Effect of nitrogen reduction by chemical fertilization with green manure (Vicia sativa L.) on soil microbial community, nitrogen metabolism and and yield of Uncaria rhynchophylla by metagenomics.

Uncaria rhynchophylla is an important herbal medicine, and the predominant issues affecting its cultivation include a single method of fertilizer application and inappropriate chemical fertilizer application. To reduce the use of inorganic nitrogen fertilization and increase the yield of Uncaria rhynchophylla, field experiments in 2020-2021 were conducted. The experimental treatments included the following categories: S1, no fertilization; S2, application of chemical NPK fertilizer; and S3-S6, application of chemical fertilizers and green manures, featuring nitrogen fertilizers reductions of 0%, 15%, 30%, and 45%, respectively. The results showed that a moderate application of nitrogen fertilizer when combined with green manure, can help alleviate soil acidification and increase urease activity. Specifically, the treatment with green manure provided in a 14.71-66.67% increase in urease activity compared to S2. Metagenomics sequencing results showed a decrease in diversity in S3, S4, S5, and S6 compared to S2, but the application of chemical fertilizer with green manure promoted an increase in the relative abundance of Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi. In addition, the nitrification pathway displayed a progressive augmentation in tandem with the reduction in nitrogen fertilizer and application of green manure, reaching its zenith at S5. Conversely, other nitrogen metabolism pathways showed a decline in correlation with diminishing nitrogen fertilizer dosages. The rest of the treatments showed an increase in yield in comparison to S1, S5 showing significant differences (p < 0.05). In summary, although S2 demonstrate the ability to enhance soil microbial diversity, it is important to consider the long-term ecological impacts, and S5 may be a better choice.

Monotropein Induced Apoptosis and Suppressed Cell Cycle Progression in Colorectal Cancer Cells.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether monotropein has an anticancer effect and explore its potential mechanisms against colorectal cancer (CRC) through network pharmacology and molecular docking combined with experimental verification. METHODS: Network pharmacology and molecular docking were used to predict potential targets of monotropein against CRC. Cell counting kit assay, plate monoclonal assay and microscopic observation were used to investigate the antiproliferative effects of monotropein on CRC cells HCT116, HT29 and LoVo. Flow cytometry and scratch assay were used to analyze apoptosis and cell cycle, as well as cell migration, respectively in HCT116, HT29, and LoVo cells. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of proteins related to apoptosis, cell cycle, and cell migration, and the expression of proteins key to the Akt pathway. RESULTS: The Gene Ontology and Reactome enrichment analyses indicated that the anticancer potential of monotropein against CRC might be involved in multiple cancer-related signaling pathways. Among these pathways, RAC-beta serine/threonine-protein kinase (Akt1, Akt2), cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), cell division control protein 42 homolog (CDC42) were shown as the potential anticancer targets of monotropein against CRC. Molecular docking suggested that monotropein may interact with the 6 targets (Akt1, Akt2, CDK6, MMP9, EGFR, CDC42). Subsequently, cell activity of HCT116, HT29 and LoVo cell lines were significantly suppressed by monotropein (P<0.05). Furthermore, our research revealed that monotropein induced cell apoptosis by inhibiting Bcl-2 and increasing Bax, induced G1-S cycle arrest in colorectal cancer by decreasing the expressions of CyclinD1, CDK4 and CDK6, inhibited cell migration by suppressing the expressions of CDC42 and MMP9 (P<0.05), and might play an anticancer role through Akt signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: Monotropein exerts its antitumor effects primarily by arresting the cell cycle, causing cell apoptosis, and inhibiting cell migration. This indicates a high potential for developing novel medication for treating CRC.

Monomeric compounds from traditional Chinese medicine: New hopes for drug discovery in pulmonary fibrosis.

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a chronic and irreversible pulmonary disease, and can lead to decreased lung function, respiratory failure and even death. The pathogenesis research and treatment strategy of PF significantly lag behind the medical progress and clinical needs. The treatment of this disease remains a thorny clinical problem, and the effective therapeutic drugs are still limited. Monomeric compounds from traditional Chinese medicine own various biological activities and high safety. They play a broad part in treating diseases and is also a candidate drug for preventing and treating PF. In this paper, we reviewed the mechanism of action and potential value of various anti-PF monomeric compounds from traditional Chinese medicine. These monomeric compounds can attenuate inflammatory response, oxidative stress, epithelial mesenchymal transformation and other processes of lung through many signaling pathways, and inhibit the activation and differentiation of fibroblasts, thus contributing to the treatment of PF. This review can provide new ideas for the development of anti-PF drugs in high efficiency with low toxicity.

SOX2 modulated astrocytic process plasticity is involved in arsenic-induced metabolic disorders.

Metabolic disorders induced by arsenic exposure have attracted great public concern. However, it remains unclear whether hypothalamus-based central regulation mechanisms are involved in this process. Here, we exposed mice to 100 µg/L arsenic in drinking water and established a chronic arsenic exposure model. Our study revealed that chronic arsenic exposure caused metabolic disorders in mice including impaired glucose metabolism and decreased energy expenditure. Arsenic exposure also impaired glucose sensing and the activation of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the hypothalamus. In particular, arsenic exposure damaged the plasticity of hypothalamic astrocytic process. Further research revealed that arsenic exposure inhibited the expression of sex-determining region Y-Box 2 (SOX2), which decreased the expression level of insulin receptors (INSRs) and the phosphorylation of AKT. The conditional deletion of astrocytic SOX2 exacerbated arsenic-induced effects on metabolic disorders, the impairment of hypothalamic astrocytic processes, and the inhibition of INSR/AKT signaling. Furthermore, the arsenic-induced impairment of astrocytic processes and inhibitory effects on INSR/AKT signaling were reversed by SOX2 overexpression in primary hypothalamic astrocytes. Together, we demonstrated here that chronic arsenic exposure caused metabolic disorders by impairing SOX2-modulated hypothalamic astrocytic process plasticity in mice. Our study provides evidence of novel central regulatory mechanisms underlying arsenic-induced metabolic disorders and emphasizes the crucial role of SOX2 in regulating the process plasticity of adult astrocytes.

Alterations in microbial community during the remediation of a black-odorous stream by acclimated composite microorganisms.

Microbial application is an efficient, economical, and ecofriendly method for remediating black-odorous rivers. In this study, the field treatment effect and microbial community changes were monitored during remediation by the acclimated complex microorganisms of a typical black-odorous stream. After the treatment, the total phosphorus and ammonia contents decreased by 74.0% and 76.3% and the concentrations of dissolved oxygen increased from 1.65 to 4.90 mg/L, indicating the effectiveness of the acclimated composite microorganisms. The proportion of Bacteroidetes decreased significantly by 48.1% and that of Firmicutes increased by 2.23% on average, and the microbial diversity index first increased and then tended to be uniform. Redundancy analysis demonstrated that the pH, dissolved oxygen, and oxidation-reduction potential together determined the composition of the microbial communities (p < 0.05). These findings showed that the acclimated composite microorganisms can effectively remediate the black odor.

Advanced treatment of chicken farm flushing wastewater by integrating Fenton oxidation and algal cultivation process for algal growth and nutrients removal.

Algae based wastewater treatment has been considered as the most promising win-win strategy for nutrients removal and biomass accumulation. However, the poor linking between traditional wastewater treatment and algal cultivation limits the achievement of this goal. In this study, a novel combination of Fenton oxidation and algal cultivation (CFOAC) system was investigated for the treatment of chicken farm flushing wastewater (CFFW). Fenton oxidation (FO) was adopted to reduce the excessive ammonia nitrogen, which might inhibit the algal growth. The results showed that single FO pretreatment removed 70.5 %, 96.7 %, 86.1 %, and 96.2 % of TN, TAN, TP, and COD, respectively. The highest biomass (235.8 mg/L/d) and lipid (77.3 mg/L/d) productivities were achieved on optimized CFOAC system after 7 days batch cultivation. Accordingly, the nutrients removal efficiencies increased to almost 100 %. Further fatty acid profile analysis showed that algae grown on optimal CFOAC system accumulated a high level of total lipids (32.8 %) with C16-C18 fatty acid as the most abundant compositions (accounting for over 60.6 %), which were propitious to biodiesel production. In addition, this CFOAC system was magnified from 1 L flask to 50 L horizontal pipe photobioreactor (HPPB) in semi-continuously culture under optimal conditions. The average biomass and lipid productivities were 995.7 mg/L/d and 320.6 mg/L/d, respectively, when cultured at 6 days hydraulic retention time with 1/3 substitution every two days. These findings proved that the novel CFOAC system is efficient in nutrients removal, algal cultivation, and biomass production for advanced treatment of CFFW.

Conditional knockout of leptin receptor in neural stem cells leads to obesity in mice and affects neuronal differentiation in the hypothalamus early after birth.

Leptin, secreted by peripheral adipocytes, binds the leptin receptor (Lepr) in the hypothalamus, thereby contributing to the regulation of satiety and body weight. Lepr is expressed in the embryonic brain as early as embryonic day 12.5. However, the function of Lepr in neural precursor cells in the brain has not been resolved. To address this issue, we crossed the Leprflox/flox mice with each of Shh-Cre mice (Shh, sonic hedgehog) and Nestin (Nes)-Cre mice. We found that deletion of Lepr specifically in nestin-expressing cells led to extreme obesity, but the conditional null of Lepr in Shh-expressing cells had no obvious phenotype. Moreover, the level of leptin-activated pSTAT3 decreased in the anterior and central subregions of the arcuate hypothalamus of Shh-Cre; Leprflox/flox mice compared with the controls. By contrast, in Nes-Cre; Leprflox/flox mice, the level of leptin-activated pSTAT3 decreased in all subregions including the anterior, central, and posterior arcuate hypothalamus as well as the dorsomedial, ventromedial, and median eminence of the hypothalamus, revealing that the extensive lack of Lepr in the differentiated neurons of the hypothalamus in the conditional null mice. Notably, conditional deletion of Lepr in nestin-expressing cells enhanced the differentiation of neural precursor cells into neurons and oligodendroglia but inhibited differentiation into astrocytes early in postnatal development of hypothalamus. Our results suggest that Lepr expression in neural precursor cells is essential for maintaining normal body weight as well as the differentiation of neural precursor cells to the neural/glial fate in the hypothalamus shortly after birth.

Alginate oligosaccharide improves lipid metabolism and inflammation by modulating gut microbiota in high-fat diet fed mice.

Alginate oligosaccharides are associated with some beneficial health effects. Gut microbiota is one of the most recently identified factors in the development of several metabolic diseases induced by high-fat diet. Our objective was to evaluate how alginate oligosaccharides impact on high-fat diet­induced features of metabolic disorders and whether this impact is related to modulations in the modulation of the gut microbiota. C57BL/6J mice were fed with chow diet, high-fat diet, or high-fat diet supplemented with alginate oligosaccharides for 10 weeks. Alginate oligosaccharide treatment improved lipid metabolism, such as reducing levels of TG and LDL-C and inhibiting expression of lipogenesis genes. Alginate oligosaccharide administration reduced the levels of fasting blood glucose and increased the levels of serum insulin. Alginate oligosaccharide treatment was found to lower the expression of markers of inflammation, including IL1ß and CD11c. Alginate oligosaccharide treatment modulated gut microbial communities and markedly prompted the growth of Akkermansia muciniphila, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Lactobacillus gasseri. Additionally, alginate oligosaccharide intervention significantly increased concentrations of short-chain fatty acids, such as acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid, as well as decreased levels of endotoxin. Alginate oligosaccharides exert beneficial effects via alleviating metabolic metrics induced by high-fat diet, which is associated with increase in A. muciniphila, L. reuteri, and L. gasseri, as well as the release of microbiota-dependent short-chain fatty acids and inhibition of endotoxin levels.

Dietary butyrate suppresses inflammation through modulating gut microbiota in high-fat diet-fed mice.

Butyrate, a key metabolite fermented by gut microbiota mainly from undigested carbohydrates such as dietary fibers is widely used as feed additive. However, mechanisms of its contributions in maintaining host health are relatively poorly revealed. The aim of this study was to investigate how butyrate impacts gut microbiota and immunity response in high-fat diet-fed mice. Gut microbial analysis exhibited that butyrate intervention increased short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)-producing bacteria and decreased pathogenic bacteria, such as endotoxin-secreting bacteria. Our result also demonstrated that butyrate intervention enhanced fecal SCFAs concentrations, and inhibited endotoxin levels in feces and serum. Correlation analysis indicated positive relation between endotoxin level and Desulfovibrionaceae abundance. Furthermore, butyrate intervention inhibited expressions of IL-1ß, IL-6 and MCP1/CCL2 in liver, as well as TLR4 in adipose tissue. Apart from inhibiting expressions of proinflammatory cytokines, butyrate exerted anti-inflammation effect through selectively modulating gut microbiota, such as increasing SCFAs-producing bacteria and decreasing endotoxin-secreting bacteria, as well as via regulating levels of microbiota-dependent metabolites and components, such as SCFAs and endotoxin.

Insensitive ionic bio-energetic materials derived from amino acids.

Energetic salts/ionic liquids have received increasing attention as fascinating energetic materials, and the use of renewable compounds is a promising approach to developing energetic materials. Until recently, biomolecules have been used as raw materials to develop neutral energetic compounds, whereas research focused on ionic energetic materials obtained from natural bio-renewable frameworks is scarce. This work systematically investigates ionic bio-energetic materials (IBEMs) derived from sustainable natural amino acids. In addition to combustibility, high density, good thermal stability, and one-step preparation, these IBEMs demonstrated apparent hypotoxicity and insensitivity. Moreover, a theoretical examination was performed to explore their appropriate properties. The intriguing results of this study indicates that IBEMs are potential bio-based energetic materials.

[Resources and usage status of Tibetan medicinal plant "Bangga"].

The study is aimed to clarify the actual original plant, find out the usage status and the resource distribution of the Tibetan medicinal plant "Bangga". By using the way of the literatures survey, interview and investigation, it found out that the actual original plant of the Tibetan medicinal plant "Bangga" were the whole dried plant or the aerial part of Aconitum tanguticum or A. naviculare of Ranunculaceae, among which A. tanguticummainly distributed in Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet (Qamdo), and A. naviculare mainly distributed in Tibet. Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai and other Tibetan areas mainly used the resources of A. tanguticum, Tibet (except the Qamdo area) mainly uses the A. naviculare, which resource was imminent in danger. Other species described in the literature were not used. It showed that the use of herbs related to their resources, it is recommended to strengthen the protection and guide the market.

Isolation of a novel alginate lyase-producing Bacillus litoralis strain and its potential to ferment Sargassum horneri for biofertilizer.

Algae have long been used to augment plant productivity through their beneficial effects. Alginate oligosaccharide is believed to be one of the important components to enhance growth and crop yield. In this study, we isolated and characterized a Bacillus litoralis strain, named Bacillus M3, from decayed kelps. We further demonstrated that the M3 strain could secrete alginate lyase to degrade alginate. The crude enzyme exhibited the highest activity (33.74 U/mg) at pH 7.0 and 50°C. The M3 strain was also able to ferment the brown alga Sargassum horneri. Fermentation results revealed that a fermentation period of 8-12 hr was the best harvest time with the highest level of alginate oligosaccharides. Plant growth assay showed that the seaweed fermentation extract had an obvious promotion effect on root and seedling growth of Lycopersicon eseulentum L. Our results suggest that fermentation extract of Sargassum horneri by the novel strain of Bacillus litoralis M3 has significant development potential for biofertilizer production and agriculture application.

Marsdenia tenacissima extract suppresses A549 cell migration through regulation of CCR5-CCL5 axis, Rho C, and phosphorylated FAK.

Marsdenia tenacissima, a traditional Chinese medicine, is long been used to treat various diseases including asthma, cancer, trachitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, cystitis, and pneumonia. Although Marsdenia tenacissima has been demonstrated to have strong anti-tumor effects against primary tumors, its effect on cancer metastasis remains to be defined, and the molecular mechanism underlying the anti-metastatic effect is unknown. In the present study, we investigated the effects of XAP (an extract of Marsdenia tenacissima) on A549 lung cancer cell migration and explored the role of CCR5-CCL5 axis in the anti-metastatic effects of XAP. Our resutls showed that XAP inhibited A549 lung cancer cell migration and invasion in a dose-dependent manner. The protein levels of CCR5, but not CCR9 and CXCR4, were decreased by XAP. The secretion of CCL5, the ligand of CCR5, was reduced by XAP. XAP down-regulated Rho C expression and FAK phosphorylation. In conclusion, XAP inhibited A549 cell migration and invasion through down-regulation of CCR5-CCL5 axis, Rho C, and FAK.

Marsdenia tenacissima extract induces G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in human esophageal carcinoma cells by inhibiting mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway.

Marsdenia tenacissima extract (MTE, trade name: Xiao-Ai-Ping injection) is an extract of a single Chinese plant medicine. It has been used for the treatment of cancer in China for decades, especially for esophageal cancer and other cancers in the digestive tract. In the present study, the potential mechanism for MTE's activity in esophageal cancer was explored. The effects of MTE on the proliferation of human esophageal cancer cells (KYSE150 and Eca-109) were investigated by the MTT assay, the BrdU (bromodeoxyuridine) incorporation immunofluorescence assay, and flow cytometric analysis. MTE inhibited cell proliferation through inducing G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in KYSE150 and Eca-109. Western blot analysis was employed to determine protein levels in the MTE treated cells. Compared with the control cells, the expression levels of the cell cycle regulatory proteins cyclin D1/D2/D3, cyclin E1, CDK2/4/6 (CDK: cyclin dependent kinase), and p-Rb were decreased significantly in the cells treated with MTE at 40 mg·mL(-1). In addition, MTE had an inhibitory effect on the MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signal transduction pathway, including ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase), JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase), and p38MAPK. Moreover, MTE showed little additional effects on the regulation of cyclin D1/D3, CDK4/6, and p-Rb when the ERK pathway was already inhibited by the specific ERK inhibitor U0126. In conclusion, these data suggest that MTE inhibits human esophageal cancer cell proliferation through regulation of cell cycle regulatory proteins and the MAPK signaling pathways, which is probably mediated by the inhibition of ERK activation.

[Studies on main interspecific association of rare and endangered medicinal plant Sinopodophyllum hexandrum community in Kangding Zheduo mountain of Sichuan province].

Based on the 2 x 2 contingency table, by using multi-species relevance (variance ratio, VR), chi2-test, Ochiai index, Dice index, Jaccard index, t-test of v/x and F-test of Morisita, s index, the interspecific relationships and the spatial distribution pattern between 20 dominants in Kangding Zheduo Mountain of Sichuan province were studied. The results indicated that the interspecific association between dominants of Sinopodophyllum hexandrum community in this area did not show significant association, which suggested that the S. hexandrum community was in mature stage, and showed stronger independency, among total 190 pairs in 20 dominant species, 2 species pairs exhibited extremely significantly positive association, 12 species pairs showed significantly positive association, 6 species pairs exhibited significantly negative association and there were no pairs showed extremely significantly negative association. S. hexandrum in community did not show significant association, which indicates they are independent in community, the spatial distribution pattern of S. hexandrum is characterized by random distribution.

Gene cloning, sequence analysis, and expression profiles of a novel ß-ring carotenoid hydroxylase gene from the photoheterotrophic green alga Chlorella kessleri.

In this study, a full-length complementary DNA (cDNA) sequence of ß-ring carotenoid hydroxylase (CHY), designated Ckecyp97a1, was isolated via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) methods. The cloned Ckecyp97a1 cDNA was 2,264-bp in length, and contained an open reading frame (ORF) of 1,944-bp with 5'-terminal untranslated region (UTR) of 66-bp and 3'-terminal UTR of 254-bp and encoded a ß-ring CHY protein of 647 amino acids. The deduced protein had a calculated molecular mass of 71.43 kDa with an estimated isoelectric point (pI) of 6.72. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that Ckecyp97a1 was homologs to known chloroplastic cytochrome P450 (P450) CHY. The typical catalytic motifs of the P450 were highly conserved in the protein sequences of CkeCYP97A1. The Ckecyp97a1 transcriptional expression and carotenoids accumulation were observed under high light (HL) of different wavelengths (white: 390-770 nm and blue: 420-500 nm). The results revealed that Ckecyp97a1 transcript increased strongly throughout the course of the HL illumination treatment (22-70 h) under white HL treatment, while decreased during 10-58 h under blue HL treatment. The concentrations of lutein, α-carotene, and ß-carotene were relatively steady and below the control level under both treatments. The zeaxanthin concentration was higher under white HL treatment than those under control and blue HL treatments. Ckecyp97a1 gene showed different expression patterns under different light wavelengths treatments. The data obtained in this study demonstrates that CkeCYP97A1 is the enzyme responsible for carotenoid hydroxylation involved in HL acclimation for photoheterotrophic green alga Chlorella kessleri CGMCC 4917.

Geochemical characteristics of phosphorus in surface sediments of two major Chinese mariculture areas: the Laizhou Bay and the coastal waters of the Zhangzi Island.

Phosphorus (P) in surface sediments of the Laizhou Bay (LB) and the coastal waters around the Zhangzi Island (ZI) was analyzed. Six forms of P were separated - exchangeable or loosely sorbed P (Ads-P), aluminum-bound P (Al-P), iron-bound P (Fe-P), authigenic apatite plus CaCO3-bound P plus biogenic apatite (Ca-P), detrital apatite plus other inorganic P (De-P) and organic P (OP). The average contents of P in the LB were in the order: De-P>OP>Ca-P>Fe-P>Ads-P>Al-P; in the ZI, the corresponding order was De-P>OP>Fe-P>Ca-P>Ads-P>Al-P. Due to the high nutrient loadings from the surrounding rivers, TP contents in sediments of the LB were higher than in those of the ZI. The potential bio-available P (Ads-P and OP) accounted for 14.7% and 24.2% of TP in sediments of the LB and the ZI, respectively.

[Genetic diversity and genetic structure of endangered wild Sinopodophyllum emodi by start codon targeted polymorphism].

OBJECTIVE: Revealed the genetic diversity level and genetic structure characteristics in Sinopodophyllum emodi, a rare and endangered species in China. METHOD: We detected the genetic polymorphism within and among six wild populations (45 individuals) by the approach of Start Codon Targeted (SCoT) Polymorphism. The associated genetic parameters were calculated by POP-GENE1.31 and the relationship was constructed based on UPGMA method. RESULT: A total of 350 bands were scored by 27 primers and 284 bands of them were polymorphic. The average polymorphic bands of each primer were 10.52. At species level, there was a high level of genetic diversity among six populations (PPB = 79.27%, N(e) = 1.332 7, H = 0.210 9 and H(sp) = 0.328 6). At population level, the genetic diversity level was low (PPB = 10.48% (4.00% -23.71%), N(e) = 1.048 7 (1.020 7-1.103 7), H = 0.029 7 (0.012 9-0.063 1), H(pop) = 0.046 2 (0.019 9-0.098 6). The Nei's coefficient of genetic differentiation was 0.841 1, which was consistent with the Shannon's coefficient of genetic differentiation (0.849 4). Two calculated methods all showed that most of the genetic variation existed among populations. The gene flow (N(m) = 0.094 4) was less among populations, indicating that the degree of genetic differentiation was higher. Genetic similarity coefficient were changed from 0.570 8 to 0.978 7. By clustering analysis, the tested populations were divided into two classes and had a tendency that the same geographical origin or material of similar habitats clustered into one group. CONCLUSION: The genetic diversity of samples of S. emodi is high,which laid a certain foundation for effective protection and improvement of germplasm resources.

Hypolipidemic and antioxidant properties of a polysaccharide fraction from Enteromorpha prolifera.

A polysaccharide fraction (EPF2) was obtained from the crude polysaccharides of Enteromorpha prolifera by a series isolation procedure. Monosaccharide components analysis indicated that EPF2 was composed of rhamnose, xylose, mannose, galactose and glucose in a molar ratio of 3.64:1.08:0.21:0.75:0.27. Hypolipidemic and antioxidant properties of EPF2 were investigated. The results showed that the hypolipidemic effect of EPF2 was in a concentration-dependent fashion and the prior oral administration of EPF2 (300 mg/kg body weight) exhibited considerable effect which could bear comparison with that of simvastatin. Moreover, administration of EPF2 could significantly enhance the activities of endogenous antioxidant enzymes and lowered the content of maleic dialdehyde (MDA) in serum. The results suggested that EPF2 had a high hypolipidemic activity and this activity might be attributed to its antioxidant potential.