Ginger polysaccharides enhance intestinal immunity by modulating gut microbiota in cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed mice.

In this study, the immunity-enhancing effect of ginger polysaccharides UGP1 and UGP2 on CTX-induced immunosuppressed mice was evaluated. The results showed that ginger polysaccharide could effectively alleviate the symptoms of weight loss and dietary intake reduction induced by CTX, increase fecal water content, reduce fecal pH, and protect immune organs of immunosuppressed mice. In addition, ginger polysaccharides also stimulated the secretion of cytokines IL-2, IL-4, TNF-α and immunoglobulin Ig-G in the serum of mice, increased the expression of Occludin and Claudin-1, and restored the level of short-chain fatty acids in the intestine to improve immune deficiency. Furthermore, ginger polysaccharides significantly reduced the relative abundance ratio of the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes in mice and increased the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia and Bacteroidetes at the phylum level. At the family level, ginger polysaccharides increased the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Muribaculaceae, Bacteroidaceae and Lactobacillaceae, and decreased the relative abundance of harmful bacteria such as Rikenellaceae and Lachnospiraceae. Spearman correlation analysis indicated that ginger polysaccharides could enhance intestinal immunity by modulating gut microbiota associated with immune function. These results indicated that ginger polysaccharides have the potential to be a functional food ingredients or a natural medicine for the treatment of intestinal barrier injury.

The response of sediment microbial communities to temporal and site-specific variations of pollution in interconnected aquaculture pond and ditch systems.

Sediment microbial communities play critical roles in the health of fish and the biogeochemical cycling of elements in aquaculture ecosystems. However, the response of microbial communities to temporal and spatial variations in interconnected aquaculture pond and ditch systems remains unclear. In this study, 61 sediment bacterial samples were collected over one year from 11 sites (including five ponds and six ditches) in a 30-year-old fish aquaculture farm. The 16S rRNA approach was used to determine the relative abundances of microbial communities in the sediment samples. The relationships among nutrients, heavy metals, and abundant microorganisms were analyzed. Our results showed that Proteobacteria, Bacteroides and Chloroflexi were the predominant phyla in the sediments of aquaculture pond, with average abundances of 36.33%, 18.60%, and 14.58%, respectively. The microbial diversity in aquaculture sediments was negatively correlated (P < 0.05) with the concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in sediments, indicating that the microbial diversity is highly associated with the remediation of nutrients in sediments. The sediment samples with high similarities were discovered by the t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) method. The site-specific correlations between specific microorganisms and heavy metals were explored. The network analysis revealed that the microbial diversities in aquaculture ponds were more stable than that in aquaculture ditches. The network analysis also illustrated that the microbial genera with low relative abundances may become key groups of microbial communities in sediment ecosystems. Our work deepens the understanding of the relationships between microbial communities and the spatiotemporal characteristics of surface water and sediments in aquaculture farms.

Characterization and antitumor activities of polysaccharides obtained from ginger (Zingiber officinale) by different extraction methods.

Three different extraction technologies including hot water extraction (HWE), enzyme assisted extraction (EAE) and ultrasonic cell grinder extraction (UCGE) were employed to extract crude ginger polysaccharides (GPs) under their respective best parameters, then crude GPs were purified by DEAE cellulose-52 and Sephadex G-200 size-exclusion chromatography in that order. Five GPs fractions (HGP, EGP1, EGP2, UGP1, and UGP2, respectively) were obtained. The differences of five GPs in chemical composition, characterization and antitumor activities were further compared. The molecular weights were different in five GPs, varying from 11.81 to 1831.75 kDa. Mannose and glucose as the main monosaccharide and the glycosidic linkage of →4)-α-D-Glc(1→ and -α-Manp-(1→ existed in both five GPs. While EGP2 and UGP1 possessed specific structure of →6)-ß-D-Galp-(1→ and UGP1 contained more sulfate group. Moreover, UGP1 exhibited strong inhibitory effect on three tumor cells especially the colon cancer. The inhibition rates of UGP1 on H1975, HCT116 and MCF-7 were 23.339 ± 2.285%, 56.843 ± 2.405% and 21.061 ± 1.920% respectively. The study indicated GPs extracted by UCGE could reserve more active structure and inhibit colon cancer more significantly.

Preparation and in vitro absorption studies of a novel polysaccharide­iron (III) complex from Flammulina velutipes.

Iron is essential in fundamental bioactivities, so it makes sense to improve the efficiency of iron on epithelial transport. In this work, a novel polysaccharide­iron(III) complex (FVP-Fe(III)) was prepared from Flammulina velutipes with a specific structure. The FVP-Fe(III) had a molecular weight of 15.13 kDa with a monosaccharide composition of mannose, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose, xylose, fucose in a molar ratio 3.6:2.1:60.8:18.7:3.9:10.9. In the vitro digestion model, the complex could maintain better solubility and steady of iron than FeSO4. In the cell assay, FVP-Fe(III) showed lower cytotoxicity and better absorption. The transport amount of FVP-Fe(III) was 1.5-fold of FeSO4 at same concentration and 1.8-fold of FeSO4 at same time. The transport was mediated by the peptide transporter (pepT1) active transport pathway and the efflux of the sample was mainly mediated by multidrug-resistance proteins (MRP) transporter. The results of this study suggested that the polysaccharide obtained from F. velutipes could be developed a new kind of iron delivery for further study.

Facile Synthesis and Cytotoxicity of Phenazine-Chromene Hybrid Molecules Derived from Phenazine Natural Product.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: Small molecule targeted drugs can effectively reduce the toxicity and side effects of drugs, and improve the efficacy of drugs by their specific antitumor activity. Hence, the development of small molecular targeted drugs for cancer has important significance. This study was undertaken to design and synthesize novel phenazine-chromene hybrid molecules in order to optimize the structure and improve the efficacy of this kind of hybrids. MATERIALS AND METHODS: O-diaminobenzene was used as starting material to synthesize twentyfour heterocyclic compounds designed as hybrid molecules of phenazine and 4H-chromene pharmacophores by facile methods. The structures of the compound were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HRMS. Furthermore, the synthesized compounds were evaluated for in vitro activity against four human cancer cell lines and two non-cancer cell lines by MTT test. RESULTS: Some compounds showed strong cytotoxic activities against HepG2 and A549 cancer lines (IC50 = 5-10 µM). Comparing 2i with 2l, the introduction of hydrophilic groups on the phenazine core could not improve the antiproliferative activity significantly. Except 2d and 3c, compounds owning chlorine substituent on the 4H-chromene pharmacophore seemingly contribute to enhance the compounds' antiproliferative activity. Specially, compound 3c showed highest cytotoxicity against A549 cells with IC50 values of 3.3±0.4 µM. Furthermore, all compounds showed low or no cytotoxicity against HUVEC and L02 non-cancer cells in vitro. CONCLUSION: Compound 3c may be used as potential lead molecule against A549 cancer cells.

Immunomodulatory activities of proteins from Astragalus membranaceus waste.

BACKGROUND: Astragalus membranaceus is a traditional Chinese medicine that has a long history of medical applications. It is of interest to investigate the functional components of A. membranaceus waste with regard to its development and utilization and increasing resource utilization. RESULTS: The protein AMWP was isolated from the A. membranaceus waste. This protein was further purified by DEAE-cellulose-52 chromatography and Sephadex G-200 size-exclusion chromatography to obtain three fractions, named AMWPDG2, AMWPDG4 and AMWPDG6. Then, their immunomodulatory activities were evaluated by using cell model experiments. The results indicated that the protein fractions could significantly increase the proliferation of splenic lymphocytes, peritoneal macrophages and bone-marrow-derived cells (BMDCs). AMWPDG2 showed the highest immunocompetence. AMWPDG2, AMWPDG4 and AMWPDG6 not only significantly improved the phagocytosis and immunomodulatory factors (interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide) secretion of peritoneal macrophages, but also promoted the expression of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-12 p40, IL-1ß, IL-1α) and chemokines (CXCL1, CCL3) in BMDCs. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results indicated that three protein fractions from the A. membranaceus waste might be a potential natural immunomodulator. Moreover, it also provided the theoretical basis for further researching the mechanism of AMWPDG2, AMWPDG4 and AMWPDG6 on improving the immune response. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

[Preparation of curcumin-EC sustained-release composite particles by supercritical CO2 anti-solvent technology].

Curcumin-ethyl-cellulose (EC) sustained-release composite particles were prepared by using supercritical CO2 anti-solvent technology. With drug loading and yield of inclusion complex as evaluation indexes, on the basis of single factor tests, orthogonal experimental design was used to optimize the preparation process of curcumin-EC sustained-release composite particles. The experiments such as drug loading, yield, particle size distribution, electron microscope analysis (SEM) , infrared spectrum (IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and in vitro dissolution were used to analyze the optimal process combination. The orthogonal experimental optimization process conditions were set as follows: crystallization temperature 45 degrees C, crystallization pressure 10 MPa, curcumin concentration 8 g x L(-1), solvent flow rate 0.9 mL x min(-1), and CO2 velocity 4 L x min(-1). Under the optimal conditions, the average drug loading and yield of curcumin-EC sustained-release composite particles were 33.01% and 83.97%, and the average particle size of the particles was 20.632 µm. IR and DSC analysis showed that curcumin might complex with EC. The experiments of in vitro dissolution showed that curcumin-EC composite particles had good sustained-release effect. Curcumin-EC sustained-release composite particles can be prepared by supercritical CO2 anti-solvent technology.

[Preparation of ibuprofen/EC-PVP sustained-release composite particles by supercritical CO2 anti-solvent technology].

Ibuprofen/ethyl-cellulose (EC)-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) sustained-release composite particles were prepared by using supercritical CO2 anti-solvent technology. With drug loading as the main evaluation index, orthogonal experimental design was used to optimize the preparation process of EC-PVP/ibuprofen composite particles. The experiments such as encapsulation efficiency, particle size distribution, electron microscope analysis, infrared spectrum (IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and in vitro dissolution were used to analyze the optimal process combination. The orthogonal experimental optimization process conditions were set as follows: crystallization temperature 40 degrees C, crystallization pressure 12 MPa, PVP concentration 4 mgmL(-1), and CO2 velocity 3.5 Lmin(-1). Under the optimal conditions, the drug loading and encapsulation efficiency of ibuprofen/EC-PVP composite particles were 12.14% and 52.21%, and the average particle size of the particles was 27.621 microm. IR and DSC analysis showed that PVP might complex with EC. The experiments of in vitro dissolution showed that ibuprofen/EC-PVP composite particles had good sustained-release effect. Experiment results showed that, ibuprofen/EC-PVP sustained-release composite particles can be prepared by supercritical CO2 anti-solvent technology.

[A correlation analysis of HBV-DNA load levels between in perinatal mother's serum and neonatal cord blood].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlations of hepatitis B virus markers and hepatitis B virus -DNA vectors in blood between women in perinatal period and cord blood, and to assess the risk of HBV infections status in pregnant women to intrauterine fetal infective. METHODS: We selected 612 pregnant women who decided to delivery in hospital, in compliance with the principles of informed consent. According the difference of hepatitis virus serological markers existing in pregnant women, samples were divided into six groups. We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect hepatitis virus serological markers, existing in serum of mother and cord blood. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was supplied to test HBV-DNA load levels in these two kinds of biological specimen. RESULTS: In group A, hepatitis B virus "big 3 positives" or 1,3 positive 149 lying-in woman examples, two positive rates of HBV-DNA about pregnant women and cord blood are 99.33% and 32.21%; in group B, positive rates of HBV-DNA in two kinds of specimen are 20.00% and 3.08%; in group C and D, two positive rates are and the average contents of HBV-DNA, the results as mentioned in each group respectively are 65.52%, 12.07% and 13.56%, 1.69% respectively. Control group is group E, 86 lying-in woman examples and the detecting results orderly are 1.16%, 0. There was a significant difference in positive rate of HBV-DNA in cord blood between group A and group B subgroups (chi2 = 54.09, P < 0.01). There is significant positive correlation between HBV-DNA vectors existing in mother's serum and the positive rate of HBV-DNA in cord blood. Hepatitis B virus the mother blood " big 3 positives " is the umbilicus blood HBV-DNA 6345 times that carries quantity in average. CONCLUSION: (1) During the perinatal period, along with the HBV-DNA load levels arising of pregnant women, the risk of HBV infections status in pregnant women to intrauterine fetal infective increased. (2) Suggested to develop the compound pattern human hepatitis B immunoglobulin: Increase the composition of efficient price HBeAb-can be combinated HBeAg, HBsAb can be combinated HBsAg, strengthen the hinderance and break hepatitis B virus disseminate. (3) Our government should strengthen the propaganda of hepatitis B virus education. Establish and perfect to surround and produce the system of health protection.