Anemia among rural children aged 3-6 in central China and its association with dietary behaviors / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To understand the status of anemia among rural children aged 3-6 in central China and its relationship with dietary behavior, and to provide reference for prevention and intervention of anemia in rural children.@*Methods@#From April to June 2021, stratified cluster sampling was used to select 1 246 preschool children aged 3 to 6 years old in rural areas in central China. Peripheral blood of the ring finger was collected. Dietary behaviors regarding consumption of cereals and potatoes, fruits, vegetables, soy products, milk, animal foods, food diversity, and drinking water were investigated. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between anemia and dietary behaviors.@*Results@#The detection rate of anemia in rural children aged 3-6 in central China was 13.88%. The anemia detection rate of left behind children (19.00%) was higher than that of non left behind children (11.27%), and the difference was statistically significant ( χ 2=13.93, P <0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that the proportion of left behind children ( OR=1.28, 95%CI =1.16-1.56) with anemia was higher than that of non left behind children ( P <0.01). Consumption of animal food intake ≥3 times/week ( OR=0.82, 95%CI =0.69-0.91), and ≥2 kinds of vegetables ( OR= 0.86, 95%CI =0.71-0.93) were associated with lower rate of anemia ( P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#The detection rate of anemia in rural children aged 3-6 years in central China is relatively high, especially in left behind children. Dietary literacy of caregivers should be further improved regarding increased intake of animal foods and vegetables to reduce the risk for anemia in preschoolers.

Preparation, characterization, and bioactivity evaluation of oligosaccharides from Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC.

Sixteen oligosaccharide monomers with the degree of polymerization 3 to 18 (DP 3 to DP 18) and three active fractions (DP 3-9, DP 8-11, and DP 11-17) were separated from Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. by optimized fast protein liquid chromatography coupled with refractive index detector (FPLC-RID) and preparation hydrophilic interaction chromatography (Pre-HILIC). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS), liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and methylation analysis showed that the oligosaccharide in A. lancea was 1-kestose [ß-D-fructofuranosyl-(2 â†’ 1)-ß-D-fructofuranosyl-(2 â†’ 1)-α-D-glucopyranoside] (inulin-type fructooligosaccharides, FOS). Particularly, DP 3-9 showed the best capacity in stimulating phagocytic, NO, and cytokines production on RAW264.7 cells than any other purified oligosaccharide monomers and active fractions. It could also activate T-cells in Peyer's patch cells and enhance the production of colony stimulation factors. Besides, FPLC-RID showed a good capacity for large-scale preparation of DP 3-9 with the recovery of more than 93%. The bioactivity of sixteen FOS monomers (DP 3 to DP 18) and three FOS fractions (DP 3-9, DP 8-11, and DP 11-17) investigated in this study are beneficial for the utilization of FOS as a functional ingredient in novel product development.

Oligosaccharide-based quality evaluation of Atractylodis rhizome and a strategy for simplifying its quality control.

BACKGROUND: Atractylodis rhizoma, is the dried rhizomes of Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. or A. chinensis (DC.) Koidz. Both of two are pharmacologically and economically important, while with differences in efficacy. Therefore, an authentication system is vital for evaluation the quality and discrimination adulteration of Atractylodis rhizoma. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which are regarded as functional ingredients in Atractylodis rhizoma, have not been used for quality control of Atractylodis rhizoma for shortage of reference compounds. RESULTS: A HPLC-ELSD method was developed for the quantification of FOS in Atractylodis rhizoma. And chemometrics analysis showed that 2 markers including content of degree of polymerization (DP) 12 and total content of DP 3-15 could be used as the main distinctive elements for quality evaluation of Atractylodis rhizome. Actually, the separation and purification of high DP FOS, such as DP 12, is still a challenge because of high polarity. Then DP 5-based qualification evaluation was investigated for quality control of Atractylodis rhizoma. The results showed that A. lancea and A. chinensis could be clearly separated. CONCLUSIONS: DP 5-based quantification method was credible and effectively adopted for solving the shortage of reference compounds and improving the quality control of Atractylodis rhizoma.

Structural characterization and immunoregulatory activity of two polysaccharides from the rhizomes of Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC.

A neutral polysaccharide (ALP-1) and an acidic polysaccharide (ALP-3) were purified from Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. ALP-1 exhibited a linear backbone composed of (2 → 1)-linked ß-d-fructofuranose. The backbone of ALP-3 was elucidated as →4)-GalAp-(1 → 3,4)-Rhap-(1→, and with branch chain substituted at O-3 position of →3,4)-Rhap-(1→. The branch chain consists of →3,5)-Araf-(1→, →5)-Araf-(1→, and Araf-(1→. Particularly, ALP-3 could significantly stimulate macrophage proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, and stimulate phagocytic, NO and cytokines production than ALP-1 on RAW264.7 cells. Besides, both ALP-1 and ALP-3 could activate T-cells in Peyer's patch cells and enhance the production of colony stimulation factors. While the ALP-3 also showed better intestinal immune system modulating activity than ALP-1. The result of this study indicated that the structure diversity of polysaccharide is crucial for its bioactivity. And also provided evidence for that carbohydrate polymers in A. lancea definitely contributed to its pharmaceutical effects.