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An efficient approach based on the synthesis of phytostanyl esters with an acid-surfactant-combined catalyst in a solvent-free system was developed. The effect of catalyst dose, substrate molar ratio, reaction temperature, and acyl donor was considered. The reaction conditions were further optimized by response surface methodology, and a high yield of phytostanyl laurate (>92%) was obtained under optimum conditions: 3.17:1 molar ratio of lauric acid to plant stanols, 4.01% catalyst dose (w/w), 119 °C, and 4.1 h. FT-IR, MS, and NMR were adopted to confirm the chemical structure of phytostanyl laurate. Meanwhile, the physiochemical properties of different phytostanyl esters were investigated. Compared with phytostanols, the prepared phytostanyl esters had much lower melting temperature and higher oil solubility. There was no obvious difference in melting and solidification properties between sunflower oil with phytostanyl laurate (<5%) or oleate (<10%) and the original sunflower oil, suggesting that the esterification of phytostanols greatly facilitated their corporation into oil-based foods.

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Background:As an important factor causing end-stage renal disease, diabetic nephropathy is correlated with low-grade chronic inflammation and immune system activation. This study aimed to investigate the protective function of puerarin on the kidneys of diabetic rats. Material/Methods:A cohort of healthy male SD rats (7 weeks old) were randomly divided into a control group, a model group, and a puerarin treatment group with high (H), moderate (M), and low (L) dosage. After streptozotocin induction, puerarin was applied via intragastric administration for 8 consecutive weeks with dosages of 0.25, 0. 5 and 1.0 mg/(kg·d) for L, M, and H groups, respectively. Fasting blood glucose (BG), creatinine (Scr), urea nitrogen (BUN), and urine albumin excretion rate (UAER) were measured, along with morphological observation of renal cells. The expression of intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-a) was determined using immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, while renal cortex cell apoptosis was assayed by in situ end-labeling method. Results:Model rats had significantly elevated levels of BG, Scr, BUN, and UAER compared to controls (p<0.05). All these increases were partially but significantly suppressed by puerarin (p<0.05), which also caused marked improvement of histopathological damages. Puerarin at each dosage significantly eliminated elevations of ICAM-1 and TNF-a levels in model rats (p<0.05), and decreased apoptotic indexes of renal cortex cells (p<0.05). Conclusions:Early-stage renal damages can be significantly improved by puerarin, possibly via its suppression of ICAM-1 and TNF-a expression in diabetic rat kidneys.

Background: Vancomycin (VCM) is an antibiotic widely used to treat a range of serious bacterial infections; however, it is associated with nephrotoxicity. Vitamin C (VC) is a classical antioxidant that can alleviate various organ injuries and inflammatory responses by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress.This study aimed to examine the effect of VC on VCM-related nephrotoxicity in mice.Methods: Mice were randomized into four groups: control, VCM (400 mg/kg/day), VCM (400 mg/kg/day) + VC (200 mg/kg/day), and VC (200 mg/kg/day) groups. Both VCM and VC were administered via intraperitoneal injection for 7 d, after which kidney and blood samples were collected and evaluated. Creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) were measured.Results: In the VCM group, kidney index, renal injury score, cell apoptosis, serum Cr and BUN, and kidney Cr, BUN, MDA, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and NF-κB were higher compared to the control group (all P<0.05), while body weight and kidney SOD activity were lower (both P<0.05). By contrast, no differences were observed between the control and VC groups (VC and VCM + VC groups) for all these indicators. Conclusions:The antioxidant VC reduces VCM-related renal injury by reducing oxidative stress, cell apoptosis, and inflammation.

The benzoylformate decarboxylase gene (mdlC) from Pseudomonas putida was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The recombinant strain together with E. coli/pET30a-mdlB converted (S)-3-ethoxy-4-hydroxymandelic acid (S-EMA) into ethyl vanillin without ethyl vanillin degradation. 4 g ethyl vanillin/l was obtained from 10 g EMA/l within 12 h at 30 °C. This is the first report on the biotransformation of (S)-EMA to ethyl vanillin.

Abstract. In the present study, the key genes and biological functions associated with insulin resistance were investigated by comparing the gene expression profiles of adipose tissue obtained from insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant patients. The gene expression data set GSE20950 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus, including 39 adipose tissue samples obtained from insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery. Adipose samples were divided into two groups (the insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant groups) and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened out with packages of R. The interactions among DEGs were retrieved with Osprey and functional enrichment analysis was performed with the WebGestalt system. Information regarding the interaction network and enriched biological functions was combined to construct a functional interaction network. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis was then conducted using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery. A total of 170 DEGs were detected in the insulin-sensitive group, 8 downregulated and 162 upregulated. Response to glucose stimulus was the most significantly over-represented functional term. The focal adhesion pathway was identified to be significant in the genes of the functional interaction network. The present study revealed key biological functions and DEGs in adipose tissues associated with insulin resistance, which may facilitate the development of novel therapies for insulin resistance and diabetes. IntroductionDiabetes is caused by an absolute or relative deficiency of insulin. It is one of the most prevalent of all chronic diseases, which is characterized by high blood sugar and multiple secondary complications. Obesity is a risk factor for insulin resistance, a precursor of type 2 diabetes, which involves a decreased response to insulin signaling in several peripheral tissues including adipose, liver and muscle (1,2). However, not all obese individuals are insulin-resistant (3).Adipose tissue secretes numerous hormones and cytokines that function to regulate food intake and nutrient homeostasis, including insulin-like growth factor 2, leptin and resistin (4), and its role in the regulation of metabolism has been increasingly recognized in recent years (5). Previous studies have revealed a number of linkages between obesity and insulin resistance. Obesity-associated chronic inflammation in adipose tissue has a crucial role in the development of obesity-related insulin resistance (6-9). Adipocyte-derived cytokines are important in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (10). Hirosumi et al (11) indicated that the c-Jun amino-terminal kinase is a crucial mediator of obesity and insulin resistance. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this effect remain elusive.In the present study, the gene expression profiles of adipose tissue samples obtained from insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant patients were compared with...

Herbs are used in many domains, including medicine, nutrition, flavouring, beverages, dyeing, repellents, fragrances, cosmetics 1-2. Herbal medicine plays an important role in clinical therapy and is widely accepted as an alternative therapy, owing to its unmatched chemical diversity and minimum side effects. Terminalia is a well-known crude drug and a key herb ingredient in many important multi-herb remedies in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and it has been used for hundreds of years in China and other countries 3. Polyphenolic compounds are commonly found in both edible and inedible plants and they have been reported to have multiple biological effects, including antioxidant activity 4,5. Pharmacological studies revealed that polyphenolic compounds including gallic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid were the main active components in Terminalia and all of them have strong antioxidative activities 6,7. The reports from some publications showed that polyphenolic compounds had various pharmacological properties and could be used as antibacterial, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer 8. Polyphenolic compounds in herbs can effectively prevent cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases