Starting with the relationship between mulberry leaves and silkworm droppings as food and metabolites, this study systematically compared the chemical components, screened out differential components, and quantitatively analyzed the main differential components based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and UPLC-Q-TRAP-MS combined with principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA). Moreover, the in vitro enzymatic transformation of the representative differential components was studied. The results showed that(1) 95 components were identified from mulberry leaves and silkworm droppings, among which 27 components only exist in mulberry leaves and 8 components in silkworm droppings. The main differential components were flavonoid glycosides and chlorogenic acids.(2) Nineteen components with significant difference were quantitatively analyzed, and the components with significant differences and high content were neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, and rutin.(3) The crude protease in the mid-gut of silkworm significantly metabolized neochlorogenic acid and chlorogenic acid, which may be an important reason for the efficacy change in mulberry leaves and silkworm droppings. This study lays a scientific foundation for the development, utilization, and quality control of mulberry leaves and silkworm droppings. It provides references for clarifying the possible material basis and mechanism of the pungent-cool and dispersing nature of mulberry leaves transforming into the pungent-warm and dampness-resolving nature of silkworm droppings, and offers a new idea for the study of nature-effect transformation mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine.
Animals ; Bombyx ; Morus/chemistry* ; Chlorogenic Acid/analysis* ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Plant Leaves/chemistry*

Zearalenone(ZEN) is a toxic metabolite produced by Fusarium culmorum, F. graminearum, F. tricinctum, and other fungi, with estrogenic characteristics. Exposure to or ingestion of ZEN during pregnancy can cause reproductive dysfunction, miscarriage, stillbirth, and malformation, and seriously endanger human life and health. The detection methods for ZEN in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition) are liquid chromatography(LC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS), and it is stipulated that ZEN should not exceed 500 μg in 1 000 g of Coicis Semen. Although these detection methods by instruments can achieve the qualitative and quantitative analysis of ZEN in Coicis Semen, their high detection cost and long periods hinder the rapid screening of a large number of samples in the field. In this study, the synthesized ZEN hapten was conjugated with bovine serum albumin(BSA) and ovalbumin(OVA) to obtain the complete ZEN antigen. By virtue of antibody preparation techniques, ZEN monoclonal antibody 4F6 was prepared, which showed 177.5%, 137.1%, and 109.7% cross-reactivity with ZEN structural analogs zearalanol, zearalenone, and α-zearalenol, respectively, and no cross-reactivity with other fungal toxins such as aflatoxin. Direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(dcELISA) based on ZEN monoclonal antibody 4F6 was developed for the determination of ZEN in Coicis Semen with an IC_(50) of 1.3 μg·L~(-1) and a detection range of 0.22-21.92 μg·L~(-1). The recoveries were 83.91%-105.3% and the RSD was 4.4%-8.0%. The established dcELISA method was used to determine the ZEN residuals in nine batches of Coicis Semen samples, and the results were validated by LC-MS. The correlation between the two detection methods was found to be 0.993 9, indicating that the established dcELISA could be used for the rapid qualitative and quantitative detection of ZEN residuals in Coicis Semen.
Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Zearalenone ; Coix ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Mycotoxins ; Antibodies, Monoclonal

Dead heart is an important trait of pith-decayed Scutellariae Radix. The purpose of this study was to clarify the scientific connotation of the dead heart using multi-omics. Metabolomics and transcriptomics combined with multivariate statistical analysis such as principal component analysis(PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA) were used to systematically compare the differences in chemical composition and gene expression among phloem, outer xylem and near-dead xylem of pith-decayed Scutella-riae Radix. The results revealed significant differences in the contents of flavonoid glycosides and aglycones among the three parts. Compared with phloem and outer xylem, near-dead xylem had markedly lowered content of flavonoid glycosides(including baicalin, norwogonin-7-O-β-D-glucuronide, oroxylin A-7-O-β-D-glucuronide, and wogonoside) while markedly increased content of aglycones(including 3,5,7,2',6'-pentahydroxy dihydroflavone, baicalin, wogonin, and oroxylin A). The differentially expressed genes were mainly concentrated in KEGG pathways such as phenylpropanoid metabolism, flavonoid biosynthesis, ABC transporter, and plant MAPK signal transduction pathway. This study systematically elucidated the material basis of the dead heart of pith-decayed Scutellariae Radix with multiple growing years. Specifically, the content of flavonoid aglycones was significantly increased in the near-dead xylem, and the gene expression of metabolic pathways such as flavonoid glycoside hydrolysis, interxylary cork development and programmed apoptosis was significantly up-regulated. This study provided a theoretical basis for guiding the high-quality production of pith-decayed Scutellariae Radix.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Scutellaria baicalensis/chemistry* ; Glucuronides ; Multiomics ; Flavonoids/chemistry*

Puerarin was conjugated with bovine serum albumin(BSA) and ovalbumin(OVA) by periodate oxidation to serve as the immunogen and coating antigen, respectively. BALB/c mice were immunized with puerarin-BSA according to the routine immunization procedure, and the titer and specificity of serum were detected after three immunization. After booster immunization, mouse spleen lymphocytes were fused with mouse myeloma cells, and 24 hybridoma cell lines of the monoclonal antibodies against puerarin were screened by monoclonal antibody screening technique. Ascites was prepared and purified. The cross-reactivity of monoclonal antibody(mAb) M1 with 4'-methoxy puerarin, daidzin, puerarin-6″-O-xyloside, daidzein, mirificin, 3'-methoxy puerarin, and 3'-hydroxy puerarin was 239.84%, 112.18%, 67.89%, 58.28%, 22.37%, 0.40%, and 0.20%, respectively, and those with other analogs such as baicalein and baicalin were all less than 0.10%. The IC_(50) and the working range of the indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(icELISA) for puerarin were 44.80 ng·mL~(-1) and 8.20-292.30 ng·mL~(-1), respectively. The average recovery was 91.95%-98.20% with an RSD in the range of 0.70%-2.60%. The content of puerarin in different Puerariae Lobatae Radix samples was determined with icELISA and validated by UPLC-MS. The correlation between data obtained from icELISA and UPLC-MS was 0.999 0, indicating that icELISA is suitable for the rapid detection of puerarin in Puerariae Lobatae Radix samples.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods* ; Hybridomas/metabolism* ; Isoflavones ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

With the rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix unearthed from the tomb of Haihunhou in the Western Han Dynasty as the re-ference, the present study evaluated the quality of Rehmanniae Radix and investigated the processing technology of rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix to lay the foundation for the research on rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix products. With catalpol and rehmannioside D as the investigation indexes, the quality and grade of Rehmanniae Radix from different producing areas were evaluated with the methods in 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia. UPLC method was established for the determination of catalpol and rehmannioside D in the rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix. The effects of steaming time, the amount of supplementary rice, and steaming times in the rice-steamed processing on the quality of products were investigated by L_9(3~4) orthogonal test and multi-index comprehensive balance scoring method combined with the content of catalpol and rehmannioside D and appearance characteristics. At last, the stability of the processing technology was tested. The results showed that the optimal processing technology for rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix was as follows: Rehmanniae Radix and rice(200 g∶4 g) were steamed twice at atmospheric pressure, four hours each time. The mass fractions of catalpol and rehmannioside D were 0.184% and 0.335%, respectively, and the character score was 6.5. The processing conditions are reaso-nable, stable, and feasible. It can provide a basis for the restoration of the ancient rice-steamed processing technology and references for the development of rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix products in the future.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Oryza ; Plant Extracts ; Rehmannia ; Technology

Schisandra sphenanthera is dioecious and only the fruits of female plants can be used as medicine and food. It is of great significance for the cultivation and production of S. sphenanthera to explore the differences between male and female plants at the non-flowering stage and develop the identification markers at non-flowering or seedling stage. In this study, the transcriptome of male and female leaves of S. sphenanthera at the non-flowering stage was sequenced by Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology and analyzed based on bioinformatics. A total of 236 682 transcripts were assembled by Trinity software and 171 588 were chosen as unigenes. Finally, 1 525 differentially expressed genes(DEGs) were identified, with 458 up-regulated and 1 067 down-regulated in female lea-ves. The down-regulated genes mainly involve photosynthesis, photosynthesis-antenna protein, carbon fixation in photosynthetic or-ganisms, and other pathways. Real-time quantitative PCR(qPCR) identified two genes between male and female leaves and one of them was a HVA22-like gene related to floral organ development and abscisic acid(ABA). Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was applied to determine the content of ABA, auxin, gibberellin, and zeatin riboside(ZR) in leaves of S. sphenanthera. The results showed that the content of ABA and ZR in male leaves was significantly higher than that in female leaves. The involvement of down-regulated genes in female leaves in the photosynthesis pathway and the significant differences in the content of endogenous hormones between male and female leaves lay a scientific basis for analyzing the factors affecting sex differentiation of S. sphenanthera.
Abscisic Acid ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Plant Leaves/genetics* ; RNA-Seq ; Schisandra ; Transcriptome

At present, 141 compounds have been isolated from Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora and P. kurroa of the Scrophulariaceae plants, including 46 iridoid glycosides, 29 tetracyclic triterpenoids, 25 phenylpropanoids, and 11 phenylethanoid glycosides. Pharmacological studies have demonstrated that they have liver-, heart-, brain-, kidney-, and nerve cells-protecting effects as well as anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-asthma, anti-diabetic, immunomodulatory, and blood lipid-lowering activities. This article reviews the chemical components and pharmacological activities of P. scrophulariiflora and P. kurroa, aiming to provide a basis for the in-depth research, development, and utilization of the two plants.
Iridoid Glycosides ; Picrorhiza ; Triterpenes/pharmacology*

Objective:To explore the effects of diverse exogenous substances at different concentrations on the growth of Polyporus umbellatus mycelium and polysaccharide content and screen out the optimal growth condition for P. umbellatus mycelium， so as to provide a reference for its large-scale artificial cultivation. Method:P. umbellatus mycelium was cultured in media containing different exogenous substances using the method for fungal culturing in plate. The growth rate of the mycelium was judged by the colony diameter and the polysaccharide content was determined by the phenol-sulfuric acid method. Result:The high-dose cyclic adenosine monophosphate， 6-benzyl aminopurine （6-BA）， gibberellic acid （GA）， 2，4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid （2，4-D）， vitamin （V） B₁， VB₃， VB₆， VB₉， and VB₁₂ all promoted the growth of P. umbellatus mycelium and elevated polysaccharides content. By contrast， indole acetic acid （IAA）， VC， and VB₂ inhibited its growth， with the most obvious inhibition detected in the high-dose VC group. IAA and VB₂ both reduced the polysaccharide content， whereas the high-dose VC significantly increased the polysaccharide content. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate， 6-BA， GA， 2，4-D， VB₁， VB₃， VB₆， VB₉， and VB₁₂ at the concentrations of 2 mmol·L^-1， 6 mg·L^-1， 15 mg·L^-1， 2 mg·L^-1， 4 mg·L^-1， 2 mg·L^-1， 4 mg·L^-1， 6 mg·L^-1， and 10 mg·L^-1， respectively， contributed to the growth of P. umbellatus mycelium and polysaccharide accumulation. Conclusion:The growth of P. umbellatus mycelium and polysaccharide accumulation can be regulated by adding exogenous substances to the culture medium.

Objective:To screen out the suitable nonpolar molecular cosolvent and concentration with adventitious root phenotype and ginsenoside content in the controlled experiment as the evaluation indexes， so as to lay a solid foundation for exploring the causes for good shape and high quality of Panax quinquefolium. Method:After being treated with different concentrations of dimethyl sulfoxide （DMSO） and ethanol， the adventitious roots were scanned using a panoramic scanner， and the resulting images were used for measuring the branch number and average diameter by WinRHIZO Pro 2016， Synbiosis ProtoCol 3 colony counter， Image J， and SmartRoot. The contents of ginsenosides Rg₁， Rb₁， and Re were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS）. Result:Compared with the blank control， the 0.1% DMSO and 75% ethanol made the adventitious root phenotype and ginsenoside contents significantly changed. Specifically， the branch number and average diameter were significantly reduced. The ginsenoside Rg₁ in the adventitious roots decreased after 0.1% DMSO treatment， whereas the ginsenosides Rg₁ and Re increased after 75% ethanol treatment. The adventitious root phenotype and ginsenoside contents in the 0.1% DMSO treatment group were not significantly different from those in the control group. Conclusion:The 0.01% DMSO does not affect the adventitious root growth of P. quinquefolium and is insoluble in water， enabling it to be considered as a suitable nonpolar molecular cosolvent for future research on the genetic causes for the good shape and high quality of P. quinquefolium.

Endophytic bacteria exist in the host and do not cause obvious damage to the host，which is an important part of the host ecosystem. Endophytic bacteria are a kind of important microbial resources with diverse species and wide distribution. In the process of long-term coevolution between endophytic bacteria and host，many symbiotic relationships，such as antagonism and reciprocity，have been gradually formed，which can directly or indirectly regulate the growth and development of host，assist host to resist diseases and insect pests，environmental stress and other biological processes. Endophytic bacteria can produce a variety of secondary metabolites in the process of symbiosis with the host，which plays an important role in the development of new natural products. In recent years，endophytic bacteria and their secondary metabolites have been widely used in the research and development of new drugs，biological control and other fields. In this paper，the diversity，species identification and secondary metabolites of endophytic bacterial resources are reviewed，and the future development direction is discussed，hoping to provide reference for the further development and utilization of endophytic bacterial resources.