Effects of Dandelion Extract on Promoting Production Performance and Reducing Mammary Oxidative Stress in Dairy Cows Fed High-Concentrate Diet.

This study investigated the effects of rumen bypass dandelion extract on the lactation performance, immune index, and mammary oxidative stress of lactating dairy cows fed a high-concentrate diet. This study used a complete randomized block design, and initial milk production, somatic cell counts, and parities were set as block factors. Sixty Holstein cows with similar health conditions and lactating periods (70 ± 15 d) were divided into three groups with 20 replicates per group. The treatments included the LCD group (low-concentrate diet, concentrate-forage = 4:6), HCD group (high-concentrate group, concentrate-forage = 6:4), and DAE group (dandelion aqueous extract group, HCD group with 0.5% DAE). The experimental period was 35 d, and cows were fed three times in the morning, afternoon, and night with free access to water. The results showed the following: (1) Milk production in the HCD and DAE groups was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that in the LCD group from WK4, and the milk quality differed during the experimental period. (2) The HCD group's pH values significantly differed (p < 0.01) from those of the LCD and DAE groups. (3) In WK2 and WK4 of the experimental period, the somatic cell counts of dairy cows in the HCD group were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those in the DAE group. (4) The serum concentrations of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and protein carbonyl (PC) in the HCD group were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those in the LCD group. The activity of catalase (CAT) in the LCD and DAE groups was stronger (p < 0.01) than that in the HCD group. (5) The correlation analysis revealed significantly positive correlations between the plasma LPS concentration and serum concentrations of 8-OHdG (p < 0.01), PC (p < 0.01), and malondialdehyde (MDA, p < 0.05) and significantly negative correlations (p < 0.01) between the plasma LPS concentration and activities of CAT and superoxide dismutase. (6) Compared with that in the HCD and DAE groups, the mRNA expression of α, ß, and κ casein and acetyl CoA carboxylase in bovine mammary epithelial cells was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the LCD group, and the mRNA expression of fatty acid synthetase and stearoyl CoA desaturase in the LCD group was significantly higher (p < 0.01) than that in the HCD group. (7) Compared with that in the LCD and HCD groups, the mRNA expression of Nrf2 was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in the DAE group, and the mRNA expression of cystine/glutamate transporter and NAD (P) H quinone oxidoreductase 1 in the DAE group was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that in the HCD group. Overall, feeding a high-concentrate diet could increase the milk yield of dairy cows, but the milk quality, rumen homeostasis, and antioxidative capability were adversely affected. The supplementation of DAE in a high-concentrate diet enhanced antioxidative capability by activating the Nrf2 regulatory factor and improved rumen homeostasis and production performance.

Anti-tumor effect of dandelion flavone on multiple myeloma cells and its mechanism.

BACKGROUND: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a prevalent hematologic malignancy characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of monoclonal plasma cells in the bone marrow and excessive monoclonal immunoglobulin production, leading to organ damage. Despite therapeutic advancements, recurrence and drug resistance remain significant challenges. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the effects of dandelion flavone (DF) on MM cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, aiming to elucidate the mechanisms involved in MM metastasis and to explore the potential of traditional Chinese medicine in MM therapy. METHODS: DF's impact on myeloma cell viability was evaluated using the CCK-8 and colony formation assays. Cell mobility and invasiveness were assessed through wound healing and transwell assays, respectively. RT-PCR was employed to quantify mRNA levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2. Apoptotic rates and molecular markers were analyzed via flow cytometry and RT-PCR. The PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was studied using Western blot and ELISA, with IGF-1 and the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 used to validate the findings. RESULTS: DF demonstrated dose-dependent inhibitory effects on MM cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. It reduced mRNA levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 while increasing those of TIMP-1 and TIMP-2. Furthermore, DF enhanced the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins and inhibited M2 macrophage polarization by targeting key molecules and enzymes. The anti-myeloma activity of DF was mediated through the inhibition of the PI3K/AKT pathway, as evidenced by diminished phosphorylation and differential effects in the presence of IGF-1 and LY294002. CONCLUSION: By modulating the PI3K/AKT pathway, DF effectively inhibits MM cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and induces apoptosis, establishing a novel therapeutic strategy for MM based on traditional Chinese medicine.

Chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and luteolin from dandelion as urease inhibitors: insights into the molecular interactions and inhibition mechanism.

BACKGROUND: Dandelion contains hundreds of active compounds capable of inhibiting urease activity, but the individual compounds have not yet been fully identified, and their effects and underlying mechanisms are not clear. The present study aimed to screen the urease inhibition active compounds of dandelion by urease inhibitory activity evaluation HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry analysis, their mechanism of urease inhibition by polyphenols was explored using enzyme kinetic studies via Lineweaver-Burk plots. Other investigations included isothermal titration calorimetry and surface plasmon resonance sensing, fluorescence quenching experiments, and single ligand molecular docking and two-ligand simultaneous docking techniques. RESULTS: The results indicated that the ethyl acetate fraction of dandelion flower exhibited the greatest inhibition (lowest IC50 0.184 ± 0.007 mg mL-1). Chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and luteolin could be effective urease inhibitors that acted in a non-competitive inhibition manner. Individually, chlorogenic acid could not only fast bind to urease, but also dissociate rapidly, whereas luteolin might interact with urease with the weakest affinity. The chlorogenic acid-caffeic acid combination exhibited an additive effect in urease inhibition. However, the chlorogenic acid-luteolin and caffeic acid-luteolin combinations exhibited antagonistic effects, with the caffeic acid-luteolin combination showing greater antagonism. CONCLUSION: The present study reveals that chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and luteolin are major bioactive compounds for urease inhibition, indicating the molecular mechanisms. The antagonistic effects were observed between luteolin and chlorogenic acid/caffeic acid, and the interactions of the catalytic site and flap may account for the antagonistic effects. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Dandelion root extracts and taraxasterol inhibit LPS­induced colorectal cancer cell viability by blocking TLR4­NFκB­driven ACE2 and TMPRSS2 pathways.

Colorectal cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Notably, abnormalities in intestinal bacteria may contribute to the initiation or progression of colorectal cancer. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a bacterial endotoxin, is elevated in patients with colorectal cancer. The present study investigated the protective effects of dandelion root extracts and taraxasterol (TS; a major pharmacologically active compound in dandelion root extracts) on LPS-induced colorectal cancer cell viability, as well as the underlying mechanisms. Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay, and protein and gene expression levels were determined by western blotting and quantitative PCR. It was revealed that LPS at a low dose (0.5 µg/ml) significantly promoted the viability of human colorectal cancer cells but did not affect normal colon epithelial cells. The addition of dandelion root extracts (0.1-1 mg/ml) or TS (0.05-1 µg/ml) was able to reverse the LPS-induced increase in colorectal cancer cell viability and colony formation. Mechanistically, dandelion root extracts or TS may inhibit the LPS-promoted toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/NFκB-p65 pathway and transcription levels of pro-inflammatory genes (TNFα, IL4 and IL6). Compared with normal colon epithelial cells, human colorectal cancer cells had higher expression levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2), which could be further enhanced by LPS treatment but this was reversed by co-incubation with dandelion root extracts or TS. In addition, suppression of the TLR4/NFκB-p65 pathway with CLI095 significantly reversed the stimulatory effect of LPS on the expression levels of ACE2 and TMPRSS2, whereas TNFα (10 ng/ml) markedly induced the expression levels of ACE2 and TMPRSS2. In conclusion, the present study suggested that dandelion root extracts and TS could be used as prevention strategies for reversing bacteria-driven colorectal cancer cell viability.

Screening Antioxidant Components in Different Parts of Dandelion Using Online Gradient Pressure Liquid Extraction Coupled with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Antioxidant Analysis System and Molecular Simulations.

Utilizing online gradient pressure liquid extraction (OGPLE) coupled with a high-performance liquid chromatography antioxidant analysis system, we examined the antioxidative active components present in both the aerial parts and roots of dandelion. By optimizing the chromatographic conditions, we identified the ferric reducing-antioxidant power system as the most suitable for online antioxidant reactions in dandelion. Compared to offline ultrasonic extraction, the OGPLE method demonstrated superior efficiency in extracting chemical components with varying polarities from the samples. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed twelve compounds within the dandelion samples, with nine demonstrating considerable antioxidant efficacy. Of these, the aerial parts and roots of dandelion contained nine and four antioxidant constituents, respectively. Additionally, molecular docking studies were carried out to investigate the interaction between these nine antioxidants and four proteins associated with oxidative stress (glutathione peroxidase, inducible nitric oxide synthase, superoxide dismutase, and xanthine oxidase). The nine antioxidant compounds displayed notable binding affinities below -5.0 kcal/mol with the selected proteins, suggesting potential receptor-ligand interactions. These findings contribute to enhancing our understanding of dandelion and provide a comprehensive methodology for screening the natural antioxidant components from herbs.

Solving Engineering Optimization Problems Based on Multi-Strategy Particle Swarm Optimization Hybrid Dandelion Optimization Algorithm.

In recent years, swarm intelligence optimization methods have been increasingly applied in many fields such as mechanical design, microgrid scheduling, drone technology, neural network training, and multi-objective optimization. In this paper, a multi-strategy particle swarm optimization hybrid dandelion optimization algorithm (PSODO) is proposed, which is based on the problems of slow optimization speed and being easily susceptible to falling into local extremum in the optimization ability of the dandelion optimization algorithm. This hybrid algorithm makes the whole algorithm more diverse by introducing the strong global search ability of particle swarm optimization and the unique individual update rules of the dandelion algorithm (i.e., rising, falling and landing). The ascending and descending stages of dandelion also help to introduce more changes and explorations into the search space, thus better balancing the global and local search. The experimental results show that compared with other algorithms, the proposed PSODO algorithm greatly improves the global optimal value search ability, convergence speed and optimization speed. The effectiveness and feasibility of the PSODO algorithm are verified by solving 22 benchmark functions and three engineering design problems with different complexities in CEC 2005 and comparing it with other optimization algorithms.

Antidiabetic Properties of the Root Extracts of Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and Burdock (Arctium lappa).

Several preclinical studies suggest the potential of edible plants in controlling blood sugar levels and stabilizing diet. The goals of the study were to examine, analyze, and describe whether there are chemical compounds in dandelion and burdock roots that could have antidiabetic properties. The 70% ethyl alcohol and lyophilizate extracts (AE and LE, respectively), were used, and analyses were carried out on their total polysaccharide (TP), total phenolic content (TPC), tannin, and inulin. The antioxidant activity of extracts was determined using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay, and hypoglycemic properties were based on α-amylase activity. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used for the tentative identification of the chemical components. Qualitative techniques confirmed the presence of inulin in both roots. Analysis of TPC, tannin content, DPPH assay, and α-amylase activity revealed higher values for burdock compared to dandelion. However, dandelion exhibited higher TP content. Burdock contained a small amount of tannin, whereas the tannin content in dandelion was insignificant. All LE consistently exhibited higher values in all analyses and assays for all roots compared to AE. Despite burdock root showing overall better results, it is uncertain whether these plants can be recommended as antidiabetic agents without in vivo studies.

Potentialities of Dandelion (Taraxacum Mongolicum Hand.-Mazz.) Flower Extracts on Gastric Protection against Helicobacter Pylori and Characterization of its Bioactive Constituents.

OBJECTIVES: Dandelion has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial effects. Our study aimed to identify the effect and mechanism of dandelion flower extracts on H. pylori-induced gastritis and screen for novel antimicrobial substances. METHODS: Anti-H. pylori activities of water extracts(WEDF) and ethanol extracts (EEDF) of dandelion flowers were performed with disk diffusion method assay, MIC, and MBC. The H. pylori-induced model was constructed to examine the gastroprotective of EEDF using RUT, pathological analysis, and ELISA. RESULTS: EEDF exhibited better anti- H. pylori and urease inhibition activities than WEDF. In vivo studies, EEDF can reduce the adhesion of H. pylori to the gastric mucosa, alleviate gastric damage, and concurrently reduce the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in gastric tissues. The six phenolic compounds showed urease inhibition effect (IC50: 2.99±0.15 to 66.08±6.46 mmol/mL). Among them, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and luteolin also had anti-H. pylori activity (MIC: 64-256 µg/mL). CONCLUSION: EEDF exhibited anti-H. pylori, gastroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. Chicoric acid and luteolin may be the main active compounds of dandelion flowers to exert anti-H. pylori, and worthy of further investigation.

Dandelion-derived vesicles-laden hydrogel dressings capable of neutralizing Staphylococcus aureus exotoxins for the care of invasive wounds.

Delayed wound healing caused by bacterial infection remains a major challenge in clinical treatment. Exotoxins incorporated in bacterial extracellular vesicles play a key role as the disease-causing virulence factors. Safe and specific antivirulence agents are expected to be developed as an effective anti-bacterial infection strategy, instead of single antibiotic therapy. Plant-derived extracellular vesicle-like nanoparticles have emerged as promising therapeutic agents for skin diseases, but the elucidations of specific mechanisms of action and clinical transformation still need to be advanced. Here, dandelion-derived extracellular vesicle-like nanoparticles (TH-EVNs) are isolated and exert antivirulence activity through specifically binding to Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) exotoxins, thereby protecting the host cell from attack. The neutralization of TH-EVNs against exotoxins has considerable binding force and stability, showing complete detoxification effect in vivo. Then gelatin methacryloyl hydrogel is developed as TH-EVNs-loaded dressing for S. aureus exotoxin-invasive wounds. Hydrogel dressings demonstrate good physical and mechanical properties, thus achieving wound retention and controlled release of TH-EVNs, in addition to promoting cell proliferation and migration. In vivo results show accelerated re-epithelialization, promotion of collagen maturity and reduction of inflammation after treatment. Collectively, the developed TH-EVNs-laden hydrogel dressings provide a potential therapeutic approach for S. aureus exotoxin- associated trauma.

The Biological Active Substances of Taraxacum officinale and Arctium lappa from the Siberian Federal District.

Currently, scientists are increasingly focusing on utilizing the natural flora of the planet to search for and isolate individual bioactive substances that prevent various diseases, contribute to increased life expectancy, and affect all major life-supporting systems in the human body. This study describes the examination of the composition of plant raw materials from the Siberian Federal District. The research focuses on plant specimens from the root parts of Taraxacum officinale and Arctium lappa, collected in the Kemerovo region. The study determines the contents of the water-soluble vitamins B and C in the research subjects. The investigation includes assessing antioxidant properties, antimicrobial activity, and flavonoid content in extracts based on plant raw materials. All samples show a high percentage of antioxidant activity, with the highest antioxidant activity for T. officinale at 85.51 and that for A. lappa at 88.97. The results indicate low antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli (growth inhibition zone up to 15.5 mm). Plant extracts contain significant amounts of B-group vitamins, with pyridoxine in T. officinale (156.40 µg/mL) and thiamine (46.20 µg/mL) and pyridoxine (357.10 µg/mL) in Arctium lappa. Flavonoids (rutin and quercetin) are identified in T. officinale and A. lappa extracts based on the study results.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): A Promising Source of Nutritional and Therapeutic Compounds.

BACKGROUND: Taraxacum officinale, commonly referred to as dandelion, is a selfgrowing plant/ weed in various parts of India and the rest of the world (particularly the northern hemisphere). The plant's chemical composition, including sesquiterpene lactones, saponins, flavonoids, phenols, and many other compounds, contributes positively to the human body, promoting overall health. AIM: This review aims to shed light on the therapeutic potential of dandelion by summarizing its nutritional benefits, phytochemical constituents, and effectiveness in addressing health conditions like diabetes, inflammation, and cancer. It also provides insights into the applications of this plant beyond the food industry to gain researchers' attention to unravel the unexplored aspects of this therapeutic plant. It will further help in laying specific considerations, which are required to be taken into account before the development of functional foods incorporated with dandelion. Scope and approach: Being rich in essential vitamins, minerals, and other phytoconstituents, dandelion is a natural remedy for various ailments. Whether consumed raw or cooked, the plant's inclusion in the diet poses potential therapeutic effects on conditions such as diabetes, inflammation, liver disease, and tumors. It also aids in immune system modulation and fights infections by targeting microbes at their root. Researchers have developed various value-added food products by incorporating different parts of dandelion. CONCLUSION: This review highlights the therapeutic potential of dandelion, emphasizing its effectiveness against various health conditions. Insights into dosage, toxicity, and diverse applications further underscore its role as a versatile and promising natural remedy.

Multi-feature fusion and dandelion optimizer based model for automatically diagnosing the gastrointestinal diseases.

It is a known fact that gastrointestinal diseases are extremely common among the public. The most common of these diseases are gastritis, reflux, and dyspepsia. Since the symptoms of these diseases are similar, diagnosis can often be confused. Therefore, it is of great importance to make these diagnoses faster and more accurate by using computer-aided systems. Therefore, in this article, a new artificial intelligence-based hybrid method was developed to classify images with high accuracy of anatomical landmarks that cause gastrointestinal diseases, pathological findings and polyps removed during endoscopy, which usually cause cancer. In the proposed method, firstly trained InceptionV3 and MobileNetV2 architectures are used and feature extraction is performed with these two architectures. Then, the features obtained from InceptionV3 and MobileNetV2 architectures are merged. Thanks to this merging process, different features belonging to the same images were brought together. However, these features contain irrelevant and redundant features that may have a negative impact on classification performance. Therefore, Dandelion Optimizer (DO), one of the most recent metaheuristic optimization algorithms, was used as a feature selector to select the appropriate features to improve the classification performance and support vector machine (SVM) was used as a classifier. In the experimental study, the proposed method was also compared with different convolutional neural network (CNN) models and it was found that the proposed method achieved better results. The accuracy value obtained in the proposed model is 93.88%.

In situ fast self-assembled preparation of dandelion-like Cu(OH)2@Cu3(HHTP)2 with core-shell heterostructure arrays for electrochemical sensing of formaldehyde in food samples.

Formaldehyde is known to harm the respiratory, nervous, and digestive systems of people. In this paper, a novel dandelion-like electrocatalyst with core-shell heterostructure arrays were fast self-assembled prepared in situ using copper foam (CF) as support substrate and 2,3,6,7,10,11 hexahydroxy-triphenyl (HHTP) as ligand (Cu(OH)2@Cu3(HHTP)2/CF) by a simple two-step hydrothermal reaction. The 1D Cu(OH)2 nanorods "core" and the 2D π-conjugated conducting metal-organic frameworks (Cu3(HHTP)2cMOF) "shell" with remote delocalized electrons give the dandelion-like heterogeneous catalysts excellent electrochemical activity such as a large specific surface area, high conductivity and a fast electron transfer rate. The Cu(OH)2@Cu3(HHTP)2/CF exhibited excellent electrocatalytic performance for formaldehyde under alkaline conditions with a linear range of 0.2 µmol/L - 125 µmol/L and 125 µmol/L - 8 mmol/L, a detection limit as low as 15.9 nmol/L (S/N = 3), as well as good accuracy, consistency, and durability, and it effectively identified FA in food.

Dandelion polysaccharides improve the emulsifying properties and antioxidant capacities of emulsions stabilized by whey protein isolate.

In this study, the effects of dandelion polysaccharide (DP) and its carboxymethylated derivative (CMDP) on the emulsifying characteristics and antioxidant capacities of emulsions stabilized by whey protein isolate (WPI) were determined. The addition of both DP and CMDP reduced the particle size and zeta potential of the emulsions. Using 1.0 % WPI and 1.0 % CMDP as emulsifier, the emulsifying activity index (EAI) and emulsifying stability index (ESI) were 32.61 ± 0.11 m2/g and 42.58 ± 0.13 min, respectively, which were higher than the corresponding values of 27.19 ± 0.18 m2/g and 36.17 ± 0.15 min with 1.0 % WPI and 1.0 % DP. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), far-ultraviolet circular dichroism (Far-UV CD), and fluorescence (FS) spectra analyses confirmed that the α-helix and ß-sheet structures in WPI-polysaccharide complexes were reduced compared with those in pure WPI, whereas the random-coil content was enhanced by the addition of polysaccharides. Moreover, DP and CMDP effectively improved the antioxidant capacity and inhibited oxidation of the emulsions during storage. Therefore, DP and its carboxymethylated derivative exhibit great potential to be applied in the emulsion-based delivery system.

"Four-In-One" Multifunctional Dandelion-Like Gold@platinum Nanoparticles-Driven Multimodal Lateral Flow Immunoassay.

The traditional lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) with a single signal output mode may encounter challenges such as low sensitivity, poor detection range, and susceptibility to external interferences. These limitations hinder its ability to meet the growing demand for advanced LFIA. To address these issues, the rational development of multifunctional labels for multimodal LFIA emerges as a promising strategy. Herein, this study reports a multimodal LFIA using "four-in-one" multifunctional dandelion-like gold@platinum nanoparticles (MDGP). The inherent properties of MDGP, such as the broad absorption spectrum, porous dandelion-like nanostructure, and bimetallic composition with gold and platinum, endow them with capacities in dual spectral-overlapped fluorescence quenching, optical readout, catalytic activity, and photothermal effect. Benefiting from their multifunctional properties, the MDGP-LFIA enables multimodal outputs including fluorescent, colorimetric, and photothermal signals. This multimodal MDGP-LFIA allows for the detection of acetamiprid at a range of 0.01-50 ng mL-1 , with the lowest qualitative and quantitative detection results of 0.5 and 0.008 ng mL-1 , respectively, significantly better than the traditional gold nanoparticles-based LFIA. The diversity, complementarity, and synergistic effect of integrated output signals in this multimodal MDGP-LFIA improve the flexibility, practicability, and accuracy of detection, holding great promise as a point-of-care testing platform in versatile application scenarios.

Modulation of Acute Intestinal Inflammation by Dandelion Polysaccharides: An In-Depth Analysis of Antioxidative, Anti-Inflammatory Effects and Gut Microbiota Regulation.

Acute colitis is a complex disease that can lead to dysregulation of the gut flora, inducing more complex parenteral diseases. Dandelion polysaccharides (DPSs) may have potential preventive and therapeutic effects on enteritis. In this study, LPS was used to induce enteritis and VC was used as a positive drug control to explore the preventive and therapeutic effects of DPS on enteritis. The results showed that DPS could repair the intestinal barrier, down-regulate the expression of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1ß, and other pro-inflammatory factors, up-regulate the expression of IL-22 anti-inflammatory factor, improve the antioxidant capacity of the body, and improve the structure of intestinal flora. It is proved that DPS can effectively prevent and treat LPS-induced acute enteritis and play a positive role in promoting intestinal health.

Trace element accumulation behavior, ability, and propensity of Taraxacum officinale F.H. Wigg (Dandelion).

The study aims to achieve several objectives: determine background element concentrations in Taraxacum officinale F.H. Wigg-common dandelion roots, stems, and flowers; clarify T. officinale's ability to accumulate trace elements (TEs) in plant parts; calculate accumulation and translocation factors to identify hyperaccumulator potential; and contribute to practical applications in geochemical prospecting, exploration geochemistry, phytomining, and environmental remediation. To accomplish this, 34 samples of T. officinale and associated soil samples were gathered from the plant's habitat along the roadside for trace element (TE) analysis. The elemental composition of both plants and soils underwent analysis using diverse statistical approaches, including factor analysis, ANOVA tests, and descriptive parameters. Plant element accumulation patterns and tendencies across various plant parts were explored through bioconcentration (BCFs) and translocation factors (TFs). Results showed that T. officinale accumulates some TEs in its roots, stems, and flowers, with the highest concentrations found in the roots. The factor analysis of plant element contents indicated a grouping tendency among elements. Specifically, Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn exhibited a tendency to co-occur, while Ba, Mo, and Sr formed a separate group. Furthermore, in the flowers of the plant, Al, Ba, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Sr showed a similar grouping, while Cu, Pb, and Zn formed a distinct cluster. ANOVA tests demonstrated significant variations in the accumulation of Al, Ba, Cr, Fe, and Sr among the roots, flowers, and stems of the plant. Additionally, Ni and Pb exhibited noteworthy differences in accumulation between these plant parts. Furthermore, Mn and Zn showed significant discrepancies in their accumulation capacities across all parts of the plant. T. officinale was identified as a lead hyperaccumulator by the study, with BCFs and concentrations exceeding 1000 mg kg-1. These findings inform strategies for phytoremediation and enhance our understanding of the plant's potential role in exploration studies and environmental management in metal-rich regions.

Pharmacological Action and Research Progress of Taraxasterol.

Primarily sourced from Asteraceae family herbs such as the Dandelion, Taraxasterol is a pentacyclic triterpenoid lauded for its extensive biological functionalities. Its therapeutic potency is demonstrated in various disease models, encompassing enteritis, arthritis, acute hepatic injury, and pneumonia. Scientific literature underscores its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antineoplastic attributes. The primary aim of this study is to thoroughly explore the diseasemodulating mechanisms and effects of taraxasterol. We endeavor to provide an exhaustive review of the experimental subjects, intervention components, distinct action modalities, contributing factors, and protein pathway expressions associated with taraxasterol, systematically represented via diagrams and tables. Such a schematic representation encourages a continued academic dialogue concerning taraxasterol's pharmacological characteristics. This review is envisioned as a practical guide for the selection of experimental subjects and methodologies in prospective research. It is intended to further illuminate taraxasterol's pharmacodynamics, thereby offering theoretical and empirical justification for its clinical application.

Quality and antioxidant activity of dandelion root infusions as affected by cold plasma pretreatment.

Ground and unground dandelion roots were subjected to dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (DBDCP) at 40 kV for 0 (control), 10, or 20 min. Then, infusions of the pretreated dandelion roots in water were prepared, and the changes in color, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity, and sensory properties were investigated. The 20-min pretreatment increased the b* value, TPC, antioxidant activity, and sage odor of the ground dandelion root infusions compared with the control, whereas decreases in the TPC, antioxidant activity, and sage odor were noted in the 10-min pretreated infusions of the unground roots. DBDCP pretreatment did not affect the overall likeliness of infusions of ground and unground roots. In addition, the TPC, antioxidant activity, and overall likeliness of infusions of the ground dandelion roots were higher than those of the unground samples. In conclusion, it can be said that the DBDCP pretreatment can be utilized to improve the TPC and antioxidant activity of ground dandelion roots.

Screening and unveiling antibacterial mechanism of dandelion phenolic extracts against Staphylococcus aureus by inhibiting intracellular Na+-K+ ATPase based on molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation.

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most frequently food-contaminated incidence of healthcare-associated Gram-positive bacteria. The antibacterial function and mechanism of phenolic compounds from dandelion are still unclear. Herein, this work aims to screen one of dandelion phenolic extracts with the strongest antibacterial function from its organ such as flower, stem, leaf and root, and to reveal its antibacterial mechanism. The results indicated dandelion flower phenolic extract (DFPE) containing the highest content of caffeic acid, followed by luteolin and luteolin-7-O-glucoside. They, especially caffeic acid and luteolin-7-O-glucoside, played a key role in making the bacterial cellular-membrane ruptured against the bacteria. The leakage of the intracellular substances (adenosine triphosphate and Na+-K+ ATPase) was further confirmed. Conventional hydrogen bond, pi-anion, pi-alkyl were involved in the interaction between caffeic acid or luteolin-7-O-glucoside and Na+-K+ ATPase. Additionally, the dynamic equilibrium of the liganded ATPase complex were achieved after 105 ns, and the lower values from the radius of gyration and solvent accessible surface area in the complex demonstrated the highly tight and compact structure of the liganded protein. The highest free binding energy (ΔGbind = -47.80 kJ/mol) between Na+-K+ ATPase and luteolin-7-O-glycloside was observed. Overall, DFPE can be used as an effective anti-bacterial agent due to the contribution of its bioactive ingredients such as caffeic acid and luteolin-7-O-glucoside for membrane-breaking.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.