A Potential Anti-cancer Compound Separated from the Chloroform Extract of the Chinese Medicine Formula Shenqi San.

This study examined anti-cancer compounds present in the chloroform extract of the Chinese medicine formula Shenqi San (CE-SS). Silica gel column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20, octadecylsilyl (ODS) column chromatography, and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used to separate the compounds from CE-SS. The structural formulas of the separated compounds were determined using 1D 1H and 13C experiments as well as high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HRESIMS). The corresponding results were compared with the reported literature data. A total of six compounds were separated and their structures were identified on the basis of corresponding spectroscopic and physico-chemical properties. They were Saikogenin F (I), Prosaikogenin D (II), Prosaikogenin F (III), ß-sitosterol (IV), 3ß,16ß,23-trihydroxy-13,28-epoxyurs-11-ene-3-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (V), and methyl ursolic acid (VI). The separated compounds were evaluated in vitro for their inhibitory ability against the proliferation of A549 cells via MTT assay. Apoptosis was investigated using Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide (PI) by flow cytometry. Apoptosis-associated proteins were examined by Western blotting. All the compounds were observed to have inhibitory activities against the proliferation of A549 cells to different degrees. Flow cytometry showed that compound V increased the proportion of apoptotic A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Western blotting showed that compound V increased the expression of Bax, cleaved-caspase-3, cleaved-caspase-9 and cleaved-poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP), and decreased the expression of Bcl-2. These results indicated that compound V featured a significant inhibitory effect on A549 cells when compared with other compounds, and it may be considered a potential drug against cancers.

Genetic analysis of oil content in Brassica napus L. using mixed model of major gene and polygene.

The joint segregation analysis of a mixed genetic model of major gene plus poly-gene was conducted to study the inheritance of oil content in Brassica napus L.. Five populations, i.e the populations of 2 parents (P1 and P2), F1, F2 and F2:3 (derived from F2) family, from each of the two crosses (1141B x Ken C-1, 32B x Ken C1-2) were investigated.The frequency distributions of oil content in F2 and F2:3 family populations show characteristics of a mixed normal distribution, which indicated that the inheritance of oil content followed a major gene plus poly-gene model. Twenty-one genetic models were established, which could be classified into five types: one and two major genes, polygenes, one and two major genes plus polygenes. The most suitable genetic model could be selected using Akaike's Information Criterion and the fitness of the selected one could be examined by a set of tests. Results show that genetic model D-2 is the most fitting genetic model for the trait. In other words, oil content in oilseed rape is controlled by one additive major gene plus additive and dominance polygenes. For cross 1 (1141B x Ken C1-1) the heritabilities of major gene and poly-genes in F2 are 68.21% and 27.17%, respectively, and in F2:3 are 81.70% and 16.80%, respectively. The additive effect of major gene is -1.74, which indicates that the locus of the allele in parent 1141B may decrease the oil content, but that in parent Ken C1-1 may increase it. The additive and dominance effects of the polygenes are 1.20 and -1.93, respectively. For cross 2 (32B x Ken C1-2) the heritabilities of major gene and polygenes in F2 are 66.20% and 28.10%, respectively, and in F2:3 were 81.00% and 14.90%, respectively. The additive effect of major gene was -3.74, which also indicates that the locus of the allele in parent 32B may decrease the oil content, but that in parent Ken C1-2 may increase it. The additive and dominance effects are -1.99 and 0.93, respectively. The heritability of the major gene in F2:3 is higher than that in F2 in both crosses, so it would be more efficent to conduct selection in F2:3 families for high oil content in breeding.