This research aimed to probe the potential alleviative effects of ethanol extracts of Chinese sumac (Rhus chinesis Mill.) fruits against type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in C57BL/6 mice induced by ...high-fat/high-fructose diet (HFFD) and streptozotocin. The results showed that the ethanol extracts could significantly regulate blood glucose levels, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood lipids, insulin, and insulin resistance, while also restoring endogenous oxidative stress. Pathological and immunohistochemical analyses revealed that the extracts partially restored the physiological function of islet cells. Furthermore, Western blotting results suggested that the extracts could regulate the protein expression in IRS-1/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, and immunofluorescence findings demonstrated their potential to promote the translocation of Nrf2 into the nucleus. This study elucidated a novel finding that ethanol extracts derived from Chinese sumac fruits have the potential to alleviate symptoms of T2DM in mice. Moreover, these findings could offer valuable scientific insights into the potential utilization of R. chinensis fruits as nutritional supplement and/or functional food to prevent or ameliorate diabetes.
Mill. fruits are a kind of widely distributed edible seasoning, which have been documented to possess a variety of biological activities. However, its inhibitory effect on osteoclast formation has ...not been determined. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the fruits on osteoclast differentiation of RAW264.7 cells, induced by receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) and to illuminate the potential mechanisms using network pharmacology and western blots. Results showed that the extract containing two organic acids and twelve phenolic substances could effectively inhibit osteoclast differentiation in RANKL-induced RAW264.7 cells. Network pharmacology examination and western blot investigation showed that the concentrate essentially decreased the expression levels of osteoclast-specific proteins, chiefly through nuclear factor kappa-B, protein kinase B, and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways, particularly protein kinase B α and mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 targets. Moreover, the extract likewise directly down regulated the expression of cellular oncogene Fos and nuclear factor of activated T-cells cytoplasmic 1 proteins. Citric acid, quercetin, myricetin-3-
-galactoside, and quercetin-3-
-rhamnoside were considered as the predominant bioactive ingredients. Results of this work may provide a scientific basis for the development and utilization of
fruits as a natural edible material to prevent and/or alleviate osteoporosis-related diseases.
Elevational gradients strongly affect microbial biodiversity in bulk soil through altering plant and soil properties, but the effects on rhizosphere microbial patterns remain unclear, especially at ...large spatial scales. We therefore designed an elevational gradient experiment to examine rhizosphere microbial (bacteria, fungi and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) diversity and composition using Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA and ITS genes for comparison to plant and soil properties. Our results showed that bacterial and fungal alpha diversity was significantly higher at mid-elevation, while AMF alpha diversity decreased monotonically. The beta diversities of the three groups were significantly affected by elevational gradients, but the effect on bacterial beta diversity was larger than on fungal and AMF beta diversity.
Proteobacteria
, the dominant phyla of bacteria, was significantly higher at the mid-elevation, while
Acidobacteria
and
Actinobacteria
significantly decreased as elevation increased. The main fungal taxa,
Basidiomycota
, significantly decreased with elevation, and
Ascomycota
significantly increased with elevation.
Glomeromycota
, the dominant AMF phyla, responded insignificantly to the elevational gradients. The responses of bacterial and fungal alpha diversity were mostly associated with tree diversity and organic carbon, whereas AMF alpha diversity mainly depended on litter N and P. Changes in bacterial community composition along the elevational gradient were explained primarily by litter N and P, and litter P was the main driver of fungal and AMF community composition. Overall, our results suggest that plant litter, particularly litter N and P, were the main source of external carbon input and drove the observed differences in rhizosphere microbial diversity and community composition. Our results highlight the importance of litter nutrition in structuring rhizosphere microbial communities in mountain ecosystems.
The lack of rapid and effective approaches to determine the health benefits of strains is one of the main challenges affecting the selection of probiotics from large numbers of candidates. In this ...study, the probiotic potential of 44
strains isolated from different Chinese traditional fermented foods was evaluated, including acid and bile salt resistance, adhesion ability, survival in simulated human gastrointestinal transit, antioxidant activity, bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity, and antibacterial activity. All tested
strains showed high antioxidant capacity, BSH activity, and antibacterial activity. Among the strains, B652, C232, D444, and E932 were identified as the best comprehensive performed strains, which were selected for whole-genome sequencing, in order to provide clear information and identify key genes responsible for functional characteristics
. It demonstrated that the antioxidant activity, adhesion activity, and ability to survive in the simulated gastric environment were found to be closely correlated with antioxidant enzyme encoding genes, cell-surface protein-encoding genes, and stress response genes, respectively. The numbers of functional genes present in strains might decide their performance in probiotic profile evaluation. The outcome of the study could support the development of a novel approach for the screening and identification of probiotics.
The increasing popularity of wearable electronic devices has led to the rapid development of flexible energy conversion systems. Flexible rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) with high theoretical ...energy densities demonstrate significant potential as next-generation flexible energy devices that can be applied in wearable electronic products. The design of highly efficient and air-stable cathodes that can electrochemically catalyze both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are highly desirable but challenging. Flexible carbon-based catalysts for ORR/OER catalysis can be broadly categorized into two types: (i) self-supporting catalysts based on the in situ modification of flexible substrates; (ii) non-self-supporting catalysts based on surface coatings of flexible substrates. Methods used to optimize the catalytic performance include doping with atoms and regulation of the electronic structure and coordination environment. This review summarizes the most recently proposed strategies for the synthesis of designer carbon-based electrocatalysts and the optimization of their electrocatalytic performances in air electrodes. And we significantly focus on the analysis of the inherent active sites and their electrocatalytic mechanisms when applied as flexible ZABs catalysts. The findings of this review can assist in the design of more valuable carbon-based air electrodes and their corresponding flexible ZABs for application in wearable electronic devices.
This study systematically investigated the differences in allergenicity of casein in cow milk (CM), goat milk (GM), camel milk (CAM), and mare milk (MM) from protein structures using bioinformatics. ...Primary structure sequence analysis reveals high sequence similarity between the
-casein of CM and GM, while all allergenic subtypes are likely to have good hydrophilicity and thermal stability. By analyzing linear B-cell epitope, T-cell epitope, and allergenic peptides, the strongest casein allergenicity is observed for CM, followed by GM, and the casein of MM has the weakest allergenicity. Meanwhile, 7, 9, and 16 similar or identical amino acid fragments in linear B-cell epitopes, T-cell epitopes, and allergenic peptides, respectively, were observed in different milks. Among these, the same T-cell epitope FLGAEVQNQ was shared by κ-CN in all four different species' milk. Epitope results may provide targets of allergenic fragments for reducing milk allergenicity through physical or/and chemical methods. This study explained the underlying secrets for the high allergenicity of CM to some extent from the perspective of casein and provided new insights for the dairy industry to reduce milk allergy. Furthermore, it provides a new idea and method for comparing the allergenicity of homologous proteins from different species.
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•Chinese sumac fruits effectively prevented liver injury induced by APAP in mice.•The fruits significantly inhibited the inflammation by NF-κB and MAPK pathways.•The fruits remarkably ...ameliorated oxidative stress via Nrf2/NQO1/HO-1 pathways.•The fruits significantly inhibited apoptosis via PI3K/Akt/ Caspase3 pathways.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of the phenolic-rich fraction from Chinese sumac fruits against liver injury induced by acetaminophen in mice and elucidate the potential molecular mechanisms. Results showed that the phenolic-rich fraction of the fruits significantly decreased the alanine aminotransferase and aspartate transaminase activities and malondialdehyde content, restored the superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, and reduced the glutathione content. Further analyses revealed that the fraction alleviated liver oxidative stress by upregulating the Nrf2 protein pathway to increase the HO-1 and NQO1 expression levels. It also suppressed liver inflammation by downregulating the expression levels of p-NF-κB, COX-2, p-JNK, p-ERK and p-P38 and inhibiting the secretion of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. The fraction prevented hepatocyte apoptosis by upregulating p-PI3K, p-Akt, and Bcl-2 and downregulating Bax and cleaved Caspase 3. Thus, the phenolic-rich fraction from Chinese sumac fruits could serve as an adjuvant dietary therapy to prevent drug-induced liver injury.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the phenolic composition and antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory activities of the flowers, leaves, and stems of Prinsepia utilis Royle. In the work, their ...total phenol content and flavonoid content were determined. In addition, the scavenging effects of DPPH and ABTS free radicals and ferric reducing antioxidant power were measured. The results showed the flowers had the highest total phenol and flavonoid content, followed by the leaves and stems. A total of 11 phenolic substances were identified and quantified using UHPLC-ESI-HRMS/MS, of which rutin was the dominant phenolic compound in all samples. All three samples had good antioxidant activity and dose dependently inhibited the activity of α-glucosidase, pancreatic lipase, and tyrosinase. In summary, the ethanol extracts of the flowers have the best antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory ability among three samples. The outcome could provide support for the development and utilization of P. utilis.
The aim of this study was to compare the protective effects of three dietary flavonoids (apigenin-7-
-glucoside (A7G), isorhamnetin-3-
-rutinoside (I3R), and cyanidin-3-
-glucoside (C3G)) on advanced ...glycation end products (AGEs)-induced inflammation and vascular endothelial dysfunction. Furthermore, the potential mechanisms of varied effects of those three dietary flavonoids were analyzed by molecular docking analysis. Results showed that C3G (40 μM) achieved the best inhibition on inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) in AGEs-induced RAW264.7 cells, followed by I3R, and A7G was the weakest. The molecular docking results also showed that C3G exhibited the closest binding with the receptor for AGE. However, I3R (40 μM) demonstrated the best effect in improving endothelial dysfunction in AGEs-induced EA.hy926 cells, followed by C3G, and A7G was the weakest, as evidenced by the molecular docking results of flavonoids with profilin-1. This work may provide knowledge and helpful suggestions regarding the benefits of dietary flavonoids in diabetic vascular complications.
This study focused on the preventive effects of the extracts of Rhus chinensis Mill. (RCM) fruits on cholestasis induced by 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine (DDC) in mice. The results showed ...that RCM extracts could significantly ameliorate DDC-induced cholestasis via multiple mechanisms, including (1) alleviating liver damage via enhancing antioxidant capacity, such as increasing the contents of glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase and inhibiting the levels of malondialdehyde; (2) preventing liver inflammation by suppressing NF-κB pathway and reducing proinflammatory cytokines secretion (e.g., tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6); (3) inhibiting liver fibrosis and collagen deposition by regulating the expression of transforming growth factor-β and α-smooth muscle actin; (4) modulating abnormal bile acid metabolism through increasing the expression of bile salt export pump and multidrug resistance-associated protein 2. This study was the first to elucidate the potential preventive effect of RCM extracts on DDC-induced cholestasis in mice from multiple pathways, which suggested that RCM fruits could be considered as a potential dietary supplement to prevent cholestasis.
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