Determination of the Handedness of Urea Inclusion Compounds.

Invited for the cover of this issue is the group of Bo Wang at Biogen. The image depicts the sectored chiral domains of urea inclusion compounds. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/chem.202302217.

Determination of the Handedness of Urea Inclusion Compounds.

Since the discovery of urea inclusion compounds (UICs) in 1940, the handedness of this chiral helical system has not been established experimentally. Here three UIC systems containing only light atoms were studied. The optical rotations were first measured, and the absolute structures of the enantiomorphic domains of three UICs were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD). The correlation between the optical rotation and the absolute configuration of the UICs was finally established, showcasing the power of absolute structure determination by SCXRD, which is essential in structural chemistry and pharmaceutical research.

Influence of statin use on prognosis of patients with renal cell cancer: a meta-analysis.

Background: Statin may confer anticancer efficacy, while the studies evaluating the influence of statin on survival of patients with renal cell cancer (RCC) yielded inconsistent results. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to investigate the association between statin use and survival of patients with RCC. Materials and Methods: Cohort studies were identified by search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases according to the objective of the meta-analysis. A random-effect model incorporating the possible between-study heterogeneity was used for meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses according to study characteristics were also performed. Results: Seventeen cohort studies involving 42528 patients with RCC were available for the meta-analysis. Results showed that statin use was associated with a better overall survival (OS, hazard ratio [HR]: 0.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.65 to 0.84, p < 0.001; I2 = 40%), progression progression-free survival (PFS, HR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.68 to 0.98, p = 0.03; I2 = 52%), and cancer-specific survival (CSS, HR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.59 to 0.99, p = 0.04; I2 = 38%). Besides, for the outcome of OS and PFS, subgroup analyses showed similar results in patients with surgical and non-surgical anticancer treatments, and in patients with stage I-III and stage IV RCC (p values for subgroup difference all > 0.05). Conclusions: Statin use may be associated with improved survival outcomes in patients with RCC. Although prospective clinical studies should be considered to validate these results, these findings suggest that statins may be potential adjuvant therapy for patients with RCC.

The Application Value of the Renal Region of Interest Corrected by Computed Tomography in Single-Kidney Glomerular Filtration Rate for the Evaluation of Patients With Moderate or Severe Hydronephrosis.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the application value of the renal region of interest (ROI) corrected by computed tomography (CT) in single-kidney glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in patients with hydronephrosis. Methods: A total of 46 patients with hydronephrosis were divided into four groups based on their degree of unilateral hydronephrosis: a normal group (left kidney and right kidney) and three abnormal groups (mild, moderate, and severe hydronephrosis). GFR was measured using the two-sample method (tGFR). The single-kidney GFR of each patient was derived from differential renal function values in dynamic renal imaging multiplied by GFR. The single-kidney GFRs, including GFR from the Gates method (gGFRsingle) and CT area-corrected GFR (aGFRsingle), were compared with tGFRsingle. A paired-sample t-test and Pearson's test were used for data analysis. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There were no significant differences between aGFRsingle and tGFRsingle in patients in the normal, mild hydronephrosis, and moderate hydronephrosis groups (t = -0.604∼1.982, all p > 0.05), but there was a significant difference between them in the severe hydronephrosis group (t = 2.302, p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between gGFRsingle and tGFRsingle in the normal and mild hydronephrosis groups (t = 0.194∼0.962, all p > 0.05), but there was a significant difference between them in the moderate and severe hydronephrosis groups (t = 3.321, 3.494, p < 0.05). Both gGFRsingle and aGFRsingle were correlated with tGFRsingle, with aGFRsingle being more strongly correlated (r = 0.890, p < 0.001). Conclusion: In patients with moderate hydronephrosis, aGFRsingle is more strongly correlated with tGFRsingle than gGFRsingle. However, in patients with severe hydronephrosis and accompanying renal morphological changes, the aGFRsingle measured by the renal ROI area-correction method using CT has higher accuracy and better clinical application value than the conventional gGFRsingle.

Development and Clinical Evaluation of a CRISPR-Based Diagnostic for Rapid Group B Streptococcus Screening.

Vertical transmission of group B Streptococcus (GBS) is among the leading causes of neonatal illness and death. Colonization with GBS usually is screened weeks before delivery during pregnancy, on the basis of which preventive measures, such as antibiotic prophylaxis, were taken. However, the accuracy of such an antenatal screening strategy has been questionable because of the intermittent nature of GBS carriage. We developed a simple-to-use, rapid, CRISPR-based assay for GBS detection. We conducted studies in a prospective cohort of 412 pregnant women and a retrospective validation cohort to evaluate its diagnostic performance. We demonstrated that CRISPR-GBS is highly sensitive and offered shorter turnaround times and lower instrument demands than PCR-based assays. This novel GBS test exhibited an overall improved diagnostic performance over culture and PCR-based assays and represents a novel diagnostic for potential rapid, point-of-care GBS screening.

Cascaded filter deterministic lateral displacement microchips for isolation and molecular analysis of circulating tumor cells and fusion cells.

Precise isolation and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood samples offer considerable potential for cancer research and personalized treatment. Currently, available CTC isolation approaches remain challenging in the quest for simple strategies to achieve cell isolation with both high separation efficiency and high purity, which limits the use of captured CTCs for downstream analyses. Here, we present a filter deterministic lateral displacement concept to achieve one-step and label-free CTC isolation with high throughput. Unlike conventional deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) devices, the proposed method uses a hydrodynamic cell sorting design by incorporating a filtration concept into a DLD structure, and enables high-throughput and clog-free isolation by a cascaded microfluidic design. The cascaded filter-DLD (CFD) design demonstrated enhanced performance for size-based cell separation, and achieved high separation efficiency (>96%), high cell purity (WBC removal rate 99.995%), high cell viability (>98%) and high processing rate (1 mL min-1). Samples from lung cancer patients were analyzed using the CFD-Chip, CTCs and tumor cell-leukocyte fusion cells were efficiently collected, and changes in CTC levels were used for treatment response monitoring. The CFD-Chip platform isolated CTCs with good viability, enabling direct downstream analysis with single-cell RNA sequencing. Transcriptome analysis of enriched CTCs identified new subtypes of CTCs such as tumor cell-leukocyte fusion cells, providing insights into cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.

2,3'4,4',5-Pentachlorobiphenyl induces hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation through pyruvate kinase M2-dependent glycolysis.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are classic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and are associated with the progression of many cancers, including liver cancer. The present study investigated the effect of 2,3'4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB118) on hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and its underlying mechanisms. The results indicated that PCB118 exposure promotes the proliferation and glycolysis of hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721 cells. Moreover, PCB118 exposure increased the expression level of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) and its nuclear translocation, whereas treatment with PKM2 shRNA suppressed the induction of cell proliferation and glycolysis by PCB118. PCB118 stimulated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by activating nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase. Treatment with the antioxidants N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) prevented PCB118-induced effects on PKM2, cell proliferation and glycolysis. Furthermore, we found that PCB118 activated NADPH oxidase through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in SMMC-7721 cells. Consistently, treatment with AhR shRNA suppressed PCB118-induced effects on PKM2, cell proliferation and glycolysis. Overall, these results indicated that PCB118 promotes HCC cell proliferation via PKM2-dependent upregulation of glycolysis, which is mediated by AhR/NADPH oxidase-induced ROS production.

Treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with NY-ESO-1 specific TCR engineered-T cells in a phase I clinical trial: A case report.

This article presented a case of a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A2-positive patient with advanced cancer/testis antigen New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-1 (NY-ESO-1) expressing lung adenocarcinoma (LADC) who received adoptive cell therapy of T cell receptor engineered-T cells (TCR-T cells) targeting the cancer-testis antigen NY-ESO-1. The appropriate clinical and laboratory assessments were conducted to investigate the safety and efficacy of this therapy for this lung cancer patient. The patient had a clinical response to and was well-tolerated with this therapy in the clinical trial. In addition, a preliminary evaluation of the safety of NY-ESO-1 TCR-T cell therapy was performed in four patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) enrolled in a clinical trial. It was well-tolerated and did not observe any serious adverse events post-infusion. Fever, anemia, and a decrease in white blood cell count were common adverse events, which were likely due to the TCR-T cell therapy. Two patients had clinical responses to NY-ESO-1 TCR-T cell therapy, including the 44-year-old female patient with LADC, who achieved a short-term partial response for 4 months, improved in Karnofsky performance status, and had a recovery of drug sensitivity. This suggests that TCR-T cell therapy targeting NY-ESO-1 antigen may be beneficial for HLA-A2-positive late-stage patients with NY-ESO-1-expressing NSCLC.

Acitretin modulates HaCaT cells proliferation through STAT1- and STAT3-dependent signaling.

Acitretin has been a valuable option for the treatment of psoriasis, however, the molecular events of acitretin leading to the normalization of keratinocytes differentiation on psoriasis patients have not been fully explored. To investigate whether there were certain relationship between keratinocytes proliferation and JAK/STAT signaling pathways in psoriasis, and how acitretin modulated the signaling pathways. HaCaT cells, an in vitro immortal human keratinocyte cell line, was chosen as a in vitro model of psoriasis. The small interfering RNA targeting STAT1 (siRNA-STAT1) and STAT3 (siRNA-STAT3) were subsequently transfected into the HaCaT cells which were treated with or without acitretin. We found that HaCaT cells proliferation and the expression of STAT1 or STAT3 were inhibited by acitretin, siRNA-STAT1 and siRNA-STAT3. Our experimental data shows that acitretin might inhibit HaCaT cells proliferation in psoriasis by decreasing the expression of STAT- and STAT3-dependent mechanism.

Multiple Activities of Punica granatum Linne against Acne Vulgaris.

Acne is a common skin condition with sebum overproduction, hyperkeratosis, Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) and Staphylococcus aureus, and inflammation. Punica granatum (pomegranate) is well-known for its anti-inflammatory effects; however, few studies have discussed the anti-acne effects of pomegranate. In this study, we found that pomegranate extract (PG-E) significantly reduced P. acnes-induced edema in Wistar rat ears. Therefore, an evaluation platform using multiple pathogenic mechanisms of acne was established to explore the anti-acne effects of pomegranate. Results showed that PG-E inhibited bacterial growth and lipase activity. Through a bioguided-fractionation-isolation system, four hydrolysable tannins, punicalagin (1), punicalin (2), strictinin A (3), and granatin B (4), were isolated. Compounds 1 and 2 had greater anti-bacterial activities and anti-testosterone-induced HaCaT proliferative effects than the others. Compounds 1, 3, and 4 displayed lipase inhibitory effects. Compound 4 decreased cyclooxygenase-2 expression and downregulated prostaglandin E2 production in heat-killed P. acnes-treated RAW 246.7 cells. In conclusion, PG-E is abundant in hydrolysable tannins that display multiple anti-acne capacities, including anti-bacterial, anti-lipase, anti-keratinocyte proliferation, and anti-inflammatory actions. Hence, PG-E has great potential in the application of anti-acne and skin-care products, and punicalagin (1), the most effective component in PG-E, can be employed as a quality control marker.

Calcipotriol inhibits proliferation of human keratinocytes by downregulating STAT1 and STAT3 signaling.

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease, which is characterized by aberrantly high levels of inflammation, but the underlying pathogenic mechanisms are still not fully understood. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) and STAT3, and the downstream proteins suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) and SOCS3, have been implicated in psoriasis disease progression. Calcipotriol, a synthetic derivative of vitamin D, has been used clinically to treat psoriasis, but the mechanism of action that underlies the beneficial effects of calcipotriol is still being explored. The objective of this study was to determine whether STAT1 and STAT3 signaling is involved in calcipotriol treatment. Using an in vitro immortal human keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT cells, as a psoriasis model, we examined the molecular signaling induced by calcipotriol treatment. We found that calcipotriol treatment or silencing of either STAT1 or STAT3 inhibited proliferation of HaCaT cells. Calcipotriol downregulated the expression of STAT1 and STAT3 at the messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels. The levels of phosphorylated STAT1 and STAT3 were also decreased, suggesting calcipotriol treatment inhibited STAT1 and STAT3 activation. Calcipotriol-mediated STAT inhibition was further substantiated by the downregulation of SOCS1 and SOCS3 at the mRNA and protein expression levels. Taken together, our results suggest a novel molecular mechanism for calcipotriol-mediated treatment effects in psoriasis.

[Distribution Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Phthalic Acid Esters in Agricultural Products Around the Pearl River Delta. South China].

In order to investigate and assess the distribution of pathalic acid easters (PAEs) in agricultural products from typical areas of the Pearl River Delta, South China, 131 agricultural products were sampled for determination of 6 PAEs priority pollutants classified by the U. S. EPA by GC-FID. The results showed that the total contents of the PAEs (sigma PAEs) in agricultural products samples ranged from nd to 79.86 mg x kg(-1) and the mean value was 2.84 mg x kg(-1), with the detected ratio of 98.5%. The average concentrations of sigma PAEs in different types of agricultural products were ordered by vegetables (3.03 mg x kg(-1)) > rice (2.52 mg x kg(-1)) > fruits (1.26 mg x kg(-1)). The mean concentration of PAEs distributed in the four typical cities of the Pearl River Delta, and decreased in the sequence of Zhuhai (6.53 mg x kg(-1)) > Dongguan (2.59 mg x kg(-1)) > Huizhou (1.53 mg x kg(-1)) > Zhongshan (1.12 mg x kg(-1)). Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP) contributed more than 90. 8% of the total PAEs in samples, and were the main components of PAEs in agricultural products from the Pearl River Delta, with higher percentage contents and detected ratio. Meanwhile, the average concentrations of sigma PAEs in cabbage mustard, lettuce occurred in Zhuhai and Dongguan cities, followed by lettuce and leaf lettuce in the corresponding DEHP from Zhuhai city, both exceeded the suggested standards in U.S.A. and Europe and were of high health risk. There were significant differences among 14 various vegetables in the contents of the 6 PAEs compounds, and the sigma PAEs contents in cabbage mustard and lettuce as part of leafy vegetables were higher than those in other vegetables, while the lowest were detected in flowering cabbage and edible amaranth. Therefore, the type of vegetables and its growing environment exposed to the atmosphere and soil were the main factors that significantly affected their accumulation of PAEs concentrations.

Comparison of glomerular filtration rate measured between anterior and posterior image processing using Gates' method in an ectopic pelvic kidney.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the difference in measured glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of an ectopic pelvic kidney between anterior and posterior image processing using Gates' method of renal dynamic imaging. METHODS: A total of 10 patients were studied retrospectively, with a single ectopic kidney in the pelvic cavity and a contralateral kidney at its normal anatomical position confirmed by ultrasound, computed tomography, renal dynamic imaging, etc. All images of ectopic kidneys were processed, and GFRs were measured using anterior and posterior Gates' method of renal dynamic imaging, respectively. The contralateral normal kidney was only processed on posterior imaging. The total GFRant of one patient, which was equal to the sum of the GFR of a normal kidney on posterior imaging and the GFR of an ectopic kidney on anterior imaging, was compared with the total GFRpost of two kidneys on posterior imaging, with the GFRtwo-sample from the two-sample method, and with the estimated GFR in the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation. All correlation analyses were carried out between GFRs obtained from three methods, and all patients were followed up. For statistical analysis, nonparametric rank tests were used, Bland-Altman graphs were plotted. RESULTS: The mean GFR of the ectopic kidney on anterior imaging was 27.48±12.24 ml/min/1.73 m. It was higher than the GFR (10.71±4.74 ml/min/1.73 m) on posterior imaging (t=-2.803, P<0.05). There were statistical differences between the total GFRant and the total GFRtwo-sample (Z=-2.295, P<0.05), between the total GFRant and the total GFRpost (Z=2.599, P<0.01), between the total GFRtwo-sample and the total GFRpost (Z=-2.191, P<0.05), and between the total GFRant and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (Z=-2.803, P<0.01). The bias of the total GFRant was different from that of the total GFRpost (Z=-2.191, P<0.05). There were no differences in the precision and accuracy within 30% of the total GFRant and that of the total GFRpost (precision: F=0.351, P>0.05), but there were statistical differences in the accuracy within 10% of the total GFRant and that of the total GFRpost (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The GFR measured using Gates' method of anterior image processing was more accurate than the GFR obtained on posterior image processing in reflecting the function of an ectopic pelvic kidney in renal dynamic imaging.

Systemic lupus erythematosus patient with false positive results of antibody to HIV: A case report and a comprehensive literature review.

A 76-year-old woman has got both lower limbs petechia and ecchymosis for 1 month, edema for 6 days and fever for 3 days. The patient suffered from purpura of both lower limbs, edema, arthralgia, recurrent fever, kidney damages, serositis, progressive reduction of platelet, moderate anemia and lymphadenopathy during the last two months. Laboratory examinations showed that her whole blood cells, platelet counts, serum albumin level and complements were all decreased and her titres of antibodies to double-stranded DNA (ds-DNA) were high. The patient had unequivocal SLE as she fulfilled seven American Rheumatism Association criteria (1997). Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was positive, while negative by Western blot analysis. A diagnosis of Systemic lupus erythematosus was made in view of the above findings. Because of the presence of autoantibodies and cross-reactivity, diagnosis of HIV infection should be cautious in patients with systemic autoimmune disease. The use of rigorous confirmatory testing by western blot analysis or immunofluorescence assay is therefore mandatory. More sensitive assays may be necessary to confirm the presence of HIV infection, such as gene amplification by the polymerase chain reaction, virus isolation and cultivation, the CD4 cell count and the ratio of CD4/CD8.

[Characteristics of Phthalic Acid Esters in Agricultural Soils and Products in Areas of Zhongshan City, South China].

In order to investigate and assess the pollution level of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in farm soils and products from typical agricultural fields in areas of Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, South China, 65 topsoil and 37 agricultural product samples were collected and contents of 6 PAEs compounds that classified by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as priority pollutants were determined by the GC-FID. The results indicated that total contents of the PAEs (∑ PAEs) in soils ranged from 0. 14 to 1. 14 mg x kg(-1), and the mean value was 0.43 mg x kg(-1), with the detected ratio of 100%. Various concentrations of PAEs differed in three land-use types were ordered by vegetable soil > orchard soil > paddy soil. Comparing with six U.S. EPA priority pollutants of PAEs, the contents of Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and Dimethyl phthalate ( DMP) in soils exceeded the control limits of PAEs in the American soil by 93.85% and 27.69% respectively, but the rest four PAEs compounds were lower than the control limits. Generally, the pollution level of soils contaminated by PAEs in agricultural fields of Zhongshan City was relatively low. The contents of 3 PAEs in agricultural products ranged from 0.15 to 3.15 mg x kg(-1) with the average of 1.12 mg x kg(-1), which was lower than the suggested standards in USA and Europe and with low health risk. Meanwhile, ∑ PAEs concentrations in vegetables were higher than those both in rice and fruits. DBP and DEHP were the main components of PAEs both in agricultural soils and products, with higher percentage contents and detected ratio. ∑ PAEs and DBP contents in various agricultural products-soils had a significantly positive correlation, with Pearson coefficients (r) in vegetables-vegetable soils were 0.81 (P = 0.000), 0.75 (P = 0.000), and corresponding r among rice-paddy soil and fruits-fruit soils were 0.74 (P = 0.036), 0.65 (P = 0.041) and 0.66 (P = 0.029), 0.78 (P = 0.045), respectively. Although there existed a significant difference for single PAEs compound accumulated by agricultural products, the ∑ PAEs bioconcentration factors of all agricultural products were above 1. Therefore, the accumulation characteristics of PAEs should be fully concerned when farm soil quality assessment is taken.

[Video-urodynamic characteristics and management in complete cervical and thoracic spinal cord injury patients].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the video-urodynamic characteristics and management in complete cervical and thoracic spinal cord injury patients. METHODS: Video-urodynamic examination was performed in 113 patients with complete cervical and thoracic spinal cord injury from January 2008 to May 2010. And their characteristics, managements and 3-year follow-up outcomes were reviewed and analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Among them, there were detrusor overactivity (n = 82, 72.57%), detrusor areflexia (n = 31, 27.43%), detrusor external sphincter dyssynergia (n = 71, 62.83%), low-compliance (n = 59, 52.21%), reflux (n = 6, 5.31%) and ultrasonic uronephrosis (n = 12, 10.62%). According to the result of the video-urodynamic examination, detrusor overactivity patients chose oral anticholinergic agents, botulinum toxin type A injection method, detrusor areflexia patients chose regular intermittent catheterization for bladder training. During a 3-year follow-up, there were cystic calculus (n = 2) and urinary infection (n = 7).No special complication occurred. CONCLUSIONS: The video-urodynamic characteristics vary in complete cervical and thoracic spinal cord injury patients. The major symptoms include detrusor overactivity, detrusor external sphincter dyssynergia and low-compliance bladder. Proper management is essential for protecting upper urinary tract and preventing urinary system complication.

Inhibitory effects of terpenoids from the fermented broth of the ascomycete Stilbohypoxylon elaeicola YMJ173 on nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 macrophages.

A series of six isopimarane-type diterpene glycosides, along with an eremophilane-type sesquiterpene, i.e., elaeicolasides A-C (1-3, resp.), 16-(α-D-mannopyranosyloxy)isopimar-7-en-19-oic acid (4), hymatoxin K (5), hymatoxin L (6), and elaeicolalactone (7), were isolated from the AcOEt extract of the fermented broth of Stilbohypoxylon elaeicola YMJ173. Among these, 1-3 and 7 are new compounds based on their spectroscopic data and sugar composition analysis. The effects of 1-7 on the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells were evaluated. All these compounds inhibited NO production, detected as nitrite in the culture medium, in activated macrophages without any cytotoxicity at a concentration of 100 µM. Among these compounds, 2 showed a significant activity with the average maximum inhibition (E(max)) and median inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) values of 93.3±0.5% and 79.3±0.4 µM, respectively.

Chemical constituents of the fermented broth of the ascomycete Theissenia cinerea 89091602.

One new betaenone, theissenoic acid (1), together with three new acetogenins, theissenolactones A-C (2-4, resp.), were isolated from the fermented broth of Theissenia cinerea 89091602 isolated in Taiwan. The structures of 1-4 were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Biological tests revealed that 3 and 4 exhibited moderate growth-inhibitory activities against A549 lung cancer cell line with GI(50) values of 14.9 and 47.9 µM, respectively.

Anti-inflammatory and free radial scavenging activities of the constituents isolated from Machilus zuihoensis.

A new biflavonol glycoside, quercetin-3-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside-(3'→O-3''')-quercetin-3-O-ß-D-galactopyranoside (9), together with eight known compounds was isolated for the first time from the leaves of Machilus zuihoensis Hayata (Lauraceae). The structure of compound 9 was elucidated by various types of spectroscopic data analysis. Analysis of the biological activity assay found that compound 9 showed significant superoxide anion scavenging activity (IC50 is 30.4 µM) and markedly suppressed LPS-induced high mobility group box 1 (HMGB-1) protein secretion in RAW264.7 cells. In addition, the HMGB-1 protein secretion was also inhibited by quercitrin (3), ethyl caffeate (6), and ethyl 3-O-caffeoylquinate (7) treatment. In the LPS-stimulated inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activation analysis, two known compounds, quercetin (1) and ethyl caffeate (6), were found to markedly suppress nitric oxide (NO) production (IC50 value, 27.6 and 42.9 µM, respectively) in RAW264.7 cells. Additionally, it was determined that ethyl caffeate (6) down-regulated mRNA expressions of iNOS, IL-1ß, and IL-10 in the LPS-treatment of RAW264.7 cells via a suppressed NF-kB pathway. These results suggested for the first time that the new compound 9 and other constituents isolated from M. zuihoensis have potential anti-inflammatory and superoxide anion scavenging effects. These constituents may be useful for treating various inflammatory diseases.

Anti-Oxidative Abilities of Essential Oils from Atractylodes ovata Rhizome.

The rhizome of Atractylodes ovata De Candolle is rich in essential oils, which are usually removed by processing. In this study, anti-oxidative abilities of essential oils and aqueous extracts of A. ovata rhizome were explored, and the influence of processing on the anti-oxidative abilities was examined. Essential oils and aqueous extracts of A. ovata were extracted by boiling water and steam distillation, respectively. Quality of these two A. ovata samples was controlled by HPLC and GC-MS system, and anti-oxidative abilities were then evaluated. Results showed that surface color of A. ovata turned to brown and chemical components were changed by processing. Contents of both atractylon and atractylenolide II decreased in the essential oils, but only the contents of atractylon decreased by processing. Atractylenolide III increased in both A. ovata samples. However, A. ovata essential oils displayed stronger anti-oxidative abilities than aqueous extracts in DPPH-scavenging, TBH-induced lipid peroxidation and catalase activity assays. Moreover, the bioactivity of essential oils from raw A. ovata was stronger than oils from processed A. ovata. On the other hand, cytotoxicity of A. ovata essential oils was stronger than that of aqueous extracts, and was more sensitive on H9C2 cell than NIH-3T3 and WI-38 cells. In contrast, stir-frying processing method increased cytotoxicity of essential oils, but the cytotoxicity was ameliorated when processed with assistant substances. The results suggested that phytochemical components and bioactivity of A. ovata were changed after processing and the essential oils from raw A. ovata showed better anti-oxidative and fewer cytotoxicity effects.