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The dysbiosis of gut flora and its metabolites plays important roles in the progression of hyperlipidemia (HL), and some bioactive peptides are available for HL treatment. In this study, we aimed to isolate an active peptide (AR-9) from active peptides of E. sinensis (APE) and determine whether AR-9 could improve many symptoms of a HL rat induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) by modulating gut flora and its metabolites. Above all, AR-9 was derived from APE using ion-exchange chromatography, and its structure was deconstructed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, and UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap MS. Then, an HFD-induced HL model in SD rats was established and used to clarify the regulatory effects of AR-9 (dose of 3 mg/kg) on HL. Normal diet--fed rats were taken as the control. The plasma samples and liver were harvested for biochemical and histopathological examinations. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and untargeted metabolomics were sequenced to assess changes in gut flora and its metabolites from rat fecal samples. Finally, Spearman's correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between lipid-related factors, gut flora, and its metabolites so as to evaluate the mechanism of AR-9 against HL. The results of the separation experiments showed that the amino acid sequence of AR-9 was AVFPSIVGR, which was a fragment of the actin protein from Blattaria insects. Moreover, HFD rats developed exaltation of index factors, liver lipid accumulation, and simple fibrosis for 8 weeks, and the profiles of gut flora and its metabolites were significantly altered. After treatment, AR-9 decreased the levels of lipid factors in plasma and the extent of liver damage. 16S rRNA gene sequencing results indicated that AR-9 significantly increased the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria Bacteroidetes and reduced the relative abundance of the obesity-associated bacteria Firmicutes. Furthermore, AR-9 changed gut microbiota composition and increased the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria: Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Dehalobacterium, and Candidatus arthromitus. Fecal metabolomics showed that the pathway regulated by AR-9 was "arginine biosynthesis", in which the contents were citrulline and ornithine. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed that two metabolites (ornithine and citrulline) showed significantly negative correlations with obesity-related parameters and positive correlations with the gut genera (Clostridium) enriched by AR-9. Overall, our results suggested interactions between gut microbial shifts and fecal amino acid/lipid metabolism and revealed the mechanisms underlying the anti-HL effect of AR-9. The abovementioned results not only reveal the initial anti-HL mechanism of AR-9 but also provide a theoretical basis for the continued development of AR-9. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to investigate the effects of fat-soluble components and water-soluble components of Eupolyphaga sinensis on the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts. The petroleum ether extract and the ethyl acetate extract were obtained by Soxhlet extraction method from E. sinensis. Different water extracts of E. sinensis were obtained by freezing-thawing method with different temperature treatments. The proliferation activity of osteoblasts was detected by MTT assay. E. sinensis Soxhlet extract inhibited osteoblast growth ( P < 0. 05). The 25 X water extract of E. sinensis promoted the growth of osteoblasts in a time-and concentration-dependent manner, which had a maximum proliferative rate of 39. 8% on osteoblasts treated for 48 h ( P<0. 001). There was no significant difference in the proliferation of osteoblasts between the water extract of 50 X and the water extract at 90 X ( P>0. 05). After water extracted at 25 X and extracted again at 25, 37 and 50 X, the secondary water extract of E. sinensis promoted the proliferation of osteoblasts, whereas the secondary water extract at 75 X was ineffective ( P> 0. 05) and the secondary water extract at 100 X even inhibited cell growth ( P<0. 05) .The water extract of E. sinensis at 25 X treated again at 50 X for 4,6,8 and 10 h promoted cell growth ( P<0.05), whereas a treatment for 12 h inhibited cell growth ( P <0. 05). The active components in promoting the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts were water-soluble components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soy sauce, a salty condiment with nutrient rich fermented food, has been a popular cuisine in Asian countries like China, Korea, and Japan for thousands of years. Different techniques have been implied to enrich the nutrient potentials of soy sauce. The objective of this study was to enhance the antioxidative value of the soy sauce using enzymatic hydrolysates of roasted Eupolyphaga sinensis (ES), a useful insect in Chinese traditional medicine. The optimal hydrolysis conditions of roasted ES were 300 U/g of arazyme dosage, 4 h of hydrolysis duration, and 1:25 of material/water ratio. The DPPH scavenging activity and peptide content of the soy sauce reached 75.69% and 145.19 mg/ mL, respectively, when 8% hydrolysates of ES were added at late-fermentation period. Soluble unsalted solid, amino acid nitrogen, and total nitrogen were reached to 22.1 g/ 100mL, 0.68 g/100mL, and 1.75 g/100mL, respectively. Free amino acid and element content were increased compared to the control, while sodium content reduced significantly (p<0.05). The results showed that the novel soy sauce fermented with enzymatic hydrolysates of ES was an antioxidant rich high quality product. This study may help food industries to produce a novel antioxidative soy sauce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is a common phenomenon in animals and varies widely among species and among populations within species. Much of this variation is likely due to variance in selection on females vs. males. However, environmental variables could have different effects on females vs. males, causing variation in dimorphism. In this study, we test the differential-plasticity hypothesis, stating that sex-differential plasticity to environmental variables generates among-population variation in the degree of sexual dimorphism. We examined the effect of temperature (22, 25, 28, and 31 °C) on sexual dimorphism in four populations of the cockroach Eupolyphaga sinensis Walker (Blattaria: Polyphagidae), collected at various latitudes. We found that females were larger than males at all temperatures and the degree of this dimorphism was largest at the highest temperature (31 °C) and smallest at the lowest temperature (22 °C). There is variation in the degree of SSD among populations (sex*population interaction), but differences between the sexes in their plastic responses (sex*temperature interaction) were not observed for body size. Our results indicated that sex-differential plasticity to temperature was not the cause of differences among populations in the degree of sexual dimorphism in body size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of Eupolyphaga sinensis. This closed circular molecule is 15553 bp long and consists of 37 genes that encode for 13 inner membrane proteins, 2 ribosomal RNAs and 22 transfer RNAs. The genome shares the gene order and orientation with previously known Blattaria mitochondrial genomes. All tRNAs could be folded into the typical cloverleaf secondary structure, but the tRNASer (AGN) appears to be missing the DHU arm. The A + T-rich region is 857 bp long and longer than other cockroaches. Based on the concatenated amino acid sequences of all protein coding genes of E. sinensis in conjunction with those 23 other arthropod sequences, we reconstruct the phylogenetic tree. Phylogenetic analyses shows that Blataria (including Isoptera) and the Mantodea are sister groups. Furthermore the relationship of the three basal clades of winged insects are different from the three previous hypotheses ((Ephemeroptera + Odonata) +Neoptera, Ephemeroptera + (Odonata + Neoptera), Odonata + (Ephemeroptera +Neoptera)). The Ephemeroptera ( Parafronurus youi) clusters with the Plecoptera ( Pteronarcys princes). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]