Phylogenetic analyses of Lycium chinense (Solanaceae) and its coordinal species applying chloroplast genome.

Lycium chinense is an important edible and medicinal plant. Now, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of L. chinense was assembled based on the Illumina sequencing reads. The cp genome of L. chinense was 155,736 bp long and contained two short inverted repeat regions (25,469 bp), which were separated by a small single-copy region (18,206 bp) and a large single-copy region (86,592 bp). The cp genome encodes 113 unique genes, including 79 protein-coding genes, 30 transfer RNA genes, and 4 ribosomal RNA genes. The topology of the phylogenetic tree showed that L. chinense is closely clustered with species Lycium ruthenicum and Lycium barbarum.

Chloroplast genome and phylogenetic analyses of Morus alba (Moraceae).

Morus alba is an important medicinal plant that is used to treat human diseases. The complete chloroplast (cp) genome of M. alba was assembled based on the Illumina sequencing reads. The cp genome of M. alba was 159,290 bp and contained two short inverted repeat regions (25,690 bp) which were separated by a small single copy region (19,845 bp) and a large single copy region (88,065 bp). The cp genome encodes 111 unique genes, including 77 protein-coding genes, 30 transfer RNA genes and four ribosomal RNA genes. The topology of the phylogenetic tree showed that M. alba is closely clustered with species M. cathayana and M. mongolica.

Chloroplast genome and phylogenetic analyses of Poncirus trifoliata (Rutaceae).

Poncirus trifoliata is an important medicinal plant that is used to treat human diseases. In this study, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of P. trifoliata was assembled based on the Illumina sequencing reads. The cp genome of P. trifoliata was 160,260 bp and contained two short inverted repeat regions (27,029 bp) which were separated by a small single copy region (18,760 bp) and a large single copy region (87,442 bp). The cp genome encodes 113 unique genes, including 79 protein-coding genes, 30 transfer RNA genes and 4 ribosomal RNA genes. The topology of the phylogenetic tree showed that P. trifoliata is closely clustered with genus Citrus.

Identification of Potential Dipeptidyl Peptidase (DPP)-IV Inhibitors among Moringa oleifera Phytochemicals by Virtual Screening, Molecular Docking Analysis, ADME/T-Based Prediction, and In Vitro Analyses.

Moringa oleifera Lam. (MO) is called the "Miracle Tree" because of its extensive pharmacological activity. In addition to being an important food, it has also been used for a long time in traditional medicine in Asia for the treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. In this study, by constructing a library of MO phytochemical structures and using Discovery Studio software, compounds were subjected to virtual screening and molecular docking experiments related to their inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP-IV), an important target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. After the four-step screening process, involving screening for drug-like compounds, predicting the absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADME/T) of pharmacokinetic properties, LibDock heatmap matching analysis, and CDOCKER molecular docking analysis, three MO components that were candidate DPP-IV inhibitors were identified and their docking modes were analyzed. In vitro activity verification showed that all three MO components had certain DPP-IV inhibitory activities, of which O-Ethyl-4-[(α-l-rhamnosyloxy)-benzyl] carbamate (compound 1) had the highest activity (half-maximal inhibitory concentration [IC50] = 798 nM). This study provides a reference for exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-diabetic activity of MO. The obtained DPP-IV inhibitors could be used for structural optimization and in-depth in vivo evaluation.