ABSTRACT
As a traditional medicine with extensive history, Ornithogalum caudatum has high nutritional and medicinal value. However, its quality evaluation criteria are insufficient because it is not included in the pharmacopeia. Simultaneously, it is a perennial plant, and the medicinal ingredients change with the growth years. Currently, studies on the synthesis and accumulation of metabolites and elements in O. caudatum during different growth years are unavailable. To address this issue, in this study, the 8 main active substances, metabolism profiles, and 12 trace elements of O. caudatum from different growth years (1, 3, and 5 years old) were analyzed. The main substances of O. caudatum changed significantly in different years of growth. Saponin and sterol contents increased with age; however, the polysaccharide content decreased. For metabolism profiling, ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was performed. Among the three groups, 156 differential metabolites with variable importance in projection values >1.0 and p < 0.05 were identified. Among the differential metabolites, 16 increased with increasing years of growth and have the potential to become age-identified markers. A trace element study showed that the contents of K, Ca, and Mg were higher, and the ratio of Zn/Cu was less than 0.1%. Heavy metal ions in O. caudatum did not increase with age. The results of this study provide a basis to evaluate the edible values of O. caudatum and facilitate further exploitation.
ABSTRACT
Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) has emerged as a novel and promising approach for the treatment of pathogenic microorganism infections. The efficacy of aPDT depends greatly on the behavior of the photosensitizer. Herein, we report the design, preparation, antimicrobial photodynamic activities, as well as structure-activity relationships of a series of photosensitizers modified at the meso position of a 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl BODIPY scaffold with various pyridinyl and pyridinium moieties. The photodynamic antimicrobial activities of all photosensitizers have been tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, and Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The methyl meso-(meta-pyridinium) BODIPY photosensitizer (3c) possessed the highest phototoxicity against these pathogens at minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 0.63 to 1.25 µM with a light dose of 81 J/cm2. Furthermore, 3c exhibited an impressive antimicrobial efficacy in S. aureus-infected mice wounds. Taken together, these findings suggest that 3c is a promising candidate as the antimicrobial photosensitizer for combating pathogenic microorganism infections.