Chemical constituents of aerial parts of Thymus gobicus and their cholinesterase inhibitory activities

From an acetone-water (3:2) extract of aerial parts of Thymus gobicus Czern. (31.1 g), compounds 1-8 were obtained using high-performance liquid chromatography. Based on spectroscopic data, the isolated compounds were identified as rosmarinic acid (1), monardic acid A (2), nepetoidin B (3), aromadendrin (4), apigenin (5), chrysoriol (6), apigenin 7-O-β-D-glucuronopyranoside (7), and apigenin 7-O-β-D-glucuronopyranoside methyl ester (8). Compound 2 was a (7R,8R)-diastereomer of lithospermic acid (2a). Although it was reported that the anti-allergic activity of lithospermic acid was higher than that of 2, the acetylcholine inhibitory activity of 2 was higher than that of lithospermic acid

Isolation and Characterization of Isofraxidin 7- O

Abnormalities in skin pigmentation can produce disorders such as albinism or melasma. There is a research need to discover novel compounds that safely and effectively regulate pigmentation. To identify novel modulators of pigmentation, we attempted to purify compounds from a bioactive fraction of the Korean medicinal plant Artemisia capillaris Thunberg. The novel compound isofraxidin 7-O-(6′-O-p-coumaroyl)-β-glucopyranoside (compound 1) was isolated and its pigmentation activity was characterized in mammalian melanocytes. Compound 1 stimulated melanin accumulation and increased tyrosinase activity, which regulates melanin synthesis. Moreover, compound 1 increased the expression of tyrosinase and the key melanogenesis regulator microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) in melanocytes. Compared to the parent compound, isofraxidin, compound 1 produced greater effects on these pigmentation parameters. To validate compound 1 as a novel hyperpigmentation agent in vivo, we utilized the zebrafish vertebrate model. Zebrafish treated with compound 1 showed higher melanogenesis and increased tyrosinase activity. Compound 1 treated embryos had no developmental defects and displayed normal cardiac function, indicating that this compound enhanced pigmentation without producing toxicity. In summary, our results describe the characterization of novel natural product compound 1 and its bioactivity as a pigmentation enhancer, demonstrating its potential as a therapeutic to treat hypopigmentation disorders

Anti-Brucella activity of Caryopteris mongolica Bunge root extract against Brucella melitensis infection in mice

Abstract Background The current treatment for human brucellosis requires a combination of antibiotics for long periods of time, and the reported incidence and prevalence of the disease vary widely in nomadic livestock of Mongolia. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the in vivo antibacterial activity of the C. mongolica root extract against B. melitensis. Methods In this study, we used of 6 groups of mice (n = 5). Five groups of BALB/c mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with the M16 strain of B. melintensis, as follows: (i) one group was used for pretreatment monitoring; (ii) the control group was administered 2% Tween 80 and was used as the non-treatment group; and the other three groups were treated with one oral gavage per day for 21 days with (iii) doxycycline (2 mg/day), (iv) doxycycline (1 mg/day) with root extract (20 mg/day), and (v) C. mongolica root extract (20 mg/day). The one group that was kept non-infected was used as a healthy control group. Results This study demonstrated that daily treatment with doxycycline alone and in combination with C. mongolica root extract significantly reduced splenic infection at the end of treatment. However, the spleen index of both the doxycycline-treated and the combination-treated groups of mice decreased by approximately 50% compared to that of the healthy control mouse group. Treatment with the C. mongolica root extract resulted in a 1.47log reduction in splenic infection compared to the non-treatment group, and the spleen index of the C. mongolica-treated group of mice was the same as that of the normal mouse group. In all treatment groups, neutrophil phagocytic activity significantly decreased, and all treatment groups demonstrated splenic regeneration. Conclusions The present study showed that the C. mongolica root extract may be useful in the treatment of brucellosis patients, in combination with doxycycline or other antibiotics, to reduce the toxicity of high-dosage antibiotics, to prevent the development of antibiotic resistance and to prevent Brucella infection

Result of study on developing forest seed region in Mongolia

In other countries, they usually use auto road and railroad as borders of the forest seed regions. In case of Mongolia, this method is not suitable since sparse population, large distribution area of forests and large territory. Therefore, we used topographical features to determine borders of the seed regions. Satellite images in combination with DEM make it possible to define rivers, streams and mountain ridges as border of forest seed regions. Species included in forest seed regions are: Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ldb.), Dahurian larch (Larix dahurica Turcz), Chekanovskii larch (Larix chekanowski Szaf.), Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Siberian pine (Pinus sibirica Du Tour.), Siberian spruce (Picea obovate Ldb.), and Siberian fir (Abies sibirica Ldb.).Mongolian forests are mountain forests with high altitudinal variation and have dry growth condition hence, seed quality of the main tree species is declining recently. It is required to use seeds from the same seed region. Only if this is not possible the seeds should be obtained from regions with comparable ecological conditions.Local seed is the ones collected from the forests within the border of same seed region, and seed from the other regions are the ones collected from the other seed region. Seeds collected from the plain forests can be used for almost all forest regions, however seeds collected from mountainous regions can only be used within 200-400 m limit of the original altitude.We identified 19 seed regions for Siberian larch and 12 regions for Scots pine, 9 regions for Siberian pine, 6 regions for Siberian fir and 9 seed regions for Siberian spruce forests, respectively. Due to lack of genetic-selection study in Mongolia, this proposed forest seed regions can be considered as preliminary effort and it is possible to changed and improved based on more detailed research results. These forest seed regions proposed by project team can be used as fundamental material for establishing permanent forest seed supply based on genetic-selection characteristics of the forests in different regions in Mongolia