Response of Cnidium officinale Makino Plants to Heat Stress and Selection of Superior Clones Using Morphological and Molecular Analysis.

Cnidium officinale is a medicinal plant cultivated for its rhizomes, which are used in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean traditional medicine. This medicinal crop is highly susceptible to heat stress and cannot be cultivated in regions of higher temperatures. In the present study, ten clones from Korea (clones 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 14, 15, 22, and 26) were evaluated for their heat tolerance in vitro at 25, 30, 32.5, and 35 °C, and growth characteristics including plant height, the number of leaves and roots were evaluated. The initial experiment was conducted to find the threshold level for significant damage to the plant, while the second experiment was to screen the germplasm to select heat-tolerant clones. Most of the clones were sensitive to heat stress (clones 1, 2, 8, 11, 14, 15, 22, and 26), and few clones (clones 5 and 6) could perform well at an elevated temperature of 32.5 °C. Molecular analysis of the expression of heat-responsive genes, including heat shock protein (CoHSP), catalase (CoCAT), and cystine protease (CoCP), was performed by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) carried out with heat-tolerant and heat-sensitive clones. Two of the heat-tolerant clones (clones 5 and 6) showed significant expression of CoHSP and CoCAT genes at elevated temperature treatment. These clones can be used for further evaluation and cultivation.

Establishment of an Efficient In Vitro Propagation of Cnidium officinale Makino and Selection of Superior Clones through Flow Cytometric Assessment of DNA Content.

Cnidium officinale is a valuable medicinal plant cultivated in Asia for its rhizomes. This study reports the in vitro regeneration of Cnidium officinale plants and the induction of rhizomes from microshoots. The rhizomatous buds of Cnidium officinale induced multiple shoots on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.5 mg L-1 BA, which led to the regeneration of plants within four weeks of culture. After four weeks of culture, the plants were assessed for fresh weight, the number of leaves, the number of roots, and the length of roots to compare the performance of the different clones. The clones with good growth characteristics were selected with the aid of a flow cytometric analysis of 2C nuclear DNA content. The plants bearing high DNA values showed better growth characteristics. Various factors, namely, sucrose concentration (30, 50, 70, and 90 g L-1), ABA (0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg L-1), the synergistic effects of BA (1.0 mg L-1) + NAA (0.5 mg L-1) and BA (1.0 mg L-1) + NAA (0.5 mg L-1) + ABA (1.0 mg L-1) with or without activated charcoal (1 g L-1), and light and dark incubation were tested on rhizome formation from microshoots. The results of the above experiments suggest that MS medium supplemented with 50 g L-1 sucrose, 1.0 mg L-1 ABA, and 1 g L-1 AC is good for the induction of rhizomes from the shoots of Cnidium officinale. Plantlets with rhizomes were successfully transferred to pots, and they showed 100% survival.

Dexamethasone reduces infectious bursal disease mortality in chickens.

Very virulent infectious bursal disease virus (vvIBDV) causes high mortality in chickens but measures to reduce the mortality have not been explored. Chickens (8-9 weeks) were treated with 3 agents before and during vvIBDV inoculation. Dexamethasone treatment reduced the mortality of infected chickens (40.7% vs. 3.7%; p < 0.001), but treatment with aspirin or vitamin E plus selenium did not affect the mortality. The bursa of Fabricius appeared to have shrunk in both dead and surviving chickens (p < 0.01). The results indicate that dexamethasone can reduce mortality in vvIBDV-infected chickens and may provide therapeutic clues for saving individual birds infected by the virus.

A combination of Olea europaea leaf extract and Spirodela polyrhiza extract alleviates atopic dermatitis by modulating immune balance and skin barrier function in a 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene-induced murine model.

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease in humans. Although Olea europaea leaf extract (OLE) and Spirodela polyrhiza extract (SPE) have been used to protect against skin damage, the effects of their combined administration on atopic dermatitis have yet to studied. PURPOSE: In this study, we evaluated the potential therapeutic effects of an OLE and SPE combination on the progression of atopic dermatitis and the possible mechanisms underlying these effects in 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (DNCB)-treated NC/Nga mice. METHODS: Atopic dermatitis was induced by topical application of 0.2% w/v DNCB prepared in an olive oil:acetone solution (1:3), and thereafter OLE, SPE and OLE + SPE were administered orally for 5 weeks. We determined atopic dermatitis symptoms, serum IgE levels, and levels of cytokine- and gene expression in the dorsal skin and splenocytes, and performed histological and immune cell subtype analyses. The expression of skin barrier-related proteins (filaggrin, sirtuin 1, and claudin 1) was also evaluated. RESULTS: The OLE + SPE combination significantly ameliorated atopic dermatitis symptoms, including dermatitis scores, and reduced epidermal thickness and infiltration of different inflammatory cells in mice with DNCB-induced atopic dermatitis. It also significantly reduced the number of CD4+, CD8+, and CD4+/CD69+ T cells; immunoglobulin E-producing B cells (CD23+/B220+) in the axillary lymph nodes; CD3+ T-cell eosinophils (chemokine-chemokine receptor 3+/CD11b+) in the skin; and CD3+ T cells, immunoglobulin E-producing B cells (CD23+/B220+), and eosinophils in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Additionally, the experimental combination lowered levels of serum immunoglobulin E and histamine, as well as Th2-mediated cytokines, and interleukin-4, -5, and -13, whereas it increased the levels of Th1-mediated cytokine interferon-γ in splenocytes. Furthermore, the preparation significantly restored expression of the skin barrier-related proteins filaggrin, sirtuin 1, and claudin 1, and also reduced the expression of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 and chemokine-chemokine receptor 3, as well as the pruritus-related cytokine interleukin-31 and interleukin-31 receptor, in atopic dermatitis skin lesions. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our findings indicate that administration of a combination of OLE and SPE can alleviate atopic dermatitis symptoms by regulating immune balance and skin barrier function and may be an effective therapeutic option for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

Heo Jun: physician of the people.

Heo Jun was a Korean physician during the Joseon Dynasty in the early seventeenth century. Among his many works is the Dongui Bogam which was a compendium of Eastern medicine up until that time. The encyclopedia was also one of the first attempts to improve accessibility to medicine and emphasize preventative care in Korean Medicine. Although he is not well-known outside of Asia, Heo can potentially serve as a role model to Western medical students.

Biflavonoid-rich fraction from Daphne pseudomezereum var. koreana Hamaya exerts anti-inflammatory effect in an experimental animal model of allergic asthma.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Daphne pseudomezereum var. koreana Hamaya is distributed in the Gangwon-do of South Korea and is traditionally used to treat chronic inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. AIM OF THE STUDY: We investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of biflavonoid-rich fraction (BF) obtained from an extract of D. pseudomezereum leaves on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and mouse model of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic asthma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Neochamaejasmin B (NB) and chamaejasmin D (CD) were spectroscopically characterized as major components of BF obtained from the leaves of D. pseudomezereum. RAW264.7 cells pretreated with NB, CD and BF and activated by LPS (500 ng/ml) were used to assess the anti-inflammatory effects of these materials in vitro. To evaluate the protective effect of BF on allergic asthma, female BALB/c mice were sensitized to OVA by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection and treated with BF by oral administration (15 or 30 mg/kg). RESULTS: Pretreatment with BF inhibited LPS-stimulated nitric oxide (NO), TNF-α and IL-6, and led to upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in RAW264.7 macrophages. Orally administered BF significantly inhibited the recruitment of eosinophils and the production of IL-5, IL-6, IL-13 and MCP-1 as judged by the analysis of BALF from OVA-induced asthma animal model. BF also decreased the levels of IgE in the serum of asthmatic mice. BF suppressed the influx of inflammatory cells into nearby airways and the hypersecretion of mucus by the airway epithelium of asthmatic mice. In addition, the increase in Penh in asthmatic mice was reduced by BF administration. Furthermore, BF led to Nrf2 activation and HO-1 induction in the lungs of mice. CONCLUSIONS: These data have shown the anti-asthmatic effects of BF, and therefore we expect that BF may be a potential candidate as a natural drug/nutraceutical for the prevention and treatment of allergic asthma.

Anti-influenza diarylheptanoids from the bark of Alnus japonica.

This study to investigate anti-influenza components from the bark of Alnus japonica resulted in the isolation of two rare acylated diarylheptanoids, named oregonoyl A (5) and oregonoyl B (6), along with nine known compounds (1-4 and 7-11). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic and chemical methods. Antiviral testing of compounds 1-11 against KBNP-0028 (H9N2) avian influenza virus showed that platyphyllone (10) was strongly active, and platyphyllonol-5-xylopyranoside (9) was moderately active against KBNP-0028 as compared with the positive control, zanamivir, respectively.