Cold-pressed oil from Citrus aurantifolia inhibits the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells via regulation of PI3K/MAPK signaling pathways

Bioinformatics analysis to identify potential biomarkers for the pulmonary artery hypertension associated with the basement membrane

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rapidly progressing cardiopulmonary disease. It is characterized by increased pulmonary artery pressure and vascular resistance. The most notable histopathological characteristic is vascular remodeling. The changes in the basement membrane (BM) are believed to be related to vascular remodeling. It is crucial to identify potential biomarkers associated with the BM in PAH, to guide its treatment. The microarray datasets GSE117261 and GSE113439 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus. Two data sets were examined to identify genes associated with the BM by analyzing gene expression changes. Next, we analyzed the relevant genes in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes using Gene Ontology and Disease Ontology annotationand conducted pathway enrichment analysis. We conducted a protein-protein interaction network analysis on the genes related to BMs and used the cell cytoHubba plug-in to identify the hub genes. Furthermore, we conducted an immune infiltration analysis and implemented a histogram model. Finally, we predicted and analyzed potential therapeutic drugs for PAH and set up a miRNA network of genetic markers. Six candidate genes related to BMs, namely Integrin Subunit Alpha V, Integrin Subunit Alpha 4, ITGA2, ITGA9, Thrombospondin 1, and Collagen Type IV Alpha 3 Chain, were identified as potential modulators of the immune process in PAH. Furthermore, ginsenoside Rh1 was found to significantly impact drug targeting based on its interactions with the six BM-related genes identified earlier. A novel biomarker related to the BM, which plays a crucial role in the development of PAH, has been identified.

Antifungal Activities of Pure and ZnO-Encapsulated Essential Oil of Zataria multiflora on Alternaria solani as the Pathogenic Agent of Tomato Early Blight Disease

The utilization of plant essential oils (EOs) and nanomaterials due to their safety compared with synthetic chemicals has been considered in the management of plant diseases. In this study, the inhibitory effects of Zataria multiflora, Nepeta haussknechtii, Artemisia sieberi, and Citrus aurantifolia EOs in pure and Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanocapsulated formulations were evaluated on the mycelial growth of Alternaria solani to find a suitable alternative for synthetic chemicals. The crystal structure and morphological properties of the fabricated nanomaterials were assessed via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses. The textural features of the prepared nanoparticles were investigated with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, and the presence of elements in the samples was studied with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) technique. The mycelial growth inhibitory (MGI) was performed in the laboratory by mixing with potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium at concentrations of 100, 300, 600, 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000 ppm. Based on the results, major differences were monitored between different concentrations. At the highest studied concentration, the inhibition of Z. multiflora EO was 100%, which was 43.20, 42.37, and 21.19% for N. haussknechtii, A. sieberi, and C. aurantifolia, respectively, and the inhibition of their nanocapsules was 100, 51.32, 55.23, and 26.58%, respectively. In the greenhouse study, Z. multiflora EO and its nanocapsule (ZnO-ZmEO) were compared with the ZnO and chlorothalonil fungicide based on the highest inhibitory of Z. multiflora in vitro. The highest antifungal effect was related to the ZnO-ZmEO by 53.33%. Therefore, the ZnO-ZmEO formulation can be recommended as a biofungicide for managing and controlling tomato early blight disease after further research.

Effect of different types of oil intake on the blood index and the intestinal flora of rats

Dietary fat is an important part of human diet and has a close relationship with human health. However, it is still unclear how gut microbiota in adolescent responds to dietary fats at a normal dose. In this study, fat-free group (BC) was used as blank control group, we explored blood index and gut microbiota structure in growing rat(aged 1 months) after feeding a normal dose of 16.9% stewed lard(SL), refined lard(RL), fish oil(FO) and soybean oil(SO) for 6 weeks, respectively. The results showed that compared with RL group, SL group showed reduced fasting blood sugar and blood lipid levels and improved nutrient absorption capacity of the intestine. The blood indexes of glucose (Glu), total cholesterol (TC) and total triglyceride (TG) in FO treatment group were relatively low. The abundance of Bacteroidetes in the BC group decreased, and the abundance of Firmicutes increased. The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio of the FO group was relatively low, and the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio of the SL group and the SO group was lower than that of the RL group. The abundance of Bacteroidaceae in the SL group was increased. Research results showed that fat-free diets will increase the risk of obesity to a certain extent; compared with refined lard, stewed lard, soybean oil and fish oil can reduce the risk of obesity to a certain extent. The present study could find that the addition and types of dietary fat will affect the abundance and diversity of rat intestinal flora, and provide some information for nutritional evaluation about these dietary lipids.