Integrative Transcriptome and Metabolome Analysis to Reveal Red Leaf Coloration in Shiya Tea (Adinandra nitida).

BACKGROUND: Adinandra nitida, commonly known as Shiya tea, is a healthcare drink enriched in several phenolic acids and flavonoids, with a purple-red leaf variety possessing a unique flavor and a higher economic value. However, the mechanisms underlying leaf coloration and senescence discoloration remain unknown. METHODS: Here, we compared both varieties of A. nitida (purple-red leaf, RL, and green leaf, GL) at two stages of development. To make sure the difference in leaf color in these four groups, several indexes, leaf colorimetric differences, H2O2 content in leaf cells, and antioxidant enzymes activities (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT)) were measured. With the integration of metabolome and transcriptome becoming a trend, metabolites in four groups were detected using an Ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS) system, and the transcriptome was performed after the extraction of RNA in samples. Afterward, the activities of laccase (LAC) and peroxidase (POD) were measured for further analysis. RESULTS: The deeper or discoloration of leaf color was not caused by the reactive oxygen species (ROS) stress because the H2O2 content was similar for each group. And the SOD and CAT activities improved significantly in young leaves, especially RL_young. Metabolome data showed a large shift in four groups. By focusing on the variation of flavonoids and 1079 metabolites detected in both varieties, along with the accumulation of flavonoids and tannins, proanthocyanins (PAs) were mostly accumulated in young RL. Differential analysis of expressed genes (DEGs) revealed six genes associated with leaf discoloration as hub factors, of which ANRs (ANR1 and ANR2) were positively correlated with the accumulation of PA in RL. CONCLUSIONS: Using integrate analysis of metabolome and transcriptome, our results revealed that six structural genes found in proanthocyanin biosynthesis, two reductases (ANR), two oxidative polymerases (POD64, LAC17) and two TFs (bHLH3 and MYB4) related to biosynthesis and polymerization of proanthocyanins were associated with not only the difference of GL and RL but also the faded coloration in two RL groups (RL_young and RL_old), which provided a foundation for further research on an understanding of the regulatory genes and the enzymes specific for proanthocyanidin biosynthesis, facilitating the genetic engineering of crops for beneficial metabolite accumulation.

Pectic polysaccharides from Biluochun Tea: A comparative study in macromolecular characteristics, fine structures and radical scavenging activities in vitro.

In this study, two acidic Biluochun Tea polysaccharides (BTP-A11 and BTP-A12) were investigated comparatively, which mainly consisted of Rha, Ara, Gal and GalA, possibly suggesting their pectic nature. Structurally, their galacturonan backbones composed of →4)-α-D-GalpA-(1→ and →2)-α-L-Rhap-(1→ were revealed similar, while Ara- and Gal-based branches attached to the O-2 of →2)-α-L-Rhap-(1→ were in distinctive types, proportions, extensibilities and branching degrees. This could lead to their different macromolecular characteristics, where BTP-A11 with higher Mw presented a more hyper-branched chain conformation and relatively higher structural flexibility/compactness, thereby resulting in a lower exclusion effect and an insufficient hydrodynamic volume. Besides, better radical scavenging activities in vitro were also determined for Gal-enriched BTP-A11, where a larger surface area containing more H-donating groups were related to its higher Mw, more hyper-branched conformation, lower DM and higher DA. Therefore, the understanding of structure-property-activity relationships was improved to some degrees for acidic Biluochun Tea polysaccharides, which could be potentially required for more applications in food, medical and cosmetic fields.

Effect of Curcumin on Diabetic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials.

BACKGROUND: Curcumin, a polyphenolic constituent from Curcuma longa, possesses antioxidant, hypolipidemic, and antidiabetic properties and has been reported to protect against diabetic kidney disease (DKD); however, the effect is inconsistent. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of curcumin supplementation on renal function, lipid profile, blood pressure, and glycemic control in DKD. METHODS: A systematic and comprehensive literature search of interrelated randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to July 30, 2021. Two investigators independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. Weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to describe the effect sizes using a fixed-effect model. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA 14.0 and RevMan 5.3. RESULTS: Five RCTs involving 290 participants with DKD were included. Curcumin supplementation significantly improved the serum creatinine (WMD: -0.16 mg/dL, 95% CI: -0.3 to -0.02, P = 0.029, I 2 = 0%, moderate certainty), total cholesterol (WMD: -10.13 mg/dL, 95% CI: -17.84 to -2.14, P = 0.01, I 2 = 0%, moderate certainty), systolic blood pressure (WMD: 3.94 mmHg, 95% CI: 1.86 to 6.01, P < 0.01, I 2 = 33.5%, moderate certainty), and fasting blood glucose (WMD: -8.29 mg/dL, 95% CI: -15.19 to -1.39, P = 0.019, I 2 = 43.7%, moderate certainty) levels; however, it had no significant effects on blood urea nitrogen, proteinuria, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and diastolic blood pressure levels. CONCLUSIONS: Curcumin may provide great potential effects against DKD. More large-scale and high-quality RCTs are required to confirm these findings.

Improvement of information service in hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine by making use of public WeChat platform / 中华医学图书情报杂志

The data of public WeChat public platform in 100 hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine were mined and analyzed by making use of the"Qingbo index" big data platform in terms of the WCI value, number of papers, number of readings, and number of praises. The factors influencing the information service of public WeChat platform in hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine were found by further analyzing and comparing the number of published papers, contents of information service, publication time of papers in such hospitals with Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine as exam-ples. Suggestions were put forward for strengthening the operation and development of public WeChat platform and improving its information service.

Improvement of information service in hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine by making use of public WeChat platform / 中华医学图书情报杂志

The data of public WeChat public platform in 100 hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine were mined and analyzed by making use of the"Qingbo index" big data platform in terms of the WCI value, number of papers, number of readings, and number of praises. The factors influencing the information service of public WeChat platform in hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine were found by further analyzing and comparing the number of published papers, contents of information service, publication time of papers in such hospitals with Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine as exam-ples. Suggestions were put forward for strengthening the operation and development of public WeChat platform and improving its information service.

De novo transcriptome assembly of Schisandra chinensis Turcz. (Baill.).

The fruit of Schisandra chinensis Turcz. (Baill.), namely "Wuweizi" in China, is a well-known herbal medicine and health food. At present, research focused on the extraction of effective chemical component and function identification. Little known about the secondary metabolism gene pathway of chemical composition. Its fruit color usually red, however, the white fruit color variation has been found. It made us interested in exploring which gene change lead to this result. In order to understand the genetic background of S. chinensis, we performed a transcriptome analysis of S. chinensis, including red fruit and skin of 'Yanhong' cultivar and white fruit and skin of 'Jinwuwei'. We obtained 26.4 GB raw data (NCBI accession number: SSR4449123). De novo transcriptome assembly using Trinity revealed 92,415 transcripts and generated 71,443 unigenes. All unigenes were annotated in database. This study provides transcriptome of S. chinensis, which might be useful for comparative transcriptome analyses and understand gene expression of secondary metabolites.

Effect Evaluation on Association Rules of Symptoms in TCM Treatment of Viral Pneumonia / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

This study was aimed to explore an effect evaluation method of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of viral pneumonia. Association rules were used to analyze the therapeutic effect of heat, stagnation, and phlegm related syndromes from 297 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) pneumonia children before and after treatment. The results showed that through the comparison of the frequent itemset of heat, stagnation, and phlegm related syn-dromes, in part of the time, the support degree of the experimental group was obviously lower than that in the con-trol group (P < 0.05). The frequent itemset of the experimental group disappeared 1~3 d earlier than the control group, which indicated the effect in the experimental group was better than the control group. It was concluded that association rules can be used for evaluating therapeutic effect of TCM in treatment of viral pneumonia. The effect evaluation method based on association rules of symptoms is more in line with the syndrome differentiation of TCM.

Evaluation by survival analysis on effect of traditional Chinese medicine in treating children with respiratory syncytial viral pneumonia of phlegm-heat blocking Fei syndrome / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To objectively evaluate the clinical effect of traditional Chinese medicine in treating children's respiratory syncytial viral pneumonia (RSVP) of phlegm-heat blocking Fei syndrome (PHBFS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A single-blinded multi-center, blocked, randomized and parallel-controlled method was adopted. The clinical study was carried out on 206 children with RSVP-PHBFS who were assigned to two groups, 108 in the test group treated through intravenous dripping of Qingkailing Injection () in combination of oral intake of Er'tong Qingfei Oral Liquid () and 98 in the control group with intravenous dripping of ribavirin injection in combination with oral intake of potassium guaiacol sulfonate oral liquid, all for 10 days. The clinical efficacy was evaluated and compared at the end of the trial from various aspects by three methods including comprehensive efficacy, post-treatment main symptoms score difference and survival analysis of the main symptoms.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After treatment, in the test group, 60 patients were cured, 36 markedly alleviated, and 12 improved. In the control group, 41 were cured, 38 markedly alleviated, 18 improved and 1 unchanged. Comparison on the comprehensive efficacy between the two groups shows a better efficacy in the test group (chi(2)=4.4527, P=0.0348). Scores of the main symptoms were lowered after treatment in both groups, the difference was 22.41+/-4.99 scores in the test group and 17.61+/-6.34 scores in the control group, being more significant in the former (t=-5.99, P<0.01). Survival analysis shows that there was significant difference between the two groups in the effect initiating time on such symptoms as fever, cough, copious sputum, shortness of breath, and rales, which was earlier in the test group (P<0.01 or P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Evaluation of the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine in treating children with RSVP-PHBFS by using the three methods jointly could better show the objectivity of the evaluation.</p>

QTL analysis of ergot resistance in sorghum.

Sorghum ergot, caused predominantly by Claviceps africana Frederickson, Mantle, de Milliano, is a significant threat to the sorghum industry worldwide. The objectives of this study were firstly, to identify molecular markers linked to ergot resistance and to two pollen traits, pollen quantity (PQ) and pollen viability (PV), and secondly, to assess the relationship between the two pollen traits and ergot resistance in sorghum. A genetic linkage map of sorghum RIL population R931945-2-2 x IS 8525 (resistance source) was constructed using 303 markers including 36 SSR, 117 AFLP , 148 DArT and two morphological trait loci. Composite interval mapping identified nine, five, and four QTL linked to molecular markers for percentage ergot infection (PCERGOT), PQ and PV, respectively, at a LOD >2.0. Co-location/linkage of QTL were identified on four chromosomes while other QTL for the three traits mapped independently, indicating that both pollen and non pollen-based mechanisms of ergot resistance were operating in this sorghum population. Of the nine QTL identified for PCERGOT, five were identified using the overall data set while four were specific to the group data sets defined by temperature and humidity. QTL identified on SBI-02 and SBI-06 were further validated in additional populations. This is the first report of QTL associated with ergot resistance in sorghum. The markers reported herein could be used for marker-assisted selection for this important disease of sorghum.

The changes of three endogenous hormones during flower bud differentiation of Schisandga chinensis / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To reveal the relation between endogenous hormones and the flower bud differentiation in Schisandga chinensis.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Top buds of extremely short branch and axillary buds of long branch in the same plant of S. chinensis were used as material and the contents of endogenous hormones were measured during different periods of the flower bud differentiation with HPLC.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The result showed that flower bud differentiation and the formation of female flower were inhibited by high concentration of GA3 and were promoted by high concentration of ABA or ZT. Low ratio of GA3/ABA has the same result.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>There was a correlation between endogenous hormones and the flower bud differentiation of S. chinensis.</p>