Hawthorn Fruit Research Articles

Ergonomic Analysis of Working Postures in Hawthorn Fruit (Crataegus Spp.) Picking

İnsanların beslenmesinde kullanılan tarım ürünlerinin birçoğunun kültürü yapılmaktadır. Ancak bazı ürünler ise doğada kendiliğinden yetişmektedir. Bu ürünler suya ihtiyaç duymadığı gibi çoğu zaman tarımsal mücadele, gübreleme gibi diğer tarımsal işlemler ve uygulamalara da ihtiyaç duymazlar. Kendiliğinden büyür, gelişir ve meyve verirler. Bu tip bitkiler ya da ağaçlar doğada kendileri için en uygun yerlerde bulunurlar. Kendini korumak için çoğu zaman ya sarp kayalık yerlerde yetişirler ya da meyveleri dikenli ve ulaşılması zor yerlerdedir. Çoğu zaman eğimli, sarp ve dağlık yerlerde kendiliğinden yetişen bitkilerin, meyvelerinin ya da diğer kısımların toplanmasında tarımsal mekanizasyon araçları kullanılamamaktadır. Bu işlemlerin tümünün insan eli ile yapılması gerekmektedir. Bu bitkilerin meyveleri olgunlaştığında toplanmadığında kendiliğinden yere düşmektedir. Bu meyveleri toplayan kişiler bazen dalların arasından bazen de yere dökülen meyveleri toplamak zorunda kalabilirler. Özellikle küçük boyutlu meyvelerin toplanması çok zaman alabilmektedir. Bu durumda uzun bir süre zor koşullarda çalışan toplayıcıların çeşitli fiziksel zorlamalara maruz kaldıkları söylenebilir. Bunların çalışma durumlarının incelenerek, ergonomik analizinin yapılması ve elde edilecek sonuçlara göre önerilerde bulunulması insan sağlığı için büyük önem taşımaktadır.
 Bu çalışmada, eğimli bir zeminde kendiliğinden yetişmiş olan bir grup alıç ağacında geleneksel yollarla yapılan meyve toplama işleminde, toplayıcıların duruşları kamera ile kayıt altına alınmıştır. Elde edilen veriler, OWAS (Hızlı Tüm Vücut Değerlendirmesi) kriterlerine göre belirlenmiş ve EgroFellow 3.0. yazılımı kullanılarak, sınıflandırılmıştır. Böylece alıç toplama esnasında çalışanların duruşlarından elde edilen veriler incelenip, uygun olmayan duruşlar belirlenmiştir. Bunların yol açtığı kas ve iskelet sistemi rahatsızlıklarına neden olabilecek risklerin önceden tahmin edilip, en aza indirmesi ve duruşlarda iyileştirmeler sağlanması mümkün olacaktır.

Integrative Analysis of Metabolome and Transcriptome Reveals Molecular Insight into Metabolomic Variations during Hawthorn Fruit Development.

Hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida var. major), a cultivated fruit tree, is native and unique to China. Its fruits have high nutritional, health, and medicinal values. However, the development and ripening process of hawthorns is accompanied by dramatic changes in flavor, aroma, and bioactive phytochemicals, which are the fundamental factors that contribute to the potential health benefits and establishment of fruit quality. Therefore, an exploration of the dynamic changes in metabolites and their regulatory networks during the development of hawthorn fruits can elucidate the formation mechanisms of active substances in hawthorn fruits. In this study, we used a broad targeted metabolomics approach to identify and analyze the dynamics of metabolites in hawthorn fruits at five developmental stages. The results revealed 998 primary and secondary metabolites that were classified into 15 categories. The accumulation levels of most sugars increased during fruit development and then accelerated at the fruit ripening stage. The accumulation levels of a few organic acids (e.g., citric acid, isocitric acid, and quinic acid) continuously increased. Many organic acids exhibited significant decreasing trends. Among the 561 secondary metabolites detected, 189 were phenolic acids and 199 were flavonoids. The levels of many flavonoids were significantly reduced at later stages of fruit development; in contrast, the levels of two anthocyanins significantly increased during fruit ripening. Correlation analysis revealed that there is a certain correlation within and between primary as well as secondary metabolites during fruit development. Furthermore, the integration of metabolomic and transcriptomic data in this study revealed that changes in the expression of some differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were associated with the accumulation of metabolites such as sugars, organic acids, and flavonoids, e.g., the upregulated expression levels of CS (citrate synthase) genes were consistent with the continued accumulation of citric acid. Overall, this study demonstrates the metabolic changes that occur during the development of hawthorn fruit, explores the molecular mechanisms that underlie metabolite changes during fruit development, and lays a strong theoretical foundation for the improvement of hawthorn fruit quality and the development of functional components.

Protective Effect of Hawthorn Fruit Extract against High Fructose-Induced Oxidative Stress and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Pancreatic β-Cells

Hyperglycemia has deleterious effects on pancreatic β-cells, causing dysfunction and insulin resistance that lead to diabetes mellitus (DM). The possible causes of injury can be caused by glucose- or fructose-induced oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida) fruit has been widely used as a hypolipidemic agent in traditional herbal medicine. The study aimed to investigate whether high fructose-induced pancreatic β-cell dysfunction could be reversed through amelioration of ER stress by the treatment of polyphenol-enriched extract (PEHE) from hawthorn fruit. The extract was partitioned using ethyl acetate as a solvent from crude water extract (WE) of hawthorn fruits, followed by column fractionation. The results showed that the contents of total polyphenols, flavonoids and triterpenoids in PEHE could be enhanced by 2.2-, 7.7- and 1.1-fold, respectively, in comparison to the original obtained WE from hawthorn fruit. In ER stress studies, a sharp increase in the inhibitory activity on the gene expression levels of GRP79, ATF6, IRE1α and CHOP involved in ER stress was evident when dosages of PEHE at 50-100 μg/mL were used against high-fructose (150 mM)-treated cells. HPLC-MS/MS analysis showed that polyphenols and flavonoids collectively accounted for 87.03% of the total content of PEHE.

Hawthorn fruit extract protect against MC‐LR‐induced hepatotoxicity by attenuating oxidative stress and apoptosis

Microcystins (MCs) is a class of cyclic heptapeptide compounds with biological activity. There is no effective treatment for liver injury caused by MCs. Hawthorn is a medicinal and edible plant traditional Chinese medicine with hypolipidemic, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in the liver. This study discussed the protective effect of hawthorn fruit extract (HFE) on liver damage caused by MC-LR and the underlying molecular mechanism. After MC-LR exposure, pathological changes were observed and hepatic activity of ALT, AST and ALP were increased obviously, but they were remarkably restored with HFE administration. In addition, MC-LR could significantly reduce SOD activity and increase MDA content. Importantly, MC-LR treatment resulted in mitochondrial membrane potential decreased, and Cytochrome C release, eventually leading to cell apoptosis rate increase. HFE pretreatment could significantly alleviate the above abnormal phenomena. To examine the mechanism of protection, the expression of critical molecules in the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway was examined. The levels of Bcl-2 was inhibited, and the levels of Bax, Caspase-9, Cleaved Caspase-9, and Cleaved caspase-3 were upregulated after MC-LR treatment. HFE reduced MC-LR-induced apoptosis via reversing the expression of key proteins and genes in the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Hence, HFE could alleviate MC-LR induced hepatotoxicity by reducing oxidative stress and apoptosis.

Integrative analysis of the metabolome and transcriptome reveals the potential mechanism of fruit flavor formation in wild hawthorn (Crataegus chungtienensis)

Hawthorns are important medicinal and edible plants with a long history of health protection in China. Besides cultivated hawthorn, other wild hawthorns may also have excellent medicinal and edible value, such as Crataeguschungtienensis, an endemic species distributed in the Southwest of China. In this study, by integrating the flavor-related metabolome and transcriptome data of the ripening fruit of C. chungtienensis, we have developed an understanding of the formation of hawthorn fruit quality. The results show that a total of 849 metabolites were detected in the young and mature fruit of C. chungtienensis, of which flavonoids were the most detected metabolites. Among the differentially accumulated metabolites, stachyose, maltotetraose and cis-aconitic acid were significantly increased during fruit ripening, and these may be important metabolites affecting fruit flavor change. Moreover, several flavonoids and terpenoids were reduced after fruit ripening compared with young fruit. Therefore, using the unripe fruit of C. chungtienensis may allow us to obtain more medicinal active ingredients such as flavonoids and terpenoids. Furthermore, we screened out some differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to fruit quality formation, which had important relationships with differentially accumulated sugars, acids, flavonoids and terpenoids. Our study provides new insights into flavor formation in wild hawthorn during fruit development and ripening, and at the same time this study lays the foundation for the improvement of hawthorn fruit flavor.

Study on the Technology of Low Alcohol Hawthorn Flavor Beer

Hawthorn fruit is bright red in color, contains a variety of nutrients, and has many health effects. In this paper, through the study of yeast, fermentation temperature, acid reduction, high residual sugar and other factors, we finally selected NO303 Aerospace yeast with rich ester aroma and low fermentation degree reserved in the yeast bank of Qilu University of technology for fermentation. Fermentation temperature is 19.0℃, the main fermentation duration is:1-2days, total fermentation time is about 10 days. The physical and chemical indexes of low alcohol hawthorn beer are as follows: Original wort concentration is 11°P, residual sugar is 9.8°P, alcohol level is 0.45 %vol, total acid is 2.55mL/100mL, pH3.87, chroma is 13.5EBC. Finally, low alcohol hawthorn beer with light red color, hawthorn aroma and strong ester aroma was obtained. The beer has low acidity, balanced between acidity and sweetness, unique taste and low alcohol content. It is more like a carbonated beverage with strong killing taste and is suitable for the general public, especially young female consumers.

Intelligent detection and waste control of hawthorn fruit based on ripening level using machine vision system and deep learning techniques

Increasing marketability and waste management of agricultural products require quality assessment. Meanwhile, their marketability is largely affected by their shapes and overall appearance. Deep Learning (DL) has gained traction as a leading tool for computer vision tasks involving image detection and classification. This research was conducted in order to achieve better grading, reduce waste and at the same time increase the export and marketing of hawthorn fruit. In this regard, to classify images, 3 categorizes of hawthorn (unripe, ripe, and overripe) were acquired and the images were prepared using a well-designed illumination chamber. A data augmentation method was employed to improve the DL performance. After the pre-processing step, the capabilities of the suggested Inception-V3, ResNet-50, and the proposed DL models based on convolutional neural networks (CNN) used to grade the hawthorn fruit. In comparison with other methods, the Inception-V3 surpassed the overall validation accuracy of 100%, indicating superiority of this network over the other classifiers. Therefore, CNN and image processing techniques can be effective in increasing marketability, controlling waste and improving traditional methods used for grading hawthorn fruit.

The Content of Ash Elements in the Above-Ground Organs of Some <i>Crataegus</i> (Rosaceae) Species

Abstract—The study assessed the content of ash elements in the dry matter of fruits, flowers and leaves of 19 hawthorn (Crataegus L.) species. The plants from the collection of the Botanical Garden-Institute of the Volga State University of Technology (VSUT), the Mari El Republic, were studied. The content of eight elements was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. It is shown that ash and trace elements content is species-specific. The ash content in dry fruits is highest in C. flabellate (Bosc) K. Koch and C. macracantha Lodd., and lowest in C. × almaatensis Pojark. and C. altaica (Loud.) Lange. The highest content of Fe was found in C. pinnatifida Bunge, Mn – in C. flabellate (Bosc) K. Koch, Zn – in C. volgensis Pojark., C. maximowiczii C.K. Schneid. and C. nigra Waldst. et Kit., Cu – in C. volgensis Pojark., Ni, Sr and Co – in C. macracantha Lodd., Cd – in C. altaica (Loud.) Lange, C. macracantha Lodd., C. volgensis Pojark. Difference in the fruit elemental composition between hawthorn species may be due to the difference in proportion of pulp and seeds. The content of ash and mineral elements in hawthorn fruits varies depending on the growing season conditions. The content of Fe, Zn and Ni increases in years with warm and humid summers, while the content of Mn decreases, but the weather conditions of the growing season account for only 3.8 to 28.8% of the variance of values. In hawthorn, the concentration of trace elements essential for humans, especially Zn, is significantly higher in flowers, than in fruits, and, on the contrary, concentration of potentially toxic Sr is higher in fruits. In leaves, especially harvested in autumn, Sr content is tens of times higher than in fruits.

Effect of hawthorn berry pre-treatment and preservation methods on the extractability of color-determining compounds and selected antioxidative substances

This study aimed to investigate the effect of hawthorn berry saturation with a sucrose solution and preservation with various methods (freezing, air-drying, and freeze-drying) on the extractability of color compounds and antioxidative substances during liqueur production. The finished products were evaluated for color; turbidity; contents of total polyphenols, total flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, phenols, flavonols, and anthocyanins; antioxidative activity against ABTS and DPPH radicals and as ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP); polyphenolic profile and vitamin C content. Hawthorn fruit saturation with a sucrose solution had a significant effect on the color parameters (lower: L*, a*, b* values; and higher: C and h◦ values) and contributed to higher contents of the analyzed bioactive compounds except for caffeic acid and quercetin, whose contents were significantly higher in the liqueurs produced from non-saturated fruits. The freeze-drying proved best in fruit preservation and contributed to the most satisfactory extraction of bioactive compounds to the finished product.

Polyphenolic Profile, Antioxidant and Antidiabetic Potential of Medlar (Mespilus germanica L.), Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa L.) and Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.) Fruit Extracts from Serbia

Plant-based food represents an excellent source of different nutrients and bioactive compounds, such as phenolics, carotenoids, vitamins, etc., with proven health benefits for humans. The content of selected phytochemicals, polyphenolic profile, and biological activity (antioxidant potential and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity) of fruit extracts of medlar (Mespilus germanica L.), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa L.), and common hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.), the neglected Rosaceae species originated from Serbia were studied. Targeted UHPLC/(−)HESI–MS/MS quantitative analysis of phenolic compounds revealed pinocembrin only in medlar fruit extract, and it is the first report of this flavanone in medlar fruits. Total phenolic content did not differ between extracts, whereas significant differences were observed for the contents of total flavonoids, total phenolic acids, and total gallotannins. Monomeric anthocyanins and total anthocyanins were significantly higher in blackthorn compared to medlar and hawthorn fruit extracts (p < 0.05). DPPH· and ABTS·+ scavenging activities for examined fruits were modest compared to other natural antioxidants and BHT. The most potent inhibitory activity toward α-glucosidase expressed medlar and blackthorn extracts with IC50 values of 129.46 and 199.84 μg/mL, respectively, which was higher compared to the standard drug acarbose.

Preparation of chitosan modified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles containing hawthorn proanthocyanidins: SCC25 cell cycle arrest, antiproliferation, and apoptosis studies

The present study aims at the preparation of a chitosan-PLGA-based proanthocyanidin from hawthorn fruit loaded nano-system (CS-PLGA-PHL) and investigate its inhibitory effect on SCC-25 cells and the related mechanisms. Methods: CS-PLGA-PHL nanocomposites were constructed by emulsion-solvent evaporation. The effect of CS-PLGA-PHL on the proliferation of human normal squamous epithelial hNOK cells were detected. The antitumor activity of CS-PLGA-PHL on SCC-25 cells were studied by cytotoxicity test, cell cycle and apoptosis analysis. The apoptotic protein and gene expression in SCC-25 cells was detected by western blotting and q-PCR. Results: The particle size distribution of CS-PLGA-PHL was narrow with an average of 177.60±41.00 nm. CS-PLGA-PHL did not show significant cytotoxicity to hNOK cells (IC50 > 50 μg/mL), with strong cytotoxicity to SCC-25 cells (IC50 = 1.21 μg/mL), which could block the G0/G1 phase of SCC-25 cells and increase the distribution of G2/M phase. Meanwhile, the apoptosis induction of CS-PLGA-PHL was higher than that of free PHL and PLGA-PHL group (P <0.05). The cell cycle inhibition and apoptosis induction may be due to the up regulation of apoptosis-associated proteins and genes. Conclusion: CS-PLGA-PHL nanocomposites can inhibit the cell cycle and promote apoptosis of SCC-25 cells by up regulating the expression of apoptosis-associated proteins and genes, suggesting that it has potential as a chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

The Production of Pestil (Fruit leather) from Different Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) Fruits

Pestil is one of the important foods traditionally produced in Türkiye, with high energy, vitamin and mineral content. It is obtained by naturally drying the pulp obtained from different kinds of fruits after mixing it with ingredients such as sugar and flour. In regions where the fruiting period depends on the season, fruit pulp is produced in order to benefit from it in winter. In addition, bioactive components originating from the fruit increase the nutritional value. In this study, the physicochemical and antioxidative properties of the pestil obtained from three different Hawthorn fruits (Crataegus meyeri, Crataegus turkestenica and Crataegus orientalis) known to have positive effects on health were investigated. The results revealed that, depending on the fruit type, pestil samples have high antioxidative properties (IC50: 50.11±0.16-52.1±2.14 mg/mL) due to the high phenol content (39.8±0.16-52.95±1.21 mg GA/g DW). In this context, in the present study, it has been seen that the pestil prepared with the traditional method from three different Hawthorn fruits should be industrially produced as a product for people to access healthy and various foods today.

Review of pharmacotherapeutic properties of crataegus sanquinea and its medicines

The species of redhaw hawthorn and its raw material, including fruits, as a plant raw material was characterized. Biological stocks of raw materials in Ukraine and alternative possibilities were summarized. It has been found that the majority of hawthorn species growing in Ukraine have very similar chemical compositions and therefore can be interchangeable.
 The chemical composition was analysed, a full list of biologically active substances of hawthorn fruits was given and their influence on biological processes was characterized. The process of preparation, drying, and storage of medicinal raw materials is also described in detail.
 The assortment of medicines in the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine, which contains their composition of hawthorn fruits, was analysed.
 It is established that the official list of drugs has 26 names, but in traditional medicine and unofficial sources, these drugs are far greater.
 It has been revealed available both single- and multicomponent medicinal drugs are presented in different dosage forms.
 The directions of application of hawthorn fruits for therapeutic purposes in various ailments are described, the ways of their use are given, and contraindications for use and peculiarities of preparation and use of various dosage forms are characterized in detail.

Determination of Some Fruit, Leaf and Stomatal Characteristics of Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) Genotypes Growing in Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır Provinces

Bu araştırma, Güneydoğu Anadolu Bölgesi'nin kurak ve yarı-kurak ekolojik koşullarında yetişen bazı alıç genotiplerinin bazı meyve, yaprak ve stoma özelliklerinin belirlenmesi amacıyla 2021 yılında yürütülmüştür. İncelenen alıç genotiplerinin meyve ağırlığı 0.89-1.80 g, meyve boyu 11.48-13.62 mm, meyve eni 10.92- 15.68 mm, yaprak alanı 4.02-26.01 cm2, yaprak eni 2.52-6.96 cm ve yaprak boyu ise 2.88-6.64 cm arasında tespit edilmiştir. Alıç genotipleri arasında en fazla stoma sayısı 212.91 adet mm-2 ile Diyarbakır-1 genotipinde ve en düşük stoma sayısı ise 98.57 adet mm-2 ile Karaköprü genotipinde saptanmıştır. Alıç genotiplerinin ortalama stoma boyu ve eni sırasıyla; 34.43 (Diyarbakır-1)-40.99 µm (Karaköprü) ve 27.48 (Diyarbakır-1)-32.28 µm (Halfeti) aralığında belirlenmiştir. Elde edilen bu sonuçlara göre daha küçük yaprak alanına, birim alanda daha fazla stoma sayısına ve daha küçük stoma boyu ve eni değerlerine sahip olan Diyarbakır-1 genotipinin, yaprak ve stoma özelliklerine göre kuraklığa daha fazla dayanabileceği, kurak ve yarı-kurak ekolojilerde ağaçlandırma çalışmalarında başarılı olarak kullanılabileceği düşünülmektedir.

Comparison of Physical and Bioactive Properties, Phenolic Compounds and Nutrients of Raw and Dehydrated Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) Fruits

Comparison of Physical and Bioactive Properties, Phenolic Compounds and Nutrients of Raw and Dehydrated Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) Fruits

Quantitative determination content for the Residual Organic Solvents in a combined drug based on Jacob's Ladder herbs, motherwort herbs and hawthorn fruit by GC- FID

The article presents quantitative determination content for the residual organic solvents in a combined herbal medicine based on motherwort herb (Herba Leonuri), hawthorn fruits (Crataegus spp.) and jacob’s ladder herb (Polemonium caeruleum L.), by the use of Gas Chromatography (GC) accompanied by Flame Ionization Detector (FID). In accordance to the requirements of Russia State pharmacopoeia 14th edition, General Pharmacopoeia Monograph 1.1.0008.15 "Residual organic solvents" and 1.2.1.2.0004.15 "Gas chromatography", the measurement of residual solvents is mandatory. You can now take advantage of GC equipment with faster temperature changes combined with shorter GC capillary columns to achieve significant efficiency gains and faster analysis times. In the present study, using a flame ionization detector, a gas chromatographic method for determining the residual levels of ethanol in a combined herbal medicine based on motherwort herb, hawthorn fruit and jacob’s ladder herb was tested, and the separation was performed on a column ZB-624 (G43 6% cyanopropylphenyl 94% dimethylpolysiloxane) using Agilent 7890А, with installation for Head Space analysis Agilent 7694Е, USA, Agilent. The retention time of standard ethanol was 7.09 minutes. It resulted that the linearity for ethanol is between 10-150% of the rated content. The method was approved in accordance with Russia State pharmacopoeia 14th edition, General Pharmacopoeia Monograph 1.1.0012.15 "Validation of analytical methods". The described method is simple, sensitive, durable, reliable and reproducible for determining the quantitative content for the residual organic solvents in a combined herbal medicine based on motherwort herb, hawthorn fruits and jacob’s ladder herb.

Effects of hawthorn seed oil on plasma cholesterol and gut microbiota

BackgroundHypercholesterolemia and gut microbiota dysbiosis are associated with the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Hawthorn fruits has shown to be cardioprotective and hypocholesterolemic. However, no studies to date have studied the biological activity of hawthorn seed oil (HSO). The present study was to investigate if HSO could favourably reduce plasma cholesterol and modulate gut microbiota in hypercholesterolemia hamsters.MethodsGolden Syrian hamsters (age, 8 weeks) were randomly divided into five groups (n = 8, each) and fed one of the following five diets, namely a non-cholesterol diet, a high cholesterol diet containing 0.15% cholesterol (HCD); a HCD diet with addition of 4.75% HSO (LHSO), a HCD diet with addition of 9.5% HSO (HHSO), a HCD diet with addition of 0.50% cholestyramine as positive control diet. After 6-week dietary intervention, plasma lipids, inflammatory markers, atherosclerosis plaque, hepatic and fecal lipids were quantified. Microbiota in fresh feces were analysed by sequencing 16S rRNA genes, while RT-PCR and Western blot analyses were employed to quantify the expression of genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis.ResultsHSO at a dose of 9.5% HSO could decrease plasma cholesterol and non-HDL-cholesterol by 15%. Additionally, both HSO experimental groups also suppressed mRNA of 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl-CoA Reductase (HMG-CoA-R). Supplementation of HSO at 4.75% could significantly increase the excretion of fecal acidic sterols, accompanied by elevation of short-chain fatty acid levels in feces. The analyses of gut microbiome indicated that HSO supplementation could selectively alter the genera abundance of gut bacteria that were correlated with cholesterol metabolism including unclassified_f__Christensenellaceae, Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_ group, norank_o_Gastranaerophilales, Faecalibaculum, Peptococcus, norank_f__Clostridiales_vadinBB60_group and Ruminococcus_2.ConclusionsHSO supplementation was able to decrease plasma cholesterol by favourably modulating gut microbiota composition and gut-derived metabolites associated with cholesterol regulation.Graphical

LC-MS-based lipidomic analysis of liver tissue sample from spontaneously hypertensive rats treated with extract hawthorn fruits.

At present, many experiments provide support for the cardiovascular protective effect of hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) flower, leaf and fruit extracts. The aim of this study was to investigate the intervention mechanism of hawthorn fruit extract on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and its effect on their lipid metabolic pattern. After SHR was intervened by hawthorn extract (1.08 g/kg/d) for 6 weeks, the blood pressure and liver histopathology of rats were evaluated. An UHPLC-Q Extractive metabolomics approach was used to collect information on rat liver lipid metabolites, combined with multivariate data analysis to identify significantly different substances and potential biomarkers through mass spectrometry and database searches. Histomorphology of the liver was partially restored in the hawthorn-treated group. Hawthorn extract interferes with sphingolipid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism and glycerolipids metabolism, improving partially disturbed metabolic pathways. This study showed that hawthorn could partially restore liver histomorphology and has anti-hypertensive effect by regulating lipid metabolism.

Hawthorn fruit acid consumption attenuates hyperlipidemia-associated oxidative damage in rats.

ContextHyperlipidemia is a highly prevalent risk factor for atherosclerosis and stroke. The currently available medications used to treat Hyperlipidemia cannot improve its oxidative stress damage. Consumption of hawthorn can regulate blood sugar and blood lipids, and its rich fruit acid is a natural antioxidant that can improve oxidative stress damage.ObjectiveThe present research aimed to investigate the protective effect of hawthorn fruit acid (HFA) on hyperlipidemia and to determine its potential molecular mechanism.Materials and methodsSprague-Dawley rats were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce hyperlipidemia and treated orally with hawthorn fruit acids (HFA). Serum and liver levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), superoxide dismutase (SOD), hydrogen peroxide (CAT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. Human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (HepG2) cells were treated with 0.1 mM oleic acid and HFA (0.125, 0.25 mg/mL), and intracellular TC, TG, HDL-C, SOD, CAT and MDA were measured. Changes in LDLR, HMGCR, Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1 protein and gene expression were analyzed by Western blot and qPCR.ResultsThis study found that HFA treatment effectively reduced the level of triglyceride, cholesterol, and glucose, and attenuated hepatic steatosis in rats. Additionally, oxidative stress damage of rats was effectively reduced by treatment with HFA. Western blot and qPCR analysis indicated that HFA treatment inhibited fat accumulation in HepG2 cells by upregulating LDLR and downregulating HMGCR gene expression. HFA inhibits oleic acid (OA)-induced oxidative damage to HepG2 by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.ConclusionHFA administration can provide health benefits by counteracting the effects of hyperlipidemia caused by an HFD in the body, and the underlying mechanism of this event is closely related to the activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Acupuncture Combined with Traditional Chinese Medicine and Drug Therapy for the Treatment of Cerebral Infarction (Phlegm-Blood Stasis Syndrome) and Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Study.

Carotid atherosclerotic plaque (CAP) is one of the leading causes of cerebral infarction. Western medicine usually uses lipid-lowering drugs to stabilize plaques. Currently, studies reporting on drugs that can reduce plaques are lacking. Here, we performed a randomized controlled study to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture combined with drug therapy (TCM and Western) to treat cerebral infarction (phlegm-blood stasis syndrome) and CAP. The control group was treated with atorvastatin calcium tablets (20 mg/d, po for 15 days). The treatment group received atorvastatin calcium tablets 20 mg, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoctions (two matured substance decoction plus peach kernel and Carthamus four substance decoction plus Chinese hawthorn fruit 20 g, gold theragran 20 g, and red yeast rice 3 g), and acupuncture therapy, once daily for 15 days as one treatment course. The patients' neurological deficit score, ultrasonic testing of the carotid artery, and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) were evaluated. Our findings showed no significant difference in the evaluated indices between the two groups before treatment (P > 0.05). However, compared with the control group after 15 days of treatment and within each group before and after treatment, the differences were significant (P < 0.05). In conclusion, acupuncture combined with drug therapy demonstrated promising effectiveness in treating cerebral infarction (phlegm-blood stasis syndrome) and CAP.