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Rehum emodi is an important medicinal herbal and has been reported to exhibit tremendous pharmacological potential. The present study was designed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of hydromethanolic extract of rhizome of Rehum emodi against the acute gastroenteriti bacterial strains. The antimicrobial activity was determined by micro-dilution method. Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH assay and cytotoxicity by MTT assay. Phytochemical analysis was carried out by LC/MS analysis. The results of the present study showed that hydromethanolic extract of rhizome of Rehum emodi (REE) exhibited significant antimicrobial activity against the gastroenteriti bacterial strains. The MIC values ranged from 25 μg/ml to 125 μg/ml. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of the REE was evaluated against the human breast cell line FR-2 and it was observed that REE exerted minimal cytotoxic effects on these cells with an IC 50 of 250 μg/ml indicating that this extract is non-toxic to human cells. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of several secondery metabolites such as anthroquinones (anthrone, emodin, aloe emodin and rhein) flavonoids (quercetin, and naringenin) and phenolics (sinapinic acid and gallic acid) which could potentially be responsible for the activity of the extract. In conclusion REE could potentially prove to be useful in the treatment of acute gastroenteritis., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Colorectal cancer has become one of the leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality throughout world. Hederagenin, a derivative of oleanolic acid isolated from the leaves of ivy (Hedera helix L.), has been shown to have potential anti-tumor activity. The study was conducted to evaluate whether hederagenin could induce apoptosis of human colon cancer LoVo cells and explore the possible mechanism., Methods: MTT assay was used for evaluating cell viability while Annexin V-FITC/PI assay and Hoechst 33342 nuclear stainining were used for the determination of apoptosis and mitochondrial membrane potential. DCFH-DA fluorescence staining and flow cytometry were used to measure ROS generation. Real-time PCR and western blot analysis were performed for apoptosis-related protein expressions., Results: MTT assay showed that hederagenin could significantly inhibit the viability of LoVo cells in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner by IC50 of 1.39 μM at 24 h and 1.17 μM at 48 h. The apoptosis ratio was significantly increased to 32.46% and 81.78% by the induction of hederagenin (1 and 2 μM) in Annexin V-FITC/PI assay. Hederagenin could also induce the nuclear changes characteristic of apoptosis by Hoechst 33342 nuclear stainining under fluorescence microscopy. DCFH-DA fluorescence staining and flow cytometry showed that hederagenin could increase significantly ROS generation in LoVo cells. Real-time PCR showed that hederagenin induced the up-regulation of Bax and down-regulation of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and Survivin. Western blotting analysis showed that hederagenin decreased the expressions of apoptosis-associated proteins Bcl-2, procaspase-9, procaspase-3, and polyADP- ribosepolymerase (PARP) were increased, while the expressions of Bax, caspase-3, caspase-9 were increased. However, there was no significant change on caspase-8., Conclusions: These results indicated that the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential might contribute to the apoptosis of hederagenin in LoVo cells. Our findings suggested that hederagenin might be a promising therapeutic candidate for human colon cancer.

Four novel phenolic compounds (1-4) were isolated from the leaves of Crataegus pinnatifida, along with three known ones (5-7). Their structures were elucidated as: methyl 4-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-3-[(2E,6E)-8-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienyl] benzoate (1), biphenyl-5-ol-3-O-β-D-glucoside (2), 3,4'-dimethoxy-biphenyl-5-ol-4-O-β-D-glucoside (3), (E)-6-(benzoyloxy)-1-hydroxyhex-3-en-2-O-β-D-glucoside (4), shanyenoside A (5), eriodectyol (6), and 2″-O-rhamnosyl vitexin (7), using a combination of mass spectroscopy, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, and chemical analysis. The antithrombotic activity of the isolated compounds was investigated on the transgenic zebra fish system. Among them, eriodectyol (6) potently inhibited the production of thrombus., (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Objective: To investigate the effects of Tounongsan () extract (TNSE) on proliferation and apoptosis of the human lymphoma cell line Raji and its possible mechanism of action., Methods: The viability of TNSE-treated Raji cells was measured by a 3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Cell apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry. The molecular mechanisms of TNSE-mediated apoptosis were further investigated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of the mRNA expression of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), Bcl-xL, Bcl-2-associated death promoter (Bad), caspase-9 and caspase-3. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expressions of NF-κB, Bad, cleaved caspase-9 and cleaved caspase-3., Results: TNSE inhibited Raji cell proliferation in dose- and time-dependent manners. After 48-h treatment with various concentrations of TNSE (125, 250 and 500 μg/mL), the apoptosis rates of Raji cell were 12.23%±1.98% (P<0.05), 20.97%±3.96% (P<0.01) and 30.4%±4.87% (P<0.01), respectively, compared with those of the control (6.02%±1.01%). RT-PCR demonstrated that NF-κB mRNA expression was significantly downregulated in Raji cells treated with 250 μg/mL TNSE for 48 h (P<0.05), while Bad, caspase-9 and caspase-3 mRNA levels were upregulated (P<0.05). Moreover, TNSE treatment resulted in downregulation of NF-κB protein expression and strikingly upregulated protein expressions of Bad, cleaved caspase-9, cleaved caspase-3 in a dose-dependent manner, as determined by Western blot., Conclusion: TNSE exhibits significant anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects in Raji cells, which may be involved in regulation of NF-κB and Bad, and activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3.