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The root of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum (RTH) has been widely used as a folk medicine in China. Meanwhile, its stems (STH) and leaves (LTH) are consumed as functional tea and food supplementation. Therefore, it is important to get a better understanding of the distribution of bioactive constituents in different parts of T. hemsleyanum.To develop a method for quantitative analysis of multiple bioactive constituents and comparing their distribution in RTH, STH and LTH.Ultra-performance liquid chromatography triple quadrupole ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTRAP-MS/MS) was used for the quantitative analysis. The quantitative data were further analysed by principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and partial least squares determinant analysis (PLS-DA).Forty-two constituents in RTH, STH and LTH, including 14 flavonoids, three phenolic acids, 15 amino acids and 10 nucleosides, were quantitatively determined. The contents of flavonoids and phenolic acids in LTH were significantly higher than those in RTH and STH. While the contents of amino acids and nucleosides in LTH were less than those in RTH and STH. Multivariate statistical analysis can significantly classify and distinguish RTH, STH, and LTH.The present method would be helpful for the quality control of T. hemsleyanum, and the results would be useful for the efficient utilisation of T. hemsleyanum in the future.

In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast genome of Lindera aggregate (Sims) Kosterm., an important Chinese herbal medicine. The complete chloroplast genome with a size of 152,714 bp in length, contained two inverted repeats (IRa and IRb) regions of 20,090 bp each, which were separated by a large single copy (LSC, 93,743 bp) regions and a small single copy (SSC, 18,791 bp) regions, the overall GC content was 42.84%. The chloroplast genome contained 122 genes, 77 protein-coding, 37 tRNA, and 8 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic tree showed that Lindera aggregate (Sims) Kosterm. has a close relationship with Lindera chuni.

This study aimed to investigate the hypolipidemic effect and mechanism of aqueous extract of Lindera aggregate leaves and Aloe vera (AqLL-A) in mice. Chemical profile of AqLL-A, serum/hepatic lipid profiles, and fecal TG were measured. The major components of AqLL-A related to hyperlipidemia, quercitrin and aloin were confirmed by HPLC. AqLL-A reduced serum/hepatic lipids, while elevated serum HDL, APOA1, fecal TG levels in hyperlipidemia mice. Furthermore, 20 potential biomarkers were detected by UPLC-QTOF/MS, and all of them were approached to a normal-like level after treatment of AqLL-A. Network pharmacology combined with metabolomics elucidate the related pathways involved in hyperlipidemia. The experimental validation indicated the differential expressions of CYP7A1, ACAT and HMGCR contribute to the hypolipidemic mechanism of AqLL-A. These results suggested that AqLL-A alleviated hyperlipidemia effectively, it might play synergistic therapeutic efficacies through regulating metabolic profiles and related signaling pathway.

The present study aims to investigate the influence of sex/age on depressive-like behaviors in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged mice model, and explore the underlying mechanisms. Tail suspension test and forced swimming test were used to evaluate the depressive-like behaviors. SIRT1 mRNA expression was assessed by PCR. Levels of 17β-estradiol (E2), SIRT1, NF-κB, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the behavior tests, under the same LPS stimulation, significant depressive-like behavior was observed in young male mice but not in young female mice, however, female mice were more likely to be depressed than male mice in the old age. Moreover, we found age-related depression difference existed only in female mice. In the experiments of mechanism exploration in old female mice, E2 improved LPS-induced depressive-like behavior, and simultaneously elevated SIRT1 levels and downregulated expressions of NF-κB and inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. Interestingly, ERα inhibition, not ERβ inhibition, abolished E2's function. Additionally, SIRT1 antagonist also reversed E2's effects on depressive-like behavior and the expressions of NF-κB and inflammatory cytokines. These results suggested that E2 could protect the old female mice from depression via E2/ERα/SIRT1/NF-κB signaling pathway. In other words, LPS-induced depression was associated with ER-α/SIRT1/NF-κB signaling pathway in old female mice. By comparing the results of mechanism exploration in old male mice and old female mice and the different expression levels of E2, SIRT1, NF-κB and inflammatory cytokines in young female mice and old female mice, we speculate that the age or gender-related depression difference may be associated with the different activation levels of the ERα/SIRT1/NF-κB signaling pathway.

We studied the relationship between primary productivity and plant and small mammal species richness in Inner Mongolian steppes, using data collected from 1980–1987. The productivity-plant species richness pattern was unimodal at our study site and consistent over time. Quadratic terms of regressions of plant species richness on plant aboveground biomass for the 7-year data were either significant (p 0·1). The relationship between small mammal species richness and plant aboveground biomass was linear and negative for 7 years (p