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Objective(s): Chronic alcohol abuse causes cognitive deficits. Huangqi Gegen Decoction (HGD), a traditional Chinese herbal formula comprising Huangqi and Gegen, has been documented for its therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of alcoholic liver injury. However, its potential neuroprotective effects against alcohol-induced brain injury remain unexplored. This study aims to evaluate the neuroprotection of HGD on alcohol-induced cognitive dysfunction and the associated mechanism.Materials and Methods: Wistar rats were orally administered 50% ethanol for 10 weeks, followed by treatment with HGD at doses of 16, 32, or 64 mg/kg/day for an additional 6 weeks. The spatial learning and memory abilities of rats were assessed through the Morris Water Maze experiment. The pathological condition in the hippocampus was assessed using H&E and Nissl staining. Tight junction proteins, oxidative stress, and inflammation cytokines were measured by IF, ELISA, PCR, and western blot. The mRNA and protein expression of Keap1, Nrf-2, HO-1, and NQO-1 were tested by PCR and western blot.Results: Results showed that HGD effectively mitigated cognitive dysfunction and pathological changes in alcohol-induced rats while enhancing the expression of ZO-1, Occludin, and Claudin-5. Furthermore, HGD effectively mitigated oxidative stress by reducing levels of ROS and MDA, while elevating levels of SOD, CAT, and GSH-PX in brain tissue. Moreover, HGD significantly suppressed microglial activation and down-regulated expressions of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. Mechanistically, HGD remarkably up-regulated the expression of Nrf-2, HO-1, and NQO-1 while down-regulating Keap1 expression.Conclusion: These findings suggest that HGD may be a promising therapeutic agent for alleviating alcohol-induced cognitive dysfunction.

L’élevage des caprins nains en Afrique subsaharienne est très peu modernisé. Plusieurs facteurs zootechniques de production ne sont pas maîtrisés par les éleveurs. Ainsi, l’objectif de notre étude était de déterminer quelques paramètres zootechniques des caprins nains nourris à base de fourrage. Ainsi, 30 caprins nains ont été nourris avec deux espèces de fourrages: Panicum maximum et Pueraria phaseoloides. Chaque espèce fourragère a été présentée aux animaux sous trois formes: (1) fourrage non découpé; (2) fourrage découpé en brins de 10 cm; et (3) fourrage découpé en brins de 3 cm. Les résultats ont montré que les quantités moyennes journalières de fourrage frais ingérées (g) ont varié de 1649 g à 1839 g par jour et par caprin. De plus, le fourrage présenté en brins de 3 cm a été significativement plus consommé. Par ailleurs, les caprins nains ont consommé une plus grande quantité de P. phaseoloides. Ces résultats permettrons aux éleveurs d’affiner leur prévisions fourragères et d’éviter le gaspillage du fourrage par les caprins. Mots clés: fourrage, Panicum, Pueraria, caprin nain, paramètres zootechniques

Abstract Background Pueraria is a dry root commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine or as food and fodder, and tuberous root expansion is an important agronomic characteristic that influences its yield. However, no specific genes regulating tuberous root expansion in Pueraria have been identified. Therefore, we aimed to explore the expansion mechanism of Pueraria at six developmental stages (P1–P6), by profiling the tuberous roots of an annual local variety “Gange No.1” harvested at 105, 135, 165, 195, 225, and 255 days after transplanting. Results Observations of the tuberous root phenotype and cell microstructural morphology revealed that the P3 stage was a critical boundary point in the expansion process, which was preceded by a thickening diameter and yield gain rapidly of the tuberous roots, and followed by longitudinal elongation at both ends. A total of 17,441 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by comparing the P1 stage (unexpanded) against the P2–P6 stages (expanded) using transcriptome sequencing; 386 differential genes were shared across the six developmental stages. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the DEGs shared by P1 and P2–P6 stages were mainly involved in pathways related to the “cell wall and cell cycle”, “plant hormone signal transduction”, “sucrose and starch metabolism”, and “transcription factor (TF)”. The finding is consistent with the physiological data collected on changes in sugar, starch, and hormone contents. In addition, TFs including bHLHs, AP2s, ERFs, MYBs, WRKYs, and bZIPs were involved in cell differentiation, division, and expansion, which may relate to tuberous root expansion. The combination of KEGG and trend analyses revealed six essential candidate genes involved in tuberous root expansion; of them, CDC48, ARF, and EXP genes were significantly upregulated during tuberous root expansion while INV, EXT, and XTH genes were significantly downregulated. Conclusion Our findings provide new insights into the complex mechanisms of tuberous root expansion in Pueraria and candidate target genes, which can aid in increasing Pueraria yield.

Abstract Background Pueraria montana var. lobata (kudzu) is an important food and medicinal crop in Asia. However, the phylogenetic relationships between Pueraria montana var. lobata and the other two varieties (P. montana var. thomsonii and P. montana var. montana) remain debated. Although there is increasing evidence showing that P. montana var. lobata adapts to various environments and is an invasive species in America, few studies have systematically investigated the role of the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary patterns of plastomes between P. montana var. lobata and its closely related taxa. Results 26 newly sequenced chloroplast genomes of Pueraria accessions resulted in assembled plastomes with sizes ranging from 153,360 bp to 153,551 bp. Each chloroplast genome contained 130 genes, including eight rRNA genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 85 protein-coding genes. For 24 newly sequenced accessions of these three varieties of P. montana, we detected three genes and ten noncoding regions with higher nucleotide diversity (π). After incorporated publically available chloroplast genomes of Pueraria and other legumes, 47 chloroplast genomes were used to construct phylogenetic trees, including seven P. montana var. lobata, 14 P. montana var. thomsonii and six P. montana var. montana. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that P. montana var. lobata and P. montana var. thomsonii formed a clade, while all sampled P. montana var. montana formed another cluster based on cp genomes, LSC, SSC and protein-coding genes. Twenty-six amino acid residues were identified under positive selection with the site model. We also detected six genes (accD, ndhB, ndhC, rpl2, rpoC2, and rps2) that account for among-site variation in selective constraint under the clade model between accessions of the Pueraria montana var. lobata clade and the Pueraria montana var. montana clade. Conclusion Our data provide novel comparative plastid genomic insights into conservative gene content and structure of cp genomes pertaining to P. montana var. lobata and the other two varieties, and reveal an important phylogenetic clue and plastid divergence among related taxa of P. montana come from loci that own moderate variation and underwent modest selection.

The pathway for forming isoflavonoid skeletal structure is primarily restricted to the Leguminosae family. Subsequent decorations on the compound backbone by tailoring enzymes would change their biological and medicinal properties. Pueraria lobata is a leguminous plant, and as a traditional Chinese medicine its roots have been ascribed a number of pharmacological activities. Glycosylation and methylation are the main modifying processes in isoflavonoid metabolism in P. lobata roots, resulting in the accumulation of unique glycosylated and methylated end isoflavonoid compounds. For instance, daidzein 8-C-glucoside (i.e., puerarin) and puerarin derivatives are produced only by the Pueraria genus. Puerarin has been established as a clinical drug for curing cardiovascular diseases. To better understand the characteristic isoflavonoid metabolism in P. lobata, this review attempts to summarize the research progress made with understanding the main glycosylation and methylation of isoflavonoids in P. lobata and their biosynthetic enzymes.

Objective: This study aimed to obtain a novel fermented green tea with high ACE-inhibitory activity by Eurotium cristatum and to investigate its acute hypotensive effects on spontaneously hypertensive rats （SHR）. Methods: The effects of pueraria addition, water content of substrate and spore suspension on ACE-inhibitory activity in vitro were investigated, and the fermentation process was optimized by orthogonal design experiment. The fermented tea solution was prepared by water extraction method, and SHR model was selected to study the hypotensive effect of fermented tea. Results: The optimal fermentation process for fermented tea was as follows: adding 2 g pueraria into 20 g green tea matrix, controlling the water content of the matrix to 20%, inoculatin 5% suspension of E. cristatum. Compared with the control group, different doses of fermented tea had lowering effects on blood pressure in SHR within 24 h. Conclusion: The acute hypotensive effect of the daily dose of 300~600 mg/kg was the most significant, which could lower the blood pressure of SHR in a short period of time.

Physical fatigue is one of the important problems that plague public health. Our objective is to investigate the anti-fatigue effect of a botanical beverage with ginseng extract and pueraria extract, including ginseng, wolfberry, Polygonatum, Pueraria, and niacin. Sixty ICR male mice were randomly divided into 6 groups, namely blank control group, experimental control group (swimming group), positive control group (caffeine group), low-dose group (3.33 g/kg BW), medium-dose group (6.67 g/kg BW), and high-dose group (13.33 g/kg BW) of botanical beverage. Then we performed behavioral examination, including grip and turn-club test, and investigated fatigue-related biochemical indexes and behavioral tests after consecutive gavage administration for 30 days.. Results showed that the fatigue rotarod time and forelimb pulling force of the mice are significantly increased in the middle and high dose groups of botanical beverage and the caffeine group, compared with the blank control group. The contents of blood sugar level, liver glycogen, and muscle glycogen of the mice in the middle dose group increased by 53.58%, 18.75%, and 45.00%, respectively, compared with the swimming group. While the contents of blood lactate and urea nitrogen and the activities of lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase in the middle-dose group decreased by 5.56%, 18.78% and 27.18%, 9.45%, respectively. It’s concluded that botanical beverage with ginseng extract and pueraria extract had the effect on relieving physical fatigue.

In this paper, the protective effect of a botanical beverage with pueraria extract and Hovenia dulcis Thunb. extract on acute alcoholic liver injury in mice was investigated. The acute alcoholic liver injury model was established by a one-time gavage of 50% alcohol, and then the relevant biochemical indicators and liver tissue morphology were detected to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of the botanical beverage. Compared with the model control group, the middle-dose of plant beverage with pueraria extract and Hovenia dulcis Thunb. extract can significantly reduce the levels of ALT, AST, TC, TG and LDL in the serum of mice with acute alcoholic liver injury to (19.17±6.22) U/L, (14.81±4.61) U/L, (4.77±0.33) mmol/L, (1.92±0.24) mmol//L, (0.22±0.09) mmol/L, increase the activities of SOD, GSH-Px and GSH in liver, and decrease MDA content to (0.80±0.09) nmol/mg pro. This plant drink can also significantly improve the pathological changes of liver tissue to a certain extent, and reduce steatosis and inflammatory cell infiltration. The experimental results showed that the plant beverage with pueraria extract and Hovenia dulcis Thunb. extract had a certain protective effect on the liver tissue of mice after acute alcohol exposure.

This study was conducted for six years to assess the effects of two widely grown cover crops Gliricidia sepium (T1) and Puereria phasioloides (T2) on coconut yields and soil characteristics. Experiments were carried out on coconuts planted in Reddish Brown Latosolic soils located in the low country intermediate zone-IL1 of Sri Lanka. Results showed that treatments 1 and 2 were significantly (p≤0.05) effective over the control treatment (no cover crop) in suppressing weed biomass. Soil samples were collected and analyzed for physical, chemical and biological properties. Results showed that soils where G. sepium and P. phasioloides were grown were superior in most of the properties compared to the control. Soils under P. phasioloides showed significantly higher moisture contents compared to G. sepium and control treatments. Significant increases on soil properties were likewise observed in G. sepium and P. phasioloides plots: nitrogen (by 77% and 76 %), organic carbon content (by 86% and 148%), soil microbial activity (by 52% and 73%), respectively. On the other hand, soil bulk densities were reduced significantly by 20% and 27% under G. sepium and P. phasioloides, respectively. There was no significant increase observed on available P but P content improved with the establishment of cover crops. Significant increases in mean annual nut yields were observed during the 4th, 5th, and 6th years after cover crops establishment. Nut yields were found to increase with G. sepium and P. phasioloides by 46% and 58%, respectively when compared to that of control treatment plots.

Background: Menopause is associated with detrimental changes in turnover of bone and cartilage and a variety of symptoms with negative impact on the quality of life. Naturally occurring isoflavones from Radix Pueraria lobata, Kudzu root, may possess chondroprotective and symptom-relieving properties, but efficacy and safety of dosing and dose frequencies required for pharmacological action is unclear.Purpose: This clinical trial evaluates the efficacy on bone and cartilage turnover, menopausal symptoms, and safety of five dose regimens of Kudzu root extract administered either once, twice or three times daily in women with at least mild menopausal symptoms.Materials and Methods: Fifty postmenopausal women were randomized equally into five different dose regimen groups of Kudzu root extract in a four-week, parallel group, open-label, single-center, exploratory study design. Biomarkers CTX-I and CTX-II reflecting bone and cartilage degradation, respectively, were assessed in blood samples and 24-h urine samples. Change from baseline in the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and subscales was evaluated. Safety endpoints were frequency of adverse events, changes in hematology and safety chemistry data, vital signs and electrocardiogram.Results: Fifty women (Age 54.2 years, SD: 2.9) were randomized. After 4 weeks of treatment, biomarkers of bone resorption and cartilage degradation were statistically significantly reduced from baseline levels in the group receiving two capsules three times a day, serum/urine CTX-I (−18.4%, 95% CI: −8.1 to −27.5, p = 0.001/−34.2%, 95% CI: −21.6 to −44.7, p < 0.0001), urine CTX-II (−17.4% 95% CI: −2.5 to −30.0, p = 0.02). The observed effects were consistent across study groups but appeared to favour three times daily dosing. Four weeks of treatment led to statistically significant reductions in the MRS Total Score (p < 0.0001–0.03) in four out of five treatment groups. Kudzu root extract was well tolerated in all dose regimens, and no serious adverse events were reported.Conclusion: The results indicate that Kudzu extract may possess beneficial effects on bone and cartilage health and may be a promising natural alternative to existing treatments for menopausal symptoms. Kudzu root extract was well tolerated for short-term treatment of mild to severe menopausal symptoms in women in all tested doses and dose frequencies.

Pueraria, a Chinese herbal medicine, plays an important role in many classic prescriptions for the treatment of diabetes. Puerarin is the main component of pueraria. The current in vivo and in vitro research mainly focus on exploring the potential mechanism of puerarin in inhibiting hepatic gluconeogenesis. The type 2 diabetic rats were established by a combination of small dosage of streptozotocin (STZ) injection with high-fat diet. After the administration of puerarin 4 weeks, the parameters of the glucose and lipid metabolism were determined. HepG2 cells were treated by palmitic acid (PA) to induce the insulin resistance in vitro model. After the treatment of puerarin, the glucose consumption and cell viability were examined. Then, the protein expression of PI3K, Akt, pAkt, pFOXO1, FOXO1, PEPCK and G6pase in liver tissue and HepG2 cells were evaluated by western blot. RT-PCR was used to measure the content of PEPCK, G6pase mRNA in liver tissue. The results showed that puerarin administration significantly decrease the level of FBG, HbA1C and triglycerides in diabetic rats. Mechanistic research showed that puerarin activating PI3K/Akt is puerarin-mediated beneficial effects and can be reversed by inhibitor of PI3K or Akt. In conclusion, puerarin inhibits hepatic gluconeogenesis by activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Pueraria species are listed in the Chinese Pharmacopeia and are being used for the treatment of various health ailments and in protecting health. Puerarin, a chemotaxonomic marker of Pueraria, received investigational drug status for the treatment of alcohol abuse and listed in DRUGBANK database. The purpose of this review is to provide insights on health benefits of Pueraria, its bioactive constituents and molecular mechanisms. The information is retrieved from various databases. The most investigated plant part is tuber and the major bioactive constituents are isoflavones. The Pueraria is reported to possess a lots of health benefits on brain, liver, heart, kidney, bone, stomach, muscle, skin, and reproductive system. Pueraria also shown beneficial effects in postmenopausal women. In this review, the scientific information on Pueraria reported until May 2020 were analysed and summarized logically to appreciate its health benefits and to identify research gaps.

Gout is a disease with a high incidence and causing great harm, and the current treatment drugs are not satisfactory. In this study, novel water-soluble carbon dots (CDs) with anti-gout effect, named Puerariae lobatae Radix CDs (PLR-CDs), are reported. PLR-CDs were synthesized with an improved pyrolysis method at 300 °C, and their characterization was performed with multifaceted approaches, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultraviolet−visible (UV−vis) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. In addition, the biocompatibility of PLR-CDs was studied using the cell counting kit (CCK)-8 in LO2 cells and RAW264.7 cells, and the anti-gout activity of PLR-CDs was examined on animal models of hyperuricemia and gouty arthritis. The characterization of PLR-CDs indicated that they were nearly spherical, with diameters ranging from 3.0 to 10.0 nm, and the lattice spacing was 0.283 nm. The toxicity experiment revealed that PLR-CDs were non-poisonous for LO2 cells and RAW264.7 cells at concentrations below 250 μg/mL. The results of pharmacodynamic experiments showed that PLR-CDs could lower the blood uric acid level in model rats by inhibiting the activity of xanthine oxidase and reduce the degree of swelling and pathological damage of gouty arthritis. Thus, PLR-CDs with anti-gout biological activity and good biocompatibility have the prospect of clinical application for the treatment of gout.

The nutritive value of Pueraria phaseoloides (whole plant, full fruit stage, sun-dried) for the growing rabbit was studied by comparing diets containing an increasing incorporation of Pueraria (0 to 40%) in substitution to a basal mixture. The crude protein (CP) concentration of Pueraria was 17.6 % dry matter (DM), while neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre were 51 and 39%, respectively. A basal diet was formulated (51.1% NDF and 19.9% CP, on DM basis) and pelleted. Another 2 diets were obtained through substitution of 20 and 40% of basal diet by Pueraria. Faecal digestibility was measured between 42 and 46 d of age on 12 young rabbits per diet, fed ad libitum since weaning (35 d, 754±108 g). The substitution of 40% of basal diet by Pueraria reduced the digestibility of organic matter, crude protein and NDF from 69 to 55%, 80 to 68%, and 56 to 43%, (P

São poucas as pesquisas de tolerância de leguminosas de cobertura do solo a herbicidas visando selecionar produtos que sejam seletivos a estas plantas e que apresentem controle satisfatório das plantas daninhas. Com o objetivo avaliar a tolerância de quatro leguminosas a herbicidas, instalou-se um experimento em condições de casa-de-vegetação. As leguminosas foram plantadas em sacos plásticos de dois litros, contendo substrato homogeneizado com duas sementes das leguminosas Pueraria phaseoloides, Desmodium ovalifolium, Mucuna aterrima e Mucuna cochinchinensis. Os herbicidas aplicados foram 2,4-DB, em pós-emergência, e alachlor, imazaquin e pendimethalin em pré-emergência. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente ao acaso, em esquema fatorial de 4x4x5x4 com quatro espécies de leguminosas, quatro herbicidas e cinco doses de cada herbicida, respectivamente, repetidos quatro vezes. Aos trinta e seis dias após o plantio a Pueraria phaseoloides mostrou-se tolerante aos herbicidas alachlor e imazaquin e suscetível ao 2,4-DB e pendimethalin. O Desmodium ovalifolium foi suscetível aos herbicidas nas doses usadas, exceto o alachlor. A Mucuna aterrima apresentou tolerância ao alachlor, imazaquin e pendimethalin e foi suscetível ao 2,4-DB. Os herbicidas alachlor e imazaquin não foram fítotóxicos à Mucuna cochinchinensis, enquanto 2,4-DB e pendimethalin causaram severas injúrias.