A systematic review and meta-analysis study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of probiotic/prebiotic/synbiotic supplementation on the effects of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) based on data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We searched electronic databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science to identify clinical trials published up to 31 March 2023. Data was pooled using a random-effects model if significant heterogeneity (I² > 50%), otherwise use a fixed-effects model. Fifty-six trials that included 3 317 patients were enrolled for analysis. Meta-analysis reported that probiotic/prebiotic/synbiotic supplementation significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP) (weighted mean difference (WMD): −3.57 mmHg, 95% confidence interval (CI): −5.36, −1.78; P = 0.000), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (WMD: −2.05 mmHg, 95% CI: −3.07, −1.04; P = 0.000), triglycerides (TG) (WMD: −16.10 mg/dL, 95% CI: −20.16, −12.05; P = 0.000), total cholesterol (TC) (WMD: −14.00 mg/dL, 95% CI: −20.46, −7.55; P = 0.000), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (WMD: −7.03 mg/dL, 95% CI: −9.25, −4.81; P = 0.000), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (WMD: −16.57 mg/dL, 95% CI: −20.39, −12.74; P = 0.000), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) (WMD: −0.44%, 95% CI: −0.68, −0.20; P = 0.000), insulin (standardized mean difference (SMD): −0.37, 95% CI: −0.53, −0.21; P = 0.000), homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (WMD: −1.05, 95% CI: −1.56, −0.54; P = 0.000), C-reactive protein (CRP) (SMD: −0.35, 95% CI: −0.57, −0.13; P = 0.002), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (SMD: −1.07, 95% CI: −1.57, −0.56; P = 0.000), interleukin-6 (IL-6) (SMD: −0.37 , 95% CI: −0.61, −0.13; P = 0.003) levels, they also increased the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (WMD: 3.70 mg/dL, 95% CI: 1.80, 5.60; P = 0.000) levels in T2DM patients, as compared to the placebo groups. This meta-analysis supports the use of probiotic/prebiotic/synbiotic supplementation as an adjunctive therapy to improve blood pressure, glycemic control parameters, lipid profile and inflammatory markers in patients with T2DM, which are well-known cardiovascular risk factors.

Mental disorders seriously affect people's health and social stability. This Mendelian randomization (MR) study was designed to investigate the causal relationship between circulating vitamin C (VC) or 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels and mental disorders. The data used for the MR analysis were derived from the summary genome-wide association studies (GWAS) database for VC and 25OHD and from the FinnGen consortium for fourteen mental disorders. Based on the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method, we found a potential causal association between circulating VC and anxiety disorders (IVW: OR=1.139, 95%CI: 1.023‒1.269, P = 0.018). However, no causal association was found between VC or 25OHD and other mental disorders (P > 0.05). In the reverse MR analysis, individuals with Alzheimer's disease was causally associated with lower concentrations of circulating VC(P = 0.012), while individuals with anxiety disorders had a negative association between the concentrations of 25OHD (P = 0.012). However, the current evidence does not support a causal relationship between VC or 25OHD and other mental disorders. In addition, there was no causal association between circulating VC and 25OHD (P > 0.05). Future studies are needed to confirm these findings and to elucidate the mechanisms of potential causality.

Dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) can be classified into animal- and plant-derived ω-3 PUFAs. Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are frequently accompanied by dyslipidemia, which is closely related to the high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) subfractions change. This study aimed to determine the effects of different sources ω-3 PUFAs on glucolipid metabolism and lipoprotein subfractions in T2DM with dyslipidemia. Ninety T2DM patients with dyslipidemia were randomly assigned to take 3 g/day fish oil (FO, containing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)), 3 g/day perilla oil (PO, containing α-linolenic acid (ALA)), or 3 g/day blend oil (BO, containing EPA, DHA and ALA) for 3 months. 90 patients completed the intervention. There was a significant reduction of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in all the groups. The triglycerides (TG) in the FO group were significantly different with a group × time interaction (P = 0.043), which was higher compared with the other two groups. The serum small HDL-C subfractions in the PO group was higher and the serum large HDL-C subfractions in the PO group was lower than those in the BO and FO groups. Plant-derived ω-3 PUFAs are more effective at controlling blood glucose than animal-derived ω-3 PUFAs. However, animal-derived ω-3 PUFAs have a significant lowering effect on TG compared with plant-derived ω-3 PUFAs. Particularly, large HDL-C subfractions after animal-derived ω-3 PUFAs intake were higher than plant-derived ω-3 PUFAs intake; while small HDL-C subfractions were lower. Both the animal- and plant-derived ω-3 PUFAs have practical value in improving glucose and lipids metabolism in T2DM patients with dyslipidemia.

Postprandial metabolism plays major roles in many pathological conditions. The n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratio is closely related to various physiological disorders. This study aimed to investigate the effects of high fat meals with different n-6/n-3 PUFA ratios on postprandial metabolism in normal control (NC) and hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) rats. The postprandial response of triglyceride (TG) in HTG groups was higher than that in NC groups after different n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio meals. The HTG groups showed higher postprandial total cholesterol (TC) responses than NC groups after 1:1 and 20:1 ratio meals. The 5:1 n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio elicited lower postprandial responses of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) than 1:1 and 10:1 ratios in HTG groups. The postprandial malondialdehyde (MDA) response was lower after a 5:1 n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio meal than 1:1 and 20:1 ratio meals in HTG groups. The 1:1 ratio resulted in a lower postprandial reactive oxygen species (ROS) level than 5:1 and 10:1 n-6/n-3 PUFA ratios in NC groups. The results showed that a low n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio improved postprandial dysmetabolism induced by a high fat meal in NC and HTG rats. A high n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio increased the difference in postprandial metabolism between NC and HTG rats.

To date, in vivo investigations of polysaccharide's pharmacokinetics are significantly restricted by the difficulty in their detection. This study was conducted to establish the quantitative determination of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs) based on fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) pre-labeling and to investigate their tissue distribution in rat. We obtained the calibration curves linear over the range of 0–25µg/mL in rat tissue samples with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. The inter-day and intra-day precisions (RSD, %) were within 15%, and the relative recovery ranged 95.2%–102.4%, with RSD range 1.48%–9.58%, indicating that this experiment was suitable for the determination of LBPs. The fluorescence intensity was measured after 24 h storage at room temperature, 3 times of freeze-cycle and cryopreservation at –20 ℃ for 15 day, these results indicated that the stability of the samples was good. LBP-FITC was mainly absorbed by the small intestine and stomach, and mainly excreted in the urine through the kidney; this distinct difference in the tissue distribution of LBPs could be attributed to the size of these LBPs in relation to the pore sizes of the vascular beds in the kidney and liver. Results showed in this study enable us to comprehensively understand the biological effects of LBPs following its oral ingestion.

Flaxseed has displayed the potential beneficial as functional foods. However, most studies focused on effects of flaxseed extracts or ingredients in flaxseed. Besides, few studies showed that flaxseed extracts contributed to anti-type 1 diabetes (T1D), yet the underlying mechanism is still unknown. In the present study, 16.7% of milled flaxseed (MF)-added diet was given to diabetic mice induced by streptozocin for 6 weeks. The results showed that MF feeding 1) slightly decreased blood glucose levels and improved the ability of glucose tolerance by oral glucose tolerance test, 2) decreased liver tumor necrosis factor-α levels and increased liver glycogen levels with significance via down-regulating TLR4/NF-κB pathways, 3) and significantly altered some beneficial bacteria in gut microbiota. In conclusion, the present study showed that milled flaxseed showed the potential on anti-T1D through anti-inflammation via TLR4/NF-κB and altering the gut microbiota in STZ-induced diabetic mice.

The present study was conducted to verify the influence of luteolin on apoptosis of Eca109 cells and to further investigate the possible mechanisms underlying its effect on apoptosis. The cells were exposed to different concentrations of luteolin (0, 40, 80, 120, 160, 200, 240μM) for 24, 48, and 72h respectively. The influence of luteolin on proliferation of Eca109 cells was detected using MTT assay. Eca109 cells were then treated with luteolin (0, 40, 160, 240μM) for 24h. The effect of luteolin on cell cycle progression and apoptosis was assayed by using flow cytometry (FCM). Expression of caspase9 and caspase3 mRNA and protein was analyzed by real-time PCR and Western blot respectively. The results showed that luteolin could inhibit the proliferation of Eca109 cells at all concentrations in a time-dependent manner and the relative inhibition rate showed an inverted U-shaped association with the concentration of luteolin. Further, the cell cycle was arrested in the S phase following treatment with luteolin. Apoptosis analysis indicated that luteolin could induce the apoptosis of Eca109 cells across the three concentration groups, which exhibited a trend of first promotional and then inhibitory with the increases in luteolin concentration. The effect of luteolin on the mRNA and protein expression of caspase 9 and caspase3 first manifested as promotion, then inhibition. Therefore, luteolin may serve a role in promoting cell apoptosis by inducing Eca109 cell apoptosis that involves the expression of caspase3, caspase9 mRNA and protein. This study provides theoretical basis for further study and clinical application of luteolin. The specific mechanism has not yet been clarified and the other activation pathways inducing apoptosis need to be further studied.