Mechanism of action of Orthosiphon stamineus against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: Insights from systems pharmacology and molecular docking approaches

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common complications of a metabolic syndrome caused by excessive accumulation of fat in the liver. Orthosiphon stamineus also known as Orthosiphon aristatus is a medicinal plant with possible potential beneficial effects on various metabolic disorders. This study aims to investigate the in vitro inhibitory effects of O. stamineus on hepatic fat accumulation and to further use the computational systems pharmacology approach to identify the pharmacokinetic properties of the bioactive compounds of O. stamineus and to predict their molecular mechanisms against NAFLD. Methods: The effects of an ethanolic extract of O. stamineus leaves on cytotoxicity, fat accumulation and antioxidant activity were assessed using HepG2 cells. The bioactive compounds of O. stamineus were identified using LC/MS and two bioinformatics databases, namely the Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database (TCMID) and the Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for the Molecular Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine (BATMAN-TCM). Pathway enrichment analysis was performed on the predicted targets of the bioactive compounds to provide a systematic overview of the molecular mechanism of action, while molecular docking was used to validate the predicted targets. Results: A total of 27 bioactive compounds corresponding to 50 potential NAFLD-related targets were identified. O. stamineus exerts its anti-NAFLD effects by modulating a variety of cellular processes, including oxidative stress, mitochondrial β-oxidation, inflammatory signalling pathways, insulin signalling, and fatty acid homeostasis pathways. O. stamineus is significantly targeting many oxidative stress regulators, including JNK, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), NFKB1, PPAR, and AKT1. Molecular docking analysis confirmed the expected high affinity for the potential targets, while the in vitro assay indicates the ability of O. stamineus to inhibit hepatic fat accumulation. Conclusion: Using the computational systems pharmacology approach, the potentially beneficial effect of O. stamineus in NAFLD was indicated through the combination of multiple compounds, multiple targets, and multicellular components.     

天麻素生物合成的研究进展

天麻素是我国名贵中药材天麻中的一种主要活性成分，具有降血压、抗癫痫、抑制肿瘤、保护神经等多方面的药理活性。随着市场对天麻素需求的不断增长以及传统获取方法固有的问题，导致急需新的方法来解决天麻素生产实际中面临的各项困难。生物合成法是一种有别于传统获取法的新方法，已在天麻素获取上取得了较大进展和成果，故现阶段有必要从天麻素生物合成途径、植物转化法和微生物转化法3个方面，对天麻素生物合成进行系统地阐述，从而为进一步改进和完善天麻素生产方法，以满足人们对其不断增长的需求提供有价值的参考。     

A Survey of Plants Used as Wild Vegetables in Four Districts of Botswana

A survey of plants used as wild vegetables was conducted in four districts of Botswana in August and September 2005. The objective was to determine which wild plants were used as vegetables in the study area, and to document their cooking and preservation methods. Fourteen species representing seven families were mentioned as wild vegetables. In addition, six species from four families had other uses in traditional medicine. The implications of the documented processing methods on the retention of nutrients in the vegetables are discussed.     

应用Power Builder进行人类精子库信息系统的开发

随着辅助生殖技术的开展和人类精子库的建立，应用供精人工授精治疗男性不育尤其是无精子症的需求增多，各精子库的精源更是供不应求。面对日趋繁琐的供精者和受精者信息，人类精子库信息系统在精子库的管理中也起着越来越重要的地位。Power Builder是目前公认的最优秀的数据库前端开发工具之一，具有开发速度快、成本低、质量高、功能强等特点。本文介绍利用Power Builder 9．0软件进行人类精子库信息系统的开发。     

植物抗体及其应用

20世纪80年代末科学家将抗体基因转入烟草表达,标志着植物抗体的诞生.人类既可以以植物为生物反应器异源表达和生产具有药用及商业价值的蛋白质;也可用抗体在植物体中进行免疫调节,以研究植物生理代谢机制,或增加植物抵抗病虫害的能力.本文旨对植物抗体的优越性、表达生产及其在医药学、植物抗病及代谢等领域的进展进行综述和讨论.     

Antioxidant properties and xanthine oxidase inhibitory effects of Tamus communis L. root extracts

This study was conducted to search for xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitors from the root extracts of Tamus communis L. traditionally used in folk medicine in Algeria. Root extracts with different solvents were screened for purified milk xanthine oxidase inhibition. The root extracts (methanol, chloroform and ethyl acetate) and proteins, obtained in distilled water, inhibited bovine, sheep and human milk XO from three species in a concentration-dependent manner, with an additional superoxide scavenging capacity, which reached its highest level with ethyl acetate extract (IC(50) = 0.15, 0.04 and 0.09 g/L) for bovine XO, sheep XO and human XO, respectively. The antioxidant potential was confirmed with the non-enzymatic method, total radical-trapping antioxidant parameter (TRAP) assay, which showed that the Tamus communis L. extracts have a potential antioxidant activity in the same order obtained by using the reduction of cytochrome c, an enzymatic method, in which the antioxidant activity followed a decreasing order: ethyl acetate extract > chloroform extract > protein.     

粤东地区菊科药用植物资源研究

资源丰富,共有植物64属、115 种.文章介绍了的种类、生境、药用功效和利用现状,提出了保护及开发利用菊科植物资源的一些建议.     

云南省獐牙菜属药用植物资源调查

目的:弄清云南省獐牙菜属药用植物资源的种类及分布,为獐牙菜属药用植物的持续利用和合理开发提供科学依据.方法:查阅文献资料,实地调查和标本采集相结合.结果:确定了云南省獐牙菜属35个种和2个变种,其中1种为新记录种,供药用的有22种,并列出了分类检索表.结论:为云南省獐牙菜属药用植物资源的综合利用和深入研究提供了一定的依据.     

蓬辣滩水电站泄洪闸门及其监控系统改造

介绍了蓬辣滩水电站泄洪闸门的状况、计算机监控系统改造方案的结构和特点及闸门定轮轴承的改造情况,通过上述改造,提高了泄洪设备运行的自动化水平,同时也为其他闸门工程提供参考。     

人工晶体植入屈光度的术前预选法：眼科超声仪36例对比研究

根据公认的眼科解剖学数据，提出后房型人工晶体植入屈光度的术前预测方法：IOL（D）=1．02（＋21D＋2X）。经人工晶体专用眼科A超36眼实测对比，无显著差异，认为在地市级医院和县级医院后房型人工晶体植入术推广中具有积极意义。