Six sesquiterpenoids from the stems and leaves of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat and their anti-asthma activities.

Six previously undescribed sesquiterpenoids, chrysanthterpenoids H-M (1-6), were isolated from the stem and leaves of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. Structure elucidation of isolated compounds was unambiguously determined based on extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses. Furthermore, computational prediction of ECD was used to propose the absolute configurations of the compounds. All compounds were evaluated for their anti-asthma effects on RBL-2H3 cells in vitro. The results showed that Compounds 2 and 3 significantly inhibited the release of ß-aminohexosidase and improved RBL-2H3 degranulation by chromogenic substrate and high-content imaging. These results suggest that Compounds 2 and 3 may exhibit anti-asthma activities.

Chrysosplenol D protects mice against LPS-induced acute lung injury by inhibiting oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis via TLR4-MAPKs/NF-κB signaling pathways.

This study investigated the effect and mechanism of chrysosplenol D (CD) on LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice. Histological changes in the lungs were measured by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The levels of IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were detected by ELISA. The levels of oxidative stress were detected by the cuvette assay. Immune cells in peripheral blood, the levels of reactive oxygen species, and apoptosis of primary lung cells were detected by flow cytometry. The mRNA levels of TLR4, MyD88, IL-1ß, and NLRP3 were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The levels of proteins in apoptosis and the TLR4-MAPKs/NF-κB signaling pathways were detected by Western blot. Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that CD could improve lung injury; decrease the levels of inflammatory factors, oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species, and cell apoptosis; and regulate the immune system. Moreover, CD could down-regulate the mRNA levels of TLR4, MyD88, NLRP3, and IL-1ß in lung, and the protein levels of Keap-1, Cleaved-Caspase-3/Caspase-3, Cleaved-Caspase-9/Caspase-9, TLR4, MyD88, p-ERK/ERK, p-JNK/JNK, p-p38/p38, p-p65/p65, NLRP3, and IL-1ß, and up-regulated the levels of Bcl-2/Bax, p-Nrf2/Nrf2, and HO-1. The results suggested that CD could protect mice against LPS-induced acute lung injury by inhibiting oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis via the TLR4-MAPKs/NF-κB signaling pathways.

Three New 2,2'-Difurylketone Derivatives and Two New Chromones from the Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata.

Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata is the processed products of the root of Rehmannia glutinosa. It has been used as a Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years, and it has been found to possess widely pharmacological activities. In this study, three new 2,2'-difurylketone derivatives (rehmanniaeketone A-C) and two new chromones [3,8-dihydroxy-2-(2-hydroxyethyl)chromone and 3,8-dihydroxy-2-[(2-O-α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)ethyl]chromone] were isolated from the Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata. Furthermore all of the compounds were subjected to cytotoxic testing against the human lung carcinoma A549 cells. The cytotoxic results showed that rehmanniaeketone B and rehmanniaeketone C exhibited more stronger inhibition effects on the cell activity of A549 cells with the IC50 5.23 µM and 2.05 µM than other compounds. And 3,8-dihydroxy-2-(2-hydroxyethyl)chromone exhibited moderately inhibitory activity with the IC50 61 µM. Rehmanniaeketone A and 3,8-dihydroxy-2-[(2-O-α-D-galactopyranosyloxy]chromone showed no inhibitory effects.

Vertical and horizontal distributions of clinical antibiotic resistance genes and bacterial communities in Danjiangkou Reservoir, China.

The Danjiangkou Reservoir is an important water source for the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in China. The current anthropogenic pollution of this reservoir is a great public health concern. Therefore, the horizontal and vertical distributions of seven clinical antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and bacterial communities in the Danjiangkou Reservoir were investigated using qPCR and next-generation sequencing, respectively. The average relative abundance of ARGs was 3.01 × 10-4 to 1.90 × 10-3 and 4.66 × 10-4 to 1.85 × 10-3 in horizontal and vertical profiles, respectively. There was a significant difference in the vertical composition of ARGs, which was caused by different media (i.e. water column vs. sediment). No significant differences in the composition of ARGs were found in the horizontal profile. Proteobacteria was the most abundant phylum, followed by Actinobacteria in the Danjiangkou Reservoir. The beta diversity pattern of the microbial communities in the vertical profile was consistent with that of the ARGs. Moreover, a significant difference in the horizontal composition of the bacterial communities among these water columns was found. All of these factors have resulted in noticeably different co-occurrence patterns of ARGs and bacterial communities between water columns and surface sediment samples. ARGs were closely associated with Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi in the sediment samples, indicating potential anthropogenic pollution in the Danjiangkou Reservoir. Although there was no significant correlation between the occurrence of ARGs and 11 opportunistic pathogens, our results point to potential risks for the development of multi-resistant pathogens due to the simultaneous presence of ARGs and pathogens in the study area. These results provide a good basis for thorough ecological evaluation and remediation of the Danjiangkou Reservoir.

Anti-inflammatory Dendranacetylene A, a new polyacetylene glucoside from the flower of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.

A new polyacetylene glucoside, Dendranacetylene A (1), and a known compound 8E-decaene-4,6-diyn-1-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1"→2")-ß-d-glucopyranoside (2) were isolated from the flowers of Dendranthema morifolium (Ramat.) kitam. The chemical structures of these compounds were elucidated by NMR and HR-ESI-MS analysis, and comparing these results with data reported in literatures. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory effects of compounds 1 and 2 were evaluated on RAW264.7 murine macrophage cells induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The two compounds significantly inhibited the NO production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells and exhibited anti-inflammatory effects.

Further investigation of the intermolecular interactions and component distributions in a [Bmim][BF4]-based polystyrene composite membranes using two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy.

The intermolecular interaction and distribution of components in [Bmim][BF(4)]-based polystyrene composite membrane which is composed of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Bmim][BF(4)]), poly(1-(2-methyl acryloyloxyundecyl)-3-methylimidazolium bromide) (poly(MAUM-Br)) and polystyrene is investigated by in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy (2DIR) in this study. A proposed model about the structure of this composite material is presented, and a sketch map about the local distributions of components is provided. In this model, alkyl chains in [Bmim][BF(4)], poly(MAUM-Br), and polystyrene in this system were supposed to form a polymeric network through aggregation or copolymerization. Cations of ionic liquids separate into the polymer network, while anions are kept mainly through the Coulomb force and partially by the hydrogen bonding between cations and anions. To support this model, FTIR has provided some hints on the pi-pi interaction existing in this complex material between the imidazole ring of ionic liquids and the benzene ring of polystyrene, based on the discovery of the shifts of IR absorption bands assigned to the C-C stretching vibrational mode. The sequential order of the responses from different chemical groups toward the variation of temperature is calculated by 2DIR, and the results suggest how different components distributed in this [Bmim][BF(4)]-based polystyrene composite membrane.