Efficient Selective Carbon Dioxide Separation via Task-Specific Ionic Liquids Incorporated in ZIF-8.

Owing to the rapid increase in anthropogenic emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, which has resulted in a number of global climate challenges, a decrease in CO2 emissions is urgently needed in the current scenario. This study focuses on the development and characterization of composites for carbon dioxide (CO2) separation. The composites consist of two task-specific ionic liquids (TSILs), namely, tetramethylgunidinium imidazole [TMGHIM] and tetramethylgunidinium phenol [TMGHPhO], impregnated in ZIF-8. The performance of CO2 separation, including sorption capacity and selectivity, was evaluated for pristine ZIF-8 and composites of TMGHIM@ZIF-8 and TMGHPhO@ZIF-8. To demonstrate the thermal stability of the material, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed. Additionally, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized to showcase the crystal structures and morphology. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and BET were also utilized to confirm the successful incorporation of TSILs into ZIF-8. The composite synthesized with TMGHIM@ZIF-8 demonstrated superior CO2 sorption performance as compared with TMGHPhO@ZIF-8. This is attributed to its strong attraction toward CO2, resulting in a higher CO2/CH4 selectivity of 110 while pristine MOFs showed 12 that is 9 times higher than that of the pristine ZIF-8. These TSILs@ZIF-8 composites have significant potential in designing sorbent materials for efficient acid gas separation applications.

A compounds annotation strategy using targeted molecular networking for offline two-dimensional liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis: Yupingfeng as a case study.

Component overlapping and long-time consumption hinder the data processing of offline two-dimensional liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (offline 2D-LC MS) system. Although molecular networking has been commonly employed in data processing of liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS), its application in offline 2D-LC MS is challenged by voluminous and redundant data. In light of this, for the first time, a data deduplication and visualization strategy combining hand-in-hand alignment with targeted molecular networking (TMN) for compounds annotation of offline 2D-LC MS data was developed and applied to the chemical profile of Yupingfeng (YPF), a classical traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, as a case study. Firstly, an offline 2D-LC MS system was constructed for the separation and data acquisition of YPF extract. Then the data of 12 fractions derived from YPF were deconvoluted and aligned as a whole data file by hand-in-hand alignment, resulting in a 49.2% reduction in component overlapping (from 17951 to 9112 ions) and an improvement in the MS2 spectrum quality of precursor ions. Subsequently, the MS2-similarity adjacency matrix of focused parent ions was computed by a self-building Python script, which realized the construction of an innovative TMN. Interestingly, the TMN was found to be able to efficiently distinguish and visualize the co-elution, in-source fragmentations and multi-type adduct ions in a clustering network. Consequently, a total of 497 compounds were successfully identified depending on only seven TMN analysis guided by product ions filtering (PIF) and neutral loss filtering (NLF) for the targeted compounds in YPF. This integrated strategy improved the efficiency of targeted compound discovery in offline 2D-LC MS data, also shown a huge scalability in accurate compound annotation of complex samples. In conclusion, our study developed available concepts and tools while providing a research paradigm for efficient and rapid compound annotation in complex samples such as TCM prescriptions, with YPF as an example.

A screening strategy for bioactive components of Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang regulating spleen-qi deficiency based on "endobiotics-targets-xenobiotics" association network.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang is a famous traditional Chinese medicine formula that has been prevalent in China for over 700 years to treat spleen-qi deficiency related diseases, such as gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders. However, the bioactive components responsible for regulating spleen-qi deficiency remain unclear and have puzzled many researchers. AIM OF THE STUDY: The current study focuses on efficacy evaluation of regulating spleen-qi deficiency and screening the bioactive components of Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang were evaluated through blood routine examination, immune organ index, and biochemical analysis. Metabolomics was utilized to analyze the potential endogenous biomarkers (endobiotics) in the plasma, and the prototypes (xenobiotics) of Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang in the bio-samples were characterized using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. Then, these endobiotics were used as "bait" to predict targets based on network pharmacology and to screen potential bioactive components from the absorbed prototypes in the plasma by constructing an "endobiotics-targets-xenobiotics" association network. Further, the anti-inflammatory activities of representative compounds (calycosin and nobiletin) were validated through poly(I:C)-induced pulmonary inflammation mice model. RESULTS: Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang exhibited immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities in spleen-qi deficiency rat, as supported by the observation of increased levels of D-xylose and gastrin in serum, an increase in the thymus index and number of lymphocytes in blood, as well as a reduction in the level of IL-6 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Furthermore, plasma metabolomic analysis revealed a total of 36 Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang related endobiotics, which were mainly enriched in primary bile acids biosynthesis, the metabolism of linoleic acid, and the metabolism of phenylalanine pathways. Meanwhile, 95 xenobiotics were characterized in plasma, urine, small intestinal contents, and tissues of spleen-qi deficiency rat after Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang treatment. Using an integrated association network, six potential bioactive components of Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang were screened. Among them, calycosin was found to significantly reduce the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, increase the number of lymphocytes, while nobiletin dramatically decreased the levels of CXCL10, TNF-α, GM-CSF, and IL-6. CONCLUSION: Our study proposed an available strategy for screening bioactive components of BYZQT regulating spleen-qi deficiency based on "endobiotics-targets-xenobiotics" association network.

Quality assessment of commercial dried ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) based on targeted and non-targeted chemical profiles and anti-inflammatory activity.

Dried ginger, a well-known medicine and food homologous production, has been widely circulated in China with high health benefits and economic value. Currently, there is still a lack of quality assessment on whether dried ginger in China exhibits chemically and biologically distinct properties, which creates a barrier to its quality control in commercial circulation. In this study, the chemical characteristics of 34 batches of common dried ginger samples in China were first explored using non-targeted chemometrics based on the UPLC-Q/TOF-MS analysis, leading to the identification of 35 chemicals that contributed to clustering into two categories, with sulfonated conjugates being the key chemically distinct components. By comparing the samples before and after sulfur-containing treatment and the further synthesis of a key differentiating component of [6]-gingesulfonic acid, it was then demonstrated that sulfur-containing treatment was the primary cause of the formation of sulfonated conjugates, as opposed to regional or environmental factors. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory efficacy of dried ginger with high presence of sulfonated conjugates was significantly decreased. Consequently, for the first time, UPLC-QqQ-MS/MS was used to develop a targeted quantification method for 10 characteristic chemicals in dried ginger, allowing researchers to quickly determine whether dried ginger has been processed with sulfur and quantitatively evaluate the quality of dried ginger. These results provided an insight into the quality of commercial dried ginger in China and a suggested method for its quality supervision as well.

Integrating network pharmacology and experimental verification to decipher the immunomodulatory effect of Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang against poly (I:C)-induced pulmonary inflammation.

Pulmonary inflammation caused by respiratory tract viral infections is usually associated with acute exacerbation of respiratory diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Therefore, maintaining the pulmonary immune homeostasis is particular important for prevention of the acute exacerbation. Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang (BZYQT), a traditional Chinese medicine formula, has been broadly used to improve respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders in China for over 700 years. Previously, we have found the regulatory activity of BZYQT on the lower respiratory immune system, while its potential effects during pulmonary inflammation remain unknown. Thus, the current study focused on deciphering its immunomodulatory effect and potential mechanism against pulmonary inflammation by using a viral RNA analogue, poly (I:C), induced murine pulmonary inflammation model and BEAS-2B cell model coupled with network pharmacology. Inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were counted through microscope examination according to the cell's morphology and staining characteristics; protein and gene levels of inflammatory mediators were determined with Elisa and quantitative PCR, respectively; network pharmacology was conducted based on 46 BZYQT-related potential bioactive components, pulmonary inflammation and immune-related targets. Our results indicated that the recruitment of neutrophils and the expression of Adgre1 (encoding the F4/80, which is a macrophage marker) in the lung induced by poly (I:C) were significantly reduced after BZYQT treatment, and these effects were further demonstrated to be related to the interference of leukocyte transendothelial migration from the decreased levels of CXCL10, IL-6, TNF-α, CXCL2, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and E/P-selectins. Furthermore, BZYQT inhibited the CXCL10, TNF-α, and IFN-ß expression of poly (I:C)-challenged BEAS-2B cells in a dose-dependent manner. Through integrating results from network pharmacology, experiments, and the published literature, isoliquiritigenin, Z-ligustilide, atractylenolide I, atractylenolide III, formononetin, ferulic acid, hesperidin, and cimigenoside were presumed as the bioactive components of BZYQT against pulmonary inflammation. Overall, our findings demonstrated that BZYQT possesses a pronounced immunomodulatory effect on poly (I:C)-induced pulmonary inflammation, which provides a pharmacological basis for BZYQT in the treatment of respiratory disorders.

Euryale Small Auxin Up RNA62 promotes cell elongation and seed size by altering the distribution of indole-3-acetic acid under the light.

Euryale (Euryale ferox Salisb.) is an aquatic crop used as both food and drug in Asia, but its utilization is seriously limited due to low yield. Previously, we hypothesized that Euryale small auxin up RNAs (EuSAURs) regulate seed size, but the underlying biological functions and molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we observed that the hybrid Euryale lines (HL) generate larger seeds with higher indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) concentrations than those in the North Gordon Euryale (WT). Histological analysis suggested that a larger ovary in HL is attributed to longer cells around. Overexpression of EuSAUR62 in rice (Oryza sativa L.) resulted in larger glumes and grains and increased the length of glume cells. Immunofluorescence and protein interaction assays revealed that EuSAUR62 modulates IAA accumulation around the rice ovary by interacting with the rice PIN-FORMED 9, an auxin efflux carrier protein. Euryale basic region/leucine zipper 55 (EubZIP55), which was highly expressed in HL, directly binds to the EuSAUR62 promoter and activated the expression of EuSAUR62. Constant light increased the expression of both EubZIP55 and EuSAUR62 with auxin-mediated hook curvature in HL seedlings. Overall, we proposed that EuSAUR62 is a molecular bridge between light and IAA and plays a crucial role in regulating the size of the Euryale seed.

Small Auxin Up RNAs influence the distribution of indole-3-acetic acid and play a potential role in increasing seed size in Euryale ferox Salisb.

BACKGROUND: Aquatic Euryale ferox Salisb. is an economically important crop in China and India. Unfortunately, low yield limitations seriously hinder market growth. Unveiling the control of seed size is of remarkable importance in improvement of crops. Here, we generated a new hybrid line (HL) with larger seeds by crossing South Gordon Euryale and North Gordon Euryale (WT) which hasn't been reported before. However, the functional genes and molecular mechanisms controlling the seed size in Euryale ferox Salisb. remain unclear. In this study, we focused on the differentially expressed genes in the auxin signal transduction pathway during fruit development between HL and WT to explore candidate regulatory genes participated in regulating seed size. RESULTS: Both concentration and localization of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) at two growth stages of fruits of WT and HL were detected by LC-MS and immunofluorescence. Although IAA content between the two lines did not differ, IAA distribution was significantly different. To elucidate the mechanism and to seek the key genes underlying this difference, RNA-seq was performed on young fruits at the two selected growth stages, and differentially expressed genes related to the auxin transduction pathway were selected for further analysis. CONCLUSION: Hybrid Euryale ferox Salisb. expressed significant heterosis, resulting in non-prickly, thin-coated, large seeds, which accounted for the significantly larger yield of HL than that of WT. Our study indicated that Small Auxin Up RNAs (SAURs) -mediated localization of IAA regulates seed size in Euryale ferox Salisb. We found that some SAURs may act as a positive mediator of the auxin transduction pathway, thereby contributing to the observed heterosis.

The antidepressant effects of apigenin are associated with the promotion of autophagy via the mTOR/AMPK/ULK1 pathway.

The present study aimed to investigate whether apigenin elicits antidepressant effects in depressant­like mice via the regulation of autophagy. The depressant­like behaviors were established in a chronic restraint stress model. Male BALB/c mice were subjected to restraint stress for 6 h/day for a period of 21 days, and deficits in sucrose preference, tail suspension and forced swim tests were confirmed to be improved following oral apigenin. To investigate the underlining mechanisms, the hippocampal levels of p62 and microtubule­associated protein light chain 3­II/I (LC3­II/I) were measured using western blot analysis. The expression levels of LC3­II/I and p62 indicated that the significantly inhibited autophagy level induced by chronic restraint stress can be increased following apigenin treatment. Similar to the level of autophagy, the expression levels of adenosine monophosphate­activated protein kinase (AMPK) and Unc­51 like autophagy activating kinase­1 were downregulated after chronic restraint stress stimulation and, subsequently upregulated following treatment with apigenin. Conversely, the levels of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) were increased in chronic restraint stress mice and inhibited by apigenin. Collectively, the present findings indicated that apigenin potentially promotes autophagy via the AMPK/mTOR pathway and induces antidepressive effects in chronic restraint stress mice.

A novel, highly-water-soluble apigenin derivative provides neuroprotection following ischemia in male rats by regulating the ERK/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

6"-O-succinylapigenin [apigenin-7-O-(6'-O-succinyl)-glucoside], a novel compound, is identified in chamomile. Although it is highly produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FJ18, its bioactivity remains unknown. The neuroprotective effects and antioxidative mechanism of 6''-O-succcinylapigenin in the middle cerebral artery occlusion model in male rats was investigated in this study. The structure of this compound was determined by spectroscopic data analysis. After 2 h of occlusion and 24 h of reperfusion, magnetic resonance imaging and assessed neurological scores following middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in male rats to determine the infarction size and neurological deficits, respectively. In addition, we tested protein levels of the nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), Kelch-like ECH-associated protein1 (Keap1), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK), to investigate the mechanism of antioxidative action of 6''-O-succcinylapigenin. Finally, we employed immunofluorescence to determine the location of Nrf2 and Keap1 in HT22 cells cultured in vitro. Our results revealed that administration of 6''-O-succcinylapigenin induced a decrease in both infarct volume and neurological scores following MCAO, and significantly increased the activity of HO-1 and nuclear Nrf2 in vivo. Similarly, immunofluorescence assays indicated that Nrf2 is highly expressed in the nucleus following treatment with 6''-O-succcinylapigenin in vitro. Our study suggests that 6''-O-succcinylapigenin exerts an anti-ischemic effect by activating the ERK/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.