Astragalus membranaceus ultrafine powder alleviates hyperuricemia by regulating the gut microbiome and reversing bile acid and adrenal hormone biosynthesis dysregulation

Ethnopharmacological relevanceMetabolic syndrome is closely related to the intestinal microbiota and disturbances in the host metabolome. Hyperuricemia (HUA), a manifestation of metabolic syndrome, can induce various cardiovascular diseases and gout, seriously affecting a patient’s quality of life. Astragalus membranaceus has a long history as a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine to treat kidney disease in China and East Asia.Materials and methodsWe compared the therapeutic effect of benzbromarone and two different doses Astragalus membranaceus ultrafine powder (AMUP) in rats with HUA. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer was used to analyze the AMUP metabolism in the plasma, urine, and feces. Further, 16S ribosome RNA sequencing and feces metabolomic were performed to capture the variation of the gut microbiota and metabolites changes before and after drug administration.ResultsAMUP had a notable impact on reducing blood uric acid levels while protecting the liver and kidney. Drug metabolism analysis demonstrated that effective constituent flavonoids are distributed in the blood, whereas saponins remain in the intestine. Gut microbiota analysis showed that low-dose AMUP ameliorated HUA-induced gut dysbiosis by reducing the abundance of harmful bacteria and increasing that of some beneficial bacteria with anti-inflammatory properties, such as Clostridia, Lachnospiraceae, and Muribaculaceae. In addition, HUA-induced changes in metabolite contents in bile acid and adrenal hormone biosynthesis pathways were restored after treatment with AMUP.ConclusionLow-dose AMUP exerts remarkable therapeutic effects on HUA by regulating the gut microbiome and mediating gut metabolism pathways associated with uric acid excretion.     

含离子液体［bmim］Cl的反应介质中马肝醇脱氢酶的催化特性

 研究了马肝醇脱氢酶(HLADH)在含离子液体1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑氯酸盐(［bmim］Cl)的反应介质中的催化特性. 以乙醇为底物时,该酶在［bmim］Cl含量≤0.15 g/ml的体系中的活力高于在不含离子液体的体系中的活力; 离子液体浓度过高(＞0.15 g/ml)对酶活性有明显的抑制作用. 反应温度和pH对含离子液体的反应介质中酶活力的影响规律与不含离子液体时的规律相似. 与不含离子液体的反应介质相比, HLADH在含0.05 g/ml ［bmim］Cl的体系中催化乙醇氧化的活化能下降,酶反应的Vmax和Km均升高. 反应体系中低浓度(≤0.1 g/ml)的离子液体能提高酶的热稳定性,但高浓度(＞0.1 g/ml)的离子液体可降低酶的热稳定性. 紫外二阶导数光谱显示,在含不同浓度离子液体的反应介质中酶分子构象的变化有较大的差异.     

Synthesis of two glycolipid antigens of the causative agent of Lyme disease

As a prelude to development of a human vaccine against Lyme disease, the first chemical synthesis of glycolipid antigens of Borrelia burkholderi is reported. First, cholesteryl β-d-galactopyranoside was synthesized and was converted to partially protected congeners having the HO-6 group of the galactose moiety unprotected. Treatment of these intermediates with palmitic and oleic acid, respectively, under dehydrative conditions followed by removal of the protecting groups afforded cholesteryl 6-O-palmitoyl/oleoyl-β-d-galactopyranosides that were identical to the glycolipids isolated from B. burkholderi.     

CT联合血清HCY、β2-M在下肢动脉狭窄闭塞性疾病中的诊断价值

本文对CT联合血清同型半胱氨酸（HCY）、β2-微球蛋白（β2-M）在下肢动脉狭窄闭塞性疾病中的诊断价值进行分析。选取上海市金山区中西医结合医院收治的120例疑似下肢动脉狭窄闭塞性疾病患者进行研究，选取同期健康体检者120例作为对照组，对患者进行CT检查、血清HCY和β2-M水平检查，并比较了CT诊断下肢动脉狭窄闭塞情况、两组患者血清HCY和β2-M水平，以明确CT、HCY、β2-M诊断价值及误诊率、漏诊率。结果显示，120例疑似患者中，CT检测出646节段病变血管，其中轻度狭窄155节段，中度狭窄257节段，重度狭窄143节段，血管完全闭塞91节段；研究组患者血清HCY、β2-M水平明显高于对照组，两组比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）；HCY的AUC为0.863，截断值>21.75（μmol/L），诊断敏感性为79.00%，特异性为80.00%，β2-M的AUC为0.837，截断值>2.98（μmol/mL），诊断敏感性为75.25%，特异性为65.21%；CT诊断阳性率为67.50%，HCY诊断阳性率为69.17%，β2-M诊断阳性率为67.50%，三者联合诊断阳性率为82.50%，联合诊断阳性率高于CT、HCY、β2-M单独诊断阳性率（P<0.05）；CT、HCY、β2-M单一检测对下肢动脉狭窄闭塞性疾病均有较高灵敏度、特异性及准确度，但三者联合诊断灵敏度、特异性及准确度最高，误诊率、漏诊率最低。本文证实了采用CT联合血清HCY、β2-M诊断下肢动脉狭窄闭塞性疾病诊断灵敏度、特异性及准确度高，误诊率、漏诊率低。     

Saccharide-branched Cyclodextrins as Targeting Drug Carriers

A synthetic series of heptakis-galactose-branched cyclodextrins (termed CDs) having a longer spacer arm using two amino-caproic acids as an enlarging unit were prepared. Starting with heptakis-amino-β-CD or heptakis-amino-caproic-amide-β-CD, treated with galactosyl-glucono-amide-caproic acid, the new compounds heptakis (Gal-cap1)-CD (4) or heptakis (Gal-cap2)-CD (5) were obtained. The longer galactose spacer arm extremely favors the PNA association. The effect of branch length on K with PNA was enhanced up to 138-fold 3 as well as with DXR enhanced up to 81-fold. Hexakis (Gal-cap2)-CD (6) was prepared and the association constants with rat liver cells were observed to be 2.5 × 10¹⁰ M⁻¹. A multi-high mannose type oligosaccharide branched CD (7) showed a large association constant with DXR up to 1.1 × 10⁹ M⁻¹. The two-dimensional map for the association constants of newly synthesized oligosaccharide-branched CDs toward lectin or liver cells versus the association constants toward a drug (doxorubicin) suggested a method of finding a better targeting drug carrier. The structural effect of the oligosaccharide-CDs showed that the number and length of the branch were dominant factors in designing for enhanced dual recognition.     

Simultaneous determination of acidic,basic and alcoholic substances relating to monoamine hormones and metabolites in biological material by mass fragmentography (GC/MF)

A method is described for the simultaneous quantitative determination of monoamines and related compounds from urine and brain tissue samples in the pg-range, using a GC/MF instrument LKB-2091 provided with a multiple ion detection (MID) system and capillary columns. The simultaneous detection of “fingerprints” with fourteen and more compounds during one single GC run was achieved after the intoduction of “time gates” for the detection of the different characteristic masses. Several modifications to the LKB equipment permitted exact reproducibility of retention times, which is essential for the use of “time gates”. The detection of “fingerprints” with these acidic, basic and alcoholic substances was achieved by the extraction of the dried biological samples with silylating agents.     

Discrimination between ethanol inhibition models in a continuous alcoholic fermentation process using flocculating yeast

Discrimination between different rival models for describing the inhibitory effect of ethanol both on yeast growth and on fermentation was studied for a continuous process of alcoholic fermentation in a tower reactor with recycling of flocculating cells. Models tested include linear, parabolic, hyperbolic, exponential, and generalized nonlinear power-law types. The best expressions were identified under the criteria that all the kinetic parameters should assume acceptable values in a feasible range and should result in the best fit of the experimental data. The kinetic parameters were estimated from steady-state data of several sugar concentrations in feeding stream (S₀ = 160, 170, 180, 190, 200 g/L), constant dilution rate (D = 0.2 h^-1), recycle ratio (α = 13.6), and temperature (T = 30°C). The best model for the yeast growth was of power-law type, whereas for the product formation the best model was of linear type. These models were able to reproduce the trends of the process variables satisfactorily.     

The extraction,antioxidant and against β-amyloid induced toxicity of polyphenols from Alsophila spinulosa leaves

Alsophila spinulosa is a tree-like fern, and many evidences suggested that plant polyphenols had the potential therapeutic for Alzheimer s disease (AD). Herein, polyphenols (ASP) was isolated from A. spinulosa leaves and its major constituent were isoorientin and vitexin. ASP displayed excellent antioxidant activity and obvious anti-lipid peroxidation capacity in vitro. ASP improved the survival rate of C. elegans under high temperature by enhancing the antioxidant enzymes activities and decreasing the lipid peroxidation level. Moreover, ASP alleviated β-amyloid (Aβ) induced paralysis and reduced Aβ deposition, decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and improved the level of skn-1 mRNA. In addition, ASP decreased the levels of pdk-1 and akt-1 mRNA in P13K/AKT signaling pathway. In conclusion, ASP may be a potential ingredient for the alleviation of AD.     

116例冠心病患者血清中铜铬锰钴镍钒含量的探讨

测定了１１６例冠心病患者血清中铜、铬、锰、钴、镍、钒的含量并与正常值比较，显示含量升高才是有铬和镍，降低者有钴和钒、无差异者有铜和锰。     

New strategy for the determination of gliadins in maize- or rice-based foods matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry: fractionation of gliadins from maize or rice prolamins by acidic treatment

A procedure for determining small quantities of gliadins by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) in gluten-free foods containing relatively large amounts of prolamin proteins from maize or rice is described. We report for the first time that gliadins, the ethanol-soluble wheat prolamin fraction, can be quantitatively solubilized in 1.0 M acetic acid, while the corresponding ethanol-soluble maize or rice prolamin fraction remains insoluble in acetic acid. We describe a methodology for the detection of gliadins in maize and rice foods based on a two-step procedure of extraction (60% aqueous ethanol followed by 1 M acetic acid). Subsequent MALDI-TOFMS analysis of the resulting acidic extract from these gluten-free foods clearly confirms the presence of a typical mass pattern corresponding to gliadin components, ranging from 30 to 45 kDa. Depending on the percentages of maize or rice flours employed in the elaboration of these foods, the combined procedure enables levels of gliadins from 100 to 400 ppm to be detected. The efficiency of this combined procedure corroborates enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay data for a large number of maize/rice gluten-free foods by means of direct visualization of the characteristic gliadin mass pattern in maize or rice foods.