The flavonoid dihydromyricetin (DMY) is the main component of Ampelopsis grossedentata (Hand-Mazz) W. T. Wang (AG), a daily beverage and folk medicine used in Southern China to treat jaundice hepatitis, cold fever, and sore throat. Recently, DMY and AG were shown to have a beneficial effect on lipid metabolism disorder. However, the mechanisms of how DMY and AG protect the liver during lipid metabolism disorder remain unclear. In this study, we first analyzed the chemical compounds of AG by HPLC-DAD-ESI-IT-TOF-MS n . Of the 31 compounds detected, 29 were identified based on previous results. Then, the effects of DMY and AG on high-fat diet hamster livers were studied and the metabolite levels and metabolic pathway activity of the liver were explored by 1H NMR metabolomics. Compared to the high-fat diet group, supplementation of AG and DMY attenuated the high-fat-induced increase in body weight, liver lipid deposition, serum triglycerides and total cholesterol levels, and normalized endogenous metabolite concentrations. PCA and PLS-DA score plots demonstrated that while the metabolic profiles of hamsters fed a high-fat diet supplemented with DMY or AG were both far from those of hamsters fed a normal diet or a high-fat diet alone, they were similar to each other. Our data suggest that the underlying mechanism of the protective effect of DMY and AG might be related to an attenuation of the deleterious effect of high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia on multiple metabolic pathways including amino acid metabolism, ketone body metabolism, energy metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and enhanced fatty acid oxidation.
Taxillus chinensis Herb Tea is a traditional healthy tea in China, but its extensive applications and further developments are limited due to lack of systematic review.This paper summarizes its plant origin, application history, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities and safety.Taxillus chinensis Herb Tea has a long history of drinking in southern China, it can nourish liver and kidney, strengthen tendons and bones, lower blood pressure and fight cancer.Modern researches show that Taxillus chinensis Herb Tea contains chemical constituents such as flavonoids, hemiterpenoid derivatives, volatile constituents, lectin, etc.Moreover, its main pharmacological activities include hypotensive, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, blood glucose lowering, antioxidant and antitumor, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, diuretic, neuroprotective, etc.However, the modern researches on the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Taxillus chinensis Herb Tea are not thorough, and its host plants are diverse and irregular, which affect the quality stability and safe application of Taxillus chinensis Herb Tea.
随着中药国际交流增加,中草药药名能否精准表达不仅关系到国际科研工作者能否进行正确的科技交流,而且关系到临床用药安全问题.文章调查了科技期刊英文交流中有关中草药药名的使用情况,系统归纳出目前存在的6大常见乱象,即同物异名、同名异物、名称相近、基原植物交叉且名称重叠、药材英译混乱、药味写法不一致,举例分析其表述缺陷并说明英文如何精准表达.最后,提出英文科技交流只有综合使用中草药的法定药材名、植物学名、拼音和异名,结合英文使用习惯,才能提高药名的精准表达,提高英文论文的国际可信度.
引言是英文科技论文写作的难点,如何写好英文科技论文的引言对科研人员十分重要.通过选择科普论文1篇、影响因子IF 2~13之间的期刊原创论文7篇,构建引言模型,并对这8个样本进行了分析,对国际知名科技期刊论文引言的逻辑特征进行了研究.
通过查询本草典籍及近5年文献,对栀子Gardenia jasminoides Ellis的名称、形态、产地、功效与化学成分4个方面进行本草考证,旨在为“山栀子”和“水栀子”的植物学命名和栀子的正本清源提供参考依据.研究结果表明“山栀子”与“水栀子”的产地无明显区别,而名称、形态、功效与化学成分均有不同;“山栀子”为茜草科栀子Gardenia jasminoides Ellis,“水栀子”为茜草科长果栀子Gardenia jasminoides Eills f.longicarpaZ.W.Xie et Okada,应将“水栀子”作“山栀子”的新变型处理较为妥当.
Lycii Fructus, a solanaceous drug, is widely used as functional foods and in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Samples collected from different regions of China have been found to be not identical in chemical compositions which might affect the biological activities. Although many chromatographic and spectrometric methods have been reported to determine the concentration of betaine and other bioactive amino acids, disturbance resulted from other polar substances with low UV-absorbance and expensive mass facilities reduced the applicability of these techniques. In the present study, the strong cation exchange solid phase extraction procedure incorporated with 1H NMR was successfully developed as a rapid and reliable method that can simultaneously determine betaine, citric acid, threonine, alanine, and proline in various Lycii Fructus. In addition, ERETIC 2 method based on PULCON principle was also applied and compared with conventional method. This feasible and practical method offers a very powerful tool for the quality control of commercial Lycii Fructus from different sources.
Objective: To study the chemical constituents in the dry roots of Dolomiaea souliei (Franch.) Shih.Methods: Various chromatographic methods were used to isolate and purify the chemical constituents of Dolomiaea souliei, and the structures were elucidated through the analysis of spectral data and literatures.Results: Six compounds including 3 sesquiterpene compounds and 3 fatty acids were obtained and identified as dihydrodehydrocostuslactone(Ⅰ), vladimenal(Ⅱ), arbusculin A(Ⅲ), n-hendecane(Ⅳ), butanedioic acid(Ⅴ) and methyl linoleate(Ⅵ).Conclusion: Compounds Ⅳ-Ⅵ are obtained from the genus of Dolomiaea for the first time.
Lycium leaf (LL) is the dried leaf of Lycium chinese Mill or Lycium barbarum L.In this paper,the edible and medicinal history,the chemical composition and pharmacological effects of LL were reviewed;and the status of development and utilization of LL was collected.That LL contains polysaccharides are found,flavonoids,steroids and terpenes,and has the effect of anti-oxidation,hypoglycemic,hypolipidemic,and improving memory.
[Aim] This study aims to investigate the expression of the odor binding protein gene MmedOBP19 in the sensilla in legs of the braconid wasp Microplitis mediator and the ligand binding characteristics of recombinant MmedOBP19.[Methods] The ultrastructure of sensilla on the legs of female and male adults of M.mediator was observed by using scanning electron microscope.The in situ hybridization assays were conducted to explore the expression of MmedOBP19 in the forelegs of female adults of M.mediator.The fluorescence-based competitive binding assays were performed to measure the binding abilities of the recombinant MmedOBP19 to 86 candidate ligand compounds.[Results] There are three kinds of morphological sensilla on the legs of adult wasps,including sensilla trichodea,sensilla chaetica and sensilla basiconica,amongst which sensilla basiconica with two pores on the tip belong to taste sensilla.The in situ hybridization analysis showed that the expression of MmedOBP19 was concentrated at the base of the sensilla in tarsi of the foreleg.The results of fluorescence-based competitive binding assays revealed that the recombinant MmedOBP19 had strong affinities with non-volatile plant secondary metabolites,such as gossypol (Ki =2.32 ± 0.17 μmol/L),berberine sulphate (Ki =4.86±1.81 μmol/L),quercetin (Ki =4.93±0.21 μmol/L),tannin (Ki =5.23 ±0.38 μmol/L),rutin (Ki =5.91 ± 0.26 μmol/L) and quinine (Ki =6.05 ± 0.51 μmol/L).In addition,MmedOBP19 could bind to octadecenoic acid (Ki =4.32 ± 1.73 μmol/L) and linoleic acid (Ki =3.55±0.44 μmol/L),but had a weak binding ability with limonene (Ki =12.65 ± 2.55 μmol/L).[Conclusion] Legs of M.mediator wasps might be involved in chemical communication behavior,and MmedOBP19 in the legs of M.mediator wasps may play major roles in taste perception.
Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs) play important roles in transporting semiochemicals through the sensillar lymph to olfactory receptors in insect antennae. In the present study, twenty OBPs and three CSPs were identified from the antennal transcriptome of Microplitis mediator. Ten OBPs (MmedOBP11-20) and two CSPs (MmedCSP2-3) were newly identified. The expression patterns of these new genes in olfactory and non-olfactory tissues were investigated by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) measurement. The results indicated that MmedOBP14, MmedOBP18, MmedCSP2 and MmedCSP3 were primarily expressed in antennae suggesting potential olfactory roles in M. mediator. However, other genes including MmedOBP11-13, 15-17, 19-20 appeared to be expressed at higher levels in body parts than in antennae. Focusing on the functional characterization of MmedCSP3, immunocytochemistry and fluorescent competitive binding assays were conducted indoors. It was found that MmedCSP3 was specifically located in the sensillum lymph of olfactory sensilla basiconca type 2. The recombinant MmedCSP3 could bind several types of host insects odors and plant volatiles. Interestingly, three sex pheromone components of Noctuidae insects, cis-11-hexadecenyl aldehyde (Z11-16: Ald), cis-11-hexadecanol (Z11-16: OH), and trans-11-tetradecenyl acetate (E11-14: Ac), showed high binding affinities (Ki = 17.24-18.77 μM). The MmedCSP3 may be involved in locating host insects. Our data provide a base for further investigating the physiological roles of OBPs and CSPs in M. mediator, and extend the function of MmedCSP3 in chemoreception of M. mediator.
For promoting the quality evaluation of Gardenia resource,a UPLC method for the determination of 4 compounds (geniposidic acid,geniposide,crocin-1 and crocin-2) in Gardeniae Fructus was established.The UPLC separation was performed on an Waters Acquity UPLC BEH-C18 (2.1 mm× 100 mm,1.7 μm) column eluted with the mobile phases of acetonitrile-0.1% formic acid solution in a gradient mode at a flow rate of 0.3 mL· min-1.The detection wavelengths were 240 nm and 440 nm,respectively.Under the optimum conditions,the calibration curves of four analysis were linear in the range of 0.0065-0.0096 μg· mL-1,with correlation coefficients more than 0.9995.The limits of detection (LODs) of four analysis were in the range of 0.0386-0.1875 μg· mL-1.As the results of determination of 4 compounds of 12 batches of Gardeniae Fructus showed,there was great differences between the contents of the 4 compounds,the contents of geniposide were 2.44%-6.96%,while the contents of crocin-1 were 1.26%-3.04%.In addition,fingerprints of 12 batches of Gardenia resources were built using ChemPattern software,and analysis and exploration over the detection results of several samples were carried out using multivariate statistical method (similarity analysis,principal component analysis and cluster analysis).The present study provided a reference to value the importance of this method in the quality evaluation and quality control of Gardeniae resources and slices.
Cortex Moutan (CM), a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, is commonly used for treating various diseases in China and other eastern Asian countries. Recorded in Pharmacopeias of several countries, CM is now drawing increasing attention and under extensive studies in various fields. Phytochemical studies indicate that CM contains many valuable secondary metabolites, such as monoterpene glycosides and phenols. Ample evidence from pharmacological researches suggest that CM has a wide spectrum of activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, anti-diabetic, cardiovascular protective, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective effects. Moreover, various analytical methods were established for the quality evaluation and safety control of CM. This review synopsizes updated information concerning the origins, phytochemistry, pharmacology, analytical method and safety of CM, aiming to provide favorable references for modern CM research and application. In conclusion, continuing pharmacological investigations concerning CM should be conducted to unravel its pharmacological mechanisms. Further researches are necessary to obtain comprehensive and applicable analytical approach for quality evaluation and establish harmonized criteria of CM.
To investigate the phylogenetic relationships among Ilex species distributed in China, we analyzed two alignments including 4,698 characters corresponding to six plastid sequences (matK, rbcL, atpB-rbcL, trnL-F, psbA-trnH, and rpl32-trnL) and 1,748 characters corresponding to two nuclear sequences (ITS and nepGS). Using different partitioning strategies and approaches (i.e., Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood, and maximum parsimony) for phylogeny reconstruction, different topologies and Glade supports were determined. A total of 18 Ilex species was divided into two major groups (group I and II) in both plastid and nuclear phylogenies with some incongruences. Potential hybridization events may account, in part, for those phylogenetic uncertainties. The analyses, together with previously identified sequences, indicated that all 18 species were recovered within Eurasia or Asia/North America groups based on plastid data. Meanwhile, the species in group II in the nuclear phylogeny were placed in the Aquifolium Glade, as inferred from traditional classification, whereas the species in group I belonged to several other clades. The divergence time of most of the 18 Ilex species was estimated to be not more than 10 million years ago. Based on the results of this study, we concluded that paleogeographical events and past climate changes during the same period might have played important roles in these diversifications.
Niemann-Pick type C2 (NPC2) is a type of small soluble protein involved in lipid metabolism and triglyceride accumulation in vertebrates and arthropods. Recent studies have determined that NPC2 also participates in chemical communication of arthropods. In this work, two novel NPC2 proteins (MmedNPC2a and MmedNPC2b) in Microplitis mediator were identified. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis revealed that MmedNPC2a was expressed higher in the antennae than in other tissues of adult wasps compared with MmedNPC2b. Subsequent immunolocalization results demonstrated that NPC2a was located in the lymph cavities of sensilla placodea. To further explore the binding characterization of recombinant MmedNPC2a to 54 candidate odor molecules, a fluorescence binding assay was performed. It was found MmedNPC2a could not bind with selected fatty acids, such as linoleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid and octadecenoic acid. However, seven cotton volatiles, 4-ethylbenzaldehyde, 3,4-dimethylbenzaldehyde, β-ionone, linalool, m-xylene, benzaldehyde and trans-2-hexen-1-al showed certain binding abilities with MmedNPC2a. Moreover, the predicted 3D model of MmedNPC2a was composed of seven β-sheets and three pairs of disulfide bridges. In this model, the key binding residues for oleic acid in CjapNPC2 of Camponotus japonicus, Lue68, Lys69, Lys70, Phe97, Thr103 and Phe127, are replaced with Phe85, Ser86, His87, Leu113, Tyr119 and Ile143 in MmedNPC2a, respectively. We proposed that MmedNPC2a in M. mediator may play roles in perception of plant volatiles.
Medicated diets as the valuable culture heritage, could prevent the development of diseases, and are also benefit to our health and lifetime. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is the important part of medicated diets The chemical constituents and pharmacological activity of TCM play an important role on elucidating the functional material basis. The ap-plicable origins and development of medicated diets were discussed. According to the TCM frequences in medicated diets, we selected 27 kinds of TCM that appeared more than 100 times in almost 7000 medicated diet recipes. The origins, nature and flavours, and application history were reviewed,which principles were investigated from the angle of TCM. The chemical con-stituents and pharmacological activity were also be discussed. It will provide evidence for elucidating the functional material basis of medicated diets.
Malus hupehensis(Pamp.) Rehd,a kind of non-camellia tea with a long history,is widely distributed throughout southern China.Modern research shows that the leaves of M.hupehensis contains chemical constituents such as flavonoids,polyphenols,etc.Extracts from the leaves also have hypoglycemic,reduce blood lipid,anti-oxidation and antimicrobial effects.This review summarized the traditional uses,plant morphology,geographical distribution,chemical constituents and ipharmacological effects of M.hupehensis leaves,provided evidences for system research and in-depth development.
Ethnopharmacological relevance: Medicinal diets have a history of more than 2000 years. Locally referred to as yaoshan (Chinese: ), a medicinal diet is understood in China as a dietary product that combines herbs and food with the purpose of preventing and treating diseases or improving health under the guidance of traditional Chinese medicine theory. Medicinal diets are used in Chinese people's daily life and in specialized restaurants. Hundreds of Chinese materia medica (CMM) are used in medicinal diets; however, a comprehensive evaluation of medicinal diets is lacking.Aims of the study: This is an exploratory study that aims to identify the CMM that are most frequently used in medicinal diets and to provide an updated view of the current situation of medicinal diets in China.Materials and methods: A field study of 1221 people in 32 Chinese provinces was conducted over a period of approximately 6 months and included various types of interviews as well as a written questionnaire. Two approaches were used to analyse the data collected in the survey: (1) estimating the frequency of CMM consumed in daily diets; and (2) collecting CMM used in medicinal diet restaurants. Complementary information on the selected CMM was obtained from relevant databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, CNKI, and Web of Science.Results: Ten CMM were reported as commonly used by more than 50% of the participants. Among these 10 species, most medicinally used parts were seeds and fruits. Pharmacological data from the literature revealed that these species are associated with a wide spectrum of biological properties, including antitumour (80%), antioxidant (50%), anti-diabetic (40%), antilipemic (40%), anti-aging (40%), antimicrobial (40%) and cardioprotective (40%) activities. Our survey shows that most medicinal diet restaurants are located in the eastern part of China, with the greatest numbers being found in Beijing and Guangzhou. Only Dioscoreae Rhizoma, Lycii Fructus, Chrysanthemi Flos and Longan Arillus were frequently consumed both in daily diets and at medicinal diet restaurants. Some of the similarities shared by these 4 species include an extensive history of use (> 2000 years); a sweet flavour; and antioxidant, antidiabetic, antilipemic and cardioprotective effects.Conclusions: The 10 most commonly consumed CMM possess various biological effects that are currently target the most frequent health problems for the majority of the population. The development of medicinal diet restaurants has certain regional restrictions and is associated with the local climate environment and dietary culture. The data revealed by this study provided useful information for commercial exploitation of medicinal diets and their components and serve as a basis for further studies on various aspects of medicinal diets.
Hawk tea (Litsea coreana Lévl. var. Lanuginosa (Migo) Yen C. Yang & P.H. Huang), a very popular herbal tea material, has attracted more and more attention due to its high antioxidant properties and possible therapeutic effect on type II diabetes mellitus. The raw materials of Hawk tea are usually divided into three kinds: bud tea (BT), primary leaf tea (PLT) and mature leaf tea (MLT). In this study, the DPPH radical scavenging activity and the antimicrobial properties of these three kinds of Hawk tea from different regions were comparatively investigated, and a ultra-high performance liquid chromatographic coupled with a photodiode array detector (UPLC-DAD) method was employed for comparison of the three major flavonoid constituents, including hyperoside, isoquercitrin and astragalin, in different samples of Hawk tea. At the same time, the effect of methanol extract (ME) of PLT on the mouse postprandial blood glucose and the effect of ME and its different fractions (petroleum ether fraction (PE), ethyl acetate fraction (EA), n-butanol fraction (n-BuOH), and water fraction (WF)) on the activity of α-glucosidase were studied. The results showed that Hawk BT and Hawk PLT possessed the higher radicals scavenging activity than Hawk MLT, while the antibacterial activity against P. vulgaris of PLT and MLT was higher than Hawk BT. The contents of the three major flavonoid constituents in samples of Hawk PLT are higher than Hawk BT and Hawk MLT. The mouse postprandial blood glucose levels of the middle dose (0.5 g/kg) group and the high dose (1 g/kg) group with oral administration of the ME of PLT were significantly lower than the control group. What’s more, the inhibitory effect of ME of PLT and its EA and n-BuOH fractions on α-glucosidase was significantly higher than that of acarbose. Rapid ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS) was used to identify the flavonoids in Hawk PLT, and a total of 20 flavonoids were identified or tentatively identified by comparing their retention times and accurate mass measurements with reference compounds or literature data. The bioactive flavonoid composition and DPPH radical scavenging activities present in different Hawk tea raw materials are quite different due to the different ontogenesis of these raw materials. Further studies on PLT showed that the substances in PLT ME could reduce the level of mouse postprandial blood glucose through inhibiting the activity of α-glucosidase.
Adaptogen can enhance non-specificly human body resistance,which can maintain body in the homeostasis under outside pressure.Modem researches show that adaptogen can affect human body in a multi-target and multi-channel network-like approach,especially in the immune-neuro-endocrine system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.Adaptogen with traditional Chinese medicine tonics and worldwide so called "ginseng-like" herbs have similar application and primary efficacy.The further research focused on adaptogen including the definition of adaptogen resources and their unique pharmacological mechanism,can give a hint of their utilization to serve the human health.
Odorant receptors (ORs) expressed in the antennae of parasitoid wasps are responsible for detection of various lipophilic airborne molecules. In the present study, 107 novel OR genes were identified from Microplitis mediator antennal transcriptome data. Phylogenetic analysis of the set of OR genes from M. mediator and Microplitis demolitor revealed that M. mediator OR (MmedOR) genes can be classified into different subfamilies, and the majority of MmedORs in each subfamily shared high sequence identities and clear orthologous relationships to M. demolitor ORs. Within a subfamily, six MmedOR genes, MmedOR98, 124, 125, 126, 131 and 155, shared a similar gene structure and were tightly linked in the genome. To evaluate whether the clustered MmedOR genes share common regulatory features, the transcription profile and expression characteristics of the six closely related OR genes were investigated in M. mediator. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends-PCR experiments revealed that the OR genes within the cluster were transcribed as single mRNAs, and a bicistronic mRNA for two adjacent genes (MmedOR124 and MmedOR98) was also detected in female antennae by reverse transcription PCR. In situ hybridization experiments indicated that each OR gene within the cluster was expressed in a different number of cells. Moreover, there was no co-expression of the two highly related OR genes, MmedOR124 and MmedOR98, which appeared to be individually expressed in a distinct population of neurons. Overall, there were distinct expression profiles of closely related MmedOR genes from the same cluster in M. mediator. These data provide a basic understanding of the olfactory coding in parasitoid wasps.