Flower development plays vital role in horticultural plants.Post-transcriptional regulation via small RNAs is important for plant flower development.To uncover post-transcriptional regulatory networks during the flowe...Flower development plays vital role in horticultural plants.Post-transcriptional regulation via small RNAs is important for plant flower development.To uncover post-transcriptional regulatory networks during the flower development in Dimocarpus longan Lour.‘Shixia’,an economically important fruit crop in subtropical regions,we collected and analyzed sRNA deep-sequencing datasets and degradome libraries Apart from identifying miRNAs and phased siRNA generating loci(PHAS loci),120 hairpin loci,producing abundant sRNAs,were identified by in-house protocols.Our results suggested that 56 miRNA-target pairs,2221-nt-PHAS loci,and 111 hairpin loci are involved in posttranscriptional gene silencing during longan reproductive development.Lineage-specific or species-specific post-transcriptional regulatory modules have been unveiled,including miR482-PHAS and miRN15.miR482-PHAS might be involved in longan flower development beyond their conserved roles in plant defense,and miRN15 is a novel miRNA likely associated with a hairpin locus(HPL-056)to regulate strigolactone receptor gene DWARF14(D14)and the biogenesis of phasiRNAs from D14.These small RNAs are enriched in flower buds,suggesting they are likely involved in post-transcriptional regulatory networks essential for longan flower development via the strigolactone signaling pathway.展开更多
Paederia scandens(Lour.)Merr.is a traditional Chinese medicine,which mainly has the functions of analgesia,detoxification,anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsant.Modern studies show that the main chemical constituents of...Paederia scandens(Lour.)Merr.is a traditional Chinese medicine,which mainly has the functions of analgesia,detoxification,anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsant.Modern studies show that the main chemical constituents of this plant are iridoids and volatile oil,which have biological activities such as analgesia,anti-inflammatory,hepatoprotection,renoprotection and antibacterial.This review highlights the chemical constituents and biological activities of P.scandens based on studies published in last decades and provides the references for the further development and utilization of this medicinal plant.展开更多
Objective:To explore the molecular mechanism of Osmanthus Fragrans Lour.(OFL)in enhancing immunity.Methods:The compounds and action targets of OFL were collected from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systematic Pharma...Objective:To explore the molecular mechanism of Osmanthus Fragrans Lour.(OFL)in enhancing immunity.Methods:The compounds and action targets of OFL were collected from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systematic Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform.Protein targets of compounds were obtained from the UniProt database and relevant targets of boosting immunity were retrieved from the Genecards database.The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis and Gene Ontology function enrichment analysis were performed through the DAVID analysis website,Visualization and Integrated Discovery.Finally,the results of the network analysis were validated by performing molecular docking using AutoDock vina.Results:A total of 7 active compounds and 167 potential active targets were identified in OFL.A total of 1549 genes with a correlation score of≥1 were retrieved from the Genecards website with the keyword“boost immunity”,and 107 genes were obtained by crossing the 167 genes of OFL with the 1549 genes of boosting immunity.A total of 4802 entries were obtained from Gene Ontology functional enrichment(P<0.05).A total of 234 signaling pathways were obtained through a Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis(P<0.05).Tumor necrosis factor(TNF)and interleukin 17(IL-17)signaling pathways were closely related to body immunity.The molecular docking results showed that all the core compounds in OFL the characteristics including low energy,a stable structure and high binding activity when bound to IL-17 and TNF-αprotein.Kaempferol showed the highest affinity with IL-17,and fucosterol showed the highest affinity with TNF-α.Conclusions:Through studies on network pharmacology and molecular docking,we have further demonstrated that OFL could enhance the immunity of the body through multi-component,multi-target and multi-pathway actions,and that IL-17/TNF-αsignalling pathway is the key molecular mechanism.展开更多
BACKGROUND Tamarix chinensis Lour(TCL)is a shrub that usually grows in arid or semiarid desert areas and saline-alkali fields.It is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine with hepatoprotective,antioxidant,antibacterial...BACKGROUND Tamarix chinensis Lour(TCL)is a shrub that usually grows in arid or semiarid desert areas and saline-alkali fields.It is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine with hepatoprotective,antioxidant,antibacterial,and antitumor activities.AIM To investigate the possible protective effects of TCL against liver injury induced by chronic ethanol intake.METHODS C57BL/6J male mice were fed a Lieber-DeCarli lipid diet containing alcohol and received(by gavage)a water-alcohol extract(80%)of TCL(100 and 200 mg/kg BW)or distilled water for 4 wk.After euthanasia,liver tissues were observed histologically with hematoxylin and eosin staining and Oil red O staining,and the levels of alanine aminotransferase,aspartate transaminase,hepatic lipids,reactive oxygen species,malondialdehyde,and superoxide dismutase were measured.In addition,expression of the NOD-like receptor family,pyrin domain-containing 3(NLRP3)inflammasome and downstream proinflammatory cytokines were determined.RESULTS Compared with the ethanol group,mice in the TCL-treated group(200 mg/kg)had significantly lower serum levels of alanine aminotransferase(mean,34.1 IU/L vs 45.3 IU/L,P<0.01)and aspartate transaminase(mean,89.6 IU/L vs 115.7 IU/L,P<0.01),as well as marked reduction of hepatic tissue reactive oxygen species(decreased by 27.5%,P<0.01)and malondialdehyde(decreased by 76.6%,P<0.01)levels,with a significant increase of superoxide dismutase(Increased by 73.2%,P<0.01).Expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome and its downstream cytokines[interleukin(IL)-1β,tumor necrosis factor-α,and IL-6],and recruitment of natural killer T cells to the liver,were reduced in the TCLtreated incubation with a Lieber-DeCaril ethanol lipid diet group.CONCLUSION These findings suggest that a TCL extract(200 mg/kg)protects against chronic ethanol-induced liver injury,probably by inhibiting the NLRP3-caspase-1-IL-1βsignaling pathway and suppressing oxidative stress.展开更多
Objective:To study the phytochemical and biological properties(antioxidant,anthelmintic and thrombolytic)of methanolic extracts of Enhydra fluctuant Lour.,a plant belonging to the Asteraceae family.Methods:The phytoch...Objective:To study the phytochemical and biological properties(antioxidant,anthelmintic and thrombolytic)of methanolic extracts of Enhydra fluctuant Lour.,a plant belonging to the Asteraceae family.Methods:The phytochemical evaluation was carried out by qualitative analysis.In vitro antioxidant activity of extract was studied using free radical scavenging assay,ability of reduction,total phenol and total flavonoid contents determination assays.The anthelmintic activity was determined using paralysis and death time of Pheretima posthuma(earthworm)and thrombolytic activity by clot disruption assay.Results:The phytochemical evaluation showed significant presence of flavonoids,triterpenes,carbohydrate,reducing sugars,saponins,phenols,diterpenes,protein and tannin.The antioxidant activity was found significant[IC_(50)(135.20±036)μg/mL]as compared to ascorbic acid[(130.00±0.76)μg/mL].The reducing power was increased with concentration.Total phenol and total flavonoid contents were(153.08±0.38)mg/mL and(172.04±0.56)mg/mL respectively.The paralysis and death time of earthworms for different concentrations of extract were determined and compared with albendazole.The results showed that 10 mg/mL of the crude extract had similar effect with albendazole.Additionally,the crude extract showed a concentration depended relationship with its anthelmintic property.The clot lysis activity of crude extract was compared to the standard streptokinase's clot lysis(40.13%)activity and found significant(31%).Conclusions:The study proves that the crude methanolic extract of Enhydra fluctuant Lour,has significant antioxidant,anthelmintic and thrombolytic activity containing wide range of phytochemicals.展开更多
Longan(Dimocarpus longan Lour.),as an edible fruit and traditional Chinese medicine,has been consumed for thousands of years.Longan pulp has abundant nutritional phytochemicals such as protein,carbohydrate,vitamin C,p...Longan(Dimocarpus longan Lour.),as an edible fruit and traditional Chinese medicine,has been consumed for thousands of years.Longan pulp has abundant nutritional phytochemicals such as protein,carbohydrate,vitamin C,polysaccharides,polyphenols,which shows multiple biological activities including antioxidant,immunomodulatory and antitumor effects.Longan pericarp also demonstrates biological activities because of its rich content of polysaccharides and polyphenols.This review summarizes the bioactive compounds and bioactivities of longan pulp and aims to provide comprehensive information for future development of longan as a functional health food.展开更多
A new sesquiterpenoid,named baimuxifuranic acid,has been isolated from the volatile oil of Aquilaria sinensis(Lour.)Gilg.belonging to the family Thymelaceae by silica gel column chromatography.Based on spectral analys...A new sesquiterpenoid,named baimuxifuranic acid,has been isolated from the volatile oil of Aquilaria sinensis(Lour.)Gilg.belonging to the family Thymelaceae by silica gel column chromatography.Based on spectral analysis its structure was deduced as(1).Reduction of baimuxifuranic acid by LiAlH_4 gave a展开更多
In order to study the effects of different extraction methods on the molar mass distribution and chain conformation of Fortunella margarita (Lour.) Swingle polysaccharides (FP), we used extraction by hot water (...In order to study the effects of different extraction methods on the molar mass distribution and chain conformation of Fortunella margarita (Lour.) Swingle polysaccharides (FP), we used extraction by hot water (WFP), ultrasonic-assisted treatment (UFP), microwave-assisted treatment (MFP) and ultrasonic/microwave-assisted treatment (UMFP), and then Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy as well as 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to characterize the structural properties of FP extracted. The molar weight (Mw), polydispersity index (Mw/Mn), root-mean-square (RMS) turning radius (Rg), molar mass distribution and chain conformation of FP were studied systematically using size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), multi-angle laser light-scattering (MALLS) and refractive index (RI). WFP, UFP, MFP and UMFP are all typical carbohydrates according to 1H NMR, laC NMR and FT-IR measurements. The type of glycosidic linkage is mainly a fl-glycosidic bond with a small amount of a-glycosidic bond. The results obtained by the SEC-MALLS-RI system showed the molar masses of WFP and UMFP were distributed mainly in the range of 5.0x10^6-1.0x10^7 g-mo1-1 and they accounted for 57.80% and 56.84% of total FP, respectively. The molar masses of UFP and MFP were distributed mainly in the 1.0x10^6-5.0x10^6 g.mol-1 range, which accounted for 38.24% and 52.39% of FP, respectively. WFP and UMFP in water were uniform spherical polymers; UFP and MFP were typical highly branched polymers and the degree of branching for MFP was higher compared to UFP. These results indicated the ultrasonic- and microwave-assisted extraction methods caused a significant decrease of the molar mass of FP but the ultrasonic/microwave synergistic extraction method had no effect.展开更多
Fortunella margarita(Lour.) Swingle, commonly known as kumquat, is the smallest citrus fruit. It thrives in southeastern China and is widely cultivated and consumed in the world due to its multiple health benefits. ...Fortunella margarita(Lour.) Swingle, commonly known as kumquat, is the smallest citrus fruit. It thrives in southeastern China and is widely cultivated and consumed in the world due to its multiple health benefits. It has been used as an important herbal medicine in traditional Chinese medicine and also as one of the most popular fruits. There are various kinds of bioactive compounds in F. margarita, such as polysaccharides, limonoids, essential oils, flavonoids, phenolic acids, vitamins, dietary fiber, etc. In addition, many studies have reported that these bioactive compounds can be used as antioxidant, antimicrobial, hypolipidemic, drosophila lure components in functional foods, pharmaceuticals and daily chemical products due to their biological activities. This review focuses on the structural features and biological activities of polysaccharides, limonoids, essential oils and flavonoids and other bioactive substances from F. margarita and their potential applications in food, daily chemical and pharmaceutical industries.展开更多
The structures of two novel lactams isolated from Clausena lansium were elucidated mainly on the bases of their spectral data. They are homoclausenamide(1),a -lactam,and zetaclausenamide(4), an eight-membered ring lac...The structures of two novel lactams isolated from Clausena lansium were elucidated mainly on the bases of their spectral data. They are homoclausenamide(1),a -lactam,and zetaclausenamide(4), an eight-membered ring lactam.展开更多
Objective: To evaluate the anti-mycobacterial activity of Melia azedarach L.(M. azedarach) and Lobelia chinensis Lour.(L. chinensis) extracts against the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis(M. tuberculosis).Methods: ...Objective: To evaluate the anti-mycobacterial activity of Melia azedarach L.(M. azedarach) and Lobelia chinensis Lour.(L. chinensis) extracts against the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis(M. tuberculosis).Methods: The anti-M. tuberculosis activity of M. azedarach and L. chinensis extracts were evaluated using different indicator methods such as resazurin microtiter assay(REMA) and mycobacteria growth indicator tube(MGIT) 960 system assay. The M. tuberculosis was incubated with various concentrations(50–800 mg/m L) of the extracts for 5 days in the REMA, and for 4 weeks in MGIT 960 system assay.Results: M. azedarach and L. chinensis extracts showed their anti-M. tuberculosis activity by strongly inhibiting the growth of M. tuberculosis in a concentration-dependent manner in the REMA and the MGIT 960 system assay. Particularly, the methanol extract of M. azedarach and n-hexane extract of L. chinensis consistently exhibited their effects by effectively inhibiting the growth of M. tuberculosis in MGIT 960 system for 4 weeks with a single-treatment, indicating higher anti-M. tuberculosis activity than other extracts,and their minimum inhibitory concentrations were measured as 400 mg/m L and 800 mg/m L, respectively.Conclusions: These results demonstrate that M. azedarach and L. chinensis extracts not only have unique anti-M. tuberculosis activity, but also induce the selective antiM. tuberculosis effects by consistently inhibiting or blocking the growth of M. tuberculosis through a new pharmacological action. Therefore, this study suggests the potential of them as effective candidate agents of next-generation for developing a new anti-tuberculosis drug, as well as the advantage for utilizing traditional medicinal plants as one of effective strategies against tuberculosis.展开更多
Two non-destructive instrumental methods, infrared spectroscopy (IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), were studied for qualiW evaluation of Lobelia chinensis Lour. (L chinensis). We obtained the IR spectra and XRD p...Two non-destructive instrumental methods, infrared spectroscopy (IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), were studied for qualiW evaluation of Lobelia chinensis Lour. (L chinensis). We obtained the IR spectra and XRD patterns of L chinensis collected from different sources. The similarity of samples was analyzed by cal- culating the cosine coefficient. The cosine values were in the range of 0.83-0.90, indicating that the main components ofL chinensis samples are similar. Sample L1 and L6 showed a slightly lower similarity than that of L2, L3, L4, L5 detected by the two methods, which revealed that IR and XRD methods exhibited analogous detection ability for quality evaluation of L. chinensis. The two methods could be highly re- commended as simple and rapid detection means for quality evaluation of L. chinensis.展开更多
CCCH(C3 H) Zinc finger(Znf) transcription factors(TFs), as a novel type of Znf gene, regulate the expression of genes by binding to their mRNAs and play important roles in plant growth and development and abiotic stre...CCCH(C3 H) Zinc finger(Znf) transcription factors(TFs), as a novel type of Znf gene, regulate the expression of genes by binding to their mRNAs and play important roles in plant growth and development and abiotic stress resistance.Longan(Dimocarpous longan) is a tropical/subtropical fruit tree of great economic importance in Southeast Asia.However, genomic information on C3 H and their functions in longan are still unknown. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of the longan C3 H(DlC3 H) gene family was carried out. A total of 49 DlC3 H genes in three clades were identified from the longan genome database. Characteristics of the genes were analyzed with respect to gene structure,motif composition, phylogenetic tree and potential functions. The analysis of alternative splicing(AS) events suggested that AS events in DlC3 H genes were related to the transformation from longan non-embryonic to embryonic cultures.Promoter analysis indicated that most of the DlC3 H genes included cis-acting elements associated with hormones and stresses responses. Quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR) analysis indicated that 26 of the 49 DlC3 Hs, which possess methyl jasmonate(MeJA) and abscisic acid(ABA) responsive cis-acting elements, showed differential expression patterns under treatment with ABA, MeJA and their endogenous inhibitors, suggesting that DlC3 Hs might be involved in the ABA and MeJA signaling pathways. The expression profiles of 17 of the 49 DlC3 Hs in non-embryonic callus and three tissues of embryonic cultures showed that only five of the 17 DlC3 Hs had the same expression trends as the FPKM trends in transcriptome data;the expression levels of DlC3 H07/14/16/36/49 in embryogenic callus and DlC3 H04/38 in globular embryos were high, suggesting that they have different functions in embryonic development. Further, we verified that DlC3 H01/03/05/11/19/39 were regulated by sRNAs by a modified 5’ RLM-RACE method. This study provides the first systematic analysis of C3 H genes in longan, and found that C3 H genes may be involved in hormone and stress responses, and somatic embryogenesis. Our preliminary investigation may provide clues to further studies on the characteristics and functions of this family in longan.展开更多
Summary: Rhynchosia volubilis Lout has been a major drug in a folk prescription for contraception in China, whereas its mechanism remains unknown. Its antifertility effects on male mice and antimicrobial activities o...Summary: Rhynchosia volubilis Lout has been a major drug in a folk prescription for contraception in China, whereas its mechanism remains unknown. Its antifertility effects on male mice and antimicrobial activities on sexually transmitted infection (STI) pathogens were previously reported. This study was undertaken to develop the n-Butanol extract of Rhynchosia volubilis Lour (BERVL) as a spermicidal agent with STI prevention. The spermicidal activities of BERVL with different doses were assessed using selected high-motile sperms of normal human semen samples, and their inhibitory effects on Lactobacillus acidophilus were determined. The mechanism of the spermicidal activity was explored by aqueous Eosin Y and Hoechst 33342/PI staining. The results showed spermicidal activities and inhibi- tory effects of BERVL on Lactobacillus acidophilus were dose-dependent. Dose of 90 mg/mL BERVL terminated all progressive sperm motility within 2 min, and had slight inhibitory effect on Lactobacillus acidophilus, suggesting it was an effective and safe dose for contraception use. About 80% sperms exposed to BERVL displayed changes consistent with high permeability of head membrane. It is concluded that BERVL as spermicide has advantages over N-9 with strong ability to instantaneously kill human sperm and possesses light inhibitory effect on Lactobacillus acidophilus.展开更多
基金funded by the National Key Research and Developmental Program of China(Grant No.2018YFD1000104)supported by awards from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.32002009 and 32072547)The Special Support Program of Guangdong Province(Grant No.2019TX05N193).
文摘Flower development plays vital role in horticultural plants.Post-transcriptional regulation via small RNAs is important for plant flower development.To uncover post-transcriptional regulatory networks during the flower development in Dimocarpus longan Lour.‘Shixia’,an economically important fruit crop in subtropical regions,we collected and analyzed sRNA deep-sequencing datasets and degradome libraries Apart from identifying miRNAs and phased siRNA generating loci(PHAS loci),120 hairpin loci,producing abundant sRNAs,were identified by in-house protocols.Our results suggested that 56 miRNA-target pairs,2221-nt-PHAS loci,and 111 hairpin loci are involved in posttranscriptional gene silencing during longan reproductive development.Lineage-specific or species-specific post-transcriptional regulatory modules have been unveiled,including miR482-PHAS and miRN15.miR482-PHAS might be involved in longan flower development beyond their conserved roles in plant defense,and miRN15 is a novel miRNA likely associated with a hairpin locus(HPL-056)to regulate strigolactone receptor gene DWARF14(D14)and the biogenesis of phasiRNAs from D14.These small RNAs are enriched in flower buds,suggesting they are likely involved in post-transcriptional regulatory networks essential for longan flower development via the strigolactone signaling pathway.
基金Health Industry Research Project of Hainan Province (No.21A200095)Youth Cultivation Fund Project of the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College (No.HYYFYPY201909)。
文摘Paederia scandens(Lour.)Merr.is a traditional Chinese medicine,which mainly has the functions of analgesia,detoxification,anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsant.Modern studies show that the main chemical constituents of this plant are iridoids and volatile oil,which have biological activities such as analgesia,anti-inflammatory,hepatoprotection,renoprotection and antibacterial.This review highlights the chemical constituents and biological activities of P.scandens based on studies published in last decades and provides the references for the further development and utilization of this medicinal plant.
基金We are grateful for the supports from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(No.2021M693961)Hubei University of Science and Technology Special Scientific Research Fund of Medical School of Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology(No.2020WG13)+3 种基金Young and Middle-aged Talent Project of Hubei Provincial Department of Education(No.Q20222808)Youth Talent Project of Health Commission of Hubei Province(No.ZY2021Q026)Hubei University of Science and Technology Doctoral Startup Fund Project(No.BK202029)National Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project(No.202010927004).
文摘Objective:To explore the molecular mechanism of Osmanthus Fragrans Lour.(OFL)in enhancing immunity.Methods:The compounds and action targets of OFL were collected from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systematic Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform.Protein targets of compounds were obtained from the UniProt database and relevant targets of boosting immunity were retrieved from the Genecards database.The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis and Gene Ontology function enrichment analysis were performed through the DAVID analysis website,Visualization and Integrated Discovery.Finally,the results of the network analysis were validated by performing molecular docking using AutoDock vina.Results:A total of 7 active compounds and 167 potential active targets were identified in OFL.A total of 1549 genes with a correlation score of≥1 were retrieved from the Genecards website with the keyword“boost immunity”,and 107 genes were obtained by crossing the 167 genes of OFL with the 1549 genes of boosting immunity.A total of 4802 entries were obtained from Gene Ontology functional enrichment(P<0.05).A total of 234 signaling pathways were obtained through a Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis(P<0.05).Tumor necrosis factor(TNF)and interleukin 17(IL-17)signaling pathways were closely related to body immunity.The molecular docking results showed that all the core compounds in OFL the characteristics including low energy,a stable structure and high binding activity when bound to IL-17 and TNF-αprotein.Kaempferol showed the highest affinity with IL-17,and fucosterol showed the highest affinity with TNF-α.Conclusions:Through studies on network pharmacology and molecular docking,we have further demonstrated that OFL could enhance the immunity of the body through multi-component,multi-target and multi-pathway actions,and that IL-17/TNF-αsignalling pathway is the key molecular mechanism.
基金the Innovation Project of Shandong Academy of Medical Sciencethe Science and Technology Major Project of Shandong province,No.2015ZDJS03002.
文摘BACKGROUND Tamarix chinensis Lour(TCL)is a shrub that usually grows in arid or semiarid desert areas and saline-alkali fields.It is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine with hepatoprotective,antioxidant,antibacterial,and antitumor activities.AIM To investigate the possible protective effects of TCL against liver injury induced by chronic ethanol intake.METHODS C57BL/6J male mice were fed a Lieber-DeCarli lipid diet containing alcohol and received(by gavage)a water-alcohol extract(80%)of TCL(100 and 200 mg/kg BW)or distilled water for 4 wk.After euthanasia,liver tissues were observed histologically with hematoxylin and eosin staining and Oil red O staining,and the levels of alanine aminotransferase,aspartate transaminase,hepatic lipids,reactive oxygen species,malondialdehyde,and superoxide dismutase were measured.In addition,expression of the NOD-like receptor family,pyrin domain-containing 3(NLRP3)inflammasome and downstream proinflammatory cytokines were determined.RESULTS Compared with the ethanol group,mice in the TCL-treated group(200 mg/kg)had significantly lower serum levels of alanine aminotransferase(mean,34.1 IU/L vs 45.3 IU/L,P<0.01)and aspartate transaminase(mean,89.6 IU/L vs 115.7 IU/L,P<0.01),as well as marked reduction of hepatic tissue reactive oxygen species(decreased by 27.5%,P<0.01)and malondialdehyde(decreased by 76.6%,P<0.01)levels,with a significant increase of superoxide dismutase(Increased by 73.2%,P<0.01).Expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome and its downstream cytokines[interleukin(IL)-1β,tumor necrosis factor-α,and IL-6],and recruitment of natural killer T cells to the liver,were reduced in the TCLtreated incubation with a Lieber-DeCaril ethanol lipid diet group.CONCLUSION These findings suggest that a TCL extract(200 mg/kg)protects against chronic ethanol-induced liver injury,probably by inhibiting the NLRP3-caspase-1-IL-1βsignaling pathway and suppressing oxidative stress.
基金Supported by the Department of Physiology,Biochemistry and Pharmacology,Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University,Chittagong,Bangladesh(Grant No.RFLDC/MSC/res.sund/5004/3096)
文摘Objective:To study the phytochemical and biological properties(antioxidant,anthelmintic and thrombolytic)of methanolic extracts of Enhydra fluctuant Lour.,a plant belonging to the Asteraceae family.Methods:The phytochemical evaluation was carried out by qualitative analysis.In vitro antioxidant activity of extract was studied using free radical scavenging assay,ability of reduction,total phenol and total flavonoid contents determination assays.The anthelmintic activity was determined using paralysis and death time of Pheretima posthuma(earthworm)and thrombolytic activity by clot disruption assay.Results:The phytochemical evaluation showed significant presence of flavonoids,triterpenes,carbohydrate,reducing sugars,saponins,phenols,diterpenes,protein and tannin.The antioxidant activity was found significant[IC_(50)(135.20±036)μg/mL]as compared to ascorbic acid[(130.00±0.76)μg/mL].The reducing power was increased with concentration.Total phenol and total flavonoid contents were(153.08±0.38)mg/mL and(172.04±0.56)mg/mL respectively.The paralysis and death time of earthworms for different concentrations of extract were determined and compared with albendazole.The results showed that 10 mg/mL of the crude extract had similar effect with albendazole.Additionally,the crude extract showed a concentration depended relationship with its anthelmintic property.The clot lysis activity of crude extract was compared to the standard streptokinase's clot lysis(40.13%)activity and found significant(31%).Conclusions:The study proves that the crude methanolic extract of Enhydra fluctuant Lour,has significant antioxidant,anthelmintic and thrombolytic activity containing wide range of phytochemicals.
基金This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31570348).
文摘Longan(Dimocarpus longan Lour.),as an edible fruit and traditional Chinese medicine,has been consumed for thousands of years.Longan pulp has abundant nutritional phytochemicals such as protein,carbohydrate,vitamin C,polysaccharides,polyphenols,which shows multiple biological activities including antioxidant,immunomodulatory and antitumor effects.Longan pericarp also demonstrates biological activities because of its rich content of polysaccharides and polyphenols.This review summarizes the bioactive compounds and bioactivities of longan pulp and aims to provide comprehensive information for future development of longan as a functional health food.
文摘A new sesquiterpenoid,named baimuxifuranic acid,has been isolated from the volatile oil of Aquilaria sinensis(Lour.)Gilg.belonging to the family Thymelaceae by silica gel column chromatography.Based on spectral analysis its structure was deduced as(1).Reduction of baimuxifuranic acid by LiAlH_4 gave a
基金Supported by Science and Technology Plan Major Project of Fujian Province(2013Y0003)Agricultural Products(fruits and vegetables) Processing Engineering Technology Research Center Funding Projects of Fujian Province(2009N2002)+1 种基金Scientific and Technological Innovation Team Support Plan of Institution of Higher Learning in Fujian Province([2012]03)Scientific and Technological Innovation Team Support Plan of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University(cxtd12009)
文摘In order to study the effects of different extraction methods on the molar mass distribution and chain conformation of Fortunella margarita (Lour.) Swingle polysaccharides (FP), we used extraction by hot water (WFP), ultrasonic-assisted treatment (UFP), microwave-assisted treatment (MFP) and ultrasonic/microwave-assisted treatment (UMFP), and then Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy as well as 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to characterize the structural properties of FP extracted. The molar weight (Mw), polydispersity index (Mw/Mn), root-mean-square (RMS) turning radius (Rg), molar mass distribution and chain conformation of FP were studied systematically using size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), multi-angle laser light-scattering (MALLS) and refractive index (RI). WFP, UFP, MFP and UMFP are all typical carbohydrates according to 1H NMR, laC NMR and FT-IR measurements. The type of glycosidic linkage is mainly a fl-glycosidic bond with a small amount of a-glycosidic bond. The results obtained by the SEC-MALLS-RI system showed the molar masses of WFP and UMFP were distributed mainly in the range of 5.0x10^6-1.0x10^7 g-mo1-1 and they accounted for 57.80% and 56.84% of total FP, respectively. The molar masses of UFP and MFP were distributed mainly in the 1.0x10^6-5.0x10^6 g.mol-1 range, which accounted for 38.24% and 52.39% of FP, respectively. WFP and UMFP in water were uniform spherical polymers; UFP and MFP were typical highly branched polymers and the degree of branching for MFP was higher compared to UFP. These results indicated the ultrasonic- and microwave-assisted extraction methods caused a significant decrease of the molar mass of FP but the ultrasonic/microwave synergistic extraction method had no effect.
基金Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province(2016J05068)High Level University Construction Projects of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University(612014042)+2 种基金Science and Technology Development Foundation Project of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University(KF2015101)Leading Talents Support Program of Science and Technology Innovation in Fujian Province(KRC16002A)Excellent Talents Support Program of Colleges and Universities in Fujian Province(JA14094)
文摘Fortunella margarita(Lour.) Swingle, commonly known as kumquat, is the smallest citrus fruit. It thrives in southeastern China and is widely cultivated and consumed in the world due to its multiple health benefits. It has been used as an important herbal medicine in traditional Chinese medicine and also as one of the most popular fruits. There are various kinds of bioactive compounds in F. margarita, such as polysaccharides, limonoids, essential oils, flavonoids, phenolic acids, vitamins, dietary fiber, etc. In addition, many studies have reported that these bioactive compounds can be used as antioxidant, antimicrobial, hypolipidemic, drosophila lure components in functional foods, pharmaceuticals and daily chemical products due to their biological activities. This review focuses on the structural features and biological activities of polysaccharides, limonoids, essential oils and flavonoids and other bioactive substances from F. margarita and their potential applications in food, daily chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
文摘The structures of two novel lactams isolated from Clausena lansium were elucidated mainly on the bases of their spectral data. They are homoclausenamide(1),a -lactam,and zetaclausenamide(4), an eight-membered ring lactam.
基金supported by C&K pharmaceutical company in Korea
文摘Objective: To evaluate the anti-mycobacterial activity of Melia azedarach L.(M. azedarach) and Lobelia chinensis Lour.(L. chinensis) extracts against the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis(M. tuberculosis).Methods: The anti-M. tuberculosis activity of M. azedarach and L. chinensis extracts were evaluated using different indicator methods such as resazurin microtiter assay(REMA) and mycobacteria growth indicator tube(MGIT) 960 system assay. The M. tuberculosis was incubated with various concentrations(50–800 mg/m L) of the extracts for 5 days in the REMA, and for 4 weeks in MGIT 960 system assay.Results: M. azedarach and L. chinensis extracts showed their anti-M. tuberculosis activity by strongly inhibiting the growth of M. tuberculosis in a concentration-dependent manner in the REMA and the MGIT 960 system assay. Particularly, the methanol extract of M. azedarach and n-hexane extract of L. chinensis consistently exhibited their effects by effectively inhibiting the growth of M. tuberculosis in MGIT 960 system for 4 weeks with a single-treatment, indicating higher anti-M. tuberculosis activity than other extracts,and their minimum inhibitory concentrations were measured as 400 mg/m L and 800 mg/m L, respectively.Conclusions: These results demonstrate that M. azedarach and L. chinensis extracts not only have unique anti-M. tuberculosis activity, but also induce the selective antiM. tuberculosis effects by consistently inhibiting or blocking the growth of M. tuberculosis through a new pharmacological action. Therefore, this study suggests the potential of them as effective candidate agents of next-generation for developing a new anti-tuberculosis drug, as well as the advantage for utilizing traditional medicinal plants as one of effective strategies against tuberculosis.
基金supported by the Science Foundation of Guangdong Medical University (nos. M2011045, M2014005)the Science Foundation for the Doctoral Program of Guangdong Medical University (no. B2013011)the Scientific and Technological Projects of Zhanjiang (no. 2013B01227)
文摘Two non-destructive instrumental methods, infrared spectroscopy (IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), were studied for qualiW evaluation of Lobelia chinensis Lour. (L chinensis). We obtained the IR spectra and XRD patterns of L chinensis collected from different sources. The similarity of samples was analyzed by cal- culating the cosine coefficient. The cosine values were in the range of 0.83-0.90, indicating that the main components ofL chinensis samples are similar. Sample L1 and L6 showed a slightly lower similarity than that of L2, L3, L4, L5 detected by the two methods, which revealed that IR and XRD methods exhibited analogous detection ability for quality evaluation of L. chinensis. The two methods could be highly re- commended as simple and rapid detection means for quality evaluation of L. chinensis.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31672127 and 31572088)the Scientific Research Foundation of Horticulture College of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University,China(2018S02)+1 种基金the Construction of Plateau Discipline of Fujian Province,China(102/71201801101)the Project of Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences,China(AB2017-4)。
文摘CCCH(C3 H) Zinc finger(Znf) transcription factors(TFs), as a novel type of Znf gene, regulate the expression of genes by binding to their mRNAs and play important roles in plant growth and development and abiotic stress resistance.Longan(Dimocarpous longan) is a tropical/subtropical fruit tree of great economic importance in Southeast Asia.However, genomic information on C3 H and their functions in longan are still unknown. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of the longan C3 H(DlC3 H) gene family was carried out. A total of 49 DlC3 H genes in three clades were identified from the longan genome database. Characteristics of the genes were analyzed with respect to gene structure,motif composition, phylogenetic tree and potential functions. The analysis of alternative splicing(AS) events suggested that AS events in DlC3 H genes were related to the transformation from longan non-embryonic to embryonic cultures.Promoter analysis indicated that most of the DlC3 H genes included cis-acting elements associated with hormones and stresses responses. Quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR) analysis indicated that 26 of the 49 DlC3 Hs, which possess methyl jasmonate(MeJA) and abscisic acid(ABA) responsive cis-acting elements, showed differential expression patterns under treatment with ABA, MeJA and their endogenous inhibitors, suggesting that DlC3 Hs might be involved in the ABA and MeJA signaling pathways. The expression profiles of 17 of the 49 DlC3 Hs in non-embryonic callus and three tissues of embryonic cultures showed that only five of the 17 DlC3 Hs had the same expression trends as the FPKM trends in transcriptome data;the expression levels of DlC3 H07/14/16/36/49 in embryogenic callus and DlC3 H04/38 in globular embryos were high, suggesting that they have different functions in embryonic development. Further, we verified that DlC3 H01/03/05/11/19/39 were regulated by sRNAs by a modified 5’ RLM-RACE method. This study provides the first systematic analysis of C3 H genes in longan, and found that C3 H genes may be involved in hormone and stress responses, and somatic embryogenesis. Our preliminary investigation may provide clues to further studies on the characteristics and functions of this family in longan.
基金supported by Hubei Province Population and Family Planning Commission Funding of China(No.Js2003.01)
文摘Summary: Rhynchosia volubilis Lout has been a major drug in a folk prescription for contraception in China, whereas its mechanism remains unknown. Its antifertility effects on male mice and antimicrobial activities on sexually transmitted infection (STI) pathogens were previously reported. This study was undertaken to develop the n-Butanol extract of Rhynchosia volubilis Lour (BERVL) as a spermicidal agent with STI prevention. The spermicidal activities of BERVL with different doses were assessed using selected high-motile sperms of normal human semen samples, and their inhibitory effects on Lactobacillus acidophilus were determined. The mechanism of the spermicidal activity was explored by aqueous Eosin Y and Hoechst 33342/PI staining. The results showed spermicidal activities and inhibi- tory effects of BERVL on Lactobacillus acidophilus were dose-dependent. Dose of 90 mg/mL BERVL terminated all progressive sperm motility within 2 min, and had slight inhibitory effect on Lactobacillus acidophilus, suggesting it was an effective and safe dose for contraception use. About 80% sperms exposed to BERVL displayed changes consistent with high permeability of head membrane. It is concluded that BERVL as spermicide has advantages over N-9 with strong ability to instantaneously kill human sperm and possesses light inhibitory effect on Lactobacillus acidophilus.