Active fractions from Jingfang Baidu Powder alleviate Klebsiella-induced Pneumonia by inhibiting TLR4/Myd88-ERK signaling pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Jingfang Baidu Powder (JFBDP) is a classic traditional Chinese medicine prescription. Although Jingfang Baidu powder obtained a general consensus on clinical efficacy in treating pneumonia, there were many Chinese herbal drugs in formula, complex components, and large oral dosage, which brings certain obstacles to clinical application. AIM OF THE STUDY: Therefore, screening of the active fraction that exerts anti-pneumonia helps improve the pharmaceutical preparation, improve the treatment compliance of patients, and further contribute to the clinical application, and the screening of the new active ingredients with anti-pneumonia. The histopathological observation, real-time quantitative PCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence were applied to evaluate the anti-pneumonia efficacy of active fractions from JFBDP. RESULTS: Three fractions from JFBDP inhibit the gene expression of IL-1ß, IL-10, CCL3, CCL5, and CCL22 in lung tissue infected by Klebsiella at various degrees, and presented a good dose-response relationship. JF50 showed stronger anti-inflammatory effects among three fractions including JF30, JF50, and JF75. Besides, JF50 significantly reduced the protein expression of TLR4 and Myd88 in lung tissue infected with Klebsiella, and it also significantly inhibited p-ERK and p-NF-κB p65. JF50 significantly inhibits the protein expression of Caspase 3, Caspase 8, and Caspase 9 in lung tissue infected with Klebsiella at the dose of 25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg. CONCLUSION: JF50 improves lung pathological damage in Klebsiella pneumonia mice by inhibiting the TLR4/Myd88/NF-κB-ERK signaling pathway, and inhibiting apoptosis of lung tissue cells. These findings provide a reference for further exploring the active substance basis of Jingfang Baidu Powder in treating bacterial pneumonia.

The Contrasting Effects of Alum-Treated Chicken Manures and KH2PO4 on Phosphorus Behavior in Soils.

Alum [KAl(SO)⋅12HO] is often added to chicken manure to limit P solubility after land application. This is generally ascribed to the formation of Al-PO complexes. However, Al-PO complex formation could be affected by the matrix of chicken manure, which varies with animal diet. Alum was added to KHPO (as a reference material) and two manures from typical chicken farms in China, one from an intensive farm (CMIF) and another from free-ranging chickens (CMFR). These were subsequently incubated with soils for 100 d to investigate P transformations. Alum reduced water-soluble colorimetrically reactive phosphorus (RP) from soils amended with manure more effectively than in soils amended with KHPO. Alum addition lowered Mehlich-3 RP in soils with CMFR but had no influence on Mehlich-3 RP in CMIF- or KHPO-amended soils. A comparison of P in digested Mehlich-3 extracts with RP in undigested samples showed significantly increased P in digests of alum-treated CMFR only. Fractionation data indicated that alum treatment increased P in the NHF-RP (Al-P) fraction only in soils with KHPO, but not in soils with manure treatments. Furthermore, NaOH-extracted nonreactive P was markedly higher in soil with alum-treated CMFR relative to normal CMFR. The CMFR manure was assumed to contain higher concentrations of organic P because these chickens were fed grains only. These results suggest that the formation of alum-organic P complexes may reduce P solubility. By comparing alum-treated KHPO and manures, it appears that organic matter in manure could interfere with the formation of Al-PO complexes.

[Effects of orchinol on invasion, migration and Wnt3a/ß-catenin signaling pathway of human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells].

The purpose of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of the main 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene orchinol isolated from Spiranthes sinensis Radix et Herba on the invasion and migration of human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells and its preliminary molecular mechanism. SGC-7901 cells were cultured in vitro, after the cells were treated with different final concentrations(5, 10, 20, 40, 80 µmol·L⁻¹) of orchinol for 24, 48 or 72 hours, the effect of orchinol on cell viability was measured by MTT assay. Wound healing and Transwell assays were performed to determine the effects of different final concentrations(5, 10, 20, 40 µmol·L⁻¹) of orchinol for 48 hour on invasion and migration abilities of SGC-7901 cells, respectively. The protein expression levels of ß-catenin, Wnt-3α, DvL2, cyclinD1 and GSK-3ß were detected by Western blot. The results showed that 5-80 µmol·L⁻¹ orchinol inhibited the viability of SGC-7901 cells in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner, and the IC58 values of 24, 48 and 72 hours were 77.79, 42.96 and 7.85 µmol·L⁻¹, respectively. Compared with the control group, the ability of invasion and migration of SGC-7901 cells was significantly inhibited after treated with 5, 10 and 20 µmol·L⁻¹ orchinol for 48 hours (P<0.05, P<0.01), and the dose-effect relationship was observed. The results of Western blot showed that orchinol could significantly down-regulate the protein expression levels of ß-catenin, Wnt3a, DvL2 and cyclinD1, and up-regulate the protein expression level of GSK-3ß(P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.001). The above results suggest that orchinol can obviously inhibit the invasion and migration of SGC-7901 cells, which may be related to its inhibition of Wnt3a/ß-catenin signaling pathway and the proteins expression of downstream genes.

Ultrasound-assisted heating extraction of pectin from grapefruit peel: optimization and comparison with the conventional method.

The extraction of pectin from grapefruit peel by ultrasound-assisted heating extraction (UAHE) was investigated using response surface methodology and compared with the conventional heating extraction (CHE). The optimized conditions were power intensity of 12.56 W/cm(2), extraction temperature of 66.71°C, and sonication time of 27.95 min. The experimental optimized yield was 27.34%, which was well matched with the predicted value (27.46%). Compared with CHE, UAHE provided higher yield increased by 16.34% at the temperature lowered by 13.3°C and the time shortened by 37.78%. Image studies showed that pectin extracted by UAHE showed better color and more loosen microstructure compared to that extracted by CHE, although Fourier Transform Infrared Analysis indicated insignificant difference in their chemical structures. Furthermore, UAHE pectin possessed lower viscosity, molecular weight and degree of esterification, but higher degree of branching and purity than CHE pectin, indicating that the former was preliminarily modified during the extraction process.

Ultrasound effects on the degradation kinetics, structure and rheological properties of apple pectin.

The effects of ultrasound on the molecular weight of apple pectin were investigated. The structure and rheological properties of the degradation products were also tentatively identified by High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Photodiode Array Detector (HPLC-PAD), Infrared spectroscopy (IR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and Rheometer. The results indicated that the weight-average molecular weight of apple pectin decreased obviously after ultrasound treatment. The molecular weight of degradation products had a uniform and narrow distribution. Ultrasound intensity and temperature play an important role in the degradation reaction. Degradation kinetics model of apple pectin fitted to 1/M(t) - 1/M(0) = kt from 5 to 45 °C. The degree of methylation of apple pectin reduced according to IR analysis when ultrasound was applied. Ultrasound treatment could not alter the primary structure of apple pectin according to the results determined by HPLC, IR and NMR. Meanwhile, the viscosity of apple pectin was 10(3) times as large as that of ultrasound-treated apple pectin. The ultrasound-treated apple pectin showed predominantly viscous responses (G' < G") over the same frequency range. The results suggested that ultrasound provided a viable alternative method for the modification of pectin.

[Analysis of the chemical constituents of essential oil from Ligustrum quihoui by GC-MS].

OBJECTIVE: [corrected] To study the chemical constituents of essential oil from Ligustrum quihoui. METHODS: Essential oil was extracted by steam distillation (SD). The chemical constituents of essential oil was analyzed by GC-MS. RESULTS: The chemical components in the oil were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by GC-MS, 76 components were seperated and 35 components were identified. The main components are n-Hexadecanoic acid (17.28%), (Z, Z, Z)-9, 12, 15-Octadecatrienoic acid, ethyl ester (12.13%), Phytol (5.80%). CONCLUSION: The method is simple, reliable and with good reprodutivity.

[Studies on chemical constituents of Dendranthema indicum var. aromaticum].

OBJECTIVE: To study chemical constituents of Dendranthema indicum var. aromaticum. METHODS: The constituents were separated and purified by column chromatography with silica gel and Semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were identified on the basis of physical-chemical properties and spectral data. RESULTS: Seven compounds were isolated and identified as acacetin, apignein, acacetin-7-O-beta-D-glucopy ranoside, apignein-7-O-beta-D-glucopy ranosids, luteolin, beta-sitosterol and daucosterol. CONCLUSION: Apigenin, acacetin-7-O-beta-D-glucopy ranoside and apignein-7-O-beta-D-glucopy ranoside are obtained from the plant for the first time.

[Analysis of the chemical constituents of essential oil from Magnolia biondii by GC-MS].

OBJECTIVE: The chemical components of essential oil from Magnolia biondii were analyzed by GC-MS. METHODS: Essential oil was extracted by steam distillation (SD). The chemical components of essential oil were analyzed by GC-MS. RESULTS: The chemical components in the oil were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by GC-MS. 63 components were separated and 50 components were identified. The main components were Eucalyptol (28.92%), P-pinene (12.39%), alpha-Terpineol (8.28%). CONCLUSION: This is the first time to adopt GC-MS to analyze the chemical components of volatile oil of Magnolia biondii, and this study can provide science basis for further research development of Magnolia biondii.