Chemical Constituents， Pharmacological Effect， and Product Development of Eucommia ulmoides with Both Medicinal and Edible Values： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Eucommia ulmoides， a plant belonging to Eucommiaceae， has a history of medical use for over two thousand years in China. The dried bark and leaves of this plant are usually used as medicinal materials. Due to the high safety in clinical application， E. ulmoides leaves were officially recognized for both medicinal and edible use by the food safety evaluation in 2019， providing a valuable resource for the development of food and health products. According to the traditional Chinese medicine theory， E. ulmoides has the effects of nourishing the liver and kidneys， strengthening sinews and bones， and calming fetus. Modern research has shown that different parts such as the bark， leaves， flowers， and seeds of E. ulmoides contain similar chemical components， including phenylpropanoids， terpenoids， flavonoids， phenolic acids， steroids， and polysaccharides. E. ulmoides exhibits diverse pharmacological activities such as lowering blood pressure and blood lipid and glucose levels， preventing osteoporosis and possesses anti-tumor， anti-bacterial， antiviral， anti-inflammatory， antioxidant， and hepatoprotective effects. Therefore， it holds great potential for the development of products with both medicinal and edible values. This review systematically summarizes the chemical constituents， pharmacological activities， and representative medicinal and edible products of different parts of E. ulmoides. It is expected to provide theoretical references for the clinical application of E. ulmoides and its active components and the development and utilization of the products with both medicinal and edible values. This review contributes to a deeper understanding of the medicinal properties of E. ulmoides and provides guidance for further exploration of its applications in the healthcare field. As a plant with both medicinal and edible values， E. ulmoides is expected to attract more attention in future research and contribute to human health.

An optimal medicinal and edible Chinese herbal formula attenuates particulate matter-induced lung injury through its anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis activities / 中草药·英文版

OBJECTIVE@#Identifying novel strategies to prevent particulate matter (PM)-induced lung injury is crucial for the reduction of the morbidity of chronic respiratory diseases. The combined intervention represented by herbal formulae for simultaneously targeting multiple pathological processes can provide a more beneficial effect than the single intervention. The aim of this paper is therefore to design a safe and effective medicinal and edible Chinese herbs (MECHs) formula against PM-induced lung injury.@*METHODS@#PM-induced oxidative stress, inflammatory response and apoptosis A549 cell model were used to screen anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic MECHs, respectively. A network pharmacology method was utilized to rationally design a novel herbal formula. Ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer was utilized to assess the quality control of MECHs formula. The excretion of magnetic iron oxide nanospheres of the MECHs formula was estimated in zebrafish. The MECH formula against PM-induced lung injury was investigated with mice experiments.@*RESULTS@#Five selected herbs were rationally designed to form a new MECH formula, including Citri Exocarpium Rubrum (Juhong), Lablab Semen Album (Baibiandou), Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Baizhu), Mori Folium (Sangye) and Polygonati Odorati Rhizoma (Yuzhu). The formula effectively promoted the magnetic iron oxide nanospheres excretion in zebrafish. The mid/high dose formula significantly prevented PM-induced lung damage in mice by enhancing the activity of SOD and GSH-Px, reducing the MDA and ROS level and attenuating the upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β and TNF-α), down regulating the protein expression of NF-κB, STAT3 and Caspase-3.@*CONCLUSION@#Our findings suggest that the effective MECHs formula will become a novel strategy for preventing PM-induced lung injury and provide a paradigm for the development of functional foods using MECHs.

Effect of Medicinal and Edible Herbs in Colorectal Cancer Patients During Chemotherapy / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Malignant tumors are a major health problem in current society. With the improvement of people's living standards and the changes in diet structure， the development trend of gastrointestinal tumors in China is gradually similar to that in developed countries. The incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer （CRC） remain high in China. Although targeted therapy and immunotherapy have greatly improved the prognosis of patients in recent years， chemotherapy is still the main means in clinical practice. However， the adverse reactions of chemotherapy often seriously affect the quality of life of patients， and even lead to treatment interruption， thereby affecting the efficacy. Oral Chinese medicine shows unique advantages in enhancing efficiency and reducing toxicity in CRC patients during chemotherapy， but its poor drug experience not only makes it difficult for patients to take it consistently but also affects the popularization of Chinese medicine at this stage. Medicinal and edible herbs （MEHs） are an important part of Chinese medicine and they are mild， delicious， convenient， affordable， nutritious， and safe. Therefore， they may be more suitable for patients with CRC chemotherapy to adhere to treatment. However， their efficacy is often criticized by clinical practitioners. They are only used in the food and health products industry， and their role as Chinese medicines has not been fully utilized. This paper summarized the common traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndromes and treatment methods during CRC chemotherapy， sorted out the nature， flavor， meridian tropism， and efficacy of MEHs， and reviewed the modern pharmacological research results of MEHs by the method of literature statistics. This study finds that the nature， flavor， meridian tropism， and efficacy of MEHs are in good agreement with the common TCM syndromes and treatment methods during CRC chemotherapy. Moreover， many MEHs have the effects of resisting CRC and alleviating the adverse reactions of chemotherapy. Furthermore， the effectiveness and superior efficacy of MEHs in CRC chemotherapy are initially demonstrated from the theoretical level， but high-quality clinical evidence is still needed to support it. The present study discussed the efficiency-enhancing and toxicity-reducing effects and application advantages of MEHs in CRC patients during chemotherapy to provide references for the clinical promotion of MEHs.

Application status and recommendations on the materials with both medicinal and edible values in Shanghai / 上海预防医学

Development of materials with both medicinal and edible values has become part of the national health strategy and a growth point of a new round of industrial development， which is of great significance for health management with Chinese characteristics. As a pioneer in reform， innovation and development， Shanghai has always been at the forefront of the the field of medicine and health in China and even globally. This paper reviewed relevant progress on the use and management of materials with both medicinal and edible values at home and abroad. Furthermore， it investigated and analyzed the foundation， institutional guarantees， and advantages of management， as well as the current status of management in Shanghai. This study provides reference for the government to further improve its management policy of the catalogue of materials with both medicinal and edible values.

Activating Effect of Effective Components in Medicinal and Edible Substances on Human Pregnane X Receptor and Cytotoxicity Screening / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the activating effects of ten important effective components in seven medicinal and edible substances on human pregnane X receptor （PXR）， including Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma （liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid）， Houttuyniae Herba （quercetin and houttuyfonate）， Prunellae Spica （rosmarinic acid）， Cassiae Semen （aurantio-obtusin）， Poria （pachymic acid）， Lilii Bulbus （Lilium brownii saponin and colchicine）， and Lycii Fructus （Lycium barbarum polysaccharide） and screen potentially toxic components. MethodCell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） assay was used to investigate the cytotoxic effect of liquiritin， glycyrrhizic acid， quercetin， houttuyfonate， rosmarinic acid， pachymic acid， aurantio-obtusin， and colchicine （10， 20， and 50 μmol·L-1）， and L. brownii saponin and L. barbarum polysaccharide （10， 20， and 50 mg·L-1） on normal human hepatocyte cell line （L02）. The release of lactate dehydrogenase （LDH） in L02 cells after drug treatments was detected by the biochemical analyzer. The apoptosis induced by ten effective components was explored by Hoechst 33342 staining. The secreted luciferase reporter system was used to co-transfect the PXR expression vector and reporter gene vector containing cytochrome P450 3A4 （CYP3A4） transcriptional regulatory region into L02 cells， with 10 μmol·L-1 rifampicin （RIF） as a positive control. After treated with liquiritin， glycyrrhizic acid， quercetin， houttuyfonate， rosmarinic acid， aurantio-obtusin， pachymic acid， and colchicine （5， 10， and 20 μmol·L-1） and L. brownii saponin and L. barbarum polysaccharide （5， 10， and 20 mg·L-1） for 24 h， the cells were tested for secreted luciferase activity. ResultCompared with the control group， colchicine， L. brownii saponin， and quercetin decreased the cell viability （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the control group， quercetin， rosmarinic acid， glycyrrhizic acid， colchicine， aurantio-obtusin， and pachymic acid increased the release rate of LDH in L02 cells （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The proportion of hyperchromatic nuclei increased gradually after rosmarinic acid， liquiritin， and L. barbarum polysaccharide treatments as compared with the control group （P<0.05， P<0.01）. In terms of co-transfection of pcDNA3.1-PXR and pGLuc-CYP3A4 into L02 cells， compared with the control group， aurantio-obtusin and pachymic acid showed activating effects on PXR （P<0.05）， whereas liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid showed inhibitory effects （P<0.05）. ConclusionThe findings suggest that when medicinal and edible substances are taken for a long time， attention should be paid to their influence on drug-metabolizing enzymes and possible interactions， so as to improve their safety.

Effect， Mechanism， and Active Ingredients of Medicinal and Edible Herbs Against Alzheimer's Disease： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Alzheimer's disease （AD） is a common degenerative disease of the central nervous system in the elderly， with memory impairment and behavioral changes as the main clinical manifestations. Modern research has demonstrated that many herbs with both medicinal and edible values have anti-oxidation and anti-aging activities. In addition， these herbs are naturally safe and play a role in disease prevention and health care. The 110 medicinal and edible herbs announced by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic ofChina in 2021 were studied. The relevant papers published in the last five years were searched against CNKI， VIP， Wanfang Data， PubMed and other databases. The effects， mechanism， and active ingredients of the medicinal and edible herbs against Alzheimer's disease were summarized. The results showed that more than 30 herbs including Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma， Curcumae Longae Rhizoma， Astragali Radix， Corni Fructus， Gastrodiae Rhizoma， Angelicae Sinensis Radix， Cistanches Herba， Croci Stigma， Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma， Ganoderma and their active ingredients were effective in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Among them， ten herbs that met the requirements were screened out for analysis. The medicinal and edible herbs and their active ingredients can act on multiple targets and treat Alzheimer's disease via multiple signaling pathways such as nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB）， mitogen-activated protein kinase 5 （MEK5）/extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 （ERK5）， cytochrome C （CytC） and cysteine aspartate-specific protease （Caspase）-3/（Caspase）-9， Wnt/β-catenin， and brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF）/tyrosine kinase receptor B （TrkB）/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）， thus improving learning， cognitive ability， and memory ability. Most of the medicinal and edible herbs have the tropism to the heart， spleen， liver， and kidney meridians and tonifying effect.

The health benefits of the active ingredients and whole food components of natural plants through regulating the flora / 生物工程学报

With the cooperation of bacteria and the human body, the nutrients in food are deeply digested, utilized, and shared. In addition, symbiosis is formed between microorganisms and hosts. Such a delicate combination makes the microorganisms form the inherent flora in the human body. They obtain the biological basis for survival, and provide the necessary regulation and support for the host in terms of immunity and nutrition, through their functional metabolism and population signals. At present, most of the researches focus on the isolation and evaluation of the functional components of plants, such as plant polysaccharides, polyphenols, flavonoids, and other active functional components. However, in traditional Chinese medicine, plants are often used with whole food components. To date, studies have found that the dynamics of flora affecting human health are not fixed, nor dependent on the change of a single strain. The ecological competition and metabolic regulation between microorganisms are usually coevolved with the host. The regulatory effect of natural plants for both medicine and food mainly depends on their whole food components. This provides evidence to support the role of whole food components played in promoting the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine from the perspective of microenvironment. Therefore, the development and utilization of medicinal and edible natural plant activities should be fully understood and evaluated with flora regulation.

Establishment of health risk assessment model for assessing medicinal and edible plants contaminated by heavy metals--take Astragali Radix,Codonopsis Radix and Laminariae Thallus as examples / 中国中药杂志

With the improvement of living standard,the theory of " medicine and food homology" has developed rapidly in the field of diet,medicine and health preservation. In recent years,many literatures have been reported on the active ingredients and pharmacological effects of medicinal and edible plants,but relatively few reports have been reported on their safety investigation. Therefore,to further evaluate the quality and safety of medicinal and edible plants,Astragali Radix,Codonopsis Radix and Laminariae Thallus were selected as our research objects in this study. Moreover,the pollution level and the potential health risk of heavy metals were deeply assessed in different types of medicinal and edible plants. Especially,the contents of chromium,copper,arsenic,cadmium,mercury and lead in these three herbs were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS),and their health risk level was evaluated by target hazard coefficient method. The results showed that under the international heavy metal limit standard( ISO 18664-2015,GB 2762-2017),the over-standard rates were 25%,77% and 100% in 16 batches of Astragali Radix,26 batches of Codonopsis Radix and 9 batches of Laminariae Thallus,respectively. Besides,the values of target hazard quotients( THQ) for adults and children are 0. 028 244,0. 063 505 and 0. 014 485,0. 032 568 in Astragalus membranaceus and Codonopsis pilosula,respectively,which were higher than the standard values of 0. 02 and 0. 011 25. While,the total heavy metals THQ values for adults and children are 0. 023 734 and 0. 020 287 in Laminariae Thallus,which were much higher than the standard values of 0. 008 0 and 0. 007 5. However,the CR values of As,Cd and Pb in the three herbs were lower than 1×10~(-6). Above results indicated that those six harmful elements have certain health hazards to the exposed population,but there is no potential carcinogenic effect. It can be seen that,there were still presence of the pollution of harmful elements,and it is necessary to establish the reasonable limit standards and quality control methods of medicinal and edible plants in time.

Research progress in antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect of medicinal and edible plants / 中草药

The medicinal and edible plants (MEP) are edible plants which are characterized with medical care and nutrition value, most of them have the effect of antibacterial and anti-inflammation. The paper reviewed the recently related research, generalized polyphenols, polysaccharides, saponins, and volatile oil from MEP as four main components which are effective in the function. Compared with traditional drugs, MEP are character of safe, non-side effect, low tolerance, and strong specificity, which is worth further research in the application area.

Apoptosis effect of Siraitia grosvenorii extracts on lung cancer cells A549 and its mechanisms / 中国药理学通报

Aim To study the apoptosis effect of Sir-aitia grosvenorii extract on human lung cancer cells A549 and its mechanisms.Methods MTT assay was applied to determine A549 cell proliferation.Hoechst 33258 staining was applied to investigate morphological changes in A549 cells.To find out the cause of cell growth inhibition,several experiments on cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were performed by flow cy-tometry analysis.The expression of p21 and Bcl-2 was determined by Western blot.Results Flow cytometry analysis showed that treatment with mogrol arrested A549 cells in the G0 /G1 phase and induced apoptosis. After treatment with Siraitia grosvenorii extract,West-ern blot experiment showed cell cycle regulator p21 was up-regulaed,while the apoptosis inhibitor Bcl-2 was down-regulated.Conclusion Treatment with Siraitia grosvenorii extract arrests the A549 cells at G0 /G1 phase and induces apoptosis that may contribute to the anti-proliferation activity of mogrol through the regula-tion of p21 and Bcl-2 expression.