Identification and Simultaneous Determination of the Main Toxical Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in a Compound Prescription of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Qianbai Biyan Tablet

Qianbai biyan tablet (QT) is a compound prescription of traditional Chinese medicine which is used to treat nasal congestion, rhinitis, and nasosinusitis, with Senecio scandens as its main plant material. Several pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) were reported in Senecio scandens and others of Senecio species. Although Senecio scandens is assigned as the legal plant material of QT, whether replaced use of it by other Senecio plants can bring toxicity is unknown because of the lack of quantitative data about toxic PAs between different Senecio species. In the present study, adonifoline, senkirkine, and another PA presumed as emiline have been identified in QT; however, there was no senecionine detected in all tablets. PA contents in QTs varied in different companies and different batches. Adonifoline existed only in Senecio scandens, and senecionine was detected in all eight Senecio plants investigated in the present study. Data showed that replaced use of Senecio scandens with a low level of senecionine by other Senecio plants such as Senecio vulgaris containing a high level of senecionine is advertised to be forbidden. Data of the present study may be used as a reference to make new drug quality regularity and recommendation guideline for the safety of QT

High fat diet significantly changed the global gene expression profile involved in hepatic drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic system in mice.

Background: High fat diet impact transcription of hepatic genes responsible for drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics. Until now, researches just focused on a couple specific genes without a global profile showing. Age-dependent manner was also not noted well. This study aims to investigate the high fat diet effect on transcriptome of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic system in mouse livers and show the age-dependent evidence. Methods: C57BL/6 male mice were used in this experiment. High fat diet was used to treat mice for 16 and 38 weeks. Serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, aspartate transaminase, and alanine transaminaselevels were measured. Meanwhile, Histology, RNA-Seq, RT-PCR analysis and fourteen major hepatic bile acids quantification were performed for the liver tissues. Data was mined at levels of genes, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic sysem, and genome wide. Results: Treatment with high fat diet for 38 weeks significantly increased levels of serum lipids as well as aspartate transaminase, and alanine transaminase. Meanwhile, lipid accumulation in livers was observed. At week 38 of the experiment, the profile of 612 genes involved in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics was significantly changed, indicated by a heatmap visulization and a principal component analysis. In total 210 genes were significantly regulated. Cyp3a11, Cyp4a10, and Cyp4a14 were down-regulated by 10-35 folds, while these three genes also were highly expressed in the liver. High fat diet regulated 11% of genome-wide gene while 30% of genes involved in the hepatic drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic system. Genes, including Conclusions: High fat diet changed the global transcription profile of hepatic drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic system with a age-dependent manner

Gypenosides Altered Hepatic Bile Acids Homeostasis in Mice Treated with High Fat Diet

Abstract Gypenosides extracted from Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino have significant role in reducing serum lipid level and treating fatty liver diseases, however, without clear mechanism. As gypenosides share the similar core structures with bile acids (the endogenous ligands of nuclear receptor FXR), we hypothesize that gypenosides may improve hypercholesterolemia via FXR-mediated bile acids signaling. The present study was designed to validate the role of gypenosides in reducing levels of serum total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), as well as in regulating bile acids homeostasis and related gene expression levels. The C57BL/6 male mice were divided into four groups. Mice in groups ND and HFD were fed with normal diet and high fat diet for 38 weeks, respectively. In groups HFD+GP and HFD+ST, mice were fed with high fat diet for 38 weeks and treated with gypenosides and simvastatin (positive control) from weeks 16 to 38, respectively. Serum TC and LDL-C levels were assayed by commercially available kits. Expression levels of genes were tested by the quantitative real-time PCR. The LC-MS/MS was applied to quantify major bile acids in mice livers. Our results showed that gypenosides significantly decreased serum TC and LDL-C levels. The gene expression level of Shp was downregulated while the levels of Cyp7a1, Cyp8b1, Fxr, Lrh1, Jnk1/2, and Erk1/2were upregulated by gypenosides. Indicated by LC-MS/MS technology, gypenosides increased the hepatic levels of several free bile acids and most taurine-conjugated bile acids while decreasing glycine-conjugated bile acids levels. In addition, gypenosides decreased the CA/CDCA ratio. Gypenosides may improve the abnormal lipid profile of HFD-fed mice via two pathways: (1) enhancing the bile acids biosynthesis from cholesterol; (2) decreasing the CA/CDCA ratio which is positively related to cholesterol absorption

Do migrants and locals differ in commuting behavior? A case study of Xiamen, China

Although there is a growing body of literature on the commuting pattern of rural migrants in China, few studies have examined the diversity in commuting behavior among workers with different occupations. The present research used the 2015 Xiamen household travel survey to examine commuting distances and commuting times of distinctive types of workers in the city. The results reveal differences in commuting behaviors among distinctive socioeconomic groups, namely blue-collar, pink-collar, or white-collar local or migrant workers. For local residents, blue-collar workers have the longest commute distance, while pink-collar workers have the shortest commute distance. Migrant workers—for both blue-collar and pink-collar—in general commute over shorter distances than local workers to reach their workplaces. However, planning practices have attempted to demolish their affordable rental housing in urban villages, which will increase their commuting times and costs and exacerbate sociospatial inequality. These findings can be of practical use when offering alternative housing for migrants in urban redevelopment

Interaction effects of socioeconomic factors on long-distance commuting after disentangling residential self-selection: An empirical study in Xiamen, China

The adjustment of urban spatial structure in the process of urbanization and suburbanization leads to the separation of work and residence, which further leads to long-distance commuting. While there has been a lot of research on long-distance commuting in Western countries, the relevant studies in China are not enough. In the Chinese context, some factors deserve special attention, namely the hukou system and occupation. However, few studies have focused on the individual and interaction effects of these two factors on long-distance commuting. This paper explores the commuting behavior of different socioeconomic groups in Xiamen, China. Heckman's sample selection model was applied to data from the 2015 Xiamen household travel survey to separate the effect of socioeconomic factors and that of residential selection. Results show that the continued suburbanization of the industry attracted substantial numbers of blue-collar workers to live in the outer districts (Haicang, Jimei, Tong'an, and Xiang'an), and thus blue-collar workers are less likely than pink- and white-collar workers to be long-distance commuters in the outer districts. Among residents of the outer district, pink-collar migrants and white-collar migrants are more likely to be long-distance commuters than their local counterparts, while blue-collar migrants (a coefficient of −0.153) are less likely to be long-distance commuters than blue-collar locals (a coefficient of −0.046). For people who live in the inner districts, blue-collar locals (a coefficient of 0.256) are more likely to be long-distance commuters than blue-collar migrants (a coefficient of −0.029). These results have practical significance for providing alternative housing for migrants in urban renewal

The preventive effect of secondary metabolites of Dendrobium officinale on acute alcoholic liver injury in mice

Dendrobium officinale (D. officinale) is a valuable Chinese herbal medicine and rich in chemical components. The current research on the pharmacological active ingredients of D. officinale mainly focus on polysaccharides, however, there are very few studies on the activity of its secondary metabolites. Our study aimed to investigate the potential pharmacological activity of secondary metabolites of D. officinale. Firstly, we determined the polysaccharide content of D. officinale from four different origins and analyzed their secondary metabolites using UPLC Q-TOF/MS. We found that the average polysaccharide content of D. officinale from Anlong, Guizhou was the lowest, and the secondary metabolites were also significantly different from those of Dendrobium from the other three origins. Then, ten differential compounds with high content in D. officinale from Anlong, Guizhou were identified using Orthogonal Projection to Latent analysis (OPLS-DA), and the potential targets of these secondary metabolites associated with acute alcoholic liver injury through network pharmacology. Finally, pharmacodynamic experiments verified that only D. officinale from Anlong significantly improved liver damage in mice with acute alcoholic liver injury, confirming the pharmacodynamic activity of D. officinale secondary metabolites in the prevention of acute alcoholic liver injury. The present study found that the preventive effect of D. officinale on acute alcoholic liver injury in mice was not directly correlated with the polysaccharide content, indicating that the polysaccharide content alone cannot be used as a quality indicator to evaluate the medicinal activity of D. officinale. Our study provides more references for the study of the substance basis of the pharmacological effect of D. officinale, and also provides a research idea and method for the discovery of the pharmacological active ingredients of Chinese medicine

Diversity Estimation and Antimicrobial Activity of Culturable Endophytic Fungi from Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers. in China

Endophytes are important components of forest ecosystems, and have potential use in the development of medical drugs and the conservation of wild medicinal plants. This study aimed to examine the diversity and antimicrobial activities of endophytic fungi from a medicinal plant, Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers. The results showed that a total of 970 isolates were obtained from root, stem, leaf, and fruit segments of L. cubeba. All the fungal endophytes belonged to the phylum Ascomycota and could be classified into three taxonomic classes, nine orders, twelve families, and seventeen genera. SF15 (Colletotrichum boninense) was the dominant species in L. cubeba. Leaves harbored a greater number of fungal endophytes but lower diversity, while roots harbored the maximum species diversity of endophytic fungi. For the antimicrobial activities, seventeen isolates could inhibit the growth of plant pathogenic fungi, while the extracts of six endophytes showed antimicrobial activity to all the tested pathogenic fungi. Among these endophytes, SF22 (Chaetomium globosum) and SF14 (Penicillium minioluteum) were particularly effective in inhibiting seven plant pathogenic fungi growths and could be further explored for their potential use in biotechnology, medicine, and agriculture

Effect of plasma process on hydrogen evolution reaction of ternary MoS2(1−x)Se2x alloys

Transition metal chalcogenides (TMDs) have shown excellent catalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Recent studies have demonstrated that plasma treatment in binary TMDs can efciently improve the catalytic performance for HER. The influence of the plasma treatment for HER of the ternary TMD alloys has not been reported. In this work, MoS2(1−x)Se2x ternary alloys were synthesized on the conductive base carbon cloth by APCVD method successfully for HER applications. The effects of the plasma parameters such as the energy power and processing time on the HER activity have been investigated. Compared with the pristine MoS2(1−x)Se2x alloy, the performance of the sample treated with plasma has been improved. And the MoS2(1−x)Se2x ternary alloy treated with plasma power of 10 W for 10 min presents a superior HER activity characterized by a low overpotential of 217 mV @ 10 mA/cm2, a low Tafel slope of 65.8 mV/dec, a low impedance of 6 Ω, and a high Cdl of 18.68 mF/cm2 with good durability. Therefore,similar with the binary TMD alloys, the plasma treatment has been demonstrated an effective technique to signifcantly enhanced HER performance of ternary TMD alloys.

Effects of Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria on the Growth, Photosynthesis, and Nutrient Uptake of <i>Camellia oleifera</i> Abel.

Phosphorus (P) is a necessary nutrient for plant growth and plays an important role in plant metabolisms; however, the majority of P in soil is in insoluble forms. Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) can convert the insoluble phosphates into plant-available forms and may have the potential for use in sustainable agricultural practices. This study examined the effects of two native PSB, namely Bacillus aryabhattai (JX285) and Pseudomonas auricularis (HN038), and a mixture of both strains (1:1) on the growth of Camellia oleifera Abel. seedlings. The results showed a significant promotion of the growth of C. oleifera plants by three inoculation treatments. All the PSB inoculation treatments could improve the leaf nitrogen (N) and P content and had positive effects on the available N, P, and potassium (K) content of rhizosphere soil. A co-inoculation of the two native PSB strains caused a synergistic effect and achieved the best benefit. In conclusion, B. aryabhattai and P. auricularis could be used as biological agents instead of chemical fertilizers for agricultural production to reduce environmental pollution and increase the yield of tea oil

Interaction effects of socioeconomic factors on long-distance commuting after disentangling residential self-selection: An empirical study in Xiamen, China

The adjustment of urban spatial structure in the process of urbanization and suburbanization leads to the separation of work and residence, which further leads to long-distance commuting. While there has been a lot of research on long-distance commuting in Western countries, the relevant studies in China are not enough. In the Chinese context, some factors deserve special attention, namely the hukou system and occupation. However, few studies have focused on the individual and interaction effects of these two factors on long-distance commuting. This paper explores the commuting behavior of different socioeconomic groups in Xiamen, China. Heckman's sample selection model was applied to data from the 2015 Xiamen household travel survey to separate the effect of socioeconomic factors and that of residential selection. Results show that the continued suburbanization of the industry attracted substantial numbers of blue-collar workers to live in the outer districts (Haicang, Jimei, Tong'an, and Xiang'an), and thus blue-collar workers are less likely than pink- and white-collar workers to be long-distance commuters in the outer districts. Among residents of the outer district, pink-collar migrants and white-collar migrants are more likely to be long-distance commuters than their local counterparts, while blue-collar migrants (a coefficient of −0.153) are less likely to be long-distance commuters than blue-collar locals (a coefficient of −0.046). For people who live in the inner districts, blue-collar locals (a coefficient of 0.256) are more likely to be long-distance commuters than blue-collar migrants (a coefficient of −0.029). These results have practical significance for providing alternative housing for migrants in urban renewal