Vision loss is primarily caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) due to oxidative retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell injury. Carotenoid utilization is deemed a possible strategy for treating AMD. Cordyceps militaris has advantages like immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidative characteristics. This paper assessed the possible protective influence of carotenoids obtained by isolating and purifying the Cordyceps militaris (CMCT) into human RPE cells (ARPE-19) damaged by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). The findings demonstrated that CMCT safeguarded the ARPE-19 cells against the damage and apoptosis caused by H₂O₂ and oxidative stress via Bcl-2 protein upregulation, as well as the expression of Bax and cleaved caspase-3 protein. In addition, CMCT treatment increased cell survival and restricted the generation of H₂O₂-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the protein expression of NADPH oxidase-1 (NOX1). Additionally, the CMCT treatment of H₂O₂-induced ARPE-19 cells ameliorated high malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in oxidative stress-induced cells. The catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH) returned to standard levels, which were governed by the higher expression of nuclear Nrf2 protein in the ARPE-19 cells. Moreover, this study showed that CMCT safeguarded the ARPE-19 cells against the damage caused by oxidative stress via its antioxidant activity and antiapoptotic functionality, suggesting the potential therapeutic role of CMCT in AMD prevention and mitigation.

Milk is a common food, which is consumed all over the world. It is an important source of calcium. Meanwhile, it provides abundant protein, minerals and vitamins. However, pathogenic bacteria which exist in milk not only causes nutrition loss, but also produces toxins which may cause diarrhea, food poisoning, and even death. In order to control the microbial level of raw milk and eliminate the contamination of materials, this assay applied loop-mediated isothermal amplification to explore a new way to detect enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) in raw milk. The best reaction condition in detecting ETEC from raw milk was confirmed to be: 0.016 μM each of forward outer primer (primer F3) and backward outer primer (primer B3), 0.128 μM each of forward inner primer (primer FIP) and backward inner primer (primer BIP), 0.45 μM deoxy-ribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTPs), 2IU Bst DNA polymerase large fragment and template DNA were incubated at 63°C for 60 min. LAMP was proved to be specific, rapid and sensitive in detecting pathogenic bacteria which exist in milk.

A retinal disorder known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can be very damaging, which may result in vision loss. Cordyceps militaris has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer activity and immunomodulatory functions. carotenoids were considered potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. In this study, we evaluated for the first time the protective effect of purified carotenoids (CMCT) extracted from Cordyceps militaris on hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced damage to human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19). The pretreatment of ARPE-19 cells with CMCT (1, 2.5μg/ml) for 12h after exposure to H₂O₂ (400μM) greatly improved cell viability and injury tolerance. and reduced reactive oxygen species production (ROS) and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) formation. Furthermore, Bax and Caspase-3 showed increased protein expression and less protein expression of Bcl-2 in cellular oxidative stress by flow cytometry analysis but showed the opposite expression by adding CMCT. Besides, cells were treated with H₂O₂ and then CMCT restored catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) enzyme activities to normal levels. Our results suggest that CMCT can protect RPE cells from oxidative stress damage by regulating oxidative activity and anti-apoptotic function. It indicates that CMCT has a potential therapeutic role in oxidative stress-directed protection and prevention of AMD.