Bacillus subtilis and Bifidobacteria bifidum Fermentation Effects on Various Active Ingredient Contents in Cornus officinalis Fruit.

Microbial fermentation has been widely used to improve the quality and functional composition of food and edibles; however, the approach has rarely been applied to traditional Chinese medicines. In this study, to understand the effect of microbial fermentation on the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicines, we used Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bacillus subtilis to ferment the traditional Chinese medicine, Cornus officinalis fruit (COF), and determined the levels of active ingredients using HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography). According to the results, both B. subtilis and B. bifidum substantially increased the amount of gallic acid in the COF culture broth after fermentation; however, the two species of bacteria had no effect on the loganin content. Moreover, the B. subtilis fermentation reduced the contents of ursolic acid and oleanolic acid in the COF broth, whereas the B. bifidum fermentation did not. This study contributes to a better understanding of the mechanism by which microbial fermentation alters the active ingredient levels of traditional Chinese medicines, and suggests that fermentation may potentially improve their functional ingredients.

Effects of water extracts of Flaveria bidentis on the seed germination and seedling growth of three plants.

To further explore the mechanism behind the allelopathic effects of Flaveria bidentis, we investigated the allelopathic effects of water extracts from Flaveria bidentis leaves on three plants, Shanghai green, barnyard grass and wheat. The results showed that the water extracts inhibited the germination potential, germination rate, seedling height, root length, chlorophyll content, fresh weight and dry weight of the three plants, and increasing the extract concentration further increased the inhibitory effect. The allelopathic effects of the water extracts from Flaveria bidentis leaves on the three receptor plants differed in strength from strong to weak as follows: Shanghai green > barnyard grass > wheat. Thus, wheat had strong resistance to the allelopathic effects of Flaveria bidentis and could be planted in area where Flaveria bidentis occurs. The effect of the water extract from Flaveria bidentis leaves on the seed germination and seedling growth of barnyard grass was obvious; thus, this extract could be used for the biological control of barnyard grass.

Effects of various artificial agarwood-induction techniques on the metabolome of Aquilaria sinensis.

BACKGROUND: Agarwood is a highly sought-after resinous wood for uses in medicine, incense, and perfume production. To overcome challenges associated with agarwood production in Aquilaria sinensis, several artificial agarwood-induction treatments have been developed. However, the effects of these techniques on the metabolome of the treated wood samples are unknown. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of four treatments: fire drill treatment (F), fire drill + brine treatment (FS), cold drill treatment (D) and cold drill + brine treatment (DS)) on ethanol-extracted oil content and metabolome profiles of treated wood samples from A. sinensis. RESULTS: The ethanol-extracted oil content obtained from the four treatments differed significantly (F < D < DS < FS). A total of 712 metabolites composed mostly of alkaloids, amino acids and derivatives, flavonoids, lipids, phenolic acids, organic acids, nucleotides and derivatives, and terpenoids were detected. In pairwise comparisons, 302, 155, 271 and 363 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAM) were detected in F_vs_FS, D_vs_DS, F_vs_D and FS_vs_DS, respectively. The DAMs were enriched in flavonoid/flavone and flavonol biosynthesis, sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoid biosynthesis. Generally, addition of brine to either fire or cold drill treatments reduced the abundance of most of the metabolites. CONCLUSION: The results from this study offer valuable insights into synthetically-induced agarwood production in A. sinensis.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Melampyrum roseum.

In this study, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of Melampyrum roseum was determined through Illumina sequencing method. The complete cp genome of M. roseum was 143,896 bp in length and contained a pair of IR regions (25,210 bp) separated by a small single-copy region (10,292 bp) and a large single-copy region (83,184 bp). The cp genome of M. roseum encoded 117 genes including 78 protein-coding genes, 31 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The overall GC content of M. roseum cp genome is 38.1%. By phylogenetic analysis using maximum-likelihood (ML) method, M. roseum was placed in Rhinantheae clade as expected.

Two thymol derivatives from the flower buds of Lonicera japonica and their antibacterial activity.

A new monoterpenoid, 7-acetyl-8,9-dihydroxy thymol (1), together with a known one 7,8-dihydroxy-9-buyryl thymol (2), were isolated from the dried flower buds of Lonicera japonica Thunb. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data analyses. The potential antibacterial effects of these compounds on Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, and Bacillus cereus were evaluated. Interestingly, both compounds 1 and 2 exhibited significant antibacterial activities with IC50 values range from 27.64 ± 2.26 to 128.58 ± 13.26 µg/mL.

Isolation and identification of a 10-deacetyl baccatin-III-producing endophyte from Taxus wallichiana.

Endophytic fungi of inner root bark of Taxus wallichiana var. mairei were investigated in order to find endophytes producing 10-DABIII (10-deacetyl baccatin III). Purified colonies were cultured in potato dextrose broth (PDB), and then the organic extracts from fungi were analyzed with HPLC, LC-MS, and (1)H NMR. Of 102 fungal endophytes isolated from the inner root bark, only one strain named IRB54 can yield 10-DABIII but no taxol and baccatin III. In PDB culture medium, its productivity was 187.564 ug/l. Based on its morphological characteristics and molecular data, the IRB54 strain was identified as Trichoderma sp. The isolation of the fungus IRB54 yielding 10-DABIII will provide an alternative resource to manufacture taxol/taxotere via semi-synthesis and some useful clues for improving the understanding of taxane synthesis evolution.

Altered expression patterns of TCP and MYB genes relating to the floral developmental transition from initial zygomorphy to actinomorphy in Bournea (Gesneriaceae).

The shift from zygomorphy to actinomorphy has been intensively studied in molecular genetic model organisms. However, it is still a key challenge to explain the great morphological diversity of derived actinomorphy in angiosperms, since different underlying mechanisms may be responsible for similar external morphologies. Bournea (Gesneriaceae) is of particular interest in addressing this question, as it is a representative of primarily derived actinomorphy characteristic of a unique developmental transition from zygomorphy to actinomorphic flowers at anthesis. Using RNA in situ hybridization, the expression patterns were investigated of three different Bournea orthologues of TCP and MYB genes that have been shown to control floral symmetry in model species. Here, it is shown that the initial zygomorphic pattern in Bournea is likely a residual zygomorphy resulting from conserved expression of the adaxial (dorsal) identity gene BlCYC1. As a key novel event, the late downregulation of BlCYC1 and BlRAD and the correlative changes in the late specific expression of the abaxial (ventral) identity gene BlDIV should be responsible for the origin of the derived actinomorphy in Bournea. These results further indicate that there might be diverse pathways in the origin and evolution of derived actinomorphy through modifications of pre-existing zygomorphic developmental programs under dynamics of regulatory networks.