Rhinacanthus nasutus leaf improves metabolic abnormalities in high-fat diet-induced obese mice

Objective:To investigate the effect of Rhinacanthus nasutus(R.nasutus) leaf extract on impaired glucose and lipid metabolism in obese ICR mice.Methods:Obesity was induced in the male ICR mice by feeding them a high-fat diet(60 kcal%fat) for 12 weeks.After the first six weeks of the diet,the obese mice were administered with the water extract of R.nasutus leaves at 250 and 500 mg/kg per day for the next six weeks.Subsequently,the blood glucose,lipid profiles,insulin,leptin,and adiponectin levels were measured.The liver and adipose tissues were excised for histopathological examination and protein expression study.Results:After six weeks of the treatment,R.nasutus extract(at 250 and 500 mg/kg per day) was found to reduce the elevated blood glucose level,improve the insulin sensitivity,decrease the serum leptin,and increase the serum adiponectin levels.The obese mice treated with R.nasutus were found to have a reduction in the increased lipid concentrations in their serum and liver tissues.Moreover,treatment with R.nasutus reduced the fat accumulation in the liver and the large adipocyte size in the fat tissues.Interestingly,the administration with R.nasutus extract was marked by an increase in the hepatic peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor alpha,fat cell adiponectin,and glucose transporter 4 proteins.Conclusions:To the best of our knowledge,the present study is the first report on the impact of R.nasutus extract in improving the impaired glucose and lipid metabolism in high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice via stimulating the insulin sensitivity in the liver and adipose tissues.

Phyllanthus acidus(L.) Skeels and Rhinacanthus nasutus(L.) Kurz leaf extracts suppress melanogenesis in normal human epidermal melanocytes and reconstitutive skin culture

Objective: To determine the effect of extracts from Phyllanthus acidus(P. acidus)(L.) Skeels and Rhinacanthus nasutus(R. nasutus)(L.) Kurz leaves on melanogenesis and the underlying mechanism in normal human epidermal melanocytes(NHEM) and a reconstitutive skin model. Methods: NHEM and a reconstitutive skin model were stimulated with ethanol extracts of P. acidus(L.) Skeels and R. nasutus(L.) Kurz leaves. mRNA expression of microphthalmiaassociated transcription factor(MITF), tyrosinase(TYR), tyrosinase-related protein 1(TYRP1) and dopachrome tautomerase(DCT) were examined by real-time PCR. The melanin content in NHEM was also measured. Moreover, protein levels of tyrosinase were determined using western blot analysis.Results: In NHEM and the reconstitutive skin model, ethanol extracts from P. acidus(at 12.5 and 25.0 μg/mL) and R. nasutus(at 6.25 and 12.50 μg/mL) significantly diminished mRNA expression of MITF, TYR, TYRP1 and DCT in a concentration-dependent manner. P. acidus and R. nasutus extracts also reduced the amount of melanin in α-MSH-stimulated NHEM. Moreover, P. acidus and R. nasutus extracts markedly suppressed tyrosinase at the translational level in the reconstitutive skin model. Conclusions: P. acidus and R. nasutus extracts significantly reduced melanogenesis in NHEM and the reconstitutive skin model, suggesting that P. acidus and R. nasutus extracts can inhibit melanin synthesis through downregulation of MITF, TYR, TYRP1 and DCT. Therefore, the ethanol extracts of P. acidus and R. nasutus contain compounds that have the potential for development as a skin lightening agent for the treatment of hyperpigmentation disorder or melasma.

基于线粒体COX1和ND1基因顺序的黄河上游大鼻吻鮈遗传多样性分析

为探究黄河上游大鼻吻鮈(Rhinogobio nasutus)群体遗传多样性和遗传分化现状,本研究以永宁、平罗、磴口3个不同地理群体145尾大鼻吻鮈为研究对象,利用线粒体DNA COX1和ND1基因序列进行了遗传多样性分析。结果显示:COX1和ND1基因序列长度分别为1 466 bp、975 bp, A+T含量(57.25%,56.81%)均高于G+C(42.75%,43.19%)含量,具有明显的碱基组成偏向性;3个群体145尾样本中分别界定了11个和9个单倍型,均存在共享单倍型现象。在COX1和ND1基因序列中3个群体的平均单倍型多样性(Hd)、核苷酸多样性(π)及平均核苷酸差异(K)分别为0.745 3、0.001 3、1.841和0.364、0.000 48、0.472,3个群体遗传多样性呈现出磴口群体最高、平罗群体次之、永宁群体最小的特征。基于COX1和ND1的遗传变异分析(AMOVA),表明3个群体中遗传变异均主要来自群体内,且COX1基因序列中磴口群体与永宁群体之间存在显著性明显的遗传分化。基于线粒体COX1和ND1基因单倍型序列,采用邻近法(Neighbor Joining, NJ)构建系统进化树与单倍型网络结过具有一致性,表明3个群体之间无明显的谱系分化,结构比较单一,未发现形成单独分支的群体。中性检验结果显示,大鼻吻鮈进化历程符合中性进化假设,且可能存在群体扩张。因此,为了有效地保护大鼻吻鮈野生资源,建议将大鼻吻鮈从整体上进行就地保护。

Locomotion behavior of cao vit gibbon(Nomascus nasutus)living in karst forest in Bangliang Nature Reserve,Guangxi,China

The cao vit gibbon is a critically endangered species.Only approximately 110 individuals remain in degraded karst forest along the China-Vietnam border.Karst forest is unusual gibbon habitat.Currently,the canopy height of cao vit gibbon habitat is approximately 10 m.Research on the locomotor behavior of gibbons living in this particular forest type might provide important insight into locomotor stability and variability of gibbons.We used 5 min scan samples to record the locomotion mode,support use and canopy strata of gibbons in 3 groups for 2096 h between January 2008 and December 2009.Although cao vit gibbon habitat has a lower canopy in comparison to that of other forests inhabited by gibbons,cao vit gibbons displayed a similar overall locomotor pattern to other gibbon species(Symphalangus syndactylus,Hylobates lar and Hylobates agilis)in which brachiation dominate their locomotor behavior.Cao vit gibbons spent most of their time travelling on inclined branches(2-10 cm)in the middle stratum through the forest canopy.Adult females appear to more often employ safer modes of locomotion(bridging more often and brachiation less),while adult males choose riskier modes(leaping more and climbing less).As gibbons increased in body weight,as they grew from infant to adult,they tended to use larger supports.This research documented that locomotor behavior in Hylobatidae is strongly determined by anatomical characters,but cao vit gibbons also show the ability to use various supports,enabling them to survive in karst forest.