Phytochemical investigation on the pericarps of Illicium difengpi lead to the isolation and structure elucidation of a new sesquiterpene, sesquicaranoic acid C (1), a new neolignan, difengpiol C (2), and 10 known compounds. The structures and absolute configurations of two new compounds were determined by a combination of NMR and CD spectroscopic analyses. All isolates were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 cells.
Ethnopharmacological relevance: Callicarpa longissima is a typical Yao ethnomedicine that has been used to treat arthritis in China. Our previous study found that the dichloromethane extract (DCME) of C. longissima showed anti-inflammatory activity in vitro. However, the anti-inflammatory mechanism and detailed chemical composition of DCME remain unclear, which lead to the original interest of this study.Aim of the study: The study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory properties of the DCME from C. longissima and further explore the accurate chemical components responsible for this active extract.Materials and methods: The anti-inflammatory activity of DCME in vivo was tested with carrageenan-induced mice paw edema model. Its anti-inflammatory mechanism was explored with LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages model. The compounds in DCME were isolated by repeated column chromatography and their structures were identified on the basis of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The anti-inflammatory activities of the isolates in vitro were also tested by suppressing releases of inflammatory mediators (NO, IL-6 and TNF-α) in RAW264.7 macrophages model. In addition, the molecular docking analysis, which evaluated the potential interaction between the compounds and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), was performed.Results: DCME effectively alleviated the mice paw edema induced by carrageenan. In LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, DCME significantly decreased the production of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), down-regulated the expression of TLR4 and myeloid differentiation factor 88, inhibited the phosphorylation of alpha inhibitor of NF-κB (IκBα), NF-κB p65, and degradation of IκBα. Twelve diterpenoid phenols were identified from DCME, and they not only showed different inhibitory effects on the production of NO, IL-6 and TNF-α in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, but also could bind to TLR4 and NF-κB as analyzed by molecular docking.Conclusions: Taken together, the dichloromethane extract (DCME) from C. longissima could inhibit inflammatory response both in vitro and in vivo, which is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of abundant diterpenoid phenols through inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway, and might be a promising agent for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Abstract Due to the identification functionality, identity authentication is the first and primary security step in many information systems. There exist many works dedicated to giving secure identity authentication. However, most of the existing schemes suffer from at least one of the following problems: heavy account management, single point of failure, and privacy leakage. To tackle these challenges, we propose two blockchain-based identity authentication schemes in this paper. One is based on the famous Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol and is efficient but with user-verifier interaction. The other utilizes the ring signature, which is non-interactive with a small computational cost. Besides the traditional security properties, such as unforgeability and identity anonymity, our proposed schemes can hold non-transferability, i.e., the verifier cannot prove the user's identity authentication to any third party. At last, the extensive experimental results demonstrate that our proposals are practical and efficient.
Abstract Twin reversed arterial perfusion sequence, a severe and unique complication of monochorionic multiple pregnancy, is characterized by vascular anastomosis and abnormal or absent cardiac development in the twins. This article reviewed its pathogenesis, prenatal ultrasound diagnosis, and management. The pump twin’s chances for survival can be maximized by proper management. The optimal timing of the interventions remains a debate, although the latest studies encourage early intervention, i.e., in the first trimester. The most preferred approach is to interrupt the vascular supply to the acardius, such as through ultrasound-guided laser coagulation and radiofrequency ablation of the intrafetal vessels.
Four compounds were isolated from the dichloromethane extract of stem bark of Illicium difengpi by using various column chromatographic methods.Their structures were identified as difengpienol D (1), (E)-3,4-methylenedioxophenyl propenal (2), dihydrocubebin (3) and pestalotiopyrone G (4) respectively by mass spectrometry (MS), infrared spectroscopy (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), etc. and quantum chemical calculation method.Compound 1 was an unusual new compound formed by acyclic monoterpenoid and phenylpropanoid through C-C chain, and was also the first monoterpene-phenylpropanoid isolated from the genus Illicium.It showed weak anti-inflammatory activity.
This work aimed to evaluated the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of extracts from Callicarpa longissima. The antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH method , the results indicated that the dichloromethane extract, ethyl acetate extract and n-butanol extract showed the strongest antioxidant capacity with the IC50 values of 12.39 μg/mL, 10.51μg/mL and 11.36 μg/mL. The anti-inflammatory activities was measured by NO assay, which showed the dichloromethane extract and ethyl acetate extract possess a significantly NO inhibition with the IC50 values of 8.75 μg/mL and 7.25 μg/mL. The results provide theoretical basis for development and utilization of this plant.
Callicarpalongissima has been used as a Yao folk medicine to treat arthritis for years in China, although its active anti-arthritic moieties have not been clarified so far. In this study, two natural phenolic diterpenoids with anti-rheumatoid arthritis (RA) effects, rosmanol and carnosol, isolated from the medicinal plant were reported on for the first time. In type II collagen-induced arthritis DBA/1 mice, both rosmanol (40 mg/kg/d) and carnosol (40 mg/kg/d) alone alleviated the RA symptoms, such as swelling, redness, and synovitis; decreased the arthritis index score; and downregulated the serum pro-inflammatory cytokine levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). Additionally, they blocked the activation of the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. Of particular interest was that when they were used in combination (20 mg/kg/d each), the anti-RA effect and inhibitory activity on the TLR4/NF-κB/MAPK pathway were significantly enhanced. The results demonstrated that rosmanol and carnosol synergistically alleviated RA by inhibiting inflammation through regulating the TLR4/NF-κB/MAPK pathway, meaning they have the potential to be developed into novel, safe natural combinations for the treatment of RA.