Synergistic effects and related bioactive mechanism of Potentilla fruticosa L. leaves combined with Ginkgo biloba extracts studied with microbial test system (MTS).

BACKGROUND: Potentilla fruticosa, also called "Jinlaomei" and "Gesanghua", is widely used as folk herbs in traditional Tibetan medicine in China to treat inflammations, wounds, certain forms of cancer, diarrhoea, diabetes and other ailments. Previous research found P. fruticosa leaf extract (C-3) combined with Ginkgo biloba extracts (EGb) showed obvious synergistic effects in a variety of oxidation systems. The aim of the present study was to further confirm the synergy of P. fruticosa combined with EGb viewed from physiological bioavailability and explore the related bioactive mechanism behind the synergism. METHODS: The microbial test system (MTS) was adopted to evaluate the related bioactive mechanism. The synergistic effects were evaluated by isobolographic analysis. The H2O2 production rate and antioxidant enzyme (Catalase (CAT), Peroxidase (POD), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX)) activities were determined by the colorimetric method. Enzyme gene (CAT, SOD) expression was measured by real time-PCR. RESULTS: The MTS antioxidant activity results showed the combination of C-3 + EGb exhibited synergistic effects especially at the ratio 5:1. Components of isorhamnetin and caffeic acid in C-3 and EGb displayed strong antioxidant activities on MTS and their combination also showed significant synergy in promoting H2O2 production. The combinations of C-3 + EGb and isorhamnetin + caffeic acid promoted CAT and SOD enzyme activities and the ratio 1:1 exhibited the strongest synergy while no obvious promotion on POD and GSH-PX enzyme activities was found. Both combinations above promoted gene expression of CAT and SOD enzymes and the ratio 1:1 exhibited the strongest synergy. CONCLUSIONS: Antioxidant activity results in MTS further confirmed the significant synergy of C-3 combined with EGb and isorhamnetin combined with caffeic acid. The synergy of C-3 combined with EGb may be attributed to the combination of isorhamnetin + caffeic acid, which promoted CAT and SOD enzyme gene expression and further promoted the enzyme activities in E. coli. This study could further provide rational basis for optimizing the physiological bioavailability of P. fruticosa by using natural and safe antioxidants in low doses to produce new medicines and functional products.

Phytochemical profiles and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the leaves of Zanthoxylum bungeanum.

The ethanol crude extracts (ECE) and their subfractions from Zanthoxylum bungeanum leaves were prepared and their phytochemical profiles and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were investigated. Moreover, the effective HPLC procedure for simultaneous quantification of twelve compounds in Z. bungeanum leaves was established. The correlation between the phytochemicals and antioxidant activity was also discussed. The ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) had the highest total phenolic (97.29 mmol GAE/100 g) and flavonoid content (67.93 mmol QE/100 g), while the greatest total alkaloid content (4.39 mmol GAE/100 g) was observed in the chloroform fraction (CF). Twelve compounds were quantified by RP-HPLC assay. EAF exhibited the highest content of quercitrin, kaempferol-3-rhamnoside, quercetin, sesamin, and nitidine chloride (125.21, 54.95, 24.36, 26.24, and 0.20 mg/g); acetone fraction (AF) contained the highest content of chlorogenic acid, rutin, hyperoside, and trifolin (5.87, 29.94, 98.33, and 31.24 mg/g), while kaempferol-3-rhamnoside, xanthyletin, and sesamin were rich in CF. EAF and AF exhibited significant DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging abilities and reducing power (FRAP), whereas CF exhibited significant antifungal activity. Moreover, EAF also showed stronger antibacterial activity. In conclusion, Z. bungeanum leaves have health benefits when consumed and could be served as an accessible source for production of functional food ingredients and medicinal exploration.

Whole exome and transcriptome sequencing reveal clonal evolution and exhibit immune-related features in metastatic colorectal tumors.

Liver is the most common site where metastatic lesions of colorectal cancer (CRC) arise. Although researches have shown mutations in driver genes, copy number variations (CNV) and alterations in relevant signaling pathways promoted the tumor evolution and immune escape during colorectal liver metastasis (CLM), the underlying mechanism remains largely elusive. Tumor and matched metastatic tissues were collected from 16 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer and subjected to whole-exome sequencing (WES) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) for studying colorectal cancer clonal evolution and immune escape during CLM. Shared somatic mutations between primary and metastatic tissues with a commonly observed subclonal-clonal (S-C) changing pattern indicated a common clonal origin between two lesions. The recurrent mutations with S-C changing pattern included those in KRAS, SYNE1, CACNA1H, PCLO, FBXL2, and DNAH11. The main CNV events underwent clonal-clonal evolution (20q amplification (amp), 17p deletion (del), 18q del and 8p del), subclonal-clonal evolution (8q amp, 13q amp, 8p del) and metastasis-specific evolution (8q amp) during the process of CLM. In addition, we revealed a potential mechanism of tumor cell immune escape by analyzing human leukocytes antigens (HLA) related clonal neoantigens and immune cell components in CLM. Our study proposed a novel liver metastasis-related evolutionary process in colorectal cancer and emphasized the theory of neo-immune escape in colorectal liver metastasis.

Synergistic effects and related bioactive mechanisms of Potentilla fruticosa Linn. leaves combined with green tea polyphenols studied with microbial test system (MTS).

Previous research found Potentilla fruticosa leaf extracts (PFE) combined with green tea polyphenols (GTP) showed obvious synergistic effects based on chemical mechanisms. This study further confirmed the synergy of PFE + GTP viewed from bioactivities using the microbial test system (MTS). The MTS antioxidant activity results showed the combination of PFE + GTP exhibited synergistic effect and the ratio 3:1 showed the strongest synergy, which were in accordance with the results in H2O2 production rate. The combination of PFE + GTP promoted CAT and SOD enzyme activity and their gene expression especially at the ratio 3:1. Therefore, the synergism of PFE + GTP may be due to the promotion of CAT and SOD genes expression which enhanced the CAT and SOD enzyme activities. These results confirmed the synergy of PFE + GTP and could provide theoretical basis to produce a compounded tea made of a mixture of leaves from Potentilla species.

Indigenous Uses and Pharmacological Activity of Traditional Medicinal Plants in Mount Taibai, China.

This study was carried out to investigate the indigenous use and pharmacological activity of traditional medicinal plants of Mount Taibai, China. Pharmacological data were collected by conducting informal interviews with local experienced doctors practicing traditional Chinese medicine and via open-ended questionnaires on villagers. We conclude that the residents of Mt. Taibai possess rich pharmacological knowledge. This study may help identify high-value traditional medicinal plant species, promote economic development associated with local medicinal plants, and increase awareness from government departments.

Phenolic profiles and antioxidant capacities of crude extracts and subsequent fractions from Potentilla fruticosa L. leaves.

This work aimed to further investigate the phenolic profiles and antioxidant capacities of the crude extracts and the subsequent fractions of Potentilla fruticosa leaves. Result showed that P. fruticosa leaves contained high amounts for hyperoside, ellagic acid and (+)-catechin contents, and the highest amount being registered for hyperoside (17.67 mg g(-1)). Nine sub-fractions were obtained after column chromatographic separation. EF-3, EF-4, EF-5 and BF-2 presented higher values for their total phenolic or flavonoid, (+)-catechin, ellagic acid and hyperoside content. Besides, EF-3, EF-4, BF-2 and BF-3 showed significant in vitro antioxidant capacities and protective effects on Escherichia coli under peroxide stress. The correlation between chromatograms and antioxidant activity showed that (+)-catechin, ellagic acid and hyperoside may play crucial roles in the antioxidant capacities of P. fruticosa and could be used as chemical markers for its quality assessment. Moreover, this is the first time P. fruticosa leaves have been systematically studied.

Synergistic Effects of Potentilla fruticosa L. Leaves Combined with Green Tea Polyphenols in a Variety of Oxidation Systems.

Potentilla fruticosa L. leaves are widely used as tea in China, with many commercial "Jinlaomei" teas available in markets. It has been confirmed to possess significant antioxidant activity than that of butylated hydroxytoluene. In this study, the synergistic effects of P. fruticosa leaves extracts (PFE) combined with green tea polyphenols (GTP) were studied to elucidate their use in combination and find specific combinations with least concentrations that enhance the antioxidant activity. Isobolographic analysis indicated that the combination of PFE and GTP demonstrated extensive synergism (22/28 of the tests showed significant synergy) with 3:1 (PFE:GTP) exhibiting the best synergistic effect. Chemical compositions and content of 7 phenolic compounds in PFE, GTP, and their mixtures were evaluated by reverse-phase-high-performance liquid chromatography. While chemical composition did not seem to change after the combination, as no new peaks appeared in the chromatogram, and no existing peaks disappeared. However, the content of (+)-catechin, (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), and , (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) changed. Besides, antioxidant interactions of extracts and compounds were evaluated, EGC with hyperoside exhibited the greatest synergistic effect and the combination of 3:1 exhibited the strongest synergism (DPPH γ = 0.86, ABTS γ = 1.12, FRAP γ = 1.16). Therefore, interaction of phytochemicals may be one reason for the synergistic effects in PFE + GTP, with EGC + hyperoside likely playing an important role. This report provides a theoretical basis for the concomitant use of P. fruticosa blended with GTP, which can be effectively used as a compounded tea, dietary supplements, and substituent of synthetic antioxidant.

Efficient quantification of the phenolic profiles of Zanthoxylum bungeanum leaves and correlation between chromatographic fingerprint and antioxidant activity.

Sixteen subsequent fractions were prepared from the ethyl acetate fraction of Zanthoxylum bungeanum leaves after bio-guided chromatographic separation. The HPLC profiles and antioxidant activity of the various fractions indicated that the content of eight phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, rutin, hyperoside, trifolin, quercitrin, afzelin and quercetin) and antioxidant activity vary significantly, and high concentrations of a combination of eight phenolic compounds would result in an increase of the antioxidant activity. These results suggested that the eight compounds could be used as chemical markers for quality assessment of Z. bungeanum leaves. Correlation between chromatographic fingerprint and antioxidant activity of the fractions showed that quercitrin and hyperoside play crucial roles in the antioxidant activity, and they can be seen as the milestone for quality control. The findings also suggested that five obtained fractions (E-3-3, E-2-4, E-7, E-5 and E-4) could become useful supplements for functional food ingredients and health-related products.