A Preliminary Survey of Transfer RNA Modifications and Modifying Enzymes of the Tropical Plant Cocos nucifera L.

The coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is a commercial crop widely distributed among coastal tropical regions. It provides millions of farmers with food, fuel, cosmetics, folk medicine, and building materials. Among these, oil and palm sugar are representative extracts. However, this unique living species of Cocos has only been preliminarily studied at molecular levels. Benefiting from the genomic sequence data published in 2017 and 2021, we investigated the transfer RNA (tRNA) modifications and modifying enzymes of the coconut in this survey. An extraction method for the tRNA pool from coconut flesh was built. In total, 33 species of modified nucleosides and 66 homologous genes of modifying enzymes were confirmed using a nucleoside analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-HRMS) and homologous protein sequence alignment. The positions of tRNA modifications, including pseudouridines, were preliminarily mapped using a oligonucleotide analysis, and the features of their modifying enzymes were summarized. Interestingly, we found that the gene encoding the modifying enzyme of 2'-O-ribosyladenosine at the 64th position of tRNA (Ar(p)64) was uniquely overexpressed under high-salinity stress. In contrast, most other tRNA-modifying enzymes were downregulated with mining transcriptomic sequencing data. According to previous physiological studies of Ar(p)64, the coconut appears to enhance the quality control of the translation process when subjected to high-salinity stress. We hope this survey can help advance research on tRNA modification and scientific studies of the coconut, as well as thinking of the safety and nutritional value of naturally modified nucleosides.

By-Product of the Red Ginseng Manufacturing Process as Potential Material for Use as Cosmetics: Chemical Profiling and In Vitro Antioxidant and Whitening Activities.

Red ginseng (RG), which is obtained from heated Panax ginseng and is produced by steaming followed by drying, is a valuable herb in Asian countries. Steamed ginseng dew (SGD) is a by-product produced in processing red ginseng. In the present study, phytochemical profiling of extracts of red ginseng and steamed ginseng dew was carried out using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and rapid resolution liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RRLC-Q-TOF-MS) analysis. Additionally, antioxidant activities (DPPH, ·OH, and ABTS scavenging ability) and whitening activities (tyrosinase and elastase inhibitory activity) were analyzed. Phytochemical profiling revealed the presence of 66 and 28 compounds that were non-saponin components in chloroform extracts of red ginseng and steamed ginseng dew (RG-CE and SGD-CE), respectively. Meanwhile, there were 20 ginsenosides identified in n-butanol extracts of red ginseng and steamed ginseng dew (RG-NBE and SGD-NBE). By comparing the different polar extracts of red ginseng and steamed ginseng dew, it was found that the ethyl acetate extract of red ginseng (RG-EAE) had the best antioxidant capacity and whitening effect, the water extract of steamed ginseng dew (SGD-WE) had stronger antioxidant capacity, and the SGD-NBE and SGD-CE had a better whitening effect. This study shows that RG and SGD have tremendous potential to be used in the cosmetic industries.

An integrated study of Shenling Baizhu San against hyperuricemia: Efficacy evaluation, core target identification and active component discovery.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Shenling Baizhu San (SLBZ) is a famous Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formula that strengthens the spleen for replenishing qi, removing dampness, and inducing diuresis to relieve diarrhea. Combining the TCM interpretation that dampness is a vital pathogenesis factor in hyperuricemia occurrence and development, SLBZ has excellent potential against hyperuricemia from the perspective of TCM theories. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of SLBZ against hyperuricemia and its possible mechanism with emphasis on the active components and the core targets. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present study, we employed meta-analysis and a hyperuricemia quail model to evaluate the uric acid-lowering effect of SLBZ. Bodyweight, serum uric acid, and excreta uric acid levels in quails were assessed. Subsequently, we analyzed the potential active components and core targets of SLBZ against hyperuricemia by network pharmacology and calculated their interaction using molecular docking. Furthermore, the hyperuricemia rats treated with interfering agents of core targets were established to determine the central role of selected targets in hyperuricemia progression. Besides, we isolated and characterized the primary renal tubular epithelial cells of quails to verify the active components and core targets of SLBZ against hyperuricemia. Western blotting was used to observe the expression of core targets treated with active components under the stimulation of interfering agents. RESULTS: Data from meta-analysis and animal experiments showed that SLBZ could work effectively against hyperuricemia. Hyperuricemia quails treated with SLBZ displayed significantly reduced serum uric acid levels accompanied by increased excretion of uric acid. According to network pharmacology and molecular docking results, 34 potential active components and the core target peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) for SLBZ against hyperuricemia were identified. The decreased serum uric acid levels in hyperuricemia rats treated with rosiglitazone, an agonist of PPARγ, confirms the essential role of PPARγ in the pathological process of hyperuricemia. Moreover, we first successfully isolated and characterized the primary renal tubular epithelial cells of quails and observed enhanced phosphorylation of PPARγ at Ser273 in cells handled with high-level uric acid. Whereas, the enhanced expression of p-PPARγ Ser273 could be down-regulated by luteolin and naringenin, two active components of SLBZ against hyperuricemia. CONCLUSION: In summary, SLBZ is a promising anti-hyperuricemia agent, and luteolin and naringenin are the active components for SLBZ against hyperuricemia by down-regulating phosphorylation of PPARγ at Ser273.

Synthesis, stability and anti-fatigue activity of selenium nanoparticles stabilized by Lycium barbarum polysaccharides.

Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) with different molecular weights (LBP1, LBP2 and LBP3) of 92,441 Da, 7714 Da, and 3188 Da were used as stabilizers and capping agents to prepare uniformly dispersed selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs), and determined the storage stability. In addition, the anti-fatigue activity of LBP-decorated SeNPs with the best stability (LBP1-SeNPs) was estimated by using forced swimming test. The results showed that LBP1-SeNPs exhibited smaller particle size and more excellent stability than those of LBP2-SeNPs and LBP3-SeNPs when the storage time was extended to 30 days, and the average particle size was maintained at about 105.4 nm. The exhaustion swimming time of all tested dose groups of LBP1-SeNPs was significantly longer than the control group (p < 0.05), and the high-dose group among them was even obviously longer than the positive group (p < 0.05). The results of glycogen, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), blood lactic acid (BLA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were further confirmed that LBP1-SeNPs could relieve fatigue by increasing the reserve of glycogen, enhancing antioxidant enzyme levels and regulating metabolic mechanism. These results demonstrated that LBP1-SeNPs could be developed as a potential anti-fatigue nutritional supplement.

[Effect of single-herb traditional Chinese medicine for eliminating dampness on metabolism of uric acid].

Through literature review, it was found that there were many literature reports on the effect of single-herb traditional Chinese medicine for lowering uric acid in comparison with other single-herb traditional Chinese medicines. Then what is the relationship between single-herb traditional Chinese medicines for eliminating dampness and uric acid? How do they play a role in lowering uric acid? In this study, traditional Chinese medicines for eliminating dampness in the 2015 Chinese Pharmacopoeia and the innovative textbook of Clinical Chinese Pharmacy for Chinese medicine colleges and universities in the new century were selected as the research objects, and articles about the effect of single-herb traditional Chinese medicines for eliminating dampness in the treatment of hyperuricemia were searched through CNKI, WanFang and VIP. Afterwards, Excel(2016) was used to establish a database, and Excel screening tool was used to extract the classification statistics of its uric acid lowering effect, pharmacodynamic sites, uric acid lowering pathway and mechanism, so as to clarify the relationship between single-herb traditional Chinese medicines for eliminating dampness and uric acid as well as their mechanism on lowering uric acid. The results showed that there were 16 kinds of traditional Chinese medicines with uric acid lowering effect, accounting for 23.88% of the 67 kinds of traditional Chinese medicines for eliminating dampness. Other medicines with the uric acid lowering effect included traditional Chinese medicine extracts and chemical components. The main ways of reducing uric acid included: inhibiting uric acid synthesis and promoting uric acid excretion; mechanism of action was mainly regulating the two key enzymes generated by uric acid and the ion transporters excreted by uric acid. Therefore, it can be seen that this kind of traditional Chinese medicines have a clear effect in reducing uric acid, providing new ideas for drug screening, prescription compatibility and target determination for the treatment of hyperuricemia as well as a theoretical basis for the clinical treatment and research of hyperuricemia.