Bioactive Compounds from Natural Sources: Discovery, Evaluation, and Applications.

Natural products are of paramount importance due to their extensive range of biological activities, making them indispensable in drug discovery and development [...

Food production and agricultural systems on the southwestern frontier of the Han Empire: archaeobotanical remains from the 2016 excavation of Hebosuo, Yunnan.

Unlabelled: Dian Basin in Yunnan province is an important center for both early agricultural production and centralized state formation. Settled agricultural villages are present in the province since at least the third millennium BC, and by the first millennium BC, the Dian Culture, a highly specialized bronze polity, flourished in the Dian Basin and surrounding area, until it was conquered by the Han in 109 BC. The increased deployment of flotation at recent archaeological excavations in Yunnan allowed the reconstruction of agricultural practices from the Neolithic to the early Bronze Age, documented at Baiyangcun, Haimenkou, and Xueshan among others.

Charring-induced morphological changes of Chinese "Five Grains": An experimental study.

Introduction: Charring process affects the preservation potential of seeds, resulting in limited perceptions of crop assemblages recovered from archaeological layers. Therefore, the specifics of the charring process deserve further investigation. Colloquially referred to as the "Five Grains" (), bread wheat (), foxtail millet (), broomcorn millet (), rice (), and soybean () represent a set of four major cultivated cereals and a pulse constituting crucial staple food in Chinese history and the most frequently discovered crops at archaeological sites in China.

Resveratrol in disease prevention and health promotion: A role of the gut microbiome.

Resveratrol is a bioactive polyphenolic compound mainly present in grapes and red wine. It is known to exert beneficial effects in various experimental settings, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, and immunoregulatory. Accumulating evidence suggests these health benefits might be, at least partially, attributed to resveratrol's role in protecting the intestinal barrier, regulating the gut microbiome, and inhibiting intestinal inflammation.

Optimization of Supercritical CO Extraction of Seed Oil Using Response Surface Methodological Approach and Its Antioxidant Activity.

Moringa () seed oil is an edible vegetable oil rich in unsaturated fatty acids. In this study, the supercritical CO fluid extraction method was employed to obtain the maximum yield of moringa seed oil. The effects of temperature, time, and pressure, three characteristics of extractions, on the extraction rate of Moringa seed oil were investigated by single factor test and response surface methodological approach.

Absorption and Transport Characteristics and Mechanisms of Carnosic Acid.

Carnosic acid (CA) is a phenolic diterpenoid mainly found in rosemary and sage. CA has been reported to possess health-beneficial effects in various experimental settings. Herein, a mouse experiment and Caco-2 single-cell model were used to understand the absorption and transport characteristics of CA.

Effects of the polysaccharide SPS-3-1 purified from Spirulina on barrier integrity and proliferation of Caco-2 cells.

Following ultrasonication combined with a hot water extraction, a new type of bioactive polysaccharide, SPS-3-1, was purified from Spirulina using ultrafiltration centrifugation and gel filtration chromatography. The structure of SPS-3-1 was determined with high performance gel permeation chromatography, gas chromatography, periodate oxidation, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and atomic force microscopy performance. SPS-3-1 is a homogeneous β-pyran polysaccharide with 1 → 2, 1 → 3, and 1 → 4 glycosyl bonds, mainly composed of d-ribose, l-rhamnose, l-arabinose, l-foucose, and d-glucose.

Structural and compositional analysis of a casting mold sherd from ancient China.

Casting had symbolic significance and was strictly controlled in the Shang dynasty of ancient China. Vessel casting was mainly distributed around the Shang capital, Yin Ruins, which indicates a rigorous centralization of authority. Thus, for a casting mold to be excavated far from the capital region is rare.

Selection for Oil Content During Soybean Domestication Revealed by X-Ray Tomography of Ancient Beans.

When and under what circumstances domestication related traits evolved in soybean (Glycine max) is not well understood. Seed size has been a focus of archaeological attention because increased soybean seed weight/size is a trait that distinguishes most modern soybeans from their ancestors; however, archaeological seed size analysis has had limited success. Modern domesticated soybean has a significantly higher oil content than its wild counterpart so oil content is potentially a source of new insight into soybean domestication.

Novel ent-Kaurane Diterpenoid from Rubus corchorifolius L. f. Inhibits Human Colon Cancer Cell Growth via Inducing Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis.

The tender leaves of Rubus corchorifolius L. f. have been consumed as tea for drinking in China since ancient times.

Identification of terpenoids from Rubus corchorifolius L. f. leaves and their anti-proliferative effects on human cancer cells.

The leaves of Rubus corchorifolius L. f. have been consumed as a herbal tea for a long time.

[Chemical Constituents from Ethyl Acetate Extract of Psidium guajava Leaves (II)].

Objective: To study the chemical constituents from ethyl acetate extract of Psidium guajava leaves.

Methods: The constituents were separated and purified by silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography and their structures were identified on the basis of physicochemical properties and spectral data.

Results: Eleven compounds were isolated and identified as 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone (1), phytyl-acetate (2), cubenol (3), eucalyptin (4), n-docosanoic acid-p-hydroxy-phenethylol ester (5),8-methyl-5,7- dihydroxy-flavonone (6), 6-methyl-5,7-dihydroxy-flavonone (7), betulinic acid (8), carnosol (9), quercetin (10), and 2,4,6-tirhydroxy- 3,5-dimethyl-diphenylketone-4-O-(6'"-O-galloyl)-β-D-glucoside (11).

Novel skeleton sesquiterpenoids isolated from guava leaves.

A chemical investigation of the plant Psidium guajava L., collected in Guangdong province, afforded two novel skeleton sesquiterpenoids 1 and 2. Compound 2 also known as isocaryolan-9-one was a new natural product.

Antibacterial oleanane-type triterpenoids from pericarps of Akebia trifoliata.

Three new oleanane triterpenoids, 2α,3β,29-trihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid (1), 2α,3β-dihydroxy-23-oxo-olean-12-en-28-oic acid (2) and 2α,3β,21β,22α-tetrahydroxyolean-12-en-28,29-dioic acid (3), and ten known ones, maslinic acid (4), arjunolic acid (5), oleanolic acid (6), 3-epi-oleanolic acid (7), stachlic acid A (8), serratagenic acid (9), gypsogenic acid (10), 2α,3β-dihydroxyol-ean-13(18)-en-28-oic acid (11), mesembryanthemoidigenic acid (12) and 12α-hydroxy-δ-lactone (13), were isolated from the pericarps of Akebia trifoliata, a new valued fruit crop in China. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. Compounds 8, 10, 11 and 13 were isolated for the first time from the genus Akebia.

Characterization and Benzo[a]pyrene Content Analysis of Seed Oil Extracted by a Novel Subcritical Fluid Extraction.

A novel continuous subcritical -butane extraction technique for seed oil was explored. The fatty acid composition, physicochemical properties, and benzo[a]pyrene content of seed oil extracted using this subcritical technique were analyzed. Orthogonal experiment design (L(3)) was adopted to optimize extraction conditions.

Phytoecdysteroids from the roots of Achyranthes bidentata Blume.

Two new phytoecdysteroids, (25S)-20,22-O-(R-ethylidene)inokosterone and 20,22-O-(R-3-methoxycarbonyl)propylidene-20-hydroxyecdysone, together with six known phytoecdysteroids 3-8 were isolated from the roots of Achyranthes bidentata Blume. The new structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic studies and chemical evidences. The absolute configuration at C-25 in the structure of known compound 3 was determined by chemical and spectroscopic means.

Archaeological soybean (Glycine max) in East Asia: does size matter?

The recently acquired archaeological record for soybean from Japan, China and Korea is shedding light on the context in which this important economic plant became associated with people and was domesticated. This paper examines archaeological (charred) soybean seed size variation to determine what insight can be gained from a comprehensive comparison of 949 specimens from 22 sites. Seed length alone appears to represent seed size change through time, although the length × width × thickness product has the potential to provide better size change resolution.

[Studies on the chemical components and antibacterial activity of essential oil from the leaves of Rubus corchorifolius].

Objective: To analyze the chemical components of essential oil from the leaves of Rubus corchorifolius.

Methods: The essential oil was extracted by steam distillation, and then an analysis was conducted by applying GC-MS and Xcalibur Software. K-B filter paper method was used for their bacteriostasish.

Association of -394C>G and -420C>G polymorphisms in the RETN gene with T2DM and CHD and a new potential SNP might be exist in exon 3 of RETN gene in Chinese.

Genetic variations of the human RETN gene are associated with metabolic phenotypes, including obesity, insulin sensitivity, diabetes, and coronary heart disease (CHD). There are few studies of two gene variants, -394C>G and -420C>G, in Chinese population. This study investigated the distribution of RETN gene, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in Chinese Han population and the association of the polymorphisms with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and CHD.

APM1 gene variants -11377C/G and 4545G/C are associated respectively with obesity and with non-obesity in Chinese type 2 diabetes.

In order to explore the different genetic backgrounds of non-obese and obese type 2 diabetes, we tried to genotype six SNPs (-11391G/A, -11377C/G, -10068G/A, G54V, Y111H and 4545G/C) in the adipose most abundant gene transcript-1 (APM1) gene in 338 type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients and 460 non-diabetic subjects by PCR-RFLP. Among these mutations, the 4545G/C mutation (rs1063539) contributed to the genetic risk of T2D in the non-obese group (OR=2.34, 95%CI: 1.