Effects of Yucca schidigera extract on serum biochemical parameters, humoral immune response, and intestinal health in young pigeons

Thiacloprid exposure disrupts the gut-liver axis and induces liver dysfunction in the Reeves' turtles (Mauremys reevesii)

As one of the neonicotinoid insecticides, thiacloprid (THI) is extensively used in agriculture and frequently detected in various aquatic environments, posing a potential threat to aquatic organisms. However, the effects of THI exposure on aquatic turtles remain unknown. In this study, we focused on investigating whether THI has a toxic effect on the gut-liver axis in aquatic turtles. The Reeves' turtles (Mauremys reevesii) were exposed to 0.0178 μM, 6 μM, and 60 μM THI for 5 consecutive weeks. The results revealed that THI altered the composition of intestinal flora, with a decrease in the relative abundance of Romboutsia, and an increase in Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Cetobacterium, Enterococcus. This disruption of the intestinal barrier led to an increase in lipopolysaccharide (LPS), THI, and other harmful substances entering the liver. Metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses indicated that metabolic dysregulation and differences in gene expression were concentrated in amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism, ultimately resulting in severe liver damage and steatosis. Furthermore, elevated levels of liver function indicators, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bile acid (TBA), and triglyceride (TG), were positively correlated with increased THI concentrations. Our findings demonstrate that THI impairs the intestinal barrier and causes liver dysfunction and damage in turtles, providing new insights into evaluating the toxic effects of thiacloprid on aquatic organisms.

Effects of Yucca Extract on Nutrient Digestibility, Antioxidant Status, Estrus and Faecal Microorganism in Gilts

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of yucca extract (YE) supplementation on estrus, nutrient digestibility, antioxidant capacity and fecal microorganisms of gilts. Twenty gilts were randomly divided into two groups: basal diet (CONT) and basal diet + 0.25 g/kg YE (YETG). The results showed that supplementing 0.25 g/kg YE in the diet of gilts significantly increased the apparent digestibility of dietary energy, crude fat and crude protein (p < 0.05). In addition, YE could also improve the antioxidant capacity of gilts, significantly increase the serum total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) activity and decrease the malondialdehyde (MDA) content of gilts (p < 0.05). In terms of fecal microorganisms, YE significantly increased the Shannon index and Simpson index of fecal microorganisms of gilts (p < 0.05), decreased the abundance of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota and Streptococcus sp., and increased the abundance of Muribaculaceae and Prevotalla sp. in the feces of gilts (p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary YE increased the apparent digestibility of nutrients, improved the antioxidant status of gilts and increased the α diversity of fecal microorganisms. These results provide a reference for the application of YE in gilts production.

Effect of drying temperature on composition of edible mushrooms: Characterization and assessment via HS-GC-MS and IR spectral based volatile profiling and chemometrics

Edible wild mushrooms are one of the popular ingredients due to their high quality and unique flavor and nutrients. To gain insight into the effect of drying temperature on its composition, 86 Boletus bainiugan were divided into 5 groups and dried at different temperatures. Headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) was used for the identification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of Boletus bainiugan. The 21 differential VOCs that distinguish different drying temperatures of Boletus bainiugan were identified. 65 °C retained more VOCs. There were differences in their types and content at different temperatures, proteins, polysaccharides, crude fibers, and fats. Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2DCOS) images were successfully characterized for differences in the chemical composition of Boletus bainiugan. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) verified the variability in the chemical composition of Boletus bainiugan with the coefficient of determination (R2) = 0.95 and predictive performance (Q2) = 0.75 with 92.31% accuracy. Next, infrared spectroscopy provides a fast and efficient assessment of the content of Boletus bainiugan nutrients (proteins, polysaccharides, crude fibers, and fats).

Salicylic acid modulates secondary metabolism and enhanced colchicine accumulation in long yellow daylily (Hemerocallis citrina)

Salicylic acid (SA) is an essential phytoregulator that is widely used to promote the synthesis of high-value nutraceuticals in plants. However, its application in daylily, an ornamental plant highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine, has not been reported. Herein, we investigated the exogenous SA-induced physiological, transcriptional and biochemical changes in long yellow daylily (LYD). We found that 2 mg/L foliar SA treatment significantly improved LYD plant growth and yield. Transcriptome sequencing and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) analysis revealed that the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis, sulfur metabolism, plant hormone signal transduction and tyrosine metabolism were significantly induced in SA-treated leaves. Many transcription factors and antioxidant system-related DEGs were induced under the SA treatment. Biochemical analyses showed that the leaf contents of soluble sugar, soluble protein (Cpr), ascorbic acid (AsA) and colchicine were significantly increased by 15.15% (from 30.16 ± 1.301 to 34.73 ± 0.861 mg/g), 19.54% (from 60.3 ± 2.227 to 72.08 ± 1.617 mg/g), 30.45% (from 190.1 ± 4.56 to 247.98 ± 11.652 μg/g) and 73.05% (from 3.08 ± 0.157 to 5.33 ± 0.462 μg/g), respectively, under the SA treatment. Furthermore, we identified 15 potential candidate genes for enhancing the growth, production and phytochemical content of LYD. Our results provide support for the bioaccumulation of colchicine in yellow daylily and valuable resources for biotechnological-assisted production of this important nutraceutical in Hemerocallis spp.

Integrative transcriptome and metabolome analysis reveals the discrepancy in the accumulation of active ingredients between Lycium barbarum cultivars

MAIN CONCLUSION

The combined analysis of transcriptome and metabolome provided molecular insight into the dynamics of multiple active ingredients biosynthesis and accumulation across different cultivars of Lycium barbarum. Lycium barbarum L. has a high concentration of active ingredients and is well known in traditional Chinese herbal medicine for its therapeutic properties. However, there are many Lycium barbarum cultivars, and the content of active components varies, resulting in inconsistent quality between Lycium barbarum cultivars. At present, few research has been conducted to reveal the difference in active ingredient content among different cultivars of Lycium barbarum at the molecular level. Therefore, the transcriptome of 'Ningqi No.1' and 'Qixin No.1' during the three development stages (G, T, and M) was constructed in this study. A total of 797,570,278 clean reads were obtained. Between the two types of wolfberries, a total of 469, 2394, and 1531 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the 'G1 vs. G10,' 'T1 vs. T10,' and 'M1 vs. M10,' respectively, and were annotated with Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) orthology identifiers. Using these transcriptome data, most DEGs related to the metabolism of the active ingredients in 'Ningqi No.1' and 'Qixin No.1' were identified. Moreover, a widely targeted metabolome analysis of the metabolites of 'Ningqi 1' and 'Qixin 1' fruits at the maturity stage revealed 1,135 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) in 'M1 vs. M10,' and many DEMs were associated with active ingredients such as flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and so on. We further quantified the flavonoid, lignin, and carotenoid contents of the two Lycium barbarum cultivars during the three developmental stages. The present outcome provided molecular insight into the dynamics of multiple active ingredients biosynthesis and accumulation across different cultivars of Lycium barbarum, which would provide the basic data for the formation of Lycium barbarum fruit quality and the breeding of outstanding strains.

A neutral polysaccharide from Persicaria hydropiper (L.) Spach ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced intestinal barrier injury via regulating the gut microbiota and modulating AKT/PI3K/mTOR and MAPK signaling pathways

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Persicaria hydropiper (L.) Spach, a herb that is prevalent across Asia and Europe, finds utility as both a culinary ingredient and medicinal herb. In China, P. hydropiper decoction is commonly employed to alleviate dysentery, gastroenteritis, and diarrhea symptoms.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To assess the effects of a neutral polysaccharide from P. hydropiper (PHP) on the intestinal barrier (IB) injury induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice, and elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PHP was extracted from dried P. hydropiper herb using hot water extraction, followed by ethanol precipitation. The extract underwent successive isolation and purification steps involving anion-exchange and gel filtration chromatography. The primary structure of PHP was determined using Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy, ion chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Male BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to control (CON), model (MOD), berberine hydrochloride (BBR), and PHP (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) groups. Histopathological changes in jejunal tissues were assessed through hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. The expression levels of proteins and genes involved in AKT/PI3K/mTOR and MAPK signaling pathways were evaluated using qRT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The composition and abundance of the gut microbiota in mice were analyzed using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Additionally, the concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were determined using GC-MS.

RESULTS

The main components of PHP included arabinose, galactose, and glucose (molar ratio = 1.00:5.52:11.39). The backbone of PHP consisted of →4)-Glcp-(1→, →4,6)-Glcp-(1→, →4)-Galp-(1→, →4,6)-Galp-(1→. The branched chains primarily consisted of 5)-Araf-(1→ residues, which were attached to the backbone through →6)-Glcp-(1→ and →6)-Galp-(1→ at the 6-position. Histological analysis demonstrated that PHP exhibited a mitigating effect on intestinal damage induced by LPS. PHP could markedly reduce the mRNA levels of PI3K, AKT, mTOR, p70 S6K, Ras, Raf1, MEK1/2, p38, ERK1/2, and JNK, while downregulating the protein levels of p-mTOR, p-PI3K, p-AKT, p-p38, p-ERK, and p-JNK. PHP also modulated the diversities and abundances of the gut microbiota, resulting in an increase in the abundances of Lactobacillaceae, Anaerovoracaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Eggerthellaceae, and Desulfovibrionaceae and a decrease in the abundances of Muribaculaceae, Prevotellaceae, and Rikenellaceae. Additionally, PHP significantly increased the content of various SCFAs.

CONCLUSION

PHP emerges as a pivotal factor in the repair of IB injury by virtue of its ability to regulate the gut microbiota, elevate SCFA levels, and inhibit the MAPK and AKT/PI3K/mTOR pathways. It is worth noting that the therapeutic effect of high-dose PHP was remarkably significant, surpassing even the positive control of berberine hydrochloride.

Transcriptional deciphering of the metabolic pathways associated with the bioactive ingredients of wolfberry species with different quality characteristics

BACKGROUND

Wolfberry is rich in carotenoids, flavonoids, vitamins, alkaloids, betaines and other bioactive ingredients. For over 2,000 years, wolfberry has been used in China as a medicinal and edible plant resource. Nevertheless, the content of bioactive ingredients varies by cultivars, resulting in uneven quality across wolfberry cultivars and species. To date, research has revealed little about the underlying molecular mechanism of the metabolism of flavonoids, carotenoids, and other bioactive ingredients in wolfberry.

RESULTS

In this context, the transcriptomes of the Lycium barbarum L. cultivar 'Ningqi No. 1' and Lycium chinense Miller were compared during the fruit maturity stage using the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 sequencing platform, and subsequently, the changes of the gene expression profiles in two types of wolfberries were analysed. In total, 256,228,924 clean reads were obtained, and 8817 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, then assembled by Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) similarity searches and annotated using Gene Ontology (GO), Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins (KOG), and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). By combining these transcriptome data with data from the PubMed database, 36 DEGs related to the metabolism of bioactive ingredients and implicated in the metabolic pathway of carotenoids, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, vitamins, etc., were identified. In addition, among the 9 differentially expressed transcription factors, LbAPL, LbPHL11 and LbKAN4 have raised concerns. The protein physicochemical properties, structure prediction and phylogenetic analysis indicated that LbAPL and LbPHL11 may be good candidate genes involved in regulating the flavonoid metabolism pathway in wolfberry.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides preliminary evidence for the differences in bioactive ingredient content at the transcription level among different wolfberry species, as well as a research and theoretical basis for the screening, cloning and functional analysis of key genes involved in the metabolism of bioactive ingredients in wolfberry.