Effects of Simulated In Vitro Digestion on the Structural Characteristics, Inhibitory Activity on α-Glucosidase, and Fermentation Behaviours of a Polysaccharide from Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the simulated saliva-gastrointestinal digestion of AABP-2B on its structural features, inhibitory α-glucosidase activity, and human gut microbiota. The salivary-gastrointestinal digestion results show that there is no significant change in the molecular weight of AABP-2B, and no free monosaccharides are released. This indicates that, under a simulated digestive condition, AABP-2B is not degraded and can be further utilized by gut microbiota. AABP-2B still possessed good inhibitory activity on α-glucosidase after salivary-gastrointestinal digestion, which may be attributed to the largely unchanged structural characteristics of AABP-2B after simulated digestion. Furthermore, in vitro fecal fermentation with AABP-2B after salivary-gastrointestinal digestion showed that AABP-2B modulated the gut microbiota structure and increased the relative proportions of Prevotella, Faecalibacterium, and Megasphaera. AABP-2B can also modify the intestinal flora composition by inhibiting pathogen growth. Moreover, the AABP-2B group resulted in a significant increase in short-chain fatty acid (SCFAs) content during fermentation. These findings demonstrate that AABP-2B can be used as a prebiotic or functional food to promote gut health.

Randomized Phase 2 Trial of Telitacicept in Patients With IgA Nephropathy With Persistent Proteinuria.

Introduction: To date, no specific therapies have been approved for immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) treatment. Telitacicept is a fusion protein composed of transmembrane activator and calcium-modulating cyclophilin ligand interactor and fragment crystallizable portion of immunoglobulin G (IgG), which neutralizes the B lymphocyte stimulator and a proliferation-inducing ligand. Methods: This phase 2 randomized placebo-controlled trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of telitacicept in patients with IgAN. Participants with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) >35 ml/min per 1.73 m2 and proteinuria ≥0.75 g/d despite optimal supportive therapy, were randomized 1:1:1 to receive subcutaneous telitacicept 160 mg, telitacicept 240 mg, or placebo weekly for 24 weeks. The primary end point was the change in 24-hour proteinuria at week 24 from baseline. Results: Forty-four participants were randomized into placebo (n = 14), telitacicept 160 mg (n = 16), and telitacicept 240 mg (n = 14) groups. Continuous reductions in serum IgA, IgG, and IgM levels were observed in the telitacicept group. Telitacicept 240 mg therapy reduced mean proteinuria by 49% from baseline (change in proteinuria vs. placebo, 0.88; 95% confidence interval, -1.57 to -0.20; P = 0.013), whereas telitacicept 160 mg reduced it by 25% (-0.29; 95% confidence interval, -0.95 to 0.37; P = 0.389). The eGFR remained stable over time. Adverse events (AEs) were similar in all groups. Treatment-emergent AEs were mild or moderate, and no severe AEs were reported. Conclusion: Telitacicept treatment led to a clinically meaningful reduction in proteinuria in patients with IgAN in the present phase 2 clinical trial. This effect is indicative of a reduced risk for future kidney disease progression.

Starch crystal seed tailors starch recrystallization for slowing starch digestion.

Crystal seed significantly affected polymers homogeneous or heterogeneous crystallization. However, how starch crystal seed affected recrystallization of gelatinized starch and in turn digestibility were not clearly understood. Herein, effects of endogenous crystal seed on starch recrystallization and digestibility were herein investigated. Structures of retrograded starches characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction indicated that endogenous A-type crystal seed significantly promoted starch reassociation to form well-defined crystalline structure. Notably, starch crystal seed-mediated retrograded starch contained more compact structures after cooking in comparison with that of retrograded starch mediation without the crystal seed, and therefore the crystal seed-mediated retrograded starch exhibited a lower digestibility. This study preliminarily indicated starch endogenous crystal seed significantly modulate starch retrogradation and digestibility, nevertheless, how recrystallization temperature, the content and crystalline structure of the crystal seed affect recrystallization behaviors of crystal seed-containing starch are part of future work.

PAYCS Alleviates Scopolamine-Induced Memory Deficits in Mice by Reducing Oxidative and Inflammatory Stress and Modulation of Gut Microbiota-Fecal Metabolites-Brain Neurotransmitter Axis.

The bioactive peptide PAYCS (Pro-Ala-Tyr-Cys-Ser) identified from anchovy hydrolysates has been reported to be positive in memory alleviation. The gut microbiota-brain axis plays a vital role in brain functions, which could be affected by nutritional supplementation. Herein, we found that PAYCS at different concentrations (PAYCS-L and PAYCS-H) showed various improving effects in behavioral tests and alleviation effects on oxidative as well as inflammatory stress in the scopolamine-induced AD mouse model. The 16S rRNA results illustrated that PAYCS-L altered the ratio of Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes and PAYCS treatment elevated the relative abundance of Cacteroidaceae and Prevotellaceae. Notably, administration of PAYCS significantly upregulated memory-related metabolites and neurotransmitters. Overall, PAYCS-L reversed memory deficits of amnesiac mice partially via the modulation of gut microbiota-metabolites-brain neurotransmitter axis. For PAYCS-H, functions might be involved in the reversal of oxidative and inflammatory impairments in the liver and serum, which was also associated with the changed intestinal microbiota and fecal metabolites.

Synergistic alleviation effects of anchovy hydrolysates-catechin on scopolamine-induced mice memory deficits: the exploration of the potential relationship among gut-brain-axis.

Anchovy protein hydrolysates (APH) and catechin (CA) have proved to be effective in memory improvement. However, the enhancing effects of APH-CA conjugates on the memory are little investigated. The underlying mechanism and synergic effects remain unclear. Herein, relationships among memory enhancement, gut microbiota, fecal metabolites, and neurotransmitters of mice regulated by APH-CA were investigated. APH, APH-CA, and CA decreased MDA, IL-1ß, and TNF-α in liver, altered levels of GPx, LDH, IL-1ß, and TNF-α in serum, re-structured gut microbiota, regulated fecal metabolites, and regulated neurotransmitters in the brain. The alleviation effects of APH-CA were partially better than those of APH and CA. The 16s rRNA results illustrated that Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were altered. Notably, memory-related metabolites and neurotransmitters were significantly up-regulated by the administration of samples. Moreover, possible connections are observed among the gut microbiota, fecal metabolites, and brain neurotransmitters. Together, the regulation of the microbiota-metabolites-brain-neurotransmitters axis may be one of the mechanisms for APH-CA against scopolamine-induced cognitive deficits. In addition, the synergic effects of APH and CA were partially confirmed.

Modulating the in vitro gastrointestinal digestibility of crystalline oil-in-water emulsion: Different fat crystal sizes and polymorphic forms under the same SFC.

The effects of the fat crystal structure on lipid droplets digestion behaviors were investigated using an in vitro digestion model. The crystalline oil-in-water emulsions containing the same solid fat content (SFC) with different fat crystal sizes and polymorphic forms were fabricated by different storage protocols: constant-temperature and inconstant-temperature storage. Oral and gastric processing led to a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the d4,3 values of the two emulsions, and the two emulsions underwent partial coalescence and flocculation/aggregation. The free fatty acid (FFA) release profiles showed that the lipolysis extent decreased due to a larger crystal size. In addition, the two emulsions showed differences in beta polymorphism. This work further demonstrated that the FFA release could be modulated by the physical properties of the fat.

In vitro gastrointestinal digestibility of corn oil-in-water Pickering emulsions stabilized by three types of nanocellulose.

The effect of three nanocellulose (various in crystalline allomorph and morphology) on lipid in vitro gastrointestinal digestibility was investigated. Corn oil-in-water emulsions were prepared by CNCs-I, CNCs-II and CNFs respectively. The variations of droplets diameter D[4,3], zeta potential, and microstructure were measured during gastrointestinal digestion (mouth, stomach and small intestine), and the free fatty acid (FFA) released in the small intestine phase were examined. The FFA-released test results indicated that both crystalline allomorph and morphology of nanocellulose affected the degree of lipid digestion, especially the morphology. FFA released amount was ranked in the order of CNCs-I (56.60%), CNCs-II (48.67%) and CNFs (28.21%). This is mainly due to the difference in the self-assembly behavior of nanocellulose at the interface. Our findings provide an innovative solution that using nanocellulose as food-grade particle stabilizer to modulate the digestion of Pickering emulsified lipids, which would benefit the development of given functional foods.

Fabrication and characterization of anchovy protein hydrolysates-polyphenol conjugates with stabilizing effects on fish oil emulsion.

Conjugation between peptides and polyphenols could improve their bioactive and functional properties. The improvement effects of anchovy protein hydrolysates (APH) -polyphenol (catechin (CA), gallic acid (GA), tannic acid (TA)) conjugates were investigated. The content of protein and polyphenols and ratio of polyphenols/peptides in conjugates increased as the number of OH group increased with TA > CA > GA. Results showed that APH-CA and APH-GA exhibited the highest ORAC and ABTS+ scavenging capacity, respectively. Mass spectrometry analysis suggested the highest number of bioactive peptides were identified in APH-CA 5:1 (APH/polyphenols). The physical stability of fish oil emulsions during storage was significantly enhanced by TA 5:1 conjugate followed by CA 5:1 conjugate. The oxidative stability was remarkably elevated by APH-GA 10:1. This was due to the antioxidant capacity and the peptides adsorbed at the interfacial. This study demonstrated that APH-polyphenol conjugates could bring the possibility of utilizing peptides-polyphenols in the nutraceutical and functional food ingredient fields.

Psychiatric-mental health education with integrated role-play and real-world contact can reduce the stigma of nursing students towards people with mental illness.

Stigma and negative attitudes towards people with mental illness are frequently found among nursing students. Interventions targeting mental illness stigma are the critical elements in altering the status. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of the psychiatric-mental health education with role-play and real-world contact on stigma of nursing students towards people with mental illness in China. A single group pretest and posttest study design was adopted and total 373 students were recruited whilst 343 completed the course. We integrated the role-play and contact with patients in the routine psychiatric-mental health education. After the education was completed, the students' stigma towards people with mental illness were positively changed (pretest mean score of stigma: 53.77, posttest mean score of stigma: 49.01, 95% CI: 2.63-6.87) and their willingness to care for the people with mental illness was also significantly increased (pretest mean score of willingness: 5.45, posttest mean score of willingness: 7.38, 95% CI: -2.22--1.65). The psychiatric-mental health education especially with integrated role-play and real-world contact is an effective way to reduce nursing students' stigma and negative attitudes towards people with mental illness and increases their willingness to care for people with mental illness.

Cloning and expression of a novel α-galactosidase from Lactobacillus amylolyticus L6 with hydrolytic and transgalactosyl properties.

Lactobacillus amylolyticus L6, a gram-positive amylolytic bacterium isolated from naturally fermented tofu whey (NFTW), was able to hydrolyze raffinose and stachyose for the production of α-galactosidase. The cell-free extract of L. amylolyticus L6 was found to exhibit glycosyltransferase activity to synthesize α-galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) with melibiose as substrate. The coding genes of α-galactosidase were identified in the genome of L. amylolyticus L6. The α-galactosidase (AglB) was placed into GH36 family by amino acid sequence alignments with other α-galactosidases from lactobacilli. The optimal reaction conditions of pH and temperature for AglB were pH 6.0 and 37°C, respectively. Besides, potassium ion was found to improve the activity of AglB while divalent mercury ion, copper ion and zinc ion displayed different degrees of inhibition effect. Under the optimum reaction condition, AglB could catalyze the synthesis of GOS with degree of polymerization (DP) ≥5 by using 300 mM melibiose concentration as substrate. The maximum yield of GOS with (DP) ≥3 could reach 31.56% (w/w). Transgalactosyl properties made AglB a potential candidate for application in the production of GOS.

Effect of ground ginger on dough and biscuit characteristics and acrylamide content.

Effect of different contents of ground ginger [0%, 1%, 3%, 5%, and 7% (w/w)] on flour quality, dough and biscuit characteristic and acrylamide content were investigated. Texture results showed that by adding 1% (w/w) ground ginger, hardness of dough, hardness and chewiness of biscuit decreased, which was beneficial for biscuit making. Moreover, the L* value of biscuit dropped while the a* and b* value rose with the increase of ginger contents, indicating darker, redder and yellower biscuits. Sensory score of biscuits became worse but acrylamide content reduced with the addition of ground ginger. The phenol hydroxyl group of gingerol played a more important role in the reaction of formation of acrylamide than the side chain. Finally, biscuit with 1% ground ginger content showed good texture, color and acceptable sensory evaluation, as well as lowering the acrylamide content by 6.2%.

Mouse APOBEC1 cytidine deaminase can induce somatic mutations in chromosomal DNA.

BACKGROUND: APOBEC1 (A1) enzymes are cytidine deaminases involved in RNA editing. In addition to this activity, a few A1 enzymes have been shown to be active on single stranded DNA. As two human ssDNA cytidine deaminases APOBEC3A (A3A), APOBEC3B (A3B) and related enzymes across the spectrum of placental mammals have been shown to introduce somatic mutations into nuclear DNA of cancer genomes, we explored the mutagenic threat of A1 cytidine deaminases to chromosomal DNA. RESULTS: Molecular cloning and expression of various A1 enzymes reveal that the cow, pig, dog, rabbit and mouse A1 have an intracellular ssDNA substrate specificity. However, among all the enzymes studied, mouse A1 appears to be singular, being able to introduce somatic mutations into nuclear DNA with a clear 5'TpC editing context, and to deaminate 5-methylcytidine substituted DNA which are characteristic features of the cancer related mammalian A3A and A3B enzymes. However, mouse A1 activity fails to elicit formation of double stranded DNA breaks, suggesting that mouse A1 possess an attenuated nuclear DNA mutator phenotype reminiscent of human A3B. CONCLUSIONS: At an experimental level mouse APOBEC1 is remarkable among 12 mammalian A1 enzymes in that it represents a source of somatic mutations in mouse genome, potentially fueling oncogenesis. While the order Rodentia is bereft of A3A and A3B like enzymes it seems that APOBEC1 may well substitute for it, albeit remaining much less active. This modifies the paradigm that APOBEC3 and AID enzymes are the sole endogenous mutator enzymes giving rise to off-target editing of mammalian genomes.

Predictors of self-neglect among community-dwelling older adults living alone in China.

Little is known about the prevalence of self-neglect and its predictors among community-dwelling older adults living alone in China. The present study was conducted among 181 older adults living alone in Nanjing, China. Self-neglect was assessed using a self-neglect screening scale. Participants' sociodemographic data, social network, functional ability, cognitive function, and depression level were also collected through a set of questionnaires. The prevalence of self-neglect among this group of older adults was 23.2%, which is comparative to their counterparts in Korea and in the United States. Only depression (ß = 0.361, p < 0.001) and monthly income (ß = -0.159, p = 0.025) were identified as significant predictors of self-neglect, accounting for 27.1% of the variance. Understanding self-neglect and its predictive factors is essential to provide culturally relevant and tailored interventions to enhance the confidence and self-care abilities of older adults to maintain their health and well-being.

In Vitro Gastrointestinal Digestibility of Crystalline Oil-in-Water Emulsions: Influence of Fat Crystal Structure.

To investigate how the fat crystal structure affects lipid in vitro digestibility, 30% palm stearin-in-water emulsions were prepared after storage at different temperatures (4, 25, and 37 °C) for 1 h, which consisted of different polymorphic forms, sizes, and quantities of fat crystals. The variation of particle size ( d4,3), zeta potential, and microstructure during the gastrointestinal digestion and the free fatty acid (FFA) released in small intestine phase were investigated. After oral and gastric digestion, all of the emulsions underwent partial or complete coalescence and flocculation. During intestinal digestion, the d4,3 and zeta potentials did not notably affect lipid digestion. The FFA-released assay results indicated that the lipid digestion extent decreased as the fat crystal size and content of the ß polymorph increased, and there was no obvious relationship between FFA release and fat crystal quantity or solid fat content (SFC). This study highlighted the crucial roles of fat crystal size and polymorphic form in regulating the digestion behavior of lipid-based O/W emulsions.

Digestibility of glycated milk proteins and the peptidomics of their in vitro digests.

BACKGROUND: Milk proteins are widely used in food production and are often glycated by reducing sugar. Although many studies have reported the digestibility of glycated milk protein, most have focused on measuring degree of hydrolysis (DH), showing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) image of digests. Detailed information on the changes in peptide composition of digests has seldom been revealed. Therefore, in addition to measuring the DH and showing the SGS-PAGE images of digests, we also analyzed the peptidomics in digests using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) and Mascot database in this work to further reveal the influence of glycation on protein nutrition. RESULTS: Compared with ß-lactoglobulin and bovine serum albumin (BSA), DH of ß-casein was suppressed to a lesser extent by glycation in both gastric and intestinal stages. Aggregates of glycated BSA were less sensitive to the action of digestive enzymes throughout gastrointestinal digestion according to SDS-PAGE images. Changes in the peptide composition of digests induced by glycation were distinctly displayed, showing both absence of peptides and occurrence of new peptides, based on the results obtained from LC-ESI-MS/MS. CONCLUSIONS: Glycation can greatly change the peptide composition in digests of milk protein. The nutritional impact of the change in the peptide composition requires further investigation, and the impact of MRPs in unabsorbed digests on the gut flora should be an interesting field for further studies. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

miR-370 promotes high glucose-induced podocyte injuries by inhibiting angiotensin II type 1 receptor-associated protein.

miRNAs expression profiles in podocyte injuries have been reported in different models in vivo and in vitro. In the present study, miR-370 was elevated in high glucose-stimulated podocyte, and the post-transcriptional mechanism of miR-370 was investigated in high glucose-induced podocyte injuries. The gene and protein levels were assayed by RT-qPCR and Western blotting, respectively. Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide (PI) staining was used to evaluate the apoptosis in high glucose-stimulated podocyte. The targeted genes were predicted by a bioinformatics algorithm and confirmed by a dual luciferase reporter assay. The results demonstrated that over-activation of miR-370 was verified in high glucose-treated podocytes, while miR-370 repression protected against high glucose-induced apoptosis, cell membrane, and DNA damage in podocytes. We also found that AGTRAP as a direct target of miR-370 served as an opposite effect to miR-370, and overexpression of AGTRAP blocked high glucose-induced podocytes dysfunction. In conclusions, high glucose-induced podocytes damage by activating miR-370 signaling targeted to inhibit the expression of AGTRAP, representing a novel and promising therapeutic target for the treatment of DN.

Physicochemical Properties and Chemical Stability of ß-Carotene Bilayer Emulsion Coated with Bovine Serum Albumin and Arabic Gum Compared to Monolayer Emulsions.

ß-carotene is a lipophilic micronutrient that is considered beneficial to human health. However, there are some limitations in utilizing ß-carotene in functional foods or dietary supplements currently because of its poor water dispersibility and chemical stability. A new type of ß-carotene bilayer emulsion delivery system was prepared by a layer-by-layer electrostatic deposition technique, for which were chosen bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the inner emulsifier and Arabic gum (GA) as the outer emulsifier. The physicochemical properties of bilayer emulsions were mainly characterized by droplet size distribution, zeta potential, rheological behavior, Creaming Index (CI), and encapsulation ratio of ß-carotene. Besides this, the effects of processing conditions (pH, thermal treatment, UV radiation, strong oxidant) and storage time on the chemical stability of bilayer emulsions were also evaluated. The bilayer emulsion had a small droplet size (221.27 ± 5.17 nm) and distribution (PDI = 0.23 ± 0.02), strong zeta potential (-30.37 ± 0.71 mV), good rheological behavior (with the highest viscosity that could reduce the possibility of flocculation) and physical stability (CI = 0), high ß-carotene encapsulation ratio (94.35 ± 0.71%), and low interfacial tension (40.81 ± 0.86 mN/m). It also obtained better chemical stability under different environmental stresses when compared with monolayer emulsions studied, because it had a dense and thick bilayer structure.

Rice Stripe Virus Infection Alters mRNA Levels of Sphingolipid-Metabolizing Enzymes and Sphingolipids Content in Laodelphax striatellus.

Sphingolipids and their metabolites have been implicated in viral infection and replication in mammal cells but how their metabolizing enzymes in the host are regulated by viruses remains largely unknown. Here we report the identification of 12 sphingolipid genes and their regulation by Rice stripe virus in the small brown planthopper (Laodelphax striatellus Fallén), a serious pest of rice throughout eastern Asia. According to protein sequence similarity, we identified 12 sphingolipid enzyme genes in L. striatellus. By comparing their mRNA levels in viruliferous versus nonviruliferous L. striatellus at different life stages by qPCR, we found that RSV infection upregulated six genes (LsCGT1, LsNAGA1, LsSGPP, LsSMPD4, LsSMS, and LsSPT) in most stages of L. striatellus Especially, four genes (LsCGT1, LsSMPD2, LsNAGA1, and LsSMS) and another three genes (LsNAGA1, LsSGPP, and LsSMS) were significantly upregulated in viruliferous third-instar and fourth-instar nymphs, respectively. HPLC-MS/MS results showed that RSV infection increased the levels of various ceramides, such as Cer18:0, Cer20:0, and Cer22:0 species, in third and fourth instar L. striatellus nymphs. Together, these results demonstrate that RSV infection alters the transcript levels of various sphingolipid enzymes and the contents of sphingolipids in L. striatellus, indicating that sphingolipids may be important for RSV infection or replication in L. striatellus.

Paeoniflorin ameliorates ANIT-induced cholestasis by activating Nrf2 through an PI3K/Akt-dependent pathway in rats.

Cholestasis causes hepatic accumulation of bile acids leading to liver injury, fibrosis and liver failure. Paeoniflorin, the major active compound isolated from the roots of Paeonia lactiflora pall and Paeonia veitchii Lynch, is extensively used for liver diseases treatment in China. However, the mechanism of paeoniflorin's hepatoprotective effect on cholestasis has not been investigated yet. In this study, we administered paeoniflorin to rats for 3 days prior to alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT) administration for once, then went on administering paeoniflorin to rats for 3 days. The data demonstrated that paeoniflorin significantly prevented ANIT-induced change in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphates (ALP), serum total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), total bile acid (TBA) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT). Histology examination revealed that paeoniflorin treatment rats relieved more liver injury and bile duct proliferation than ANIT-administered rats. Moreover, our data indicated that paeoniflorin could restore glutathione (GSH) and its related synthase glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLc) and glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit (GCLm) in ANIT-treated group. In addition, the RNA and protein expression of Akt and nuclear factor-E2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) were also activated by paeoniflorin in ANIT-induced rats. These findings indicated that paeoniflorin protected ANIT-induced cholestasis and increased GSH synthesis by activating Nrf2 through PI3K/Akt-dependent pathway. Therefore, paeoniflorin might be a potential therapeutic agent for cholestasis.

Tangeretin exerts anti-neuroinflammatory effects via NF-κB modulation in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated microglial cells.

Increasing evidence suggests that tangeretin, a flavonoid from citrus fruit peels, exhibits anti-inflammatory properties and neuroprotective effects in animal disease models. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not clearly understood. In this study, we investigated whether tangeretin suppresses excessive microglial activation implicated in the resulting neurotoxicity following stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in primary rat microglia and BV-2 microglial cell culture models. The results showed that tangeretin decreased the production of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, it inhibited the LPS-induced expression of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) (examined at the protein level) as well as TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 (examined at the mRNA level) in microglial cells. To explore the possible mechanisms underlying these inhibitions by tangeretin, we examined the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) protein levels and the NF-κB protein signaling pathway. Tangeretin clearly inhibited LPS-induced phosphorylation of ERK, N-terminal Kinase (JNK), and p38. In addition, tangeretin markedly reduced LPS-stimulated phosphorylation of IκB-α and IKK-ß, as well as the nuclear translocation of the p65 subunit of pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB. Taken together, these results support further exploration of the therapeutic potential and molecular mechanism of tangeretin in relation to neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative diseases accompanied by microglial activation.