The present study evaluated the potential beneficial effect of kefir (KF) against fatigue. Furthermore, the composition of the gut microbiota is related to health benefits in the host; therefore, the study also investigated the effect of KF on the gut microbiota composition. Male ICR mice from four groups (n = 8 per group) were orally administered KF once daily for four weeks at 0, 2.15, 4.31, and 10.76 g/kg/day and were designated as the vehicle, KF-1X, KF-2X, and KF-5X groups, respectively. The gut microbiota was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed a significant clustering of cecum after treatment in the vehicle, KF-1X, KF-2X, and KF-5X groups. The KF-2X and KF-5X groups showed a decreased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio compared with the vehicle group. In addition, anti-fatigue activity and exercise performance were evaluated on the basis of exhaustive swimming time, forelimb grip strength, and levels of serum lactate, ammonia, glucose, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatine kinase (CK) after a swimming exercise. The exhaustive swimming time for the KF-1X, KF-2X, and KF-5X groups was significantly longer than that for the vehicle group, and the forelimb grip strength of the KF-1X, KF-2X, and KF-5X groups was also significantly higher than that of the vehicle group. KF supplementation also decreased serum lactate, ammonia, BUN, and CK levels after the swimming test. However, tissue glycogen content, an important energy source for exercise, increased significantly with KF supplementation. Thus, KF supplementation can alter the gut microbiota composition, improve performance, and combat physical fatigue.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the bioactive phytochemicals of leaf essential oils of Cinnamomum osmophloeum on lipopolysaccharide/D-galactosamine (LPS/D-GalN)-induced acute hepatitis. The results revealed that post-treatment with 100 μmol/kg trans-cinnamaldehyde, (-)-aromadendrene, T-cadinol, or α-cadinol significantly decreased the aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels in serum. Moreover, both T-cadinol and α-cadinol treatments decreased the expressions of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) in the liver tissues when compared with the LPS/D-GalN group. Liver histopathology also showed that silymarin, trans-cinnamaldehyde, (-)-aromadendrene, T-cadinol, or α-cadinol significantly reduced the incidence of liver lesions induced by LPS/D-GalN. These results suggest that the above phytochemicals exhibit potent hepatoprotection against LPS/D-GalN-induced liver damage in mice, and their hepatoprotective effects may be due to the modulation of anti-inflammatory activities.

Regular exercise prevents lipid abnormalities and conditions such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and obesity; it considerably benefits sedentary individuals. However, individuals exhibit highly variable responses to exercise, probably due to genetic variations. Animal models are typically used to investigate the relationship of intrinsic exercise capacity with physiological, pathological, psychological, behavioral, and metabolic disorders. In the present study, we investigated differential physiological adaptations caused by intrinsic exercise capacity and explored the regulatory molecules or mechanisms through multiomics approaches. Outbred ICR mice (n = 100) performed an exhaustive swimming test and were ranked based on the exhaustive swimming time to distinguish intrinsically high- and low-capacity groups. Exercise performance, exercise fatigue indexes, glucose tolerance, and body compositions were assessed during the experimental processes. Furthermore, the gut microbiota, transcriptome, and proteome of soleus muscle with intrinsically high exercise capacity (HEC) and low exercise capacity (LEC) were further analyzed to reveal the most influential factors associated with differential exercise capacities. HEC mice outperformed LEC mice in physical activities (exhaustive swimming and forelimb grip strength tests) and exhibited higher glucose tolerance than LEC mice. Exercise-induced peripheral fatigue and the level of injury biomarkers (lactate, ammonia, creatine kinase, and aspartate aminotransferase) were also significantly lower in HEC mice than in LEC mice. Furthermore, the gut of the HEC mice contained significantly more Butyricicoccus than that of the LEC mice. In addition, transcriptome data of the soleus muscle revealed that the expression of microRNAs that are strongly associated with exercise performance-related physiological and metabolic functions (i.e., miR-383, miR-107, miR-30b, miR-669m, miR-191, miR-218, and miR-224) was higher in HEC mice than in LEC mice. The functional proteome data of soleus muscle indicated that the levels of key proteins related to muscle function and carbohydrate metabolism were also significantly higher in HEC mice than in LEC mice. Our study demonstrated that the mice with various intrinsic exercise capacities have different gut microbiome as well as transcriptome and proteome of soleus muscle by using multiomics approaches. The specific bacteria and regulatory factors, including miRNA and functional proteins, may be highly correlated with the adaptation of physiological functions and exercise capacity.

The findings of the present study provided insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying ferruginol-induced apoptosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells, indicating that this compound may be a potential candidate drug for anti-NSCLC.

BackgroundSome of the genus Rhododendron was used in traditional medicine for arthritis, acute and chronic bronchitis, asthma, pain, inflammation, rheumatism, hypertension and metabolic diseases and many species of the genus Rhododendron contain a large number of phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties that could be developed into pharmaceutical products.MethodsIn this study, the antioxidative phytochemicals of Rhododendron oldhamii Maxim. leaves were detected by an online HPLC–DPPH method. In addition, the anti-hyperuricemic effect of the active phytochemicals from R. oldhamii leaf extracts was investigated using potassium oxonate (PO)-induced acute hyperuricemia.ResultsSix phytochemicals, including (2R, 3R)-epicatechin (1), (2R, 3R)-taxifolin (2), (2R, 3R)-astilbin (3), hyposide (4), guaijaverin (5), and quercitrin (6), were isolated using the developed screening method. Of these, compounds 3, 4, 5, and 6 were found to be major bioactive phytochemicals, and their contents were determined to be 130.8 ± 10.9, 105.5 ± 8.5, 104.1 ± 4.7, and 108.6 ± 4.0 mg per gram of EtOAc fraction, respectively. In addition, the four major bioactive phytochemicals at the same dosage (100 mmol/kg) were administered to the abdominal cavity of potassium oxonate (PO)-induced hyperuricemic mice, and the serum uric acid level was measured after 3 h of administration. H&E staining showed that PO-induced kidney injury caused renal tubular epithelium nuclear condensation in the cortex areas or the appearance of numerous hyaline casts in the medulla areas; treatment with 100 mmol/kg of EtOAc fraction, (2R, 3R)-astilbin, hyposide, guaijaverin, and quercitrin significantly reduced kidney injury. In addition, the serum uric acid level was significantly suppressed by 54.1, 35.1, 56.3, 56.3, and 53.2 %, respectively, by the administrations of 100 mmol/kg EtOAc fraction and the derived major phytochemicals, (2R, 3R)-astilbin, hyposide, guaijaverin, and quercitrin, compared to the PO group. The administration of 10 mg/kg benzbromarone, a well-known uricosuric agent, significantly reduced the serum uric acid level by 45.5 % compared to the PO group.ConclusionThe in vivo decrease in uric acid was consistent with free radical scavenging activity, indicating that the major phytochemicals of R. oldhamii leave extracts and the derived phytochemicals possess potent hypouricemic effects, and they could be potential candidates for new hypouricemic agents.