[Status quo of and challenges for research on rust disease in medicinal plants].

Medicinal plants are beneficial to human health. However,most of the major producing regions of medicinal plants suffer from rust disease,which threatens the yield and quality of Chinese medicinal materials,thus causes huge economic loss,and hinders the sustainable development of the Chinese medicine industry. By the end of 2020,rust disease had been reported in medicinal plants of 76 species and 33 families. In the 76 species,79 rust pathogens were detected. The majority of these pathogens belonged to Puccinia( 33,39. 24%),Coleosporium( 14,15. 19%),and Aecidium( 11,13. 92%). Of these 79 rust pathogens,10 were autoecious and 13 were heteroecious. Through literature research,this study reviewed the symptoms,pathogen species,severity and distribution,prevalence and occurrence conditions,and control measures of rust disease in medicinal plants,and thereby summarized the research status of rust disease in medicinal plants and the gap with other plants,which is expected to serve as a reference for further research on rust disease in medicinal plants.

Plumbagin inhibits tumor angiogenesis of gastric carcinoma in mice by modulating nuclear factor-kappa B pathway.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine the mechanism of plumbagin on tumor growth of gastric carcinoma. METHODS: Sixty BALB/c mice were treated with 200 µL SGC-7901 cells to establish gastric carcinoma xenograft and randomly divided into four groups: model group, low dose of plumbagin group (2 mg/kg), medium dose of plumbagin group (4 mg/kg) and high dose of plumbagin group (6 mg/kg). The tumor volume and weight were measured every week, and the ratio of anti-tumor was analyzed. The contents of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR2) in serum and tumor tissues were tested by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunohistochemistry and Western blot, respectively. The microvessel density (MVD) in tumor tissues was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The levels of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) p-p65/NF-κB p65, p-inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB)α/IKBα, p-IκB kinase (IKK)/IKK in tumor tissues were also analyzed by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with model group, plumbagin treatment significantly suppressed the growth of tumor (P<0.05). The inhibition rate was 50.32% in high dose group (6 mg/kg). Furthermore, we found that the expressions of VEGF, VEGRF2 and MVD were obviously decreased in plumbagin treatment groups when compared to model group (P<0.05). Importantly, plumbagin treatment could down-regulate the levels of NF-κB p-p65/NF-κB p65, p-IKK/IKK and p-IKBα/IKBα in tumor tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that plumbagin might be an effective drug in inhibiting the tumor angiogenesis of gastric cancer and the mechanism of anti-tumor may be associated with NF-κB pathway.

[Fungal Disease Survey and Pathogen Identification on Codonopsis tangshen in Chongqing].

OBJECTIVE: To confirm the current major diseases and corresponding pathogens of Codonopsis tangshen in Chongqing. METHODS: The main cultivation regions of Codonopsis tangshen in Chongqing were systematically investigated, and the pathogens of the obtained specimens were isolated and identified. RESULTS: Totally, five fungal diseases in Codonopsis tangshen were identified, including rust disease (Puccinia campanumoeae Pat.), root rot (Fusarium oxysporum Schl.), violet root rot (Helicobasidium mompa Tanaka), powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca codonopsis (Golov.) Z. Y. Zhao), and blight (Septoria codonopsidis Ziling). Currently, the diseases with the serious damage on Codonopsis tangshen included rust disease, root rot and violet root rot. CONCLUSION: Rust disease, the severest disease,whose incidence reaches 100%, is an urgent problem waiting to be solved effectively in Codonopsis tangshen cultivation.