Correction to: Antiinflammatory constituents of Atractylodes chinensis rhizome improve glomerular lesions in immunoglobulin A nephropathy model mice.

The article Antiinflammatory constituents of Atractylodes chinensis rhizome improve glomerular lesions in immunoglobulin A nephropathy model mice, written by Toshinari Ishii, Tetsuya Okuyama, Nao Noguchi, Yuto Nishidono, Tadayoshi Okumura, Masaki Kaibori, Ken Tanaka, Susumu Terabayashi, Yukinobu Ikeya and Mikio Nishizawa was originally published Online First without Open Access. After publication in volume 74 issue 1, page 51-64 the author decided to opt for Open Choice and to make the article an Open Access publication. Therefore, the copyright of the article has been changed to © The Author(s) 2020 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Antiinflammatory constituents of Atractylodes chinensis rhizome improve glomerular lesions in immunoglobulin A nephropathy model mice.

The crude drug Sojutsu, as defined by the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, is the rhizome of Atractylodes lancea De Candolle, Atractylodes chinensis Koidzumi, or their interspecific hybrids (Asteraceae). Sojutsu is one of the traditional Kampo formulas, which are administered to patients suffering from stomach disorders, edema, and nephrotic syndrome. Although antiinflammatory effects of Sojutsu have been reported, its effects on the liver and kidney have not been extensively investigated. Here, we used a Sojutsu sample identified as A. chinensis rhizome and isolated several constituents from its ethyl acetate (EtOAc)-soluble fraction that decreased production of the proinflammatory mediator nitric oxide (NO) in interleukin 1ß-treated rat hepatocytes. Among the constituents in this fraction, atractylodin showed the highest activity to suppress NO production, whereas hinesol, ß-eudesmol, and α-bisabolol showed low activity. Atractylodin decreased the levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor α, and lipocalin 2 messenger RNAs (mRNAs). The EtOAc-soluble fraction of the A. chinensis rhizome extract was administered daily for 20 weeks to high immunoglobulin A (HIGA) mice, whose pathological findings resemble human immunoglobulin A nephropathy. This fraction decreased the weight of white adipose tissue and decreased mesangial proliferation and immunoglobulin A deposition in glomeruli. These results indicate that the EtOAc-soluble fraction, which included antiinflammatory constituents, may be responsible for improvement of the mesangial lesions in HIGA mice.

Hydrolyzable tannins of tamaricaceous plants. IV: Micropropagation and ellagitannin production in shoot cultures of Tamarix tetrandra.

Shoot cultures of Tamarix tetrandra on Linsmaier-Skoog (LS) agar medium with 30 g l(-1) sucrose, 2.13 mg l(-1) indoleacetic acid and 2.25 mg l(-1) benzyl adenine produced ellagitannins found in intact plants of the Tamaricaceae. This was demonstrated by the isolation of 14 monomeric-tetrameric ellagitannins from the aq. Me2CO extract of the cultured tissues. This is the first report on the production of ellagitannin tetramers by plant tissue culture. The effects of light and certain medium constituents on tissue growth and ellagitannin production were examined. The contents of representative tannins of different types [i.e., tellimagrandin II (monomer), hirtellin A (linear GOG-type dimer), hirtellin B (hellinoyl-type dimer), hirtellin C (macrocyclic-type dimer), and hirtellin T1 (linear GOG-type trimer)] in the resultant tissues in response to these factors were estimated by HPLC, and the optimal condition for production of these tannins were established. Shoots cultured on LS hormone-free medium promoted root development, and regenerated plants could adapt to ordinary soil and climate. Acclimatized and intact T. tetrandra plants that were collected in November and May, respectively, demonstrated seasonal differences in individual ellagitannin contents. HPLC comparison of individual ellagitannin contents in different plant materials (i.e., leaves, stems, and roots) of intact T. tetrandra plants is also reported. The results are discussed with respect to cellular deposition and biosynthetic relationship of tannins.

Antiobesity effects of Kaempferia parviflora in spontaneously obese type II diabetic mice.

Kaempferia parviflora Wall. Ex Baker (KP) has been used as a folk medicine in Laos and Thailand to lower blood glucose levels, improve blood flow, and increase vitality. This study investigated the preventive effects of KP on obesity and its downstream symptoms (various metabolic disorders) using Tsumura, Suzuki, Obese Diabetes (TSOD) mice, a multifactorial genetic disease animal model in which metabolic diseases develop spontaneously, similar to metabolic syndrome in humans, and Tsumura, Suzuki, Non-Obesity (TSNO) mice as the corresponding control mice. When feed that was mixed with KP (1 or 3%) was given ad libitum to TSOD and TSNO mice for 8 weeks, body weight increase, visceral fat accumulation, lipid metabolism abnormalities, hyperinsulinemia, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, hypertension, and peripheral neuropathy were suppressed in TSOD mice, but no marked differences were observed in TSNO mice. Because KP had preventive effects on metabolic diseases, including antiobesity effects, only in obese animals, we propose that KP will be extremely valuable as a medicine or component of food in alternative health care.

Indoor cultivation and cultural characteristics of Wolfiporia cocos sclerotia using mushroom culture bottles.

We newly developed an indoor cultivation technique for Wolfiporia cocos (Wolf) Ryvarden et Gilbertson (Syn. Poria cocos Wolf), not with soil, but using mushroom culture bottles with pine logs, and clarified some cultural characteristics of sclerotia in the laboratory. To determine the optimum conditions for sclerotia growth, the weight of sclerotia and concentration of CO2 in three different air filters; cloth, paper and urethane resin, and closed bottles were tested. When the cloth air filter was used, the growth rate was the fastest and the yield was maximal. These results suggested that the aeration was an important environmental factor for cultivation. To clarify the characteristics of culture in the cloth air filtered and closed bottles, the weight of sclerotia, the compositions of pine logs and the contents of pachymic acid and dehydropachymic acid were examined during 24 weeks. The growth of scleroia and the wood decaying efficiency in the cloth air filtered bottles were better than those in the closed bottles. Also, it was found that W. cocos was a brown rot fungus due to the alkaline solubility of pine logs in the wood decay process. In addition, the contents of pachymic acid and dehydropachymic acid and the TLC pattern between the cultivated and commercial sclerotia did not differ remarkably.

Identification of medicinal Atractylodes based on ITS sequences of nrDNA.

Dried rhizomes of five species of Atractylodes (A. japonica, A. macrocephala, A. lancea, A. chinensis, and A. koreana), Compositae, have been used as crude drugs mainly for the treatment of stomach disorders and for their diuretic properties in Chinese and Japanese traditional medicines. The identification of the botanical origins of these crude drugs is generally difficult from their morphological and chemical features only. In this study, for identification with more reliable, nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA), internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of five species of medicinal Atractylodes were sequenced. As a result, specific ITS genotypes were recognized by each species. The four species (A. japonica, A. macrocephala, A. lancea, and A. chinensis) prescribed in Chinese and Japanese Pharmacopoeias as botanical origins of crude Atractylodes drugs could be distinguished by their ITS sequences because they had difference genotypes on the ITS sequences. However, the genotype of A. koreana was the same as that of A. chinensis. Additionally, hybrids between A. lancea and A. chinensis were also recognized as nucleotide additives on their ITS sequences. In this study, several morphological characteristics were researched by their genotype, too. As this result, the hybrids recognized from the genetic analysis had intermediate morphological characteristics between A. lancea and A. chinensis. It was also recognized that A. lancea and A. chinensis except for their hybrids were significant differences. It is therefore suggested that ITS sequences of nrDNA would be useful for the identification of the crude drugs derived from Atractylodes species and their interspecific hybridizations.

A new acetylenic compound from the rhizomes of Atractylodes chinensis and its absolute configuration.

A new acetylenic compound "atractyloyne", (3S,4E,6E,12E)-1-isovaleryloxy-tetradeca-4,6,12-triene-8,10-diyne-3,14-diol (1) was isolated from the rhizomes of Atractylodes chinensis (Compositae) together with a known compound (4E,6E,12E)-3-isovaleryloxy-tetradeca-4,6,12-triene-8,10-diyne-1,14-diol (2). These structures were determined on the basis of the spectroscopic data and chemical evidence, and the absolute configuration of 1 was established by the modified 2-methoxy-2-trifluoromethylphenylacetic acid (MTPA) method.

Synthesis of a capillarisin sulfur-analogue possessing aldose reductase inhibitory activity by selective isopropylation.

We describe the synthesis of 2-[(4-hydroxyphenyl)thio]-7-isopropoxy-5,6-dimethoxy-4H-chromen-4-one 2 from 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenol 6 via the key intermediate, 3-iodo-7-isopropoxy-5,6-dimethoxy-4H-chromen-4-one 3. An important feature of this synthetic scheme involves selective alkylation, which can be achieved by two different routes. One route involves the selective isopropylation of a triacetate derivative 4 under basic conditions. The second route employs the selective demethylation of a trimethoxy derivative 5 under acidic conditions followed by isopropylation. The product of these alternative routes, compound 3, is then converted to a capillarisin sulfur analogue 2 in a one-pot reaction via the imidazolyl intermediate 22.