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Fucoxanthin (FX), a marine carotenoid found in macroalgae and microalgae, exhibits several beneficial effects to health. The anti-obesity activity of FX is well documented, but FX has not been mass-produced or applied extensively or commercially because of limited availability of raw materials and complex extraction techniques. In this study, we investigated the anti-obesity effect of standardized FX powder (Phaeodactylum extract (PE)) developed from microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum as a commercial functional food. The effects of PE on adipogenesis inhibition in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and anti-obesity in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed C57BL/6J mice were evaluated. PE and FX dose-dependently decreased intracellular lipid contents in adipocytes without cytotoxicity. In HFD-fed obese mice, PE supplementation for six weeks decreased body weight, organ weight, and adipocyte size. In the serum parameter analysis, the PE-treated groups showed attenuation of lipid metabolism dysfunction and liver damage induced by HFD. In the liver, uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) upregulation and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ) downregulation were detected in the PE-treated groups. Additionally, micro computed tomography revealed lower fat accumulation in PE-treated groups compared to that in the HFD group. These results indicate that PE exerts anti-obesity effects by inhibiting adipocytic lipogenesis, inducing fat mass reduction and decreasing intracellular lipid content, adipocyte size, and adipose weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human colonic commensal enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) is associated with chronic colitis and colon cancer. ETBF colonization induces colitis via the Bacteroides fragilis toxin (BFT). BFT secreted by ETBF cause colon inflammation via E-cadherin cleavage/NF-κB signaling. ETBF promotes colon tumorigenesis via interleukin 17A (IL-17A)/CXCL-dependent inflammation, but its bioactive therapeutics in ETBF-promoted tumorigenesis remain unexplored. In the current study, we investigated the caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) in the murine model of ETBF colitis and tumorigenesis. In this study, we observed that CAPE treatment mitigated inflammation induced by ETBF in mice. Additionally, our findings indicate that CAPE treatment offers protective effects against ETBF-enhanced colon tumorigenesis in a mouse model of colitis-associated colon cancer induced by azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sulfate sodium. Notably, the decrease in colon tumorigenesis following CAPE administration correlates with a reduction in the expression of IL-17A and CXCL1 in the gastrointestinal tract. The molecular mechanism for CAPE-induced protection against ETBF-mediated tumorigenesis is mediated by IL-17A/CXCL1, and by NF-κB activity in intestinal epithelial cells. Our findings indicate that CAPE may serve as a preventive agent against the development of ETBF-induced colitis and colorectal cancer (CRC).

Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. is a traditional medicinal plant and has long been used in East Asia to treat many diseases. However, the extract and active components have never been investigated as potential photosensitizers for photodynamic treatment to kill pathogenic microorganisms. Here, the antimicrobial photodynamic treatment (APDT) effects of the extract, fractions, and compounds of T. wilfordii were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Ethanolic extract (TWE) and the photosensitizer-enriched fraction (TW-F5) were prepared from dried T. wilfordii. Six active compounds were isolated from TW-F5 by semipreparative high-performance liquid chromatography, and their chemical structures were characterized through spectroscopic and spectrometric analysis. The singlet oxygen from extracts, fractions, and compounds was measured by using the imidazole-N,N-dimethyl-4-nitrosoaniline method. These extracts, fractions, and compounds were used as photosensitizers for the inactivation of bacteria and fungi by red light at 660 nm. The in vitro APDT effects were also evaluated in the model animal Caenorhabditis elegans. APDT with TWE showed effective antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Candida albicans. TW-F5, consisting of six pheophorbide compounds, also showed strong APDT activity. The photosensitizers were taken up into the bacterial cells and induced intracellular ROS production by APDT. TWE and TW-F5 also induced a strong APDT effect in vitro against skin pathogens, including Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus pyogenes. We evaluated the APDT effects of TWE and TW-F5 in C. elegans infected with various pathogens and found that PDT effectively controlled pathogenic bacteria without strong side effects. APDT reversed the growth retardation of worms induced by pathogen infection and decreased the viable pathogenic bacterial numbers associated with C. elegans. Finally, APDT with TWE increased the survivability of C. elegans infected with S. pyogenes. In summary, TWE and TW-F5 were found to be effective antimicrobial photosensitizers in PDT., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To investigate the preventive effect of Lactobacillus casei HY2782 on toxicity induced by particulate matter (PM, inhalable particles less than 10 μm in diameter) in human intestinal CCD-18Co cells and a model animal Caenorhabditis elegans., Results: L. casei HY2782 treatment prevented PM-induced intestinal cell death via cellular reactive oxygen species production and membrane disruption attenuation. PM significantly decreased the total number of eggs laid and the body bending activity of C. elegans, demonstrating PM toxicity. L. casei HY2782 treatment restored the reproductive toxicity and decline in locomotion activity induced by PM in C. elegans. Overall, L. casei HY2782 attenuated PM toxicity in vitro in cultured intestinal cells and in vivo in the model nematode., Conclusion: Our study provides a potential clue for developing L. casei HY2782 probiotics that attenuate PM-induced cellular and physiological toxicity; however, further in-depth preclinical trials using mammalian animal models and clinical trials are required.

We investigated the impact of a fermented milk product on gut microbiota and their metabolism in 3 different conditions of the colon with a systemic viewpoint. An in vitro semi-continuous anaerobic cultivation was used to assess the colon compartment-specific influence of fermented milk, followed by a multiomics approach combining 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The microbiome profiling and metabolomic features were significantly different across three colon compartments and after fermented milk treatment. Integrative correlation analysis indicated that the alteration of butyrate-producing microbiota (Veillonella, Roseburia, Lachnospira, and Coprococcus) and some primary metabolites (butyrate, ethanol, lactate, and isobutyrate) in the treatment group had a strong association with the fermented milk microorganisms. Our findings suggested that fermented milk treatment significantly affected microbial population in an in vitro cultivation system as well as the colonic metabolome in different ways in each of colon compartment., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The plastid transformation approach offers a number of unique advantages, including high-level transgene expression, multi-gene engineering, transgene containment, and a lack of gene silencing and position effects. The extension of plastid transformation technology to monocotyledonous cereal crops, including rice, bears great promise for the improvement of agronomic traits, and the efficient production of pharmaceutical or nutritional enhancement. Here, we report a promising step towards stable plastid transformation in rice. We produced fertile transplastomic rice plants and demonstrated transmission of the plastid-expressed green fluorescent protein (GFP) and aminoglycoside 3'-adenylyltransferase genes to the progeny of these plants. Transgenic chloroplasts were determined to have stably expressed the GFP, which was confirmed by both confocal microscopy and Western blot analyses. Although the produced rice plastid transformants were found to be heteroplastomic, and the transformation efficiency requires further improvement, this study has established a variety of parameters for the use of plastid transformation technology in cereal crops.