From Medical Herb to Functional Food: Development of a Fermented Milk Containing Silybin and Protein from Milk Thistle.

Milk thistle is a traditional medicinal herb. Silybin is a medicinal component found in the seed coat of milk thistle, which has liver-protective and anti-cancer properties. Conventional studies have focused on the extraction of silybin with organic reagents, which was inapplicable to the food industry.

Fat-to-muscle ratio as a predictor for dyslipidaemia in transitional-age youth.

Background: Although dyslipidaemia may have a crucial impact on cardiovascular health in adults, there is a lack of specific data in transitional-age youth. Therefore, this study attempted to evaluate the association of dyslipidaemia with fat-to-muscle ratio (FMR), and establish FMR thresholds for diagnosing dyslipidaemia in transitional-age youth.

Methods: One thousand six hundred sixty individuals aged 16 to 24 years from the baseline of a subcohort in the Northwest China Natural Population Cohort: Ningxia Project were analysed.

Reference values of skeletal muscle mass, fat mass and fat-to-muscle ratio for rural middle age and older adults in western China.

Background: Skeletal muscle mass (SMM), fat mass (FM) and fat-to-muscle ratio (FMR) are significant indicators in epidemiology studies and clinical settings. The aim of this study was to establish age-related and sex-specific reference values for skeletal muscle mass index (SMMI), fat mass index (FMI) and FMR by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) for healthy rural adults in western China.

Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study from Ningxia cohort study, included 13,790 individuals aged 35 to 74 years.

Effects of different types of exercise on skeletal muscle atrophy, antioxidant capacity and growth factors expression following myocardial infarction.

Aims: Myocardial infarction (MI) is accompanied with skeletal muscle abnormalities. The aims are to explore an optimal exercise mode to improve cardiac function and prevent skeletal muscle atrophy, and detect the possible mechanisms of exercise-induced inhibition of muscle atrophy.

Main Methods: Rats were subjected to four weeks of different types of exercise after MI surgery (resistance training, RT; moderated-intensity continuous aerobic exercise, MCE and high-intensity intermittent aerobic exercise, HIA).