The neuroprotective functions of petroleum ether extract from Tibetan turnip (Brassica rapa L.) against cerebral ischemic stroke

Background: Brassica rapa L. (turnip) is an ancient plant grown on the Tibetan Plateau, which possesses functions of heat-clearing and toxin, enhancing oxygen. The primary objective of this study is to assess the potential protective effect of petroleum ether extract of turnip (PET) against ischemia and hypoxia. Basic procedures: Total extract of turnip (TET) was extracted 3 times with petroleum ether at a ratio of 1:1 and the PET was concentrated and identified by UHPLC-MS. Pharmacological and drug-like properties prediction of major compounds of PET were determined by the SwissADME tool. The protein–protein interaction test for PET-Cerebral Ischemic Stroke-Oxidative Damage (PET-CIS-OD) common targets were calculated by the SRTING giant database. The molecular function, biological process and cell composition of core targets were analyzed by ClueGo and CluePedia. KEGG pathway analysis were used for calculating the potential pathway affected by the PET-CIS-OD common targets. Molecular docking were measured by AutoDockTools 1.5.7 and PyMol. Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation/Reperfusion (OGD/R) model were established for evaluating the changes of the OD markers. Western blotting was used to verify the core proteins in signaling pathways obtained by network pharmacology. Main findings: PET intervention increased antioxidant ability in HT22 cells. Furthermore, PET could effectively recovered the COXIV expression, inhibit the Bax levels (p < 0.01), strengthen the Bcl-2 levels (p < 0.05) in HT22 cells after OGD/R injury. Our calculation results and experimental results indicated that PET may act as a key intervention in CIS by enhancing the level of phospho-PI3K (p < 0.001), phospho-Akt (p < 0.01) and phospho-mTOR (p < 0.01) and lessening the levle of phospho-P38 (p < 0.01) and HIF-1α (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our study systematically explored the potential function and regulatory mechanism of PET in CIS for the first time. The results indicated that PET may play neuroprotective effect against CIS by regulating PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway, and exerting antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects on OGD/R injury

Healthy regulation of Tibetan Brassica rapa L. polysaccharides on alleviating hyperlipidemia: A rodent study

Hyperlipidemia is a common metabolic disorder, which can lead to obesity, hypertension, diabetes, atherosclerosis and other diseases. Studies have shown that polysaccharides absorbed by the intestinal tract can regulate blood lipids and facilitate the growth of intestinal flora. This article aims to investigate whether Tibetan turnip polysaccharide (TTP) plays a protective role in blood lipid and intestinal health via hepatic and intestinal axes. Here we show that TTP helps to reduce the size of adipocytes and the accumulation of liver fat, playing a dose-dependent effect on ADPN levels, suggesting an effect on lipid metabolism regulation. Meantime, TTP intervention results in the downregulation of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and serum inflammatory factors (interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)), implying that TTP suppresses the progression of inflammation in the body. The expression of key enzymes associated with cholesterol and triglyceride synthesis, such as 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR), cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors γ (PPARγ), acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), fatty acid synthetase (FAS) and sterol-regulatory element binding proteins-1c (SREBP-1c), can be modulated by TTP. Furthermore, TTP also alleviates the damage to intestinal tissues caused by high-fat diet, restores the integrity of the intestinal barrier, improves the composition and abundance of the intestinal flora and increases the levels of SCFAs. This study provides a theoretical basis for the regulation of body rhythm by functional foods and potential intervention in patients with hyperlipidemia

The Intervention and Mechanism of Action for Aloin against Subchronic Aflatoxin B1 Induced Hepatic Injury in Rats

As a class of difurancoumarin compounds with similar structures, aflatoxins (AF) are commonly found in the environment, soil, and food crops. AF pose a serious threat to the health of humans, poultry, and livestock. This study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effect and detailed mechanism of aloin on hepatic injury induced by subchronic AFB1 in rats. The result showed that aloin could significantly inhibit the decrease in food intake, body weight growth, immune organ index, and serum albumin content caused by long-term AFB1 exposure. Meanwhile, aloin reduced the level of serum liver function and improved renal swelling and pathological changes of liver tissue. Aloin could also inhibit liver lipid peroxidation and improve liver antioxidant capacity. Further investigation revealed that aloin inhibited the activity and expression of hepatic CYP1A2 and CYP3A4 and down-regulated IL-1β expression in subchronic AFB1-induced liver injury rats. The above study demonstrated that aloin played an important role in blocking or delaying the development process of subchronic AFB1-induced hepatotoxicity. Therefore, aloin is considered to have a potential role as a protective agent against AFB1

Understanding the rapid increase in life expectancy in shanghai, China: a population-based retrospective analysis

Abstract Background Life expectancy at birth (LE) is a comprehensive measure that accounts for age-specific death rates in a population. Shanghai has ranked first in LE in China mainland for decades. Understanding the reasons behind its sustained gain in LE provides a good reflection of many other cities in China. The aim of this study is intended to explore temporal trend in age- and cause-specific gains in LE in Shanghai and the probable reasons lay behind. Methods Joinpoint regression was applied to evaluate temporal trend in LE and the long time span was then divided accordingly. Contributions to change in LE (1973–2015) were decomposed by age and cause at corresponding periods. Results LE in Shanghai could be divided into four phases ie., descent (1973–1976), recovery (1976–1998), rapid rise (1998–2004) and slow rise (2004–2015). The growing LE was mainly attributed to reductions in mortality from the elderly populations and chronic diseases such as cerebrovascular disease, chronic lower respiratory disease, and gastrointestinal cancers (stomach, liver and esophageal cancer). Conclusions The four-decade sustained gain in LE in Shanghai is due to the reductions in mortality from the elderly and chronic diseases such as cerebrovascular disease, chronic lower respiratory disease, and gastrointestinal cancers. Further growth momentum still comes from the elderly population

Additional file 2: Figure S1 A1. of Understanding the rapid increase in life expectancy in shanghai, China: a population-based retrospective analysis

Percentage of all deaths coded to garbage codes by age in different years. (TIFF 1817 kb