ABSTRACT
The research aimed to investigate the suppression effect of MaiShu which contains hawthorn, hippophae, medlar, phytosterols (β-sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol), β-glucan and lycopeneon formation of atherosclerotic plaque in apolipoprotein E knock-out (ApoE-/-) mice. Liquid chromatography-ultraviolet-mass spectrometry (LC-UV-MC) methods were used to analyze the main chemical composition of MaiShu.Atherosclerotic mice models were established by high-fat diet. The mice were administrated with MaiShu (1, 2, 4 g·kg-1·d-1) or other contrast materials by intragastric route for 10 weeks continuously. At the end of administration, the blood of mice was collected for tests of the serum total cholesterol (TC), total triglyceride (TG) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level. Atherosclerotic lesions in aorta and aortic root were assessed by calculating the relative area of lesions (oil red O stained). Intravital fluorescence microscopic system was used to evaluate the leukocyte-endothelial adhesion in mesenteric artery of mice by detecting the rolling velocity of white blood cells (WBC). Collagenous fibers and macrophages in lesions were detected by sirius red staining and immunological histological chemistry to evaluate the atherosclerotic plaque stability. Results showed that MaiShu contains various flavonoids (9.5%), phytosterols (23.8%) and polysaccharides (8.9%). The serum lipid level of model animals was significantly higher than the control animals. Serum TC level was decreased by MaiShu (4 g·kg-1, P-1) compared to model (P-1, P-1, P-1, P-1, P-1, P-1) and macrophages were decreased (2, 4 g·kg-1) compared to model. These results demonstrate that MaiShu can obviously decrease the serum lipid levels and the risk of leukocyte-endothelial adhesion in ApoE-/- mice. The effect of MaiShu may be associated with the decrease of macrophages in plaque.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To explore the semen quality and potential risk factors of males from the infertility clinic in south area of Zhejiang.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the semen quality and risk factors in 3 01 7 males attending infertility clinic in south Zhejiang.Subjects were grouped by semen quality.The generalized linear models were used to analyze the data.Results Medians of semen parameters were 2.5 ml for volume,76 ×1 06 per ml for semen concentration,1 60 ×1 06 for total sperm count,50.0%for sperm progressive motility,62.0%for total motility,and 6.9%for normal morphology.Only 32.9% of semen samples had normal semen parameters according to WHO criteria. Abstinence duration was significantly positive associated with semen volume,concentration,and total sperm count (P<0.01 ).Single factor analysis showed that smoking,contacts of environmental pollutants,and obesity had slight detrimental effects on sperm quality.However,there were no significant differences by multiple factor analysis (P >0.05 ). Conclusion A sizable proportion of semen quality from males attending infertility clinic in south Zhejiang are low according to WHO criteria.The difference of area,life styles and environmental factors may cause the change of semen quality and that need to be further studied.