[Research progress of Angelicae Sinensis Radix and predictive analysis on its quality markers].

Angelicae Sinensis Radix, as a medicinal and edible Chinese medicinal herb, is widely used in clinical practice. It is mainly cultivated in Minxian, Tanchang, Zhangxian and Weiyuan counties of Gansu province. In recent years, with the comprehensive and in-depth study of Angelicae Sinensis Radix in China and abroad, its chemical composition, pharmacological effects and application and development have attracted much attention. In this study, the chemical composition, traditional efficacy, and modern pharmacological effects of Angelicae Sinensis Radix were summarized. On this basis, combined with the core concept of quality markers(Q-markers), the Q-markers of Angelicae Sinensis Radix were discussed from the aspects of mass transfer and traceability and chemical composition specificity, availability, and measurability, which provided scientific basis for the quality evaluation of Angelicae Sinensis Radix.

Phytochemical Profile and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of the Fraction from Artemisia lavandulaefolia.

Artemisia lavandulaefolia, a traditional herbal medicine, has been utilized as anti-inflammatory and analgesia agent in clinic. Bioassay-guided fractionation resulted in a fraction (ALDF) with anti-inflammatory effect obtained from A. lavandulaefolia. Its main constituents were analyzed and identified by UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS technology. ALDF showed the strong inhibitory activity on the nitrogen oxide (NO) production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages with an IC50 value of 1.64±0.41 µg/mL. Further results displayed that ALDF also significantly suppressed the secretion of key pro-inflammatory mediators, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2 ) and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), and the increase of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein expression induced by LPS stimulation. Mechanism study indicated that ALDF was able to block NF-κB signaling pathway through inhibiting IκB and p65 phosphorylation, as well as NF-κB p65 nuclear translocation. Furthermore, in vivo results in mice revealed that treatments with ALDF evoked significant inhibition on ear edema induced by xylene and on the writhing responses induced by acetic acid. These results suggest that ALDF holds great potential in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory disorders.

Nitric Oxide Production Inhibitory Eudesmane-Type Sesquiterpenoids from Artemisia argyi.

Six new eudesmane-type sesquiterpene derivatives, artemargyinins A-F were isolated from the leaves of Artemisia argyi. Their structures were elucidated based on the extensive analysis of spectroscopic data. Artemargyinins A-F feature a lactone ring-opening eudesmane-type sesquiterpene with an isoprenoid group at C(8). All compounds were tested for their inhibitory effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 macrophages. Artemargyinins A-F showed more potent NO production inhibitory activity with IC50 values ranging from 7.66±0.53 to 61.19±2.54 µM than the positive control quercetin (IC50 =74.34±1.39 µM). Among them, artemargyinins C and D exhibited strong inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 8.08±0.21 and 7.66±0.53 µM, respectively.

Triterpenoids with α-glucosidase inhibitory activity from Artemisia argyi.

Two new nordammarane-type triterpenoids, 3ß-acetoxy-20-oxo-21-nordammaran-23-carboxylic acid methyl ester (1) and 3ß-acetoxy-17ß-dammaranic acid (2), along with two known cycloartane-type triterpenoids (3-4), were isolated from the petroleum ether-soluble extract of Artemisia argyi. Their structures were elucidated based on 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data analysis. All compounds were evaluated for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity in vitro. Compounds 1-4 exhibited significant inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase with IC50 values ranging from 38.34 ± 0.23 to 105.54 ± 0.33 µM.

Sesquiterpene Lactones with COX-2 Inhibition Activity from Artemisia lavandulaefolia.

Two new sesquiterpene lactones, artelavanolides A (1) and B (2), and four known sesquiterpene lactones (3 - 6) were isolated from the leaves of Artemisia lavandulaefolia. Their structures were elucidated based on the analysis of spectroscopic data (1D, 2D-NMR and HR-ESI-MS). The absolute configuration of 1 was determined by the analysis of single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. Artelavanolide A (1) is a rare sesquiterpene lactone possessing an unusual skeleton with the linkage of Me(14)-C(1) that is probably formed through a rearrangement of the guaiane-type sesquiterpenoids. Artelavanolide B (2) is a new highly unsaturated guaianolide. Compounds 1 - 6 were tested for activities on the inhibition of COX-2 enzyme in vitro. All of compounds exhibited inhibitory activity against COX-2 with IC50 values ranging from 43.29 to 287.07 µm compared with the positive control, celecoxib (IC50 = 18.10 µm). Among them, 3 showed the best COX-2 inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 43.29 µm.

A Blade Defect Diagnosis Method by Fusing Blade Tip Timing and Tip Clearance Information.

Blade tip timing (BTT) technology is considered the most promising method for blade vibration measurements due to the advantages of its simplicity and non-contact measurement capacity. Nevertheless, BTT technology still suffers from two problems, which are (1) the requirements of domain expertise and prior knowledge of BTT signals analysis due to severe under-sampling; and (2) that the traditional BTT method can only judge whether there is a defect in the blade but it cannot judge the severity and the location of the defect. Thus, how to overcome the above drawbacks has become a big challenge. Aiming at under-sampled BTT signals, a feature learning method using a convolutional neural network (CNN) is introduced. In this way, some new fault-sensitive features can be adaptively learned from raw under-sampled data and it is therefore no longer necessary to rely on prior knowledge. At the same time, research has found that tip clearance (TC) is also very sensitive to the blade state, especially regarding defect severity and location. A novel analysis method fusing TC and BTT signals is proposed in this paper. The goal of this approach is to integrate tip clearance information with tip timing information for blade fault detection. The method consists of four key steps: First, we extract the TC and BTT signals from raw pulse data; second, TC statistical features and BTT deep learning features will be extracted and fused using the kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) method; then, model training and selection are carried out; and finally, 16 sets of experiments are carried out to validate the feasibility of the proposed method and the classification accuracy achieves 95%, which is far higher than the traditional diagnostic method.

[Research progress on anti-inflammatory mechanism of natural sesquiterpenoids].

Sesquiterpenoid is a kind of compound widely distributed in nature, which has a wide range of biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and immunomodulatory activities. This paper would review the anti-inflammatory mechanism of sesquiterpenoid. The mechanism is mainly by inhibiting the activation of nuclear factor (NF-κB), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs) and signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) signaling pathways and down-regulating the inflammatory gene expression including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-1(IL-1), IL-6, IL-8 and other inflammatory factors. Thereby, the production and release of inflammatory cytokines are reduced to exert anti-inflammatory effect. This review is intended to provide reference for related research.

Phthalide Derivatives with Anticoagulation Activities from Angelica sinensis.

Two new phthalide derivatives, angesinenolides A and B (1 and 2), were isolated from the roots of Angelica sinensis. Their structures were elucidated using HRMS, NMR, and X-ray crystallographic data. Compound 1 is the first example of a phthalide trimer presumably formed through two [2+2] cycloaddition reactions. Compound 2 is a unique dimeric phthalide with a peroxy bridge between C-3a and C-6. Both phthalides were evaluated for in vitro anticoagulation activities. Compound 1 reduced the level of fibrinogen (FIB). Compound 2 significantly extended thrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time, as well as markedly reduced the content of FIB.

[The Study of Infrared Spectra of Acetophenone Molecule].

By implying the density functional theory method, the geometry of acetophenone molecular is fully optimized at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d, p) level and the frequency is also calculated at the same level. The infrared spectrum and complete vibrational modes of acetophenone molecular are attained. Meanwhile, the infrared spectrum is obtained by experimental measurements. Through the comparison and analysis, it is found that the theoretical calculation results meet well with those of experiments. Finally, the vibrational modes of acetophenone molecule are assigned, and the strong vibration peaks in the experiment results belong to infrared characteristic peaks of acetophenone molecule.

[Theory study of the structures and IR of (C5H5N)n(H2O), (n = 1-2, m = 1-4) clusters].

Using density functional theory, the possible geometrical structures of (C5H5N)n (H2O)m (n = 1-2, m = 1- 4) clusters were optimized at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d, p) level and the stable structures were attained. For the dimer formed between C5H5N and H2O, the calculation result shows that there is only one stable structure and the configuration of cluster formed through pi hydrogen bond (O-H...pi) interaction was not found. In order to study the stability of the clusters, the total energies and binding energies of the clusters were calculated at the same level of theory, and the result shows that the four-membered ring structures of water molecules in (C5H5N)n (H2O)4 (n = 1-2) clusters are more stable than structures of the triatomic ring of water molecules. The lowest energy structure of the C5H5N (H2O)4 cluster is more stable than the others and is probably a magic number structure by the analysis to the energy gap between HOMO and LUMO. At the end, the IR spectra of (C5H5N)n (H2O)m (n = 1-2, m = 1-4) clusters were analysed and the stronger peaks appearing in infrared spectra were assigned.

Isoprenylated flavonoid and adipogenesis-promoting constituents of Dodonaea viscosa.

Ten new isoprenylated flavonol derivatives, dodoviscins A-J (1-10), and seven known compounds (11-17) were isolated from the aerial parts of Dodonaea viscosa. Compounds 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-9, 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-3',5'-bis(3-methyl-2-buten-1-yl)-3-methoxyflavone (11), 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-3',5'-bis(3-methyl-2-buten-1-yl)-3,6-dimethoxyflavone (12), 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-3'-(4-hydroxy-3-methylbutyl)-5'-(3-methyl-2-buten-1-yl)-3,6-dimethyoxyflavone (13), sakuranetin (14), and blumeatin (15) promoted adipocyte differentiation as characterized by increased triglyceride levels in 3T3L1 cells. Compounds 1, 13, and 15 also enhanced the accumulation of lipid droplets and induced upregulation of the expression of the adipocyte-specific genes aP2 and GLUT4.

[The study of infrared spectra of 2-pyridinemethanol by density functional theory].

Using density functional theory (DFT), geometry optimizations and frequencies calculation of 2-pyridinemethanol were performed at B3LYP/6-311G(d, p) level, the stable structure and complete vibrational modes of 2-pyridinemethanol were attained. The calculated geometric parameters are in good agreement with the reported experimental measurement of pyridine and the reported data of pertinent literature. When comparing the calculated IR data with those reported by experiments, it was found that the calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental results. Finally, the vibrational modes of 2-pyridinemethanol molecule were assigned.

Sesquiterpenoids from Artemisia argyi and their COXs inhibitory activities.

Four new sesquiterpene lactones, named artemargyinolides A-D (1-4), and seven known sesquiterpenoids (5-11) were isolated from Artemisia argyi. Their structures were elucidated based on the extensive analysis of spectroscopic data. The absolute configuration of 1 was assigned by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Compound 1 is an unprecedented sesquiterpene dimer-monoterpene lactone. The cyclooxygenases (COX-1 and COX-2) inhibitory activities of all isolated compounds were evaluated. Compounds 1, 2, 4, and 6-11 showed inhibitory activity against COX-2 with IC50 values ranging from 35.78 ±â€¯0.39 to 256.07 ±â€¯0.38 µM. However, compounds 7, 9, and 10 exhibited weak inhibitory activity against COX-1 with IC50 values of 465.70 ±â€¯1.53, 281.43 ±â€¯3.56, and 490.45 ±â€¯6.07 µM, respectively. Other compounds are inactive against COX-1. Therefore, compounds 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 11 displayed selective COX-2 inhibitory activity.

Two new flavonoids from Artemisia argyi with their anticoagulation activities.

A new flavone glycoside, eupatilin 7-O-ß-d-glucopyranoside (1) and a new flavone, 5,6,2',4'-tetrahydroxy-7,5'-dimethoxyflavone (2), were isolated from Artemisia argyi. Their structures were unambiguously elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis. Both flavonoids were evaluated for in vitro anticoagulation activities. Compound 1 significantly extended thrombin time. Compound 2 had obvious effect in increasing prothrombin time.

Phthalide dimers from Angelica sinensis and their COX-2 inhibition activity.

Four new dimeric phthalides, angesinenolides C-F (1-4), along with three known ones, were isolated from the roots of Angelica sinensis. Their structures were determined by means of HRMS and NMR experiments. The structures of compounds 1 and 3 were confirmed using X-ray crystallographic data. All isolated compounds were tested for activities on the inhibition of COX-2 enzyme in vitro. Compounds 1-6 exhibited inhibitory activity against COX-2 with IC50 values ranging from 29.32 ±â€¯0.07 to 137.91 ±â€¯0.24 µM.

Isoprenylated Flavonoids with PTP1B Inhibition from Macaranga denticulata.

Three new C-methylated and isoprenylated chalcone derivatives, dentichalcones A-C (1-3), together with six known compounds (4-9), were isolated from the twigs and leaves of Macaranga denticulata. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, including 1D, 2D NMR, and MS data. The known compounds, (2E)-1-(5,7-dihydroxy-2,2,6-trimethyl-2H-benzopyran-8-yl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-propen-1-one (4), (2E)-1-(5,7-dihydroxy-2,2-dimethyl-2H-benzopyran-8-yl)-3-phenyl-2-propen-1-one (5), laxichalcone (6), macarangin (7), bonanniol A (8), and bonannione A (9), showed inhibitory activities against protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) in vitro. Three new C-methylated and isoprenylated chalcone derivatives, dentichalcones A-C (1-3), together with six known compounds, were isolated from the twigs and leaves of Macaranga denticulata. Some compounds showed inhibitory activities against PTP1B in vitro.

Geranyl flavonoids from Robinia pseudoacacia.

A new geranyl flavonol, robipseudin A (1), and a known geranyl flavone, kuwanon S (2), were isolated from the leaves of Robinia pseudoacacia. The structure of the new compound was determined by spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1 and 2 showed moderate antioxidant activities in the DPPH radical scavenging assay.

Japonicasins A and B, two new isoprenylated flavanones from Sophora japonica.

Two new flavanones with a C15 isoprenoid group, japonicasins A and B (1 and 2), were isolated from the leaves of Sophora japonica. This is the first report on the presence of the (2E,7E)-6-isopropyl-3,9-dimethyldeca-2,7,9-trien-1-yl group (C15 isoprenoid group) in isoprenylated flavonoids. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic methods, including UV, IR, 1D and 2D NMR, HRESIMS, and CD experiments. In addition, the antioxidant activities of compounds 1 and 2 were determined through DPPH radical scavenging assays. They exhibited potential antioxidant activities, with IC50 values of 35.1±0.8 µM and 88.7±1.1 µM for compounds 1 and 2, respectively.