Hyperuricemia is a risk factor for many diseases, and in turn is caused by purine metabolism disorder and the decrease of uric acid (UA) excretion. Therefore, reducing the production of UA and promoting the excretion of UA are significant ways to alleviate hyperuricemia. Although Poria cocos is an important fungus that can be used for both food and medicinal purpose, at present, there are few studies on the anti-hyperuricemic activity of P. cocos. In this context, the current study aimed to evaluate the anti-hyperuricemic effect of P. cocos powder in mice, and elucidate the underlying mechanism from the perspectives of the production and excretion of UA. The results showed that P. cocos powder significantly reduced the serum level of UA (P < 0.001) and inhibited the activity of xanthine oxidase (XOD) in the serum and liver of hyperuricemic rats. In addition, P. cocos powder remarkably improved renal function, glomerular atrophy, and renal tubule dilatation in hyperuricemic rats. Meanwhile, P. cocos powder significantly increased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Alistipes and Parabacteroides, and significantly reduce the relative abundance of Firmicutes in the intestinal tract. These results speculated that P. cocos powder could promote the excretion of UA to reduce serum UA concentration by alleviating kidney damage and regulating the intestinal flora. These findings are conducive to the discovery of local specialties, and also provide some theoretical reference for the development of P. cocos related products.

Delaying skin-aging through diet is a hot research topic in recent years, but the anti-aging effects of fish gelatin and related mechanisms are not well understood. In this study, we prepared edible fish gelatin from the swim bladder of Cynoscion acoupa using three different processing methods, namely dried (DCM), soaked (SCM) and instanted (ICM), to investigate its anti-aging effects and mechanisms on D-galactose induced skin aging in mice, as well as its effects on the gut microbiota. The results demonstrated that fish gelatin significantly increased water content, collagen, hyaluronic acid (HA) and hydroxyproline (Hyp) content, and skin integrity of mice skin, as well as enhanced the antioxidative ability and anti-inflammatory capacity of the skin. In terms of protein and mRNA expression levels in skin tissue, CMs treated with different treatments can up-regulate the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and tissue inhibitor of metal protease 1 (TIMP1), down-regulating the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1) and matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3), and increase the expression of collagen type Ⅲ alpha 1 chain (COL3A1) and collagen type Ⅰ alpha 2 chain (COL1A2). CMs attenuated the D-galactose-mediated inhibition collagen expression by stimulating the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)/Smad signaling pathway, thereby maintaining collagen matrix homeostasis. In addition, we revealed that CMs reversed gut microbiota by increase the abundance of intestinal flora. In conclusion, we demonstrated that CMs, especially for ICM, as an effective dietary supplement, have potential anti-aging and skin health benefits.

In order to explore the effect of ginger juice-assisted probiotic fermentation on the flavor quality of Gastrodia elata Bl. (GE), a comparative evaluation was performed on the active constituents, sensory quality and volatile compounds of fermented GE with ginger (FGEG) and other control samples. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were used to examine the impact of ginger juice-assisted probiotic fermentation on the flavor profile of GE. Results showed that as the fermentation progressed, the content of gastrodin (GAS) increased with fluctuations, and the content of p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol (HBA) in GE significantly increased. The contents of both compounds were significantly higher in FGEG than in unfermented samples. Furthermore, ginger-assisted probiotic fermentation effectively inhibited browning in GE, preserving its color. Sensory evaluation indicated that FGEG had a unique flavor profile with odor acceptance higher than that of both fresh GE and ginger-GE mixture. Results from electronic nose and volatile compound analysis revealed that a total of 106 volatile compounds were detected during the fermentation process. Among them, the contents of aldehydes and alkenes with unpleasant odors decreased, while the content of esters with aroma increased. Hence, the fermentation improved the odor of GE to a certain extent and imparted a unique aroma to FGEG. These findings provide new insights into the development of fermented GE products, advancing the deep processing of GE.