Review of the Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Essential Oils from Artemisia Argyi, Artemisia Princeps, and Artemisia Montana.

BACKGROUND: Artemisia argyi Lévl. et Van., Artemisia princeps Pamp., and Artemisia montana Pamp., which are the sources of mugwort, have been popular across East Asian countries for nearly 2000 years now. Essential oils are the major chemical component obtained from them, exhibiting a variety of biological activities. OBJECTIVE: This review mainly focuses on the chemical composition and biological activities of A. argyi essential oil (AAEO), A. princeps essential oil (APEO), and A. montana essential oil (AMEO), with a special focus on their common and specific characteristics. The traditional use, distribution, and botany of A. argyi, A. princeps, and A. montana have also been summarized. In addition, the pharmacokinetics of AAEO was involved. METHODS: We collected literature from online and offline databases by entering the following keywords: mugwort, wormwood, A. argyi, A. princeps, A. montana, essential oil, and volatile oil. No language limitation was present in our search. RESULTS: A. argyi, A. princeps, and A. montana were used as traditional medicine, food, and health care products for a long time in Asia. They are widely distributed in most parts of China, Korea, and Japan. AAEO, APEO, and AMEO composed of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and their derivatives, alkanes, olefins, etc. Most of the specific compounds of AAEO were monoterpenoids, nearly half of the specific compounds of APEO were aliphatic hydrocarbons, and the sesquiterpenes were the typical specific compounds of AMEO. The mugwort essential oil showed multiple biological activities, such as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumor, anticoagulation, sedative, and insecticide. CONCLUSION: The present review provided insight into the chemical composition and biological activity of AAEO, APEO, and AMEO. The comprehensive literature showed that they possessed wide application prospects in various fields. However, they should be studied in more depth. The underlying bioactive mechanisms should be elucidated and their toxicity and quality control should be determined.

Immunoregulatory mechanism studies of ginseng leaves on lung cancer based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.

Panax ginseng is one of the oldest and most generally prescribed herbs in Eastern traditional medicine to treat diseases. Several studies had documented that ginseng leaves have anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties similar to those of ginseng root. The aim of this research was to forecast of the molecular mechanism of ginseng leaves on lung cancer by molecular docking and network pharmacology so as to decipher ginseng leaves' entire mechanism. The compounds associated with ginseng leaves were searched by TCMSP. TCMSP and Swiss Target Prediction databases were used to sort out the potential targets of the main chemical components. Targets were collected from OMIM, PharmGKB, TTD, DrugBank and GeneCards which related to immunity and lung cancer. Ginseng leaves exert its lung cancer suppressive function by regulating the several signaling proteins, such as JUN, STAT3, AKT1, TNF, MAPK1, TP53. GO and KEGG analyses indicated that the immunoreaction against lung cancer by ginseng leaves might be related to response to lipopolysaccharide, response to oxidative stress, PI3K-Akt, MAPK and TNF pathway. Molecular docking analysis demonstrated that hydrogen bonding was interaction's core forms. The results of CCK8 test and qRT-PCR showed that ginseng leaves inhibit cell proliferation and regulates AKT1 and P53 expression in A549. The present study clarifies the mechanism of Ginseng leaves against lung cancer and provides evidence to support its clinical use.

Photochemical Reactivity of Humic Substances in an Aquatic System Revealed by Excitation-Emission Matrix Fluorescence.

The photochemical reactivity of humic substances plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle, and influences the toxicity, mobility, and bioavailability of contaminants by altering their molecular structure and the mineralization of organic carbon to CO2. Here, we examined the simulated irradiation process of Chinese standard fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA) by using excitation-emission matrix fluorescence combined with fluorescence regional integration (FRI), parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis, and kinetic models. Humic-like and fulvic-like materials were the main materials (constituting more than 90%) of both FA and HA, according to the FRI analysis. Four components were identified by the PARAFAC analysis: fulvic-like components composed of both carboxylic-like and phenolic-like chromophores (C1), terrestrial humic-like components primarily composed of carboxylic-like chromophores (C2), microbial humic-like overwhelming composed of phenolic-like fluorophores (C3), and protein-like components (C4). After irradiation for 72 h, the maximum fluorescence intensity (F max) of C1 and C2 of FA was reduced to 36.01-58.34%, while the F max of C3 of both FA and HA also decreased to 0-9.63%. By contrast, for HA, the F max of its C1 and C2 increased to 236.18-294.77% when irradiated for 72 h due to greater aromaticity and photorefractive tendencies. The first-order kinetic model (R 2 = 0.908-0.990) fitted better than zero-order kinetic model (R 2 = 0-0.754) for the C1, C2, and C3, of both FA and HA, during their photochemical reactivity. The photodegradation rate constant (k 1) of C1 had values (0.105 for FA; 0.154 for HA) that surpassed those of C2 (0.059 for FA, 0.079 for HA) and C3 (0.079 for both FA and HA) based on the first-order kinetic model. The half-life times of C1, C2, and C3 ranged from 6.61-11.77 h to 4.50-8.81 h for FA and HA, respectively. Combining an excitation-emission matrix with FRI and PARAFAC analyses is a powerful approach for elucidating changes to humic substances during their irradiation, which is helpful for predicting the environmental toxicity of contaminants in natural ecosystems.

The Short-term Effects of Temperature on Infectious Diarrhea among Children under 5 Years Old in Jiangsu, China: A Time-series Study (2015-2019).

The association between meteorological factors and infectious diarrhea has been widely studied in many countries. However, investigation among children under 5 years old in Jiangsu, China remains quite limited. Data including infectious diarrhea cases among children under five years old and daily meteorological indexes in Jiangsu, China from 2015 to 2019 were collected. The lag-effects up to 21 days of daily maximum temperature (Tmax) on infectious diarrhea were explored using a quasi-Poisson regression with a distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) approach. The cases number of infectious diarrhea was significantly associated with seasonal variation of meteorological factors, and the burden of disease mainly occurred among children aged 0-2 years old. Moreover, when the reference value was set at 16.7°C, Tmax had a significant lag-effect on cases of infectious diarrhea among children under 5 years old in Jiangsu Province, which was increased remarkably in cold weather with the highest risk at 8°C. The results of DLNM analysis implicated that the lag-effect of Tmax varied among the 13 cities in Jiangsu and had significant differences in 8 cities. The highest risk of Tmax was presented at 5 lag days in Huaian with a maximum RR of 1.18 (95% CI: 1.09, 1.29). Suzhou which had the highest number of diarrhea cases (15830 cases), had a maximum RR of 1.04 (95% CI:1.03, 1.05) on lag 15 days. Tmax is a considerable indicator to predict the epidemic of infectious diarrhea among 13 cities in Jiangsu, which reminds us that in cold seasons, more preventive strategies and measures should be done to prevent infectious diarrhea.

[1,2-Bis(pyridin-2-ylmeth-oxy)benzene-κN,O,O',N']dichloridocopper(II).

In the title compound, [CuCl(2)(C(18)H(16)N(2)O(2))], the Cu(II) atom lies on a twofold axis and is six-coordinated in a distorted octa-hedral environment defined by two N and two O atoms from the ligand and by two Cl atoms. In the crystal, π-π inter-actions [centroid-centroid distance = 3.838 (1) Å] and C-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds link adjacent mol-ecules into a chain structure along [101].

[1,2-Bis(pyridin-2-ylmeth-oxy)benzene-κN,O,O',N']bis-(nitrato-κO)cobalt(II).

In the title compound, [Co(NO(3))(2)(C(18)H(16)N(2)O(2))], the Co(II) ion is six-coordinated in a distorted octa-hedral environment defined by two O and two N atoms from the ligand and by two O atoms from two nitrate anions. A two-dimensional network parallel to the ab plane is built up by C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, which link adjacent mol-ecules in the crystal structure.

[Effect of UGTIA6 A541G genetic polymorphism on the metabolism of valproic acid in Han epileptic children from Henan].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution and frequency of UGTIA6 A541G genetic polymorphism in Han epileptic children from Henan and to evaluate the effect of UGTIA6 A541G genetic polymorphism on serum concentrations of valproic acid. METHODS: The method of gas chromatography was used to assay serum concentrations of valproic acid. UGTIA6 A541G genetic polymorphism was screened by PCR-RFLP. Direct sequencing was used to confirm the expected sequences of each genotype. RESULTS: The genotypic frequencies of UGTIA6 A541G were as follows: AA in 76 cases, AG in 65 cases and GG in 6 cases. The mean values of serum concentrations of valproic acid in patients with A541G AA, AG and GG were 3.91+/-1.57, 3.59+/-1.39 and 3.73+/-1.28 microg/mL, respectively (dose-adjusted trough concentration on a mg/kg basis). There were no significant differences in serum concentrations of valproic acid among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: UGT1A6 A541G gene polymorphism does not influence serum concentrations of valproic acid in Han epileptic children. Individual differences in serum concentrations of valproic acid may be attributed to many factors.

Sodium benzoate exposure downregulates the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine transporter in dopaminergic neurons in developing zebrafish.

BACKGROUND: Recent data have demonstrated that treatment with sodium benzoate (SB) leads to significant developmental defects in motor neuron axons and neuromuscular junctions in zebrafish larvae, thereby implying that SB can be neurotoxic. This study examined whether SB affects the development of dopaminergic neurons in the zebrafish brain. METHODS: Zebrafish embryos were exposed to different concentrations of SB for various durations, during which the survival rates were recorded, the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine transporter (DAT) in the neurons in the ventral diencephalon were detected by in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence, and the locomotor activity of larval zebrafish was measured. RESULTS: The survival rates were significantly decreased with the increase of duration and dose of SB-treatment. Compared to untreated clutch mates (untreated controls), treatment with SB significantly downregulated expression of TH and DAT in neurons in the ventral diencephalon of 3-day post-fertilization (dpf) zebrafish embryos in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, there was a marked decrease in locomotor activity in zebrafish larvae at 6dpf in response to SB treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that SB exposure can cause significantly decreased survival rates of zebrafish embryos in a time- and dose-dependent manner and downregulated expression of TH and DAT in dopaminergic neurons in the zebrafish ventral diencephalon, which results in decreased locomotor activity of zebrafish larvae. This study may provide some important information for further elucidating the mechanism underlying SB-induced developmental neurotoxicity.