Despite of the widespread use of hydrogen and methane breath test, the variability in testing protocols, gas measurement techniques, and interpretation criteria continues to challenge the reproducibility and comparability across centers, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. The Asian Neurogastroenterology and Motility Association hence presents the first Asian monograph guiding application and interpretation of breath test. The monograph was formulated according to the framework of indications, preparatory process, performance, and interpretation of results, as well as future direction for research.

Objective:To explore the value of dual-layer spectral CT virtual monoenergetic images (VMI) in contrast-enhanced abdominal CT scans with reduced contrast medium volume in pediatric tumor patients.Methods:The study is a self-matched case-control study. From January to October 2024, pediatric patients admitted to Shandong Cancer Hospital with abdominal tumors who underwent low contrast dose spectral CT contrast-enhanced scans during follow-up were prospectively included. A total of 47 patients aged (6.2±2.2) years (4-14 years) were enrolled. Usual contrast dose enhanced CT served as the conventional-dose group, while the follow-up low-dose spectral CT scans employed a protocol with half the contrast agent dose (low-dose group). Images were reconstructed as conventional CT images and VMI at 45, 55, and 65 keV. Using muscle as the reference background, differences in CT values and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in the aorta, kidneys, liver, and spleen were compared between the low-dose group and conventional-dose group. Multi-group comparisons were performed using the Friedman test. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons were conducted with Bonferroni correction for P-values. Results:CT values and CNRs for all measured regions progressively increased with decreasing keV levels in spectral CT VMI. Significant overall differences were found in CT values and CNRs for the aorta, kidneys, liver, and spleen among the low-dose group (all VMIs) and the conventional-dose group (all P<0.001). At 65 keV VMI in the low-dose group, both CT values and CNRs (except for the liver CNR) were significantly lower than those in the conventional-dose group (all adjusted P<0.05). At 55 keV VMI in the low-dose group, CT values and CNRs for all regions did not show statistically significant differences compared to the conventional-dose group (all adjusted P>0.05). At 45 keV VMI in the low-dose group, CT values for all structures and CNR for the spleen were significantly higher than those in the conventional-dose group (all adjusted P<0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was found in CNRs for the aorta, kidneys, and liver (adjusted P=1.000, 0.313, and 0.503, respectively). Conclusion:When the contrast dose is halved, spectral CT 45 keV VMI enhances CT attenuation values and CNR in the abdomen of pediatric tumor patients, while 55 keV VMI provides image quality comparable to that of conventional-dose CT.

Environmental toxicants have been linked to aging and age-related diseases. The emerging evidence has shown that the enhancement of detoxification gene expression is a common transcriptome marker of long-lived mice, Drosophila melanogaster, and Caenorhabditis elegans. Meanwhile, the resistance to toxicants was increased in long-lived animals. Here, we show that farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist obeticholic acid (OCA), a marketed drug for the treatment of cholestasis, may extend the lifespan and healthspan both in C. elegans and chemical-induced early senescent mice. Furthermore, OCA increased the resistance of worms to toxicants and activated the expression of detoxification genes in both mice and C. elegans. The longevity effects of OCA were attenuated in Fxr ^-/- mice and Fxr homologous nhr-8 and daf-12 mutant C. elegans. In addition, metabolome analysis revealed that OCA increased the endogenous agonist levels of the pregnane X receptor (PXR), a major nuclear receptor for detoxification regulation, in the liver of mice. Together, our findings suggest that OCA has the potential to lengthen lifespan and healthspan by activating nuclear receptor-mediated detoxification functions, thus, targeting FXR may offer to promote longevity.

Objective:To analyze the drug resistance and virulence characteristics of KPC-2-producing carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae(CRKP). Methods:A total of 26 non-repeating CRKP strains clinically isolated from a Class Ⅲ hospital in Kunming from August 2021 to March 2022 were collected. Mass spectrometry and the VITEK 2 Compact system were used to identify the bacteria and perform drug susceptibility tests. PCR was used to amplify the drug resistance and virulence genes carried by the strains. These CRKP strains were divided into a hypervirulent CRKP(CR-hvKP) group and a CR-non-hvKP group according to the characteristic virulence genes of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae. The virulence phenotypes of CRKP were investigated by wire drawing test, serum resistance test and siderophore qualitative and quantitative tests. The whole genomes of CRKP-67 (a CR-hvKP strain) and CRKP-94 (a CR-non-hvKP strain) were sequenced by the Illumina high-throughput sequencing platform, to further analyze the drug resistance genes, virulence genes, and virulence plasmidds carried by the strains. Results:The drug sensitivity results indicated that all 26 strains were resistant to carbapenem, cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones and β-lactam/β-lactam inhibitor complexes. The resistance rates to amicacin, cotrimoxazole and gentamicin were 61.54%(6/26), 57.69%(15/26) and 73.08%(9/26), respectively. Regarding the drug resistance gene amplification results, the carrying rates of blaKPC-2, blaNDM-1, blaOXA-48, blaVIM, blaIMP, blaSME, blaSHV, blaCTX-M and blaTEM were 100.00%(26/26), 0, 0, 0, 0, 100.00%(26/26), 100.00%(26/26), 15.38% (4/26) and 73.08%(19/26), respectively. In the 26 strains, the carrying rates of toxic genes entB, entC, ureA, uge, wabG, ycf, irp1, irp2, mrkD, fimH and ybtS were 100.00%(26/26), while the carrying rates of virulence genes kfuB, iroN, aero, magA and alls were 0. The positive rate of string test was 66.7%(6/9) in the CR-hvKP group and 0 in the CR-non-hvKP group. The serum killing test showed a high sensitivity rate of 77.78%(7/9), a low sensitivity rate of 11.11%(1/9), and a serum resistance rate of 11.11%(1/9) in the CR-hvKP group. In the CR-non-hvKP group, the high sensitivity rate was 29.41%(5/17); the low sensitivity rate was 17.65%(3/17), and the serum resistance rate was 52.94%(9/17). There was no statistical significance between the two groups( P>0.05). The qualitative results of siderophore showed that all strains produced yellow chelating circles with slightly different color depth and size. The quantitative results of siderophore experiment showed that the average siderophore production level of CR-hvKP group was 40.74%, and that of CR-non-hvKP group was 28.21%. The level was higher in the CR-hvKP group than in the CR-non-hvKP group, and the difference was statistically significant( P<0.05). Whole-genome sequencing results showed that CRKP-67 was ST11 type and contained 3 plasmids. Among them, plasmid pCRKP-67-A carried a series of virulence genes, including iucABCD, iutA, rmpA, rmpA2, iroB and peg344, which were highly virulent characteristic genes. Plasmid pCRKP-67-B carried blaKPC-2, blaCTX-M, blaSHV, blaTEM and other drug-resistant genes. Plasmid pCRKP-67-C carried sul2, tetR, tetA and other drug-resistant genes. The CRKP-94 was of ST340 type and contained a drug-resistant plasmid carrying blaKPC-2, blaCTX-M, blaSHV, blaTEM and other drug-resistant genes. Conclusions:CRKP strains are highly resistant, and are only sensitive to a few antibiotics, and carry a variety of drug resistance genes. The main resistance mechanism to carbapenem antibiotics is the presence of the blaKPC-2 gene, which is located on the plasmids, which results in the spread of carbapenem resistance. The types and quantity of virulence genes carried by the CR-hvKP strain are more and greater respectively than those carried by the CR-non-hvKP strain. The co-existence of drug-resistant and virulence plasmids in CR-hvKP strains may lead to the co-transmission of high drug resistance and hypervirulence, which should be highly valued by relevant departments.

Objective:To explore the data distribution characteristics of hydrogen and methane breath test (HMBT) in Chinese population and to evaluate its applicability for diagnosing small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) in Chinese population.Methods:HMBT data of 18 634 individuals who underwent health check-up nationwide from March 2019 to september 2022 were retrospectively collected, which included the levels of hydrogen and methane at 0, 30, 60, and 90 min. After quality control and data cleaning, the final valid sample size was 12 654 cases, comprising 7 146 SIBO-negative cases and 5 508 SIBO-positive cases. In order to exclude confounding factors such as oral hygiene, the 12 654 cases were divided into D0 and D1 dataset, when the 0 min-value of hydrogen and methane were both lower than the 30 min-value, the 0 min-value was taken as the baseline, and induded into the D0 dataset (5 556 cases), and other situations were induded into the D1 dataset (7 098 cases). There were 2 879 SIBO-negative cases and 2 659 SIBO-positive cases in D0 dataset, and 4 249 SIBO-negative cases and 2 849 SIBO-positive cases in D1 dataset. The hydrogen and methane level at each testing time point in the SIBO-negative and SIBO-positive individuals, the difference between the peak gas level at 90 min and the baseline, and the distribution of time points at which peak level occurred were analyzed. Independent-sample t test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis. Results:The overall SIBO positive rate was 43.53% (5 508/12 654). In SIBO-positive cases the hydrogen level at 0, 30, 60, and 90 min were 9.41×10 -6 (5.01×10 -6, 21.90×10 -6), 11.34×10 -6 (6.13×10 -6, 22.94×10 -6), 18.16×10 -6 (11.03×10 -6, 29.37×10 -6) and 29.59×10 -6 (20.12×10 -6, 43.36×10 -6), respectively, and methane level were 9.13×10 -6 (7.12×10 -6, 12.03×10 -6), 9.23×10 -6 (8.07×10 -6, 12.03×10 -6), 10.21×10 -6 (9.02×10 -6, 13.01×10 -6), and 12.03×10 -6 (10.01×10 -6, 14.11×10 -6), respectively, which were higher than those of SIBO-negative cases (6.04×10 -6 (3.10×10 -6, 11.08×10 -6), 6.04×10 -6 (3.21×10 -6, 10.06×10 -6), 6.95×10 -6 (4.03×10 -6, 11.01×10 -6), 8.96×10 -6 (5.01×10 -6, 13.91×10 -6); 8.04×10 -6 (7.02×10 -6, 10.00×10 -6), 8.03×10 -6 (7.03×10 -6, 9.95×10 -6), 8.04×10 -6 (7.03×10 -6, 10.00×10 -6) 8.98×10 -6 (7.12×10 -6, 10.03×10 -6)], and the differences were statistically significant ( U=1.41×10 7, 1.09×10 7, 6.66×10 6, 4.14×10 6, 1.51×10 7, 1.23×10 7, 1.02×10 7, 8.86×10 6; all P<0.001). In both D0 and D1 datasets, the increase in hydrogen and methane of SIBO positive subgroup were higher than those of SIBO negative subgroup (22.39×10 -6(14.82×10 -6, 33.37×10 -6) vs. 4.82×10 -6(1.96×10 -6, 7.85×10 -6), 20.61×10 -6(7.87×10 -6, 31.44×10 -6) vs. 3.25×10 -6(0.79×10 -6, 7.88×10 -6); 3.98×10 -6(2.87×10 -6, 6.87×10 -6) vs. 1.95×10 -6(0.98×10 -6, 2.99×10 -6), 2.95×10 -6(0.98×10 -6, 4.93×10 -6) vs. 0.98×10 -6(0.00×10 -6, 1.99×10 -6)), and the differences were statistically significant( U=7.24×10 6, 9.72×10 6, 5.74×10 6, 8.27×10 6; all P<0.001). In both D0 and D1 datasets, hydrogen and methane concentrations peaked at 90 min. Conclusion:HMBT can be used for non-invasive diagnosis of SIBO in Chinese population, and the differences in hydrogen and methane concentrations at 90 min of the test have critical value for SIBO diagnosis.

Objective:To explore the value of dual-layer spectral CT virtual monoenergetic images (VMI) in contrast-enhanced abdominal CT scans with reduced contrast medium volume in pediatric tumor patients.Methods:The study is a self-matched case-control study. From January to October 2024, pediatric patients admitted to Shandong Cancer Hospital with abdominal tumors who underwent low contrast dose spectral CT contrast-enhanced scans during follow-up were prospectively included. A total of 47 patients aged (6.2±2.2) years (4-14 years) were enrolled. Usual contrast dose enhanced CT served as the conventional-dose group, while the follow-up low-dose spectral CT scans employed a protocol with half the contrast agent dose (low-dose group). Images were reconstructed as conventional CT images and VMI at 45, 55, and 65 keV. Using muscle as the reference background, differences in CT values and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in the aorta, kidneys, liver, and spleen were compared between the low-dose group and conventional-dose group. Multi-group comparisons were performed using the Friedman test. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons were conducted with Bonferroni correction for P-values. Results:CT values and CNRs for all measured regions progressively increased with decreasing keV levels in spectral CT VMI. Significant overall differences were found in CT values and CNRs for the aorta, kidneys, liver, and spleen among the low-dose group (all VMIs) and the conventional-dose group (all P<0.001). At 65 keV VMI in the low-dose group, both CT values and CNRs (except for the liver CNR) were significantly lower than those in the conventional-dose group (all adjusted P<0.05). At 55 keV VMI in the low-dose group, CT values and CNRs for all regions did not show statistically significant differences compared to the conventional-dose group (all adjusted P>0.05). At 45 keV VMI in the low-dose group, CT values for all structures and CNR for the spleen were significantly higher than those in the conventional-dose group (all adjusted P<0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was found in CNRs for the aorta, kidneys, and liver (adjusted P=1.000, 0.313, and 0.503, respectively). Conclusion:When the contrast dose is halved, spectral CT 45 keV VMI enhances CT attenuation values and CNR in the abdomen of pediatric tumor patients, while 55 keV VMI provides image quality comparable to that of conventional-dose CT.

Objective:To analyze the drug resistance and virulence characteristics of KPC-2-producing carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae(CRKP). Methods:A total of 26 non-repeating CRKP strains clinically isolated from a Class Ⅲ hospital in Kunming from August 2021 to March 2022 were collected. Mass spectrometry and the VITEK 2 Compact system were used to identify the bacteria and perform drug susceptibility tests. PCR was used to amplify the drug resistance and virulence genes carried by the strains. These CRKP strains were divided into a hypervirulent CRKP(CR-hvKP) group and a CR-non-hvKP group according to the characteristic virulence genes of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae. The virulence phenotypes of CRKP were investigated by wire drawing test, serum resistance test and siderophore qualitative and quantitative tests. The whole genomes of CRKP-67 (a CR-hvKP strain) and CRKP-94 (a CR-non-hvKP strain) were sequenced by the Illumina high-throughput sequencing platform, to further analyze the drug resistance genes, virulence genes, and virulence plasmidds carried by the strains. Results:The drug sensitivity results indicated that all 26 strains were resistant to carbapenem, cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones and β-lactam/β-lactam inhibitor complexes. The resistance rates to amicacin, cotrimoxazole and gentamicin were 61.54%(6/26), 57.69%(15/26) and 73.08%(9/26), respectively. Regarding the drug resistance gene amplification results, the carrying rates of blaKPC-2, blaNDM-1, blaOXA-48, blaVIM, blaIMP, blaSME, blaSHV, blaCTX-M and blaTEM were 100.00%(26/26), 0, 0, 0, 0, 100.00%(26/26), 100.00%(26/26), 15.38% (4/26) and 73.08%(19/26), respectively. In the 26 strains, the carrying rates of toxic genes entB, entC, ureA, uge, wabG, ycf, irp1, irp2, mrkD, fimH and ybtS were 100.00%(26/26), while the carrying rates of virulence genes kfuB, iroN, aero, magA and alls were 0. The positive rate of string test was 66.7%(6/9) in the CR-hvKP group and 0 in the CR-non-hvKP group. The serum killing test showed a high sensitivity rate of 77.78%(7/9), a low sensitivity rate of 11.11%(1/9), and a serum resistance rate of 11.11%(1/9) in the CR-hvKP group. In the CR-non-hvKP group, the high sensitivity rate was 29.41%(5/17); the low sensitivity rate was 17.65%(3/17), and the serum resistance rate was 52.94%(9/17). There was no statistical significance between the two groups( P>0.05). The qualitative results of siderophore showed that all strains produced yellow chelating circles with slightly different color depth and size. The quantitative results of siderophore experiment showed that the average siderophore production level of CR-hvKP group was 40.74%, and that of CR-non-hvKP group was 28.21%. The level was higher in the CR-hvKP group than in the CR-non-hvKP group, and the difference was statistically significant( P<0.05). Whole-genome sequencing results showed that CRKP-67 was ST11 type and contained 3 plasmids. Among them, plasmid pCRKP-67-A carried a series of virulence genes, including iucABCD, iutA, rmpA, rmpA2, iroB and peg344, which were highly virulent characteristic genes. Plasmid pCRKP-67-B carried blaKPC-2, blaCTX-M, blaSHV, blaTEM and other drug-resistant genes. Plasmid pCRKP-67-C carried sul2, tetR, tetA and other drug-resistant genes. The CRKP-94 was of ST340 type and contained a drug-resistant plasmid carrying blaKPC-2, blaCTX-M, blaSHV, blaTEM and other drug-resistant genes. Conclusions:CRKP strains are highly resistant, and are only sensitive to a few antibiotics, and carry a variety of drug resistance genes. The main resistance mechanism to carbapenem antibiotics is the presence of the blaKPC-2 gene, which is located on the plasmids, which results in the spread of carbapenem resistance. The types and quantity of virulence genes carried by the CR-hvKP strain are more and greater respectively than those carried by the CR-non-hvKP strain. The co-existence of drug-resistant and virulence plasmids in CR-hvKP strains may lead to the co-transmission of high drug resistance and hypervirulence, which should be highly valued by relevant departments.

Objective:To explore the data distribution characteristics of hydrogen and methane breath test (HMBT) in Chinese population and to evaluate its applicability for diagnosing small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) in Chinese population.Methods:HMBT data of 18 634 individuals who underwent health check-up nationwide from March 2019 to september 2022 were retrospectively collected, which included the levels of hydrogen and methane at 0, 30, 60, and 90 min. After quality control and data cleaning, the final valid sample size was 12 654 cases, comprising 7 146 SIBO-negative cases and 5 508 SIBO-positive cases. In order to exclude confounding factors such as oral hygiene, the 12 654 cases were divided into D0 and D1 dataset, when the 0 min-value of hydrogen and methane were both lower than the 30 min-value, the 0 min-value was taken as the baseline, and induded into the D0 dataset (5 556 cases), and other situations were induded into the D1 dataset (7 098 cases). There were 2 879 SIBO-negative cases and 2 659 SIBO-positive cases in D0 dataset, and 4 249 SIBO-negative cases and 2 849 SIBO-positive cases in D1 dataset. The hydrogen and methane level at each testing time point in the SIBO-negative and SIBO-positive individuals, the difference between the peak gas level at 90 min and the baseline, and the distribution of time points at which peak level occurred were analyzed. Independent-sample t test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis. Results:The overall SIBO positive rate was 43.53% (5 508/12 654). In SIBO-positive cases the hydrogen level at 0, 30, 60, and 90 min were 9.41×10 -6 (5.01×10 -6, 21.90×10 -6), 11.34×10 -6 (6.13×10 -6, 22.94×10 -6), 18.16×10 -6 (11.03×10 -6, 29.37×10 -6) and 29.59×10 -6 (20.12×10 -6, 43.36×10 -6), respectively, and methane level were 9.13×10 -6 (7.12×10 -6, 12.03×10 -6), 9.23×10 -6 (8.07×10 -6, 12.03×10 -6), 10.21×10 -6 (9.02×10 -6, 13.01×10 -6), and 12.03×10 -6 (10.01×10 -6, 14.11×10 -6), respectively, which were higher than those of SIBO-negative cases (6.04×10 -6 (3.10×10 -6, 11.08×10 -6), 6.04×10 -6 (3.21×10 -6, 10.06×10 -6), 6.95×10 -6 (4.03×10 -6, 11.01×10 -6), 8.96×10 -6 (5.01×10 -6, 13.91×10 -6); 8.04×10 -6 (7.02×10 -6, 10.00×10 -6), 8.03×10 -6 (7.03×10 -6, 9.95×10 -6), 8.04×10 -6 (7.03×10 -6, 10.00×10 -6) 8.98×10 -6 (7.12×10 -6, 10.03×10 -6)], and the differences were statistically significant ( U=1.41×10 7, 1.09×10 7, 6.66×10 6, 4.14×10 6, 1.51×10 7, 1.23×10 7, 1.02×10 7, 8.86×10 6; all P<0.001). In both D0 and D1 datasets, the increase in hydrogen and methane of SIBO positive subgroup were higher than those of SIBO negative subgroup (22.39×10 -6(14.82×10 -6, 33.37×10 -6) vs. 4.82×10 -6(1.96×10 -6, 7.85×10 -6), 20.61×10 -6(7.87×10 -6, 31.44×10 -6) vs. 3.25×10 -6(0.79×10 -6, 7.88×10 -6); 3.98×10 -6(2.87×10 -6, 6.87×10 -6) vs. 1.95×10 -6(0.98×10 -6, 2.99×10 -6), 2.95×10 -6(0.98×10 -6, 4.93×10 -6) vs. 0.98×10 -6(0.00×10 -6, 1.99×10 -6)), and the differences were statistically significant( U=7.24×10 6, 9.72×10 6, 5.74×10 6, 8.27×10 6; all P<0.001). In both D0 and D1 datasets, hydrogen and methane concentrations peaked at 90 min. Conclusion:HMBT can be used for non-invasive diagnosis of SIBO in Chinese population, and the differences in hydrogen and methane concentrations at 90 min of the test have critical value for SIBO diagnosis.

Objective To investigate the effect of oral fish oil on wound healing and related indexes in patients with diabetic foot ulcer(DFU).Methods A randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled design was used to recruit 68 patients with DFU aged 18-80 years old in the hospital,and the baseline clinical data of the patients were collected.The patients were randomly divided into experimental group(32 cases,fish oil soft capsule,3 g/d)and control group(33 cases,corn oil soft capsule,3 g/d)by random number generated by Ex-cel,and the intervention lasted for 12 weeks.The primary endpoints included the proportion of complete wound healing and healing area≥50%.The secondary endpoints included wound area,healing time,inflamma-tion index,glucose metabolism index,nutrition related index and wound reinfection.Additionally,the influen-cing factors of wound healing were analyzed.Results After intervention,the proportion of complete wound healing and healing area≥50%in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P=0.007,0.039).In the subjects with complete wound healing,the mean healing time in the experi-mental group was shorter than that in the control group,but the difference was not statistically significant(P=0.132).The reduction area of wound area in the experimental group was significantly larger than that in the control group(P=0.045).The decrease of interleukin(IL)-6 and IL-8 in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the reduc-tion of C-reactive protein(CRP),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),glycated hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c)and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(PLR)between the two groups(P>0.05).The improvement of prealbumin(PA)in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group,but the difference was not statistically significant(P>0.05).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that oral fish oil intervention(OR=6.771,95%CI:1.787-25.652),HbA1c(OR=4.149,95%CI:1.026-16.770)and ulcer type(OR=4.319,95%CI:1.026-18.173)were the influencing factors of wound healing(P<0.05).Conclusion Oral fish oil promotes wound healing in patients with DFU,which may be re-lated to improving the level of chronic inflammation in the body.

Objective:To investigate the mechanism by which non-enterotoxin-producing Bacteroides fragilis (NTBF) inhibits TNF-α-induced inflammatory responses in human normal colonic epithelial cells hcoEPIC, and explore new probiotic therapies for the prevention and treatment of colitis. Methods:The co-culture system of NTBF and hcoEPIC cells was established, and the adhesion and invasion ability of NTBF were detected, respectively. TNF-α was added to induce cellular inflammation after 4 h of co-culture of NTBF and hcoEPIC cells, and cell survival and apoptosis were detected by the CCK-8 assay and the AnnexinⅤ-FITC/PI assay respectively after 24 h. Key proteins of the NF-κB signalling pathway in hcoEPIC cells in different treatment groups were detected by Western blot and RT-qPCR, and the expression of downstream cytokines of this pathway incluing IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-10 were detected by ELISA. The effect of NTBF intervention on dextran sodium sulfate(DSS)-induced colitis mice was assessed by in vivo animal experiments. Results:NTBF adhered to hcoEPIC cells, and was non-toxic to the cells. Compared with control group, NTBF treatment alone did not affect cell survival and apoptosis of hcoEPIC cells ( P>0.05), but significantly reduced cell damage and apoptosis induced by TNF-α ( P<0.05); Compared with the TNF-α treatment alone group, the expression levels of p-NF-κB p65 and p-IκBα protein as well as NF-κB and IκBα mRNA were significantly reduced ( P<0.05); the production of IL-1β and TNF-α in the cell supernatant was reduced and the release of IL-10 was increased ( P<0.05). Animal experiments demonstrated that NTBF was indeed effective in alleviating DSS-induced colitis in ulcerative colitis model mice, which was mainly manifested by inhibiting weight loss, lowering DAI scores, improving colonic shortening, and attenuating colonic pathological damage in colitis-induced mice. Conclusions:NTBF may inhibit TNF-α-induced inflammatory responses in colonic epithelial cells by down-regulating the NF-κB pathway.