RESUMO
The (E)-ß-farnesene (EßF) is one of the most important secondary metabolites in some plants and provides indirect defense against aphids. However, the direct effect of EßF against pests is still unclear. In this study, various concentrations of EßF (0.16, 0.8, and 4 g/kg) were provided in an artificial diet to determine the direct effects of EßF on Spodoptera exigua. The results showed that an artificial diet containing 4 g/kg of EßF reduced the final survival of the S. exigua larvae and per female fecundity of adults significantly when compared with CK and SC controls (p < 0.05), then ultimately it also significantly affected the intrinsic rate of increase (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the results of the EßF bioassay in an artificial diet also indicated that the proliferation of the S. exigua population was inhibited by the ingestion of EßF in a dose-dependent manner. Combined differential RNA-seq data and RT-qPCR analysis, it was found that four key genes involved in juvenile hormone degradation significantly upregulated in S. exigua larvae treated by EßF at a dose of 0.8 and 4 g/kg when compared with two controls (p < 0.05). This indicated that EßF could disturb the normal function of juvenile hormones and reduce the survival rate of S. exigua larvae. Additionally, two key genes that regulate per fecundity of S. exigua females, including SeVg and SeVgR, were significantly downregulated in adult females (p < 0.05) when they were treated with 0.8 and 4 g/kg of EßF at the larval stage, relative to the expression of these genes after treatment with controls. These findings suggested that EßF first disturbed the normal function of juvenile hormone by upregulating key degradation genes, and then inhibited the expression of SeVg/SeVgR genes and proteins, thus reducing the population size of S. exigua by increasing larval mortality and inhibiting per female fecundity.
RESUMO
Scutellariae Radix is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, which has the functions of heat-clearing and damp-drying, purging fire and detoxifying, hemostasis and miscarriage prevention. Modern pharmacological studies show that Scutellariae Radix has various effects, such as anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, liver protection and antiviral microorganisms. By searching the documents in the past ten years, the author has found that Scutellariae Radix and its active components play an important role in protecting the liver. It can prevent and cure liver injuries caused by different reasons, including acute or chronic hepatitis, liver fibrosis and liver cancer. Among all kinds(chemical, immunological, alcoholic, nonalcoholic, viral, ischemia-reperfusion, etc.) of acute or chronic hepatitis, most studies are on CCl_4 induced chemical liver injury. Scutellariae Radix and its active components can significantly reduce the serum transaminase level in hepatitis animals, and reduce the degree of liver pathological damage. The mechanisms include antioxidant stress, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptosis, inhibition of immunity, anti-virus and regulation of lipid metabolism, etc. Scutellariae Radix and its active components can significantly inhibit the activation of hepatic stellate cells and reduce extracellular matrix, and its anti-fibrosis mechanism involves antioxidation, anti-inflammatory, inducing apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells and so on. Whether in vivo or in vitro, Scutellariae Radix and its active components show a good anti-hepatocarcinoma effect, especially on hepatocarcinoma. Its prevention and treatment mechanisms for hepatocarcinoma mainly include blocking cancer cell cycle, inhibiting cancer cell metastasis, promoting cancer cell apoptosis and inducing autophagy. It can be seen that Scutellariae Radix has multiple functions and mechanisms in liver protection, and has a great development potential. Therefore, this paper reviews the prevention and treatment effects and mechanism of Scutellariae Radix and its components on different liver diseases, in order to provide reference for in-depth study, development and clinical application in the prevention and treatment of liver disease.
