Search

Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum XZ01 (BLSL1) is a new strain (isolated from the intestines of healthy people and deposited with the preservation number GDMCC 61618). An exopolysaccharide, S-EPS-1, was successfully isolated from the strain and then systematically investigated for the first time. Some structural features of S-EPS-1 were analyzed by chemical component, HPLC, ultraviolet, infrared, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum analyses. These analyses revealed that S-EPS-1 is a neutral heteropolysaccharide with an α-configuration. It contains mainly mannose and glucose, as well as small amounts of rhamnose and galactose. The molecular weight of S-EPS-1 was calculated to be 638 kDa. Several immunoregulatory activity assays indicated that S-EPS-1 could increase proliferation, phagocytosis, and NO production in vitro. In addition, S-EPS-1 could upregulate the expression of cytokines at the mRNA level through TLR4-mediated activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in RAW 264.7 cells. Finally, S-EPS-1 was demonstrated to exhibit antioxidant activity by ABTS +• scavenging, DPPH • scavenging, and ferric-ion reducing power assays. Furthermore, S-EPS-1 can protect cells from oxidative stress and shows no cytotoxicity. These beneficial effects can be partly attributed to its antioxidant ability. Thus, the antioxidant S-EPS-1 may be applied as a functional food in the future.

Background: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), which mainly include Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are chronic idiopathic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract for which effective pharmacological treatments are lacking or options are very limited., Purpose: Here, we aim to investigate the therapeutic effects of an iridoid glycoside, asperuloside (ASP) on mice experimental chronic colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and further explore underlying mechanisms in vitro and in vivo., Methods: LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells showed inflammation and were assessed for various physiological, morphological and biochemical parameters in the absence or presence of ASP. Chronic colitis was induced by 2% DSS in mice, which were used as an animal model to explore the pharmacodynamics of ASP. We detected p65 and Nrf2 pathway proteins via Western blot and RT-PCR analysis, assessed the cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 via ELISA, tested p65 and Nrf2 nuclear translocation via fluorescence. In addition, the docking affinity of ASP and p65 or Nrf2 proteins in the MOE 2015 software., Results: We found that ASP attenuated weight loss, disease activity index (DAI) and colonic pathological damage in colitis mice and restored the expressions of inflammatory cytokines in the colon. In addition, ASP restored antioxidant capacity in DSS-induced chronic colitis mice and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, ASP suppressed oxidative stress through increasing Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO-1 proteins expressions, and down-regulated nuclear levels of p65 to inhibit DSS-induced colonic oxidative stress and inflammation. Validation of the molecular docking results also indicated that ASP interacts with Nrf2 or p65 proteins. In summary, ASP improved DSS-induced chronic colitis by alleviating inflammation and oxidative stress, activating Nrf2/HO-1 signaling and limiting NF-κB signaling pathway, which may be an effective candidate for the treatment of IBD., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim and Objective: The Dendrobium officinalis flower (DOF) is popular in China due to common belief in its anti-aging properties and positive effects on "nourish yin". However, there have been relatively few confirmatory pharmacological experiments conducted to date. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether DOF has beneficial effects on learning and memory in senescent rats, and, if so, to determine its potential mechanism of effect., Materials and Methods: SD rats were administrated orally DOF at a dose of 1.38, or 0.46 g/kg once a day for 8 weeks. Two other groups included a healthy untreated control group and a senescent control group. During the 7th week, a Morris water maze test was performed to assess learning and memory. At the end of the experiment, serum and brain samples were collected to measure concentrations of antioxidant enzymes, including malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione reductase (GSH-Px) in serum, and the neurotransmitters, including γ-aminobutyric acid (γ-GABA), Glutamic (Glu), and monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) in the brain. Histopathology of the hippocampus was assessed using hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining., Results: The results suggested that treatment with DOF improved learning as measured by escape latency, total distance, and target quadrant time, and also increased levels of γ-GABA in the brain. In addition, DOF decreased the levels of MDA, Glu, and MAO-B, and improved SOD and GSHPx. Histopathological analysis showed that DOF also significantly reduced structural lesions and neurodegeneration in the hippocampus relative to untreated senescent rats., Conclusion: DOF alleviated brain aging and improved the spatial learning abilities in senescent rats, potentially by attenuating oxidative stress and thus reducing hippocampal damage and balancing the release of neurotransmitters., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Ixora is a genus of ca. 400 species in the family Rubiaceae. Since the 1940s, eighty-one compounds including phenolics, peptides, terpenoids, and sterols have been isolated from six species of the genus Ixora. Pharmacological studies have shown that these compounds and extracts from the Ixora genus have extensive activities, such as antitumor, chemoprotective, and antioxidant activities. In this review, we summarize the phytochemical progress and list the compounds isolated from the genus Ixora. The biological activities of this genus are also covered., (© 2016 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich.)

In this study, soluble dietary fiber (SDF) content of wheat bran was significantly increased from 9.82 ± 0.16 (w/w, %) to 16.72 ± 0.28 (w/w, %) by a novel blasting extrusion processing with enhanced water retention capacity and the swelling capacity. In addition, a water-soluble polysaccharide (WBP) was isolated and extracted from extruded SDF. WBP was successfully purified from SDF by column chromatography systems with the average molecular weight (Mw) of 4.7 × 10(4)Da, containing arabinose, xylose, glucose, and galactose. With the molar ratio of 0.76:0.99:1.00:0.12. Our results suggest that WBP owned 1 → 2, 1 → 3, 1 → 2, 6 and 1 → 4, 1 → 4, 6 glycosidic bonds in the absence of 1 →, 1 → 6 glycosidic bonds. In vitro antioxidant assays (DPPH, ABTS+ radical scavenging capacities, and ferric ion reducing capacity) demonstrated that WBP possesses good antioxidant capacity, and it could be potentially used as a natural antioxidant for use in functional food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to evaluate how excess selenium induces oxidative stress by determining antioxidant enzyme activity and changes in expression of selected selenoproteins in mice. BALB/c mice (n = 20 per group) were fed a diet containing 0.045 (Se-marginal), 0.1 (Se-adequate), 0.4 (Se-supernutrition), or 0.8 (Se-excess) mg Se/kg. Gene expression was quantified in RNA samples extracted from the liver, kidney, and testis by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. We found that glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase activities decreased in livers of mice fed the marginal or excess dose of Se as compared to those in the Se-adequate group. Additionally, superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase activities were significantly reduced only in mice fed the excess Se diet, compared to animals on the adequate Se diet. Se-supernutrition had no effect on hepatic mRNA levels of GPx isoforms 1 and 4 (GPx1 and GPx4), down-regulated GPx isoform 3 (GPx3), and upregulated selenoprotein W (SelW) mRNA expression. The excess Se diet led to decreased hepatic mRNA levels of GPx1, GPx3 and GPx4 but no change in testicular mRNA levels of GPx1, GPx3 or SelW. Dietary Se had no effect on testicular mRNA levels of GPx4. Thus, our results suggest that Se exposure can reduce hepatic antioxidant capacity and cause liver dysfunction. Dietary Se was found to differentially regulate mRNA levels of the GPx family or SelW, depending on exposure. Therefore, these genes may play a role in the toxicity associated with Se.

This report entails in vivo and in vitro studies concerned with free radical species involved in brain ischemia. The participation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in the early manifestation of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion was investigated in gerbils exposed to transient global ischemia using 4-OH-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TPL), a well-known antioxidant. TPL treatment reversed cerebral postischemic hypoperfusion and tissue edema in these animals. The findings are consistent with ROS/RNS participation in tissue injury and the reduction of cerebromicrovascular blood flow (CBF) during postischemic recirculation. The activation/deactivation of signal transduction pathway by oxidation/antioxidation [i.e., using hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)/TPL] was evaluated in cultured human brain endothelial cells (HBEC) to assess the involvement of endothelial-dependent mechanisms. The data showed that H₂O₂ activates various "stress" kinases and vasodilalator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP); activation of this pathway was reduced by inhibitors of Rho- or IP-3 kinases, as well as TPL. H₂O₂ also induced cytoskeleton (actin) rearrangements in HBEC; this effect was prevented by inhibitors of Rho/IP3 kinase or TPL. The observed activation/deactivation of H₂O₂-induced "stress" kinase is in agreement with the reported capacity of ROS/RNS to stimulate the oxidative signal transduction pathway. The noted TPL reduction of H₂O₂-induced phosphorylation of kinase strongly suggests that the beneficial effect of TPL implicates the stress signal transduction pathway. This may represent a mechanism for the cerebral postischemic manifestations observed by in vivo experiments.

The article discusses the research about the structurally unique and biologically active compounds of the barks of Podocarpus macrophyllus. Topics discussed include the extraction of the dried and powered barks of P. macrophyllus with methanol, and fractionated on silica gel. Also mentioned the identified compounds through spectroscopic methods.

Cynanchum paniculatum has been applied for various diseases treatments, however, the polysaccharide components especially extracted using ethanol were rarely researched. In this study, ethanol solution with volume fraction of 75% was used for C. paniculatum polysaccharide preparation, and the extraction process optimization, structural characteristics, and bioactivities analysis were investigated. Results showed that extraction yield reached to 4.79 ± 0.24% under extraction temperature of 60 °C, extraction time of 4.5 h, liquid/solid ratio of 30 mL/g. Chemical constitutions and monosaccharide compositions, molecular weight determination results showed that the polysaccharide was mainly composed of glucose and xylose with a molar ratio of 1.00:0.63 (carbohydrate content of 94.91%, molecular weight of 5.1 kDa). Periodate oxidation, smith degradation, methylation, fourier transform infrared spectra and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis demonstrated that the glycosidic bonds configurations were mainly comprised of (1→2)-α- D -Glc p (39.86%), (1→2,4)-α- D -Glc p (10.32%) and (1→4)-β- D -Xyl p (29.58%). The bioactivities determination experiments results suggested that the polysaccharide exhibited strong antioxidant activities and antitumor effects both in vitro and in vivo. These data indicated that the ethanol-extracted polysaccharide from C. paniculatum holds great application prospect as a novel bioactive adjuvant in the future due to the feasibility of industrial production. • The polysaccharide was extracted from Cynanchum paniculatum using 75% ethanol. • The maximum extraction yield was 4.79 ± 0.24% optimized by Box-Behnken design. • The polysaccharide was composed of glucose and xylose (molar ratio of 1.00:0.63). • The polysaccharide was comprised of (1→2)-Glc p (39.86%) and (1→4)-Xyl p (29.58%). • The polysaccharide exhibited strong antioxidant and antitumor effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]