Natto: A medicinal and edible food with health function / 中草药·英文版

Natto is a soybean product fermented by natto bacteria. It is rich in a variety of amino acids, vitamins, proteins and active enzymes. It has a number of biological activities, such as thrombolysis, prevention of osteoporosis, antibacterial, anticancer, antioxidant and so on. It is widely used in medicine, health-care food, biocatalysis and other fields. Natto is rich in many pharmacological active substances and has significant medicinal research value. This paper summarizes the pharmacological activities and applications of natto in and outside China, so as to provide references for further research and development of natto.

Efficacy of phospholipid complex of flavonoids from persimmon leaves on atherosclerosis, and possible mechanism.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of phospholipid complex of flavonoids from persimmon leaves (PLF-PC) on atherosclerosis, and to study its mechanism behind the action. METHODS: To clarify the constituents of the flavonoids from persimmon leaves (PLF), an ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry method was established. To enhance the anti-atherosclerotic effect of PLF, a newly emerging approach based on the combination of phospholipid complexation technique was employed. PLF-PC was prepared by the solvent-evaporation method then characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Powder X-Ray Diffractometry and Scanning electron microscopy. A model of oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced injury on human umbilical vein endothelial cells was established to investigate the anti-atherosclerotic effect of PLF-PC versus PLF. The levels of nitric oxide, endothelial nitric oxide synthase, intracellular adhesion molecule-1, reactive oxygen species, superoxide dismutase, tumor necrosis factor-αand nuclear factor-κB were observed assay kits. RESULTS: A total of 31 compounds were identified in PLF. PLF-PC showed better anti-atherosclerotic power compared with PLF, moreover, enzyme linked immune-osorbent assay analysis showed that the PLF-PC may effect on endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis antioxidant-related mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings elucidated that PLF-PC significantly enhanced the PLF's efficacy on atherosclerosis.

Nuclear factor kappa B/p65 plays a positive role in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ expression in orange-spotted grouper Epinephelus coioides.

The transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) is a critical regulator of immune and inflammatory responses with crucial roles in various pathophysiologic conditions involving cell survival and death. Recent studies in mammals showed that NF-κB was also involved in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs)-mediated immune responses However, the mechanism by which NF-κB regulates PPARδ in teleosts remains unclear. In the present study, we analyzed the potential role of NF-κB/p65 (Ecp65) in the immune response stimulated by various pathogens in the grouper Epinephelus coioides. Ecp65 expression was significantly induced soon after infection with lipopolysaccharide, nervous necrosis virus, poly(I:C), and zymosan A. We also analyzed the promoter to determine the regulatory effect of Ecp65 on PPARδ expression, using progressive EcPPARδ promoter deletion mutations. Among the five truncated mutants, the luciferase reporter activity of the PPARδ-5 promoter region was highest in response to Ecp65, indicating that the core p65-binding region was located in the PPARδ-5 promoter region (+122 bp to +383 bp). Mutation analyses indicated that the luciferase reporter activity of the EcPPARδ promoter was dramatically decreased by mutation of the M3 (+305 bp to +324 bp) and M4 (+346 bp to +365 bp) binding sites, respectively. We further confirmed that Ecp65 bound to the M3 and M4 binding sites in the 5'-untranslated region of EcPPARδ by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Finally, overexpression of Ecp65 in vitro notably promoted the transcription of EcPPARδ, interferon-related genes, and several inflammatory cytokines. This study demonstrated that Ecp65 plays an important role in modulating the innate immune responses in groupers. These results also further our understanding of the mechanisms involved in the transcriptional regulation of PPARs by p65 in bony fish.

Investigation on the treatment opportunity of mechanical ventilation for acute severe organophosphorus pesticide poisoning patients with respiratory failure / 中国基层医药

Objective To explore the treatment opportunity of mechanical ventilation for acute severe organophosphorus pesticide poisoning patients with respiratory failure.Methods According to the different indications of mechanical ventilation,115 acute severe organophosphorus pesticide poisoning patients with respiratory failure were divided into the observation group A (40 cases),the observation group B(38 cases)and the control group(37 cases).The cure rate,aspiration pneumonia incidence,duration of mechanical ventilation,length of hospital stay of the three groups were analyzed.Results The cure rate of the observation group A(97.5％) was significantly higher than that of the control group(83.4％)and the observation group B (92.1％) (P ＜ 0.05 or P ＜ 0.01) ;The aspiration pneumonia of the observation group(2 cases) was significantly less than that of the control group(8 cases)(P ＜ 0.05) ;The hospitalization time [(4.46 ± 0.51) d,(7.11 ± 0.83) d] and the duration of mechanical ventilation [(55.40 ± 5.24)h,(79.47 ± 2.44) h] of the observation group A and the observation group B were significantly shorter than those of the control group [(10.40 ± 1.12) d,(100.30 ± 2.15) h] (all P ＜ 0.01) ; The hospitalization time and the duration of mechanical ventilation of the observation group A [(4.46 ± 0.51) d,(55.40 ± 5.24) h] were significantly shorter than those of the observation group B [(7.11 ± 0.83)d,(79.47 ± 2.44)h] (all P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion Respiratory rate ≥30 times/min and ＜ 34 times/min or ≤ 10 times/min,or spontaneous breathing weakened,and blood gas analysis prompted hypoxemia(60 mm Hg ＜ PaO2 ≤ 70 mm Hg)is best opportunity of mechanical ventilation for acute severe organophosphorus pesticide poisoning patients with respiratory failure.

Zuckerkandl's tubercle is a useful anatomic landmark for dissecting the recurrent laryngeal nerve during thyroid surgery / 中华普通外科杂志

Objective To study the anatomic characteristics of Zuckerkandl's tubercle (ZT) and its clinical relevance as an anatomic landmark of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) in thyroid surgery.Methods This study involved 147 (106 with benign thyroid diseases and 41 with malignancies) patients who underwent thyroidectomy.ZT was measured and classified based on the Pelizzo classification.The relationship between ZT and the RLN and the relationship between the RLN and the inferior thyroid artery were recognized and classified.Results 233 (107 left and 126 right) thyroid gland lobes were dissected and ZT was identified in most patients (left in 93.5％ and right in 96.0％).The distribution of ZT according to grade was as follows:Grade 0,left 16.0％ and right 13.2％ ; Grade Ⅰ,left 32.0％ and right 27.3％ ; Grade Ⅱ,left 46.0％ and right 44.6％ ; Grade Ⅲ,left 6.0％ and right 14.9％.There was no significant difference on classification between the left-sided and right-sided ZTs.In terms of the relationship between the ZT and the RLN,it was classified as follows:Type A,left 92.9％ and right 93.3％ ; Type B:left 0 and right 0; Type C:left 7.1％ and right 6.7％.Similarly,there was no significant difference between the left sided and the right sided.The ZT grade was correlated with the course of the RLN:the higher the ZT grade was (that is,the greater the size of the ZT),the more often was the course of RLN behind the back of the ZT; the lower the ZT grade (that is,the smaller the size of the ZT),the more often was the course of RLN running by the lateral of the ZT.Considering the incidence of being dangerous type of RLN,the right sided (19.0％) was higher than the left sided (8.3％).The relationship between the ZT and the RLN does not relate to RLN course across the inferior thyroid artery.Conclusions As an important anatomic landmark,the ZT is essential for locating and dissecting the RLN during thyroid surgery,and its classification is a guide to RLN dissection and preservation.

Methylene blue guided sentinel lymph node biopsy in 276 breast cancer patients / 国际外科学杂志

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of methylene blue as a method in lymphatic mapping and the effect factors of SLNB identification rate. Methods The results of SLNB in 276 patients with clinical stage T<M,1>-T2N0M0 breast eaneer were analyzed to evaluate the effect factors of identification rate and false-neg-ative rate of SLNB. Results The identification of SLN was carried out using methylene blne . When the mapping time of SLN and lymphatic were controlled in 20～30 minutes, the SLN could be visualized easily. SLN was successfully identified in 246 of 276 patients (89.1%) ,423 SLNs were retrieved(1～4). The SLN accurately predicted the status of the axilla in 226 of 246 patients (77.3%) yielding a FNR(false negative rate)of 8.1% (20/246) ,false positive rate of0, and an accuracy of 91.9% (226/241). For the identified rate of SLN, the clinical stage of T2N0M0 disease was higher than the clinical stage of T1N0M0 disease (P=0.046,P<0.05), Upper outer quadrant and lower outer quadrant were higher than other evidently (P<0.0010). SLNs were easily retrieved in those cases aged above 50 years than below 50 years (P<0.001).In the view of false-negative rate of SLNB, the FNR rate in patients of 50 years old was less than older ones (P=0.037, P<0.05). No significant correlation was found between the stage of TMN, the expression of ER and PR, histologic status and FNR. Conclusion When SLNB was performed using methylene blue, we found age, clinical stage of TMN, the location of tumor had relationship with the identified rate of SLN. Ag-ing and location of tumor may adversely affect FNR of SLNB.