A bacteriophage against Citrobacter braakii and its synergistic effect with antibiotics.

A bacteriophage BD49 specific for Citrobacter braakii was screened out and purified by double-layer plate method. It consists of a polyhedral head of 93.1 ± 1.2 nm long and 72.9 ± 4.2 nm wide, tail fibers, collar, sheath and baseplate. The bacteriophage was identified by morphology observed with transmission electron microscope (TEM), whole genome sequencing carried out by Illumina next generation sequencing (NGS) technique, and gene annotation based on Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COG) database. It was identified primarily as a member of Caudovirales by morphology and further determined as Caudovirales, Myoviridae, and Citrobacter bacteriophage by alignment of its whole genome sequence with the NCBI database and establishment of phylogenetic tree. The bacteriophage showed good environmental suitability with optimal multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.01, proliferation time of 80 min, optimum living temperature of 30-40 °C, and living pH of 5-10. In addition, it exhibited synergistic effect with ciprofloxacin against C. braakii in antibacterial tests.

Combinatorial metabolic engineering of Bacillus subtilis enables the efficient biosynthesis of isoquercitrin from quercetin.

BACKGROUND: Isoquercitrin (quercetin-3-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside) has exhibited promising therapeutic potentials as cardioprotective, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, and anti-viral agents. However, its structural complexity and limited natural abundance make both bulk chemical synthesis and extraction from medical plants difficult. Microbial biotransformation through heterologous expression of glycosyltransferases offers a safe and sustainable route for its production. Despite several attempts reported in microbial hosts, the current production levels of isoquercitrin still lag behind industrial standards. RESULTS: Herein, the heterologous expression of glycosyltransferase UGT78D2 gene in Bacillus subtilis 168 and reconstruction of UDP-glucose (UDP-Glc) synthesis pathway led to the synthesis of isoquercitrin from quercetin with titers of 0.37 g/L and 0.42 g/L, respectively. Subsequently, the quercetin catabolism blocked by disruption of a quercetin dioxygenase, three ring-cleavage dioxygenases, and seven oxidoreductases increased the isoquercitrin titer to 1.64 g/L. And the hydrolysis of isoquercitrin was eliminated by three ß-glucosidase genes disruption, thereby affording 3.58 g/L isoquercitrin. Furthermore, UDP-Glc pool boosted by pgi (encoding glucose-6-phosphate isomerase) disruption increased the isoquercitrin titer to 10.6 g/L with the yield on quercetin of 72% and to 35.6 g/L with the yield on quercetin of 77.2% in a 1.3-L fermentor. CONCLUSION: The engineered B. subtilis strain developed here holds great potential for initiating the sustainable and large-scale industrial production of isoquercitrin. The strategies proposed in this study provides a reference to improve the production of other flavonoid glycosides by engineered B. subtilis cell factories.

Novel glycosidase from Paenibacillus lactis 154 hydrolyzing the 28-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl ester bond of oleanane-type saponins.

Oleanane-type ginsenosides are a class of compounds with remarkable pharmacological activities. However, the lack of effective preparation methods for specific rare ginsenosides has hindered the exploration of their pharmacological properties. In this study, a novel glycoside hydrolase PlGH3 was cloned from Paenibacillus lactis 154 and heterologous expressed in Escherichia coli. Sequence analysis revealed that PlGH3 consists of 749 amino acids with a molecular weight of 89.5 kDa, exhibiting the characteristic features of the glycoside hydrolase 3 family. The enzymatic characterization results of PlGH3 showed that the optimal reaction pH and temperature was 8 and 50 °C by using p-nitrophenyl-ß-D-glucopyranoside as a substrate, respectively. The Km and kcat values towards ginsenoside Ro were 79.59 ± 3.42 µM and 18.52 s-1, respectively. PlGH3 exhibits a highly specific activity on hydrolyzing the 28-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl ester bond of oleanane-type saponins. The mechanism of hydrolysis specificity was then presumably elucidated through molecular docking. Eventually, four kinds of rare oleanane-type ginsenosides (calenduloside E, pseudoginsenoside RP1, zingibroside R1, and tarasaponin VI) were successfully prepared by biotransforming total saponins extracted from Panax japonicus. This study contributes to understanding the mechanism of enzymatic hydrolysis of the GH3 family and provides a practical route for the preparation of rare oleanane-type ginsenosides through biotransformation. KEY POINTS: • The glucose at C-28 in oleanane-type saponins can be directionally hydrolyzed. • Mechanisms to interpret PlGH3 substrate specificity by molecular docking. • Case of preparation of low-sugar alternative saponins by directed hydrolysis.

Excretion characteristics of main compounds of Yigong San in urine, feces, and bile of rats.

Yigong San (YGS) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula used for pediatric anorexia, chronic atrophic gastritis, and irritable bowel syndrome. In this study, the excretion of eight main compounds, including liquiritin; isoliquiritin; hesperidin; ginsenosides Rb1, Re, and Rg1; and atractylenolides I and II, in rat urine, feces, and bile, was investigated by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The results showed that the cumulative excretion rates of the compounds in rat urine, feces, and bile were 0.018-1.15%, 0.024-19.89%, and 0.0025-0.72%, respectively. Among the eight compounds detected, liquiritin was the richest in urine, and ginsenosides Re and Rg1 and atractylenolide I were mainly found in feces and bile. In summary, the main components of YGS are excreted via multiple approaches. Liquiritin is mainly through urine, whereas isoliquiritin; hesperidin; ginsenosides Rb1, Re, and Rg1; and atractylenolides I and II are mainly through feces. The excretion of these compounds in bile is usually positively correlated with that in feces. This study lays a foundation for further pharmacological research and application of YGS.

Identification of mitophagy and ferroptosis-related hub genes associated with intracerebral haemorrhage through bioinformatics analysis.

BACKGROUND: Mitophagy and ferroptosis occur in intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) but our understanding of mitophagy and ferroptosis-related genes remains incomplete. AIM: This study aims to identify shared ICH genes for both processes. METHODS: ICH differentially expressed mitophagy and ferroptosis-related genes (DEMFRGs) were sourced from the GEO database and literature. Enrichment analysis elucidated functions. Hub genes were selected via STRING, MCODE, and MCC algorithms in Cytoscape. miRNAs targeting hubs were predicted using miRWalk 3.0, forming a miRNA-hub gene network. Immune microenvironment variances were assessed with MCP and TIMER. Potential small molecules for ICH were forecasted via CMap database. RESULTS: 64 DEMFRGs and ten hub genes potentially involved in various processes like ferroptosis, TNF signalling pathway, MAPK signalling pathway, and NF-kappa B signalling pathway were discovered. Several miRNAs were identified as shared targets of hub genes. The ICH group showed increased infiltration of monocytic lineage and myeloid dendritic cells compared to the Healthy group. Ten potential small molecule drugs (e.g. Zebularine, TWS-119, CG-930) were predicted via CMap. CONCLUSION: Several shared genes between mitophagy and ferroptosis potentially drive ICH progression via TNF, MAPK, and NF-kappa B pathways. These results offer valuable insights for further exploring the connection between mitophagy, ferroptosis, and ICH.

Mechanism of berberine hydrochloride interfering with biofilm formation of Hafnia alvei.

The mechanism of berberine hydrochloride (BBH) inhibiting the biofilm formation of Hafnia alvei was investigated in this study. The antibiofilm potential of BBH was evaluated by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as crystal violet staining. The quorum-sensing (QS) inhibition was revealed by determination of QS-related genes expression and related signal molecules production using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The binding of BBH to receptor proteins was simulated by molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. It was found that BBH at sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) significantly reduced the biofilm formation of H. alvei in a dose dependent manner. BBH inhibited the bacterial swimming motility, decreased the transcription of halI and halR genes, and reduced the production of signal molecule C14-HSL. It bound to HalR protein mainly through Van der Waals force and electrostatic interaction force. Based on these results, it was concluded that BBH inhibits the biofilm formation of H. alvei and the mechanism is related to its interference with QS through down-regulating the expression of halI and halR genes.

A newly isolated human intestinal strain deglycosylating flavonoid C-glycosides.

Glycosidic bond of C-glycosides is difficult to be broken due to its chemical stability. Screening specific microbe from microbiota is a practical way to deglycosylate these compounds. In this study, a new strain W974-1 which is capable of cleaving C-glycosidic bonds was isolated from human gut microbiota by spread plate method. It deglycosylates flavonoid 8-C-glycosides such as orientin and vitexin to their aglycones with the enzymes secreted outside the bacterial cells. This strain was identified as Enterococcus avium by 16S rDNA sequencing, physiological and biochemical characterization.

First Report of Pyricularia oryzae Causing Blast on Palm Grass in China.

Palm grass (Setaria palmifolia) has been used as an ornamental plant and vegetable crop (Wu, 2009; Plarre, 1995). In June 2019, 2-10 mm severe leaf lesions with gray centers and brown-yellow edges were observed on the leaves of palm grass in Liuyang city (28°43'N, 114°12'E), Hunan province, China (Fig. 1A). Disease incidence on leaves was 20 - 40%. The infected leaves were collected and disinfected with 75% alcohol for 30 sec and 1% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min, followed by three rinses in sterilized ddH2O, dried on sterilized filter paper, and incubated on water agar for 48 h under continuous fluorescent light at 26℃. Then, typical pyriform and 2-septate conidia (23.97 - 30.37 × 7.42 - 9.98 µm, N = 30) appeared at the lesions (Fig. 1B). Four single-spore were captured, and then grew on oatmeal tomato agar for seven days under continuous fluorescent light at 26℃ to obtain four isolates (LY-ZY-7a, -7b, -9b and -9c) and produce conidia for inoculation tests. The colony morphology of LY-ZY-7b on OTA was gray and floccose, and the growth rate was 6.15 - 6.31 mm/d at 26 °C (Fig. 1C). Spores of LY-ZY-7b were washed off with sterilized ddH2O plus 0.025% Tween-20 to make spore suspensions. For scratch inoculation, 10 µL spore suspension (1 × 105 spores/mL) was inoculated on the wound scratched with a sterilized pin along the vein (3 mm × 3 mm) on palm grass middle leaf of 4-week-old seedlings. The inoculated leaves were sealed in a 15-cm Petri dish. For spray inoculation, 20 mL spore suspension (5 × 104 spores/mL) was made and sprayed on ten healthy palm grasses of 4-week-old seedlings. Plants used as negative controls were sprayed with sterilized ddH2O plus 0.025% Tween-20 (Liu et al. 2022; Zhang et al. 2014). After inoculation, all plants were put into transparent boxes to maintain > 95% humidity and covered with black plastic bags for one day. Then, the boxes containing the plants were placed in a growth chamber at 26°C (12 h light / 12 h darkness photoperiod). After six days, typical blast-type lesions with brown-yellow edges were visible on the leaves. Control plants did not show symptoms (Fig. 1D, 1E). Microscopical examination showed that the conidia and conidiophore recovered from the lesion of the inoculated plants have the same morphology as those recovered from natural infected tissues (Fig. 1F, 1G). The colony morphology of the pathogen isolated from the artificially inoculated tissue was consistent with that of isolate LY-ZY-7b (Fig. 1C). The spore suspension (5 × 104 spores/mL) of isolate LY-ZY-7b and one rice-infecting strain P131 (Yang et al., 2010) was made and sprayed onto 4-week-old seedlings of three rice cultivars. But unfortunately, isolate LY-ZY-7b could not cause any disease lesions on the tested rice cultivars, whereas strain P131 produced many typical blast lesions on rice leaves (Fig. 1H). Then, the fungal genetic identity of four isolates (LY-ZY-7a, -7b, -9b, and -9c) was confirmed by comparison of the sequence obtained from partial DNA of Actin (ACT), ITS, and RPB1 loci from our isolates and those previously published by Klaubauf et al. 2014. The nucleotide sequences of ACT, ITS, and RPB1 were submitted to GenBank ON228695-ON228697 (ACT), ON210978-ON210980 (ITS), ON228698-ON228701 (RPB1). A phylogenetic tree deduced from a maximum likelihood analysis based on combined ACT-ITS-RPB1 sequence data of Pyricularia showed that these four isolates (LY-ZY-7a, -7b, -9b, and -9c) clustered together on Pyricularia oryzae, with a high bootstrap support value (Fig. 2). Based on morphological characteristics and molecular phylogeny, these four isolates were identified as P. oryzae (Klaubauf et al. 2014; Qi et al. 2019). To our knowledge, this is the first report of blast disease on palm grass caused by P. oryzae in China, which will help develop disease management strategies against palm grass blast. Moreover, as a host of P. oryzae, palm grass might contribute as an inoculum source for blast diseases on cereal crops (such as rice, wheat, and barley) caused by P. oryzae in the field.

Functional Characterization of Flavanone 3-Hydroxylase (F3H) and Its Role in Anthocyanin and Flavonoid Biosynthesis in Mulberry.

Mulberry (Morus spp., Moraceae) is an important economic crop plant and is rich in flavonoids and anthocyanidins in ripe fruits. Anthocyanins are glycosides of anthocyanidins. Flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H) catalyzes the conversion of naringenin into dihydroflavonols and is responsible for the biosynthesis of flavonols and anthocyanidins. In this study, MazsF3H was cloned and characterized from Morus atropurpurea var. Zhongshen 1. Conserved motif analysis based on alignment and phylogenetic analysis indicated that MazsF3H belonged to 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase and MazsF3H clustered with F3Hs from other plants. MazsF3H was located in both nucleus and cytosol. MazsF3H was expressed in stems, leaves, stigmas and ovaries, except buds. F3H expression levels showed a positive and close relationship with anthocyanin content during the anthocyanin-rich fruit ripening process, while it showed a negative correlation with anthocyanin content in LvShenZi, whose fruits are white and would not experience anthocyanin accumulation during fruit ripening. Significantly different F3H expression levels were also found in different mulberry varieties that have quite different anthocyanin contents in ripe fruits. Overexpression MazsF3H in tobacco showed unexpected results, including decreased anthocyanin content. Down-regulation of F3H expression levels resulted in co-expression of the genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis and a significant decrease in anthocyanin content, but the change in total flavonoid content was subtle. Our results indicated that F3H may play quite different roles in different varieties that have quite different fruit colors. In addition, possible complex regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis should be further explored in some of the featured plant species.

[Cloning and bioinformatics analysis of ß-amyrin synthase in Dipsacus asper].

Dipsaci Radix is one of the commonly used Chinese medicinal materials in China, with a long history. It has the medicinal activities of nourishing liver and kidney, recovering from broken sinews, and treating bone fracture. Triterpenoid saponins are the main functional ingredients of Dipsacus asper. ß-Amyrin synthases(ß-AS) as a superfamily of oxidosqualene cyclases(OSCs) can catalyze the construction of the skeleton structure of oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins. There are only a few studies about the ß-AS in D. asper, and the catalytic mechanism of this enzyme remains to be explored. To enrich the information of ß-AS, according to the transcriptome sequencing results, we cloned DaWß-AS gene from D. asper into a specific vector for heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. In the meantime, real-time PCR was performed to analyze the relative expression of DaWß-AS in four different tissues of D. asper. The results of RT-qPCR showed DaWß-AS had the highest expression level in leaves. Bioinformatics results indicated that DaWß-AS had a conserved domain of PLN03012 superfamily, belonging to the cl31551 superfamily. There was no transmembrane domain or signal peptide in DaWß-AS. This study provides a scientific basis for revealing the biological pathways of triterpenoid saponins in D. asper, which will facilitate the biosynthesis of the associated saponins and afford reference for the cultivation and development of high-quality resources of D. asper.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of rhizome nodes and internodes in Panax. japonicus var. major reveals candidate genes involved in the biosynthesis of triterpenoid saponins.

The rhizome of P. japonicus var. major, one of the important herbs in Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been used as tonic and hemostatic drugs in Tujia and Miao ethnic groups of China for thousand years. In this study, comparative metabolite and transcriptome analysis of rhizome nodes and internodes of wild P. japonicus var. major was performed to reveal their different roles in the biosynthesis of triterpene saponins. The results showed that the node was the crucial section for the synthesis of ginsenosides in the rhizome. The content of oleanane-type ginsenosides in the node was much higher than those in the internode. Most isoprenoid biosynthesis-related genes were highly expressed in the node. And, candidate UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT) genes were also found to be differentially expressed between node and internode. Our study will provide a better understanding of the metabolism of ginsenosides in the rhizome of P. japonicus var. major.

The antiviral mechanism of the crude extract from the flowers of Trollius chinensis based on TLR 3 signaling pathway.

The effects of crude extract from the flowers of Trollius chinensis on expressions of mRNA and proteins related to vital genes (TLR 3, TBK 1, IRF 3 and IFN ß) in TLR 3 signaling pathway were investigated in the presence/absence of Polyinosinic acid-polycytidylic acid (PolyI: C) to ascertain the antiviral mechanism of these flowers. Real-time PCR and western blot were applied to determine the expressions of mRNA and proteins, respectively, and immunofluorescence assay was employed to study the effect on IRF 3 distribution between nuclei and cytoplasma. In the absence of PolyI:C, the crude extract reduced the mRNA expression of TLR 3, IRF 3 and IFN ß and the protein expression of TLR 3, and increased the protein expression of IRF 3 and the distribution of IRF 3 in nuclei. In the presence of PolyI:C, the extract reduced the mRNA and protein expressions of TLR 3 and the mRNA expression of IFN ß, meanwhile inhibited the translocation of IRF 3 into nuclei. The antiviral mechanism of the crude extract from the flowers of T. chinensis is to protect the host from inflammatory damage through intervening the TLR 3 signaling pathway and reducing the secretion of inflammatory factors.

Glycosaminoglycan Compositional Analysis of Relevant Tissues in Zika Virus Pathogenesis and in Vitro Evaluation of Heparin as an Antiviral against Zika Virus Infection.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an enveloped RNA virus from the flavivirus family that can cause fetal neural abnormalities in pregnant women. Previously, we established that ZIKV-EP (envelope protein) binds to human placental chondroitin sulfate (CS), suggesting that CS may be a potential host cell surface receptor in ZIKV pathogenesis. In this study, we further characterized the GAG disaccharide composition of other biological tissues (i.e., mosquitoes, fetal brain cells, and eye tissues) in ZIKV pathogenesis to investigate the role of tissue specific GAGs. Heparan sulfate (HS) was the major GAG, and levels of HS-6-sulfo, HS 0S (unsulfated HS), and CS 4S disaccharides were the main differences in the GAG composition of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. In human fetal neural progenitor and differentiated cells, HS 0S and CS 4S were the main disaccharides. A change in disaccharide composition levels was observed between undifferentiated and differentiated cells. In different regions of the bovine eyes, CS was the major GAG, and the amounts of hyaluronic acid or keratan sulfate varied depending on the region of the eye. Next, we examined heparin (HP) of various structures to investigate their potential in vitro antiviral activity against ZIKV and Dengue virus (DENV) infection in Vero cells. All compounds effectively inhibited DENV replication; however, they surprisingly promoted ZIKV replication. HP of longer chain lengths more strongly promoted activity in ZIKV replication. This study further expands our understanding of role of GAGs in ZIKV pathogenesis and carbohydrate-based antivirals against flaviviral infection.

A newly isolated human intestinal bacterium strain capable of deglycosylating flavone C-glycosides and its functional properties.

BACKGROUND: Flavone C-glycosides are difficult to be deglycosylated using traditional chemical methods due to their solid carbon-carbon bond between sugar moieties and aglycones; however, some bacteria may easily cleave this bond because they generate various specific enzymes. RESULTS: A bacterial strain, named W12-1, capable of deglycosylating orientin, vitexin, and isovitexin to their aglycones, was isolated from human intestinal bacteria in this study and identified as Enterococcus faecalis based on morphological examination, physiological and biochemical identification, and 16S rDNA sequencing. The strain was shown to preferentially deglycosylate the flavone C-glycosides on condition that the culture medium was short of carbon nutrition sources such as glucose and starch, and its deglycosylation efficiency was negatively correlated with the content of the latter two substances. CONCLUSION: This study provided a new bacterial resource for the cleavage of C-glycosidic bond of flavone C-glycosides and reported the carbon nutrition sources reduction induced deglycosylation for the first time.

Isopropylmalate isomerase MoLeu1 orchestrates leucine biosynthesis, fungal development, and pathogenicity in Magnaporthe oryzae.

The biosynthesis of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) is conserved in fungi and plants, but not in animals. The Leu1 gene encodes isopropylmalate isomerase that catalyzes the conversion of α-isopropylmalate into ß-isopropylmalate in the second step of leucine biosynthesis in yeast. Here, we identified and characterized the functions of MoLeu1, an ortholog of yeast Leu1 in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. The transcriptional level of MoLEU1 was increased during conidiation and in infectious stages. Cellular localization analysis indicated that MoLeu1 localizes to the cytoplasm at all stages of fungal development. Targeted gene deletion of MoLEU1 led to leucine auxotrophy, and phenotypic analysis of the generated ∆Moleu1 strain revealed that MoLeu1-mediated leucine biosynthesis was required for vegetative growth, asexual development, and pathogenesis of M. oryzae. We further observed that invasive hyphae produced by the ∆Moleu1 strain were mainly limited to the primary infected host cells. The application of exogenous leucine fully restored vegetative growth and partially restored conidiation as well as pathogenicity defects in the ∆Moleu1 strain. In summary, our results suggested that MoLeu1-mediated leucine biosynthesis crucially promotes vegetative growth, conidiogenesis, and pathogenicity of M. oryzae. This study helps unveil the regulatory mechanisms that are essential for infection-related morphogenesis and pathogenicity of the rice blast fungus.

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of 24 Components in Jinlianhua Decoction by UPLC-MS/MS.

Jinlianhua Decoction (JD), composed of Flos Trollii, Herba Taraxaci, Folium Isatidis, Radix Puerariae Lobatae, and Folium Perillae in a ratio of 6:15:10:10:6, is a prescription for Fengwen which is a group of febrile diseases due to wind in Chinese medicine. It was originally used for the prevention and treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and could also be used to treat influenza due to their common pathomechanism. To elucidate the unclear pharmacodynamic basis of JD, the LC-QExactive-MS system was used to qualitatively analyze its main components in this study. As a result, 89 compounds were identified and 24 important ones were selected thereby to further perform the simultaneous quantification in 8 batches of JD samples using LC-QTrap-MS with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Based on the qualitative and quantitative results in combination with the bioactivities reported, 16 compounds including orientin, 2″-O-ß-l-galactopyranosylorientin, puerarin, trollisin I, rosmarinic acid, 2″-O-(2'″-methylbutanoyl) isoswertisin, daidzin, scutellarin, 3'-methoxy puerarin, vitexin, 3'-hydroxy puerarin, 2″-O-(2'″-methylbutanoyl) vitexin, kaempferol, caffeic acid, 3,4-dimethoxybenzoic acid, and cynaroside were determined as the major components of JD. This study provides a useful combinational method for analyzing the major pharmacodynamic substances of JD and lays a foundation for the quality control research of the decoction.

Mechanism of enhanced oral absorption of akebia saponin D by a self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system loaded with phospholipid complex.

Akebia saponin D (ASD) exhibits a variety of pharmacological activities, such as anti-osteoporosis, neuroprotection, hepatoprotection, but has poor oral bioavailability. A self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system loaded with akebia saponin D - phospholipid complex (APC-SNEDDS) (composition: Peceol: Cremophor® EL: Transcutol HP: ASD: phospholipid; ratio: 10:45:45:51:12.3, w:w:w:w:w) was first developed to improve the oral absorption of saponins and it was found to significantly enhance ASD's oral bioavailability by 4.3 - fold (p < .01). This study was conducted to elucidate the mechanism of enhanced oral absorption of ASD by the drug delivery system of APC-SNEDDS. The aggregation morphology and particle size of ASD and APC-SNEDDS prepared in aqueous solutions were determined by transmission electron microscope and particle size analyzer, respectively. Stability of ASD and APC-SNEDDS in gastrointestinal luminal contents and mucosa homogenates were also explored. The differences of in situ intestinal permeability of ASD and APC-SNEDDS were compared. APC-SNEDDS reduced the aggregation size from 389 ± 7 nm (ASD) to 148 ± 3 nm (APC-SNEDDS). APC-SNEDDS increased the remaining drug in large intestine luminal contents from 47 ± 1% (ASD) to 83 ± 1% (APC-SNEDDS) during 4 h incubation. APC-SNEDDS provided an 11-fold increase in Ka value and an 11-fold increase in Peff value compared to ASD. In summary, APC-SNEDDS improved ASD's oral bioavailability mainly by increasing membrane permeability, destroying self-micelles and inhibiting the intestinal metabolism.

Anti-inflammatory effect of the compounds from the flowers of Trollius chinensis.

In order to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of flavonoids, phenolic acids, and alkaloids from the flowers of Trollius chinensis, some representative compounds, namely, orientin, 2"-O-ß-L-galactopyranosylorientin, vitexin, quercetin, isoquercetin, luteolin, veratric acid, proglobeflowery acid, trollioside, and trolline were selected to study their inhibitory effects against LPS-induced NO, IL-6, and TNF-ß release in RAW264.7 cells. At the higher concentration, both phenolic acids and flavonoids inhibited the production of NO, whereas only phenolic acids showed this effect at the lower concentration. Although trolline had stronger cytotoxicity, it exhibited a potential effect of decreasing NO production induced by LPS in the non-toxic concentration range. In addition, all tested compounds decreased the production of IL-6 and TNF-a by almost 50% at both the higher and lower concentrations. It is concluded that the anti-inflammatory activity of the phenolic acids is stronger than that of the flavonoids.

Analysis of Non-Volatile Chemical Constituents of Menthae Haplocalycis Herba by Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

Menthae Haplocalycis herba, one kind of Chinese edible herbs, has been widely utilized for the clinical use in China for thousands of years. Over the last decades, studies on chemical constituents of Menthae Haplocalycis herba have been widely performed. However, less attention has been paid to non-volatile components which are also responsible for its medical efficacy than the volatile constituents. Therefore, a rapid and sensitive method was developed for the comprehensive identification of the non-volatile constituents in Menthae Haplocalycis herba using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with linear ion trap-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap). Separation was performed with Acquity UPLC® BEH C18 column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.7 µm) with 0.2% formic acid aqueous solution and acetonitrile as the mobile phase under gradient conditions. Based on the accurate mass measurement (<5 ppm), MS/MS fragmentation patterns and different chromatographic behaviors, a total of 64 compounds were unambiguously or tentatively characterized, including 30 flavonoids, 20 phenolic acids, 12 terpenoids and two phenylpropanoids. Finally, target isolation of three compounds named Acacetin, Rosmarinic acid and Clemastanin A (first isolated from Menthae Haplocalycis herba) were performed based on the obtained results, which further confirmed the deduction of fragmentation patterns and identified the compounds profile in Menthae Haplocalycis herba. Our research firstly systematically elucidated the non-volatile components of Menthae Haplocalycis herba, which laid the foundation for further pharmacological and metabolic studies. Meanwhile, our established method was useful and efficient to screen and identify targeted constituents from traditional Chinese medicine extracts.

Investigation of the effective components of the flowers of Trollius chinensis from the perspectives of intestinal bacterial transformation and intestinal absorption.

CONTEXT: The flowers of Trollius chinensis Bunge (Ranunculaceae), used for respiratory tract infections, mainly contain flavonoids, phenolic acids, and alkaloids; however, the effective components are debatable because of their unclear in vivo activities. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the effective components from the perspectives of biotransformation and absorption. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Both single person derived- and multiple people-derived intestinal florae were used to investigate the biotransformation of aqueous extract of the flowers of T. chinensis (AEOF) at the concentrations of 15.0, 30.0, and 60.0 mg/mL, respectively, for 72 h. Both human colon adenocarcinoma cell line (Caco-2) monolayers and everted gut sacs were employed to evaluate the intestinal absorption of the intestinal bacterial transformed AEOF at the concentrations of 10, 20, and 30 mg/mL, respectively, for 180 min. RESULTS: 2″-O-ß-l-Galactopyranosylorientin, orientin, vitexin, quercetin, veratric acid, proglobeflowery acid, and trolline in AEOF were not transformed by intestinal bacteria, while isoquercetin and trollioside were completely transformed. The Papp values of 2″-O-ß-l-galactopyranosylorientin, orientin, and vitexin calculated based on the experimental data of intestinal absorption were at the levels of 10-5, whereas those of veratric acid, proglobeflowery acid, and trolline were at 10-4. The mass ratio of flavonoids to phenolic acids to alkaloids changed from 16:10:7 to 9:12:8 before and after absorption. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The dominant position of flavonoids was replaced by phenolic acids after absorption. In addition to flavonoids which are usually considered as the dominant effective ones, phenolic acids and alkaloids should be also very important for the efficacy of these flowers.