Although magnesium (Mg) is one of the most important nutrients, involved in many enzyme activities and the structural stabilization of tissues, its importance as a macronutrient ion has been ...overlooked in recent decades by botanists and agriculturists, who did not regard Mg deficiency (MGD) in plants as a severe health problem. However, recent studies have shown, surprisingly, that Mg contents in historical cereal seeds have markedly declined over time, and two thirds of people surveyed in developed countries received less than their minimum daily Mg requirement. Thus, the mechanisms of response to MGD and ways to increase Mg contents in plants are two urgent practical problems. In this review, we discuss several aspects of MGD in plants, including phenotypic and physiological changes, cell Mg2+ homeostasis control by Mg2+ transporters, MGD signaling, interactions between Mg2+ and other ions, and roles of Mg2+ in plant secondary metabolism. Our aim is to improve understanding of the influence of MGD on plant growth and development and to advance crop breeding for Mg enrichment.
This study investigated the regulation of ascorbate and glutathione metabolism by jasmonic acid (JA) in
Agropyron cristatum leaves under water stress induced by 10% PEG 6000. The results showed that ...JA level, the transcript levels and activities of APX, GR, MDHAR, DHAR, GalLDH and γ-ECS, and the contents of AsA, GSH, total ascorbate and total glutathione were increased by water stress. Above increases except for total glutathione content and the transcript level and activity of γ-ECS were suppressed by application of JA biosynthesis inhibitor ibuprofen (IBU), a lipoxygenase inhibitor, for 12
h before water stress treatment. Application of JA to IBU-inhibited plants prevented the reduction in the transcript levels and activities of GalLDH, APX, GR, DHAR and MDHAR, and the contents of AsA, GSH, total ascorbate induced by IBU under water stress. Meanwhile, pretreatment with IBU increased the malondialdehyde content and electrolyte leakage of plants and these increases were suppressed by application of JA under water stress. Our results suggested that water stress-induced JA is a signal that leads to the regulation of ascorbate and glutathione metabolism and has important role for acquisition of water stress tolerance in
A. cristatum.
Phenolic acids and tanshinones are two major bioactive components in Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge. A novel endogenous R2R3-MYB transcription factor, SmMYB36, was identified in this research. This ...transcript factor can simultaneously influence the content of two types of components in SmMYB36 overexpression hairy roots. SmMYB36 was mainly localized in the nucleus of onion epidermis and it has transactivation activity. The overexpression of SmMYB36 promoted tanshinone accumulation but inhibited phenolic acid and flavonoid biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy roots. The altered metabolite content was due to changed metabolic flow which was regulated by transcript expression of metabolic pathway genes. The gene transcription levels of the phenylpropanoid general pathway, tyrosine derived pathway, methylerythritol phosphate pathway and downstream tanshinone biosynthetic pathway changed significantly due to the overexpression of SmMYB36. The wide distribution of MYB binding elements (MBS, MRE, MBSI and MBSII) and electrophoretic mobility shift assay results indicated that SmMYB36 may be an effective tool to regulate metabolic flux shifts.
To find the best post-harvest processing method for Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, we explored the effects of fresh and traditional processing on the active ingredients in
and evaluated three drying ...techniques to determine the optimal post-harvest processing technique. We quantified four active ingredients (baicalin, baicalein, wogonoside, and wogonin) in 16 different processed
samples that were harvested from Tongchuan, Shaanxi province, by HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography). In addition, we performed a similarity analysis (SA), a hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and a principal component analysis (PCA) on the common peaks in
that were identified by the HPLC fingerprints. Compared to the traditional processing method, the fresh processing method could better preserve the four active ingredients in
, meanwhile, the similarity analysis (0.997-1.000) showed that the fresh processing was more similar to the traditional processing, and it did not change the type of 18 active ingredients in
. The cluster analysis results showed that the shade drying and sun drying methods results were more similar to each other, while the oven drying (60 °C) method results were clustered into one category. According to the results of the principal component analysis, S9, S7, and S8 had higher scores, and they were relatively well processed under these processing settings. Fresh processing could be an alternative to traditional processing; the moisture content was reduced to 24.38% under the sun drying condition, and it was the optimal post-harvest processing solution for
.
(Dunn) Pimenov, commonly known as Qianhu in China, is a widely used folk Chinese herbal medicine. This article reviews its botanical traits, ethnopharmacology, cultivation techniques, identification, ...phytochemical compositions, and pharmacological effects. Over 70 coumarin compounds, including simple coumarins, pyranocoumarins, and furanocoumarins, have been isolated within this plant. Additionally,
contains other components such as flavonoids, fatty acids, benzoic acids, and sterols. This information highlights the importance of utilizing active ingredients and excavating pharmacological effects. With its remarkable versatility,
exhibits a wide range of pharmacological effects. It has been found to possess expectorant and bronchodilator properties, cardiovascular protection, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, anti-tumor effects, and even antidiabetic properties. It is recommended to focus on the development of new drugs that leverage the active ingredients of
and explore its potential for new clinical applications and holistic utilization.
The present work investigated the effects of salicylic acid (SA) on the accumulation of phenolic compounds and the activities of PAL, TAT, SOD, CAT and POD enzymes in the
Salvia miltiorrhiza cell ...culture. When SA is applied to the cell culture, phenolic compounds will increase and PAL, TAT, SOD, CAT, and POD enzymes will become more active. The accumulations of phenolic compounds and the PAL activity were stimulated 8
h after the treatment with SA. The TAT activity was stimulated after 48
h. The resulting antioxidative enzymes’ activities were greatly improved. SA elicitation on the phenolic acid accumulation was depended upon the application dosage and the time-duration. The suitable SA concentration for eliciting phenolic compound accumulations was 6.25–22.5
mg/L. The elicitation effect of SA on phenolic compound accumulations correlated with the PAL activity, but not with the TAT activity. This indicates that PAL may be the key enzyme for the biosynthesis of salvianolic acid B and caffeic acid. The raised PAL activity leads to the improvement of the quantity of phenolic compounds. This could be of particular significance by using plant cell culture systems for biotechnological production of plant secondary metabolites such as salvianolic acid B and caffeic acid.
Proanthocyanidins are natural glycosidase inhibitors with excellent antioxidant activity. This study aims to search for a new source of proanthocyanidins for the prevention and treatment of type 2 ...diabetes with higher content and better activity and get their structure elucidated. First, the total proanthocyanidins contents (TOPCs), antioxidant activity, antidiabetic activity of seven common Polygonaceae plants were analyzed and compared. Then proanthocyanidins from the rhizome of
were purified, and the detailed structure was comprehensively analyzed by ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR),
C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (
C NMR), reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC-ESI-MS), and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The rhizome of
showed the highest TOPCs, the strongest antioxidant, and antidiabetic activities; the TOPCs, antioxidant and antidiabetic activities were all very significantly positively correlated. Proanthocyanidins purified from the rhizome of
showed better antidiabetic activity than grape seed proanthocyanidins (GsPs). Seventy-two proanthocyanidins from trimer to undecamer with a mean degree of polymerization (mDP) of about 5.02 ± 0.21 were identified with catechin and epicatechin as the dominant monomers. Conclusion: Proanthocyanidins are the main antioxidant and antidiabetic active substances of
and are expected to be developed into potential antioxidant and hypoglycemic products.
Seed microbiome includes special endophytic or epiphytic microbial taxa associated with seeds, which affects seed germination, plant growth, and health. Here, we analyzed the core microbiome of 21
...seeds from seven different geographic origins using 16S rDNA and ITS amplicon sequencing, followed by bioinformatics analysis. The whole bacterial microbiome was classified into 17 microbial phyla and 39 classes. Gammaproteobacteria (67.6%), Alphaproteobacteria (15.6%), Betaproteobacteria (2.6%), Sphingobacteria (5.0%), Bacilli (4.6%), and Actinobacteria (2.9%) belonged to the core bacterial microbiome. Dothideomycetes comprised 94% of core fungal microbiome in
seeds, and another two dominant classes were Leotiomycetes (3.0%) and Tremellomycetes (2.0%). We found that terpenoid backbone biosynthesis, degradation of limonene, pinene, and geraniol, and prenyltransferases, were overrepresented in the core bacterial microbiome using phylogenetic examination of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt) software. We also found that the bacterial genera
, and
were enriched core taxa and overlapped among
, maize, bean, and rice, while a fungal genus,
, was shared within
, bean, and Brassicaceae families. These findings highlight that seed-associated microbiomeis an important component of plant microbiomes, which may be a gene reservoir for secondary metabolism in medicinal plants.
Danshen, a prominent herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is known for its potential to enhance physiological functions such as blood circulation, immune response, and resolve blood stasis. ...Despite the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination efforts, some individuals still face severe complications post-infection, including pulmonary fibrosis, myocarditis arrhythmias and stroke. This study employs a network pharmacology and molecular docking approach to investigate the potential mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of candidate components and targets from Danshen in the treatment of complications in COVID-19. Candidate components and targets from Danshen were extracted from the TCMSP Database, while COVID-19-related targets were obtained from Genecards. Venn diagram analysis identified common targets. A Protein–Protein interaction (PPI) network and gene enrichment analysis elucidated potential therapeutic mechanisms. Molecular docking evaluated interactions between core targets and candidate components, followed by molecular dynamics simulations to assess stability. We identified 59 potential candidate components and 123 targets in Danshen for COVID-19 treatment. PPI analysis revealed 12 core targets, and gene enrichment analysis highlighted modulated pathways. Molecular docking showed favorable interactions, with molecular dynamics simulations indicating high stability of key complexes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves validated the docking protocol. Our study unveils candidate compounds, core targets, and molecular mechanisms of Danshen in COVID-19 treatment. These findings provide a scientific foundation for further research and potential development of therapeutic drugs.
The induction of hairy root cultures is a useful platform with many merits, making it an attractive system for plant biochemistry and molecular biology. To examine whether methyl jasmonate (MeJA) is ...related to a signal transduction pathway resulting in the elucidation of rosmarinic acid (RA) synthesis in
Prunella vulgaris
, we treated the hairy roots with MeJA and determined the accumulation of RA, total phenolics (TP), and total flavonoids (TF). We found that 100 μM MeJA exhibited the optimum induction efficiency. Therefore, the time course characterization of hairy root culture with 100 μM MeJA was performed to evaluate the exposure performance over eight days. During that period, RA was 1.7 times the maximum accumulations 5 days after the addition of MeJA, TP and TF were 2.0 times and 2.4 times higher than that of the untreated hairy roots, respectively. We checked the expression levels of genes transcripts associated with RA synthetic pathway as well. Correlation analysis showed that RA accumulation is significantly correlated with the transcripts expression of
PvHPPR
,
PvPAL
,
PvC4H
,
Pv4CL1
,
Pv4CL2
, and
PvCYP98A101
, while it did not reach a prominent relationship with transcripts of
PvTAT
and
PvRAS
. Taken together, the results of our study suggest that MeJA can be used as an efficient elucidation for the future scale-up of hairy root cultures of
P. vulgaris
for the yield of RA in a bioreactor system.
Key message
Methyl jasmonate with 100 μM presented the optimum induction efficiency in the production of rosmarinic acid, total flavonoids, and total phenolics in hairy roots of
Prunella vulgaris
.
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