Genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analysis of Oldenlandia corymbosa reveals the biosynthesis and mode of action of anti-cancer metabolites.

Plants accumulate a vast array of secondary metabolites, which constitute a natural resource for pharmaceuticals. Oldenlandia corymbosa belongs to the Rubiaceae family, and has been used in traditional medicine to treat different diseases, including cancer. However, the active metabolites of the plant, their biosynthetic pathway and mode of action in cancer are unknown. To fill these gaps, we exposed this plant to eight different stress conditions and combined different omics data capturing gene expression, metabolic profiles, and anti-cancer activity. Our results show that O. corymbosa extracts are active against breast cancer cell lines and that ursolic acid is responsible for this activity. Moreover, we assembled a high-quality genome and uncovered two genes involved in the biosynthesis of ursolic acid. Finally, we also revealed that ursolic acid causes mitotic catastrophe in cancer cells and identified three high-confidence protein binding targets by Cellular Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA) and reverse docking. Altogether, these results constitute a valuable resource to further characterize the biosynthesis of active metabolites in the Oldenlandia group, while the mode of action of ursolic acid will allow us to further develop this valuable compound.

Isolation of adenosine, iso-sinensetin and dimethylguanosine with antioxidant and HIV-1 protease inhibiting activities from fruiting bodies of Cordyceps militaris.

According to previous studies, a close relationship between oxidative stress and AIDS suggests that antioxidants might play an important role in the treatment of AIDS. Cordyceps militaris was selected from nine edible mushrooms by assay of inhibition of erythrocyte hemolysis. Macroporous adsorption resin and HPLC were used to purify three micromolecular compounds named L3a, L3b and L3c. L3a was identified to be adenosine with the molecular formula C(10)H(13)N(5)O(4); L3b was 6,7,2',4',5'-pentamethoxyflavone with the molecular formula C(20)H(20)O(7), and L3c was dimethylguanosine with the molecular formula C(12)H(17)N(5)O(5). The compound 6,7,2',4',5'-pentamethoxyflavone was first isolated from C. militaris. The assay of inhibition of HIV-1 protease (HIV-1 PR) was based on the fact that the expression of this enzyme can inhibit the growth of E. coli. This is a new screening system for HIV-1 PR inhibitors. Both L3a and L3b showed high inhibition to HIV-1 PR. These compounds could be new anti-HIV-1 PR drugs.

First isolation of tryptophan from edible lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn) rhizomes and demonstration of its antioxidant effects.

Various vegetables were investigated for antioxidant activities in two assays, namely, inhibition of lysis of erythrocytes induced by peroxyl radicals and inhibition of lipid peroxidation. The lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn) rhizome showed the strongest antioxidant activity in both assays. The crude extract (L) of lotus rhizome was chromatographed on a macroporous adsorption resin named NKA. The resulting three fractions were designated L1, L2 and L3, respectively. L2 showed the highest antioxidant activity and was further fractionated by Sephadex LH-20 chromatography. Eight fractions were obtained and named from L2a to L2h, respectively. L2c showed the strongest activity in inhibiting hemolysis of erythrocytes and was further purified by high-performance liquid chromatography. L2c-3 was identified as tryptophan. Its inhibitory concentration of 50% (IC(50)) value in inhibiting hemolysis of erythrocytes was 156.3 microg/ml (i.e. 765.4 microM). This is the first report on isolation of tryptophan from the aqueous extract of lotus rhizome and demonstration of their antioxidant activities.

[The influence of conception of time - space - orientation in pre - Qin society on traditional Chinese medicine theories].

The article discusses the views of the time - space - orientation of Wuxing (Five - Evolutive Phase), Yin - yang and Sifeng (Four - Wind), and its influence on traditional Chinese medical theories. It is shown that traditional Chinese medical theories are developed and established on the basis of the science and technology and social thought of the pre - Qin period, with some contents to be further discussed, and bias would be resulted if the issue is interpreted by concepts of post - Qin period.

[Immunological identification of tiger-bone].

Anti-tiger sera were prepared by using tiger serum proteins to immunize the rabbits. Tiger-bone can be identified by the specific serological reaction between the anti-tiger sera and the tiger-bone proteins.

Determination of trace selenium in human body by anodic stripping voltammetry at gold-disc electrode.

For determination of trace Se we used high-pressure wet digester to pretreat the specimens obtained from the human body. This method is very effective in preventing loss of Se by volatilization which often occurs in the sample pretreatment. We studied the method of using anodic stripping voltammetry at gold-disc electrode to measure the trace Se present in the human body and found it to be the optimal procedure. The detection limitation was about 2 x 10(-8) g/L, the recovery rate of Se about 96.6 +/- 6.7% (chi +/- s), and the coefficient of variation CV = 7.0%.