Geographical distribution and predict potential distribution of Cerasus serrulata.

Climate change is closely related to the distribution of plant resources. Cerasus serrulata is an important plant resource in China. The study on the influence of environmental factors on the distribution of suitable areas of C. serrulata is conducive to the protection and development of C. serrulata. In this paper, the distribution information of 238 Chinese Cerasus serrulata plants was processed by DIVA-GIS. The MaxEnt model was used to simulate the current and future distribution, and the ecological distribution and richness of Cerasus were analyzed. The results showed that the Cerasus serrulata was widely distributed in Hebei, Heilongjiang, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Guizhou provinces, mainly in the low and middle elevation areas of 10 to 1200 m. Based on this model, the precipitation of the warmest quarter, the precipitation of the driest month, and the mean temperature of the coldest were the most significant bioclimatic variables affecting the distribution of C. serrulata. In the future, climate change may lead to a slight increase of 2.31% in the area of suitable habitat for Cerasus serrulata, while the optimal habitat will decrease from 20.81 to 14.55%. Therefore, conservation measures should be taken to protect these precious resources.

Effects of climate change on the geographical distribution and potential distribution areas of 35 Millettia Species in China.

Climate change has an extremely important impact on the geographic distribution of plants. The genus Millettia is an important plant resource in China and is widely used in medicine and ornamental industries. Due to the continuous changes of climate and the development and utilization of plant resources of the genus Millettia, it is of great significance to systematically investigate the geographic distribution of plants of the Millettia and their potential distribution under climate change. DIVA-GIS software was used to analyze 3492 plant specimens of 35 species of genus Millettia in the herbarium, and the ecological geographic distribution and richness of Millettia were analyzed, and the MaxEnt model was used to analyze the current and potential distribution in the future. The results show that the genus Millettia is distributed in 30 provinces in China, among which Yunnan and Guangdong provinces are the most distributed. Our model determines that precipitation in the driest month and annual temperature range are the most important bioclimatic variables. Future climate changes will increase the suitable habitat area of M. congestiflora by 16.75%, but other cliff beans Suitable habitats for vines will decrease significantly: M. cinereal by 47.66%, M. oosperma by 39.16%, M. pulchra by 36.04%, M. oraria by - 29.32%, M. nitida by 22.88%, M. dielsiana by 22.72%, M. sericosema by 19.53%, M. championii by 7.77%, M. pachycarpa by 7.72%, M. speciose by 2.05%, M. reticulata by 1.32%. Therefore, targeted measures should be taken to protect and develop these precious plant resources.

Anti-inflammatory Study on the Constituents of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, Angelica dahurica (Hoffm.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex Franch. & Sav., Angelica pubescence Maxim and Foeniculum vulgare Mill. Essential Oils.

Umbelliferae plants, which are widely used as traditional Chinese medicine because of their characteristics of relieving rheumatism, alleviating fever, circulating blood and easing pain. This experimental study was based on ear edema model caused by 12-O-tetracycline-propylphenol-13-acetic acid (TPA) in mice and compared with the Ibuprofen (Ib) group. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to analyse the composition of the essential oils from the four studied Umbelliferae plants (Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, A. dahurica (Hoffm.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex Franch. & Sav., A. pubescens Maxim and Foeniculum vulgare Mill.). Biologically active components in volatile oils from the four studied Umbelliferae plants were evaluated. The expression levels of inflammatory cytokines Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α), Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and RelA (p65) in mouse skin were determined by immunohistochemical method. The refractive index of the four essential oils was calculated. A total of 239 compounds were identified by GC-MS from the four studied plants, and the main constituents were osthole (44.61%, APEOs), obepin (0.59%, APEOs & 86.58%, FVEOs), undecanol (8.58%, ADEOs), α-muurolene (7.95%, ADEOs) and cis-anethol (9.11%, ADEOs). E-ligustilide (0.14%, APEOs & 81.14%, ASEOs), (-)-spathulenol (0.08%, FVEOs & 1.21%, ASEOs), (-)-terpinen-4-ol (4.91%, FVEOs), 2-butylthiolane (5.76%, APEOs) and α-bisabolol (3.80%, APEOs). This study showed that all the essential oils from the four studied Umbelliferae plants contained various lactones, including ligustrongolactone, trans-anisol and imperatorin. According to the results of the TPA induction test in the mouse ear edema model, the essential oils of four Umbelliferae plants reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, COX-2, IL-6 and p65. All of them showed extraordinary biological activity in anti-inflammatory, so they have potential application value for biomedical products, pharmaceutical preparations, natural functional nutrients and cosmetic additives.

Aromatic-turmerone ameliorates DSS-induced ulcerative colitis via modulating gut microbiota in mice.

Curcuma longa L. is one of the traditional Chinese herbs in the list of medicinal and food homology. Aromatic-turmerone is the main ingredient in turmeric essential oil. The aim of the present study is to investigate the treatment of Aromatic-turmerone on DSS-included colitis and its regulatory effect on intestinal flora disorder. Male KM mice supplemented with different concentration of aromatic-turmerone and mesalazine are subjected to 2% DSS in drinking water to induce colitis. Colon and cecum contents were collected for colitis lesion evaluation and inflammation-related gene analysis and colon contents for gut microbiota. The results show that treatments with Aromatic-turmerone significantly prevents colon shortening, alleviates the damage of colonic tissue, and reduces colonic inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and COX-2. Furthermore, the 16S rDNA gene sequence data indicate that Aromatic-turmerone improve the abundance of bacterial species, maintain some beneficial bacteria, and reduce harmful bacteria. Aromatic-turmerone downregulates the colonic inflammatory cytokines and modulates the abundance of intestinal flora, which is conductive to ameliorates DSS-induced colitis. Regularly intake of the edible herb may be help to prevent ulcerative colitis-related diseases.

Chemical constituents, biological activities and anti-rheumatoid arthritic properties of four citrus essential oils.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease with predominant synovitis that has no complete cure or preventive treatment. Citrus essential oils, used in natural fragrances, contain a variety of functional ingredients that are worthy of investigation for their potential as natural anti-inflammatory drug sources. In this study, essential oils were hydro distilled from the peels of four citrus species: Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck (CSEOs), Citrus paradisi Macfad. (CPEOs), Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck (CLEOs) and Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CREOs). Altogether, 81 compounds were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), of which d-limonene (17.96%-94.66%) was an abundant component of all four oils. The stable 1,1-diphenyl-2-pyrrole hydrazine (DPPH) free radical test showed that all four essential oils had excellent antioxidant properties (IC50 , 0.76-13.86 µg/mL). Furthermore, the oils remarkably increased the first G1 phase of the cell cycle, which inhibited the pro-inflammatory factor expression. An immunohistochemical analysis indicated that the four essential oils inhibited the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and cyclooxygenase-2 and they exhibited anti-inflammatory activity in a rat model that was similar to that of the common drug, Ibuprofen. These results show that the CSEOs, CPEOs, CLEOs, and CREOs have significant antirheumatic activities and thus have great potential in developing functional food or drugs for treating RA.

Variation in Compositions and Biological Activities of Essential Oils from Four Citrus Species: Citrus limon, Citrus sinensis, Citrus paradisi, and Citrus reticulata.

Species of the genus Citrus are cultivated in many regions of China and are widely used for medicinal purposes. In the present study, essential oils (EOs) were extracted from four different Citrus species using steam distillation. The chemical components of these four essential oils were separated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and 52 compounds were confirmed. D-limonene was found to be the most abundant compound. All four essential oils demonstrated varied but remarkable radical scavenging capacity (IC50 ; 0.77-13.9 %). Citrus paradisi essential oil exhibited excellent antioxidant activity. Compared to ibuprofen, topical application of the four Citrus spp. essential oils significantly inhibited ear edema formation in mice. Furthermore, essential oils from the four Citrus species reduced the expression levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and nuclear transcription factor kappa B p65 (NF-κB) to different degrees. The cytotoxicity of the four essential oils on BV2 microglial cells was determined using the MTT assay (IC50 ; 321.37-1558.87 µg/mL), wherein Citrus limon essential oil showed the lowest cytotoxicity. The essential oils of Citrus limon, Citrus reticulata, and Citrus paradisi had an inhibitory effect on the lung cancer cell lines H1299 by inducing a G0/G1 cell cycle arrest. Cluster and principal component analyses were used to determine the relationship among the Citrus species. These results suggest that the four Citrus essential oils have potential for use as active ingredients in functional foods or cosmeceutical products.

A comparative study on chemical compositions and biological activities of four essential oils: Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf, Cinnamomum cassia (L.) Presl, Salvia japonica Thunb. and Rosa rugosa Thunb.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Essential oils (EOs) are important active ingredients in Chinese herbal medicine. Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf, Cinnamomum cassia (L.) Presl, Salvia japonica Thunb., and Rosa rugosa Thunb. are used in local and traditional medicine to treat inflammation-related diseases. While the constituents and bioactivities of EOs of the above four Chinese herbals have been reported previously, but their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities have not been systematically evaluated. AIM OF THE STUDY: The purpose of this study was to research the chemical constituents, anti-inflammatory activities, and antioxidant activities of EOs of four Chinese herbal medicines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fresh plant materials were collected both in August 2018. The compositions of EOs were determined by the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. TPA (12-O-tetradecylphophenol-13-acetate)-induced mouse ear model was evaluated the anti-inflammatory activities of EOs. The reduction of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and RelA protein of the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) in the signal pathway (P65) were measured. The antioxidant activities of EOs from four plants were determined by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. RESULTS: A total of 217 compounds were separated and identified from four EOs, mainly including trans-cinnamylaldehyde (68.75%), citronellal (38.16%), linalool (1.02-33.73%), geraniol (19.39%) and citronellol (17.18%). All four EOs reduced the damage of the ear tissue and had certain anti-inflammatory effects, and the EOs of C. citratus (CyCEOs) and S. japonica (SJEOs) had the best anti-inflammatory activities among others, even better than ibuprofen. The four EOs exhibited different DPPH radical-scavenging activities (IC50, 0.101-1.017%), where most of them were much lower than that of EOs of C. citratus (CiCEOs) (IC50, 0.101%) and EOs of R. rugosa (RREOs) (IC50, 0.142%). CONCLUSIONS: The main components determine diverse propertise of these four EOs, our results suggested that four EOs presented anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect via reducing the expression of TNF-a, IL-6, COX-2, and NF-κB p65, which may provide a new approach for development of new anti-inflammatory drugs.