ABSTRACT
The root of Angelica sinensis is utilized in Traditional Chinese medicine to enhance blood replenishment and facilitate blood circulation. The early bolting and flowering (EBF) of A. sinensis, however, compromises the quality of the roots and restricts the yield of medicinal substances. The study was conducted to compare the transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles between EBF plants and normal plants of two cultivars of A. sinensis, followed by validation of the transcriptome results using qRT-PCR. There were 3677 DEGs in EBF plants compared to normal plants of cultivar 2 (Mingui No.2), and cultivar 4 (Mingui No.4) was 3354. The main differential metabolites in the EBF and normal plants were phenolic acids, flavonoids, lignans, and coumarins. The analysis of 5 EBF-related pathways revealed 28 genes exhibiting differential expression and 5 metabolites showing differential accumulation. The expression of the Lhcb5, Lhcb2, Lhcb6, Lhcb1, Lhca4, ATPG1, EGLC, CELB, AMY, glgA, CYCD3, SnRK2, PYL, AHK2, AUX1, BSK, FabI/K, ACACA and FabV decreased and the expression of the PsbR, PsbA, LHY, FT, CO, malQ, HK, GPI and DELLA increased in EBF plants. In addition, the Abscisic acid, d-Glucose-6P, α-d-Glucose-1P, NADP+, and ADP were more significantly enriched in EBF plants. The findings offer novel perspectives on the EBF mechanisms in A. sinensis and other medicinal plants of the Apiaceae family.
ABSTRACT
This study analysed the pharmacological mechanism of Gastrodiae Rhizoma, Lycii Fructus, and Ziziphi Spinosae Semen in sedation and tranquillising mind using network pharmacology methods. The findings of this study aimed to serve as a reference for the development of novel drugs and the clinical expansion and application of traditional Chinese medicine formulas. The chemical constituents and therapeutic targets of Gastrodiae Rhizoma, Lycii Fructus, and Ziziphi Spinosae Semen were acquired from TCMSP, HERB, and ETCM databases. Active components were identified using ADME criteria, while the primary targets associated with sedation and mental tranquillity were obtained from GENECARDS, OMIM, and DRUGBANK databases. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis was conducted using the STRING platform to investigate potential functional protein modules by the network. The METASCAPE platform was employed for the study of the "component-target" and its associated biological processes and pathways. Subsequently, the "component-target" network was constructed using Cytoscape 3.9.1 software. Finally, the validation of molecular docking was conducted through AUTODOCK. The findings revealed that Quercetin, Atropine, Dauricine, (S)-Coclaurine, and other active ingredients were identified as the core constituents of Gastrodiae Rhizoma, Lycii Fructus, and Ziziphi Spinosae Semen. Additionally, PTGS2, PTGS1, MAOB, GABRA1, SLC6A2, ADRB2, CHRM1, HTR2A, and other targets were identified as the core targets. The results of the molecular docking analysis demonstrated that Quercetin, Atropine, Dauricine, and (S)-Coclaurine exhibited binding solid affinity towards PTGS2 and PTGS1. The predominant biological pathways associated with sedation and tranquilisation primarily involved Neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction and activation of receptors involved in chemical carcinogenesis. This study provided initial findings on the multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway mechanism underlying the sedative and tranquillising effects of Gastrodiae Rhizoma, Lycii Fructus, and Ziziphi Spinosae Semen. These findings had the potential to serve as a foundation for the future development and utilisation of Gastrodiae Rhizoma, Lycii Fructus, and Ziziphi Spinosae Semen.
ABSTRACT
Scutellaria baicalensis has been one of the most commonly used traditional Chinese medicinal plants in China for more than 2000 years. The three new varieties cultivated could not be distinguished by morphology before flowering. It will hinder the promotion of later varieties. Chloroplast DNA has been widely used in species identification. Moreover, previous studies have shown that complete chloroplast genome sequences have been suggested as super barcodes for identifying plants. Therefore, we sequenced and annotated the complete chloroplast genomes of three cultivated varieties. The chloroplast genomes of SBW, SBR, and SBP were 151,702 bp, 151,799 bp, and 151,876 bp, which contained 85 protein-coding genes, 36 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The analysis of the repeat sequences, codon usage, and comparison of chloroplast genomes shared a high degree of conservation. However, the sliding window results show significant differences among the three cultivated varieties in matK-rps16 and petA-psbJ. And we found that the matK-rps16 sequence can be used as a barcode for the identification of three varieties. In addition, the complete chloroplast genome contains more variations and can be used as a super-barcode to identify these three cultivated varieties. Based on the protein-coding genes, the phylogenetic tree demonstrated that SBP was more closely related to SBW, in the three cultivated varieties. Interestingly, we found that S. baicalensis and S. rehderiana are closely related, which provides new ideas for the development of S. baicalensis. The divergence time analysis showed that the three cultivated varieties diverged at about 0.10 Mya. Overall, this study showed that the complete chloroplast genome could be used as a super-barcode to identify three cultivated varieties of S. baicalensis and provide biological information, and it also contributes to bioprospecting.