Navigating the B vitamins: Dietary diversity, microbial synthesis, and human health.

B vitamins are intricately involved in various physiological processes vital for health. Their significance is complicated by the heterogeneous landscape of B vitamin distribution in diets and the contributions of the gut microbiota. Here, we delve into the impact of these factors on B vitamins and introduce strategies, with a focus on microbiota-based therapeutic options, to enhance their availability for improved well-being. Additionally, we provide an ecological and evolutionary perspective on the importance of B vitamins to human-microbiota interactions. In the dynamic realms of nutrition and microbiome science, these essential micronutrients continue to play a fundamental role in our understanding of disease development.

Modifications on Promoting the Proton Conductivity of Polybenzimidazole-Based Polymer Electrolyte Membranes in Fuel Cells.

Hydrogen-air proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are excellent fuel cells with high limits of energy density. However, the low carbon monoxide (CO) tolerance of the Pt electrode catalyst in hydrogen-air PEMFCs and methanol permanent in DMFCs greatly hindered their extensive use. Applying polybenzimidazole (PBI) membranes can avoid these problems. The high thermal stability allows PBI membranes to work at elevated temperatures when the CO tolerance can be significantly improved; the excellent methanol resistance also makes it suitable for DMFCs. However, the poor proton conductivity of pristine PBI makes it hard to be directly applied in fuel cells. In the past decades, researchers have made great efforts to promote the proton conductivity of PBI membranes, and various effective modification methods have been proposed. To provide engineers and researchers with a basis to further promote the properties of fuel cells with PBI membranes, this paper reviews critical researches on the modification of PBI membranes in both hydrogen-air PEMFCs and DMFCs aiming at promoting the proton conductivity. The modification methods have been classified and the obtained properties have been included. A guide for designing modifications on PBI membranes for high-performance fuel cells is provided.

Reclamation of Chinese herb residues using probiotics and evaluation of their beneficial effect on pathogen infection.

Environmental pollution caused by herb residues and the huge waste of medicinal ingredients contained in herb residues hinder the development of traditional Chinese medicine enterprises. To solve this problem, several probiotics were tested, and Lactobacillus plantarum (HM218749) was finally selected for the reuse of herb residues of Jianweixiaoshi tablets. A mouse model of Helicobacter pylori infection was developed to evaluate the anti-H. pylori infection activity of the herb residue fermentation supernatant using a urease activity test, histological imaging, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis (DGGE). The results demonstrated that the herb residue fermentation supernatant successfully inhibited urease activity, slowed cell infiltration in the gastric area and significantly reduced the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8 and TNF-α in the treatment group (p<0.01). In addition, the DGGE results indicated that the herb residue fermentation supernatant was beneficial for the recovery of the disturbed microbiota in the infected model to the normal condition, in which L. gasseri (GU417842.1) and L. johnsonii (HQ828141.1) were dominant in all groups. Therefore, the probiotics exhibited strong potential for the development of herb residues in this study, and the products showed strong potential in curing H. pylori infections.