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Introduction: Scutellariae Radix (SR), derived from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for clearing heat and cooling blood. It has been used as a traditional herbal medicine and is popular as a functional food in Asian countries today., Methods: In this study, UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was first employed to identify the chemical components in the ethanol extract of SR. Then, the extraction process was optimized using star point design-response surface methodology. Fingerprints of different batches and processed products were established, and chemical markers were screened through a combination of various artificial neural network models. Finally, network pharmacology and molecular simulation techniques were utilized for verification to determine the quality markers., Results: A total of 35 chemical components in SR were identified, and the optimal extraction process was determined as follows: ultrasonic extraction with 80% methanol at a ratio of 120:1 for 70 minutes, with a soaking time of 30 minutes. Through discriminant analysis using various artificial neural network models, the samples of SR could be classified into two categories based on their growth years: Kuqin (dried roots of older plants) and Ziqin (roots of younger plants). Moreover, the samples within each category could be further clustered according to their origins. The four different processed products of SR could also be distinguished separately. Finally, through the integration of network pharmacology and molecular simulation techniques, it was determined that baicalin, baicalein, wogonin, norwogonin, norwogonin-8-O-glucuronide, skullcapflavone II, hispidulin, 8, 8"-bibaicalein, and oroxylin A-7-O-beta-D-glucuronide could serve as quality markers for SR., Discussion: The primary factors affecting the quality of SR were its growth years. The geographic origin of SR was identified as a secondary factor affecting its quality. Processing also had a significant impact on its quality. The selected quality markers have laid the foundation for the quality control of SR, and this research strategy also provides a research paradigm for improving the quality of TCM., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Liu, Zhao, Wen, Sun, Huang, Zhang, Liu and Ren.)

Schisandra chinensis , as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has clear pharmacological effects such as treating asthma, protecting nerves and blood vessels, and having anti-inflammatory properties. Although the Schisandra chinensis fruit contain multiple active components, the lignans have been widely studied as the primary pharmacologically active compound. The volatile chemical components of Schisandra chinensis include a large amount of terpenes, which have been proven to have broad pharmacological activities. However, when to harvest to ensure the highest accumulation of pharmacologically active components in Schisandra chinensis fruits is a critical issue. The Schisandra chinensis fruit trees in the resource nursery were all planted in 2019 and began bearing fruit in 2021. Their nutritional status and tree vigor remain consistently good. The content of lignans and organic acids in the fruits of Schisandra chinensis over seven different harvest periods was tested, and the results of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) indicated that the lignan content was higher, at 35 mg/g, in late July, and the organic acid content was higher, at 72.34 mg/g, in early September. If lignans and organic acids are to be selected as raw materials for pharmacological development, the harvest can be carried out at this stage. Using HS-GC-IMS technology, a total of 67 volatile flavor substances were detected, and the fingerprint of the volatile flavor substances in the different picking periods was established. It was shown by the results that the content of volatile flavor substances was the highest in early August, and 16 flavor substances were selected by odor activity value (OAV). The variable importance in projection (VIP) values of 16 substances were further screened, and terpinolene was identified as the key volatile flavor substance that caused the aroma characteristics of Schisandra chinensis fruit at different harvesting periods. If the aroma component content of Schisandra chinensis fruit is planned to be used as raw material for development and utilization, then early August, when the aroma component content is higher, should be chosen as the time for harvest. This study provides a theoretical basis for the suitable harvesting time of Schisandra chinensis for different uses, and promotes the high-quality development of the Schisandra chinensis industry.

Actinidia arguta is a fruit crop with high nutritional and economic value. However, its flavor quality depends on various factors, such as variety, environment, and post-harvest handling. We analyzed the composition of total soluble sugars, titratable acids, organic acids, and flavor substances in the fruits of ten A. arguta varieties. The total soluble sugar content ranged from 4.22 g/L to 12.99 g/L, the titratable acid content ranged from 52.55 g/L to 89.9 g/L, and the sugar-acid ratio ranged from 5.39 to 14.17 at the soft ripe stage. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that citric, quinic, and malic acids were the main organic acids in the A. arguta fruits. Headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) detected 81 volatile compounds in 10 A. arguta varieties, including 24 esters, 17 alcohols, 23 aldehydes, 7 ketones, 5 terpenes, 2 acids, 1 Pyrazine, 1 furan, and 1 benzene. Esters and aldehydes had the highest relative content of total volatile compounds. An orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) based on the odor activity value (OAV) revealed that myrcene, benzaldehyde, methyl isobutyrate, α-phellandrene, 3-methyl butanal, valeraldehyde, ethyl butyrate, acetoin, (E)-2-octenal, hexyl propanoate, terpinolene, 1-penten-3-one, and methyl butyrate were the main contributors to the differences in the aroma profiles of the fruits of different A. arguta varieties. Ten A. arguta varieties have different flavors. This study can clarify the differences between varieties and provide a reference for the evaluation of A. arguta fruit flavor, variety improvement and new variety selection.

Background: Panax japonicus C.A. Meyer (Zhujieshen) is widely used in traditional medicine as a tonic hemostatic and anti-inflammatory agent in China, Japan, and Korea. Furthermore, it is used as an important substitute for ginseng roots by minority ethnic groups in China. The purpose of this review is to summarize the latest research on Zhujieshen in recent years, aiming at providing a systematic overview of the current knowledge, and perspectives for future research and exploitation., Main Body: This review examines the research advances in botanical profile, phytochemicals, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and authentication of Zhujieshen. Various compounds have been reported as active components, mainly including saponins, volatile oils, and polysaccharides. Pharmacological investigations have demonstrated that Zhujieshen is an important herb with significant bioactivities, such as anti-inflammatory, hepato-protective, cardio-protective, neuro-protective, anti-tumor, anti-oxidant, anti-thrombotic and immunomodulatory activities., Conclusion: Currently, research on Zhujieshen is in the preliminary stages, and further research is required to understand the active compounds present and mechanisms of action. We hope that this comprehensive review of Zhujieshen will serve as a background for future research and exploitation., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Actinidia arguta , known for its distinctive flavor and high nutritional value, has seen an increase in cultivation and variety identification. However, the characterization of its volatile aroma compounds remains limited. This study aimed to understand the flavor quality and key volatile aroma compounds of different A. arguta fruits. We examined 35 A. arguta resource fruits for soluble sugars, titratable acids, and sugar-acid ratios. Their organic acids and volatile aroma compounds were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS). The study found that among the 35 samples tested, S12 had a higher sugar-acid ratio due to its higher sugar content despite having a high titratable acid content, making its fruit flavor superior to other sources. The A. arguta resource fruits can be classified into two types: those dominated by citric acid and those dominated by quinic acid. The analysis identified a total of 76 volatile aroma substances in 35 A. arguta resource fruits. These included 18 esters, 14 alcohols, 16 ketones, 12 aldehydes, seven terpenes, three pyrazines, two furans, two acids, and two other compounds. Aldehydes had the highest relative content of total volatile compounds. Using the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant method (OPLS-DA) analysis, with the 76 volatile aroma substances as dependent variables and different soft date kiwifruit resources as independent variables, 33 volatile aroma substances with variable importance in projection (VIP) greater than 1 were identified as the main aroma substances of A. arguta resource fruits. The volatile aroma compounds with VIP values greater than 1 were analyzed for odor activity value (OAV). The OAV values of isoamyl acetate, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-hexanol, and butanal were significantly higher than those of the other compounds. This suggests that these four volatile compounds contribute more to the overall aroma of A. arguta . This study is significant for understanding the differences between the fruit aromas of different A. arguta resources and for scientifically recognizing the characteristic compounds of the fruit aromas of different A. arguta resources.

Actinidia arguta wine is a low-alcoholic beverage brewed from A. arguta with a unique flavor and sweet taste. In this study, the basic physicochemical indicators, color, organic acid, and volatile aroma components of wines made from the A. arguta varieties 'Kuilv', 'Fenglv', 'Jialv', 'Wanlv', 'Xinlv', 'Pinglv', 'Lvbao', 'Cuiyu', 'Tianxinbao', and 'Longcheng No.2' were determined, and a sensory evaluation was performed. The findings show that 'Tianxinbao' produced the driest extract (49.59 g/L), 'Kuilv' produced the most Vitamin C (913.46 mg/L) and total phenols (816.10 mg/L), 'Jialv' produced the most total flavonoids (477.12 mg/L), and 'Cuiyu' produced the most tannins (4.63 g/L). We analyzed the color of the A. arguta wines based on CIEL * a * b * parameters and found that the 'Kuilv' and 'Longcheng No.2' wines had the largest L * value (31.65), the 'Pinglv' wines had the greatest a * value (2.88), and the 'Kuilv' wines had the largest b * value (5.08) and C* ab value (5.66) of the ten samples. A total of eight organic acids were tested in ten samples via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and we found that there were marked differences in the organic acid contents in different samples ( p < 0.05). The main organic acids were citric acid, quinic acid, and malic acid. The aroma description of a wine is one of the keys to its quality. A total of 51 volatile compounds were identified and characterized in ten samples with headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry, including 24 esters, 12 alcohols, 9 aldehydes, 3 aldehydes, 2 terpenes, and 1 acid, with the highest total volatile compound content in 'Fenglv'. There were no significant differences in the types of volatile compounds, but there were significant differences in the contents ( p < 0.05). An orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) based on the odor activity value (OAV) showed that ethyl butanoate, ethyl pentanoate, ethyl crotonate, ethyl isobutyrate, butyl butanoate, 2-methylbutanal, ethyl isovalerate, and ethyl hexanoate were the main odorant markers responsible for flavor differences between all the A. arguta wines. Sensory evaluation is the most subjective and effective way for consumers to judge A. arguta wine quality. A quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) of the aroma profiles of ten grapes revealed that the 'fruity' and 'floral' descriptors are the main and most essential parts of the overall flavor of A. arguta wines. 'Tianxinbao' had the highest total aroma score. The flavor and quality of A. arguta wines greatly depend on the type and quality of the A. arguta raw material. Therefore, high-quality raw materials can improve the quality of A. arguta wines. The results of the study provide a theoretical basis for improving the quality of A. arguta wines and demonstrate the application prospects of HS-GC-IMS in detecting A. arguta wine flavors.

Codonopsis pilosula (CP) possesses properties related to nourishing the spleen and stomach, and tonifying Qi of the stomach and mind in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Codonopsis pilosula polysaccharides (CPPS), which are the primary active components of CP, are thought to be in charge of their extensive use. Rutin, quercetin, luteoloside, and luteolin, are common and pharmacologically significant flavonoids with many pharmacological activities, but their oral bioavailability is limited by poor solubility and stability. In this study, high-performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC) estimated the molecular weight of CPPS to be 9.7 × 10 5 Da. Sugar analysis revealed that CPPS is composed of D-mannose, D-glucose, and D-xylose with a molar ratio of 5.8:1.9:1.0. Moreover, the antioxidant test showed that CPPS had good antioxidant activity. It is worth noting that CPPS integrated the four flavonoids to form a spongy compound that significantly increased the solubilities and stabilities of flavonoids. The bonding constants of the CPPS and flavonoid-derived inclusion complexes ranged from 60 L mol -1 to 2,030,816 L mol -1 , which demonstrated the capacity of CPPS to interact with flavonoids intermolecularly to form a drug complex system, resulting in potentially enhanced biopharmaceutical properties of flavonoids. This finding could provide a reference point for further applications of polysaccharides from herbal medicines., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, metabolites from six varieties of wines, including 'Haasan' (A1), 'Zuoshaner' (A2), 'Beibinghong' (A3), 'Shuanghong' (A4), 'Zijingganlu' (A5), and 'Cabernet Sauvignon' (A6), were identified and quantified using widely targeted metabolomics analysis techniques. Based on the test results, 1172 metabolites were detected and classified into 18 categories. These include 62 amino acids, 178 alkaloids, 189 flavonoids, 106 phenols, 148 terpenoids, etc. Comparing the differential metabolites between the comparison groups of each variety, differences between varieties based on P-values and VIP values were shown. Among these differential metabolites, Trimethoprim and Crotonoside were screened out as core differential metabolites. Multiple comparisons also screened the biomarkers for each species. We used widely targeted metabolomics to reveal the differences between non-volatile compounds in different wines and their associations with sensory properties. We also used the simultaneous weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to correlate metabolites with sensory traits, including color difference values and taste characteristics. Two of the six key modules were screened by WGCNA for relevance to sensory traits (brown module and turquoise module). This study provides a high-throughput method for linking compounds to various sensory characteristics of food, opening up new avenues for explaining differences in different varieties of wine.

During this study, the physicochemical properties, color, and volatile aroma compounds of the original wines produced from the grape varieties ‘Hassan’, ‘Zuoshaner’, ‘Beibinghong’, ‘Zuoyouhong’, ‘Beta’, ‘Shuanghong’, ‘Zijingganlu’, ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’, and ‘Syrah’ were determined and sensory evaluation was performed. Results indicated that ‘Hassan’ contained the most solids, ‘Zuoshaner’ produced the most total acid, residual sugar, total anthocyanin, and total phenol, and ‘Shuanghong’ produced the most tannin. Calculation of the chroma and hue of the wines according to the CIEL*a*b* parameters revealed that the ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ wines were the brightest of the nine varieties and that the ‘Zuoshaner’ wines had the greatest red hue and yellow hue and the greatest saturation’. A total of 52 volatile compounds were identified and quantified in nine wine samples by HS-GC-IMS analysis, with the most significant number of species detected being 20 esters, followed by 16 alcohols, 8 aldehydes, four ketones, one terpene, and one furan, with the highest total volatile compound content being ‘Beta’. A total of 14 volatile components with OAV (odor activity value) >1 were calculated using the odor activity value (OAV) of the threshold of the aromatic compound, and the OPLS-DA analysis was performed by orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) using the OAV values of the compounds with OAV values >1 as the Y variable. The VIP (Variable Importance in Projection) values of six compounds, ethyl isobutyrate, ethyl hexanoate-D, 2-methylpropanal, ethyl octanoate, ethyl butanoate-D, and Isoamyl acetate-D, were calculated to be higher than one between groups, indicating that these six compounds may influence aroma differences. It is essential to recognize that the results of this study have implications for understanding the quality differences between different varieties of wines and for developing wines that have the characteristics of those varieties.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a protypical autoimmune disease and genetic factors play important roles in its pathogenesis. Since present SLE susceptibility loci are mainly studied through meta-analysis of genome-wide association study, we performed promoter activity analysis to examine the biological functions of SLE-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We found at SNP positions rs1341239, rs1800795, rs1800796, rs1800872, rs1800871, rs187238, rs360719, rs8178822, rs3761549, different alleles influenced respective promoter activities in different manners, and the effects also appeared under glucocorticoid treatment. In addition, some SNPs showed strong correlations with levels of respective serum factors, but in most cases the associations were only demonstrated in SLE individuals. Our study has further disclose the functional roles of SLE-associate SNPs in SLE pathogenesis.

Background: Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) and their subpopulations could be potential novel biomarkers for various malignancies. However, reliable enumerable methods are warranted to further improve their clinical utility. This study aimed to optimize a flow cytometric method (FCM) assay for CECs and subpopulations in peripheral blood for patients with solid cancers., Patients and Methods: An FCM assay was used to detect and identify CECs. A panel of 60 blood samples, including 44 metastatic cancer patients and 16 healthy controls, were used in this study. Some key issues of CEC enumeration, including sample material and anticoagulant selection, optimal titration of antibodies, lysis/wash procedures of blood sample preparation, conditions of sample storage, sufficient cell events to enhance the signal, fluorescence-minus-one controls instead of isotype controls to reduce background noise, optimal selection of cell surface markers, and evaluating the reproducibility of our method, were integrated and investigated. Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to determine statistically significant differences., Results: In this validation study, we refined a five-color FCM method to detect CECs and their subpopulations in peripheral blood of patients with solid tumors. Several key technical issues regarding preanalytical elements, FCM data acquisition, and analysis were addressed. Furthermore, we clinically validated the utility of our method. The baseline levels of mature CECs, endothelial progenitor cells, and activated CECs were higher in cancer patients than healthy subjects ( P <0.01). However, there was no significant difference in resting CEC levels between healthy subjects and cancer patients ( P =0.193)., Conclusion: We integrated and comprehensively addressed significant technical issues found in previously published assays and validated the reproducibility and sensitivity of our proposed method. Future work is required to explore the potential of our optimized method in clinical oncologic applications., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the end point of a number of renal and systemic diseases. The metabolomics with a highly multiplexed and efficient manner is a challenging goal in nephrology., Methods: A (1) H-NMR based metabolomics approach was applied to establish a human CKD serum metabolic profile. Serum samples were obtained from CKD patients with four stages (N= 80) and healthy controls (N= 28). The data acquired by CMPG spectrum were further processed by pattern recognition (PR) analysis. Principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was capable of clustering the disease groups and establishing disease-specific metabolites profile., Results: The classification models could grade CKD patients with considerably high value of Q(2) and R(2) . The significant endogenous metabolites that contributed to distinguish CKD in different stages included the products of glycolysis (glucose, lactate), amino acids (valine, alanine, glutamate, glycine), organic osmolytes (betaine, myo-inositol, taurine, glycerophosphcholine), and so on. Based on these metabolites, the model for diagnosing patients with CKD achieved the sensitivity and specificity of 100%., Conclusion: The study illustrated that serum metabolic profile was altered in response to renal dysfunction and the progression of CKD. The identified metabolic biomarkers may provide useful information for the diagnosis of CKD, especially in early stages., (© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

To identify and quantify protein profiles from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with isobaric Tagging for Relative and Absolute protein Quantification (iTRAQ)-based proteomic technology and to find differentially expressed proteins in SLE. PBMC were collected from patients of six stable SLE, six active SLE, six rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and six healthy donors. After protein extraction and concentration, the pooled protein content was labeled with iTRAQ reagents and then subjected to multiple chromatographic fractionation and tandem mass spectrometry. ProteinPilot™ 3.0 software and a database of IPI (International Protein Index) human 3.62 were used for database searching and statistical analysis. A total of 452 proteins were identified. Of these, 67 unique proteins were observed twofold or more alteration in levels across groups. The proteins determined support existing knowledge and uncover novel biomarker candidates. These results indicate that iTRAQ-based technology can serve as a useful aid for identification and quantification proteins from PBMC.