The liver is the primary organ regulating glucose metabolism. In our recent study, cinnamon improved liver function in diabetic mice. However, it is not clear whether cinnamon can reduce the glycemia of diabetic animals by regulating liver glucose metabolism. The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypoglycemic mechanism of cinnamon powder (CP) from the perspective of regulating liver glucose metabolism. To achieve this, different doses of CP (200, 400, or 800 mg/kg body weight) were given to diabetic mice by gavage once per day for 8 weeks. These mice were compared with healthy controls, untreated diabetic mice, and diabetic mice treated with metformin (the main first-line drug for type 2 diabetes). CP treatment effectively reduced fasting blood glucose levels and food intake, improved glucose tolerance and fasting serum insulin levels, and decreased glycated serum protein levels in diabetic mice. Furthermore, treatment with CP increased liver glycogen content and reduced the level of the gluconeogenesis precursor pyruvate in the liver. Data obtained by qPCR and western blotting suggested that CP improved glucose metabolism disorders by regulating AMPKα/PGC1α-mediated hepatic gluconeogenesis and PI3K/AKT-mediated hepatic glycogen synthesis. CP exhibits good hypoglycemic effects by improving hepatic glycogen synthesis and controlling hepatic gluconeogenesis. Therefore, CP may be applied as a functional food to decrease blood glucose.

The effects of natural and synthetic galactooligosaccharides (GOS) on inflammation were explored by investigating the structure-activity relationship between the degree of GOS polymerization and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity, together with the potential underlying mechanism of their anti-inflammatory effects. The results demonstrated that GOS had strong anti-inflammatory effects in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 macrophages, including the inhibition of nitric oxide production and the reduced expression of pro-inflammatory mediators (interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor α), induced nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), and proteins related to the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling pathway. GOS4, which has the highest degree of polymerization, exerted the strongest anti-inflammatory activity among the GOS examined. More importantly, our findings confirmed the anti-inflammatory effects of GOS on RAW264.7 macrophages via the TLR4/NF-κB pathway. Our experimental results could provide further support for the exploration of GOS in human nutrition and health.

This study detailed a complete research from Lead (Pb) content level to ecological and health risk to direct- and primary-sources apportionment arising from wheat and rice grains, in the Lihe River Watershed of the Taihu region, East China. Ecological and health risk assessment were based on the pollution index and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) health risk assessment model. A three-stage quantitative analysis program based on Pb isotope analysis to determine the relative contributions of primary sources involving (1) direct-source apportionment in grains with a two-end-member model, (2) apportionment of soil and dustfall sources using the IsoSource model, and (3) the integration of results of (1) and (2) was notedly first proposed. The results indicated that mean contents of Pb in wheat and rice grains were 0.54 and 0.45 mg/kg and both the bio-concentration factors (BCF) were <<1; the ecological risk pollution indices were 1.35 for wheat grains and 1.11 for rice grains; hazard quotient (HQ) values for adult and child indicating health risks through ingestion of grains were all <1; Coal-fired industrial sources account for up to 60% of Pb in the grains. This study provides insights into the management of grain Pb pollution and a new method for its source apportionment.

Ramulus mori has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine because of its physiological activities, including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. Antimicrobial properties of Ramulus mori extract have been well described. However, no information is available regarding on Ramulus mori oligosaccharides (RMOS). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of RMOS on the growth and virulence properties of the cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans. The effects of RMOS on the biofilm structure and virulence gene expression of S. mutans were also evaluated, and the results were compared with the effects of commercial prebiotic galactooligosaccharides. RMOS were found to have an antibacterial effect against S. mutans, resulting in significant reductions in acid production, lactate dehydrogenase activity, adhesion, insoluble extracellular polysaccharide production, glucosyltransferase activity, and biofilm formation in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the biofilm structure was visibly damaged. A quantitative real-time PCR assay revealed downregulation of virulence gene-regulated acid production, polysaccharide production, adhesion, biofilm formation, and quorum sensing. These findings suggest that RMOS may be a promising natural product for the prevention of dental caries.

Conventional immediate and high-temperature immediate acid treatment are crucial techniques for breaking the diapause state of silkworm eggs, but their molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study prepared diapause eggs (CK), conventional immediate acid-treated eggs (46 °C, 5 min, and CG), and high-temperature immediate acid-treated eggs (47.5 °C, 7 min, and GW) and analyzed the transcriptome and metabolome to screen for key expressed genes and key metabolites. Transcriptome results showed that 688, 823, and 222 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained from CK vs. CG, CK vs. GW, and CG vs. GW, respectively, and 12 DEGs significantly upregulated in all three comparisons (CK vs. CG, CK vs. GW, and CG vs. GW), including glycine-N-methyltransferase, choline dehydrogenase, Hsp68, and Hsp70. The LC-MS analysis results showed that 854, 711, and 506 differential metabolites (DMs) were obtained from CK vs. CG, CK vs. GW, and CG vs. GW, respectively. A total of seven DMs upregulated in all three comparisons and with |log₂Fold Change| ≥ 0.5 in CG vs. GW, including tyrosine-isoleucine-histidine, phenylalanyl-tyrosine, tyrosine-phenylalanine-glutamate-lysine, and histidylleucine, as well as 12 downregulated DMs, were identified. Additionally, it was found that γ-linolenic acid and triglycerides were upregulated in CG vs. GW. The conjoint analysis results revealed that four small peptides, including tyrosine-isoleucine-histidine, phenylalanyl-tyrosine, tyrosine-phenylalanine-glutamate-lysine, and histidylleucine, exhibited a highly significant positive correlation with Hsp70 family genes such as Hsp68 and Hsp70. This suggests that these small peptides, along with γ-linolenic acid and triglycerides, may play a crucial role in the resistance of silkworm eggs to high-temperature stress and the associated oxidative stress.