Fruit variation and geographical distribution of citron / 中国中药杂志

The ripe dried fruit of citron(Citrus medica) is one of the important sources of Chinese herb Citri Fructus. At the same time, it is also grown for edible and ornamental uses. There are many species and abundant genetic variation. To clarify the intraspecific variation and resource distribution of citron, this study investigated the variation in 11 citron fruits, basically covering the main species in China, including Xiaoguo citron(C. medica var. ethrog), Goucheng(C. medica var. yunnanensis), Muli citron(C.medica var. muliensis), Dehong citron(C.medica×Citrus spp.), Fuzhou citron(C.medica×C.grandis?), Mawu(C.medica×C.grandis?), Cangyuan citron, Binchuan citron, Sweet citron, Big citron, and Small citron. The natural communities of citron were proved to be mainly distributed in the southwestern and western Yunnan and southeastern Tibet of China, with Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Chongqing, Hubei, and Zhejiang identified as the main production areas. Citron has also been widely grown in India, the Mediterranean region, and the Caribbean coast countries. The field investigation revealed the large-scale intraspecific variation of citron fruits. Most of the fruits are oval-like or sphere-like in shape. The fruits are green when raw and yellow when ripe, with oil cell dots on the skin, stripe-likes running from top to bottom, and bulge at the top. Usually, in the smaller citron fruits, the pulp and juice vesicles are better developed and the central columella is tighter. By contrast, the juice vesicles and central columella in larger fruits became more vacant, with carpels visible, and the apex segregation and development of the carpels is one of the reasons for variation. These variations should be given top priority in the future variety selection and breeding, and the quality differences of different citron species and their mechanisms should be further studied. In particular, variety selection and classification management according to their medicinal or edible purposes will provide scientific and technological supports for the orderly, safe, and effective production of citron products consumed as food and medicine.

Citron Rho-interacting serine/threonine kinase knockdown suppresses prostate cancer cell proliferation and metastasis by blocking Hippo-YAP pathway / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#Citron Rho-interacting serine/threonine kinase (CIT) was identified recently as an oncogene involved in the progression of various malignant tumors, but its role in prostate cancer (PCa) remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the biological functions of CIT in PCa.@*METHODS@#We analyzed the expression of CIT in PCa tissues and its clinical correlations based on the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) dataset. We then examined the effects of RNA interference-mediated CIT silencing on the proliferation, migration and invasion of PC-3 cells using cell counting kit-8, wound healing assay and Transwell assay. We also investigated the effect of CIT silencing on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and Hippo-Yap signaling pathway in the cells using Western blotting.@*RESULTS@#CIT expression was significantly elevated in PCa tissues from TCGA cohort ( < 0.05). MSKCC dataset analysis showed that an elevated expression of CIT was significantly correlated with N stage (=0.001), distant metastasis ( < 0.001), Gleason score (=0.010) and PSA (=0.004). In cultured PC-3 cells, knockdown of CIT significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion, reversed the EMT phenotype and decreased the expression and activity of YAP.@*CONCLUSIONS@#CIT might function as an oncogene in PCa by modulating the Hippo-YAP signaling pathway and serve as a candidate therapeutic target for PCa.

Citron Essential Oils Alleviate the Mediators Related to Rosacea Pathophysiology in Epidermal Keratinocytes

BACKGROUND: Citron is well known for an abundance of antioxidative and anti-inflammatory ingredients such as vitamin C, polyphenol compounds, flavonoids, and limonoids. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of citron essential oils on rosacea mediators in activated keratinocytes in vitro. METHODS: Normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs) were stimulated with 1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3) and interleukin 33 (IL-33) with LL-37 to induce rosacea mediators such as kallikrein 5 (KLK5), cathelicidin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1). These mediators were analyzed by performing reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR), quantitative real-time PCR, immunocytofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay after NHEKs were treated with citron seed and unripe citron essential oils. RESULTS: The messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels of KLK5 and LL-37 induced by VD3 were suppressed by citron seed and unripe citron essential oils. Furthermore, the mRNA and protein levels of VEGF and TRPV1 induced by IL-33 with LL-37 were also suppressed by citron essential oils. CONCLUSION: These results show that citron essential oils have suppressive effects on rosacea mediators in activated epidermal keratinocytes, which indicates that the citron essential oils may be valuable adjuvant therapeutic agents for rosacea.

Fatty acid analysis and regulatory effects of citron (Citrus junos Sieb. ex TANAKA) seed oil on nitric oxide production, lipid accumulation, and leptin secretion / 한국영양학회지

PURPOSE: Citron seed oil (CSO) has been reported to have high antioxidant activity. However, the composition and other biologically activities of CSO have not been reported. In this study, we confirmed the fatty acid composition of CSO, which may be beneficial to vascular disease and obesity. METHODS: We investigated the oil composition of CSO using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, and cytotoxicity was confirmed by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Nitric oxide (NO) production in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was measured using Griess reagent, and lipid accumulation and leptin secretion in 3T3-L1 cells were measured by Oil-Red O staining and commercial ELISA kit, respectively. RESULTS: GC-MS analysis indicated that CSO contains several components, including linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, linolenic acid, palmitoleic acid, and arachidic acid. In physiological activity analysis, CSO did not induce cytotoxic effects in HUVECs and 3T3-L1 cells. Further, CSO significantly induced nitric oxide and leptin secretion as well as inhibited lipid accumulation. CONCLUSION: CSO increased NO release, inhibited lipid accumulation, and induced leptin secretion, suggesting it may be useful for the management of vessels and weight gain. Although further studies are required to investigate the safety and mechanism of action of CSO, our results show that the composition and physiological activity of CSO are sufficient for its use as functional edible oil.

Quality standard of Finger-citron Formula Granule / 中成药

AIM:To establish the quality control for Finger-citron Formula Granule. METHODS: The TLC,HPLC and fingerprint chromatogram were used to make quality standard. RESULTS: The TLC spots were clear and 5,7-dimethoxy-coumarin showed a good linearity at a range of 0.46-4.14 ?g.The average recovery was(99.01%)(n=6) with RSD 1.58%. CONCLUSION: The method could be used as the quality control of Finger-citron Formula Granule.