Herbal medicine of Kursi Wufarikun Ziyabit inhibits mitochondrial ATP production to activate AMPK in hepatocytes in therapy of type 2 diabetes

The herbal medicine of Kursi Wufarikun Ziyabit contains two herbs (Geranium collinum Steph.ex Willd and Hypericum Scabrum Lnn) in the formula of ethnomedicine. It is usually used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus with a significant therapeutic efficacy. However, the molecular mechanism remains unknown for the action of medicine. In this study, we investigated the mechanism with a focus on an extract (GC30) of the medicine in the regulation of energy metabolism in hepatocytes. GC30 was prepared from a crude extract of the medicine through elution of an AB-8 macro porous resin column loaded with the medicine in 30% ethanol. GC30 exhibited an activity in the inhibition of triglyceride (TG) accumulation in the mouse hepatocytes through a suppression of SREBP1c activity. FGF21 (fibroblast growth factor 21) expression was induced by GC30 in a dosage-dependent manner at concentrations of 25 - 100 μg/ml. The induction was observed in mRNA and protein of FGF21, which were peaked at 2 hours and lasted for 8 hours in the response to GC30 (100 μg/ml). The transcription of FGF21 gene was induced by GC30 for an increase in the FGF21 gene promoter activity. AMPK and PKA activities were induced by GC30 with an elevation in their phosphorylation status, which were associated with a reduction in ATP abundance and an increase in CREB phosphorylation in cells treated with GC30. Oxygen consumption of mitochondria was inhibited in the hepatocytes by GC30. These activities of GC30 were similar to those of diabetes medicines including metformin and berberine. The data suggest that GC30 inhibited ATP production in mitochondria to activate AMPK and PKA in the hepatocytes to induce FGF21 expression. This study suggests a novel activity of the herbal medicine in the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism in the hepatocytes.

Camellia oil saponins: Solid phase extraction and its effect on mice blood and organs

In this study, the tea saponin extracted experiment was adopted to optimize extraction conditions. The solid phase extraction technique was used to extract saponin from camellia tea oil. Four macro-porous resins (DM301; NKA-9; HZ-841; S-8), two cation exchange resins (D001; 732), chitosan and diatomite, respectively, were used in a preliminary experiment; the HZ-841 macro-porous resin was determined as the optimal solid adsorbent material. The extraction conditions were; temperature 23.78 ºC; adsorption time 5.20 hour; liquid-to-solid ratio 12.54:1; predicted adsorption rate 20.20%; ethanol concentration 83.27%; eluent flow rate 1.18 mL/min; liquid-to-solid ratio 21.85:1; and the elution rate of tea saponin was calculated as 59.55%. The effect of tea seed oil saponin on mice blood and organs (liver, kidney, spleen and heart) was studied. The mice were randomly divided into six groups and fed for 90-days. Their weights were recorded every day. On the last day of the experiment serum ele­ments: Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low and high-density lipoproteins (LDL, HDL), as well as AST (aspartate aminotransferase), ALT (alanine aminotransferase) and total protein (TP) and organ (liver, kidney, spleen and heart) histopathologies were determined. The study results demonstrated that tea oil saponin expanded TC, TG, LDL and HDL. However, it generally increased ALT, AST activities and TP values compared to control groups. Tea oil saponin had no effect on organ tissue histopathology compared to control groups.

Resin Mould for Ceramic Slip Rotary Moulding (CSRM) System

A type of porous resin was proposed to replace the existing plaster mould for Ceramic Slip Rotary Moulding (CSRM) system. The proposed resin is often used in high pressure casting of ceramic sanitary ware and table ware. The effect of resin mould in terms of mechanical strength (flexural properties), porosity percentage and percentage of water absorption as well as moulding process were recorded and compared with previous studies of plaster mould. Five (5) samples of porous resin were prepared according to ASTM 790 for flexural test and ASTM D570 for water absorption test. To determine the porosity percentage, mercury porosimeter test was conducted. The result shows that higher the water plaster ratio resultant in higher porosity percentage and water absorption. The result showed that, the proposed porous resin has great potential in replacing plaster mould as mould material for CSRM system. The mould has a uniform open pore to enable the filtration process to take place within the mould and the slip and has a great mechanical strength. However, porous resin is still a semi-permanent mould with definite service life.

Fabrication of resorcinol-based porous resin carbon material and its application in aqueous symmetric supercapacitors

Activated preparation of environmentally friendly and sustainable carbon materials and their successful application in supercapacitor devices.