Comparative complete chloroplast genome of Geum japonicum: evolution and phylogenetic analysis.

Geum japonicum (Rosaceae) has been widely used in China as a traditional herbal medicine due to its high economic and medicinal value. However, the appearance of Geum species is relatively similar, making identification difficult by conventional phenotypic methods, and the studies of genomics and species evolution are lacking. To better distinguish the medicinal varieties and fill this gap, we carried out relevant research on the chloroplast genome of G. japonicum. Results show a typical quadripartite structure of the chloroplast genome of G. japonicum with a length of 156,042 bp. There are totally 131 unique genes in the genome, including 87 protein-coding genes, 36 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes, and there were also 87 SSRs identified and mostly mononucleotide Adenine-Thymine. We next compared the plastid genomes among four Geum species and obtained 14 hypervariable regions, including ndhF, psbE, trnG-UCC, ccsA, trnQ-UUG, rps16, psbK, trnL-UAA, ycf1, ndhD, atpA, petN, rps14, and trnK-UUU. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that G. japonicum is most closely related to Geum aleppicum, and possibly has some evolutionary relatedness with an ancient relic plant Taihangia rupestris. This research enriched the genome resources and provided fundamental insights for evolutionary studies and the phylogeny of Geum.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence and phylogenetic relationship analysis of Eomecon chionantha, one species unique to China.

Eomecon chionantha Hance, an endemic species in China, has a long medical history in Chinese ethnic minority medicine and is known for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. However, studies of E. chionantha are lacking. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of the E. chionantha chloroplast genome and determined the taxonomic position of E. chionantha in Papaveraceae via phylogenetic analysis. In addition, we determined molecular markers to identify E. chionantha at the molecular level by comparing the chloroplast genomes of E. chionantha and its closely related species. The complete chloroplast genomic information indicated that E. chionantha chloroplast DNA (178,808 bp) contains 99 protein-coding genes, 8 rRNAs, and 37 tRNAs. Meanwhile, we were able to identify a total of 54 simple sequence repeats through our analysis. Our findings from the phylogenetic analysis suggest that E. chionantha shares a close relationship with four distinct species, namely Macleaya microcarpa, Coreanomecon hylomeconoides, Hylomecon japonica, and Chelidonium majus. Additionally, using the Kimura two-parameter model, we successfully identified five hypervariable regions (ycf4-cemA, ycf3-trnS-GGA, trnC-GCA-petN, rpl32-trnL-UAG, and psbI-trnS-UGA). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the complete chloroplast genome of E. chionantha, providing a scientific reference for further understanding of E. chionantha from the perspective of the chloroplast genome and establishing a solid foundation for the future identification, taxonomic determination and evolutionary analysis of this species.

Multiple configurations of the plastid and mitochondrial genomes of Caragana spinosa.

MAIN CONCLUSION: In this study, we assembled the complete plastome and mitogenome of Caragana spinosa and explored the multiple configurations of the organelle genomes. Caragana spinosa belongs to the Papilionoidea subfamily and has significant pharmaceutical value. To explore the possible interaction between the organelle genomes, we assembled and analyzed the plastome and mitogenome of C. spinosa using the Illumina and Nanopore DNA sequencing data. The plastome of C. spinosa was 129,995 bp belonging to the inverted repeat lacking clade (IRLC), which contained 77 protein-coding genes, 29 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. The mitogenome was 378,373 bp long and encoded 54 unique genes, including 33 protein-coding, three ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and 18 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes. In addition to the single circular conformation, alternative conformations mediated by one and four repetitive sequences in the plastome and mitogenome were identified and validated, respectively. The inverted repeat (PDR12, the 12th dispersed repeat sequence in C. spinosa plastome) of plastome mediating recombinant was conserved in the genus Caragana. Furthermore, we identified 14 homologous fragments by comparing the sequences of mitogenome and plastome, including eight complete tRNA genes. A phylogenetic analysis of protein-coding genes extracted from the plastid and mitochondrial genomes revealed congruent topologies. Analyses of sequence divergence found one intergenic region, trnN-GUU-ycf1, exhibiting a high degree of variation, which can be used to develop novel molecular markers to distinguish the nine Caragana species accurately. This plastome and mitogenome of C. spinosa could provide critical information for the molecular breeding of C. spinosa and be used as a reference genome for other species of Caragana. In this study, we assembled the complete plastome and mitogenome of Caragana spinosa and explored the multiple configurations of the organelle genomes.

Identification of circular RNAs of Cannabis sativa L. potentially involved in the biosynthesis of cannabinoids.

MAIN CONCLUSION: We identified circRNAs in the Cannabis sativa L. genome and examined their association with 28 cannabinoids in three tissues of C. sativa. Nine circRNAs are potentially involved in the biosynthesis of six cannabinoids. Cannabis sativa L. has been widely used in the production of medicine, textiles, and food for over 2500 years. The main bioactive compounds in C. sativa are cannabinoids, which have multiple important pharmacological actions. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play essential roles in growth and development, stress resistance, and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. However, the circRNAs in C. sativa remain unknown. In this study, to explore the role of circRNAs in cannabinoid biosynthesis, we performed RNA-Seq and metabolomics analysis on the leaves, roots, and stems of C. sativa. We identified 741 overlapping circRNAs by three tools, of which 717, 16, and 8 circRNAs were derived from exonic, intronic, and intergenic, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that the parental genes (PGs) of circRNAs were enriched in many processes related to biological stress responses. We found that most of the circRNAs showed tissue-specific expression and 65 circRNAs were significantly correlated with their PGs (P < 0.05, |r|≥ 0.5). We also determined 28 cannabinoids by High-performance liquid chromatography-ESI-triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry. Ten circRNAs, including ciR0159, ciR0212, ciR0153, ciR0149, ciR0016, ciR0044, ciR0022, ciR0381, ciR0006, and ciR0025 were found to be associated with six cannabinoids by weighted gene co-expression network analysis. Twenty-nine of 53 candidate circRNAs, including 9 cannabinoids related were validated successfully using PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing. Taken together, all these results would help to enhance our acknowledge of the regulation of circRNAs, and lay the foundation for breeding new C. sativa cultivars with high cannabinoids through manipulating circRNAs.

[Prediction of global potential growth areas for Panax ginseng based on GMPGIS system and MaxEnt model].

The suitable habitat for the endangered and valuable medicinal herb Panax ginseng is gradually decreasing. It is crucial to investigate its suitable growing areas in China for global protection and sustainable utilization of P. ginseng. In this study, 371 distribution points of P. ginseng were collected, and 21 environmental factors were used as ecological indicators. The geographic information system for global medicinal plants(GMPGIS) system, MaxEnt model, and Thiessen polygon method were used to analyze the potential suitable areas for P. ginseng globally. The results showed that the key environmental variables affecting P. ginseng were precipitation in the hottest quarter(Bio18) and the coefficient of temperature seasonality(Bio4). The suitable habitats for P. ginseng were mostly located in the "One Belt, One Road" countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, and Russia. The highly suitable habitats were mainly distributed along mountain ranges in southeastern Shandong, southern Shanxi and Shaanxi, northern Jiangsu, and northwestern Henan of China. Data analysis indicated that the current P. ginseng planting sites were all in high suitability zones, and the Thiessen polygon results showed that the geographic locations of P. ginseng production companies were unbalanced and urgently needed optimization. This study provides data support for P. ginseng planting site selection, scientific introduction, production layout, and long-term development planning.

Structural mutations of small single copy (SSC) region in the plastid genomes of five Cistanche species and inter-species identification.

BACKGROUND: Cistanche is an important genus of Orobanchaceae, with critical medicinal, economic, and desertification control values. However, the phylogenetic relationships of Cistanche genus remained obscure. To date, no effective molecular markers have been reported to discriminate effectively the Cistanche closely related species reported here. In this study, we obtained and characterized the plastomes of four Cistanche species from China, to clarify the phylogenetic relationship within the genus, and to develop molecular markers for species discrimination.  RESULTS: Four Cistanche species (Cistanche deserticola, Cistanche salsa, Cistanche tubulosa and Cistanche sinensis), were deep-sequenced with Illumina. Their plastomes were assembled using SPAdes and annotated using CPGAVAS2. The plastic genomes were analyzed in detail, finding that all showed the conserved quadripartite structure (LSC-IR-SSC-IR) and with full sizes ranging from 75 to 111 Kbp. We observed a significant contraction of small single copy region (SSC, ranging from 0.4-29 Kbp) and expansion of inverted repeat region (IR, ranging from 6-30 Kbp), with C. deserticola and C. salsa showing the smallest SSCs with only one gene (rpl32). Compared with other Orobanchaceae species, Cistanche species showed extremely high rates of gene loss and pseudogenization, as reported for other parasitic Orobanchaceae species. Furthermore, analysis of sequence divergence on protein-coding genes showed the three genes (rpl22, clpP and ycf2) had undergone positive selection in the Cistanche species under study. In addition, by comparison of all available Cistanche plastomes we found 25 highly divergent intergenic spacer (IGS) regions that were used to predict two DNA barcode markers (Cis-mk01 and Cis-mk02 based on IGS region trnR-ACG-trnN-GUU) and eleven specific DNA barcode markers using Ecoprimer software. Experimental validation showed 100% species discrimination success rate with both type of markers. CONCLUSION: Our findings have shown that Cistanche species are an ideal model to investigate the structure variation, gene loss and pseudogenization during the process of plastome evolution in parasitic species, providing new insights into the evolutionary relationships among the Cistanche species. In addition, the developed DNA barcodes markers allow the proper species identification, ensuring the effective and safe use of Cistanche species as medicinal products.

The spatiotemporal regulations of epicatechin biosynthesis under normal flowering and the continuous inflorescence removal treatment in Fagopyrum dibotrys.

BACKGROUND: Flowering is a critical physiological change that interferes with not only biomass yield but also secondary metabolism, such as the biosynthesis of flavonoids, in rhizome/root plants. The continuous inflorescence removal (CIR) treatment is frequently conducted to weaken this effect. Fagopyrum dibotrys (D.Don) H.Hara (Golden buckwheat) is a kind of rhizome medicinal plant rich in flavonoids and is widely used for the treatment of lung diseases. The CIR treatment is usually conducted in F. dibotrys because of its excessive reproductive growth. To uncover the molecular mechanisms, comprehensive analysis was performed using metabolome and transcriptome data obtained from normally bloomed and the CIR treated plants. RESULTS: Metabolome results demonstrated that in the rhizomes of F. dibotrys, its bioactive compound called epicatechin has higher amount than most of the detected precursors. Compared with the normally bloomed plants, the level of epicatechin in the rhizomes of the CIR group increased by 25% at the withering stage. Based on 96 samples of the control and the CIR groups at 4 flowering stages for 4 tissues, RNA-Seq results revealed a 3 ~ 5 times upregulations of all the key enzyme genes involved in the biosynthesis of epicatechin in both time (from the bud stage to the withering stage) and spatial dimensions (from the top of branch to rhizome) under the CIR treatment compared to normal flowering. Integrated analysis of LC-MS/MS and transcriptome revealed the key roles of several key enzyme genes besides anthocyanidin reductase (ANR). A total of 93 transcription factors were identified to co-expressed with the genes in epicatechin biosynthetic pathway. The flowering activator SQUAMOSA promoter-binding protein like (SPLs) exhibited opposite spatiotemporal expression patterns to that of the epicatechin pathway genes; SPL3 could significantly co-express with all the key enzyme genes rather than the flowering repressor DELLA. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) further confirmed the correlations among chalcone synthases (CHSs), chalcone isomerases (CHIs), ANRs, SPLs and other transcription factors. CONCLUSIONS: SPL3 might dominantly mediate the effect of normal flowering and the CIR treatment on the biosynthesis of epicatechin in rhizomes mainly through the negative regulations of its key enzyme genes including CHS, CHI and ANR.

The current use and evolving landscape of nutraceuticals.

The nutraceutical market is currently a high-impact multi-billion-dollar industry, and it is anticipated to grow rapidly over the next decade. Nutraceuticals comprise diverse food-derived product categories that have become widespread due to increased consumer awareness of potential health benefits and the need for improved wellness. This targeted review is designed to identify the current global trends, market opportunities, and regulations that drive the nutraceutical industry. Safety and efficacy concerns are also explored with a view to highlighting areas that necessitate further research and oversight. Key drivers of the nutraceutical market include aging populations, consumer awareness, consumer lifestyle, increasing cost of healthcare, and marketing channels. Although some nutraceuticals hold promising preventive and therapeutic opportunities, there is a lack of a universal definition and regulatory framework among countries. Moreover, there is a lack of adequate evidence for their efficacy, safety, and effectiveness, which was even further highlighted during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Future prospective epidemiological studies can delineate the health impact of nutraceuticals and help set the scientific basis and rationale foundation for clinical trials, reducing the time and cost of trials themselves. Together, an understanding of the key drivers of the nutraceutical market alongside a consistent and well-defined regulatory framework will provide further opportunities for growth, expansion, and segmentation of nutraceuticals applications.

Complete chloroplast genome of Gentianopsis barbata and comparative analysis with related species from Gentianaceae.

Gentianopsis barbata is an essential medicinal plant in China with high ornamental and medicinal values. Unfortunately, the study of the chloroplast genome of this plant still has a gap. This study sequenced and characterized the complete chloroplast genome of G. barbata. The complete chloroplast genome of G. barbata is a typical circular structure of 151 123 bp. It consists of a large single-copy region (82 690 bp) and a small single-copy region (17 887 bp) separated by a pair of inverted repeats (25 273 bp), which covers 78 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNAs, and 4 rRNAs. The long repeat sequence analysis showed that the P-type (palindromic) sequences were the major long repeat sequences. Thirty-seven simple sequence repeats were identified, most of which were single nucleotides. The Bayesian inference tree, maximum likelihood tree, and neighbor-joining tree suggested that G. barbata is grouped with Gentianopsis grandis and Gentianopsis paludosa. The divergence time analysis showed that G. barbata diverged at 1.243 Mya. Comparative analysis of chloroplast genomes can reveal interspecific diversity, and regions with high variation can be used to develop molecular markers applicable to various research areas. Our results provide a new insight into plastome evolution and a valuable resource for further studies on G. barbata.

Ecotype Division and Chemical Diversity of Cynomorium songaricum from Different Geographical Regions.

Cynomorium songaricum is an important endangered plant with significant medicinal and edible values. However, the lack of resources and quality variation have limited the comprehensive developments and sustainable utilization of C. songaricum. Here, we evaluated the chemical and genetic traits of C. songaricum from the highly suitable habitat regions simulated with species distribution models. The PCA and NJ tree analyses displayed intraspecific variation in C. songaricum, which could be divided into two ecotypes: ecotype I and ecotype II. Furthermore, the LC-MS/MS-based metabolomic was used to identify and analyze the metabolites of two ecotypes. The results indicated that a total of 589 compounds were detected, 236 of which were significantly different between the two ecotypes. Specifically, the relative content and the kind of flavonoids were more abundant in ecotype I, which were closely associated with the medicinal activities. In contrast, amino acids and organic acids were more enriched in ecotype II, which may provide better nutritional quality and unique flavor. In summary, our findings demonstrate the ecotype division and chemical diversity of C. songaricum in China from different geographical regions and provide a reference for the development of germplasm and directed plant breeding of endangered medicinal plants.

Fighting climate change: soil bacteria communities and topography play a role in plant colonization of desert areas.

Global warming has exacerbated desertification in arid regions. Exploring the environmental variables and microbial communities that drive the dynamics of geographic patterns of desert crops is important for large-scale standardization of crops that can control desertification. Here, predictions based on future climate data from CMIP6 show that a steady expand in the suitable production areas for three desert plants (Cistanche deserticola, Cynomorium songaricum and Cistanche salsa) under global warming, demonstrating their high adaptability to future climate change. We examined the biogeography of three desert plant soil bacteria communities and assessed the environmental factors affecting the community assembly process. The α-diversity significantly decreased along elevated latitudes, indicating that the soil bacterial communities of the three species have latitude diversity patterns. The neutral community model evaluated 66.6% of the explained variance of the bacterial community in the soil of desert plants and Modified Stochasticity Ratio <0.5, suggesting that deterministic processes dominate the assembly of bacterial communities in three desert plants. Moreover, topography (longitude, elevation) and precipitation as well as key OTUs (OTU4911: Streptomyces eurythermus and OTU4672: Streptomyces flaveus) drive the colonization of three desert plants. This research offers a promising solution for desert management in arid areas under global warming.

CPGAVAS2, an integrated plastome sequence annotator and analyzer.

We previously developed a web server CPGAVAS for annotation, visualization and GenBank submission of plastome sequences. Here, we upgrade the server into CPGAVAS2 to address the following challenges: (i) inaccurate annotation in the reference sequence likely causing the propagation of errors; (ii) difficulty in the annotation of small exons of genes petB, petD and rps16 and trans-splicing gene rps12; (iii) lack of annotation for other genome features and their visualization, such as repeat elements; and (iv) lack of modules for diversity analysis of plastomes. In particular, CPGAVAS2 provides two reference datasets for plastome annotation. The first dataset contains 43 plastomes whose annotation have been validated or corrected by RNA-seq data. The second one contains 2544 plastomes curated with sequence alignment. Two new algorithms are also implemented to correctly annotate small exons and trans-splicing genes. Tandem and dispersed repeats are identified, whose results are displayed on a circular map together with the annotated genes. DNA-seq and RNA-seq data can be uploaded for identification of single-nucleotide polymorphism sites and RNA-editing sites. The results of two case studies show that CPGAVAS2 annotates better than several other servers. CPGAVAS2 will likely become an indispensible tool for plastome research and can be accessed from http://www.herbalgenomics.org/cpgavas2.

The exploration of neuraminidase inhibitory activity on Fallopia denticulata, an ethnic herb in China.

This study was designed to explore the bioactive ingredients in the extracts of Fallopia denticulata (C.C. Huang) Holub, a medicinal plant grown in China, which exhibits the best neuraminidase (NA) inhibition activity. Three fractions of ethyl acetate, ethanol, and water were tested on NA inhibition assay, and the best one was conducted by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry in the negative and positive modes to analyze the metabolic components. The results revealed the identification of the following 21 compounds: 3 organic acids, 11 flavonoids, 1 coumarin, and 6 others, such as ß-daucosterol, gallic acid, and syringic acid, of which 12 compounds were discovered for the first time in F. denticulata. In addition, we used the molecular docking technique to support the anti-NA activity of each compound in the best extract. The results confirmed that the two better bioactive compounds were (-)-epicatechin gallate and (+)-catechin. Therefore, F. denticulata could be used as a potential material for new anti-influenza drugs.

Metabolome and transcriptome profiling reveals quality variation and underlying regulation of three ecotypes for Cistanche deserticola.

Cistanche deserticola is a plant used both as food and medicine. We are interested in understanding how C. deserticola responds to environmental conditions. Samples were collected from three ecotypes grown in saline-alkali land, grassland and sandy land. Transcriptome and metabolome analysis were performed by using RNA-seq and LC-ESI-MS/MS. Among 578 metabolites identified, 218, 209 and 215 compounds were found differentially produced among the three ecotypes. Particularly, 2'-acetylacteoside, belonging to phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGs) is the most significantly differentially produced with a VIP > 0.5 and fold change > 2, representing a potential chemical marker to distinguish the three ecotypes. RNA-Seq analysis revealed 52,043 unigenes, and 947, 632 and 97 of them were found differentially expressed among the three ecotypes. Analysis of the correlation between the metabolome profiles and transcriptome profiles among three ecotypes identified that the 12 key genes related to PhGs biosynthesis were differentially expressed. Particularly, the expression of PAL, ALDH and GOT genes were significantly up-regulated in saline-alkali land compared to the other two. In summary, we found PhGs content was higher in saline-alkali land compared with other ecotypes. This is likely due to the up-regulation of the PhGs biosynthetic genes in response to the saline-alkali conditions.

Aberrant FcγRIIb and FcγRIII expression on monocytes from patients with Behçet's disease.

Behçet's disease (BD) patients have abnormal FcγR polymorphisms, the implication of which remains elusive. We examined FcγRIIb expression on neutrophils, monocytes, B cells, natural killer cells, dendritic cells and T cells, and FcγRI and FcγRIII expression on monocytes in BD patients and healthy controls using flow cytometry. We further stimulated monocytes with IgG and (or) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and measured IL-6 and TNF-α production by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We found that BD monocytes expressed a lower level of FcγRIIb and a higher level of FcγRIII, which were correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein and were rescued after treatment. Furthermore, LPS- and IgG-stimulated BD monocytes produced higher levels of IL-6 and TNF-α than HC monocytes. In summary, we found that BD monocytes downregulated FcγRIIb expression and upregulated FcγRIII expression, which were correlated with disease activity and potentially contributed to monocyte hyperactivation in BD.

Anti-neuraminidase activity of chemical constituents of Balanophora involucrata.

Balanophora involucrata J. D. Hooker has been known to possess potential anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities; however, its antiviral activity has not been evaluated so far. In order to find new neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs), the neuraminidase (NA) inhibition activity of different B. involucrata extracts was evaluated. In this study, an in vitro NA inhibition assay was performed to identify which extract of B. involucrata exhibits (maximal) inhibitory activity against NA. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight-tandem mass spectroscopy (MS/MS) and molecular docking techniques were used to identify the specific compounds responsible for the anti-influenza activity of the extract, and to explore the potential natural NAIs. The ethyl acetate extract of B. involucrata exhibited significant inhibitory activity against NA with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) value of 159.5 µg/mL. Twenty compounds were identified according to the MS/MS spectra; among them two compounds (quercitrin and phloridzin) showed obvious inhibitory activity against NA, with IC50 of 311.76 and 347.32 µmol/L, respectively. This study suggested that B. involucrata can be a potential natural source of NAIs and may be useful in the fight against ferocious influenza viruses.

Longitudinal trend of global artemisinin research in chemistry subject areas (1983-2017).

Artemisinin, the initial and main drug for malaria prevention and treatment internationally, was first extracted from the plant Artemisia annua L. by Chinese scientists in 1972. Research on artemisinin in chemistry subject areas shows a rapid growth since the 1980s. To evaluate the evolutionary trends and draw the knowledge map of artemisinin research, 1316 relevant publications are analysed based on bibliometrics. The global research status, emerging trends and future directions are also visualised and discussed. Furthermore, a historical overview of chemical synthesis on artemisinin is illustrated via timeline in terms of industrialisation. Overall, this study provides a novel method to visualise further information about artemisinin research and a comprehensive perspective to understand the longitudinal trend over the last 30 years.

An Integrated LC-MS-Based Strategy for the Quality Assessment and Discrimination of Three Panax Species.

: The quality assessment and discrimination of Panax herbs are very challenging to perform due to the complexity and variability of their chemical compositions. An integrated strategy was established using UHPLC-Q-Exactive/HRMS and HPLC-ESI-MS/MS to achieve an accurate, rapid, and comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of Panax japonicas (PJ), Panax japonicus var. major (PM), and Panax zingiberensis (PZ). Additionally, discrimination among the three species was explored with partial least squares⁻discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and orthogonal partial least squares⁻discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) score plots. A total of 101 compounds were plausibly or unambiguously identified, including 82 from PJ, 78 from PM, and 67 from PZ. Among them, 16 representative ginsenosides were further quantified in three herbs. A clear discrimination between the three species was observed through a multivariate statistical analysis on the quantitative data. Nine compounds that allowed for discrimination between PJ, PM, and PZ were discovered. Notably, ginsenoside Rf (G-Rf), ginsenoside F3 (G-F3), and chikusetsu saponin IV (CS-IV) were the three most important differential compounds. The research indicated that the integrated LC-MS-based strategy can be applied for the quality assessment and discrimination of the three Panax herbs.

[Exploration on antibacterial activity and mechanism of flowers and leaves from Paeonia rockii based on network pharmacology].

This paper aimed to investigate the antibacterial activity of flowers and leaves from Paeonia rockii, screen antibacterial compounds and predict targets of antibacterial to explore its multi-component, multi-target antibacterial mechanism. In this study, minimal inhibitory concentration(MIC) of seven strains of Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis， Bacillus subtilis, B. cereus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were determined by microdilution method. Uniprot databases was used to find the antibacterial targets, and RCSB was used to identify targets associated with antimicrobial activity as docked receptor proteins. The candidate active ingredients from flowers and leaves of P. rockii were identified by database such as PubChem. The ligands were constructed by ChemDraw, Avogadro and Discovery Studio Visualizer. QuickVina 2.0 software was used to molecular docking. Besides, the Cytoscape 3.5.1 software was used to construct activity compounds of flowers and leaves from P. rockii ingredients-targets network, and Uniprot software was used to analyze gene ontology and KEGG pathway. In vitro antibacterial experiments found antibacterial effect of the flowers and leaves from P. rockii, especially methanol extraction of flowers has the strongest antibacterial effect. The network pharmacology indicated that total 29 activity ingredients and their 18 targets were screened in flowers and leaves from P. rockii. Comparison of the active ingredients and the number of antimicrobial target networks, it is predicted that the antibacterial components are mainly flavonoids and phenolic acids and main mechanism of antibacterial is to inhibit the synthesis of bacterial proteins. In this study, potential antibacterial activity of flowers and leaves from P. rockii has be found by antibacterial experiments in vitro and network pharmacology screening. And this study provides new clues for further basic study on the antibacterial agents of flowers and leaves from P. rockii.

[Exploration on mechanism of anti-influenza virus activity of genus Paeonia based on network pharmacology].

This paper aimed to investigate the anti-influenza virus activity of the genus Paeonia, screen potential anti-influenza virus compounds and predict targets of anti-influenza virus to explore the mechanism of anti-influenza virus activity. First of all, a total of 301 compounds of the genus Paeonia were summarized from the literatures in recent ten years. The candidate active ingredients from the genus Paeonia were identified by database such as PubChem and Chemical Book. The ligands were constructed by ChemDraw, Avogadro and Discovery Studio Visualizer. Secondly, 23 potential anti-influenza virus targets were developed by combining the target database and the literatures. Uniprot database was used to find the anti-influenza virus targets, and RCSB was used to identify targets associated with anti-influenza virus activity as docked receptor proteins. QuickVina 2.0 software was used for molecular docking. Finally, the Cytoscape 3.5.1 software was used to map the potential activity compounds of the genus Paeonia against influenza virus and the anti-influenza virus target network. Uniprot online database was used to analyze the target GO enrichment and KEGG metabolic pathways. The results showed that 74 compounds of the genus Paeonia had anti-influenza virus effect and 18 potential anti-influenza virus targets were screened. GO analysis concluded that the mechanism of the genus Paeonia anti-influenza virus is consistent with the mechanism of NA anti-influenza virus in order to stop the sprouting, dispersion and diffusion of virus and reduce the ability of virus to infect, so that the infection can be restricted so as to achieve the anti-influenza virus effect.