Recent trends of machine learning applied to multi-source data of medicinal plants

In traditional medicine and ethnomedicine,medicinal plants have long been recognized as the basis for materials in therapeutic applications worldwide.In particular,the remarkable curative effect of traditional Chinese medicine during corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has attracted extensive attention globally.Medicinal plants have,therefore,become increasingly popular among the public.However,with increasing demand for and profit with medicinal plants,commercial fraudulent events such as adulteration or counterfeits sometimes occur,which poses a serious threat to the clinical outcomes and interests of consumers.With rapid advances in artificial intelligence,machine learning can be used to mine information on various medicinal plants to establish an ideal resource database.We herein present a review that mainly introduces common machine learning algorithms and discusses their application in multi-source data analysis of medicinal plants.The combination of machine learning algorithms and multi-source data analysis facilitates a comprehensive analysis and aids in the effective evaluation of the quality of medicinal plants.The findings of this review provide new possibilities for promoting the development and utilization of medicinal plants.

Different strategies in biomass allocation across elevation in two Gentiana plants on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, China

Patterns of biomass allocation among organs in plants are important because they influence many growth processes.The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau(YGP)is considered to be one of the most sensitive areas in China to climate changes,but we know little about how current climatic gradients on the plateau influence plant biomass allocation.Gentiana rigescens and G.rhodantha,on the YGP,are important species because they are used in traditional Chinese medicines.We therefore analyzed the biomass allocation patterns of the two species across an elevation gradient(1000–2810 m a.s.l.)on the YGP to understand and predict the impact of climate change on these plant species.We found that the total biomass,reproductive biomass,vegetative biomass,aboveground biomass,and belowground biomass in G.rigescens were all significantly larger than those in G.rhodantha(p<0.05).However,for both species the aboveground biomass was nearly isometrically related to belowground biomass,regardless of elevation,mean annual temperature(MAT)ranging from 8.4℃t to 18.8℃t,and mean annual precipitation(MAP)ranging from 681 to 1327 mm,while the reproductive biomass was allometrically related to vegetative biomass.Intriguingly,there was a significant positive relationship(p<0.05)between the slope of the allometric scaling of reproductive and vegetative biomass and elevation among G.rigescens populations,i.e.plants growing at high elevationsallocate proportionately more biomass to reproduction at larger sizes and less at smaller sizes than plants growing at lower elevations.However,for G.rhodantha the reproductive allocation was negatively correlated with latitude.The results suggested different strategies in reproductive allocation in the two Gentiana plants on the YGP.Further studies are needed to investigate other environmental factors,such as nutrients and light,and genetic factors,in order to understand the trend of reproductive allometry along the environmental gradients.Our study has implications for the management and conservation practices of the two Gentiana species.

Anti-inflammatory and Anti-oxidative Effects of the Ethanol Extract of Cryptocarya densiflora Blume in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated RAW264,7 Mouse Macrophages

CD （Cryptocarya densiflora） Blume has traditionally been used as an herbal medicine. In this study, the effects of CDEE （CD ethanol extract） on inflammation were investigated in LPS （lipopolysaccharide）-stimulated mouse RAW264.7 macrophages. We investigated the effects of CDEE on the production of NO, PGE2 interleukin （IL）-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. We measured the mRNA or protein expression of the pro-inflammatory mediators induced by CDEE in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. We explored the expression of Nrf-2, heme oxygenase （HO）-I and NADPH-quinone oxidoreductase （NQO）-I to elucidate the antioxidative mechanisms. CDEE significantly inhibited the production of NO, PGE2, IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. CDEE suppressed the mRNA or protein expression of iNOS, COX-2, and the MAPKs with a reduction in the translocation of NF-κB in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. In addition, CDEE significantly increased the expression of HO-I and NQO-1 with an increase in the translocation of Nrf-2 into the nucleus. These results indicate that CDEE inhibits the LPS-induced inflammatory and oxidative responses via suppression of NF-κB activation and the enhancement of Nrf2 activation. We suggest that CDEE may be therapeutic for treating inflammatory diseases.

Effects of ecological factors on secondary metabolites and inorganic elements of Scutellaria baicalensis and analysis of geoherblism

This study analyzed the effects of ecological factors on secondary metabolites of Scutellaria baicalensis using two sources:92individual roots of S.baicalensis from all over China,and secondary metabolites,medicinal materials and inorganic element contents obtained from the testing of 92 S.baicalensis rhizosphere soil samples.The study used environmental data from the Genuine Medicinal Material Spatial Analysis Database.Most of the chemical constituents of S.baicalensis were negatively correlated to latitude and positively correlated to temperature;generally,the contents of 21 chemical constituents were higher at low latitudes than that at high latitudes.By gradual regression analysis,it was found that the content of baicalin in S.baicalensis was negatively correlated to latitude and generally the content of inorganic elements in soil was excessively high(excluding Mg and Ca),which has a negative effect on the accumulation of chemical constituents in S.baicalensis.Based on the cluster analysis of 21 constituents,S.baicalensis from different places of origin was divided into two groups,and S.baicalensis was not genuine only in a specific small region.Within the zone from Chifeng,Inner Mongolia to Taibai,Shaanxi is suitable for accumulation of secondary metabolites of S.baicalensis and such a zone represents a suitable distribution and potential genuine producing area.

Effects of LaCl_3 on photosynthesis and the accumulation of tanshinones and salvianolic acids in Salvia miltiorrhiza seedlings

The effects of LaCl3 on the growth,photosynthetic gas-exchange characteristics,chlorophyll fluorescence,and the accumulation of tanshinones and salvianolic acids in Salvia miltiorrhiza seedlings were investigated. The results showed that the increase in photosynthesis induced by LaCl3 might be attributed to the enhanced stomatal conductance of the leaves and the increased level of the photochemical efficiency of PS II. The accumulation of tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone was markedly increased with the application of LaCl3 at 20 and 60 mg/L,while tanshinone I was only slightly increased. The content of salvianolic acid B was,however,decreased with the treatment of LaCl3 at 200 mg/L.

A New Sesquiterpenoid Glycoside from Rhizomes of Atractylodes lancea

Objective To study the water-soluble chemical constituents from the rhizomes of Atratylodes lancea. Methods Two sesquiterpenoid glycosides were purified by column chromatography and their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis. They were also evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity by determining the inhibitory activity on LPS-induced NO and PGE2 generation in RAW 264.7 cell lines. Results Compound 1 was a new sesquiterpenoid glycoside, named as（1S,4S,5R,7R,10S）-4,11,14-trihydroxyguai-3-one-11-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, but exhibited no appreciable activity. Compound 2 was atractyloside A and showed weak activity. Conclusion The hydroxyl group at C-10 of guaiol-type glycoside could be important for anti-inflammatory activity.

The first examples of ilexgenin A hybrids as a new class of multi-potent,anti-platelet agents

Seventeen novel ilexgenin A hybrids（lA-aspirin） and（IA-NO）,as donor hybrids（IA-NO will release NO in vivo and function as NO donor）,were designed and synthesized in order to develop new multi-targeting agents for the treatment of platelet disorders.Their in vitro activities against ADP,AA and thrombin were evaluated.As a result,IA hybrids achieved substantial increases in the three tested pathways compared with IA.Encouragingly,the most potent hybrid compounds 6d and 14d displayed about 8-fold higher potency than aspirin,and 3-fold higher potency than the simultaneous administration of aspirin and IA in inhibiting ADP-induced aggregation with IC_（50） values of 0.15 mmol/L and 0.14 mmol/L,respectively. The results suggest these IA hybrids are good candidates for multi-target therapies,and especially,may be considered as promising ADP agonists.

Accessible chromatin regions and their functional interrelations with gene transcription and epigenetic modifications in sorghum genome

Accessible chromatin regions(ACRs)provide physical scaffolds to recruit transcriptional co-regulators and displace their nearby nucleosomes in multiple plant species.Characterization of ACRs and investigation of their biological effects in Sorghum bicolor has lagged behind.Regulation of gene expression relies on the transcriptional co-regulators that are recruited to ACRs to affect epigenomic modifications of surrounding nucleosomes.In this study,we employed transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing to identify ACRs and decipher how the presence of ACRs affects gene expression and epigenetic signatures in the Sorghum genome.As a result,21077 ACRs,which are mapped to 22.9%of genes and 2.7%of repeats,were identified.The profiling of ACRs on gene structures reveals a narrow and sharp peak around the transcription start site,with relatively weak and broad signals covering the entire gene body and an explicit but wide peak from the transcription termination site to its downstream regions.We discovered that the correlations between gene expression levels and profiled ACR densities are dependent on the positions of ACRs.The occurrence of genic ACRs cumulatively enhances the transcriptional activity of intergenic ACR-associated genes.In addition,an intricate crosstalk among ACRs,gene expression,and epigenetic marks has been unveiled by integrating multiple-omics analyses of whole-genome bisulfite sequencing,6mA immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing,RNA sequencing,chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing,and DNase I hypersensitive sites sequencing datasets.Our study provides a genome-wide landscape of ACRs in sorghum,decrypts their interrelations with various epigenetic marks,and sheds new light on their roles in transcriptional regulation.