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Chromones are a group of compounds widely distributed in nature with wide range of biological activities, including antitumor, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and so on. This review mainly summarizes chromones with antitumor activity in nature and classifies them into three groups, including chromanones, simple chromones, and fused chromones. They exhibit antitumor activity through broad range of mechanisms including cytotoxicity, antimetastasis, antiangiogenesis, chemoprevention, immune regulation, etc. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The sleep-improvement functional components of Prunella vulgaris L. and its phenolic acid fraction were characterized. • The sleep-improvement function of Prunella vulgaris L. was systematically studied on different insomnia models. • The sedative-hypnotic function and target of rosmarinic acid and salviaflaside were preliminarily clarified. Prunella vulgaris L. (P. vulgaris) has great application value and development prospects in improving sleep. In this study, we continued to evaluate the sleep-improvement function and mechanism of P. vulgaris from both chemical characterization and function based on sleep-improvement functional ingredients, rosmarinic acid and salviaflaside, screened out in the previous stage as the index components. The chemical constituents of P. vulgaris and its phenolic acid fraction were characterized by the UPLC-MSn technology. The quality of the sleep-improvement phenolic acid fraction of P. vulgaris was scientifically evaluated by fingerprints combined with quantitative analysis of rosmarinic acid and salviaflaside. The function of phenolic acid parts of P. vulgaris in improving sleep was verified by different insomnia models including the PCPA-induced insomnia model and surface platform sleep deprivation model. HE staining was used to observe the effect of P. vulgaris on the morphology of nerve cells in different brain regions. In vivo experiments and molecular docking explored the sedative-hypnotic effects of functional ingredients of P. vulgaris. All these results investigated the material basis and mechanism of P. vulgaris to improve sleep from multiple perspectives, which contribute to providing a basis for the development of functional food to improve sleep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ethnopharmacological relevance: TongMai Keli (TM) is a widely used traditional Chinese medicine preparation for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. It is composed of Puerariae Lobatae Radix (roots of Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi), Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix (roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge.), and Chuanxiong Rhizoma (rhizomes of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort.). The aim of this study is to identify the in vivo metabolites of TM, and to elucidate the pharmacokinetics of TM constituents and their metabolites. Materials and methods: For metabolites identification, TM was orally administered to rats (n=3), and the metabolites in plasma were identified by UHPLC/DAD/qTOF-MS analysis and β-glucuronidase hydrolysis. For pharmacokinetic study, rats (n=10) were treated with TM at a clinical dose, and the plasma was analyzed by LC/MS/MS. Results: A total of 25 metabolites from TM were identified in rats plasma. Glucuronide and sulfate conjugations were the major metabolic reactions, and produced 14 metabolites. The analytical method for pharmacokinetic study was fully validated with good linearity (r>0.99), wide dynamic ranges (6–6000ng/mL), and low variations (<14.3%). The plasma concentration–time curves of puerarin and nine metabolites were profiled. Conclusion: Isoflavones from Puerariae Lobatae Radix were the major metabolites in rat plasma after oral administration of TM. Puerarin and other isoflavone glycosides could reach their first C max within 30min, and were then rapidly eliminated, followed by their phase II metabolites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Compared to other melon types, oriental sweet melon (Cucumis melo var. makuwa Makino) is quite a different species with a poor shelf-life due to its typical climacteric behaviour, and thin pericarp and rind. In order to investigate the effect of ethanol application on postharvest storage at room temperature (24°C) and quality of oriental sweet melon, we measured physiological and quality changes induced by ethanol vapor or ethanol injection. Both ethanol treatments significantly inhibited internal ethylene concentrations (IEC), and no ethylene peak occurred when compared with control fruit during storage. However, both ethanol treatments maintained firmness but without significant differences between ethanol-treated and the control melons, except with ethanol injection on day 4. Soluble solids contents were not affected by either treatments. Glucose, fructose and sucrose contents showed a greater increase in ethanol-treated melon flesh and peel tissues than in controls after four days, especially sucrose, the main sugar in melons. Compared with the control, both ethanol treatments resulted in different profiles and composition of aromatic volatile compounds during storage. Both ethanol treatments resulted in a significant increase in ethyl acetate, hexyl acetate and 2-methyl-1-butyle acetate, and a decrease of 2,3-butanediyl diacetate, phenylmethyl acetate and 2-phenethyl acetate. The contents of total esters, including eight newly detected ethyl esters, were 2–4 fold higher in ethanol-treated melons. Ethanol injection more effectively increased accumulation of aroma volatile compounds for a short time, while the effects of ethanol vapor persisted during the storage. Both ethanol treatments increased alcohol acyltransferase (AAT) activity in melon flesh within four days, and levels peaked three days earlier but lower than in the control. There were no significant differences in activities of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and lipoxygenase (LOX) in ethanol-treated and control melons. In summary, postharvest ethanol application reduced the IEC of harvested oriental melons and improved levels of volatile aroma compounds, especially the ethyl esters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Two new iridoid glycosides, scrophularosides A and B (1 – 2), two phenylethanoid glycosides, scrophularosides C-D (3 – 4) and eight known compounds (5-12) were isolated from the roots of Scrophularia ningpoensis. Their structures were elucidated via the interpretation of spectroscopic methods, especially 2D NMR and mass analyses. Compound 1 was a novel iridoid glycoside which possessed a 5/6/7/6 ring system with an unprecedented trioxabicyclo [4.3.1] decane core. The anti-inflammatory potential of new compounds 1 – 4 was evaluated by determining their ability to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]