Ellagic Acid Prevented Dextran-Sodium-Sulfate-Induced Colitis, Liver, and Brain Injury through Gut Microbiome Changes.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects millions of people worldwide and is considered a significant risk factor for colorectal cancer. Recent in vivo and in vitro studies reported that ellagic acid (EA) exhibits important antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we investigated the preventive effects of EA against dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute colitis, liver, and brain injury in mice through the gut-liver-brain axis.

Protective Effects of Hemp () Root Extracts against Insulin-Deficient Diabetes Mellitus In Mice.

The pharmacological potential of industrial hemp () has been widely studied. However, the majority of studies have focused on cannabidiol, isolated from the inflorescence and leaf of the plant. In the present study, we evaluated the anti-diabetic potential of hemp root water (HWE) and ethanol extracts (HEE) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced insulin-deficient diabetic mice.

Hemp-Derived Nanovesicles Protect Leaky Gut and Liver Injury in Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Colitis.

Hemp ( L.) is used for medicinal purposes owing to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. We evaluated the protective effect of nanovesicles isolated from hemp plant parts (root, seed, hemp sprout, and leaf) in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice.

Enhancement of the Antiobesity and Antioxidant Effect of Purple Sweet Potato Extracts and Enhancement of the Effects by Fermentation.

The browning of white adipocytes, which transforms energy-storing white adipocytes to heat-producing beige adipocytes, is considered a strategy against metabolic diseases. Several dietary compounds, such as anthocyanins, flavonoids, and phenolic acids, induce a brown adipocyte-like phenotype in white adipocytes. In this study, we demonstrated that purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) extract (PSP) exhibited potent radical scavenging activity.

A technique for the prevention of greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) using the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana M130.

The possibility of using hyphomycete fungi as suitable biocontrol agents against greenhouse whitefly has led to the isolation of various insect pathogenic fungi. Among them is Beauveria bassiana, one of the most studied entomopathogenic fungi. The objective of this study was to use B.

Wickerhamomyces ochangensis sp. nov., an ascomycetous yeast isolated from the soil of a potato field.

A novel ascomycetous yeast, designated strain N7a-Y2(T), was isolated from soil collected in a potato field in Ochang, Korea, and its taxonomic position was studied. A neighbour-joining tree based on the D1/D2 domain of large-subunit rRNA gene sequences revealed that the isolate was a member of the Wickerhamomyces clade and that it was closely related to Wickerhamomyces bisporus, Candida quercuum, Candida ulmi and Wickerhamomyces alni. Strain N7a-Y2(T) formed Saturn-shaped ascospores in unconjugated and persistent asci.

Differential roles of the ChiB chitinase in autolysis and cell death of Aspergillus nidulans.

Autolysis is a natural event that occurs in most filamentous fungi. Such self-degradation of fungal cells becomes a predominant phenomenon in the absence of the regulator of G protein signaling FlbA in Aspergillus nidulans. Among a number of potential hydrolytic enzymes in the A.

Microbial biodegradation and toxicity of vinclozolin and its toxic metabolite 3,5-dichloroaniline.

Vinclozolin, an endocrine disrupting chemical, is a chlorinated fungicide widely used to control fungal diseases. However, its metabolite 3,5-dichloroaniline is more toxic and persistent than the parent vinclozolin. For the biodegradation of vinclozolin, vinclozolin- and/or 3,5-dichloroaniline-degrading bacteria were isolated from pesticide-polluted agriculture soil.

Isolation of a soil bacterium capable of biodegradation and detoxification of endosulfan and endosulfan sulfate.

Endosulfan, an endocrine disrupting chemical, is a widely used cyclodiene organochlorine pesticide worldwide, and it blocks neuronal GABA(A)-gated chloride channels in mammals and aquatic organisms. Endosulfan and its metabolites, such as endosulfan sulfate, are persistent in environments and are considered as toxic chemicals. For bioremediation of endosulfan, in this study, an attempt was made to isolate an endosulfan and endosulfan sulfate degrading bacterium from endosulfan-polluted agricultural soil.

Cryptococcus mujuensis sp. nov. and Cryptococcus cuniculi sp. nov., basidiomycetous yeasts isolated from wild rabbit faeces.

Two previously undescribed anamorphic yeasts, strains T-11(T) and T-26(T), recovered from wild rabbit faecal pellets collected in Muju, Korea, were identified using phenotypic and molecular taxonomic methods. The isolates were characterized by the proliferation of budding cells, positive diazonium blue B and urease reactions, the presence of Q-10 as the major ubiquinone, the presence of xylose in whole-cell hydrolysates and the inability to ferment sugars. Phylogenetic analyses based on 26S rRNA gene partial sequences revealed that strain T-11(T) was located in the Bulleromyces clade and was related to Sirobasidium intermedium, Tremella exigua, Cryptococcus cellulolyticus and Bullera pseudoalba.

GLR1 plays an essential role in the homeodynamics of glutathione and the regulation of H2S production during respiratory oscillation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The role of glutathione (GSH) and its homeodynamics during respiratory oscillation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were investigated. Pulse injection of thiol redox modifying agents, such as diethylmaleate, N-ethylmaleimide, DL-butione-[S,R]-sulfoxamine, or 5-nitro-2-furaldehyde into the culture perturbed oscillation, although the degree of perturbation varied. Analysis of the expression profiles of GSH1 and GLR1, the activities of glutathione reductase, oscillations in cysteine and GSH concentrations, and the chemostat culture of the GLR1 disruptant indicated that GLR1 plays an essential role in the homeodynamics of GSH and the regulation of H(2)S production.

Regulation of branched-chain, and sulfur-containing amino acid metabolism by glutathione during ultradian metabolic oscillation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Autonomous ultradian metabolic oscillation (T approximately or =50 min) was detected in an aerobic chemostat culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A pulse injection of GSH (a reduced form of glutathione) into the culture induced a perturbation in metabolic oscillation, with respiratory inhibition caused by H2S burst production. As the production of H2S in the culture was controlled by different amino acids, we attempted to characterize the effects of GSH on amino acid metabolism, particularly with regard to branched chain and sulfur-containing amino acids.

Identification of two-component regulatory genes involved in o-xylene degradation by Rhodococcus sp. strain DK17.

Putative genes for a two-component signal transduction system (akbS and akbT) were detected near the alkylbenzene-degrading operon of Rhodococcus sp. DK17. Sequence analysis indicates that AkbS possesses potential ATP-binding and histidine autophosphorylation sites in the N- and C-terminal regions, respectively, and that AkbT has a typical response regulator domain.

Biodegradation of the organochlorine insecticide, endosulfan, and the toxic metabolite, endosulfan sulfate, by Klebsiella oxytoca KE-8.

Biodegradation of endosulfan, a chlorinated cyclodiene insecticide, is generally accompanied by production of the more toxic and more persistent metabolite, endosulfan sulfate. Since our reported endosulfan degrader, Klebsiella pneumoniae KE-1, failed to degrade endosulfan sulfate, we tried to isolate an endosulfan sulfate degrader from endosulfan-polluted soils. Through repetitive enrichment and successive subculture using mineral salt medium containing endosulfan or endosulfan sulfate as the sole source of carbon and energy, we isolated a bacterium capable of degrading endosulfan sulfate as well as endosulfan.

Catabolic role of a three-component salicylate oxygenase from Sphingomonas yanoikuyae B1 in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation.

Sphingomonas yanoikuyae B1 possesses several different multicomponent oxygenases involved in metabolizing aromatic compounds. Six different pairs of genes encoding large and small subunits of oxygenase iron-sulfur protein components have previously been identified in a gene cluster involved in the degradation of both monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Insertional inactivation of one of the oxygenase large subunit genes, bphA1c, results in a mutant strain unable to grow on naphthalene, phenanthrene, or salicylate.

Induction of oxidative stress by endosulfan and protective effect of lipid-soluble antioxidants against endosulfan-induced oxidative damage.

The toxic mechanism of endosulfan, a widely used organochlorine pesticide, was investigated in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and human cell lines. A concentration-dependent inhibition of cell growth was observed when S. cerevisiae was exposed to endosulfan, and its cytotoxicity (IC(50)) was found to be 49 microM and 86 microM in HepG2 and HeLa human cell lines, respectively.

Involvement of oxidative stress in the regulation of H(2)S production during ultradian metabolic oscillation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Periodic evolution of H(2)S during aerobic chemostat culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae resulted in ultradian metabolic oscillation via periodic inhibition of respiratory activity. To understand the nature of periodic H(2)S evolution, we investigated whether oxidative stress is associated with H(2)S production. The cellular oxidative states represented by intracellular level of lipid peroxides oscillated out of phase with the oscillation of dissolved O(2).

Biotransformation of an organochlorine insecticide, endosulfan, by Anabaena species.

This study assesses the role of the blue-green algal species present in the soil in the dissipation of endosulfan and its metabolites in the soil environment. Two Anabaena species, Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 and Anabaena flos-aquae, were used in this study.

Klebsiella pneumoniae KE-1 degrades endosulfan without formation of the toxic metabolite, endosulfan sulfate.

For bioremediation of toxic endosulfan, endosulfan degradation bacteria, which do not form toxic endosulfan sulfate, were isolated from various soil samples using endosulfan as sole carbon and energy source. Among the 40 isolated bacteria, strain KE-1, which was identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae by physiological and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, showed superior endosulfan degradation activity. Analysis of culture pH, growth, free sulfate and endosulfan and its metabolites demonstrated that KE-1 biologically degrades 8.