% crude fat, 0.51% total flavonoids, 1.94% total triterpenoids, 0.32% total sterol, 1.30% total saponins, 1.69% total alkaloids, and 1.02% total phenol, were first systematically examined, followed by an investigation into its regulatory effects on bone metabolism in order to mitigate bone loss during orthodontic tooth movement in osteoporotic rats. The results of the imaging tests revealed that CR treatment reduced periodontal bone loss and normalized tooth movement in the OP. In conjunction with analyses of intestinal flora and metabolomics, CR enhances the prevalence of anti-inflammatory genera while reducing the production of inflammatory metabolites. Meanwhile, CR reduced the levels of periodontal inflammatory factors, including TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6, by activating Wnt/ß-catenin signaling, and promoted periodontal bone formation. These findings imply that CR is a potent supplementary therapy for controlling periodontal bone remodeling in patients with OP undergoing orthodontic treatment.

Protection of Inonotus hispidus (Bull.) P. Karst. against Chronic Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury in Mice via Its Relieving Inflammation Response.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) can be induced by excessive alcohol consumption, and has a worldwide age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of approximately 5.243%. Inonotus hispidus (Bull.) P. Karst. (IH) is a mushroom with pharmacological effects. In ALD mice, the hepatoprotective effects of IH were investigated. IH strongly ameliorated alcohol-induced pathological changes in the liver, including liver structures and its function-related indices. Intestinal microbiota and serum metabolomics analysis showed that IH altered the associated anti-inflammatory microbiota and metabolites. According to results obtained from Western blot, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), IH downregulated the levels of pro-inflammation factors interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), enhanced the expressions of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) and 15-hydroxprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH), and inhibited the phosphorylated activation of Janus kinase (JAK) 1 and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3, confirming the hepatoprotection of IH against alcohol damage via anti-inflammation. This study provides the experimental evidence for the hepatoprotective effects of IH in chronic ALD.

Structural characterization and anti-osteoporosis effects of polysaccharide purified from Eucommia ulmoides Oliver cortex based on its modulation on bone metabolism.

EuOCP3, with a molecular weight of 38.1 kDa, is an acidic polysaccharide purified from Eucommia ulmoides Oliver cortex. Herein, we determined that the main backbone of EuOCP3 was predominantly composed of →4)-α-GalpA-(1 â†’ 4)-α-GalpA-(1→, →4)-α-GalpA-(1 â†’ 5)-α-Araf-(1→, →4)-α-GalpA-(1 â†’ 2)-α-Rhap-(1→, and →4)-α-GalpA-(1 â†’ 5)-α-Araf-(1 â†’ 2)-α-Rhap-(1 â†’ repeating blocks, which were connected by →2,3,5)-α-Araf-(1→. The side chains, substituted at C-2 and C-5 of →2,3,5)-α-Araf-(1→, contained T-ß-Araf→ and T-ß-Araf â†’ 4)-α-GalpA-(1 â†’ residues. In dexamethasone (Dex)-induced osteoporosis (OP) mice, EuOCP3 treatment restored cortical bone thickness, increased mineralized bone area, enhanced the number of osteoblasts, and decreased the number of osteoclasts on the surface of cortical bone. Combining analysis of gut microflora, serum metabolite profiles, and biological detection results, we demonstrated that EuOCP3 regulated the abundance of specific species within the gut microflora, such as g_Dorea and g_Prevotella, and ameliorated oxidative stress. In turn, enhancement of osteogenic function and restoration of bone metabolism via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway was indicated. The current findings contribute to understanding the potential of EuOCP3 in anti-OP treatment.

Structure and hepatoprotective activity of Usp10/NF-κB/Nrf2 pathway-related Morchella esculenta polysaccharide.

The water-soluble Morchella esculenta polysaccharide 2 (MEP2) was purified and isolated from an aqueous extract of the Morchella esculenta fruiting bodies. MEP2, having a molecular weight of 959 kDa, has a →4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→ glucan backbone, and this branch was substituted at the H-6 position by an α-D-Glcp-(1 â†’ 4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→ residue and an α-D-Glcp-(1→ residue. The hepatoprotective activity and potential mechanism of action of MEP2 were also investigated. MEP2 ameliorated severe liver damage and regulated the liver function indicators and the alcohol-related enzyme levels in chronic alcohol-induced mice. Combined with biochemical detection, the gut microbiota, metabolites, and proteomics results revealed that MEP2 regulates the levels of hepatic cytokines related to inflammatory response and oxidative stress, as well as those of intestinal Bacteroides, Oscillospira, Parabacteroides, Alistipes, and Prevotella, through the ubiquitin-specific peptidase 10 (Usp10)/nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)/nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway in the liver of mice induced by long-term alcohol intake. These data provide experimental evidence for the application of MEP2 in chronic alcohol-induced liver injury.

Application of CoMn/CoFe layered double hydroxide based on metal-organic frameworks template to activate peroxymonosulfate for 2,4-dichlorophenol degradation.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have unique properties and stable structures, which have been widely used as templates/precursors to prepare well developed pore structure and high specific surface area materials. In this article, an innovative and facile method of crystal reorganization was designed by using MOFs as sacrificial templates to prepare a layered double hydroxide (LDH) nano-layer sheet structure through a pseudomorphic conversion process under alkaline conditions. The obtained CoMn-LDH and CoFe-LDH catalysts broke the ligand of MOFs and reorganized the structure on the basis of retaining a high specific surface area and a large number of pores, which had higher specific surface area and well developed pore structure compared with LDH catalysts prepared by traditional methods, and thus provide more active sites to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS). Due to the unique framework structure of MOFs, the MOF-derived CoMn-LDH and CoFe-LDH catalysts could provide more active sites to activate PMS, and achieve a 2,4-dichlorophenol degradation of 99.3% and 99.2% within 20 minutes, respectively. In addition the two LDH catalysts displayed excellent degradation performance for bisphenol A, ciprofloxacin and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that the valence state transformation of metal elements participated in PMS activation. Electron paramagnetic resonance manifested that sulfate radical (SO4•-) and singlet oxygen (1O2) were the main species for degrading pollutants. In addition, after the three-cycle experiment, the CoMn-LDH and CoFe-LDH catalysts also showed long-term stability with a slight activity decrease in the third cycle. The phytotoxicity assessment determined by the germination of mung beans proved that PMS activation by MOF-derived LDH catalysts can basically eliminate the phytotoxicity of a 2,4-D solution. This research not only developed high-activity LDH catalysts for PMS activation, but also expanded the environmental applications of MOF derivants.

Design of Energetic Materials Based on Asymmetric Oxadiazole.

A new family of asymmetric oxadiazole based energetic compounds were designed. Their electronic structures, heats of formation, detonation properties and stabilities were investigated by density functional theory. The results show that all the designed compounds have high positive heats of formation ranging from 115.4 to 2122.2 kJ mol-1. -N- bridge/-N3 groups played an important role in improving heats of formation while -O- bridge/-NF2 group made more contributions to the densities of the designed compounds. Detonation properties show that some compounds have equal or higher detonation velocities than RDX, while some other have higher detonation pressures than RDX. All the designed compounds have better impact sensitivities than those of RDX and HMX and meet the criterion of thermal stability. Finally, some of the compounds were screened as the candidates of high energy density compounds with superior detonation properties and stabilities to that of HMX and their electronic properties were investigated.

Corrigendum: Exploration of High-Energy-Density Materials: Computational Insight into Energetic Derivatives Based on 1,2,4,5-Tetrahydro-1,2,4,5-tetrazine.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1002/open.201800161.].

Molecule design and properties of bridged 2,2-bi(1,3,4-oxadiazole) energetic derivatives.

A series of bridged 2,2-bi(1,3,4-oxadiazole) energetic derivatives were designed and their geometrical structures, electronic structures, heats of formation, detonation properties, thermal stabilities and thermodynamic properties were fully investigated by density functional theory. The results showed that the -N3 group and the -N- bridge play an important role in improving heats of formation of these 2,2-bi(1,3,4-oxadiazole) derivatives. The calculated detonation properties indicated that the -NF2 group and the -N- bridge were very useful for enhancing the heats of detonation, detonation velocities and detonation pressures. Twenty-four compounds were found to possess equal or higher detonation properties than those of RDX, while 14 compounds had equal or higher detonation properties than those of HMX. The analysis of the bond-dissociation energies suggested that the -CN group was the effective structural unit for increasing the thermal stabilities while the -NHNH2 group decreased these values. Overall, taking both the detonation properties and thermal stabilities into consideration, 22 compounds (A4, A6, A8, A9, B4, B9, C2, C3, C4, C5, C7, C, C9 D4, D8, D9, E9, F4, F9, G9, H4 and H9) were selected as the potential candidates for high-energy-density materials.

Exploration of High-Energy-Density Materials: Computational Insight into Energetic Derivatives Based on 1,2,4,5-Tetrahydro-1,2,4,5-tetrazine.

Density functional theory was employed to investigate ten 1,2,4,5-tetrahydro-1,2,4,5-tetrazine-based energetic materials. The heats of formation and detonation properties were calculated by isodesmic reactions and Kamlet-Jacobs equations. The thermal stabilities and impact sensitivities were also estimated to give a better understanding of their decomposition mechanism. The results indicate that all of the designed compounds have high positive heats of formation ranging from 525.1 to 1639.1 kJ mol-1, moderate detonation properties (heats of detonation of 536.6 to 2187.6 cal g-1, theoretical densities of 1.48 to 2.32 g cm-3, detonation velocities of 7.02 to 12.18 km s-1, and detonation pressures of 19.8 to 75.1 GPa), and acceptable stabilities (bond dissociation energies of 0.8 to 104.9 kJ mol-1). Taking both the detonation properties and the stabilities into consideration, compounds A4 and B4 were finally selected as promising candidates of high-energy-density materials, as their detonation properties and impact sensitivities were superior to those of HMX. Additionally, the frontier molecular orbitals, electronic densities, electrostatic potentials, and thermal dynamic parameters of compounds A4 and B4 were also investigated.