Nuciferine improves high-fat diet-induced obesity reducing intestinal permeability by increasing autophagy and remodeling the gut microbiota.

Nuciferine (NF) has received extensive attention due to its medicinal value in the treatment of metabolic diseases, such as obesity; however, to date, the effects of NF on obesity-related intestinal permeability, autophagy and the gut microbiota have not been investigated. Herein, C57BL/6J mice were fed either a chow or a high-fat diet (HFD) with or without NF for 8 weeks. The results showed that NF supplement reduced weight gain, fat accumulation and intestinal permeability in the HFD mice accompanied by improved autophagy.

A thermo-stable lysine aminopeptidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Isolation, purification, characterization, and sequence analysis.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa NJ-814, isolated from garden soil, produced an extracellular aminopeptidase that was purified using ammonium sulfate precipitation and ion exchange chromatography. The purity was confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and the Mr value of the enzyme was estimated to be 55 kDa. The purified enzyme shows maximum activity at pH 9.