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The study was to explore the effect of the extracts of Angelica sinensis (EAs) on lipid oxidation in fish feeds compared with ethoxyquin (EQ) and the effect of dietary EAs on growth performance of carp (Cyprinus carpio var. Jian). Firstly, fish feeds were respectively added with EQ, and ethyl ether extract, ethyl acetate extract (EAE), acetone extract, ethanol extract (EE) and aqueous extract (AQE) of Angelica sinensis, except for the control. The results showed that EAs and EQ inhibited lipid oxidation in fish feeds (P < 0.05). Of all of the examined EAs, EAE showed the strongest protective effects against lipid oxidation (P < 0.05). Moreover, EAE at high concentrations showed a stronger effect on lipid oxidation compared with EQ (P < 0.05). Then, 7 experimental diets respectively supplemented with 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 g/kg of EAE were fed to the respective treatment groups for 30 d. Four replicates were performed for each treatment group; 20 carp (mean weight: 12.10 ± 0.13 g) were in each replicate. The results indicated that dietary EAE improved the growth performance in carp (P < 0.05). The appropriate concentration of EAE for carp growth was estimated to be 3.643 g/kg diet. Thus, EAE could be used as a natural antioxidant in feeds for Jian carp. Keywords: Angelica sinensis, Extracts, Ethoxyquin, Lipid oxidation, Growth performance

The application of blueberry anthocyanins (ANs) was limited due to their low in-process stability and bioavailability. In our study, the stability and antioxidant capacity of ANs before and after adding bovine serum albumin (BSA) were examined by simulating various processing, storage (light, sucrose, and vitamin C (Vc)), and in vitro simulated digestion parameters. For this purpose, pH-differential method, high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS), peroxyl scavenging capacity assay, and cellular antioxidant assay were conducted. BSA at different concentrations, specifically at 0.15 mg/mL, inhibited the degradation of ANs and the loss of antioxidant capacity. The results suggest that BSA has a positive effect on ANs.

The CC chemokine receptor 3 (CCR3) expressed by eosinophils, mast cells and Th2 cells is closely related to allergic diseases. The objective of this study was to explore whether silencing of CCR3 with short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) delivered by a lentiviral vector could impact the function of mast cells in a murine model of allergic rhinitis (AR) in vivo. The murine model of allergic rhinitis (AR) inducing by ovalbumin (OVA) was constructed, and the BALB/c mice were divided into normal control group, AR group, controlshRNA treated group and lentiviral CCR3-shRNA treated group. The recombinant lentivirus vectors which express a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting the CCR3 were dropped into the nasal cavity of OVA-sensitized mice before the challenges. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and western blotting were performed to observe inhibitory effect of CCR3 gene. Nasal symptoms of mice and OVA-specific IgE in each group were assessed. Concentrations of histamine, tryptase and Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) in bone marrow, peripheral blood and nasal mucosa were analyzed. Furthermore, histological analysis and electron microscopy analysis were applied to detect the histology changes of nasal mucosa and the infiltration of mast cells in nasal mucosa. The results showed that administration of CCR3shRNA could effectively inhibit the expression of the CCR3 gene in bone marrow, peripheral blood and nasal mucosa, which reduced the nasal symptoms, the level of OVA-specific IgE, the inflammatory cells and mast cells infiltration into nasal cavity, and relieved the histopathological changes of nasal mucosa. In addition, intervention of CCR3shRNA could reduce the levels of the histamine, tryptase and PGD2 in bone marrow, peripheral blood and nasal mucosa. These results suggest that inhibition of CCR3 gene expression by shRNAs lentiviral vectors can effectively attenuate migration, infiltration and degranulation of mast cells in local tissues and alleviate the inflammation of allergic rhinitis mice.

A fluorescence paper-based sensor method by simply using thiomalic acid modified CdTe (TMA-capped CdTe) was proposed for visual detection of silver ions (Ag+). Red-emission TMA-capped CdTe with a large amount of carboxyl groups on the surface could be combined with Ag+ by electrostatic interaction, thus leading to the fluorescence quenching. It was found that the adding of amino acids contributed to fluorescence recovery by the leaving of Ag+ on the surface of TMA-capped CdTe. Moreover, the more amino group, benzene and thiol group equipped in the structure of amino acid, the stronger fluorescence restoring of CdTe could be achieved. This fluorescence spectrometry method for Ag+ showed low detection of limit with the value of 13.16 nmol/L, with no response to other heavy metals, which demonstrating its high sensitivity and high selectivity for Ag+. More importantly, this paper-based sensor method combined with chemometrics could accurately identify and quantify different concentrations of Ag+ in different complex matrices. This fast, economical, accurate and effective approach exhibited a new idea for the on-site detection of Ag+, and was expected to be extended to the on-site detection of Ag+ in biological and environmental fields.

Firstly, a linoleic and linolenic acid emulsion and fish feeds were incubated with graded levels of ethoxyquin (EQ) and petroleum ether extract, ethyl acetate extract (EAE), ethanol extract and aqueous extract of Angelica sinensis. The results showed that EQ and extracts of Angelica sinensis (EAs) inhibited lipid oxidation in material above. Of all of the examined EAs, EAE showed the strongest protective effects against the lipid oxidation. Moreover, EAE at high concentrations showed a stronger inhibitory effect on lipid oxidation than that of EQ. Next, 7 experimental diets that respectively supplemented 0.0, 0.2, 0.8 and 3.2 g kg−1 of EQ and EAE were fed to 280 juvenile red carp (Cyprinus carpio var. xingguonensis) with seven treatment groups for 30 days. The results indicated that dietary EAE improved growth performance in carp. Moreover, dietary EAE increased the activities of trypsin, lipase, alpha-amylase, alkaline phosphatase, glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase and glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and decreased plasma ammonia content in carp. Meanwhile, dietary EAE reduced the levels of malondialdehyde and raised the activities of anti-superoxide anion, anti-hydroxyl radical, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase and the content of reduced glutathione in the hepatopancreas and intestine of carp. However, with the exception of GPT, dietary EQ got the opposite results to dietary EAE in carp. These results revealed that dietary EAE improved the digestive, absorptive and antioxidant capacities in fish. However, dietary EQ inhibited the digestive, absorptive and antioxidant capacities in fish. So, EAE could be used as a natural antioxidant for replacing EQ in fish feeds.

Rigid macromolecular chains possess weak mobility and have difficulty with conformational adjustment, resulting in some “free intermolecular interaction sites” of hydrogen bonds. Herein, aramid oligomers (OPBIA) with different average polymerization degree (DP) were synthesized and added in aramid fiber (PBIA) to fill these free interaction sites, aiming to form stronger interchain hydrogen bonding interactions and achieve self-enhancement in mechanical properties of aramid fiber. Variable-temperature Fourier transform infrared spectrometer was employed to in situ monitor the evolution of hydrogen bonds in aramid from 30 °C to 360 °C. The results show that the value of hydrogen bonding enthalpy change is −19.37 kJ mol−1 after adding OPBIA5 (DP = 5) in PBIA, whose absolute value is obviously larger than that of PBIA (−13.14 kJ mol−1). This demonstrates that the oligomer improves intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions effectively. Correspondingly, the tensile strength and compressive strength of PBIA/OPBIA5 fiber increases by 23.1% and 29.4%, respectively, compared to those of PBIA fiber. Besides, the enhancement of properties is related to the DP of oligomers, OPBIA with low DP has stronger effect on intermolecular hydrogen bonds than OPBIA with high DP. Nevertheless, the oligomer tends to self-aggregate when its DP is too low. In addition, the oligomers can plasticize the macromolecules at high temperatures, which is advantageous for further increasing the orientation and tensile strength of aramid fibers.