[Effects of ginseng neutral polysaccharide on gut microbiota in antibiotic-associated diarrhea mice].

To investigate the effect of ginseng neutral polysaccharide on gut microbiota composition and diversity as well as the therapeutic effect for antibiotic associated diarrhea( AAD) in mice. The water-soluble ginseng neutral polysaccharide( WGPN) was purified from water-soluble ginseng polysaccharides( WGP) by DEAE-sepharose fast flow column,which was obtained from the roots of Panax ginseng. AAD mice were induced by gastric gavage with lincomycin hydrochloride,followed by administration of normal saline( natural recovery group,NR) or WGPN( WGPN group) for one week. Body weight changes,psychosis and diarrhea status were observed and assessed. 12 h after the last administration,histological observation of ileum and 16 S rRNA high throughput sequencing analysis of intestinal contents were conducted to identify the effects of WGPN on AAD mice. The results showed that WGPN could alleviate the symptoms of diarrhea in mice,decrease the inflammation and edema of ileum,and increase the length of intestinal villi. As compared to NR mice,WGPN could increase the relative abundance of Lactobacillus,and significantly decrease the relative abundance of Bacteroides,Streptococcus,Ochrobactrum and Pseudomonas at the genus level. In conclusion,WGPN could improve the gut microecology by recovering the ileum structure and improving the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota in AAD mice.

A Comparative Study on the Effects of Different Parts of Panax ginseng on the Immune Activity of Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunosuppressed Mice.

The objective of the present study was to compare the effects of the immunological activity of various parts (root/stem/leaf/flower/seed) of five-year-old ginseng on the immune system of immunosuppressive mice. Immunosuppression was induced by cyclophosphamide (CTX) in the mouse model, whereas levamisole hydrochloride tablet (LTH) was used for the positive control group. We found that ginseng root (GRT), ginseng leaf (GLF), and ginseng flower (GFR) could relieve immunosuppression by increased viability of NK cells, enhanced immune organ index, improved cell-mediated immune response, increased content of CD4⁺ and ratio of CD4⁺/CD8⁺, and recovery of macrophage function, including carbon clearance, phagocytic rate, and phagocytic index, in immunodeficient mice. However, ginseng stem (GSM) and ginseng seed (GSD) could only enhance the thymus indices, carbon clearance, splenocyte proliferation, NK cell activities, and the level of IL-4 in immunosuppressed mice. In CTX-injected mice, GRT and GFR remarkably increased the protein expression of Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1, SOD1, SOD2, and CAT in the spleen. As expected, oral administration of GRT and GFR markedly enhanced the production of cytokines, such as IL-1ß, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ, and TNF-α, compared with the CTX-induced immunosuppressed mice, and GRT and GFR did this relatively better than GSM, GLF, and GSD. This study provides a theoretical basis for further study on different parts of ginseng.

Study on Antidepressant Activity of Pseudo-Ginsenoside HQ on Depression-Like Behavior in Mice.

Suppressive effects of ginsenoside Rh2 (Rh2), (24R)-pseudo-ginsenoside HQ (R-PHQ), and (24S)-pseudo-ginsenoside HQ (S-PHQ) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depression-like behavior were evaluated using the forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) in mice. Pretreatment with Rh2, R-PHQ, and S-PHQ significantly decreased immobility time in FST and TST with clear dose-dependence, and significantly downregulated levels of serum tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6, and upregulated superoxide dismutase activity in the hippocampus of LPS-challenged mice. Furthermore, R-PHQ and S-PHQ significantly increased the expression of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB), sirtuin type 1 (Sirt1), and nuclear-related factor 2, and inhibited the phosphorylation of inhibitor of κB-α and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in the hippocampus of LPS-challenged mice. Additionally, the antidepressant-like effect of R-PHQ was found related to the dopaminergic (DA), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic, and noradrenaline systems, while the antidepressive effect of S-PHQ was involved in the DA and GABAergic systems. Taken together, these results suggested that Rh2, R-PHQ, and S-PHQ produced significant antidepressant-like effects, which may be related to the BDNF/TrkB and Sirt1/NF-κB signaling pathways.

Changes of serum iron and serum ferritin in children with vasovagal syncope / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To explore the changes of serum iron (SI)level and serum ferritin (SF) level in children with vasovagal syncope(VVS).Methods Twenty-one children [12 male,9 famel,8-14 years old,mean(11.71 ±2.31) years old] were enrolled in this study,who came from children syncope out-patient department or in-patient department of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from May 2011 to Apr.2012,complaining of syncope or pre-syncope symptoms and turned out to be head-up tilt testing(HUTF) positive,compared with 18 healthy children(healthy control group).All the children were taken blood in the early morning with empty stomach to measure blood SI,SF,hemoglobin(Hb),hematocrit value(Hct) and average red blood cell volume(MCV).The SPSS 16.0 software was used for statistical analysis.Results 1.Age and gender differences were found no statistical significance in syncope group and healthy control group(all P ＞ 0.05).2.SI level in syncope group was lower than that in healthy control group [(15.15 ± 4.55) μmol/L vs (18.24 ± 4.15) μmol/L,P ＜ 0.05].SF level in syncope group was lower than that in healthy control group [(59.10 ± 26.81) μg/L vs (79.83 ± 33.58) μg/L,P ＜ 0.05].Hct level in syncope group was higher than that in healthy control group [(40.19 ± 3.44) ％ vs (38.01 ± 2.68) ％,P ＜ 0.05].3.Gender compare in syncope group:there were no statistical difference in SI,SF,Hct,MCV and Hb between male and female vasovagal syncope patients(all P ＞ 0.05).4.There were no statistically significant differences in SI,SF,Hb,Hct and MCV between recurrent syncope and accidental syncope (all P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions SI,SF level reduce in VVS children,and there was no gender difference.