Due to the economical impacts of spoiled foods and the consumer's concerns over the safety of foods, a lot of attention has been paid to naturally derived compounds. Fresh and dried Thymus species as well as their processed products have been widely used as flavorings since ancient times; however, during the last few decades, they also have become a subject for a search of natural antioxidants and antimicrobial agents. Biological activities of Thymus essential oils depend on their chemical composition, which is determined by the genotype and influenced by environmental conditions. Recent studies have showed that Thymus species have strong antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. To the best of our knowledge, the properties of Thymus species growing wild in the Xinjiang have not been reported before.
The pyrolysis of poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) in the presence of ZSM-5 zeolite and NiCl2 as a catalyst was studied at different temperatures under N2 atmosphere. Quantitative 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were applied to characterize the waxy and solid residue. The carboxyl and aliphatic hydroxyl groups in the waxy residue have been greatly depleted after the use of zeolite during pyrolysis on the basis of the results of 13C NMR and FT-IR analysis. The proportion of aromatic hydroxyl groups increased by 21.82% when the mass ratio of zeolite to PET was set to 2.0/1.0. The results indicate that ZSM-5 is able to facilitate the decomposition of carboxyl, aliphatic groups, and ether bonds in the primary products produced from the pyrolysis of PET. In addition, the deoxygenation effects on the waxy products have been significantly enhanced with the addition of zeolite based on the results of NMR.
The aim
of this study was to evaluate the ability of the Saccharomyces
cerevisiae strain with probiotic properties isolated
from Tibetan kefir grains to ameliorate Fusobacterium
nucleatum (Fn) infection and dextran sulfate sodium
(DSS) treatment-induced murine model of colitis. The tolerance to
simulated gastrointestinal conditions, hydrophobicity test, autoaggregation
assay, and the antioxidant effect of strains was used to screen one
strain with colonization and probiotic potential. The murine model
of colitis was established by giving 109 cfu Fn 3 weeks
by intragastric administration and 3% DSS in water 1 week before sacrifice.
The results indicated that S. cerevisiae JKSP39 (SC) possessed optimal probiotic characteristics in vitro.
Supplementation with SC increased the body weight and the expression
of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10), while decreasing
the disease activity index score and expression of proinflammatory
cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-17F) in mice undergoing experimental
colitis as compared with the colitis model group. Additionally, tight
junction proteins and the number of goblet cells per crypt were significantly
increased in the SC group, which indicated that the gut barrier was
well repaired. The mechanism of SC ameliorating Fn-DSS-induced colitis
could be related to the decreased levels of reactive oxygen species
(myeloperoxidase, total superoxide dismutase, catalase, H2O2, and malondialdehyde) in the colon, the inhibition
of endoplasmic reticulum stress, and the regulation of gut microbiota.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.