Exploring Effects and Mechanism of Ingredients of Herba Epimedii on Osteogenesis and Osteoclastogenesis In Vitro.

BACKGROUND: Herba Epimedii, a commonly used traditional herb, has been proven effective in ameliorating osteoporosis. However, the active ingredients and potential mechanism need further exploration. OBJECTIVE: To screen active ingredients of Herba Epimedii with the effect of ameliorating osteoporosis and to explore their potential mechanisms. METHODS: TCMSP and Swiss Target Prediction were applied to collect the ingredients of Herba Epimedii and their targets. UniProt, GeneCards, TTD, DisGeNET, and OMIM were adopted to search osteoporosis-related genes. STRING and DAVID were used to perform enrichment analysis. Effects of screened ingredients were evaluated on MC3T3-E1 cells and RAW264.7 cells, respectively. RESULTS: Eleven ingredients were screened by Network Pharmacology. They exerted a promoting effect on MC3T3-E1 cells (10-9-10-5 M). The ingredients didn't significantly affect ALP activity and osteoblastogenesis-related genes. Baohuoside 1, Sagittatoside B, Chlorogenic acid, Cryptochlorogenic acid, and Neochlorogenic acid significantly increased calcium depositions. The ingredients didn't exhibit a dose-dependent inhibition or promotion on RAW264.7 cells. Baohuoside 1, Sagittatoside B, Neochlorogenic acid, Cryptochlorogenic acid, Icariin, Epimedin A, Chlorogenic acid, Sagittatoside A, and Epimedin C suppressed the level of TRACP. Baohuoside 1, Sagittatoside B, Cryptochlorogenic acid, Neochlorogenic acid, Chlorogenic acid, Sagittatoside A, and Icariin decreased the number of multinucleated osteoclastic cells. Baohuoside 1, Sagittatoside B, and Cryptochlorogenic acid could significantly inhibit MMP-9 expression. CONCLUSION: Neochlorogenic acid, Sagittatoside B, Chlorogenic acid, and Cryptochlorogenic acid promoted MC3T3-E1 differentiation, among which Neochlorogenic acid showed significant promotion in viability, mineralization, and OPN expression. Baohuoside 1, Sagittatoside B, Cryptochlorogenic acid, Neochlorogenic acid, Chlorogenic acid, and Icariin inhibited RAW264.7 differentiation, among which Baohuoside 1 showed significant inhibition on TRACP, multinucleated osteoclastic cells number and MPP-9 expression. The mechanism might relate to the FoxO signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, and TNF signaling pathway.

The red, firm, non-exudative and pale, soft, exudative pork have different in vitro digestive properties of protein.

Pale, soft and exudative (PSE) meat has worse edible quality than red, firm and non-exudative (RFN) meat, but their difference in nutritional values is still unclear. In this study, the differences in digestive properties between PSE and RFN pork were explored, and the potential mechanisms were analyzed in terms of protein conformation. The PSE pork showed significantly higher digestibility and smaller particle size compared with RFN pork (P < 0.05) after gastrointestinal digestion. Mechanistically, the lower viscosity was seen in the PSE pork digestion system. The protein structure of PSE pork was disordered with weaker hydrogen bond and ionic bond before and after heating. In addition, the protein (mainly salt-soluble protein) of PSE pork was highly oxidized. The results suggested that higher level of oxidation in PSE pork leads to the destruction of the molecular forces, resulting in the impaired protein conformation and disordered protein structure. The serial changes caused the meat proteins more accessible to digestive enzymes, thus improving the digestibility. The findings provide new insights into the evaluating the quality of PSE meat.

The mechanism of Epimedin B in treating osteoporosis as revealed by RNA sequencing-based analysis.

With the ageing of populations, the management of osteoporosis is a priority of society in general. Epimedin B, a major ingredient of Herba Epimedii, which has the advantages of high content and hypotoxicity has been proved to be effective in preventing osteoporosis in vitro. However, the efficacy and mechanism of Epimedin B on osteoporosis in vivo have not been well elucidated yet. This study aimed to investigate the effects and the potential mechanisms of 8-week repeated oral administration of Epimedin B (10 and 20 mg/kg/day) on a mouse osteoporosis model. Effects of Epimedin B were evaluated by examinations of serum bone turnover markers, bone mineral density, bone microstructure parameters and histopathological section. Epimedin B significantly rose N-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (P1NP) and dropped C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX1). Connectivity density (Conn.D) increased significantly while structure model index (DA) decreased significantly after treated by Epimedin B. Meanwhile, Epimedin B administration significantly increased the number of trabecular bones while significantly decreased the gap between them. Overall, Epimedin B showed beneficial effects on osteoporosis. Furthermore, RNA sequencing-based analysis revealed 5 significantly down-regulated transcripts and 107 significantly up-regulated transcripts between the Epimedin B administration group and the model group. These transcripts were mapped to 15 pathways by KEGG enrichment analysis, of which PI3K-Akt signalling pathway, MAPK signalling pathway and PPAR signalling pathway were most connected to osteoporosis. To conclude, Epimedin B is effective in treating osteoporosis in mice via regulating PI3K-Akt, MAPK and PPAR signalling pathway.

Input of Cd from agriculture phosphate fertilizer application in China during 2006-2016.

Phosphate fertilizer applications are an important source of soil Cd in China. However, the input of Cd from phosphate fertilizer has always been neglected in China because of its low content. In this paper, we calculated the Cd input from phosphate fertilizer in China during 2006-2016. According to the data, the total phosphate fertilizer consumption and agriculture application rate tended to decrease after 2014. In 2016, the phosphate fertilizer application rate ranged from 12.14 to 99.38 kg/ha with a mean value of 42.70 kg/ha, and excessive fertilizer application occurred in Xinjiang, Henan, and Hubei Provinces. The Cd content in phosphate fertilizer was 0.75 mg/kg based on 1222 samples. The national Cd input from phosphate fertilizer was estimated to be 10.52 tons in 2016, with DAP/MAP being the largest contributor, accounting for 83.31% of the total input. These findings demonstrate the necessity of performing assessments to regulate the utilization of phosphate fertilizer in China, especially in Henan and Xinjiang Provinces.