Insights into the Superrosids phylogeny and flavonoid synthesis from the telomere-to-telomere gap-free genome assembly of Penthorum chinense Pursh.

The completion of the first telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome assembly of Penthorum chinense Pursh (PC), a prominent medicinal plant in China, represents a significant achievement. This assembly spans a length of 257.5 Mb and consists of nine chromosomes. PC's notably smaller genome size in Saxifragales, compared to that of Paeonia ostii, can be attributed to the low abundance of transposable elements. By utilizing single-copy genes from 30 species, including 28 other Superrosids species, we successfully resolved a previously debated Superrosids phylogeny. Our findings unveiled Saxifragales as the sister group to the core rosids, with both being the sister group to Vitales. Utilizing previously characterized cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes, we predicted the compound classes that most CYP genes of PC are involved in synthesizing, providing insight into PC's potential metabolic diversity. Metabolomic and transcriptomic data revealed that the richest sources of the three most noteworthy medicinal components in PC are young leaves and flowers. We also observed higher activity of upstream genes in the flavonoid synthesis pathway in these plant parts. Additionally, through weighted gene co-expression network analysis, we identified gene regulatory networks associated with the three medicinal components. Overall, these findings deepen our understanding of PC, opening new avenues for further research and exploration.

The Chimonanthus salicifolius genome provides insight into magnoliid evolution and flavonoid biosynthesis.

Chimonanthus salicifolius, a member of the Calycanthaceae of magnoliids, is one of the most famous medicinal plants in Eastern China. Here, we report a chromosome-level genome assembly of C. salicifolius, comprising 820.1 Mb of genomic sequence with a contig N50 of 2.3 Mb and containing 36 651 annotated protein-coding genes. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that magnoliids were sister to the eudicots. Two rounds of ancient whole-genome duplication were inferred in the C. salicifolious genome. One is shared by Calycanthaceae after its divergence with Lauraceae, and the other is in the ancestry of Magnoliales and Laurales. Notably, long genes with > 20 kb in length were much more prevalent in the magnoliid genomes compared with other angiosperms, which could be caused by the length expansion of introns inserted by transposon elements. Homologous genes within the flavonoid pathway for C. salicifolius were identified, and correlation of the gene expression and the contents of flavonoid metabolites revealed potential critical genes involved in flavonoids biosynthesis. This study not only provides an additional whole-genome sequence from the magnoliids, but also opens the door to functional genomic research and molecular breeding of C. salicifolius.

The traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz.: A review.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. (called Baizhu in China) is a medicinal plant that has long been used as a tonic agent in various ethno-medical systems in East Asia, especially in China, for the treatment of gastrointestinal dysfunction, cancer, osteoporosis, obesity, and fetal irritability. AIM OF THE REVIEW: This review aims to provide a systematic summary on the botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and toxicology of A. macrocephala to explore the future therapeutic potential and scientific potential of this plant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search was performed on A. macrocephala using scientific databases including Web of Science, Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, Springer, PubMed, SciFinder, and ScienceDirect. Information was also collected from classic books of Chinese herbal medicine, Ph.D. and M.Sc. dissertations, unpublished materials, and local conference papers on toxicology. Plant taxonomy was confirmed to the database "The Plant List" (www.theplantlist.org). RESULTS: More than 79 chemical compounds have been isolated from A. macrocephala, including sesquiterpenoids, triterpenoids, polyacetylenes, coumarins, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides, steroids, benzoquinones, and polysaccharides. Crude extracts and pure compounds of A. macrocephala are used to treat gastrointestinal hypofunction, cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, splenic asthenia, abnormal fetal movement, Alzheimer disease, and obesity. These extracts have various pharmacological effects, including anti-tumor activity, anti-inflammatory activity, anti-aging activity, anti-oxidative activity, anti-osteoporotic activity, neuroprotective activity, and immunomodulatory activity, as well as improving gastrointestinal function and gonadal hormone regulation. CONCLUSIONS: A. macrocephala is a valuable traditional Chinese medicinal herb with multiple pharmacological activities. Pharmacological investigations support the traditional use of A. macrocephala, and may validate the folk medicinal use of A. macrocephala to treat many chronic diseases. The available literature shows that much of the activity of A. macrocephala can be attributed to sesquiterpenoids, polysaccharides and polyacetylenes. However, there is a need to further understand the molecular mechanisms and the structure-function relationship of these constituents, as well as their potential synergistic and antagonistic effects. Further research on the comprehensive evaluation of medicinal quality, the understanding of multi-target network pharmacology of A. macrocephala, as well as its long-term in vivo toxicity and clinical efficacy is recommended.

Isolation and chatacterization of homoisoflavonoids from Dracaena cochinchinensis and their osteogenic activities in mouse mesenchymal stem cells.

Two new homoisoflavonoids, dracaeconolide A (1) and dracaeconolide B (2), together with ten known compounds, namely (3R)-7,4'-dihydroxy-8-methoxyhomoisoflavane (3), (3R)-7-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxybenzyl)chromane (4), (3R)-7,4'-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-homoisoflavane (5), (3R)-6,4'-dihydroxy-8-methoxyhomoisoflavan (6), 7,4'-dihydroxy-8-methylflavan (7), (2R)-7,4'-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-8-methylflavan (8), 5,4'-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-6-methylflavane (9), 7,4'-dihydroxy-3'-methoxyflavan (10), 7,4'-dihydroxyflavan (11), 4,4'-dihydroxy-2,6-dimethoxydihydrochlcone (12), were isolated from the red resin of Dracaena cochinchinensis (dragon's blood, DB). All the compounds were then evaluated for their effects on mouse bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) proliferation using CCK8 assay and their abilities in promoting MSCs differentiating into osteoblast through the assay of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in vitro. Compounds 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, and 11, at a concentration of 10µM with no cytotoxicity, significantly promoted MSC osteogenic differentiation by increasing the levels of ALP activity to percents of 159.6±5.9, 167.6±10.9, 162.0±1.4, 151.3±4.0, 171.0±8.2, and 169.9±7.3 in relative to the control, respectively. The results of ALP staining were in accordance to that of ALP activity.

[Resources and application of She's nationality wild medicinal plants].

To make a thorough investigation of the common She's nationality wild medicinal plants resources in our country, including the species, the distribution, the folk application and the endemic medicinal plant species, Field surveyed was conducted with 25 She people mainly lived area (county, district or city) throughout the country, the folk prescription and treatment cases provided by She's medical personnel, the drug usage and dosage, the commonly used traditional She's medicine and drug samples were collected. And the distribution, growing environment of these plants were investigated, their characteristics, photographs, GPS data and track were record , and the fresh wax leaf or plants specimens were collected. In total 1 600 varieties of folk medicine of She's nationality, 450 disease names and 1 016 prescriptions were collected. 520 kinds of these medicinal plants were commonly used, growing mainly distributed in the southeastern China, about 200 meters above sea level to 1 500 meters. There are 5 First-Grade State protection wild plants (medicinal), 15 second-Grade State protection wild plants (medicinal), and 11 She characteristic medicinal plants in our study, they belong to 144 families, 312 genera 494 species, 2 subspecies, 17 varieties, 3 forms and 1 cultivated varieties of She's nationality. Folk medicine usage is different from the traditional Chinese medicine and ethnic medicine. This survey finds out the common She's nationality wild medicinal plants resources in China, including the species, the distribution, the folk application and commonly used drugs, and found the rare and endangered medicinal plants and the She's nationality endemic medicinal plants, which provides a basis for further development and use the traditional She's medicine resources.

[Chemical constituents of chloroform fraction from leaves of Chimonanthus salicifolius].

To explore anti-tumor active components of Chimonanthus salicifolius, the phytochemistry of the chloroform fraction from leaves extract was investigated by repeated silica gel column chromatography. Twelve compounds were isolated and their structures were identified by physicochemical properties and spectroscopic data analysis as 9-epi-blumenol C(1), blumenol C(2), (+)-dehydrovomifoliol (3), (+)-vomifoliol (4), robinlin (5), (-)-loliolide (6), isofraxidin (7), scopoletin (8), 6,7-dimethoxycoumarin (9), 6, 7, 8-trimethoxycoumarin (10), beta-sitostenone (11), and beta-stigmasterol(12). Compounds 1-6 belonging to nor-sesquiterpenoids were isolated from the family Calycanthaceae for the first time. Compound 1 was a new natural product. Compounds 7, 11 and 12 were obtained from this plant for the first time.

Suppressing progress of pancreatitis through selective inhibition of NF-KappaB activation by using NAC.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the characteristics of NF-KappaB activation in the progress of pancreatitis, the relationship with expression of TNF-alpha in the inflammatory reaction, and prevent the exacerbation of pancreatitis by using NAC. METHOD: Forty-eight rats were divided into three groups: therapy (group C), pancreatitis (group B) and control (group A). NAC served as the inhibitor of NF-KappaB activation. In the time intervals of 1.5, 3.0, 6.0, 12.0 hour, NF-KappaB activation was detected with flow cytometry (FCM) and the expression of TNF-alpha mRNA and protein with in situ hybridization (ISH) and enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) respectively. Meanwhile, the level of lipase and amylase in the serum was assayed and the pathological change was evaluated. RESULT: NF-KappaB activation in the pancreatitis group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.01), peaked at 3 hours, and was depressed by the inhibitor of NF-KappaB, NAC. The expression of TNF-alpha as well as the level of lipase and amylase in the serum also rose synchronously with activation of NF-KappaB. In contrast to group A, it was significantly different (P<0.01) in group B. After using NAC in group C, all of these values were decreased and the inflammatory reaction in the pancreas abated evidently. The pathology changes of the pancreas were shown to be alleviated in group C. CONCLUSION: First, NF-KappaB activity is intensively initiated in the course of pancreatitis and shown to have closely relationship with the release of cytokines. Second, use of NAC markedly depressed NF-KappaB activation. TNF-alpha expression is down regulated by cytokines. It is suggested that NAC probably acts as a useful agent for treatment of pancreatitis by indirectly inhibiting activation of NF-KappaB.