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Naringin (NAR) is a dihydroflavonoid with various biological activities and pharmacological effects, especially natural antioxidant activity.

Polysaccharides are a class of biological macromolecules made up of sugar chains with multiple glycosidic bonds. To explore the extracted, purified, carboxymethylated and phosphorylated modified to obtained carboxymethylated polysaccharides (HSPS) and phosphorylated polysaccharides (HSPP), and the HSPS and HSPP were characterized and analyzed, and their antioxidant activity measured. Response surface design was used for the synthesis process of HSPS and HSPP, the structure characterization and antioxidant activities of HSPS and HSPP were evaluated. The results showed that the Mw and Mn of HSP were 14.66 kDa and 8.39 kDa, respectively. The monosaccharides were mainly galactose, glucose, xylose, and arabinose in a molar ratio of 37.68%: 24.43%: 13.63%: 9.18%. The optimal synthesis conditions for HSPS were as follows: reaction time of 2.01 h, reaction temperature of 44.61°C and the amount of monochloroacetic acid necessary was 1.18 g. The optimal synthesis conditions for HSPP were: reaction time of 4.28 h, reaction temperature of 80.78°C, and reaction pH of 8.98. HSPS and HSPP have scavenging effects on ABTS, super oxideanion and hydroxyl radicals. The HSPS and HSPP were characterized and analyzed, and their antioxidant activity measured.

Nanomedicine has been used in tumor treatment and research due to its advantages of targeting, controlled release and high absorption rate. Silver nanoparticle (AgNPs), with the advantages of small particle size, and large specific surface area, are of great potential value in suppressing and killing cancer cells. Methods: AgNPs–polyethyleneimine (PEI) –folate (FA) (AgNPs–PF) were synthesised and characterised by several analytical techniques. The ovarian cancer cell line Skov3 was used as the cell model to detect the tumor treatment activity of AgNPs, AgNPs–PF and AgNPs+ AgNPs–PF. Results: Results shown that AgNPs–PF were successfully constructed with uniform particle size of 50–70 nm. AgNPs, AgNPs–PF, AgNPs–PF+ AgNPs all showed a certain ability to inhibit cancer cell proliferation, increase reactive oxygen species and decrease the mitochondrial membrane potential. All AgNPs, AgNPs–PF, AgNPs+ AgNPs–PF promoted DNA damage in Skov3 cells, accompanied by the generation of histone RAD51 and γ-H2AX site, and eventually leading to the apoptosis of Skov3 cells. The combination of AgNPs–PF and AgNPs had a more pronounced effect than either material alone. Conclusion: This study is to report that the combination of AgNPs+ AgNPs–PF can cause stronger cytotoxicity and induce significantly greater cell death compared to AgNPs or AgNPs–PF alone in Skov3 cells. Therefore, the combined application of drugs could be the best way to cancer treatment.

Zearalenone (ZEN), one of the most prevalent non-steroidal oestrogenic mycotoxins, is primarily produced by Fusarium fungi. Due to its toxicity as an oestrogenic compound and wide distribution in feed and foods, the reproductive toxicology of ZEN exposure is of public concern. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of ZEN on Sertoli cells to identify apoptotic pathways induced by this compound. We found that ZEN reduced the viability and caused apoptosis in Sertoli cells in vitro. Notably, we observed that such effects were associated with a significant increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the number of cells that showed positive staining for γH2AX and RAD51, enzymes essential for repairing DNA damage. There was a parallel decrease in the expression of occludin and connexin 43, proteins that are present in the testis-blood barrier and gap junctions of Sertoli cells, respectively. Overall, the present study confirms that ZEN exposure can have serious deleterious effects on mammalian Sertoli cells and offers novel insight about its molecular targets in these cells.

In this study, lotus root polysaccharide was taken as raw material. The preparation technology of its polysaccharide selenium was established by response surface design, and its antioxidant activity in vitro was studied. Selenium content was taken as the detection index, and the effects of reaction time, the ratio of sodium selenite to the polysaccharide, and the volume fraction of nitric acid on selenium content were investigated. Through the response surface method, the optimal synthesis conditions of lotus root polysaccharide selenium were obtained as follows: reaction time of 5.36h, the ratio of sodium selenite and lotus root polysaccharide is 0.78, the volume fraction of nitric acid 0.47%, the selenium content of lotus root polysaccharide selenium 0.1106%. Selenium, a polysaccharide from lotus root, had a scavenging effect on ABTS radical and superoxide ion, and the maximum scavenging rate was 52.17% and 85.23%, respectively. Aa shows that the synthesized lotus root polysaccharide selenium can be used as an antioxidant or functional food.

Annual gross primary productivity (AGPP) is the basis for grain production and terrestrial carbon sequestration. Mapping regional AGPP from site measurements provides methodological support for analysing AGPP spatiotemporal variations thereby ensures regional food security and mitigates climate change. Based on 641 site-year eddy covariance measuring AGPP from China, we built an AGPP mapping scheme based on its formation and selected the optimal mapping way, which was conducted through analysing the predicting performances of divergent mapping tools, variable combinations, and mapping approaches in predicting observed AGPP variations. The reasonability of the selected optimal scheme was confirmed by assessing the consistency between its generating AGPP and previous products in spatiotemporal variations and total amount. Random forest regression tree explained 85 % of observed AGPP variations, outperforming other machine learning algorithms and classical statistical methods. Variable combinations containing climate, soil, and biological factors showed superior performance to other variable combinations. Mapping AGPP through predicting AGPP per leaf area (PAGPP) explained 86 % of AGPP variations, which was superior to other approaches. The optimal scheme was thus using a random forest regression tree, combining climate, soil, and biological variables, and predicting PAGPP. The optimal scheme generating AGPP of Chinese terrestrial ecosystems decreased from southeast to northwest, which was highly consistent with previous products. The interannual trend and interannual variation of our generating AGPP showed a decreasing trend from east to west and from southeast to northwest, respectively, which was consistent with data-oriented products. The mean total amount of generated AGPP was 7.03 ± 0.45 PgC yr

In this study, we extracted lotus root polysaccharide (LRP) and synthesized carboxymethylated lotus root polysaccharide (CM-LRP) using response surface methodology (RSM). The monosaccharide component of LRP was analyzed by pre-column derivatization high performance liquid chromatography (PCD-HPLC). The polysaccharide was characterized by ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy scan, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), circular dichroism spectrometer (CD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the main monosaccharide component of LRP was glucose, accounting for more than 98% of the total polysaccharide component. RSM analyses revealed that the optimal conditions for CM-LRP synthesis were a reaction duration of 2.22 h, the chloroacetic acid dosage is 2.02 g, and a temperature of 46.87 °C. Under these conditions, the predicted degree of substitution (DS) was determined to be 0.5101. The superoxide anion, ferrous ion and hydroxyl radical antioxidant system were constructed to study the antioxidant activity of LRP and CMLRP. The activity of CMLRP to remove ferrous ions and hydroxyl radicals were significantly stronger than that of LRP, and it also showed a certain concentration-dependent. LRP has a better scavenging ability than CMLRP in scavenging superoxide anion free radicals. Our data revealed that CM-LRP is a promising natural antioxidant with potential value as a food supplement.

A response surface method (RSM) was employed to optimize polysaccharide extraction from Panax japonicus (PJPS). Also, carboxymethyl substitution of PJPS (CM-PJPS) was studied using a response surface methodology. A three-variable Box–Behnken design (BBD) methodology was applied. RSM analyses revealed that conditions that maximized polysaccharide yield were as follows: a liquid-to-material ratio 22:1, an extraction temperature of 83.99 °C and an extraction duration of 2.32 h. Under optimum extraction conditions, the average absorbance value of PJPS was 0.6001, and the purity of PJPS was 98.2%. A quadratic regression model for CM-PJPS was obtained via BBD. The optimum extraction conditions for the process were determined to include a 1.38 h reaction time, 1.24 g monochloroacetic acid (MCA) and a reaction temperature of 52.85 °C. Under optimum extraction conditions, the average degree of CM-PJPS substitution was 0.9733. The structure of the PJPS was examined by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). CM-PJPS exhibited the strongest anti-oxidant activity in vitro. In addition, CM-PJPS inhibited Skov3 and A2780 cancer cell proliferation. Our data revealed that CM-PJPS is a promising natural antioxidant with potential value as a food supplement and for treatment of cancer.

In this study, we extracted lotus root polysaccharide (LRP) and synthesised phosphorylated lotus root polysaccharide (PLP) using response surface methodology (RSM). RSM analyses revealed that the optimal conditions for PLP synthesis were a reaction duration of 7 h, temperature of 70 °C and pH of 11.38. Under these conditions, the predicted degree of substitution (DS%) was determined to be 9.96%. The structure of the LRP1 was examined by ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy scan, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) (1H and 13C). The monosaccharide composition of LRP1 was determined to be mannose (0.12%), ribose(0.18%), glucuronic acid(0.60%), galacturonic acid(0.09%), glucose(98.79%) and galactose(0.21%). The number average molecular weight (Mn) and the weight average molecular weight (Mw) of LRP1 were 10236 and 251783 g/mol. LRP1 exhibited high antioxidant activities in scavenging ABTS radicals, Superoxide anion radicals and Metal ion scavenging activity. PLP exhibited strong antioxidant activity in vitro. In addition, PLP inhibited Skov3 cancer cell proliferation and induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Our data revealed that PLP is a promising natural antioxidant with potential value as a food supplement and for the treatment of cancer.

Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) has proven characteristics of an endocrine-disrupting compound (EDC), which can threaten the reproductive health of humans and other animals. In mammals, a series of chromosomal events occur during the meiotic stage of oocytes. External toxins may enter the body and cause infertility and other related diseases. Therefore, it is crucial to explore the influence of DEHP exposure on the molecular mechanism of germ cell meiosis. We used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to analyse the ovaries of foetal mice at embryonic day 12.5 (E12.5) and E14.5 after maternal DEHP exposure. DEHP exposure further activated the pathways related to DNA repair in germ cells, increased the expression of genes related to DNA damage and changed the developmental trajectory of germ cells. DEHP exposure may affect the proliferation of pregranulosa (PG) cells. Moreover, DEHP exposure altered the signal transduction between PG cells and germ cells. We showed that DEHP affects meiosis by causing DNA damage in oocytes and disrupting the signal transduction between PG cells and germ cells. These results provide a strong theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of DEHP-mediated female reproductive health problems.