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Evidence supports the theory that bacterial communities colonizing Echinacea purpurea contribute to the innate immune enhancing activity of this botanical. Previously we reported that only about half of the variation in in vitro monocyte stimulating activity exhibited by E. purpurea extracts could be accounted for by total bacterial load within the plant material. In the current study we test the hypothesis that the type of bacteria, in addition to bacterial load, is necessary to fully account for extract activity. Bacterial community composition within commercial and freshly harvested (wild and cultivated) E. purpurea aerial samples was determined using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. Bacterial isolates representing 38 different taxa identified to be present within E. purpurea were acquired and the activity exhibited by extracts of these isolates varied by over 8,000-fold. Members of the Proteobacteria exhibited the highest potency for in vitro macrophage activation and were the most predominant taxa. Furthermore, the mean activity exhibited by the Echinacea extracts could be solely accounted for by the activities and prevalence of Proteobacteria members comprising the plant-associated bacterial community. The efficacy of E. purpurea material for use against respiratory infections may be determined by the Proteobacterial community composition of this plant, since ingestion of bacteria (probiotics) is reported to have a protective effect against this health condition.

Although the mechanism of ethanol toxicity during embryogenesis is unknown, our earlier studies on Japanese rice fish (Oryzias latipes) embryos indicated that the effects might be mediated through oxidative stress. In this study we have determined the oxidative stress and the mRNA content of four antioxidant enzymes (catalase, glutathione reductase, glutathione-S-transferase, and superoxide dismutase) during Japanese rice fish embryogenesis (from 0 day post-fertilization to hatching) and after exposing the embryos to ethanol (100 and 300 mM) for 48 h at three stages (0-2, 1-3 and 4-6 day post fertilization, dpf) of organogenesis. We observed that oxidative stress was minimal in blastula, gastrula or neurula stages, increased gradually with the advancement of morphogenesis and reached its maximum level in hatchlings. The antioxidant enzyme mRNAs were constitutively expressed throughout development; however, the expression pattern was not identical among the enzymes. Catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) mRNAs were minimal in the fertilized eggs, but increased significantly in 1 dpf and then either sharply dropped (SOD) or maintained a steady-state (catalase). Glutathione S-transferase (GST) was very high in fertilized eggs and sharply dropped 1 dpf and then gradually increased thereafter. Glutathione reductase (GR) maintained a steady-state throughout the development. Ethanol was able to attenuate oxidative stress in embryos exposed only to 300 mM 1-3 dpf; no significant difference with controls was observed in other ethanol-treated groups. The antioxidant enzyme mRNAs also remained unaltered after ethanol treatment. From these data we conclude that the attenuation of oxidative stress by ethanol is probably due to the inhibition of normal growth of the embryos rather than by inhibiting catalase, GST, GR or SOD-dependent activities.

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We previously demonstrated that extracts from Echinacea purpurea material varied substantially in their ability to activate macrophages in vitro and that this variation was due to differences in their content of bacterial components. The purpose of the current study was to identify soil conditions (organic matter, nitrogen, and moisture content) that alter the macrophage activation potential of E. purpurea and determine whether these changes in activity correspond to shifts in the plant-associated microbiome. Increased levels of soil organic matter significantly enhanced macrophage activation exhibited by the root extracts of E. purpurea (p < 0.0001). A change in soil organic matter content from 5.6% to 67.4% led to a 4.2-fold increase in the macrophage activation potential of extracts from E. purpurea. Bacterial communities also differed significantly between root materials cultivated in soils with different levels of organic matter (p < 0.001). These results indicate that the level of soil organic matter is an agricultural factor that can alter the bacterial microbiome, and thereby the activity, of E. purpurea roots. Since ingestion of bacterial preparation (e.g., probiotics) is reported to impact human health, it is likely that the medicinal value of Echinacea is influenced by cultivation conditions that alter its associated bacterial community.

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Insoluble beta glucans and TLR agonists derived from colonizing microorganisms are responsible for in vitro macrophage activation by edible mushrooms.