The polysaccharides from seeds of Glycyrrhiza uralensis ameliorate metabolic disorders and restructure gut microbiota in type 2 diabetic mice.

T2D and its complications are significant threats to human health and are among the most concerning metabolic diseases worldwide. Previous studies have revealed that Glycyrrhiza uralensis polysaccharide extract (GUP) exhibits remarkable antioxidant capabilities and inhibits alpha-glucosidase activity. However, whether GUP improves glycemic control in T2D is unknown. This study aims to investigate the effects of GUP on glucose and lipid metabolism as well as the intestinal microbiota in HFD/STZ-induced T2D. The results demonstrated that GUP could significantly ameliorate hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and reduce liver lipid levels in T2D mice. Furthermore, it also enhanced the integrity of the intestinal barrier in T2D mice by reducing the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and serum LPS levels. Interestingly, GUP treatment significantly lowered serum creatinine and urea nitrogen levels, mitigating renal function deterioration and interstitial fibrosis. Additionally, GUP intervention increased the α diversity of gut microbiota, promoting beneficial species like Akkermansia, Lactobacillus, Romboutsia and Faecalibaculum, while decreasing harmful ones such as Bacteroides, Escherichia-Shigella, and Clostridium sensu stricto 1 in T2D mice. Overall, this study highlights the potential of GUP in alleviating complications and enhancing intestinal health in T2D mice, providing valuable insights into dietary strategies for diabetes control and overall health improvement.

Multidisciplinary rehabilitation intervention on mobility and hemodynamics of joint contracture animal model.

BACKGROUND: Joint contracture causes a decrease in range of motion (ROM), which severely affects activities of daily living of patients. We have investigated the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation on joint contracture by rat model. METHODS: We used 60 Wistar rats in this study. The rats were divided into five groups as follows: group 1 was the normal control group; except the group 1, we created left hind limb knee joint contracture using Nagai method for other four groups. The joint contracture modeling group 2 was the model control group for monitoring the spontaneous recovery, and other three groups were given different rehabilitation treatments; for example, group 3 was treadmill running group; group 4 was medication group; group 5 was treadmill running plus medication group. The left hind limbs knee joint ROM and the femoral blood flow indicators (FBFI) including PS, ED, RI, and PI were measured right before and after the 4 weeks of rehabilitation. RESULT: After 4 weeks of rehabilitation treatments, the measured values of ROM and FBFI are compared with the corresponding values of group 2. Firstly, we did not see clear difference in the values of ROM and FBFI for group 2 before and after 4 weeks spontaneous recovery. The improvement of left lower limb ROM for group 4 and group 5 as compared to the group 2 was statistically significant (p < 0.05), whereas a less recovery for group 3 was observed. However as compared to the group 1, we did not observe full recovery in ROM of group 4 and group 5 after 4 weeks of rehabilitation. The PS and ED level for rehabilitation treatment groups was significantly higher than those modeling ones (Tables 2, 3,  Figs. 4, 5), while the RI and PI values show the contrary trends (Tables 4, 5, Figs. 6, 7). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatments had a curative effect on both contracture of joints and the abnormal femoral circulations.

Preparation and sulfate modified of Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl polysaccharide and its immune-enhancing adjuvant activity.

Herbal polysaccharides and their modifiers used as vaccine adjuvants have been widely investigated due to their safety and good immunoenhancing activity. In this study, the 50% ethanol concentration precipitated Lagenaria siceraria(Molina) standl polysaccharide (LSP50) and sulfated modified LSP50 (sLSP50) was prepared, and their characterization was investigated. LSP50 and sLSP50-1.5 were used as vaccine adjuvants to immunize chickens, and the strength and type of immune responses induced by different adjuvants were detected. Our results showed that LSP50 was homogeneous polysaccharides, and the carbohydrate content was 98.6%. The sLSP50-1.5 with the DS value of 1.5 was optimized by response surface methodology. The sLSP50-1.5 has both characteristics of polysaccharide functional groups and sulfate functional groups. Adjuvant activity of LSP50 and sLSP50-1.5 showed that LSP50 and sLSP50-1.5 could induce long-lasting and high hemagglutination (HI) titers, antigen-specific lgG-NDV antibody, splenic lymphocyte proliferation, high immune organ index. Moreover, chicken immunized with sLSP50-1.5 showed a strong mixed Th1-type (IFN-γ and TNF-α) and Th2-type (IL-4 and IL-6) cytokines expression. Thus, these findings demonstrated that sLSP50-1.5 as a vaccine adjuvant can induce a mixed cellular and humoral immune response and can potentially serve as an effective vaccine adjuvant for NDV antigen.

Exploring the mechanism of citric acid for treating glucose metabolism disorder induced by hyperlipidemia.

Citric acid is a crucial organic in our daily life. The effect and mechanism of citric acid on glucose metabolism disorder induced by hyperlipidemia were explored by hyperlipidemic rat models which were established and treated with Xuezhikang and citric acid for 40 days. The results showed that citric acid significantly decreased liver index and reduced levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, while increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. And citric acid observably decreased blood glucose and insulin resistance index, as well as increasing insulin sensitivity. Meanwhile, citric acid dramatically down-regulated mRNA and protein expression levels of glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) (p < .01) and up-regulated those of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT-4) (p < .01). And significantly increased the contents of acetic, propionic and butyric acids (p < .01). These findings suggest that citric acid can regulate blood lipid levels in hyperlipidemic rats, reduce the resistance induced by hyperlipidemia, and improve insulin sensitivity. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: These findings suggest that citric acid can regulate blood lipid levels in hyperlipidemic rats, reduce the resistance induced by hyperlipidemia, and improve insulin sensitivity. and provide a theoretical basis for the application of citric acid in diseases related to glucose metabolism disorders.

Isolation, structural characterization, biological activity, and application of Glycyrrhiza polysaccharides: Systematic review.

Glycyrrhiza, one of the most widely used Chinese herbal medicines, is a perennial plant with good medicinal value. Polysaccharides as one of the main bioactive components of Glycyrrhiza, mainly composed of arabinose, glucose, galactose, rhamnose, mannose, xylose, and galacturonic acid in different proportions and types of glycosidic bonds. Glycyrrhiza polysaccharides (GP) have many biological activities, such as anti-oxidation, immune regulation, anti-tumor, apoptosis, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and regulation of intestinal flora. In this paper, relevant articles on the isolations, structural characterizations, and biological activities of GP published in the last 15 years (2006-2020) were referred to for a systematic review of the species. A total of 947 articles were searched from the database including NCBI, Science Direct, Web of Science, and How Net, and 109 of them were cited on the summarization of the past scientific researches of the polysaccharides of Glycyrrhiza genus. We hope that this work may provide new insights for further study and development of Glycyrrhiza.

Isolations, characterizations and bioactivities of polysaccharides from the seeds of three species Glycyrrhiza.

In this paper, polysaccharides from the seeds of three species of genus Glycyrrhiza were extracted to investigate the physicochemical properties, structural characteristics and antioxidant activities. The polysaccharides were composed of xylose, mannose, galactose, and glucose with different molar ratio. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed the presence of key functional groups of polysaccharides whereas scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed the characteristic morphology of different polysaccharides, and thermogravimetric analysis exhibited good thermal stability of all samples. The antioxidant activities of polysaccharides were evaluated in vitro. All the three polysaccharides demonstrated strong reducing power, as well as scavenging activity against DPPH, ABTS, and hydroxyl free radicals. Antioxidant assays indicated that all the polysaccharides have obvious antioxidant activities and possess a potential development and application value in food, cosmetics as well as pharmaceutical industries.

Sequential extraction, characterization and antioxidant activity of polysaccharides from Fritillaria pallidiflora Schrenk.

In this paper, Fritillaria pallidiflora schrenk polysaccharides were extracted with different methods and isolated by anion-exchange and gel-permeation chromatography. Physicochemical properties, structural characteristics and antioxidant activities were investigated for the first time. The polysaccharides composed of glucose, galactose, arabinose, xylose, mannose and rhamnose with different molar ratio and molecular weight. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis exhibited the presence of key functional groups of polysaccharides whereas scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed the characteristic morphology of different fractions. The thermogravimetric analysis manifested the thermal stability of polysaccharides. The reducing power and antioxidant activities of polysaccharides were evaluated in vitro. Among them, the acidic fraction FPSP-H2-1 has a strong antioxidant effect against DPPH, hydroxyl and ABTS free radicals. The results revealed the polysaccharide's important role as potential natural antioxidant agents during the investigation and application of bioactive polysaccharide.

Isolation and Evaluation of Bioactive Protein and Peptide from Domestic Animals' Bone Marrow.

In this work, proteins and peptides were isolated from four kinds of animal bone marrow and characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfatepolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS). The antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of these proteins were investigated in vitro. The nutritional value was evaluated by analyzing their free amino acid composition. The results indicates that all of the extracts appeared two bands at SDS-PAGE, the peptide band at 4.1⁻10 kDa and protein band at 66 kDa, these data are consistent with LC/MS results. FT-IR analysis showed that the secondary structure of protein mainly consists of α-helix. SEM micrographs revealed that the fractions have different morphological characteristics. Horse bone marrow protein (HBMP) showed the highest antioxidant activity to DPPH free radical, IC50 value was 0.573 mg/mL. Most of the obtained fractions showed antimicrobial activities towards Escherichiacoli (EC) and Candida albicans (CA). Total free amino acid content ranged between 5.15⁻49.60 mg/g, and among them, HBMP displayed the highest abundance, 49.7 mg/g, which amino acid composition ratio approached the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) ideal amino acid pattern recommendation. This study provides fundamental knowledge and a basic study method for the research into and development of animal bone marrow proteins and peptides as functional food and drug resources.

Comparative study of different extract methods for protein and peptides from Chinese medicine bovine bone marrow / 中草药

Objective: To study the extraction method, structure information, and antimicrobial activity of the protein and polypeptide components from Chinese medicine bovine bone marrow (BBM) for improvement of its medicinal value. Methods: Ten kinds of extraction and three kinds of preparation methods were used to take the protein content, extraction rate, degree of hydrolysis, antimicrobial activity, and molecular weight as investigation index to screen optimal extraction ability and preparation parts of bovine bone marrow protein (BBMP) and polypeptide. Results: The comprehensive evaluation index of protein extracted in water, NaCl, and Tris-HCl solutions was high, their contents were (52.20 ± 0.58), (50.19 ± 0.21), and (43.21 ± 0.05) mg/mL, respectively. The antimicrobial ability was related to protein content. The SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the proteins from BBM contained approximately secondary subunits which related to protein and peptide with molecular weight in the range of 66 000 and 4 100- 10 000. The LC/MS data showed that the molecular weight of peptide extracted in water, 0.5 mol/L sodium chloride, and 30% (NH4)2SO4 solutions were 1 027.84-9 916.32, 1 131.17-4 989.95, and 1 150.46-9 917.00, respectively, and the results were basically consistent with 1-DE electrophoresis bands. Conclusion: Water extraction method is simple, and fast with relatively low cost, which is suitable for industrial production of BBMP. The SDS-PAGE and LC/MS method is adopted to analyze and provide a theoretical basis for construction of BBMP fingerprint.

Exopolysaccharide-Based Bioflocculant Matrix of Azotobacter chroococcum XU1 for Synthesis of AgCl Nanoparticles and Its Application as a Novel Biocidal Nanobiomaterial.

A simple and green method was developed for the biosynthesis of AgCl nanoparticles, free from Ag nanoparticles, using the exopolysaccharide-based bioflocculant of nitrogen fixing Azotobacter chroococcum XU1 strain. AgCl nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform-Infra Red (FT-IR) and Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX). The concentration-dependent and controllable method for the synthesis of AgCl nanoparticles of a certain size and morphology was developed. As-synthesized AgCl nanoparticles were characterized bya high content of AgCl and exhibited strong antimicrobial activity towards pathogenic microorganisms such as E. coli, S. aureus and C. albicans. The biofabricated AgCl nanoparticles can be exploited as a promising new biocidalbionanocomposite against pathogenic microorganisms.

Overview of application and research of Echinops genus in Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

Asteraceae Echionopos (Echinops genus) is one of the world's plants commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine herbs. In this paper, a lot of literature on the basis of domestic and foreign, and modern research on the application of medicinal plants in different ethnic groups in our country Echionopos made a brief presentation and evaluation, and its in Chinese Han, Mongolian, Uygur, Kazak, Korean and other ethnic groups in the application of traditional medicine and related research conducted profiles. To further comprehensive and accurate use of the abundant plant resources and research, in order to find biologically active natural products, provide reference basis for the clinical application of new drugs developed and expanded drug source.