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Plant exosome-like nanovesicles, being innately replete with bioactive lipids, proteins, RNA, and other pharmacologically active molecules, offer unique morphological and compositional characteristics as natural nanocarriers. Furthermore, their compelling physicochemical traits underpin their modulative role in physiological processes, all of which have fostered the concept that these nanovesicles may be highly proficient in the development of next-generation biotherapeutic and drug delivery nanoplatforms to meet the ever-stringent demands of current clinical challenges. This review systemically deals with various facets of plant exosome-like nanovesicles ranging from their origin and isolation to identification of morphological composition, biological functions, and cargo-loading mechanisms. Efforts are made to encompass their biotherapeutic roles by elucidating their immunological modulating, anti-tumor, regenerative, and anti-inflammatory roles. We also shed light on re-engineering these nanovesicles into robust, innocuous, and non-immunogenic nanovectors for drug delivery through multiple stringent biological hindrances to various targeted organs such as intestine and brain. Finally, recent advances centered around plant exosome-like nanovesicles along with new insights into transdermal, transmembrane and targeting mechanisms of these vesicles are also elucidated. We expect that the continuing development of plant exosome-like nanovesicle-based therapeutic and delivery nanoplatforms will promote their clinical applications.

ApUGT, a diterpene glycosyltransferase from Andrographis paniculata, could transfer a glucose to the C-19 hydroxyl moiety of andrograpanin to form neoandrographolide. This glycosyltransferase has a broad substrate scope, and it can glycosylate 26 natural and unnatural compounds of different structural types. This study provides a basis for exploring the glycosylation mechanism of ent-labdane-type diterpenes and plays an important role in diversifying the structures used in drug discovery.

Ginsenosides attract great attention for their bioactivities. However, their contents are low, and many UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) that play crucial roles in the ginsenoside biosynthesis pathways have not been identified, which hinders the biosynthesis of ginsenosides. In this study, we reported that one UDP-glycosyltransferase, UGTPg71A29, from Panax ginsengcould glycosylate C20–OH of Rh1and transfer a glucose moiety to Rd, producing ginsenosides Rg1and Rb1, respectively. Ectopic expression of UGTPg71A29 in Saccharomyces cerevisiaestably generated Rg1and Rb1under its corresponding substrate. Overexpression of UGTPg71A29 in transgenic cells of P. ginsengcould significantly enhance the accumulation of Rg1and Rb1, with their contents of 3.2- and 3.5-fold higher than those in the control, respectively. Homology modeling, molecular dynamics, and mutational analysis revealed the key catalytic site, Gln283, which provided insights into the catalytic mechanism of UGTPg71A29. These results not only provide an efficient enzymatic tool for the synthesis of glycosides but also help achieve large-scale industrial production of glycosides.

To evaluate the variation of sweet chemicals (sugars and betaine) in fruits of six species in genus LyciumL. i.e. Lycium truncatum, L. cylindricum, L. dasystemum, L. dasystemumvar. rubricaulium, L. chinense,and L. barbarumharvested at three different ripening stages.

Over past decades plant tissue culture has emerged as an alternative of whole plant cultivation in the production of valuable secondary metabolites. Adventitious roots culture of Panax ginsengand Echinacea purpurehas reached the scale of 1-10 kL. Some molecular biological techniques, such as transgenic technology and genetic stability are increasingly used in the studies on plant tissue cultures. The studies on elicitors have deepened into the induction mechanism, including signal molecules, functional genes, and so on. More and more biological elicitors, such as A. nigerand yeast are used to increase the active compounds in plant tissue cultures. We also discussed the application of synthetic biology in the studies on biosynthesis of artemisinin, paclitaxel, and tanshinon. The studies on active ingredients biosynthesis of medicinal plants provide unprecedented possibilities to achieve mass production of active ingredients. Plant tissue cultures can not only produce active ingredients but also as experimental materials for biosynthesis. In order to improve the contents of active compounds in medicinal plants, following aspects could be carried out gene interference or gene silencing, gene overexpression, combination with chemical synthesis, application of elicitors, and site-directed mutagenesis of the key enzymes.

Chinese medicine (CM) is the most typical conventional therapy compared with any other traditional or alternative medicine systems. The active components of CMs are either primary or secondary metabolites generated by metabolic and biosynthetic enzymes in plants, protecting the plants from environmental stress. The characteristics of these metabolites are diverse, complicated and unique. In this paper, current approaches for quality assessment were extensively reviewed, a new concept of quality marker (Q-marker) was then proposed for CM quality assessment. Additionally, definition of the Q-marker, as well as the relevant methods, were discussed, on the basis of the biosynthetic pathways of secondary metabolites and source of biological active components. Study design of Q-marker is complex system for quality assessment and production process control of CM products with transitivity and traceability. Therefore, the system with characteristics of transmission and traceability is expected to be established for regulation of quality. Upon the concept which the transitivity and traceability in the quality assessment and production process control covered the entire process, such as raw materials, decoction slices, processing, extraction and production can be further enhanced. The transitivity and traceability will inevitably require close attention to “who, what, where, when, and why” details at each stage of Q-markers of CM production form raw materials to patent product. The establishing quality standards are enablers of many and various transitivity and traceability solutions, not a solution in them. It means that the transitivity and traceability system is readily link between products and across borders in quality. According to the thinking mode and methods of investigation on quality assessment of CM product, we focus on the entire process, in terms of safety and effectiveness and quality control. The standard preparation of CM or CM decoction is not only the basis for study of Q-marker, but also the basis for transmission and traceability of the quality of CM product.

This paper reviews the progress of systems biology applied to researching on sustainable utilization of Chinese materia medica (CMM) resources in the following aspects: identification and evaluation of CMM resources, analysis of biosynthesis and their regulation of active ingredients in medicinal plants, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology research of medicinal plants, and molecular breeding of medicinal plants. Development of systems biology is currently leading to extremely broad applications in the field of CMM resources, and systems biology will become a significant approach for the sustainable utilization of CMM resources.

In China, many species of genus SalviaL. (Lamiaceae) are important medicinal plants with a long history. Due to their marked ethnopharmacological uses in folk medicine and a large number of active constituents with therapeutic potential found recently, they have become a rich source for new drug discovery, mechanism research, and biological experiment. All medicinal plants of SalviaL. could be divided into three groups (Groups 1, 2, and 3). The plants in Group 1 were used as “Danshen” and are rich in diterpenoids and caffeic acid derivatives. Few introduced plants in Group 2 from America or Europe have been used to clear body-heat and toxins. Abietane diterpenes of medicinal species in Group 3 (the species are from Subg. AllagospadonopsisBriq., Sect. Plethiosphace, or Sect. Notiosphace) are absent, and the contents of caffeic acid derivatives are considerably lower than those in plants of Group 1.

To analyze the component law of Chinese patent medicines for anti-influenza and develop new prescriptions for anti-influenza by unsupervised data mining methods.

A new anthraquinone glycoside 1, along with a known anthraquinone glycoside aurantio-obtusin-6-O-β-d-glucopyranoside 2, were isolated from the seeds of Cassia obtusifolia. On the basis of spectral and chemical evidences, the structure of 1 was established as 1-demethylaurantio-obtusin-2-O-β-d-glucopyranoside. Moreover, the 13C NMR of 2 was assigned totally and correctly for the first time based on the two-dimensional NMR.

Two new glycosides were isolated and characterized by spectral analysis from the seeds of Cassia obtusifolia and the leaves of Cassia angustifolia. The structure was elucidated as 1-hydroxyl-2-acetyl-3,8-dimethoxynaphthalene-6-O-β-d-apiofuranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-glucopyranoside and 2-acetyl-3-methyl-8-methoxyl-1,4-naphthoquinone-6-O-β-d-glucopyranoside.

Pharmacognosy has developed rapidly in recent years and now represents a highly interdisciplinary science. At the boundary between pharmacognosy and molecular biology, molecular pharmacognosy has developed as a new borderline discipline. Using the method and technology of molecular biology, molecular pharmacognosy focuses on resolving a wide range of challenging problems, such as distinguishing herbal and animal drug populations by molecular marker assay, conserving and utilizing wild resources on the basis of knowledge of genetic diversity, investigating the mechanism of active compound accumulation and obtaining new resources with higher quality through genetic engineering. Recent research results show that molecular pharmacognosy has extended the scope of pharmacognostical science and plays an important role in the safe and efficient usage of crude drugs.