Comprehensive evaluation of physio-morphological traits of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) varieties under salt stress.

Salt is a major abiotic factor significantly affecting plant growth and development. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), a crucial perennial crop for livestock feed, shows significant differences in salt tolerance among different varieties.

Toxicity studies of condensed fuzheng extract in mice and rats.

Unlabelled: Nutritional supplements have been used to improve immune function. Condensed fuzheng extract (CFE) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula that is predominantly made from sheep placenta, Bunge, and Collett & Hemsl. However, the toxicological profile of CFE has not been determined.

Discovering Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Formulas for Complex Diseases Based on a Combination of Reverse Systematic Pharmacology and TCM Meridian Tropism Theory: Taking COVID-19 as an Example.

Objective: Infections and death have been a part of our daily lives since the COVID-2019 pandemic outbreak in 2019, and the societal and economic consequences have lingered for an unanticipated duration. Novel and effective treatments are still desperately needed around the world to combat the infection. Here, we discovered a novel traditional Chinese medicine formula (TCMF) to potentially combat COVID-19 through reverse systematic pharmacology (disease → targets → TCMF → disease).

Condensed Fuzheng extract increases immune function in mice with cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression.

Our general purpose was to examine the effect of condensed Fuzheng extract (CFE) on the alleviation of immunosuppression. A mouse model of immunosuppression was established by intraperitoneal injection of CTX. A healthy control group received no CTX and no CFE; different intragastric doses of CFE were administered to three groups of mice for 28 days (4500, 2250, or 1125 mg/kg/day); a negative control received CTX alone, and a positive control received CTX and levamisole hydrochloride.

Curcumin Targeting Non-Coding RNAs in Colorectal Cancer: Therapeutic and Biomarker Implications.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common gastrointestinal malignancies, with high incidence rates, a low rate of early diagnosis, and complex pathogenesis. In recent years, there has been progress made in its diagnosis and treatment methods, but tumor malignant proliferation and metastasis after treatment still seriously affect the survival and prognosis of patients. Therefore, it is an extremely urgent task of current medicine to find new anti-tumor drugs with high efficiency and safety and low toxicity.

Glycyrrhetinic acid regulates impaired macrophage autophagic flux in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Unlabelled: Macrophages are involved in hepatocyte steatosis and necroinflammation and play an important role in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Impaired autophagy function (decreased autophagy or blocked autophagic flow) leads to cell damage and death and promotes NAFLD progression. The experimental and clinical research of glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) in the treatment of NAFLD has gradually attracted attention with clear pharmacological activities such as immune regulation, antiviral, antitumor, antioxidant, liver protection, and anti-inflammatory.

Effect of fecal microbiota transplantation in patients with slow transit constipation and the relative mechanisms based on the protein digestion and absorption pathway.

Background: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is considered an effective treatment for slow transit constipation (STC); nevertheless, the mechanism remains unclear.

Methods: In this study, eight patients with STC were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria; they then received three treatments of FMT. The feces and serum of STC patients were collected after each treatment and analyzed by integrating 16 s rRNA microbiome and metabolomic analyses.