Pathway design and key enzyme analysis of diosgenin biosynthesis / 生物工程学报

As a naturally occurring steroid sapogenin, diosgenin acts as the precursor of hundreds of steroid medicines, and thereby has important medicinal value. Currently, industrial production of diosgenin relies primarily on chemical extraction from plant materials. Clearly, this strategy shows drawbacks of excessive reliance on plant materials and farmland as well as environment pollution. Due to development of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, bio-production of diosgenin has garnered plenty of attention. Although the biosynthetic pathways of diosgenin have not been completely identified, in this review, we outline the identified biosynthetic pathways and key enzymes. In particular, we suggest heterologous biosynthesis of diosgenin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Overall, this review aims to provide valuable insights for future complete biosynthesis of diosgenin.

Effects of Wujibaifeng Pills on lipid metabolic changes in ovariectomized rat / 中成药

Objective: To investigate the antiatherosclerotic effect of Wujibaifeng Pills and its mechanism. Methods: Rat dyslipidema was induced by ovariectomy (OVX), the levels of serum lipids, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected after 12 weeks with the treatment of wujibafeng pills. Results: Wujibaifeng Pills lowered serum oxidized-low density lipoprotein cholesterol (OX-LDL,P