Journal: Frontiers in Nutrition

Article Title: The herbal pair of Smilax glabra Roxb. and Ficus hirta Vahl. improves exercise performance by regulating mitochondrial function via the adiponection receptors-mediated AMPK signaling pathway

doi: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1782001

Figure Lengend Snippet: RNA-Seq analysis and validation of mouse liver following FSP intervention. (A) Heatmap of hepatic gene expression profiles in vehicle group and FSP-2X group, with red and green indicating up- and down-regulated genes respectively ( n = 3); (B) Volcano plot displaying overall distribution of DEGs in FSP-treated liver tissues ( n = 3); (C) Bubble chart of KEGG pathway enrichment analysis for DEGs ( n = 3); (D) Heatmap visualization of differentially expressed genes ( n = 3); (E) mRNA expression analysis of target genes ( n = 6); (F, G) Expression levels and semi-quantitative analysis of key proteins in AdipoRs-AMPK signaling pathway ( n = 3); (H, I) Regulatory effects of FSP on proteins related to inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial function and lactate metabolism ( n = 3); (J) mRNA levels of mitochondrial biogenesis genes Nrf1 (NRF1) and Tfam (TFAM) ( n = 6); (K) Mitochondrial DNA copy number in mouse liver tissues ( n = 6); (L–Q) Immunohistochemical staining and statistical analysis of PGC1α, TFAM and COXIV proteins (Scale bar: 20 μm, Total magnification: 200x, n = 5); (R) Hepatic ATP content ( n = 5); (S) ROS levels in liver tissues ( n = 4). Results are expressed as mean ± SEM. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 compared to the vehicle group.

Article Snippet: The specific antibodies used were as follows: AdipoR1 (Abclonal, A1509), AdipoR2 (Abclonal, A12777), p-AMPK (Abclonal, AP1441), AMPK (Abclonal, A1229), p-LKB1 (Abclonal, AP0601), LKB1 (Abclonal, A22636), PGC1α (Proteintech, 66369-1-Ig), SIRT1 (Proteintech, 13161-1-AP), LDHB (Proteintech, 14824-1-AP), COXIV (Cell Signaling Technology, 3E11), TFAM (Abclonal, A3173), NRF2 (Proteintech, 16396-1-AP), HO-1 (Abclonal, A19062), TNFα (Proteintech, 80258-6-RR), COX2 (Abclonal, A3560), and β-actin (Proteintech, 20536-1-AP).

Techniques: RNA Sequencing, Biomarker Discovery, Gene Expression, Expressing, Immunohistochemical staining, Staining

Journal: Frontiers in Nutrition

Article Title: The herbal pair of Smilax glabra Roxb. and Ficus hirta Vahl. improves exercise performance by regulating mitochondrial function via the adiponection receptors-mediated AMPK signaling pathway

doi: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1782001

Figure Lengend Snippet: Effects of FSP serum treatment on gene expression in HepG2 cells. (A) Experimental design of FSP serum treatment in HepG2 cells (Created in https://BioRender.com ); (B, C) Impact of FSP serum on HepG2 cell proliferation capacity and quantitative analysis ( n = 6); (D) Transcript levels of differentially expressed genes and mitochondrial biogenesis-related genes (Nrf1/NRF1, Tfam/TFAM) in HepG2 cells ( n = 6); (E, F) Protein expression and semi-quantification of key AdipoRs-AMPK pathway components in HepG2 cells ( n = 3); (G, H) Effects of FSP serum on inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial function and lactate metabolism-related proteins with semi-quantitative analysis ( n = 3); (I) Immunofluorescence co-localization of SIRT1 and PGC-1α proteins in HepG2 cells (Scale bar: 20 μm, Total magnification: 200x); (J, K) Immunofluorescence detection of mitochondrial function proteins COXIV and TFAM (Scale bar: 20 μm, Total magnification: 200x); (L, M) Mitochondrial membrane potential assay (JC-1) and analysis (Scale bar: 20 μm, Total magnification: 200x, n = 5). Results are expressed as mean ± SEM. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 compared to the vehicle group.

Article Snippet: The specific antibodies used were as follows: AdipoR1 (Abclonal, A1509), AdipoR2 (Abclonal, A12777), p-AMPK (Abclonal, AP1441), AMPK (Abclonal, A1229), p-LKB1 (Abclonal, AP0601), LKB1 (Abclonal, A22636), PGC1α (Proteintech, 66369-1-Ig), SIRT1 (Proteintech, 13161-1-AP), LDHB (Proteintech, 14824-1-AP), COXIV (Cell Signaling Technology, 3E11), TFAM (Abclonal, A3173), NRF2 (Proteintech, 16396-1-AP), HO-1 (Abclonal, A19062), TNFα (Proteintech, 80258-6-RR), COX2 (Abclonal, A3560), and β-actin (Proteintech, 20536-1-AP).

Techniques: Gene Expression, Expressing, Immunofluorescence, Membrane

Journal: Frontiers in Nutrition

Article Title: The herbal pair of Smilax glabra Roxb. and Ficus hirta Vahl. improves exercise performance by regulating mitochondrial function via the adiponection receptors-mediated AMPK signaling pathway

doi: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1782001

Figure Lengend Snippet: AMPK inhibition reverses biological effects of FSP serum intervention. (A) AMPK inhibition experiment in HepG2 cells under FSP serum intervention (Created in https://BioRender.com ); (B) Transcript levels of AMPK downstream effectors (SIRT1, PGC-1α) and mitochondrial genes (Nrf1/NRF1, Tfam/TFAM) ( n = 6); (C, D) Protein expression and semi-quantitative analysis of AMPK pathway molecules after AMPK inhibitor intervention ( n = 3); (E, F) Mitochondrial DNA copy number analysis ( n = 4); (G) Measurement of cellular ATP content ( n = 3); (H) Detection of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels ( n = 3); (I) SIRT1 and PGC-1α immunofluorescence co-localization (Scale bar: 20 μm, Total magnification: 200x); (J, K) Mitochondrial membrane potential (JC-1) staining and analysis (Scale bar: 20 μm, Total magnification: 200x, n = 5); (L–N) TEM analysis of mitochondrial ultrastructure with mitochondrial number ( n = 5) and area quantification ( n = 100) (Scale bar: 1/0.2 μm, Total magnification: 20,000/80,000x). Results are expressed as mean ± SEM. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001compared to the vehicle gro,Q22up.

Article Snippet: The specific antibodies used were as follows: AdipoR1 (Abclonal, A1509), AdipoR2 (Abclonal, A12777), p-AMPK (Abclonal, AP1441), AMPK (Abclonal, A1229), p-LKB1 (Abclonal, AP0601), LKB1 (Abclonal, A22636), PGC1α (Proteintech, 66369-1-Ig), SIRT1 (Proteintech, 13161-1-AP), LDHB (Proteintech, 14824-1-AP), COXIV (Cell Signaling Technology, 3E11), TFAM (Abclonal, A3173), NRF2 (Proteintech, 16396-1-AP), HO-1 (Abclonal, A19062), TNFα (Proteintech, 80258-6-RR), COX2 (Abclonal, A3560), and β-actin (Proteintech, 20536-1-AP).

Techniques: Inhibition, Expressing, Immunofluorescence, Membrane, Staining

Journal: Frontiers in Nutrition

Article Title: The herbal pair of Smilax glabra Roxb. and Ficus hirta Vahl. improves exercise performance by regulating mitochondrial function via the adiponection receptors-mediated AMPK signaling pathway

doi: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1782001

Figure Lengend Snippet: Synergistic activation of the AdipoRs-AMPK pathway by taxifolin and apigenin combination (A) Schematic design of monomer compound cell experiments (Created in https://BioRender.com ); (B) mRNA expression levels of STRT1, Ppargc1a, Nrf1 (NRF1), and Tfam (TFAM) ( n = 6); (C, D) Protein expression in AdipoRs-AMPK pathway and mitochondrial function ( n = 3); (E, F) Mitochondrial DNA copy number detection ( n = 6); (G) Intracellular ATP content measurement ( n = 3); (H) Detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels ( n = 5); (I, J) Measurement of mitochondrial membrane potential (JC-1) (Scale bar: 20 μm, Total magnification: 200x, n = 5); (K–M) Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation of mitochondrial ultrastructure (Scale bar: 1/0.2 μm, Total magnification: 20,000/80,000x), statistical analysis of mitochondrial quantity ( n = 5) and mitochondrial area ( n = 100). Results are expressed as mean ± SEM. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 compared to the vehicle group.

Article Snippet: The specific antibodies used were as follows: AdipoR1 (Abclonal, A1509), AdipoR2 (Abclonal, A12777), p-AMPK (Abclonal, AP1441), AMPK (Abclonal, A1229), p-LKB1 (Abclonal, AP0601), LKB1 (Abclonal, A22636), PGC1α (Proteintech, 66369-1-Ig), SIRT1 (Proteintech, 13161-1-AP), LDHB (Proteintech, 14824-1-AP), COXIV (Cell Signaling Technology, 3E11), TFAM (Abclonal, A3173), NRF2 (Proteintech, 16396-1-AP), HO-1 (Abclonal, A19062), TNFα (Proteintech, 80258-6-RR), COX2 (Abclonal, A3560), and β-actin (Proteintech, 20536-1-AP).

Techniques: Activation Assay, Expressing, Membrane, Transmission Assay, Electron Microscopy