Background Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) signalling regulates murine hepatic fibrogenesis through effects on hepatic stellate cells (HSC), and obesity-related hypertension with SNS activation accelerates progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the commonest cause of chronic liver disease. NAFLD may lead to cirrhosis. The effects of the SNS neurotransmitters norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (EPI) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) on human primary HSC (hHSC) function and in NAFLD pathogenesis are poorly understood.Aimsto determine the mechanistic effects of NE/EPI/NPY on phenotypic changes in cultured hHSC, and to study SNS signalling in human NAFLD livers.MethodsFreshly isolated hHSC were assessed for expression of cathecholamine/neuropeptide Y receptors and for the synthesis of NE/EPI. The effects of NE/EPI/NPY and adrenoceptor antagonists prazosin (PRZ)/propranolol (PRL) on hHSC fibrogenic functions and the involved kinases and interleukin pathways were examined. Human livers with proven NAFLD were then assessed for upregulation of SNS signalling components.ResultsActivated hHSC express functional α/β-adrenoceptors and NPY receptors, which are upregulated in the livers of patients with cirrhotic NAFLD. hHSC in culture synthesize and release NE/EPI, required for their optimal basal growth and survival. Exogenous NE/EPI and NPY dose-dependently induced hHSC proliferation, mediated via p38 MAP, PI3K and MEK signalling. NE and EPI but not NPY increased expression of collagen-1α2 via TGF-β without involvement of the pro-fibrogenic cytokines leptin, IL-4 and IL-13 or the anti-fibrotic cytokine IL-10.ConclusionshHSC synthesize and require cathecholamines for optimal survival and fibrogenic functionality. Activated hHSC express directly fibrogenic α/β-adrenoceptors and NPY receptors, upregulated in human cirrhotic NAFLD. Adrenoceptor and NPY antagonists may be novel anti-fibrotic agents in human NAFLD.

Chicken essence (CE) is a liquid nutritional supplement made from cooking whole chickens. In traditional Chinese medicine, CE is used to support health, promote healing, increase metabolism, and relieve fatigue. However, few studies have examined the effect of CE on exercise performance and physical fatigue. We aimed to evaluate the potential beneficial effects of CE on fatigue and ergogenic functions following physical challenge in mice. Male ICR mice were divided into four groups to receive vehicle or CE by oral gavage at 0, 845, 1690, or 4225 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. Exercise performance and anti-fatigue function were evaluated by forelimb grip strength, exhaustive swimming time, and levels of physical fatigue-related biomarkers serum lactate, ammonia, glucose, and creatine kinase (CK) after physical challenge. CE supplementation dose-dependently elevated endurance and grip strength. CE supplementation significantly decreased lactate, ammonia, and CK levels after physical challenge. Tissue glycogen content, an important energy source for exercise, was significantly increased with CE supplementation. In addition, CE supplementation had few subchronic toxic effects. The supplementation with CE can have a wide spectrum of bioactivities on health promotion, performance improvement and anti-fatigue.

It has been indicated that probiotics can be nourished by consuming prebiotics in order to function more efficiently, allowing the bacteria to stay within a healthy balance. In this study, we investigated the effects of xylooligosaccharides- (XOS-) enriched rice porridge consumption on the ecosystem in the intestinal tract of human subjects. Twenty healthy subjects participated in this 6-week trial, in which 10 subjects received XOS-enriched rice porridge while the others received placebo rice porridge. Fecal samples were collected at the end of weeks 0, 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7 for microorganism examination. The results showed that 6-week daily ingestion of the XOS-enriched rice porridge induced significant increases in fecal bacterial counts of Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp., as well as decreases in Clostridium perfringens without changing the total anaerobic bacterial counts, compared to that of placebo rice porridge. However, fluctuations in the counts of coliforms were observed in both groups during the 6-week intervention. In conclusion, the intestinal microbiota balance was improved after daily consumption of 150 g of rice porridge containing XOS for 6 weeks, demonstrating the prebiotic potential of XOS incorporated into foods. This also indicates the effectiveness of XOS as a functional ingredient in relation to its role as a prebiotic compound.

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Ageing accompanied by a decline in cognitive performance may be a result of the long-term effects of oxidative stress on neurologic processes. It has been shown that high-cholesterol contents in the blood and brain may lead to the deposition of the b-amyloid (Ab) protein in the brain, which damages brain cells. The present study was designed to observe the effect of polyphenol-rich Oriental plums on cognitive function and cerebral neurodegeneration-related protein expression in mice that were fed a high-cholesterol diet for 5 months. The study consisted of four groups: the control (Ctrl) group, which was fed the American Institute of Nutrition (AIN)-93M diet; the high cholesterol (HC) group, which was fed the AIN-93M diet with 5 % cholesterol; the high cholesterol þ low Oriental plum (LOP) group, which was fed the AIN-93M diet with 5 % cholesterol and 2 % Oriental plum powder; and the high cholesterol þ high Oriental plum (HOP) group, which was fed the AIN-93M diet with 5 % cholesterol and 5 % Oriental plum powder. Measurements of cognitive function were assessed using the Morris water maze, and the mRNA expression of cholesterol hydroxylase (Cyp46), Ab and b-secretase 1 (BACE1) were analysed. The results showed that cholesterol concentrations in both the blood and the brain were significantly higher in the HC group than in the Ctrl and HOP groups at the end of the trial. The high-cholesterol diet per se produced significant cognitive deficits, which were accompanied by a significantly increased mRNA expression of Cyp46, BACE1, Ab and 24-hydroxycholesterol in the brain cortex and hippocampus. However, all of these variables were non-significantly increased in the HOP group as compared to the Ctrl group. In conclusion, incorporating polyphenol-enriched Oriental plum into a high-cholesterol diet can ameliorate some of the symptoms of neurodegenerative conditions.

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Recent studies indicate a possible link between serum cholesterol level, beta-amyloid (Abeta) peptide concentrations, and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present report, the effects of dietary cholesterol on Abeta and apolipoprotein E (APOE) levels in several brain regions were examined using diet-induced hypercholesterolemic rabbits as the animal model. Increased dietary cholesterol levels increased Abeta concentrations in temporal cortex (p = 0.02). A similar trend was observed in the frontal cortex (p = 0.06), yet not in the cerebellum. Interestingly, the regional levels of Abeta in the hypercholesterolemic rabbit paralleled the amyloid pathology observed in AD brain. Elevated APOE levels were also noticed in temporal (p < 0.01) and frontal (p < 0.01) cortices, but not in cerebellum, in the rabbit fed with cholesterol-abundant diet. These results suggest that high serum cholesterol levels could induce the elevation of brain APOE, which may play a role in aggravating the Abeta accumulation.