Asponchimides A-E: new enantiomeric N-acetyldopamine trimers from Aspongopus chinensis.

Five new racemic N-acetyldopamine (NADA) trimers, asponchimides A-E (1-5), were isolated from Aspongopus chinensis, a prominent traditional Chinese medicinal insect employed for alleviating pain, treating indigestion, and addressing kidney ailments. Compounds 1-5 were successfully resolved by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), yielding five pairs of enantiomers: (+)- and (-)-asponchimides A-E (1a/1b-5a/5b). Their structural identities were discerned by extensive spectroscopic analyses, including high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and their absolute configurations were determined by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Compounds 1-5 are pioneering instances of NADA trimers featuring a Δ7 double bond. When subjected to a series of bioassays, a majority of the compounds exhibited weak inhibitory activity against nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells.

An inulin-type fructan isolated from Serratula chinensis alleviated the dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice through regulation of intestinal barrier and gut microbiota.

Herein, we aimed to explore the polysaccharide material basis of Serratula chinensis and establish its beneficial effects against colitis. A neutral polysaccharide (SCP) was extracted from S. chinensis in high yield using hot water. The molecular weights were calculated by HPSEC as Mw = 2928 Da, Mn = 2634 Da, and Mw/Mn = 1.11. FT-IR and 1D/2D-NMR spectroscopic analyses confirmed that SCP was an inulin-type fructan with α-D-Glcp-(1 â†’ [1)-ß-D-Fruf-(2]17) linkages. Treatment with SCP (200 or 400 mg/kg) alleviated dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced mouse colitis symptoms, including the loss of body weight, increase of disease activity index score, and shortening of colon length. Histopathological and immunofluorescence assessments revealed that SCP could reduce pathological damage to the colon, restore the number of goblet cells, increase the content of glycoproteins in goblet cells and mucins in crypts, and enhance the expression of tight junction proteins ZO-1 and occludin. In addition, metagenomic sequencing revealed that SCP could improve the dysbiosis of gut microbiomes and act on multiple microbial functions. Moreover, SCP treatment increased the content of colonic acetic acid and butanoic acid. Collectively, these results indicated that SCP could alleviate the DSS-induced colitis in mice through regulation of intestinal barrier and gut microbiota.

Fingerprinting Evaluation and Gut Microbiota Regulation of Polysaccharides from Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) Fruit.

Jujube fruit was well-loved and praised by the broad masses due to its delicious taste, abundant nutritional value, and medicinal properties. Few studies reported the quality evaluation and gut microbiota regulation effect of polysaccharides of jujube fruits from different producing areas. In the present study, multi-level fingerprint profiling, including polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, and monosaccharides, was established for the quality evaluation of polysaccharides from jujube fruits. For polysaccharides, the total content in jujube fruits ranged from 1.31% to 2.22%, and the molecular weight distribution (MWD) ranged from 1.14 × 105 to 1.73 × 106 Da. The MWD fingerprint profiling of polysaccharides from eight producing areas was similar, but the profile of infrared spectroscopy (IR) showed differentiation. The characteristic signals were screened and used to establish a discrimination model for the identification of jujube fruits from different areas, and the accuracy of identification reached 100.00%. For oligosaccharides, the main components were galacturonic acid polymers (DP, 2-4), and the profile of oligosaccharides exhibited high similarity. The monosaccharides, GalA, Glc, and Ara, were the primary monosaccharides. Although the fingerprint of monosaccharides was semblable, the composing proportion of monosaccharides revealed significant differences. In addition, the polysaccharides of jujube fruits could regulate the gut microbiota composition and possess potential therapeutic effects on dysentery and nervous system diseases.