Phytochemistry,bioactivities,and future prospects of Callicarpa nudiflora:A review

This work was supported by Hainan Province Science and Technology Special Fund of China(No.ZDKJ2021034)and the Hainan Province Natural Science Foundation of China(No.822RC697).

Isolation of exogenous fungi from Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma and preliminary analysis of toxigenic fungi

Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma(Sanqi in Chinese)is a precious traditional Chinese herbal medicine.It has the effect of dispersing blood stasis and stopping bleeding,reducing swelling and fixing pain.However,it tends to contaminate with harmful fungi during storage,which may make it much less effective.In order to understand the fungal contamination of Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma and master its composition of the exogenous fungi.The surface fungi of Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma samples collected from six Chinese provinces and districts were investigated by using dilution plate method.Detection of aflatoxins by UPLC-MS/MS.The results showed that Penicillium citrinum was dominantly isolated from Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma samples from No.1 to No.4.Aspergillus flavus,which produces aflatoxin,was dominantly isolated from Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma samples from No.5 and No.6.In addition,kinds of mycotoxin were assayed which were produced by three of those identified A.flavus.All three fungi strains produced aflatoxin B1(AFB1)and one strain HBSQ1-5 additionally produced other three kinds of mycotoxin,AFB2,AFG1 and AFG2.It is the results implied that it will be very important to take serious cautions when using Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma.As well as,understanding the composition of the exogenous fungi of Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma and the strains of toxin-producing fungi,which can play an important role in guiding the storage of Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma.

Cryo-EM structures reveal the dynamic transformation of human alpha-2-macroglobulin working as a protease inhibitor

Human alpha-2-macroglobulin is a well-known inhibitor of a broad spectrum of proteases and plays important roles in immunity,inflammation,and infections.Here,we report the cryo-EM structures of human alpha-2-macroglobulin in its native state,induced state transformed by its authentic substrate,human trypsin,and serial intermediate states between the native and fully induced states.These structures exhibit distinct conformations,which reveal the dynamic transformation of alpha-2-macroglobulin that acts as a protease inhibitor.The results shed light on the molecular mechanism of alpha-2-macroglobulin in entrapping substrates.

Breakthroughs on tailoring membrane materials for ethanol recovery by pervaporation

Bioethanol, as a clean and renewable fuel, has gained increasing attention due to its major environmental benefits. Pervaporation(PV) is a promising and competitive technique for the recovery of ethanol from bioethanol fermentation systems due to the advantages of environmental friendliness, low energy consumption and easy coupling with fermentation process. The main challenge for the industrial application of ethanol perm-selective membranes is to break the trade-off effect between permeability and selectivity. As membrane is the heart of the pervaporation separation process, this article attempts to provide a comprehensive survey on the breakthroughs of ethanol perm-selective PV membranes from the perspectives of tailoring membrane materials to enhance PV separation performance. The research and development of polymeric and organic/inorganic hybrid membranes are reviewed to explore the fundamental structure-property-performance relationships. It is found that mixed matrix membranes with welldesigned membrane structures offer the hope of better control overphysi-/chemical microenvironment and cavity/pore size as well as size distribution, which may provide both high permeability and membrane selectivity to break the trade-off effect. The tentative perspective on the possible future directions of ethanol perm-selective membranes is also briefly discussed, which may provide some insights in developing a new generation of high-performance PV membranes for ethanol recovery.

A chromosome-level genome assembly for Dracaena cochinchinensis reveals the molecular basis of its longevity and formation of dragon’s blood

Dracaena,a remarkably long-lived and slowly maturing species of plant,is world famous for its ability to produce dragon’s blood,a precious traditional medicine used by different cultures since ancient times.However,there is no detailed and high-quality genome available for this species at present;thus,the molecular mechanisms that underlie its important traits are largely unknown.These factors seriously limit the protection and regeneration of this rare and endangered plant resource.Here,we sequenced and assembled the genome of Dracaena cochinchinensis at the chromosome level.The D.cochinchinensis genome covers 1.21 Gb with a scaffold N50 of 50.06 Mb and encodes 31619 predicted protein-coding genes.Analysis showed that D.cochinchinensis has undergone two whole-genome duplications and two bursts of long terminal repeat insertions.The expansion of two gene classes,cis-zeatin O-glucosyltransferase and small auxin upregulated RNA,were found to account for its longevity and slow growth.Two transcription factors(bHLH and MYB)were found to be core regulators of the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway,and reactive oxygen species were identified as the specific signaling molecules responsible for the injuryinduced formation of dragon’s blood.Our study provides high-quality genomic information relating to D.cochinchinensis and significant insight into the molecular mechanisms responsible for its longevity and formation of dragon’s blood.These findings will facilitate resource protection and sustainable utilization of Dracaena.

Cloning and characterization of squalene synthase and cycloartenol synthase from Siraitia grosvenorii

Mogrosides and steroid saponins are tetracyclic triterpenoids found in Siraitia grosvenorii.Squalene synthase(SQS) and cycloartenol synthase(CAS) are key enzymes in triterpenoid and steroid biosynthesis.In this study,full-length cDNAs of SgSQS and SgCAS were cloned by a rapid amplification of cDNA-ends with polymerase chain reaction(RACE-PCR) approach.The SgSQS cDNA has a 1254 bp open reading frame(ORF) encoding 417 amino acids,and the SgCAS cDNA contains a 2298 bp ORF encoding 765 amino acids.Bioinformatic analysis showed that the deduced SgSQS protein has two transmembrane regions in the C-terminal.Both SgSQS and SgCAS have significantly higher levels in fruits than in other tissues,suggesting that steroids and mogrosides are competitors for the same precursors in fruits.Combined in silico prediction and subcellular localization,experiments in tobacco indicated that SgSQS was probably in the cytoplasm or on the cytoskeleton,and SgCAS was likely located in the nucleus or cytosol.These results will provide a foundation for further study of SgSQS and SgCAS gene functions in S.grosvenorii,and may facilitate improvements in mogroside content in fruit by regulating gene expression.

Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry for Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Essential Oil from Curcuma wenyujin Rhizomes

Objectives:A rapid and sensitive gas chromatography–mass spectrometry(GC–MS)method for quantitative and qualitative analysis of essential oil from Curcuma wenyujin rhizomes was established.Methods:The essential oil of C.wenyujin rhizomes was extracted by supercritical CO2 extraction(SFE).Six main bioactive compounds(eucalyptol,β-elemene,curzerene,germacrone,curdione,and curcumol)were analyzed in selected ion monitoring mode(SIM).Results:Curzerene is not originally present in C.wenyujin rhizomes,but is a product of the transformation of furanodiene at high temperature.The six target components demonstrated good linearity(R2>0.9979)over a relatively wide concentration range.The interday and intraday variations had relative standard deviation values less than 5%and the average recovery ranged from 96.95%to 100.04%.The limit of quantitation ranged from 0.032 to 0.235μg/mL.The developed method was successfully used to analyze the six compounds in 17 samples collected from different origins.Significant variation was observed for the concentrations of the six compounds.In addition,51 constituents were identified in C.wenyujin rhizome essential oil,consisting of 87.66%of the total essential oil,including curdione,curzerene,dehydrocurdione,germacrone,1,4-bis(2-benzimidazoyl)benzene,neocurdione,curcumenone,andβ-elemene.Conclusions:The proposed method will be useful in the quality control of C.wenyujin rhizome essential oil production.

Dalbergia odorifera Essential Oil Protects against Myocardial Ischemia through Upregulating Nrf2 and Inhibiting Caspase Signaling Pathways in Isoproterenol-Induced Rats

Objective:Dalbergia odorifera has long been used as a Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.This study aimed to determine the potential myocardial protective effect and possible mechanism of action of D.odor ife ra essential oil(DOEO).Materials and Methods:The essential oil of D.odorifera was extracted by hydrodistillation.The cardioprotective effects of DOEO were examined by histopathological observation,myocardial enzyme detection,peroxidation,anti-oxidant level detection,and related protein expression.The compounds in the blood were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.Results:These results showed that DOEO had significant myocardial cell protection,with IC50 values ranging from 17.64 to 24.78μg/mL in vitro.Compared to the myocardial ischemia group,the DOEO pretreatment groups had lower levels of myocardial injury,creatinine kinase,lactate dehydrogenase,alanine transaminase,aspartate transaminase,hydrogen peroxide,and nitric oxide,and higher levels of glutathione and superoxide dismutase.In addition,DOEO pretreatment significantly increased Na+-K+-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase levels.Moreove r,immunohistochemical e xperiments showed that DOEO remarkably increased the protein levels of NF-E2-related nuclear factor 2(Nrf2)and heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)and reduced the expression of apoptotic caspases,including caspase 3 and caspase 9.The main components of the blood were transnerolidol and nerolidol oxide.Overall,the study showed that DOEO displayed myocardial protection by upregulating the NF-E2-related nuclear factor-antioxidant response element(Nrf2-ARE)and caspase pathways.DOEO has a therapeutic effect on MI by inhibiting the oxidant and apoptotic effects.Conclusions:D.odorifera may be a potential candidate drug for treating myocardial ischemic injury.

Chloroplast DNA Underwent Independent Selection from Nuclear Genes during Soybean Domestication and Improvement

The chloroplast is one of the most important organs in plants because of its essential role in photosynthesis.Studies have shown that the chloroplast was once a free-living cyanobacteria and was integrated into the host species through endosymbiosis（Goksoyr.1967）.after which a large number of its genes had been donated to the host nuclear genome（Heins and Soll, 1998）.