New insight into the molecular basis of cadmium stress responses of wild paper mulberry plant by transcriptome analysis.

BACKGROUND: Heavy metal contamination is becoming a limitation to the utilization of soil and the distribution of vegetation. In particular, cadmium (Cd) pollution has had a serious impact on the food chain. Broussonetia papyrifera is a widely distributed pioneer tree species of heavy metal contaminated areas with important economic value. However, little is known about the genomic background of the Cd-tolerance mechanism in B. papyrifera. RESULTS: The CdCl2 responsive physiology was evaluated and proved to be involved in antioxidase activity and active oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. The leaf and root transcriptomes derived from B. papyrifera grown under normal and CdCl2 stress conditions were systematically investigated using the Illumina HiSeq method. A total of 180,678,660 bp (27.1 GB) clean reads were assembled into 589,487 high-quality unigenes, of which 256,025 (43.43% of the total) and 250,251 (42.45% of the total) were aligned in Gene Ontology (GO) and Protein family (Pfam), respectively. A total of 24,414 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were GO-annotated into 53, 23, 55, and 60 terms from the transcriptomes of root and leaf tissues under Cd stress and control conditions. A total of 117,547 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Orthology (KO)-annotated DEGs were enriched in at least 47 KEGG pathway terms among the four comparisons. Many genes encoding important transcription factors (e.g., auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (AUX/IAA), basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH), DNA-binding one zinc finger (Dof), and MYB) and proteins involved in plant-pathogen interactions, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction, oxidative phosphorylation, carbon fixation, peroxisomes, flavonoid biosynthesis, and glutathione metabolism, among others, were substantially upregulated under CdCl2 stress. CONCLUSIONS: These genes represent important candidates for studying Cd-response mechanisms and molecular biology of B. papyrifera and related species. Our findings provide a genomic sequence resource for functional genetic assignments in B. papyrifera, which will help elucidate the molecular mechanisms of its Cd-stress responses and facilitate the bioremediation of heavy metal contaminated areas via breeding of new stress-tolerant cultivars.

Wound healing and anti-inflammatory activities induced by a Plantago australis hydroethanolic extract standardized in verbascoside.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Plantago australis is a popular plant found to be widely spread in Latin America. In folk medicine, the seeds and leaves are used mainly for anti-inflammatory, wound healing, among others. The verbascoside, a phenolic glycoside, is an active chemical component described in this species of plant, which has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and healing effects. PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether P. australis hydroethanolic extract (PAHE) standardized in verbascoside could promote wound healing associated with anti-inflammatory action within both in vitro and in vivo models. METHODS: For the wound healing activity, we used a Scratch Test, an assay capable of evaluating the migratory ability of keratinocyte cells (HaCat) in vitro and thereby confirming the activity in rats. For the anti-inflammatory activity, the inflammation was induced with LPS in microglial murine cells (N9). Inflammatory mediators (IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p70, INFγ, MCP-1 and TNFα) were measured and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and mitochondrial membrane potential were evaluated. In addition, using paw edema induced by carrageenan in rats, the anti-inflammatory activity in vivo was analyzed. RESULTS: The PAHE and verbascoside, induced a significant increase in migration of keratinocytes, at all concentrations tested when compared to the negative control. The wound healing activity in vivo showed that the PAHE accelerated the process. The treatments with PAHE and verbascoside induce increases in the antioxidants enzymes, suggesting a possible activation of these enzymes. However, this did not result in an increase in the expression of inflammatory mediators in microglial cells. In LPS activated cells the verbascoside displayed a significant reduction of TNFα, IL-6, IL-12p70, MCP-1 and INFγ, while the PAHE only displayed statistically significant reduction in TNFα. Interestingly, both the compounds could reduce the oxidative parameters in N9 cells activated by LPS. Additionally, pretreatment with PAHE inhibited the paw edema in rats. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that PAHE has wound healing activity, improving cells migration and, as well as was able to reverse the oxidation effect in LPS-activated N9 cells. The wound-healing and anti-inflammatory activities of PAHE were confirmed in vivo. In addition, the presence of verbascoside can be related to PAHE effects, since this compound was capable of increase keratinocytes migration and inhibiting inflammation mediators.

Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative and antimycobacterial activities of the essential oil of Psidium guineense Sw. and spathulenol.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Leaves from Psidium guineense Sw. are used in popular medicine for the treatment of inflammatory disease. However, there is no scientific evidence demonstrating this activity. AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative and antimycobacterial activities of the essential oil of P. guineense and spathulenol (a major constituent). The study was conducted in part to provide evidence supporting the ethnobotanical use of the leaves of this species. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The essential oil (EOPG) was extracted from the leaves of P. guineense by hydrodistillation and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major compound, spathulenol (PG-1), was isolated in a chromatographic column and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). EOPG and PG-1 were evaluated in vitro for antioxidant activity by DPPH, ABTS and MDA methods; anti-inflammatory potential was assessed using two models, including pleurisy and oedema, in mice. The impact of EOPG and PG-1 on cell proliferation was determined via spectrophotometric quantification of the cellular protein content using a sulforhodamine B assay, and anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis activity was determined using the REMA method. RESULTS: A total of 38 components were identified from the EOPG, with the sesquiterpenic alcohol spathulenol (PG-1) (80.7%) being the major constituent. EOPG and PG-1 exhibited the highest antioxidant activities in the DPPH and MDA system compared with reference standard, with IC50 values ranging from 26.13 to 85.60µg/mL. Oral administration of EOPG and PG-1 showed significant inhibition in the Cg-induced mice paw oedema and pleurisy model. The EOPG (GI50 = 0.89µg/mL) and PG-1 (GI50 = 49.30µg/mL) were particularly effective against the ovarian cancer cell line. Both showed moderate antimycobacterial activity. CONCLUSION: For the first time, this study demonstrated the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative and antimycobacterial properties of the essential oil of P. guineense (leaves were collected in Dourados-MS) and spathulenol, collaborating the etnhopharmacologycal use of this plant due to its an anti-inflammatory effect.