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Clinopodium gracile is one of the commonly used medicinal herbs of the She ethnic minority in China. The whole plant of C. gracile is rich in flavonoids. This study pioneers the investigation to improve flavonoid yield by the use of response surface methodology (RSM) and microwave irradiation pretreatment method. The antimicrobial activities of its extracts was also tested. The significant parameters of extraction conditions of the whole plant of C. gracile flavonoids (WPCF) were as follows: wetted time of 25.514 min, microwave radiation pretreatment time of 38.024 s, microwave power of 411.557 w, and mass of vaporization solvent of 1.841 mL. For the convenience of the experiment, the optimum process parameters were modified as follows: wetted time of 25 min, microwave radiation pretreatment time of 38 s, microwave power of 420 w, and mass of vaporization solvent of 1.8 mL. Under these conditions, the yield of WPCF was 145.677 mg/g, which was increased by 25.450% compared to the traditional water bath extraction, a significant difference was observed. Antimicrobial experimentations showed that the extracts of ethyl acetate exhibited good activities against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC9027), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC29213), Staphylococcus aureus (SA1) with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 16 mg/mL, 8 mg/mL, 8 mg/mL, respectively. Therefore, the processing technology in this study was successful and microwave irradiation pretreatment provided some practical significance for the extraction of WPCF. The results also suggest that the extracts from C. gracile could be used as a potential antimicrobial source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early weaning-induced stress precipitates diarrhoea, significantly curtailing the growth performance of piglets. A pivotal contributor to this postweaning affliction is the emergence of gut bacterial dysbiosis. Enterococcus hirae, a promising probiotic, has indicated unclear effects and mechanisms on intestinal health. In this study, we investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of oral supplementation with Ningxiang pig-derived Enterococcus hirae HNAU0516 orally supplementation on the gut bacterial community, immune response and gut barrier function in piglets. 21 d age Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire) piglets with a similar BW were randomly allocated to two groups. The Enterococcus hirae HNAU0516 administration group was inoculated orally with Ningxiang pig-derived Enterococcus hirae HNAU0516 throughout the trial period. Conversely, the control group received the same volume of physiological saline. Our findings revealed that Enterococcus hirae HNAU0516 supplementation effectively reduced diarrhoea rates of piglets (P = 0.010). Notably, this probiotic promoted intestinal development and enhanced intestinal barrier function. It also showed potential anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, Enterococcus hirae HNAU0516 supplementation significantly remodelled the colonic microbiota and increased the production of acetate (P = 0.007). In conclusion, our study highlights that Ningxiang pig-derived Enterococcus hirae HNAU0516 improves postweaning diarrhoea by promoting intestinal development, enhancing intestinal barrier function, decreasing intestinal permeability, modulating intestinal microbiota, and increasing short-chain fatty acids production., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)