A supramolecular radical cation: folding-enhanced electrostatic effect for promoting radical-mediated oxidation.

We report a supramolecular strategy to promote radical-mediated Fenton oxidation by the rational design of a folded host-guest complex based on cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]). In the supramolecular complex between CB[8] and a derivative of 1,4-diketopyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole (DPP), the carbonyl groups of CB[8] and the DPP moiety are brought together through the formation of a folded conformation. In this way, the electrostatic effect of the carbonyl groups of CB[8] is fully applied to highly improve the reactivity of the DPP radical cation, which is the key intermediate of Fenton oxidation. As a result, the Fenton oxidation is extraordinarily accelerated by over 100 times. It is anticipated that this strategy could be applied to other radical reactions and enrich the field of supramolecular radical chemistry in radical polymerization, photocatalysis, and organic radical battery and holds potential in supramolecular catalysis and biocatalysis

Phylogenomics and morphological evolution of the mega-diverse genus Artemisia (Asteraceae: Anthemideae): implications for its circumscription and infrageneric taxonomy

Background and Aims Artemisia is a mega-diverse genus consisting of ~400 species. Despite its medicinal importance and ecological significance, a well-resolved phylogeny for global Artemisia, a natural generic delimitation and infrageneric taxonomy remain missing, owing to the obstructions from limited taxon sampling and insufficient information on DNA markers. Its morphological characters, such as capitulum, life form and leaf, show marked variations and are widely used in its infrageneric taxonomy. However, their evolution within Artemisia is poorly understood. Here, we aimed to reconstruct a well-resolved phylogeny for global Artemisia via a phylogenomic approach, to infer the evolutionary patterns of its key morphological characters and to update its circumscription and infrageneric taxonomy. Methods We sampled 228 species (258 samples) of Artemisia and its allies from both fresh and herbarium collections, covering all the subgenera and its main geographical areas, and conducted a phylogenomic analysis based on nuclear single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained from genome skimming data. Based on the phylogenetic framework, we inferred the possible evolutionary patterns of six key morphological characters widely used in its previous taxonomy. Key Results The genus Kaschgaria was revealed to be nested in Artemisia with strong support. A well-resolved phylogeny of Artemisia consisting of eight highly supported clades was recovered, two of which were identified for the first time. Most of the previously recognized subgenera were not supported as monophyletic. Evolutionary inferences based on the six morphological characters showed that different states of these characters originated independently more than once. Conclusions The circumscription of Artemisia is enlarged to include the genus Kaschgaria. The morphological characters traditionally used for the infrageneric taxonomy of Artemisia do not match the new phylogenetic tree. They experienced a more complex evolutionary history than previously thought. We propose a revised infrageneric taxonomy of the newly circumscribed Artemisia, with eight recognized subgenera to accommodate the new results.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 31870179, 31570204, 31270237 and J1310002), the International Partnership Program (grant no. 151853KYSB20190027), Sino-Africa Joint Research Center (grant no. SAJC201614), Key technology projects of Jiangxi Province's major scientific and technological research and development project (grant no. 20223AAF01007), Survey of Wildlife Resources in Key Areas of Tibet (grant no. ZL202203601) and National Plant Specimen Resource Center (grant no. E0117G1001) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Project at Central Government Level: The Ability Establishment of Sustainable Use of Valuable Chinese Medicine Resources (grant no. 2060302) and Project of the Central Siberian Botanical Garden of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (grant no. AAAA-A21-121011290024-5).Abstract INTRODUCTION MATERIALS AND METHODS RESULTS DISCUSSION Conclusions SUPPLEMENTARY DATA FUNDING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONFLICT OF INTEREST LITERATURE CITED Supplementary dat

Effect of Yujing Jiangtang Recipe on Blood Glucose, Lipid and Serum Oxidative Stress Related Indexes in Type 2 diabetes Rats

Objective: To study the effect of Yujing Jiangtang Recipe on blood glucose, lipid and antioxidation in type 2 diabetes rats. Methods: High fat diet and intraperitoneal injection of 40 mg/kg STZ were used to establish the model of type 2 diabetes rats. The successful rats were randomly divided into diabetes model group, metformin group (0.2 g/kg), low, medium and high dose Yujing Jiangtang Recipe groups (1、2、4 g/kg), and another normal control group with nine rats in each group. The treatment group was gavaged with corresponding dose, the normal control group and the diabetes model group were gavaged with 10 mL/kg normal saline according to weight, and each group was gavaged once a day for six consecutive weeks. During the experiment, observe and record the weight changes of rats in each group, and measure the fasting blood glucose (FBG). After continuous gavage for six weeks, the abdominal aorta blood of rats was taken, the fasting insulin (FINS) level and the percentage content of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were measured, and the HOMA-IR, ISI were calculated. The contents of serum TG, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C were measured. The serum levels of MDA, SOD, GSH, NO, GSH-Px and CAT were measured by ELISA. The pancreatic tissue of rats was stained with HE to observe the pathological changes of rats. Results: Compared with the diabetes model group, the body weight of the high dose group of Yujing Jiangtang Recipe increased significantly (P<0.01). Each dose group of Yujing Jiangtang Recipe could significantly reduce FBG (P<0.01). It could reduce the levels of FINS, HOMA-IR and the percentage of HbA1c in rats to varying degrees, and increase the level of ISI (P<0.05 or P<0.01). It could reduce the content of serum TG, TC, LDL-C and MDA (P<0.05 or P<0.01), and increase the content of HDL-C and the level of SOD and GSH (P<0.01). The levels of NO, GSH-Px and CAT were significantly increased in the middle and high dose groups of Yujing Jiangtang Recipe (P<0.01). In the high-dose group of Yujing Jiangtang Recipe, the structure of exocrine gland acini was relatively complete and regular, the shape of islet cells was relatively regular, and the number of islet cells was large and evenly arranged. Conclusion: Yujing Jiangtang Recipe has hypoglycemic effect on type 2 diabetes rats, and its mechanism may be related to regulating blood lipid metabolism, improving insulin resistance, antioxidation and repairing pancreatic tissue

The identity of Aster zayuensis Y. L. Chen ( Asteraceae)

Based on evidence from specimens and fieldwork, Aster zayuensis Y. L. Chen is shown to be conspecific with Duhaldea eupatorioides (DC.) Steetz

The identity of Aster zayuensis Y. L. Chen (Asteraceae)

Based on evidence from specimens and fieldwork, Aster zayuensis Y. L. Chen is shown to be conspecific with Duhaldea eupatorioides (DC.) Steetz

Cryptic Diversity on Cliffs: Aster sanqingensis, a New Species of Asteraceae from Eastern China

It is generally believed that cliffs bear low biodiversity because of their harsh habitats. However, another reason, i.e. insufficient investigation caused by the inaccessibility of the cliffs, could not be excluded. In the genus Aster, two cliff species, Aster fanjingshanicus and Aster tianmenshanensis, respectively growing on slate and limestone cliffs, were previously described. During our extensive field investigations, a third cliff species of Aster growing on granite cliffs from eastern China was found. Based on evidence from molecular phylogeny, morphology and micro-morphology, we propose that it should be treated as a new species and named Aster sanqingensis. It is described and illustrated here. Considering its limited number of individuals, highly localized distribution, and disturbed habitat, we propose to treat it as a Critically Endangered species. Our new finding indicates there is cryptic biodiversity on the cliffs remaining to be discovered