Background: At a time of increasing disconnectedness from nature, scientific interest in the potential health benefits of nature contact has grown. Research in recent decades has yielded substantia...

https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/journals/pnw_2017_frumkin001.pdf

Nature Contact and Human Health: A Research Agenda

1 Van Lueder TG, Kjekshus H, Edvardsen T et al. Mechanisms of elevated plasma endothelin-1 in CHF: Congestion increases pulmonary synthesis and secretion of endothelin1. Cardiovasc Res 2004; 63: 41–50. 2 Sakai S, Miyauchi T, Kobayashi M et al. Inhibition of myocardial endothelin pathway improves long-term survival in heart failure. Nature 1996; 384: 353–355. 3 Mao GX, Lan XG, Cao YB et al. Effects of short-term forest bathing on human health in a broad-leaved evergreen forest in Zhejiang Province, China. Biomed Environ Sci 2012b; 25: 317–324. 4 Mao GX, Cao YB, Lan XG et al. Therapeutic effect of forest bathing on human hypertension in the elderly. J Cardiol 2012a; 60: 495–502. 5 Jia BB, Yang ZX, Mao GX et al. Health effect of Forest bathing trip on elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Biomed Environ Sci 2016; 29: 212–218. 6 Mao GX, Cao YB, Wang BZ et al. The salutary influence of Forest bathing on elderly patients with chronic heart failure. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2017; 14 (4): E368. 7 Dohi Y, Hahn AW, Boulanger CM et al. Endothelin stimulated by angiotensinII augments contractility of spontaneously hypertensive rat resistance arteries. Hypertension 1992; 19: 131–137.

Prevalence of frailty among community-dwellers and outpatients in Japan as defined by the Japanese version of the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria.

The effect of winter forest bathing on psychological relaxation of young Polish adults

Inflammation is a major risk factor of morbidity and mortality in older adults. Although its precise etiology is unknown, low-grade inflammation in older adults is commonly associated with increased intestinal epithelial permeability (leaky gut) and abnormal (dysbiotic) gut microbiota. The increasing older population and lack of treatments to reduce aging-related microbiota dysbiosis, leaky gut, and inflammation culminates in a rise in aging-related comorbidities, constituting a significant public health concern. Here, we demonstrate that a human-origin probiotic cocktail containing 5 Lactobacillus and 5 Enterococcus strains isolated from healthy infant gut prevented high-fat diet–induced (HFD-induced) microbiota dysbiosis, leaky gut, inflammation, metabolic dysfunctions, and physical function decline in older mice. Probiotic-modulated gut microbiota primarily reduced leaky gut by increasing tight junctions, which in turn reduced inflammation. Mechanistically, probiotics modulated microbiota in a way to increase bile salt hydrolase activity, which in turn increased taurine abundance in the gut that stimulated tight junctions and suppressed gut leakiness. Furthermore, in Caenorhabditis elegans, taurine increased life span, reduced adiposity and leaky gut, and enhanced physical function. The results suggest that such probiotic therapies could prevent or treat aging-related leaky gut and inflammation in the elderly.

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A human-origin probiotic cocktail ameliorates aging-related leaky gut and inflammation via modulating the microbiota/taurine/tight junction axis

This study focused on the newest evidence of the relationship between forest environmental exposure and human health and assessed the health efficacy of forest bathing on the human body as well as the methodological quality of a single study, aiming to provide scientific guidance for interdisciplinary integration of forestry and medicine. Through PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library, 210 papers from January 1, 2015, to April 1, 2019, were retrieved, and the final 28 papers meeting the inclusion criteria were included in the study. The methodological quality of papers included in the study was assessed quantitatively with the Downs and Black checklist. The methodological quality of papers using randomized controlled trials is significantly higher than that of papers using non-randomized controlled trials (p < 0.05). Papers included in the study were analyzed qualitatively. The results demonstrated that forest bathing activities might have the following merits: remarkably improving cardiovascular function, hemodynamic indexes, neuroendocrine indexes, metabolic indexes, immunity and inflammatory indexes, antioxidant indexes, and electrophysiological indexes; significantly enhancing people’s emotional state, attitude, and feelings towards things, physical and psychological recovery, and adaptive behaviors; and obvious alleviation of anxiety and depression. Forest bathing activities may significantly improve people’s physical and psychological health. In the future, medical empirical studies of forest bathing should reinforce basic studies and interdisciplinary exchange to enhance the methodological quality of papers while decreasing the risk of bias, thereby raising the grade of paper evidence.

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Medical empirical research on forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku): a systematic review.

The aim of the current study was to test the hypothesis that forest bathing would be beneficial for elderly patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) as an adjunctive therapy. Two groups of participants with CHF were simultaneously sent to the forest or an urban control area for a four-day trip, respectively. Subjects exposed to the forest site showed a significant reduction of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in comparison to that of the city group and their own baseline levels. The values for the cardiovascular disease related pathological factors, including endothelin-1 (ET-1), and constituents of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), including renin, angiotensinogen (AGT), angiotensin II (ANGII), and ANGII receptor type 1 or 2 (AT1 or AT2) in subjects exposed to the forest environment were lower than those in the urban control group. Obviously, a decreased level of inflammatory cytokines and improved antioxidant function was observed in the forest group rather than in the city group. The assessment of the profile of mood states (POMS) indicated that the negative emotional mood state was alleviated after forest bathing. As anticipated, a better air quality in the forest site was observed according to the detection of PM2.5 (particulate matter <2.5 μm) and negative ions. These results provided direct evidence that forest bathing has a beneficial effect on CHF patients, and thus may pave the way for potential development of forest bathing as an effective adjunctive therapy on cardiovascular disorders.

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The Salutary Influence of Forest Bathing on Elderly Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Hypertension is a global health issue, and a reduced exercise capacity is unavoidable for older people. According to recent clinical studies, the intestinal microbiota play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of many human diseases. We investigated whether specific alterations in the gut microbiota contribute to the reduced exercise capacity of elderly patients with hypertension. This study enrolled 56 subjects, and all patients performed a cardiopulmonary exercise test and underwent fecal bacteria sequencing (16 s ribosomal RNA V4 region). According to peak oxygen uptake values, patients were divided into three groups (Weber A = 19, Weber B = 20, and Weber C = 17). The alpha diversity was not significantly different among the three groups. Regarding the beta diversity, Weber A samples were separate from the other two groups in the nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination plot (ANOSIM pairwise comparisons generated an R > 0.5; p   4.0). Escherichia coli are a primary producer of trimethylamine and inflammation in the human gut, and the abundance of this bacteria was increased in patients with a reduced exercise capacity (LDA score > 4.0). On the other hand, Lachnospiraceae-Eubacterium_hallii_group, Lachnospiraceae-Lachnoclostridium, Lachnospiraceae-Blautia-Ruminococcus_sp__5_1_39BFAA, and Ruminococcaceae-Faecalibacterium belong to the order Clostridiales that are likely to produce short-chain fatty acids (LDA score > 4.0), and some of these species were enriched in the Weber B or Weber C group in multiple comparisons. Our data pointed to an altered gut microbiota as a potential contributor to the pathogenesis and progression of the reduced exercise capacity of elderly patients with hypertension.

Gut dysbiosis is associated with the reduced exercise capacity of elderly patients with hypertension.

The abnormal aggregation of α‑synuclein (α‑syn), which is an important pathological feature of Parkinson's disease (PD), is cytotoxic to dopaminergic neurons and causes cellular damage and apoptosis. Salidroside (SAL) is the main active component of the traditional Chinese medicine Rhodiola rosea. Previous research has demonstrated that SAL exerts cellular protection against cell senescence and neurodegeneration. However, the role and mechanism of action of SAL in PD remain unclear. The present study used overexpression of the wild‑type and the A53T mutation of α‑syn to induce a neuronal model of PD in SH‑SY5Y cells, which led to neuronal toxicity and a reduced cell proliferation index. SAL increased the cell proliferation index of both PD model groups in a dose‑dependent manner. Additionally, SAL alleviated pathogenic phosphorylated (Ser129) α‑syn expression as well as the ratio of microtubule‑associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3 (LC3)‑I to LC3‑II expression, which is related to autophagic function. Furthermore, the results suggested that the underlying mechanism for the SAL‑induced protection of PD model neurons may involve the preservation of autophagy, which attenuates the phosphorylation of α‑syn in neurons predominantly via mTOR/p70S6K, and is independent of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

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Salidroside protects SH‑SY5Y from pathogenic α‑synuclein by promoting cell autophagy via mediation of mTOR/p70S6K signaling.

Objective This study aimed to verify the existing relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and chronic heart failure (CHF) by meta-analysis. Methods Databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, published in English or Chinese up to February 28, 2017, were searched for studies on the association between CHF and BMD. Two independent reviewers collected the relevant articles. The standard mean deviation (SMD) and 95% confidence interval were calculated for BMD with fixed- and random-effect models. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were also conducted. Results A total of six studies (552 CHF and 243 non-CHF patients) were included. The results indicated that the patients with CHF had a lower total BMD compared with the non-CHF patients. Similar effects were also observed for femoral neck, arm, leg, and trunk BMD. However, no difference was observed in the lumbar spine BMD. The SMD of total BMD in New York Heart Association classes I or II (NYHA I or II) patients was -0.62, while that in NYHA III or IV patients was -0.87, and the SMD of femoral bone mineral density in NYHA I or II patients was -0.47, while that in NYHA III or IV patients was -1.07. Moreover, vitamin D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were also found to be associated with CHF. Conclusion Patients with CHF had a lower total BMD and femoral neck, arm, leg, or trochanter BMD than patients with non-CHF. Vitamin D reduced, whereas PTH increased, with the severity of CHF. The clinical significance of the present findings remains uncertain and should be confirmed by future studies.

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Jirong Wang

Papers

The Salutary Influence of Forest Bathing on Elderly Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Gut dysbiosis is associated with the reduced exercise capacity of elderly patients with hypertension.

Salidroside protects SH‑SY5Y from pathogenic α‑synuclein by promoting cell autophagy via mediation of mTOR/p70S6K signaling.

Bone mineral density in patients with chronic heart failure: a meta-analysis.

Tectoridin inhibits osteoclastogenesis and bone loss in a murine model of ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis