Saussureae involucratae Herba (Snow Lotus): Review of chemical compositions and pharmacological properties

Saussureae Involucratae Herba is the dried ground part of Saussurea involucrata (Kar. et Kir.) Sch.-Bip, which is also named as “Snow lotus” and being used in traditional Uyghur and/or Chinese medicine. This rare herb can be found at 4,000 m elevation in western part of Tianshan Mountain, Xinjiang China. According to China Pharmacopoeia (2015), the major pharmaceutical values of “Snow lotus” (Xuě liánhuā in Chinese) are alleviating rheumatoid arthritis, accelerating blood circulation and mitigating other “cold” syndromes. Traditionally, the clinical application of “Snow lotus” includes the treatments in inflammation-associated disorder, blood circulation acceleration and heat and dampness elimination. Recent studies suggested that “Snow lotus” possessed therapeutic effects associating with anti-cancer, anti-oxidation, adipogenesis suppression and neuroprotection activities, which were proposed to be related with its bioactive constitutes, i.e. acacetin, hispidulin, and rutin. In the present review, we aim to summarize pharmacological effects and underlying cell signaling pathways of “Snow lotus” in treating various medical problems. Copyright © 2020 Gong, Huang, Yang, Qi, Han, Zheng, He, Chan, Tsim and Dong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms

Streptozotocin, Type I Diabetes Severity and Bone

As many as 50% of adults with type I (T1) diabetes exhibit bone loss and are at increased risk for fractures. Therapeutic development to prevent bone loss and/or restore lost bone in T1 diabetic patients requires knowledge of the molecular mechanisms accounting for the bone pathology. Because cell culture models alone cannot fully address the systemic/metabolic complexity of T1 diabetes, animal models are critical. A variety of models exist including spontaneous and pharmacologically induced T1 diabetic rodents. In this paper, we discuss the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced T1 diabetic mouse model and examine dose-dependent effects on disease severity and bone. Five daily injections of either 40 or 60 mg/kg STZ induce bone pathologies similar to spontaneously diabetic mouse and rat models and to human T1 diabetic bone pathology. Specifically, bone volume, mineral apposition rate, and osteocalcin serum and tibia messenger RNA levels are decreased. In contrast, bone marrow adiposity and aP2 expression are increased with either dose. However, high-dose STZ caused a more rapid elevation of blood glucose levels and a greater magnitude of change in body mass, fat pad mass, and bone gene expression (osteocalcin, aP2). An increase in cathepsin K and in the ratio of RANKL/OPG was noted in high-dose STZ mice, suggesting the possibility that severe diabetes could increase osteoclast activity, something not seen with lower doses. This may contribute to some of the disparity between existing studies regarding the role of osteoclasts in diabetic bone pathology. Examination of kidney and liver toxicity indicate that the high STZ dose causes some liver inflammation. In summary, the multiple low-dose STZ mouse model exhibits a similar bone phenotype to spontaneous models, has low toxicity, and serves as a useful tool for examining mechanisms of T1 diabetic bone loss

EXERCICE PHYSIQUE, CARENCE ANDROGENIQUE ET METABOLISME OSSEUX CHEZ LE RAT MALE

L'OBJECTIF ETAIT DE DETERMINER LES EVENTUELS EFFETS INHIBITEUR, CURATIF ET/OU PREVENTIF DE LA COURSE D'ENDURANCE (60% VO 2MAX, PENDANT 3 MOIS) SUR LA PERTE OSSEUSE CONSECUTIVE A LA CASTRATION CHEZ LE RAT MALE. DE PLUS, L'ETUDE DE L'INFLUENCE D'UN TEL EXERCICE SUR LA MASSE OSSEUSE DE L'ANIMAL AGE ET ENTIER A ETE ETUDIEE. DES RATS MALES WISTAR ONT ETE CASTRES (CX) OU PSEUDO-OPERES (SH) A L'AGE DE 6 SEMAINES OU DE 5 MOIS ET, IMMEDIATEMENT, 3 MOIS AVANT OU APRES LA CHIRURGIE, ONT ETE ENTRAINES A LA COURSE (E) OU LAISSES SEDENTAIRES (R). DE MEME, DES RATS AGES DE 15 MOIS ONT SUIVI UN PROGRAMME DE COURSE CORRESPONDANT A 60% DE LEUR VO 2MAX. LA CASTRATION PRATIQUEE A L'AGE DE 6 SEMAINES, 2 OU 5 MOIS A INDUIT UNE DIMINUTION DE LA DENSITE FEMORALE METAPHYSAIRE, AINSI QU'UNE REDUCTION DE L'AIRE TRABECULAIRE MESUREE AU MEME SITE. CETTE PERTURBATION N'ETAIT PAS OBSERVEE CHEZ LES RATS SOUMIS A L'EXERCICE, QUE LA COURSE SOIT PRATIQUEE IMMEDIATEMENT APRES ORCHIDECTOMIE (A L'AGE DE 6 SEMAINES OU 5 MOIS), OU 3 MOIS AVANT OU APRES L'ABLATION. LES VALEURS DE DENSITE ET D'AIRE TRABECULAIRE DES RATS CASTRES COUREURS SONT RAMENEES A UN NIVEAU EQUIVALENT A CELUI DES PSEUDO-OPERES SEDENTAIRES. CHEZ LE RAT AGE ENTIER, LA DENSITE OSSEUSE DES COUREURS EST MAINTENUE AU NIVEAU DE CELLE DES RATS TEMOINS INITIAUX. AU CONTRAIRE, CE PARAMETRE DIMINUE PROGRESSIVEMENT CHEZ LES SEDENTAIRES. LA DESOXYPYRIDINOLINE EST AUGMENTEE PAR LA CASTRATION ET EST RESTAUREE PAR L'EXERCICE (LES TEMOINS ET LES CASTRES-EXERCICE AYANT DES VALEURS IDENTIQUES). CHEZ LES ANIMAUX PLUS AGES, UNE AUGMENTATION DE LA DESOXYPYRIDINOLINURIE AVEC L'AGE EST OBSERVEE, MAIS UNIQUEMENT CHEZ LES RATS SEDENTAIRES. EN CONCLUSION, LA COURSE D'ENDURANCE INHIBE, PREVIENT ET RESTAURE L'OSTEOPENIE INDUITE PAR CASTRATION CHEZ LE RAT MALE EN CROISSANCE OU ADULTE. CHEZ LE RAT MALE AGE, ELLE PERMET D'EVITER LA DIMINUTION DE LA MASSE OSSEUSE LIEE AU VIEILLISSEMENT.CLERMONT FD-BCIU Sci.et Tech. (630142101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Mineral supplementation of white wheat flour is necessary to maintain adequate mineral status and bone characteristics in rats

International audienceThis experiment was designed to compare the effect of ingestion of a wheat flours on mineral status and bone characteristics in rats. White flour was tested either without further mineral supplementation or with Mg, Fe, Zn and Cu supplementation. The flour diets were compared to a control purified diet. Four groups of 10 male Wistar rats each were fed one of the experimental diets for 6 wk and mineral status and tissue retention as well as bone characteristics were determined. As expected, mineral intake, except for calcium, was significantly lesser in rats fed the white flour diet than in the other groups. The rats fed the white flour diet had the lowest food intake, weight gain, fecal excretion and intestinal fermentation. The most important result was that Mg and Fe status were drastically lower in rats fed the white flour diet than in those fed whole flour or control diets. The status of these both elements were significantly improved by the mineral supplementation of white flour. There were no major significant differences between mineral-supplemented white flour and whole flour groups in mineral status. Furthermore, bone mineral densities (total, metaphyseal and diphyseal) were significantly lower in rats fed white flour diet compared to the other diet groups, while no significant difference was observed between the mineral-supplemented white flour, whole flour or control diet groups. In conclusion, the present work shows clearly the importance of mineral-supplementation of white wheat flour to sustain an adequate intake of minerals. Our results indicate also that the whole wheat flour did not negatively alter mineral bioavailability, in comparison to mineral supplemented white flour. Clinical studies are still needed to confirm these rat results in human