Mulberry Ethanol Extract and Rutin Protect Alcohol-Damaged GES-1 Cells by Inhibiting the MAPK Pathway

Mulberry extract has been proven to have the effect of resisting alcohol damage, but its mechanism is still unclear. In this study, the composition of mulberry ethanol extract (MBE) was identified by LC-MS/MS and the main components of MBE were ascertained by measuring. Gastric mucosal epithelial (GES-1) cells were used to elucidate the mechanism of MBE and rutin (the central part of MBE) helped protect against alcohol damage. The results revealed that phenolics accounted for the majority of MBE, accounting for 308.6 mg/g gallic acid equivalents and 108 substances were identified, including 37 flavonoids and 50 non-flavonoids. The treatment of 400 μg/mL MBE and 320 μM rutin reduced early cell apoptosis and the content of intracellular reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde and increased glutathione. The qPCR results indicated that the MBE inhibits the expression of genes in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, including p38, JNK, ERK and caspase-3; rutin inhibits the expression of p38 and caspase-3. Overall, MBE was able to reduce the oxidative stress of GES-1 cells and regulated apoptosis-related genes of the MAPK pathway. This study provides information for developing anti-ethanol injury drugs or functional foods.     

Synthesis,Pharmacokinetic Characterization and Antioxidant Capacity of Carotenoid Succinates and Their Melatonin Conjugates

Carotenoid succinates were synthesized from hydroxy carotenoids and were coupled to a commercially available derivative of melatonin via amide bond for producing more powerful anti-oxidants and yet new hybrid lipophilic bifunctional molecules with additional therapeutic effects. The coupling reactions produced conjugates in acceptable to good yields. Succinylation increased the water solubility of the carotenoids, while the conjugation with melatonin resulted in more lipophilic derivatives. The conjugates showed self-assembly in aqueous medium and yielded relatively stable colloidal solutions in phosphate-buffered saline. Antioxidant behavior was measured with ABTS and the FRAP methods for the carotenoids, the carotenoid succinates, and the conjugates with melatonin. A strong dependence on the quality of the solvent was observed. TEAC values of the new derivatives in phosphate-buffered saline were found to be comparable to or higher than those of parent carotenoids, however, synergism was observed only in FRAP assays.     

Flavonoids from Lycium barbarum Leaves Exhibit Anti-Aging Effects through the Redox-Modulation

Lycium barbarum leaves are a kind of vegetable, and modern nutrition studies have found that they have an anti-aging function. Our study aims to investigate the anti-aging effects of Lycium barbarum leaf flavonoid (LBLF) extracts and its underlying molecular mechanism. LBLFs were purified using D101 and polyamide resin, characterized by ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, and administered to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and Caenorhabditis elegans. Appropriate enrichment conditions were optimized through dynamic adsorption and desorption experiments, the content of flavonoids reached 909.84 mg/g, rutin and kaempferol being the main ones. LBLFs attenuated H₂O₂-induced HUVEC apoptosis, decreased reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde production levels, increased superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities. Furthermore, pre-treatment with LBLF increased mRNA expression of erythropoietin (EPO) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway in HUVECs. Compared with 100 µM rutin monomer, LBLF prolonged the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans, enhanced their mobility in middle life stages and upregulated expression of sod-2, gcs-1 and skn-1 genes, which indicated that the anti-aging effects of LBLF were due to its redox-modulation.     

Seed Priming with Devosia sp. Cell-Free Supernatant (CFS) and Citrus Bioflavonoids Enhance Canola and Soybean Seed Germination

Climate change, environmental pollution and associated abiotic stresses are beginning to meaningfully affect agricultural production worldwide. Salt stress is, however, one of the most important threats that significantly impairs plant growth and development. Plants in their early growth stages such as seed germination, seed emergence and early seedling growth are very sensitive to salt stress. Among the range of sustainable techniques adopted to improve seed germination and early plant growth is seed priming; however, with the use of ecofriendly substances, this is one of the most effective and economically viable techniques to improve seed tolerance against such environmental stresses. For instance, priming with appropriate non-synthetic compounds including microbial biostimulants are prominent ways to sustainably address these challenges. Therefore, in this research, by using the “priming technique”, two biostimulants were tested for their potential as sustainable approaches to improve canola and soybean seed germination under salt stress and optimal growth conditions. Canola and soybean seeds were primed with flavonoids extracted from citrus fruits (flavopriming) and cell-free supernatant (CFS; produced by a novel strain of Devosia sp.—SL43), alone and in combination, and exposed to low–higher levels of salt stress and ideal growth conditions. Both biostimulants showed promising effects by significantly improving seed germination of soybean and canola under both ideal and stressful conditions. However, increases in seed germination were greater under salinity stress as flavonoids and CFS with stress amelioration effects showed substantial and statistically significant improvements in seed germination under varying levels of salt stress. In addition, combinations (mixtures) of both biostimulants were tested to determine if their effects might be more additive or multiplicative than the individual applications. However, results suggested incompatibility of both biostimulants as none of the combinations showed better results than that of the individual applications of either flavonoids or CFS. Conceivably, the use of flavonoids and this novel Devosia sp. CFS could be significant plant growth enhancers, perhaps much better than the few other biostimulants and bacterial-based compounds currently in use.     

The Effectiveness of Rhodiola rosea L. Preparations in Alleviating Various Aspects of Life-Stress Symptoms and Stress-Induced Conditions—Encouraging Clinical Evidence

Rhodiola rosea L. has a long history of use in traditional medicine to stimulate the nervous system, treat stress-induced fatigue and depression, enhance physical performance and work productivity and treat gastrointestinal ailments and impotence. Apart from its well-established traditional use, a significant number of publications on the clinical efficacy of various R. rosea preparations can be found in the literature. The majority of these studies are related to the efficacy of R. rosea in terms of cognitive functions and mental performance, including various symptoms of life-stress, fatigue and burnout. The beneficial effects of this medicinal plant on enhancing physical performance have also been evaluated in professional athletes and non-trained individuals. Moreover, even though most evidence originates from pre-clinical trials, several clinical studies have additionally demonstrated the remediating effects of R. rosea on cardiovascular and reproductive health by addressing non-specific stress damage and reversing or healing the disrupted physiologies and disfunctions. Overall, in accordance with its aim, the results presented in this review provide an encouraging basis for the clinical efficacy of R. rosea preparations in managing various aspects of stress-induced conditions.     

Friedelin Attenuates Neuronal Dysfunction and Memory Impairment by Inhibition of the Activated JNK/NF-κB Signalling Pathway in Scopolamine-Induced Mice Model of Neurodegeneration

Oxidative stress (OS) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) are both key indicators implicated in neuro-inflammatory signalling pathways and their respective neurodegenerative diseases. Drugs targeting these factors can be considered as suitable candidates for treatment of neuronal dysfunction and memory impairment. The present study encompasses beneficial effects of a naturally occurring triterpenoid, friedelin, against scopolamine-induced oxidative stress and neurodegenerative pathologies in mice models. The treated animals were subjected to behavioural tests i.e., Y-maze and Morris water maze (MWM) for memory dysfunction. The underlying mechanism was determined via western blotting, antioxidant enzymes and lipid profile analyses. Molecular docking studies were carried out to predict the binding modes of friedelin in the binding pocket of p-JNK protein. The results reveal that scopolamine caused oxidative stress by (1) inhibiting catalase (CAT), peroxidase enzyme (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and reduced glutathione enzyme (GSH); (2) the up-regulation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in mice brain; and (3) affecting the neuronal synapse (both pre- and post-synapse) followed by associated memory dysfunction. In contrast, friedelin administration not only abolished scopolamine-induced oxidative stress, glial cell activation, and neuro-inflammation but also inhibited p-JNK and NF-κB and their downstream signaling molecules. Moreover, friedelin administration improved neuronal synapse and reversed scopolamine-induced memory impairment accompanied by the inhibition of β-secretase enzyme (BACE-1) to halt amyloidogenic pathways of amyloid-β production. In summary, all of the results show that friedelin is a potent naturally isolated neuro-therapeutic agent to reverse scopolamine-induced neuropathology, which is characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.     

Packed-Fiber Solid Phase-Extraction Coupled with HPLC-MS/MS for Rapid Determination of Lipid Oxidative Damage Biomarker 8-Iso-Prostaglandin F2α in Urine

The 8-iso-prostaglandin F_2α (8-iso-PGF_2α) biomarker is used as the gold standard for tracing lipid oxidative stress in vivo. The analysis of urinary 8-iso-PGF_2α is challenging when dealing with trace amounts of 8-iso-PGF_2α and the complexity of urine matrixes. A packed-fiber solid-phase extraction (PFSPE)–coupled with HPLC-MS/MS–method, based on polystyrene (PS)-electrospun nanofibers, was developed for the specific determination of 8-iso-PGF_2α in urine and compared with other newly developed LC-MS/MS methods. The method, which simultaneously processed 12 samples within 5 min on a self-made semi-automatic array solid-phase extraction processor, was the first to introduce PS-electrospun nanofibers as an adsorbent for the extraction of 8-iso-PGF_2α and was successfully applied to real urine samples. After optimizing the PFSPE conditions, good linearity in the range of 0.05–5 ng/mL with R² > 0.9996 and a satisfactory limit of detection of 0.015 ng/mL were obtained, with good intraday and interday precision (RSD < 10%) and recoveries of 95.3–103.8%. This feasible method is expected to be used for the batch quantitative analysis of urinary 8-iso-PGF_2α.     

TRANSIENT TORSIONAL WAVE IN FINITE HOLLOW CYLINDER WITH INITIAL AXIAL STRESS

An analytical solution is obtained for transient torsional vibration of a finite hollow cylinder with initial axial stress. The cylinder is subjected to dynamic shearing stress at the internal surface and is fixed at the external surface. The basic equations are presented and the solution is obtained by means of Fourier series expansion technique and the separation of variables method. The effects of the initial stress on the natural frequencies and transient torsional responses are presented and discussed.     

Water Status and Predictive Models of Moisture Content during Drying of Soybean Dregs Based on LF-NMR

To explore the drying characteristics of soybean dregs and a nondestructive moisture content test method, in this study, soybean dregs were dried with hot air (80 °C), the moisture content was measured using the drying method, water status was analyzed using low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) and the moisture content prediction models were built and validated. The results revealed that the moisture contents of the soybean dregs were 0.57 and 0.01 g/g(w.b.), respectively, after drying for 5 and 7 h. The effective moisture diffusivity increased with the decrease in moisture content; it ranged from 5.27 × 10⁻⁹ to 6.96 × 10⁻⁸ m²·s⁻¹. Soybean dregs contained bound water (T₂₁), immobilized water (T₂₂) and free water (T₂₃ and T₂₃’). With the proceeding of drying, all of the relaxation peaks shifted left until a new peak (T₂₃’) appeared; then, the structure of soybean dregs changed, and the relaxation peaks reformed, and the peak shifted left again. The peak area may predict the moisture content of soybean dregs, and the gray values of images predict the moisture contents mainly composed of free water or immobilized water. The results may provide a reference for drying of soybean dregs and a new moisture detection method.