In view of the few studies on the influence of Armillaria spp. infection on the content of the chemical components in different parts of Polyporus umbellatus sclerotia, this study determined the biomass of P. umbellatus sclerotia and the contents of ergosterol, polyporusterone A, polyporusterone B and polysaccharide in the separated cavity wall of the sclerotia and the uninfected part of the sclerotia in different harvesting years under the conditions of A. gallica and A. mellea infection respectively. According to the difference of content and dynamic changes of the polysaccharide and the steroid substances, the superior Armillaria sp. was screened to obtain the best harvest years of P. umbellatus. Using HPLC and UV-VIS spectrophotometry methods, the contents of ergosterol, polyporusterone A, polyporusterone B and polysaccharide in P. umbellatus sclerotia infected by the two Armillaria spp. in different years were determined. In addition, the differentially expressed genes related to P. umbellatus polysaccharide synthesis were screened according to the transcriptomic data of different parts of P. umbellatus after A. mellea infection. With the increase of years, the biomass of sclerotia infected by different Armillaria spp. had significant differences, and there were significant differences in the four components of sclerotia. The four components of the separated cavity wall of the sclerotia were significantly higher than those of the uninfected part. The best harvest time was the third year after cultivation. Transcriptomic analysis showed that the infection of Armillaria spp. could significantly promote polysaccharide synthesis, which provided a basis for polysaccharide content determination at the molecular level. The study clarified the influence of different Armillaria spp. infection on the accumulation of chemical components of P. umbellatus sclerotia, laying a foundation for exploring the symbiosis mechanism and provided a scientific clue for screening superior Armillaria sp. and guiding the artificial cultivation of P. umbellatus sclerotia.

Pinellia ternata， belonging to the Pinellia genus within the Araceae family， is a medicinal plant due to its tubers. There are severe issues with unclear germplasm and mixed varieties in its cultivation， necessitating urgent new variety protection efforts. The distinctness， uniformity， and stability （DUS） testing of the plant variety is the basis for protecting new plant varieties， and the DUS test guidelines are the technical basis for DUS testing. To develop the DUS test guidelines for P. ternata， agronomic traits of 229 germplasm of P. ternata were observed and measured during its two growth stages over the years， and each character was graded and described. A total of 38 traits were selected as the test traits of the DUS test guideline for P. ternata. There were three plant traits， 19 leaf traits， six flower traits， two fruit traits， two tuber traits， five bulbil traits， and one ploidy trait. These traits could be divided into 22 quality characters， 12 quantitative characters， and four pseudo-quantitative characters， as well as seven groups， including plants， leaves， flowers， fruit， tubers， bulbils， and ploidy. By searching for standard traits， 10 standard varieties were ultimately determined. Preparing these guidelines will have great significance for reviewing and protecting P. ternata varieties， safeguarding breeders' rights， and promoting the development of the P. ternata industry.

In the strategic context of "healthy China"， the concept of "medicine and food homology"， rooted in the culture of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， has received unprecedented attention. In response to population aging in China， the health of the elderly has become the focus of public health attention， and proactive health is the key to healthy aging. From the perspective of the application of medicinal and edible materials in proactive health and technological responses to population aging for the first time， this paper firstly provided a systematic overview of medicinal and edible materials and the policies related to proactive health. Second， it summarized the situation of modern technology that accelerates the research and development of medicinal and edible products， as well as the current situation of various modern biotechnologies that reveal the mechanism of action of medicinal and edible materials. Third， it discussed the application scenarios of medicinal and edible materials in proactive health and technological responses to population aging， as well as the future research and development of medicinal and edible materials. By exploring in depth the unique value and importance of medicinal and edible materials， the paper lays a theoretical foundation for improving the health care capabilities of TCM and contributes new strategies derived from TCM to healthy aging.

Depressive disorder is a mental illness characterized by poor mood and cognitive dysfunction caused by a range of complicated factors. Antidepressants have strong short-term efficacy in clinical application, yet with significant adverse effects and resistance in long-term use. Essential oils are small molecular compounds mainly composed of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, most of which are characterized by aromatic odors, easy permeability through the blood-brain barrier, and low toxic side effects. Volatile oil from traditional Chinese medicine can regulate neurotransmitter monoamine, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, and intestinal microbiota-gut-brain axis to exert an antidepressant effect through multiple pathways and targets. This review summarizes the main antidepressant chemical components of essential oil of traditional Chinese medicine, their pharmacological mechanisms and clinical application, aiming to provide some reference for further development and clinical application of essential oil of traditional Chinese medicine.

By reviewing the research history on quality comparison between wild and cultivated Chinese crude drugs， this paper systematically combed the relevant research reports since the 1950s， and summarized and analyzed the results of existing comparative studies， and found that the existing comparative research on the quality of wild and cultivated Chinese crude drugs were mainly focused on several aspects， including characteristics， microstructures， chemical compositions， pharmacodynamic effects， and genetic diversity. Among these， comparative studies of chemical compositions have been the dominant approach， with a particular emphasis on comparing the contents of index components. However， research on pharmacodynamic effects remained relatively limited. Due to various factors such as sample quantity， sample origin， growth period and cultivation methods， the differences in quality between wild and cultivated Chinese crude drugs vary significantly. In general， most wild Chinese crude drugs exhibited higher quality than cultivated products， with significant differences in their characteristics. The contents and proportions of some chemical components underwent noticeable changes， particularly with a marked increase in the proportion of primary metabolites after cultivation. The quality of cultivated Chinese crude drugs is closely related to the cultivation practices employed. Chinese crude drugs produced through wild nurturing， simulated wild planting， ecological cultivation， and other similar methods demonstrate quality levels comparable to those of wild Chinese crude drugs. Based on the analysis results， it is recommended to explicitly specify the cultivation practices and cultivation period of cultivated Chinese crude drugs in comparative studies of the quality between wild and cultivated Chinese crude drugs. Multiple technical approaches， including characteristics， microscopy， non-targeted metabolomics combined with quantitative analysis of differential components， and bioefficacy evaluation， should be employed to comprehensively assess the quality disparities between wild and cultivated Chinese crude drugs. Moreover， research efforts should be intensified to investigate the changes in pharmacodynamic effects resulting from differences in plant cell wall composition， primary metabolites， and secondary metabolites， in order to guide the production of high-quality Chinese crude drugs.

As a Chinese saying goes， "good Chinese medicinal material makes good medicine"， the quality of Chinese herbal medicines is related to the development prospect of Chinese medicine industry in China. With the rapid development of new technologies such as traceability methods and monitoring instruments， it is imperative to integrate and innovate traditional Chinese herbal medicines with new-generation information technology in view of the quality problems existing in the current production and circulation of Chinese herbal medicines， and it is of great significance for the construction of traceability system to ensure the quality and safety of Chinese herbal medicines and to promote the industry of Chinese herbal medicines to move towards high-quality development. This paper reviews the development history of the traceability system of Chinese herbal medicines in China， takes the influencing factors of the quality of Chinese herbal medicines as the entry point， and proposes that the construction of the traceability system should satisfy the traceability requirements of the characteristics of Chinese herbal medicines and their traditional medication experience. By analyzing the influencing factors of the quality of Chinese herbal medicines， it is pointed out that focusing on the influencing factors to build a traceability system is of great significance for targeting the problematic links at a later stage and exploring the interrelationship between environmental factors and the quality of Chinese herbal medicines. Based on the previous explorations， the author summarizes the system framework， functional modules and practical applications of the traceability system of Chinese herbal medicines， and looks forward to the development of a traceability system with risk early warning function and expert decision-making function in its functional development. Finally， based on the factors affecting the quality of Chinese herbal medicines， the author puts forward several thoughts on construction of the traceability system， and makes an in-depth analysis and puts forward a solution for the current situation that a unified， standardized and universal traceability system has not yet been built， with a view to providing ideas and references for the construction of traceability system of Chinese herbal medicines.

ObjectiveBidirectional and two-sample Mendelian randomization（MR） method was used to investigate the bidirectional causal relationship between constipation and pneumonia and to understand the potential relationship between the two diseases from a new perspective， providing new targets for future treatment strategies. MethodConstipation and pneumonia datasets were selected from the genome-wide association study（GWAS） website for the European population in 2021. The data related to constipation included 411 623 samples， and the single nucleotide polymorphism（SNP） data were 24 176 599. The pneumonia data contained 480 299 samples with a number of SNPs of 24 174 646. In this study， inverse variance weighting（IVW） was adopted as the main analysis method of MR， supplemented by weighted median method， simple model， weighted model and MR-Egger regression analysis results， and sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the robustness of the results. ResultSeventeen SNPs highly correlated with constipation and 12 SNPs highly correlated with pneumonia were finally included. IVW analysis results of forward MR analysis showed that constipation increased the risk of pneumonia｛odds ratio（OR）=1.143， 95% confidence interval（CI）［1.045， 1.249］， P=0.003｝， MR-Egger regression， simple model， weighted model and weighted median analysis all supported the result（P<0.05）. IVW analysis by reverse MR analysis showed that pneumonia did not increase the risk of constipation｛OR=1.138， 95%CI［0.974， 1.329］， P=0.103｝， MR-Egger regression， simple model， weighted model and weighted median analysis also supported this result. ConclusionThe bidirectional and dual-sample MR analysis method is used to confirm the causal relationship between constipation and pneumonia from the perspective of genetic variation， while there is no obvious causal relationship on the contrary. This study will be helpful for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of constipation and pneumonia， and provide a reference for the study of the pathogenesis between the two.

This paper systematically combed and verified the name， origin， producing area， quality evaluation， harvesting， processing of Euryales Semen in famous classical formulas by consulting relevant ancient materia medica， medical books， prescription books and modern literature. The results showed that Euryales Semen was first collected by materia medica under the name of Jitoushi， and since the Ming dynasty， Qianshi has been used as a proper name and continues to this day， with other aliases such as Yanhuishi. Euryale ferox， a plant of the Nymphaeaceae family， is the same as that used in the past dynasties. However， due to long-term artificial domestication， the varieties vary with the origin， including Beiqian and Suqian. The medicinal part of Euryales Semen is mature seed kernel， its origin of ancient records mainly includes Shandong， Jiangsu， Henan and other places， since the Ming and Qing dynasties， Euryales Semen produced in Suzhou has been highly praised. Since modern times， it has gradually summarized and formed the best quality evaluation method of Euryales Semen with full grains， white cross-section， powdery enough and no broken powder. The harvesting time in the past dynasties was mainly August or in autumn. The main processing methods in the past dynasties included peeling for powder， pounding powder after steaming， drying and frying. Up to now， two mainstream processing methods of cleansing and stir-frying have been formed. Based on the research results， it is recommended that the mature seed kernel of E. ferox be used in famous classical formula Yihuangtang. Combined with the processing requirements of the original formula， it is suggested to refer to the stir-frying method in the general principles of processing of the current edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia.

ObjectiveRoot rot is one of the most serious diseases in the cultivation and production of Atractylodes lancea. Trichoderma spp. are effective in the biocontrol of root rot without causing environmental pollution. This study aims to isolate and study a Trichoderma strain capable preventing and controlling root rot from the rhizosphere of A. lancea and to solve the problem of disease prevention and control in the planting and production of A. lancea. MethodTrichoderma T2204 was isolated by the dilution-coating method and identified by ITS sequencing. The inhibitory activities of T2204 and its volatiles against two pathogenic fungal strains were examined by dual-culture and co-culture experiments. The biocontrol potential of T2204 on root rot of A. lancea and the effect of T2204 on the accumulation of medicinal compounds in the rhizosphere of A. lancea were investigated by pot experiments and GC-MS， respectively. In addition， the optimal medium， photoperiod， temperature， pH， and carbon and nitrogen sources for the culture of T2204 were explored. ResultThe Trichoderma isolate T2204 was identified as T. citrinoviride and had direct inhibitory effects on two highly pathogenic strains causing root rot. In the dual-culture experiments with the two pathogenic strains， T2204 showcased the inhibition rates of 77.90% and 76.80%， respectively. In the co-culture experiments with the two pathogenic strains， the volatile organic compounds produced by T2204 showed the inhibition rates of 57.11% and 81.11%， respectively. The pot experiments showed that the survival rate of A. lancea seedlings infected by root rot reached 100% after inoculation with T2204 and was only 50% in the case without inoculation of T2204. After 150 days of cultivation， the dry weight and atractylodin content of the rhizome of A. lancea plants treated with T2204 increased by 32% （P<0.05） and 11%， respectively， compared with the untreated group. The optimal conditions for the growth of T2204 were PDA or PSA medium， photoperiod of 12 h dark/12 h light， 25-30 °C， pH 5-6， carbon sources of glucose， D-fructose， soluble starch， and maltose， and the nitrogen sources of ammonium sulfate and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate. The optimal conditions for the sporulation of T2204 were PSA or CMA medium， photoperiod of 12 h dark/12 h light， 20-30 °C， pH 8， carbon source of sucrose， and nitrogen source of sodium nitrate. ConclusionT2204 could improve the growth and root rot resistance of A. lancea and promote the accumulation of medicinal compounds. The findings laid a foundation for the industrialized production and application of T2204 in the production of A. lancea in the future.

Objective:To explore the clinical phenotype and genetic basis of a child with Neutral lipid storage disease with myopathy (NLSDM).Methods:A child who was admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in February 2021 for a history of elevated creatine kinase (CK) for over 2 months was selected as the study subject. Clinical and laboratory examinations were carried out, and the child was subjected to whole exome sequencing. Candidate variants were validated by Sanger sequencing of her family members.Results:The patient, a 9-year-old female, had exhibited weakness in the lower limbs, elevated CK level, and refractory cardiomyotrophy. Genetic testing revealed that she has harbored c. 32C>G (p.S11W) and c. 516C>G (p.N172K) compound heterozygous variants of the PNPLA2 gene, which were respectively inherited from her mother and father. Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), both variants were rated as likely pathogenic (PM1+ PM2_Supporting+ PP3+ PP4). Conclusion:The c. 32C>G (p.S11W) and c. 516C>G (p.N172K) compound heterozygous variants of the PNPLA2 gene probably underlay the myasthenia gravis and elevated creatine kinase in this child.