Ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Benincasae Exocarpium: A review

Benincasae Exocarpium(BE,Dongguapi in Chinese),as the dried outer pericarp of Benincasa hispida(wax gourd)in Cucurbitaceae family,is one of traditional Chinese medicines with the same origin as medicine and food.Up to now,43 compounds were isolated from BE,including flavonoids,alkaloids,tannins,phenolic acids,soluble fiber and carbohydrates.Modern pharmacological studies and clinical practice showed that BE has diuretic,hypolipidemic effects,hypoglycemic,antioxidant,antibacterial,and other effects.The folk uses,functional factors,pharmacological activities,patents and clinical applications of BE were reviewed in this paper.In addition,the paper also discussed the current problems for the further studies.The information summarized in this paper provides valuable clues for the comprehensive utilization of medicine and food resources and gives a scientific basis for the development of medicinal plants of BE.

Inactivation of SACE_3446, a TetR family transcriptional regulator, stimulates erythromycin production in Saccharopolyspora erythraea

Erythromycin A is a widely used antibiotic produced by Saccharopolyspora erythraea;however,its biosynthetic cluster lacks a regulatory gene,limiting the yield enhancement via regulation engineering of S.erythraea.Herein,six TetR family transcriptional regulators(TFRs)belonging to three genomic context types were individually inactivated in S.erythraea A226,and one of them,SACE_3446,was proved to play a negative role in regulating erythromycin biosynthesis.EMSA and qRT-PCR analysis revealed that SACE_3446 covering intact N-terminal DNA binding domain specifically bound to the promoter regions of erythromycin biosynthetic gene eryAI,the resistant gene ermE and the adjacent gene SACE_3447(encoding a longchain fatty-acid CoA ligase),and repressed their transcription.Furthermore,we explored the interaction relationships of SACE_3446 and previously identified TFRs(SACE_3986 and SACE_7301)associated with erythromycin production.Given demonstrated relatively independent regulation mode of SACE_3446 and SACE_3986 in erythromycin biosynthesis,we individually and concomitantly inactivated them in an industrial S.erythraea WB.Compared with WB,the WBΔ3446 and WBΔ3446Δ3986 mutants respectively displayed 36%and 65%yield enhancement of erythromycin A,following significantly elevated transcription of eryAI and ermE.When cultured in a 5 L fermentor,erythromycin A ofWBΔ3446 and WBΔ3446Δ3986 successively reached 4095 mg/L and 4670 mg/L with 23%and 41%production improvement relative to WB.The strategy reported here will be useful to improve antibiotics production in other industrial actinomycete.

Chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of medicinal plants from Rosa genus

The genus Rosa(Rosaceae family)includes about 200 species spread in the world,and this genus shows unique advantages in medicine and food.To date,several scholars concentrated on compounds belonging to flavonoids,triterpenes,tannins,polysaccharide,phenolic acids,fatty acids,organic acids,carotenoids,and vitamins.Pharmacological effects such as antineoplastic and anti-cancer properties,antiinflammatory,antioxidant,liver protection,regulate blood sugar,antimicrobial activity,antiviral activity,as well as nervous system protection and cardiovascular protection were wildly reported.This article reviews the chemical constituents,pharmacological effects,applications and safety evaluations of Rosa plants,which provides a reference for the comprehensive utilization of medicine and food resources and gives a scientific basis for the development of medicinal plants of the genus Rosa.