Dietary pterostilbene exerts potential protective effects by regulating lipid metabolism and enhancing antioxidant capacity on liver in broilers.

Intensive breeding of broilers met the increasing demands of human for broiler products, but it raised their increased susceptibility to various stressors resulting in the disorder of lipid metabolism. Pterostilbene, the methoxylated analogue of resveratrol, exhibits astonishing functions of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and glycolipid regulatory. The study aimed to elucidate the protective effects of pterostilbene on broiler liver and to explore the potential mechanisms. A total of 480 one-day-old male Arbor Acres (AA) broilers were randomly divided into four groups: the control group (basal diet) and pterostilbene groups (PT200, PT400, and PT600 feeding with basal diet containing 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg pterostilbene, respectively). The results showed that the dietary pterostilbene supplementation significantly improved the ADG of broilers. Dietary pterostilbene supplementation regulated the expression levels of the genes Sirt1 and AMPK and the downstream genes related to lipid metabolism to protect liver function and reduce lipid accumulation in broilers. Dietary pterostilbene supplementation upregulated the expression levels of the Nrf2 gene and its downstream antioxidant genes (SOD, CAT, HO-1, NQO-1, GPX) and phase II detoxification enzyme-related genes (GST, GCLM, GCLC). Collectively, pterostilbene was confirmed the positive effects as a feed additive on lipid metabolism and antioxidant via regulating Sirt1/AMPK and Nrf2 signalling pathways in broilers.

Combined Transcranial Doppler and Melatonin Levels to Predict Delayed Cerebral Ischemia After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the early prediction value of transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) combined with serum melatonin level for delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) caused by subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). METHODS: This paper is a prospective study. A total of 120 patients with SAH treated were included. The patients were divided into the DCI group (40 cases) and non-DCI group (80 cases) according to whether DCI occurred 14 days after SAH (DCI usually occurs 4 to 14 d after bleeding). Baseline data, serum melatonin level, and TCD test results within 24 hours after admission were compared between the 2 groups. Multivariate logistic analysis was used to analyze the factors affecting the occurrence of DCI after SAH. The value of serum melatonin level, middle cerebral artery mean blood flow velocity (MBFV) and their combination in predicting DCI in SAH patients was evaluated. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in the proportion of Fisher grade, Hunt-Hess grade, serum melatonin level, middle cerebral artery systolic blood flow velocity (Vs), MBFV and pulse index (PI) between the 2 groups (P<0.05). Serum melatonin levels, middle cerebral artery Vs, MBFV, and PI in the DCI group were higher than those in non-DCI group. Logistic regression (LR) analysis showed that serum melatonin level (OR=1.796, 95% CI: 1.575-4.123) and middle cerebral artery MBFV (OR=3.279, 95% CI: 2.112-4.720] were the influencing factors for DCI in SAH patients (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Middle cerebral artery MBFV and serum melatonin levels were higher in patients with SAH complicated with DCI, and the combination of the 2 could provide a reference for early clinical prediction of DCI in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH).

Alleviation of Oral Exposure to Aflatoxin B1-Induced Renal Dysfunction, Oxidative Stress, and Cell Apoptosis in Mice Kidney by Curcumin.

Aflatoxin B1 is a contaminant widely found in food and livestock feed, posing a major threat to human and animal health. Recently, much attention from the pharmaceutical and food industries has been focused on curcumin due to its strong antioxidant capacity. However, the therapeutic impacts and potential mechanisms of curcumin on kidney damage caused by AFB1 are still incomplete. In this study, AFB1 triggered renal injury in mice, as reflected by pathological changes and renal dysfunction. AFB1 induced renal oxidative stress and interfered with the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway and its downstream genes (CAT, SOD1, NQO1, GSS, GCLC, and GCLM), as manifested by elevated oxidative stress metabolites and reduced antioxidant enzymes activities. Additionally, AFB1 was found to increase apoptotic cells percentage in the kidney via the TUNEL assay, along with increased expression of Cyt-c, Bax, cleaved-Caspase-3, Caspase-9, and decreased expression of Bcl-2 at the transcriptional and protein levels; in contrast, for mice given curcumin, there was a significant reversal in kidney coefficient, biochemical parameters, pathological changes, and the expression of genes and proteins involved in oxidative stress and apoptosis. These results indicate that curcumin could antagonize oxidative stress and apoptosis to attenuate AFB1-induced kidney damage.

Oxidative stability and gelation properties of myofibrillar protein from chicken breast after post-mortem frozen storage as influenced by phenolic compound-pterostilbene.

The aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of dietary pterostilbene supplementation on physicochemical changes and gel properties of myofibrillar protein (MP) in chicken when subjected to short-term frozen storage. The results showed that pterostilbene supplementation diminished the oxidation of MP compared to the control, as the carbonyl content was significantly reduced and the loss of sulfhydryl and free amino groups was slowed. Meanwhile, the surface hydrophobicity and insolubility of MP were significantly reduced. FT-IR and endogenous fluorescence spectroscopy analysis indicated that dietary pterostilbene inhibited the unfolding of protein structure and the transition of α-helix to ß-sheet structure. The integrity of the protein structure contributed to the gel quality. The strength, whiteness and water-holding capacity (WHC) of MP gels were improved in the pterostilbene treatment group. In terms of microstructure, pterostilbene facilitated the formation of dense and homogeneous gel network structure. In summary, these findings suggest that pterostilbene could be used as a dietary supplement to maintain the structural stability of MP in postmortem chicken breast muscle, allowing for excellent gel functional properties.