Effects of Different Drying Methods on the Quality of Bletilla striata Scented Tea.

Flower tea is widely loved as a drink, especially for the beautiful and rich flowers of the orchid family, and the drying method for different flowers is also unique. GC-MS is widely used to study volatile substances to determine the quality of flower teas. The findings show that the freeze-drying method can retain the original aroma and flavor of Bletilla striata has the highest sensory evaluation score, with the key flavor substances ethyl caproate and N-heptanal containing 1.14% and 6.28%, respectively, and their ROAV values reaching 54.46 and 100.00. Additionally, the freeze-drying method can well retain flavonoids, polysaccharides, and phenolic components, while providing better antioxidant and antibacterial properties. The stove-drying method would make Bletilla striata slightly burnt and less flavorful and efficacious than freeze-drying; the air-drying method is difficult to retain the special odor and fragrance of Bletilla striata flowers and has the lowest sensory evaluation score, with the presence of volatile components with irritating and unpleasant odors such as pyrazine and 2-pentylfuran, while not showing better efficacy. In addition, steam fixation would destroy the morphology and flavor of Bletilla striata, lose polysaccharide and phenolic components, and reduce the efficacy of Bletilla striata scented tea, but could retain the flavonoid components well. In summary, direct freeze-drying without steam fixation is the best process for drying Bletilla striata scented tea, stove-drying without steam fixation is more economical and convenient in actual production and application, steam fixation and air-drying are not suitable as drying processes for Bletilla striata scented tea. This study analyzed the quality of Bletilla striata scented tea under different drying methods, promoted the further processing of Bletilla striata scented tea, and provided a reference for the comprehensive utilization of Bletilla striata scented tea.

Antibacterial bibenzyl derivatives from the tubers of Bletilla striata.

Ten previously undescribed bibenzyl derivatives (bletistrins A-J), including 5 that have hydroxyl-substituted chiral centres on the aliphatic bibenzyl bridge, along with twelve known bibenzyl derivatives, were isolated from the rhizomes of Bletilla striata. The structures of bletistrins A-J were primarily elucidated on the basis of their 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. The absolute configurations of bletistrins A, D, F, H and I were determined by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopic analysis and optical rotation value. Most of the isolated compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial activities against 3 g-positive bacterial strains and 1 g-negative bacterial strain. Bletistrins F, G, and J, bulbocol, shanciguol and shancigusin B showed inhibitory activities, with MICs of (3-28 µg/mL) against S. aureus ATCC 6538.

[Correlation research of photosynthetic characteristics and medicinal materials production with 4 Uncariae Cum Uncis].

Using four Uncariae Cum Uncis materials including Uncaria sinensis (HGT), U. hirsutea (MGT), Jianhe U. rhynchophylla (JHGT) and U. rhynchophylla(GT) as the research objects, the correlations between medicinal materials' yield and photosynthetic ecophysiology-factors in the plant exuberant growth period were studied. Results showed that the Uncaria plants net photosynthetic rate (Pn) changed by unimodal curve. There was not "midday depression" phenomenon. There was a different relationship among the photosynthetic ecophysiology-factors and between photosynthetic ecophysiology-factors and medicinal materials' yield. Pn,Tl,Gs had a significant correlation with medicinal materials' yield（M）and were the most important factors of growth.

Protein kinase C controls lysosome biogenesis independently of mTORC1.

Lysosomes respond to environmental cues by controlling their own biogenesis, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we describe a protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent and mTORC1-independent mechanism for regulating lysosome biogenesis, which provides insights into previously reported effects of PKC on lysosomes. By identifying lysosome-inducing compounds we show that PKC couples activation of the TFEB transcription factor with inactivation of the ZKSCAN3 transcriptional repressor through two parallel signalling cascades. Activated PKC inactivates GSK3ß, leading to reduced phosphorylation, nuclear translocation and activation of TFEB, while PKC activates JNK and p38 MAPK, which phosphorylate ZKSCAN3, leading to its inactivation by translocation out of the nucleus. PKC activation may therefore mediate lysosomal adaptation to many extracellular cues. PKC activators facilitate clearance of aggregated proteins and lipid droplets in cell models and ameliorate amyloid ß plaque formation in APP/PS1 mouse brains. Thus, PKC activators are viable treatment options for lysosome-related disorders.

Population-based study on the prevalence of and risk factors for human papillomavirus infection in Qujing of Yunnan province, Southwest China.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection causes cervical cancer and premalignant lesions of the cervix. Prevalence of HPV infection and HPV genotypes vary among different regions. However there is no data on the prevalence of HPV infection and HPV genotypes from southwest China. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for HR-HPV infection in Qujing of Yunnan province, southwest China to provide comprehensive baseline data for future screening strategies. METHODS: A sample of 5936 women was chosen by the multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method with selection probabilities proportional to size (PPS). An epidemiological questionnaire was conducted via a face-to-face interview and cervical specimens were taken for HPV DNA testing by Digene Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) test. HPV Genotyping Reverse Hybridization Test was used for HPV genotyping. Proportions were compared by Chi-squared tests, and logistic regression was utilized to evaluate risk factors. RESULTS: The median age was 38 years and the inter-quartile range was from 31 years to 47 years. 97.3% of the study population was Han nationality. Overall prevalence of HR-HPV infection was 8.3% (494/5936) and bimodal age distribution of HPV infection was observed. The five most prevalent HR-HPV genotypes were HPV-16(3.4%), HPV-56(1.7%), HPV-58(1.4%), HPV-33(1.2%) and HPV-52(0.88%). Multiple HPV infections were identified in 50.5% (208/412) of the positive genotyping specimens. Multivariate logistic regression model indicated that parity (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.18-1.53, p < 0.0001) was a risk factor for HR-HPV infection, and age of 50-65 years (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.45-0.80, p = 0.0005), being married or in stable relationship (OR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.31-0.96, p = 0.035) were protective factors. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided baseline data on HR-HPV prevalence in the general female population in Qujing of Yunnan province, southwest China. The finding of multiple HPV infections and bimodal age distribution revealed that HPV screening is necessary for perimenopausal women in future.

Population-based case-control study on DAPK1, RAR-ß2 and MGMT methylation in liquid-based cytology.

OBJECTIVE: Methylated genes have the potential to provide a new generation of cancer biomarkers. The aim of this study was to investigate: (1) the promoter methylation status of DAPK1, RAR-ß2 and MGMT in randomly selected normal cytology of the general female population; (2) the effectiveness of gene methylation in liquid-based cytology to help in the early diagnosis of HSIL; (3) the relationship between HPV infection and gene methylation. METHODS: Methylation of DAPK1, RAR-ß2 and MGMT in 667 cervical samples with 331 cases of abnormal cytology and 336 randomly selected normal cytology controls was detected by methylation-specific PCR and denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography method (MSP-DHPLC). The methylation frequencies of each gene were compared. RESULTS: Methylation frequencies for MGMT, RAR-ß2 and DAPK1 in normal cytology were 36.9, 42.0 and 46.7%, respectively. There was a trend toward increasing methylation frequency for any gene with age (p = 0.0133). Among abnormal cytology, there was a trend toward increasing number of methylation of any gene with severity of cytology grade (r = 0.1178, p = 0.0026). Methylation frequencies for MGMT and RAR-ß2 among cytology of each grade were significantly different (χ ( 2 ) = 6.8976, p = 0.0086; χ ( 2 ) = 33.2477, p < 0.0001), and methylation frequencies for RAR-ß2 in ASC were significantly higher than that in negative cytology (χ ( 2 ) = 8.7128, p = 0.0032). The relationship between MGMT, RAR-ß2 and DAPK1 gene methylation and HPV infection was not found. CONCLUSION: This study reported methylation frequencies for MGMT, RAR-ß2 and DAPK1 in normal cytology of the general female population. The combination of MGMT methylation, cytology and HPV infection is preferable for early detection of CIN2+ in cytology samples. There was no relationship between MGMT, RAR-ß2 and DAPK1 gene methylation and HPV infection.

[Chemical constituents from involatile moiety of Pogostemon cablin].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents of involatile moiety of Pogostemon cablin. METHOD: Compounds were isolated and purified by repeated column chromatography, and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. RESULT: Nine compounds have been isolated and identified: epifriedelinol (1), 5-hydroxymethol-2-furfural (2), succinic acid (3), beta-sitosterol (4), daucosterol (5), crenatoside (6), 3'''-O-methylcrenatoside (7), isocrenatoside (8), and apigenin-7-O-beta-D-(6"-p-coumaryl)-glucoside (9). CONCLUSION: Compounds 2, 3, 6-8 were isolated from Pogostemon genus for the first time.