A new steroidal alkaloid from the seeds of Holarrhena antidysenterica

A new steroidal alkaloid, named antidysentericine, has been isolated from the seeds of Holarrhena antidysenterica and characterized as 3 beta-dimethylaminocon-5-enin-18-one (1).     

RNAi-mediated knockdown of INHBB increases apoptosis and inhibits steroidogenesis in mouse granulosa cells

Inhibins are members of the TGFβ superfamily and act as suppressors of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion from pituitary glands via a negative feedback mechanism to regulate folliculogenesis. In this study, the INHBB gene was knocked down by three RNAi-Ready pSIREN-RetroQ-ZsGreen vector- mediated recombinant plasmids to explore the effects of INHBB silencing on granulosa cell (GC) cell cycle, apoptosis and steroid production in vitro. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, flow cytometry and ELISA were performed to evaluate the role of INHBB in the mouse GC cell cycle, apoptosis and steroid production in vitro. The results showed that the relative mRNA and protein expression of INHBB in mouse GCs can be significantly reduced by RNAi with pshRNA-B1, pshRNA-B2 and pshRNA-B3 plasmids, with pshRNA-B3 having the best knockdown efficiency. Downregulation of the expression of INHBB significantly arrests cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle and increases the apoptosis rate in GCs. This was further confirmed by downregulation of the protein expressions of Cyclin D1, Cyclin E and Bcl2, while the protein expression of Bax was upregulated. In addition, specific downregulation of INHBB markedly decreased the concentration of estradiol and progesterone, which was further validated by the decrease in the mRNA levels of CYP19A1and CYP11A1. These findings suggest that inhibin βB is important in the regulation of apoptosis and cell cycle progression in granulosa cells. Furthermore, the inhibin βB subunit has a role in the regulation of steroid hormone biosynthesis. Evidence is accumulating to support the concept that inhibin βB is physiologically essential for early folliculogenesis in the mouse.     

Effect of different levels of dietary sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) peel extract on humoral immune system responses in broiler chickens

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different levels of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) peel extract (SOPE) on humoral immune system responses in broiler chickens. Three hundred 1‐day broilers (Ross‐308) were randomly allocated to treatments varying in supplemental SOPE added in the drinking water. The experimental groups consisted of three treatments fed for 42 days as follows: a control treatment without feed extract, a treatment containing 1000 ppm of SOPE and a treatment containing 1250 ppm of SOPE. All treatments were isocaloric and isonitrogenous. Broilers were vaccinated with Newcastle disease virus (NDV), avian influenza (AI), infectious bursal disease (IBD) and infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) vaccines. Antibody titer response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was higher in the group fed 1250 ppm of SOPE (P < 0.05) as well as for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM. Similarly, antibody titer responses to all vaccines were constantly elevated (P < 0.05) by SOPE enrichment in a dose‐dependent manner. Relative weights of spleen and bursa of Fabricius were unaffected by treatments. Dietary SOPE supplementation may improve the immune response and diseases resistance, indicating that it can constitute a useful additive in broiler feeding. Thus, supplying SOPE in rations may help to improve relative immune response in broiler chickens.     

Inhibition of tumorigenesis in ApcMin/+ mice by a combination of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate and fish oil

The effect of a combination of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) with fish oil on intestinal tumorigenesis in Apc (Min/+) mice fed a high-fat diet was investigated in the present study. The combined treatment of EGCG and fish oil for 9 weeks reduced the tumor number by 53% as compared to controls while neither agent alone had a significant effect. Apoptosis was significantly increased in all treatment groups. beta-Catenin nuclear positivity in adenomas from the combination group was lower than control mice, implicating the modulation of Wnt signaling by the combination. Fish oil and the combination significantly reduced prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2) levels in small intestinal tumors as compared to controls, suggesting modulation of aberrant arachidonic acid metabolism by fish oil. Akt phosphorylation in adenomas was significantly reduced in all treatment groups, which may have contributed to the observed increase in apoptosis. The results indicate that a combination of low doses of EGCG and fish oil can inhibit tumor multiplicity in Apc (Min/+) mice.     

Abundance and richness of invertebrates in shade-grown versus sun-exposed coffee home gardens in Indonesia

Agroforestry Systems - Complex agroforestry systems are suggested as a possible solution to reduce the effects of deforestation in the tropics while enhancing the livelihoods of local human...     

荨麻皮刺水提液对小鼠离体肠平滑肌运动的影响

【目的】研究荨麻促进消化道平滑肌运动的植株主要部位,分析其可能的受体机制。【方法】用生物信号处理系统监测麻叶荨麻皮刺与内茎(不含皮刺)水提液对小鼠离体小肠平滑肌的影响。【结果】2倍浓度递增(0.1%~3.2%)的皮刺剂量依赖性增加小肠收缩幅度、收缩张力和收缩峰值(P<0.05),但对收缩频率无影响(P>0.05);而内茎浓度达0.4%后使小肠收缩频率减慢(P<0.05)。0.8%皮刺一次性用药后小肠收缩幅度、收缩张力、收缩峰值均显著升高(P<0.05),而同剂量内茎对小肠收缩无影响(P>0.05)。M-受体阻断剂ATr与0.8%皮刺联合用药可使收缩幅度显著减弱(P<0.05)。【结论】荨麻植株的皮刺对消化道平滑肌具有促进作用,且可能部分作用是通过激活M-受体而实现。     

Chemical composition and in vitro antifungal activity of Sambucus ebulus and Actinidia deliciosa on the fish pathogenic fungus,Saprolegnia parasitica

The aim of the present study was to determine the chemical composition of Sambucus ebulus and Actinidia deliciosa ethanolic extracts as well as their in vitro antifungal activity on the mycelial growth of the water mold, Saprolegnia parasitica. The preliminary minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and minimum lethal concentration (MLC) were determined by the HeMP method and finally, concentrations of each extract ranging from 1 to 10% were prepared by an agar dilution method to assess the in vitro antifungal activity, quantitatively. Both herbal extracts inhibited growth of Saprolegnia hyphae in vitro. Complete in vitro growth inhibition was found at a concentration of ≥5% for S. ebulus, whereas it was not observed even at 10% concentration of A. deliciosa. Based on gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis, the main constituents of S. ebulus include monophthalate (66.17%), fatty acids (26.47%), phytol (4.25%), and acetic acid (2.11%). Using colorimetric assays, A. deliciosa contained phenolic contents at 162 mg gallic acid (GAE)/g DW and flavonoid contents at 2.31 mg quercetin (QE)/g DW. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that S. ebulus and A. deliciosa showed some antifungal activities against S. parasitica with formerly exhibiting stronger activity (p < 0.05).

     

Inhibition of protease activities in discus Symphysodon spp. by three plant meals

Based on biochemical assays and electrophoretical methods, the inhibitory effects of three plant meals (soybean meal, wheat meal, winged bean meal) on digestive alkaline proteases of discus were investigated. Casein assays revealed that increasing levels of soybean meal caused a linear inhibitory effect on activity of protease. SDS-PAGE images revealed that trypsin and chymotrypsin were the inhibited enzymes. Soybean showed the lowest inhibition rate followed by wheat meal and raw winged bean. There was a quadratic relationship between wheat meal levels and its inhibition of protease acitivity. The highest inhibitory effect was obtained with the winged bean meal with inhibition of caseinolytic activities ranging from 3.6–98.6%. Results from this study showed the potential of both soybean meal and wheat meal as ingredients for practical diet for discus, while demonstrating the need for further improvement in processing method for winged bean meal.     

Prenatal Development of the Eye Tunics in the Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius)

Studies of ocular development in the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) have not been reported previously. The aim of the present investigation was therefore to document the major landmarks and the time course in the prenatal development of the eye tunics in dromedary camel and its accommodation with the surrounding hard environment of the desert. Serial histological sections of dromedary camel embryos and foetuses were used. Age estimation was made on the basis of gestational size, crown vertebral‐rump length (CVRL), which ranged 1.2–110 cm. The eye of the dromedary camel developed in a similar manner to that of the human and domestic animals eyes; the principal differences were in the time of occurrence of certain developmental events, pigmented peripheral cornea near the limbus, a remarkably thickened Descemet's membrane and pigmentation in the corneo‐scleral junction, which represent an adaptive modification in relation to a severe environment.     

Herbaceous species diversity in relation to fire severity in Zagros oak forests,Iran

Zagros forests are mainly covered byQuercus brantii L. coppices and oak sprout clumps occupy the forest area like patches. We investigated post-fire herbaceous diversity in the first growing season after fire. For this purpose neighboring burned and unburned areas were selected with the same plant species and ecological conditions. The data were collected from areas subjected to different fire severities. Overall 6 treatments were considered with respect to fire severity and the mi-crosites of inside and outside of oak sprout clumps including： unburned inside and outside of sprout clumps （Ni and No）, inside of sprout clumps that burned with high fire severity （H）, inside of sprout clumps that burned with moderate fire severity （M）, outside of sprout clumps that burned with low fire severity （OH and OM）. Different herbaceous com-position was observed in the unburned inside and outside of oak sprout clumps. The species diversity and richness were increased in treatments burned with low and moderate fire severity. However, in treatment burned with high fire severity （H）, herbaceous cover was reduced, even-ness was increased, and richness and diversity were not significantly changed. We concluded that besides the microsites conditions in forest, fire severity is an inseparable part of the ecological effect of fire on her-baceous composition.