Luteolin: A promising multifunctional natural flavonoid for human diseases.

Natural products are closely associated with human health. Luteolin (LUT), a flavonoid polyphenolic compound, is widely found in fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs. It is noteworthy that LUT exhibits a variety of beneficial pharmacological properties and holds significant potential for clinical applications, particularly in antitumor, anti-convulsion, diabetes control, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotection, anti-oxidation, anti-cardiovascular, and other aspects. The potential mechanism of action has been partially elucidated, including the mediation of NF-κB, toll-like receptor, MAPK, Wnt/ß-catenin, PI3K/Akt, AMPK/mTOR, and Nrf-2, among others. The review that aimed to comprehensively consolidate essential information on natural sources, pharmacological effects, therapeutic and preventive potential, as well as potential mechanisms of LUT. The objective is to establish a theoretical basis for the continued development and application of LUT.

Effects of saponins from Chinese herbal medicines on signal transduction pathways in cancer: A review.

Cancer poses a serious threat to human health, and the search for safe and effective drugs for its treatment has aroused interest and become a long-term goal. Traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCM), an ancient science with unique anti-cancer advantages, has achieved outstanding results in long-term clinical practice. Accumulating evidence shows that saponins are key bioactive components in TCM and have great research and development applications for their significant role in the treatment of cancer. Saponins are a class of glycosides comprising nonpolar triterpenes or sterols attached to hydrophilic oligosaccharide groups that exert antitumor effects by targeting the NF-κB, PI3Ks-Akt-mTOR, MAPK, Wnt-ß-catenin, JAK-STAT3, APMK, p53, and EGFR signaling pathways. Presently, few advances have been made in physiological and pathological studies on the effect of saponins on signal transduction pathways involved in cancer treatment. This paper reviews the phytochemistry and extraction methods of saponins of TCM and their effects on signal transduction pathways in cancer. It aims to provide theoretical support for in-depth studies on the anticancer effects of saponins.

Pectate Lyase Gene VvPL1 Plays a Role in Fruit Cracking of Table Grapes.

Fruit cracking seriously affects the commercial value of table grapes. To explore whether cell wall disassembly influences grape berry cracking, first, the differences in the cell wall metabolism were compared between cracking-resistant "Shennongjinhuanghou" (SN) and cracking-susceptible "Xiangfei" (XF) varieties. Our results showed that cell wall disassembly events were extremely different between "SN" and "XF." The cracking-resistant "SN" had a higher pectinmethylesterase activity in the early stage and lower polygalacturonase, ß-galactosidase, pectate lyase, and cellulase activities from veraison, cooperatively yielding higher ionically bound pectin, covalently bound pectin, hemicellulose, and lower water-soluble pectin, leading to a stronger skin break force and elasticity and conferring "SN" with higher cracking resistance. Furthermore, the function of the VvPL1 gene in fruit cracking was verified by heterologously transforming tomatoes. The transgenic experiment showed that overexpressed fruits had a higher activity of pectate lyase from the breaking stage and a lower level of covalently bound pectin, ionically bound pectin, cellulose, and hemicellulose and a higher level of water-soluble pectin at the red ripe stage, which resulted in a significantly reduced skin break force and flesh firmness and increased fruit cracking incidences. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that the cracking susceptibility of the grape berry is closely related to cell wall disassembly events and VvPL1 plays an important role in fruit cracking.

Metabolomic Analysis of the Urine from Rats with Collagen-Induced Arthritis with the Effective Part of Caulophyllum robustum Maxim.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease with high incidence and high disability and recurrence rates. Caulophyllum robustum Maxim (C. robustum) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with main effective parts (CRME) commonly used for RA treatment. To explore the mechanism of CRME in RA, we used metabolomics to investigate the effect of CRME intervention on urine metabolism in rats with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). CIA rats were randomly divided into normal control, CIA model, and CRME groups. A metabolomics approach, using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight/Mass Spectrometry, was developed to perform urinary metabolic profiling. Differential metabolites were identified by comparing the CIA model and CRME groups. Preliminarily, 56 significant differential metabolites were identified in urine, and 20 metabolic pathways were disturbed by the CIA. The amount of 16 different metabolites changed in urine after CRME intervention. The production of these metabolites involves tryptophan, tyrosine, energy, cholesterol, and vitamin metabolism. CRME has anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects in CIA model rats. By examining the endogenous metabolite levels, we identified potential CRME targets and pathways involved in the treatment of RA. The results of our metabolic studies indicate that CRME regulates amino acid, vitamin, energy, and lipid metabolism pathways to treat RA and may provide a new explanation for the anti-RA mechanism of CRME.