Loureirin B attenuates amiodarone-induced pulmonary fibrosis by suppression of TGFβ1/Smad2/3 pathway

Purpose: To investigate the therapeutic effect of loureirin B (LB) on amiodarone (AD)-induced pulmonary fibrosis (PF).Methods: Forty-eight male C57BL/6 mice, 8–10 weeks of age, were divided into four groups (n=12). Oral administration of amiodarone hydrochloride (AD) was performed for 4 weeks to induce pulmonary fibrosis. The degree of fibrosis was assessed by Masson staining, while collagen I and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) levels were evaluated by Western blot analysis. ELISA was used to measure the levels of cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue. Levels of p- Smad2, Smad2, p-Smad3 and Smad3 were determined by western blotting.Results: AD treatment increased the collagen levels and expression levels of collagen I and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in lung tissue and of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, in both bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.01).Furthermore, AD increased the levels of p-Smad2/3. AD-induced increases in collagen I and α-SMA levels were reversed by loureirin B (LB). In addition, LB reduced AD-induced increased levels of the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in both bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue (p < 0.01).Conclusion: These results demonstrate that LB downregulates expression of fibrosis-related proteins and suppresses AD-induced PF. The  mechanism responsible for the protective effect of LB on ADinduced PF might involve inhibition of the Smad2/3 pathway. Thus, LB is a potential therapeutic agent for the management of PF. Keywords: Amiodarone, Loureirin B, Pulmonary fibrosis, Smad, Inflammatio

Different Surfactants-Assisted Hydrothermal Fabrication and Photocatalytic Properties of Bi2MoO6 for Methylene Blue Degradation under Simulated Sunlight Irradiation

Bi2MoO6 single-crystallites were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method in the presence of surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), or cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-vis DRS) techniques. The photocatalytic activities of the as-fabricated Bi2MoO6 samples were measured for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under the Xe light illumination. It is shown that the introduction of surfactant have a crucial influence on the size and morphology of the Bi2MoO6 product. Among the as-fabricated Bi2MoO6 samples, the ones derived hydrothermally with CTAB showed outstanding photocatalytic activities for the addressed reaction under simulated sunlight irradiation, attributed to the ultrafine nanocrystals and the higher surface areas

Erratum “Loureirin B attenuates amiodarone-induced pulmonary fibrosis by suppression of TGFβ1/Smad2/3 pathway”

ErratumMa et al. Loureirin B attenuates amiodarone-induced pulmonary fibrosis by suppression of TGFβ1/Smad2/3 pathway. Trop J Pharm Res 2020; 19(7):1371-1376 doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.4314/tjpr.v19i7.5 Authors’ addresses: The correct addresses of the authors are the ones provided above. Contribution of authors: Weixiu Ma and Haixia Shi contributed equally to the work

The inhibitory effect of Eupatorium adenophorum extracts on the pathogen of postharvest disease of banana

The Colletotrichum musae and Fusarium semitectum Berk., Which often occur in banana after harvest were used as the targets. Three components with antibacterial activity extracted from the leaves of the plant were used as "fungicide". The antibacterial effect of the three component substances on the pathogens of anthracnose and shaft rot was studied. The results showed that the inhibitory rates of the components A, B and C at 2 mg / ml on the pathogens of banana anthracnose and shaft rot reached 82.53%, 79.91%, 78.30% and 82.2%, 78.69% and 81.17% respectively. The EC90 values of component A, B and C for banana anthracnose pathogens were 1.70, 1.85, and 1.69 mg / ml. Respectively, the EC90 values for banana shaft rot pathogens were 1.37, 1.38, and 1.64 mg / ml. The antibacterial effect of the three component substances on the pathogen of banana shaft rot was better than that of anthracnose. The three component substances have great potential for controlling post-harvest anthracnose and shaft rot of bananas