Wei Gu

Many species of the genus Rosa were renowned for their high ornamental or edible value. Among them, Rosa rubus , a native species in China, boasts a pleasant aroma of its flowers that distinguishes it from roses, offering significant potential for further exploration. Nevertheless, research on the characteristics of the aroma components of its flowers remains scarce. This study initially utilized the headspace solid‐phase microextraction (HS‐SPME) coupling with gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) method to investigate the volatile components of fresh R. rubus flowers (RHS). Meanwhile, for comparison, the GC‐MS method was also employed to analyze the aroma components of essential oil (REO) and hydrosol (REH) extracted from fresh R. rubus flowers via steam distillation. Multivariate statistical methods were applied to compare and analyze the variations in volatile components between pairs. The antioxidant activities of the REO and REH were assessed using the 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), 2,2'‐azinobis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonate) (ABTS), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) methods, and their anti‐inflammatory activities using the Griess method. 265 volatile compounds were authenticated from R. rubus flowers, mainly including terpenoids, alcohols, aldehydes, etc. Among these, 184 compounds were identified from REO, 84 from RHS, and 98 from REH. These three extracts showed significant differences in metabolites. Among them, REO was dominated by terpenoids (34.60%) and alkanes (26.16%), RHS was dominated by aldehydes (30.94%) and terpenoids (27.41%), and REH was dominated by alcohols (58.76%). The aromatic characteristics of volatile compounds in REO, RHS, and REH were primarily retrieved from the Odor and FlavorDB databases. REO and REH were characterized by stronger woody and sweet notes, while RHS exhibited more prominent floral, green, and fresh profiles. The DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays were used to evaluate the antioxidant activities of the REO and REH. The results showed that REO exhibited higher antioxidant activity than REH. Correspondingly, in vitro anti‐inflammatory activity screening showed that REO exhibited more significant inhibitory activity on nitric oxide production compared to REH in the LPS‐induced RAW 264.7 cell model, with the IC ₅₀ value of 12.22 ± 0.03 µg/mL. The above results suggested that REO possesses a greater potential for development into health supplements and cosmetic products with antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory properties compared to REH. This study revealed the unique aroma components, aroma characteristics, and biological activity of R. rubus flowers, providing insights for its broader commercial applications.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a fatal respiratory disease caused by excessive inflammation. Chelerythrine chloride (CH), an isoquinoline alkaloid, exhibits diverse biological activities. The research focused on assessing CH’s therapeutic effects against LPS-mediated ALI in mice and its underlying mechanisms. The anti-inflammatory effects of CH were evaluated both in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells and ALI mouse model. An amount of 2.5 μM CH significantly inhibited the secretion of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-1β in RAW264.7 cells. CH treatment notably mitigated the thickened alveolar septa and reduced edema in LPS-induced ALI in mice. Activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) technology was employed to identify the targets of CH. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was one of the direct targets of CH identified by ABPP. CH could downregulate the production of pyruvate. Furthermore, CH reduced the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) while increasing the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. All results suggest that CH mitigates LPS-induced ALI by targeting GAPDH and inhibiting glycolysis. This study reveals preliminary anti-inflammatory mechanisms of CH and its therapeutic potential for ALI.

Three novel quinoline alkaloids, tetradiunitiside A ( 1 ), tetradiunitiside B ( 2 ), and glycohaplopine‐6‐ O ‐α‐ l ‐rhamnopyranoside ( 3 ), along with eight known ones ( 4–11 ), were isolated from the fruits of Tetradium glabrifolium . Their structures were inferred by IR, 1D NMR and 2D NMR, and HR–ESI–MS spectra. All the isolated compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial activities. Compounds 1–11 had potential antibacterial activities against Bacillus gasoformans , Bacillus subtilis , Pseudomonas solanacearum , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa , with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 100 to 3.125 µg/mL. Among them, compound 6 showed the most significant antibacterial activity against four strains of bacteria. These findings elucidated the pharmacological substance basis for the antibacterial activity of T. glabrifolium to some extent.

In the present study, a series of coumarins, including eight undescribed bis-isoprenylated ones Spinifoliumin A-H, were isolated and identified from the aerial parts of Zanthoxylum dimorphophyllum var. spinifolium (ZDS), a plant revered in traditional Chinese medicine, particularly for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The structures of the compounds were elucidated using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, complemented by ECD, [Rh₂(OCOCF₃)₄]-induced ECD, Mo₂(OAc)₄ induced ECD, IR, and HR-ESI-MS mass spectrometry. A network pharmacology approach allowed for predicting their anti-RA mechanisms and identifying the MAPK and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways, with EGFR as a critical gene target. A CCK-8 method was used to evaluate the inhibition activities on HFLS-RA cells of these compounds. The results demonstrated that Spinifoliumin A, B, and D-H are effective at preventing the abnormal proliferation of LPS-induced HFLS-RA cells. The results showed that compounds Spinifoliumin A, D, and G can significantly suppress the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. Moreover, molecular docking methods were utilized to confirm the high affinity between Spinifoliumin A, D, and G and EGFR, SRC, and JUN, which were consistent with the results of network pharmacology. This study provides basic scientific evidence to support ZDS’s traditional use and potential clinical application.

The genus Rosa is globally popular with well-established applications since it has a high edible and medicinal value. However, relatively limited research has been conducted on the composition and quality of wild Rosa fruits. The present study aimed to compare the properties and chemical components of five wild edible Rosa fruits, Rosa roxburghii, Rosa sterilis, Rosa laevigata, Rosa davurica, and Rosa sericea. The UPLC-ESI-MS/MS approach identified the key metabolites among the five Rosa fruits as flavonoids, phenolic acids, and organic acids. The main differential metabolites among the five fruits are flavonoids (22.29–45.13%), phenolic acids (17–22.27%), and terpenoids (7.7–24%), respectively. In total, 125 compounds served as potential markers for the five Rosa species. Differential metabolic pathways of five Rosa fruits were analyzed using the KEGG approach. Rosa laevigata fruits showed the highest total polysaccharide (TPS) content of 64.48 g/100 g. All the five Rosa extracts effectively decreased the levels of malondialdehyde while increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in the H₂O₂-induced HaCaT cell model, demonstrating high potential for antioxidant development. Our findings suggest that the five studied Rosa fruits exhibit biological activity and edible value worth further exploration.

Zanthoxylum motuoense Huang, native to Tibet, China, is a newly discovered Chinese prickly ash, which, recently, has increasingly attracted the attention of researchers. In order to understand its volatile oil compositions and flavor characteristics, and to explore the flavor difference between Z. motuoense and the common Chinese prickly ash sold in the market, we analyzed the essential oils of Z. motuoense pericarp (MEO) using HS-SPME/GC×GC-TOFMS coupled with multivariate data and flavoromics analyses. The common commercial Chinese prickly ash in Asia, Zanthoxylum bungeanum (BEO), was used as a reference. A total of 212 aroma compounds from the 2 species were identified, among which alcohols, terpenoids, esters, aldehydes, and ketones were the major compounds. The predominant components detected from MEO were citronellal, (+)-citronellal, and β-phellandrene. Six components—citronellal, (E,Z)-3,6-nonadien-1-ol, allyl methallyl ether, isopulegol, 3,7-dimethyl-6-octen-1-ol acetate, and 3,7-dimethyl-(R)-6-octen-1-ol—could be used as the potential biomarkers of MEO. The flavoromics analysis showed that MEO and BEO were significantly different in aroma note types. Furthermore, the content differences of several numb taste components in two kinds of prickly ash were quantitatively analyzed using RP-HPLC. The antimicrobial activities of MEO and BEO against four bacterial strains and nine plant pathogenic fungi were determined in vitro. The results indicated that MEO had significantly higher inhibitory activities against most microbial strains than BEO. This study has revealed the fundamental data in respect of the volatile compound properties and antimicrobial activity of Z. motuoense, offering basic information on valuable natural sources that can be utilized in the condiment, perfume, and antimicrobial sectors.

Two new ursane‐type triterpenes, eburnealactones A and B (1 and 2), one new flavonoid, eburneatin A (6), and one new phenylethanoid glycoside, chiritoside D (7), along with 9 known compounds (3–5, 8–13) were isolated from the whole plant of Primulina eburnea. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis (IR, UV, NMR, and HR‐ESI‐MS). All the compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities. Compound 1 showed significant cytotoxic activities against MKN‐45 cell lines and 5637 cell lines with the IC₅₀ values of 9.57 μM and 8.30 μM, respectively. Compound 1 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities against A549 and PATU8988T cell lines with the IC₅₀ values of 30.70 μM and 38.22 μM, respectively. Compound 6 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities against MKN‐45, HCT116, PATU8988T, 5637 and A‐673 cell lines with the IC₅₀ values of 19.69 μM, 16.44 μM, 18.07 μM, 11.51 μM and 18.15 μM, respectively. Compound 5 showed moderate cytotoxic activities against A549 cell lines with the IC₅₀ values of 24.06 μM.