No abstract

Key Points Question Are the effects of oral iron supplements alone equivalent to a regimen of oral iron supplements plus vitamin C in the treatment of iron deficiency anemia? Findings In this randomized clinical trial that included 440 adults with iron deficiency anemia, the mean change in hemoglobin level after 2 weeks was 2.00 g/dL in the oral iron supplements plus vitamin C group, compared with 1.84 g/dL in the oral iron supplements–only group. This difference met prespecified criteria for equivalence. Meaning The use of oral iron supplements alone is comparable to a regimen of vitamin C supplemented with oral iron for patients with iron deficiency anemia.

Panax notoginseng, a well-known and commonly used traditional Chinese herb, has been used in China for six hundred years. Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) were extracted from the root of the plant. This is the first study on anti-hyperglycemic and anti-obese effects of PNS in genetic model mice. Additionally, the preventive effect on diabetic nephropathy was investigated. Animals received intraperitoneal injections of PNS 50 or 200 mg/kg daily. On day 12, 22 and 30, PNS-treated groups had significantly lower fasting blood glucose levels and smaller body weight incremental percentage. After a 12-day treatment, glucose tolerance of PNS groups were significantly improved; these indices in PNS-treated mice exhibited a dose-dependent improvement. Furthermore, on day 30, the serum insulin resistance index and triglyceride levels of PNS-treated groups decreased significantly, and the development of the mice glomerular lesions was prevented significantly. The results in this present paper indicate that PNS possesses anti-diabetes and anti-obese activities and may prove to be of clinical importance in improving the management of type 2 diabetes.

Flesh lignification is a specific chilling response that causes deterioration in the quality of stored red-fleshed loquat fruit (Eribotrya japonica) and is one aspect of wider chilling injury. APETALA2/ETHLENE RESPONSIVE FACTOR (AP2/ERF) transcription factors are important regulators of plant low-temperature responses and lignin biosynthesis. In this study, the expression and action of 27 AP2/ERF genes from the red-fleshed loquat cultivar ‘Luoyangqing’ were investigated in order to identify transcription factors regulating low-temperature-induced lignification. EjERF27, EjERF30, EjERF36, and EjERF39 were significantly induced by storage at 0 °C but inhibited by a low-temperature conditioning treatment (pre-storage at 5 °C for 6 days before storage at 0 °C, which reduces low-temperature-induced lignification), and their transcript levels positively correlated with flesh lignification. A dual-luciferase assay indicated that EjERF39 could transactivate the promoter of the lignin biosynthetic gene Ej4CL1, and an electrophoretic mobility shift assay confirmed that EjERF39 recognizes the DRE element in the promoter region of Ej4CL1. Furthermore, the combination of EjERF39 and the previously characterized EjMYB8 synergistically transactivated the Ej4CL1 promoter, and both transcription factors showed expression patterns correlated with lignification in postharvest treatments and red-fleshed ‘Luoyangqing’ and white-fleshed ‘Ninghaibai’ cultivars with different lignification responses. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation and luciferase complementation imaging assays confirmed direct protein–protein interaction between EjERF39 and EjMYB8. These data indicate that EjERF39 is a novel cold-responsive transcriptional activator of Ej4CL1 that forms a synergistic activator complex with EjMYB8 and contributes to loquat fruit lignification at low temperatures.