OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated the cytoprotective effects of a Pogonatherum paniceum extract prepared with 80% ethanol (PPE) using synchrotron radiation-based Fourier transform infrared (SR-FTIR) microspectroscopy and determined its phytochemical profile. METHODS: The volatile and polyphenolic compounds in PPE were characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. The antioxidant capacity of PPE was evaluated using chemical and cell-based assays. The SR-FTIR microspectroscopy was performed to evaluate the cytoprotective effect of PPE by identifying changes in macromolecule composition in tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBuOOH)-induced oxidative damage in RAW264.7 cells. RESULTS: A total of 48 volatile compounds and 28 polyphenol components were found in PPE. PPE exhibited a high potential for antioxidant activity by scavenging the intracellular reactive oxygen species in tBuOOH-induced oxidative damage in RAW264.7 cells. PPE treatment also significantly protected RAW264.7 cells against tBuOOH-induced toxicity and restored cell viability. The SR-FTIR analysis revealed that tBuOOH increased the lipid and ester lipid content in RAW264.7 cells. The PPE exerted a cytoprotective effect by decreasing the levels of lipid and ester lipid compounds that had been elevated by tBuOOH in RAW264.7 cells. These findings indicate that PPE has cytoprotective potential due to its ability to inhibit endogenous reactive oxygen species. CONCLUSION This study extends the current knowledge on the phytochemistry of PPE and its antioxidant and cytoprotective effects. These findings support the use of SR-FTIR microspectroscopy to determine the cytoprotective effects of natural products. PPE extract may be a candidate compound for new therapeutics and nutraceuticals that target the prevention of oxidative stress-associated diseases. Please cite this article as: Dunkhunthod B, Thumanu K, Teethaisong Y, Sittisart P, Sittisart P. Cytoprotective activity of Pogonatherum paniceum (Lam.) Hack. ethanolic extract evaluated by synchrotron radiation-based Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(2): 182-194.
Animals ; Mice ; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared/methods* ; Plant Extracts/chemistry* ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Synchrotrons ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Antioxidants/pharmacology* ; Ethanol/chemistry* ; Poaceae/chemistry* ; Cell Survival/drug effects* ; Cytoprotection/drug effects* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; tert-Butylhydroperoxide

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are endogenous non-coding RNAs with covalently closed structures, which have important functions in plants. However, their biogenesis, degradation, and function upon treatment with gibberellins (GAs) and auxins (1-naphthaleneacetic acid, NAA) remain unknown. Here, we systematically identified and characterized the expression patterns, evolutionary conservation, genomic features, and internal structures of circRNAs using RNase R-treated libraries from moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) seedlings. Moreover, we investigated the biogenesis of circRNAs dependent on both cis- and trans-regulation. We explored the function of circRNAs, including their roles in regulating microRNA (miRNA)-related genes and modulating the alternative splicing of their linear counterparts. Importantly, we developed a customized degradome sequencing approach to detect miRNA-mediated cleavage of circRNAs. Finally, we presented a comprehensive view of the participation of circRNAs in the regulation of hormone metabolism upon treatment of bamboo seedlings with GA and NAA. Collectively, our study provides insights into the biogenesis, function, and miRNA-mediated degradation of circRNAs in moso bamboo.
RNA, Circular/metabolism* ; Multiomics ; Poaceae/metabolism* ; Seedlings/genetics* ; Hormones/metabolism* ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant

OBJECTIVESTo investigate the hair growth-promoting effect of Miscanthus sinensis var. purpurascens (MSP) flower extracton on in vitro and in vivo models.

METHODSMSP flower extract was extracted in 99.9% methanol and applied to examine the proliferation of human dermal papilla cells (hDPCs) in vitro at the dose of 3.92-62.50 μg/mL and hair growth of C57BL/6 mice in vivo at the dose of 1000 μg/mL. The expression of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), β-catenin, substance P was measured by relative quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis were performed.

RESULTSMSP (7.81 μg/mL) down-regulated TGF-β1 and up-regulated HGF and β-catenin in hDPCs (P<0.01). MSP (1000 μg/mL)-treated mice showed the earlier transition of hair follicles from the telogen to the anagen phase. The number of mast cells was lower in the MSP-treated mice than in other groups (P<0.05 vs. NCS group). Substance P and TGF-β1 were expressed in hair follicles and skin of the MSP group lower than that in negative control. Stem cell factor in hair follicles was up-regulated in the MSP-treated mice (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe MSP flower extract may have hair growth-promotion activities.

Animals ; Antioxidants ; pharmacology ; Cell Count ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ; metabolism ; Female ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Hair Follicle ; cytology ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor ; metabolism ; Humans ; Mast Cells ; cytology ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Phosphorylation ; drug effects ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Poaceae ; chemistry ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Skin ; metabolism ; Stem Cell Factor ; metabolism ; Stress, Psychological ; pathology ; Substance P ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; genetics ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; genetics ; metabolism ; beta Catenin ; metabolism

Miscanthus sinensis Anderss is a perennial C4-grass. It is a promising bioenergy plant, which has been proposed as general feedstock for biomass and lignocellulosic biofuel production. In this study, the flower and leaf buds transcriptomes of Miscanthus sinensis Anderss were sequenced by the platform of Illumina HiSeq 2000. In total 98 326 Unigenes were generated by de novo assembly with an average length of 822 bp and N50 of 1 023 bp. Based on the NR, NT, Swiss-Prot, KEGG, GO and COG databases (Evalue < le-5), 74 134 (75.40%) Unigenes were annotated. A total of 45 507 Unigenes were mapped into different GO terms. In KEGG pathways identification, 36 710 sequences were assigned to 128 KEGG pathways. Sorghum bicolor (37 731, 60.86%), Zea mays (16 258, 26.22%), and Oryza sativa (3 065, 4.94%) showed high similarity to Miscanthus sinensis Anderss. And 24 photosynthesis-related enzyme genes were identified. The result provides a foundation for further characterizing the functional genes in Miscanthus sinensis Anderss.
Biofuels ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Genes, Plant ; Poaceae ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Plant ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis, RNA ; Transcriptome

The tuberous roots of Aconitum carmichaeli are largely used in traditional Chinese medicine and widely grown in Jiangyou, Sichuan, China. During the growth process, this medicinal plant releases a large amount of allelochemicals into soil, which retard the growth and development of near and late crops. Therefore, a pure culture experiment was thus carried out by seed soaking to study the allelopathic effects of extracts from tuberous roots of A. carmichaeli (ETR) on the seed germination and young seedling growth of Lolium perenne, Trifolium repens, and Medicago sativa, the late pasture grasses after cultivation of A. carmichaeli. The results showed that three pasture grasses varied significantly in seed germination and young seedling growth in response to ETR concentrations. Seed germination of M. sativa was stimulated by low ERT concentration (0.01 x g(-1)), while all of pasture grass seeds germinated poorly in solution with 1.00 g x L(-1). Seed soaking with 1.00 g x L(-1) also inhibited significantly the growth of pasture young seedlings, with M. sativa showing the highest seedling height reduction of 42.05% in seeding height, followed by T. repens (40.21%) and L. perenne with about 11%. Cultivation of L. perenne could thus be beneficial to increase whole land productivity in A. carmichaeli-pasture grass cropping systems. In addition, hydrolysis of protein, starch, and inositol phosphates was blocked and free amino acids, soluble sugars and phosphorus were decreased in seeds by seed soaking with ETR, which could be one of the reason for the inhibition of seed germination. There was a significant reduction in root vigor, nitrate reductase, and chlorophyll after the seed treatment with ETR, indicating the suppression of nutrient uptake, nitrate assimilation, and photosynthesis by allelopathic chemicals in ETR, which could lead to the slow growth rate of pasture grass seedlings.
Aconitum ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Allelopathy ; China ; Pheromones ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Plant Extracts ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Poaceae ; drug effects ; growth & development

OBJECTIVEThe present study investigated the protective role of Hyparrhenia hirta (H. hirta) against sodium nitrate (NaNO3)-induced hepatoxicity.

METHODSMale Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: a control group and two treated groups during 50 d with NaNO3 administered either alone in drinking water or co-administered with H. hirta.

RESULTSNaNO3 treatment induced a significant increase in serum levels of glucose, total cholesterol and triglyceride while serum total protein level decreased significantly. Transaminases and lactate deshydrogenase activities in serum were elevated indicating hepatic cells' damage after treatment with NaNO3. The hyperbilirubinemia and the increased serum gamma glutamyl transferase activities suggested the presence of cholestasis in NaNO3 exposed rats. In parallel, a significant increase in malondialdehyde level along with a concomitant decrease in total glutathione content and superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities were observed in the liver after NaNO3 treatment. Furthermore, nitrate caused a significant induction of DNA fragmentation. These modifications in NaNO3-treated rats corresponded histologically with hepatocellular necrosis and mononuclear cells infiltration. H. hirta supplementation showed a remarkable amelioration of the abnormalities cited above.

CONCLUSIONThe results concluded that the treatment with H. hirta had a significant role in protecting the animals from nitrate-induced liver dysfunction.

Animals ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; prevention & control ; DNA Fragmentation ; drug effects ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Eating ; drug effects ; Flavonoids ; analysis ; Glutathione ; drug effects ; Lipid Peroxidation ; drug effects ; Lipids ; blood ; Liver ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Nitrates ; Organ Size ; drug effects ; Phytotherapy ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Poaceae ; chemistry ; Random Allocation ; Rats, Wistar

Bioinformatic approaches have complemented experimental efforts to inventorize plant miRNA targets. We carried out global computational analysis of rice (Oryza sativa) transcriptome to generate a comprehensive list of putative miRNA targets. Our predictions (684 unique transcripts) showed that rice miRNAs mediate regulation of diverse functions including transcription (41%), catalysis (28%), binding (18%), and transporter activity (11%). Among the predicted targets, 61.7% hits were in coding regions and nearly 72% targets had a solitary miRNA hit. The study predicted more than 70 novel targets of 34 miRNAs putatively regulating functions like stress-response, catalysis, and binding. It was observed that more than half (55%) of the targets were conserved between O. sativa indica and O. sativa japonica. Members of 31 miRNA families were found to possess conserved targets between rice and at least one of other grass family members. About 44% of the unique targets were common between two dissimilar miRNA prediction algorithms. Such an extent of cross-species conservation and algorithmic consensus confers confidence in the list of rice miRNA targets predicted in this study.
Algorithms ; Arabidopsis ; genetics ; metabolism ; Conserved Sequence ; Databases, Nucleic Acid ; Gene Expression Profiling ; statistics & numerical data ; Genomics ; statistics & numerical data ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Models, Genetic ; Oryza ; classification ; genetics ; metabolism ; Poaceae ; classification ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Plant ; genetics ; metabolism ; Species Specificity

This paper studied the effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on regeneration and free proline accumulation of callus of Pogonatherum paniceum (Lam.) Hack. under motionless liquid culture condition and shake liquid culture condition. Callus of P. paniceum had the ability to resist the stress of PEG. The effects of PEG stress and culture conditions on the callus of P. paniceum appeared mainly in two aspects, delaying regeneration time and debasing regeneration rates. The shake liquid culture mainly delayed the regeneration time and PEG stress mainly debased the regeneration rates. Free proline accumulated in the two culture conditions, and the contents of proline were positively correlated with PEG concentrations and culture time. After stress removal, most of the callus could recover the ability of regeneration, and the free proline might pay an important part in the inhibition and recovery. So it must be chosen a more than 300 g x L(-1) PEG concentration and long than 3 weeks culture time in the selection of drought-resistant mutants of P. paniceum. The motionless liquid culture was more suitable for selection of drought-resistant mutants.
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Poaceae ; drug effects ; metabolism ; physiology ; Polyethylene Glycols ; pharmacology ; Proline ; metabolism ; Regeneration ; drug effects ; Time Factors ; Tissue Culture Techniques

Biomineralization of Si by plants into phytolith formation and precipitation of Si into clays during weathering are two important processes of silicon's biogeochemical cycle. As a silicon-accumulating plant, the widely distributed and woody Phyllostachys heterocycla var. pubescens (moso bamboo) contributes to storing silicon by biomineralization and, thus, prevents eutrophication of nearby waterbodies through silicon's erosion of soil particles.A study on the organic pool and biological cycle of silicon (Si) of the moso bamboo community was conducted in Wuyishan Biosphere Reserve, China. The results showed that: (1) the standing crop of the moso bamboo community was 13355.4 g/m2, of which 53.61%, 45.82% and 0.56% are represented by the aboveground and belowground parts of moso bamboos, and the understory plants, respectively; (2) the annual net primary production of the community was 2887.1 g/(m2 x a), among which the aboveground part, belowground part, litterfalls, and other fractions, accounted for 55.86%, 35.30%, 4.50% and 4.34%, respectively; (3) silicon concentration in stem, branch, leaf, base of stem, root, whip of bamboos, and other plants was 0.15%, 0.79%, 3.10%, 4.40%, 7.32%, 1.52% and 1.01%, respectively; (4) the total Si accumulated in the standing crop of moso bamboo community was 448.91 g/m2, with 99.83% of Si of the total community stored in moso bamboo populations; (5) within moso bamboo community, the annual uptake, retention, and return of Si were 95.75, 68.43, 27.32 g/(m2 x a), respectively; (6) the turnover time of Si, which is the time an average atom of Si remains in the soil before it is recycled into the trees or shrubs, was 16.4 years; (7) the enrichment ratio of Si in the moso bamboo community, which is the ratio of the mean concentration of nutrients in the net primary production to the mean concentration of nutrients in the biomass of a community, was 0.64; and lastly, (8) moso bamboo plants stored about 1.26x10(10) kg of silicon in the organic pool made up by the moso bamboo forests in the subtropical area of China.
Biological Transport ; Biomass ; China ; Ecosystem ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Poaceae ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Silicon ; analysis ; metabolism

Using SDS-PAGE analysis, the High-molecular-weight (HMW) glutenin subunits of two Crithopsis delileana accessions were detected. It was found that the two accessions had the same HMW glutenin subunits. Only one HMW glutenin subunit with the similar electrophoresis mobility to the y-type HMW glutenin subunit of hexaploid wheat was observed in C. delileana. However, It was indicated that this glutenin subunit was an x-type glutenin subunit Kx by gene sequence analysis. The full coding region of Kx gene is 2052bp and could encodes a mature protein with 661 amino acid residues. The Kx gene could be expressed in the bacterial expression system, and the expressed protein had the same electrophoresis mobility as that in the seed of C. delileana. The primary structure of Kx subunit was very similar to the x-type HMW glutenin subunits encoded by the A, B and D genomes of wheat, the C and U genomes of Aegilops, and the R genome of Secale cereale. In the phylogenetic analysis, Kx subunit was clustered together with Ax1 subunit by an interior parallelled branch. In conclsion, Kx gene is a novel x type glutenin subunit gene from C. delileana.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence ; Genes, Plant ; Glutens ; genetics ; metabolism ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Poaceae ; genetics ; metabolism ; Triticum ; genetics ; metabolism