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β,β-Dimethylacrylalkannin (DMAKN), a natural naphthoquinone found in Zicao, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), serves as the designated quantitative marker in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Despite its established role in assessing Zicao quality, DMAKN's biological potential remains underexplored in research. We investigated DMAKN's involvement in Zicao's anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) properties using a combination of HPLC content analysis and comprehensive bioinformatics. Subsequently, both in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to evaluate DMAKN's efficacy against HCC. Mechanistic investigations focused on elucidating DMAKN's impact on cell cycle regulation and induction of cell death. Integrated HPLC analysis and bioinformatics identified DMAKN as the primary active compound responsible for Zicao's anti-HCC activity. In vitro and in vivo studies confirmed DMAKN's potent efficacy against HCC. Notably, DMAKN demonstrated dual effects on HCC cells: inhibiting proliferation at lower doses and inducing rapid cell death at higher doses. Mechanistic insights revealed that low-dose DMAKN induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest through modulation of CDK1 and Cdc25C phosphorylation, while high-dose DMAKN triggered necrosis. Importantly, high-dose DMAKN caused a sharp increase in intracellular ROS levels in a short time, while low-dose DMAKN gradually increased ROS levels over a long period. Additionally, low-dose DMAKN-induced ROS activated the JNK pathway, crucial for cell cycle arrest, whereas high-dose DMAKN-induced necrosis was ROS-dependent but JNK-independent. This study underscores DMAKN's pivotal role as the principal anti-HCC compound in Zicao, delineating its differential effects and underlying mechanisms. These results demonstrate the potential of DMAKN as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of HCC, providing important information for further study and advancement in cancer therapy. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The ethanol extract of Elephantopus scaber (EEES) demonstrates anti-HCC activity both in vitro and in vivo. • A bioinformatics analysis of EEES based on network pharmacology has identified its active ingredients and its corresponding mechanisms. • The anti-HCC activity of EEES is attributed to the inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway. • Oral administration of EEES significantly suppresses tumor growth without causing any observable toxicity. • Our study demonstrates that Elephantopus scaber can serve as a therapeutic and dietary option for the prevention and treatment of liver diseases, including HCC. Elephantopus scaber , globally acknowledged for its edible and medicinal uses, remains underexplored despite the identification of active compounds. This research explores Elephantopus scaber extract's therapeutic capabilities in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Initial in vitro screenings using the MTT assay revealed that ethanol extract (EEES) inhibited HCC cell proliferation while exhibiting low toxicity to normal cells. Further explorations showed EEES induced cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and inhibited cell metastasis. A bioinformatics analysis using a network pharmacology approach identified the PI3K/Akt pathway as a key modulation for EEES's anti-HCC activities, validated through western blot analysis. In animal studies, EEES demonstrated the ability to inhibit HCC tumor growth in vivo with a high level of safety. In summary, our research positions Elephantopus scaber as a potent herb with anti-HCC activities and remarkable safety, offering promising prospects for the prevention and treatment of liver diseases, including HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The electrocaloric effect of compositionally modulated PbZr x Ti1-x O3/PbTiO3 superlattices are investigated within the framework of the Landau–Ginzburg–Devonshire theory, in which the misfit strain between the two slabs is taken into account. The impact of interfacial coupling strength, composition concentration and the thickness proportion of PbZr x Ti1-x O3 slab in one period on the adiabatic temperature change has been calculated. It is found that the ferroelectric superlattice displays pronounced electrocaloric effect and a large adiabatic temperature change ΔT = 14.5 K can be obtained, which is higher than that observed experimentally in PbZr0.95Ti0.05O3 thin films. Essentially, the ferroelectric superlattices provide an effective means to acquire good electrocaloric effect by adjusting the interfacial coupling strength, composition concentration and the thickness of each slab. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]