Background: Constipation is a gastrointestinal symptom with high incidence rate and large number of patients. It is becoming one of the urgent medical problems. Poor intestinal motility is one of the important causes of constipation. Current drug treatments for constipation are associated with many side effects; thus, it is necessary to study more effective treatment methods and potential mechanism.Methods: A zebrafish model of intestinal motility obstruction was established by loperamide hydrochloride to evaluate the effect of probiotic, food ingredients, and combination on intestinal peristalsis according to intestinal peristalsis frequency counts.The gastrointestinal survival ability of the best probiotics was evaluated by surface hydrophobicity, self-aggregation, acid and bile salt tolerance, and gastrointestinal transit tolerance. Interactions between probiotics and food ingredients were studied in vivo and in vitro. The expression of 5-HT was detected by ELISA and fluorescence immunoassay, and 5-HT related genes were detected by RT-PCR.

Aims Probiotics and plant extracts have been used to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The study aimed to explore the effect of the interaction between potential probiotics and bitter gourd extract (BGE) or mulberry leaf extract (MLE) on T2DM. Methods and Results Potential probiotics were tested for their gastrointestinal tract viability and growth situation combined with BGE and MLE in vitro. The diabetes model was constructed in C57BL/6 mice, and the potential effect and mechanism of regulating blood glucose were verified. Hematoxylin‐eosin staining (HE), gas chromatography (GC), ELISA, and RT‐PCR were also used for analysis. The results showed that Lactobacillus casei K11 had outstanding gastrointestinal tract viability and growth situation with plant extracts. Administration of L. casei K11 combined with BGE and MLE significantly reduced blood glucose levels and ameliorated insulin resistance in diabetic mice than the administration of Lactobacillus paracasei J5 combined with BGE and MLE. Moreover, in L. casei K11 combined with BGE and MLE groups, lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and proinflammatory cytokine levels were regulated. Furthermore, the results indicated that L. casei K11 combined with BGE and MLE improved free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2) upregulation, glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) secretion, and short‐chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels. Conclusions These findings showed that L. casei K11 combined with BGE and MLE modified the SCFA–FFAR2–GLP‐1 pathway to improve T2DM. Significance and Impact of the Study This study identified a new modality for evaluating interactions between potential probiotics and plant extracts. Our findings revealed that L. casei K11 combined with BGE and MLE significantly promoted the SCFA–FFAR2–GLP‐1 pathway to inhibit T2DM.

Probiotics and plant extracts are considered to prevent the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study explores the effects of using both probiotics and plant extracts on NAFLD. This study evaluated the effects of plant extracts on lipid droplet accumulation and the growth of probiotics in vitro. A C57BL/6 mouse model was used to examine the effects of probiotics and plant extracts on NAFLD. The body weight and food intake were measured. The levels of serum lipids, oxidative stress, and the liver injury index were determined using commercial kits. HE staining, gas chromatography and Real-Time PCR were also used for analysis. The results revealed that administration of Lactobacillus casei YRL577 and Lactobacilli paracasei X11 with resveratrol (RES) or tea polyphenols (TP) significantly reduced the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerols (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and increased the level of the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). The groups of L. casei YRL577 with RES and TP also regulated the liver structure, oxidative stress, and injury. Furthermore, L. casei YRL577 with TP exhibited a more positive effect toward improving the NAFLD and increased the concentrations of the butyric acid than other three combined groups. L. casei YRL577 with TP up-regulated the mRNA levels of the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15) and decreased the mRNA levels of the apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT). These findings showed that L. casei YRL577 + TP modified genes in the intestinal bile acid pathway improved markers of NAFLD.

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Volatile constituents are critical to the flavor of tea, but the changes of them in Raw Pu-erh tea (RAPT) during storage have not been clearly understood. This work aimed to investigate the volatile composition and their changes of RAPT at various storage durations. The volatile profile of RAPT was determined using headspace solid-phase microextraction in combination gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 130 volatile compounds were identified in RAPT samples, and 64 of them were shared by all samples. The aroma attributes of RAPT over a storage period ranging from 0 to 10 years were assessed through the integration of odor activity value, aroma characteristic influence value and multivariate statistical. The results revealed that RAPT highlighted a distinct floral and fruity aroma profile after storage for approximately 3 - 4 years. Furthermore, a notable shift in aroma was observed after 5 and 10 years of storage. According to the odor activity value (≥ 100), eight volatile compounds were revealed as the key compounds to the aroma of RAPT during storage. These compounds include linalool, α-terpineol, geraniol, trans-𝛽-ionone, α-ionone, (E,E)-2,4-heptadienal, 1-octanol, and octanal. The findings of this study offer a scientific foundation and valuable insights for understanding the quality of RAPT during storage.