Philadelphicalactones C and D and other cytotoxic compounds from Physalis philadelphica

Two new withanolides, philadelphicalactone C (1) and philadelphicalactone D (4), along with the known withaphysacarpin (3), ixocarpanolide (5), philadelphicalactone A (6), and ixocarpalactone A (7) were isolated from the aerial parts of Physalis philadelphica Lam. Structures of these compounds were determined by spectroscopic analyses and that of philadelphicalactone C (1) was confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Evaluation of the cytotoxic activity of all isolates and the derivative 2 against a panel of human cancer cell lines indicated a potent activity of compounds 2, 3, 6, and 7.     

毛酸浆(Physalis pubescens)花形态特征与小孢子发育

许多重要蔬菜和水果隶属于茄科(Solanaceae),植物花发育是物种延续和产品形成关键决定因子。茄科毛酸浆(Physalispubescens)是药食同源半野生浆果,目前其花发育研究不多。为了从不同视角了解茄科植物花发育,本研究采用比较生物学方法从花的形态特征和解剖学层面解析了毛酸浆(P.pubescens)和茄科模式植物番茄(Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme)花器特征和小孢子发育进程。结果显示,开花后毛酸浆花萼迅速生长包被果实、花瓣有紫色斑纹、花药顶颈可育及背部开裂散粉特征与番茄花萼生长缓慢、黄色花瓣、花药顶颈不育及腹缝开裂散粉方式截然不同,展示了茄科植物遗传多样性。毛酸浆小孢子发育,在“四分体”之前迟于番茄,而“四分体”之后期却快于番茄。特别是番茄药隔组织在“四分体”时期开始向药室异常内突,并在花粉成熟期占据药室近1/2空间,而未在毛酸浆中观察到。该研究为开发茄科新的模式植物和从不同视角理解庞大茄科植物花发育提供了重要信息。     

Systems pharmacology reveals the mechanism of activity of Physalis alkekengi L. var. franchetii against lipopolysaccharide‐induced acute lung injury

Acute lung injury (ALI) is an important cause of mortality of patients with sepsis, shock, trauma, pneumonia, multiple transfusions and pancreatitis. Physalis alkekengi L. var. franchetii (Mast.) Makino (PAF) has been extensively used in Chinese folk medicine because of a good therapeutic effect in respiratory diseases. Here, an integrated approach combining network pharmacology, proton nuclear magnetic resonance‐based metabolomics, histopathological analysis and biochemical assays was used to elucidate the mechanism of PAF against ALI induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in a mouse model. We found that the compounds present in PAF interact with 32 targets to effectively improve the damage in the lung undergoing ALI. We predicted the putative signalling pathway involved by using the network pharmacology and then used the orthogonal signal correction partial least‐squares discriminant analysis to analyse the disturbances in the serum metabolome in mouse. We also used ELISA, RT‐qPCR, Western blotting, immunohistochemistry and TUNEL assay to confirm the potential signalling pathways involved. We found that PAF reduced the release of cytokines, such as TNF‐α, and the accumulation of oxidation products; decreased the levels of NF‐κB, p‐p38, ERK, JNK, p53, caspase‐3 and COX‐2; and enhanced the translocation of Nrf2 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Collectively, PAF significantly reduced oxidative stress injury and inflammation, at the same time correcting the energy metabolism imbalance caused by ALI, increasing the amount of antioxidant‐related metabolites and reducing the apoptosis of lung cells. These observations suggest that PAF may be an effective candidate preparation alleviating ALI.     

Identification of wild hosts of tomato yellow leaf curl virus in South-Eastern Iran

Abstract

In this research, to identify natural wild hosts of TYLCV, 44 symptomatic samples were collected in or around harvested tomato fields in south-eastern Iran and tested for the TYLCV infection by PCR. Among four PCR-positive plant species, full-length genome of TYLCV was amplified by rolling circle amplification (RCA) method only from a ground cherry (Physalis divaricata L., Solanaceae) sample. Cloning and full-length genome sequencing of a ground cherry isolate (G4) showed that it comprises 2756 nucleotides (nts) in length and shares 87.7%–95.2% nt sequence identities with TYLCV isolates reported from Iran, Oman and Pakistan. The G4 isolate of TYLCV was successfully transmitted to tomato plants and the original host (P. divaricata) via agroinoculation and showed typical symptoms. According to the results of this research, four symptomatic weed species appear to be alternative hosts of TYLCV and play the role of the primary inoculum for the viral infection.     

锦灯笼果不同部位氨基酸的测定与分析

用日立L-8800型氨基酸自动分析仪测定了锦灯笼不同部位中的氨基酸含量,结果表明18种氨基酸总量及药效氨基酸总量都以果皮中最高,其次是果肉和果汁。说明锦灯笼的不同部位在营养学和医学上都有很高的研究价值。     

Hydroxyester disaccharides from fruits of cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana)

The 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside of ethyl 3-hydroxyoctanoate and the diastereomeric 3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosides of (3R) and (3S)-butyl 3-hydroxybutanoate, respectively, were isolated by chromatographic methods from fruits of cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana) harvested in Colombia. Their structures were identified by ESI-MS/MS and NMR spectroscopy. The three glycoconjugates can be considered as immediate precursors of ethyl 3-hydroxyoctanoate and butyl 3-hydroxybutanoate, which are important aroma volatiles found in the fruit.