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Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, lacks preclinical diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic drugs. Thus, earlier intervention in AD is a top priority. Studies have shown that the gut microbiota influences central nervous system disorders and that prebiotics can improve the cognition of hosts with AD, but these effects are not well understood. Preliminary research has shown that oligosaccharides from Morinda officinalis (OMO) are a useful prebiotic and cause substantial memory improvements in animal models of AD; however, the mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate whether OMO are clinically effective in alleviating AD by improving gut microbiota. OMO were administered to APP/PS1 transgenic mice, and potential clinical biomarkers of AD were identified with metabolomics and bioinformatics. Behavioral experiments demonstrated that OMO significantly ameliorated the memory of the AD animal model. Histological changes indicated that OMO ameliorated brain tissue swelling and neuronal apoptosis and downregulated the expression of the intracellular AD marker Aß1-42. 16S rRNA sequencing analyses indicated that OMO maintained the diversity and stability of the microbial community. The data also indicated that OMO are an efficacious prebiotic in an animal model of AD, regulating the composition and metabolism of the gut microbiota. A serum metabolomics assay was performed using UHPLC-LTQ Orbitrap mass spectrometry to delineate the metabolic changes and potential early biomarkers in APP/PS1 transgenic mice. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that 14 metabolites were significantly upregulated, and 8 metabolites were downregulated in the model animals compared to the normal controls. Thus, key metabolites represent early indicators of the development of AD. Overall, we report a drug and signaling pathway with therapeutic potential, including proteins associated with cognitive deficits in normal mice or gene mutations that cause AD.
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Objective To study the protective effect of phenethyl alcohol glycosides extracted from Herba Cistan-chis on human sperm DNA with oxidative damage by Raman spectroscopy. Methods The human sperm model of oxidative damage was induced with Fenton’s reagent in vitro. After co-cultured with the phenethyl alcohol gly-cosides extracted from Herba Cistanchis ( in the dosage of 0.1, 0.01 and 0.001 μg/mL) , the changes of the sperm nuclear DNA were observed by using confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy. Results The intensity and peaks of the Raman spectra of the human sperm nuclei treated by Fenton’s reagent were changed significantly, and then the changes of intensity and peaks were inhibited after treatment with phenethyl alcohol glycosides of Herba Cistanchis, the inhibition being dose-dependent. Conclusion The phenylethyl alcohol glycosides ex-tracted from Herba Cistanchis have protective effect on human sperm DNA with oxidative damage.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE:To extract phenolic acid from Salvia militiorrhiza by multi-stage countercurrent extraction technology. METHODS: The multi-stage countercurrent extraction technology and traditional single pot decocting extraction technology were applied to extract phenolic acid from S. militiorrhiza. The content of salianic-acid B was determined and energy consumption of these extraction technologies were calculated and compared. RESULTS: As compared with traditional single pot decocting extraction technology, multi-stage countercurrent extraction technology effectively decreased the degradation of active component, energy consumption and production cycle. CONCLUSION: Multi-stage countercurrent extraction technology is suitable for the production of S. militiorrhiza.
