BACKGROUND: Fangji Huangqi Decoction (FHD) is a classical Chinese compound formula for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with satisfactory effects. FHD is reputed for its ability to tonify qi with strengthening exterior, and dispel wind while removing dampness, but its mechanisms and bioactive compounds for treating RA remain unclear.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the key target and bioactive compounds that were responsible for FHD-mediated improvements in RA.
METHODS: Using network pharmacology, we discovered that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) was the key target of FHD against RA. We utilized a ligand fishing technique with COX-2 immobilized magnetic beads to recognize the bioactive components that act on COX-2. Then we carried out an in vitro assay of COX-2 enzyme inhibition and in vivo assay of carrageenan-induced inflammation and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) to validate the bioactive effects of these captured ingredients. In the CIA assay, micro-CT, hematoxylin‒eosin staining and safranin-O/fast green staining were employed to assess the influence of the captured ligand on bone damage, pathological injury and cartilage destruction, respectively. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were used to detect the expression of COX-2 target in the ankle joint. interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in the serum were also detected by ELISA. Molecular docking was used to reveal the binding mechanism of the COX-2 protein and the captured ligand.
RESULTS: Eleven ligands, including tetrandrine, fangchinoline, cyclanoline, licochalcone B, ononin, calycosin and liquiritin, were specifically bound to the COX-2 protein, as determined by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS), seven of which were present at high levels. One ligand, tetrandrine, not only had a great inhibitory effect on COX-2 enzyme activity but also significantly reduced carrageenan-induced inflammation. In the CIA assay, middle- and high-dose tetrandrine (25 and 50 mg/kg) had effects comparable to those of FHD and celecoxib on ameliorating RA symptoms in CIA mice via the COX-2 target. Furthermore, compared with the low-dose tetrandrine group (12.5 mg/kg), the FHD group exhibited significantly lower arthritis index scores and serum IL-6 expression, although the content of tetrandrine in FHD extract solution was approximately 0.1% of that in the low-dose tetrandrine group.
CONCLUSIONS: Hence, we inferred that tetrandrine was the main bioactive component responsible for the effects of FHD against RA by suppressing the expression of the COX-2 protein and inhibiting the enzyme catalytic activity of COX-2. The reason for these effects may be that tetrandrine can interact with the residue Tyr385 of COX-2, the enzymatic catalytic site of COX-2 to transform arachidonic acid (AA) to prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and thereby reduce the production of prostaglandins and inflammatory metabolites. Moreover, in addition to tetrandrine, FHD contains other compounds that could supplement the activity of tetrandrine when FHD was used to treat RA, which is manifested the \"multi-component\" characteristic of how Traditional Chinese Medicine formulas treat diseases.

The aim of this study was to preliminarily determine the content of bioactive components in the fruiting bodies of four previously unstudied mushroom species: Aleuria aurantia, Phallus hadriani, Phanus conchatus, Geastrum pectinatum, their antioxidant activity and the content of polyphenols, minerals and heavy metals.
METHODS: Determination of active compounds by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was carried out in addition to thermogravimetric determinations, quantitative determination of total polyphenols by spectrophotometry using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, determination of antioxidant activity using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl radical (DPPH) and 2,2\'-azino-di-[3-ethylbentiazoline sulphonated] (ATBS). In addition, spectrometric analysis of selected minerals and heavy metals was performed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES).
RESULTS: The mushrooms analysed varied in terms of their bioactive constituents. They contained components with varying effects on human health, including fatty acids, oleamide, 1,2-dipalmitoylglycerol, (2-phenyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl)-methyl ester of oleic acid, deoxyspergualin, 2-methylenocholestan-3-ol, hexadecanoamide, isoallochan, 2,6-diaminopurine, and adenine. All contained polyphenols and varying amounts of minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, copper, silicon and manganese) and exhibited antioxidant properties of varying potency. No exceedances of the permissible concentration of lead and cadmium were observed in any of them.
CONCLUSIONS: All of the mushrooms studied can provide material for the extraction of various bioactive compounds with physiological effects. In addition, the presence of polyphenols and minerals, as well as antioxidant properties and the absence of exceeding the permissible concentration of heavy metals, indicate that these species could be interesting material in the design of foods with health-promoting properties, nutraceuticals or dietary supplements. However, the use of the fruiting bodies of these mushrooms requires mandatory toxicological and clinical studies.

Mulberry perishes easily due to its high water content and thin skin. It is important to extend the shelf life of mulberry by proper processing methods. In the present study, the influence of three drying techniques, including hot air drying (HAD), vacuum drying (VD), and vacuum freeze-drying (VFD) on the quality maintenance of mulberry was comprehensively evaluated. Bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and the sensory and volatile flavor compounds of mulberry have been researched. The results showed that VFD treatment maintained the highest anthocyanins (6.99 mg/g), total flavones (3.18 mg/g), and soluble sugars (2.94 mg/g), and exhibited the best DPPH· (81.2%) and ABTS+· (79.9%) scavenging ability. Mulberry also presented the lowest hardness and the greatest brittleness after VFD. Additionally, VFD maintained the optimal color and presented the best sensory attributes. Furthermore, 30, 20, and 32 kinds of volatile flavor compounds were detected in HAD, VD, and VFD, respectively, among which aldehydes, esters, and ketones were the most abundant compounds. This study indicated the potential application value of VFD for the drying of fruit and vegetable foodstuffs.

BACKGROUND: Abrus cantoniensis Hance (ACH), known as Jigucao (Chinese: ) has been used in ethnopharmacology for a long history with therapeutic effects for clearing heat, soothing the liver, especially in treating acute and chronic hepatitis which was very effective. In southern China, such as Guangdong and Guangxi, people often use ACH in soup or herbal tea as dietetic therapy.
OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to review ACH\'s ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and pharmacological activity systematically, at the same time, we also hope to provide more research avenues between traditional uses and pharmacological properties.
METHODS: Through PubMed, Wan Fang Database, CNKI, Web of Science, EBSCO Database, and Google Scholar search for relevant literature in both Chinese and English, the keywords \"Abrus cantoniensis, Abrus cantoniensis Hance, Jigucao, pharmacology, chemical constituents, clinical application, network pharmacology\" were used alone or combination.
RESULTS: Traditionally, ACH was believed to have the effect of soothing the liver, clearing heat, and detoxifying, often used to treat diseases of the liver and inflammation. Modern pharmacological research indicates that ACH has liver protection, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidant, immunomodulation, anti-tumor effects and so on. Whether it was a single chemical compound or an extract from ACH, studies have found that it has abundant pharmacological activities, these were the fundamental sources of traditional uses, like liver protection and anti-inflammation.
CONCLUSIONS: A systematic review found that modern phytochemistry and pharmacodynamic research reports on ACH are closely related to its traditional uses, especially its hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. Modern research has also further explored and expanded the effects of ACH, such as its anti-tumor effect. And all these efforts are gradually filling the gap between traditional uses and modern pharmacology. In general, the current research on the pharmacodynamic mechanism of ACH still needs further in-depth research, and the strategies adopted must also be further strengthened.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza) is a medicinal and food homologue of perennial plants derived from the dried roots and rhizomes of the genus Glycyrrhiza in the legume family. In recent years, the comprehensive utilization of licorice resources has attracted people\'s attention. It is widely utilized to treat diseases, health food products, food production, and other industrial applications. Furthermore, numerous bioactive components of licorice are found using advanced extraction processes, which mainly include polyphenols (flavonoids, dihydrostilbenes, benzofurans, and coumarin), triterpenoids, polysaccharides, alkaloids, and volatile oils, all of which have been reported to possess a variety of pharmacological characteristics, including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, neuroprotective, antidepressive, antidiabetic, antiparasitic, antisex hormone, skin effects, anticariogenic, antitussive, and expectorant activities. Thereby, all of these compounds promote the development of novel and more effective licorice-derived products. This paper reviews the progress of research on extraction techniques, chemical composition, bioactivities, and applications of licorice to provide a reference for further development and application of licorice in different areas.

Sweetpotato (SP, Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.) is a globally significant food crop known for its high nutritional and functional values. Although the contents and compositions of bioactive constituents vary among SP varieties, sweetpotato by-products (SPBs), including aerial parts, storage root peels, and wastes generated from starch processing, are considered as excellent sources of polyphenols (e.g., chlorogenic acid, caffeoylquinic acid, and dicaffeoylquinic acid), lutein, functional carbohydrates (e.g., pectin, polysaccharides, and resin glycosides) or proteins (e.g., polyphenol oxidase, β-amylase, and sporamins). This review summarises the health benefits of these ingredients specifically derived from SPBs in vitro and/or in vivo, such as anti-obesity, anti-cancer, antioxidant, cardioprotective, and anti-diabetic, evidencing their potential to regenerate value-added bio-products in the fields of food and nutraceutical. Accordingly, conventional and novel technologies have been developed and sometimes combined for the pretreatment and extraction processes aimed at optimising the recovery efficiency of bioactive ingredients from SPBs while ensuring sustainability. However, so far, advanced extraction technologies have not been extensively applied for recovering bioactive compounds from SPBs except for SP leaves. Furthermore, the incorporation of reclaimed bioactive ingredients from SPBs into foods or other healthcare products remains limited. This review also briefly discusses current challenges faced by the SPB recycling industry while suggesting that more efforts should be made to facilitate the transition from scientific advances to commercialisation for reutilising and valorising SPBs.

Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo (D. officinale) is one of the most important traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, celebrated for its abundant bioactive ingredients. This study demonstrated that the diurnal temperature difference (DIF) (T1: 13/13 °C, T2: 25/13 °C, and T3: 25/25 °C) was more favorable for high chlorophyll, increased polysaccharide, and total flavonoid contents compared to constant temperature treatments in D. officinale PLBs. The transcriptome analysis revealed 4251, 4404, and 4536 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in three different comparisons (A: 25/13 °C vs. 13/13 °C, B: 13/13 °C vs. 25/25 °C, and C: 25/13 °C vs. 25/25 °C, respectively). The corresponding up-/down-regulated DEGs were 1562/2689, 2825/1579, and 2310/2226, respectively. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of DEGs showed that the pathways of biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, carotenoid biosynthesis, and flavonoid biosynthesis were enriched in the top 20; further analysis of the sugar- and flavonol-metabolism pathways in D. officinale PLBs revealed that the DIF led to a differential gene expression in the enzymes linked to sugar metabolism, as well as to flavonol metabolism. Certain key metabolic genes related to ingredient accumulation were identified, including those involved in polysaccharide metabolism (SUS, SUT, HKL1, HGL, AMY1, and SS3) and flavonol (UGT73C and UGT73D) metabolism. Therefore, these findings indicated that these genes may play an important role in the regulatory network of the DIF in the functional metabolites of D. officinale PLBs. In a MapMan annotation of abiotic stress pathways, the DEGs with significant changes in their expression levels were mainly concentrated in the heat-stress pathways, including heat-shock proteins (HSPs) and heat-shock transcription factors (HSFs). In particular, the expression levels of HSP18.2, HSP70, and HSF1 were significantly increased under DIF treatment, which suggested that HSF1, HSP70 and HSP18.2 may respond to the DIF. In addition, they can be used as candidate genes to study the effect of the DIF on the PLBs of D. officinale. The results of our qPCR analysis are consistent with those of the transcriptome-expression analysis, indicating the reliability of the sequencing. The results of this study revealed the transcriptome mechanism of the DIF on the accumulation of the functional metabolic components of D. officinale. Furthermore, they also provide an important theoretical basis for improving the quality of D. officinale via the DIF in production.

CONCLUSIONS: The combined analysis of transcriptome and metabolome provided molecular insight into the dynamics of multiple active ingredients biosynthesis and accumulation across different cultivars of Lycium barbarum. Lycium barbarum L. has a high concentration of active ingredients and is well known in traditional Chinese herbal medicine for its therapeutic properties. However, there are many Lycium barbarum cultivars, and the content of active components varies, resulting in inconsistent quality between Lycium barbarum cultivars. At present, few research has been conducted to reveal the difference in active ingredient content among different cultivars of Lycium barbarum at the molecular level. Therefore, the transcriptome of \'Ningqi No.1\' and \'Qixin No.1\' during the three development stages (G, T, and M) was constructed in this study. A total of 797,570,278 clean reads were obtained. Between the two types of wolfberries, a total of 469, 2394, and 1531 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the \'G1 vs. G10,\' \'T1 vs. T10,\' and \'M1 vs. M10,\' respectively, and were annotated with Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) orthology identifiers. Using these transcriptome data, most DEGs related to the metabolism of the active ingredients in \'Ningqi No.1\' and \'Qixin No.1\' were identified. Moreover, a widely targeted metabolome analysis of the metabolites of \'Ningqi 1\' and \'Qixin 1\' fruits at the maturity stage revealed 1,135 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) in \'M1 vs. M10,\' and many DEMs were associated with active ingredients such as flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and so on. We further quantified the flavonoid, lignin, and carotenoid contents of the two Lycium barbarum cultivars during the three developmental stages. The present outcome provided molecular insight into the dynamics of multiple active ingredients biosynthesis and accumulation across different cultivars of Lycium barbarum, which would provide the basic data for the formation of Lycium barbarum fruit quality and the breeding of outstanding strains.

BACKGROUND: The genus Physalis L. (Solanaceae) is commonly used in the treatment of dermatitis, leprosy, bronchitis, pneumonia, hepatitis and rheumatism in China and other Asian countries.
OBJECTIVE: This article reviews the resources, cultivation, phytochemistry, pharmacological properties, and applications of Physalis L., and proposes further research strategies to enhance its therapeutic potential in treating various human diseases.
METHODS: We conducted a systematic search of electronic databases, including CNKI, SciFinder and PubMed, using the term \"Physalis L.\" to collect information on the resources, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, and applications of Physalis L. in China during the past ten years (2013.1-2023.1).
RESULTS: So far, a variety of chemical constituents have been isolated and identified from Physalis L. mainly including steroids, flavonoids, and so on. Various pharmacological activities were evaluated by studying different extracts of Physalis L., these activities include anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, antiviral, antineoplastic, and other aspects.
CONCLUSIONS: Physalis L. occupies an important position in the traditional medical system. It is cost-effective and is a significant plant with therapeutic applications in modern medicine. However, further in-depth studies are needed to determine the medical use of this plant resources and cultivation, chemical composition, pharmacological effects and applications.

Consumers are increasingly showing a preference for foods whose nutritional and therapeutic value has been enhanced. Probiotics are live microorganisms, and their existence is associated with a number of positive effects in humans, as there are many and well-documented studies related to gut microbiota balance, the regulation of the immune system, and the maintenance of the intestinal mucosal barrier. Hence, probiotics are widely preferred by consumers, causing an increase in the corresponding food sector. As a consequence of this preference, food industries and those involved in food production are strongly interested in the occurrence of probiotics in food, as they have proven beneficial effects on human health when they exist in appropriate quantities. Encapsulation technology is a promising technique that aims to preserve probiotics by integrating them with other materials in order to ensure and improve their effectiveness. Encapsulated probiotics also show increased stability and survival in various stages related to their processing, storage, and gastrointestinal transit. This review focuses on the applications of encapsulation technology in probiotics in sustainable food production, including controlled release mechanisms and encapsulation techniques.