Plant Physiol Biochem
November 2024
Excess antimony (Sb) has been shown to damage plant growth. Rice plants readily absorb a large amount of Sb after a long period of flooding, yet the mechanisms underlying Sb toxicity in plants have not been solved. This study was conducted to explore the effects of Sb on the uptake of N and S, and monitor the concentrations of reduced glutathione (GSH) and enzymes associated with these processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFType III interferon (IFN-λ), a new member of the IFN family, was initially considered to possess antiviral functions similar to those of type I interferon, both of which are induced via the JAK/STAT pathway. Nevertheless, recent findings demonstrated that IFN-λ exerts a nonredundant antiviral function at the mucosal surface, preferentially produced in epithelial cells in contrast to type I interferon, and its function cannot be replaced by type I interferon. This review summarizes recent studies showing that IFN-λ inhibits the spread of viruses from the cell surface to the body.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEthnopharmacological Relevance: Sleep plays a critical role in several physiologic processes, and sleep disorders increase the risk of depression, dementia, stroke, cancer, and other diseases. Stress is one of the main causes of sleep disorders. Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma and Polygalae Radix have been reported to have effects of calming the mind and intensifying intelligence in Chinese Pharmacopoeia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSelenium (Se) is a microelement that can counteract (a)biotic stresses in plants. Excess antimony (Sb) will inhibit plant photosynthesis, which can be alleviated by appropriate doses of Se but the associated mechanisms at the molecular levels have not been fully explored. Here, a rice variety (Yongyou 9) was exposed to selenite [Se(IV), 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStress may trigger sleep disorders and are also risk factors for depression. The study explored the melatonin-related mechanisms of stress-associated sleep disorders on a mouse model of chronic stress by exploring the alteration in sleep architecture, melatonin, and related small molecule levels, transcription and expression of melatonin-related genes as well as proteins. Mice undergoing chronic restraint stress modeling for 28 days showed body weight loss and reduced locomotor activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimony (Sb) is a toxic metalloid, and excess Sb causes damage to the plant photosynthetic system. However, the underlying mechanisms of Sb toxicity in the plant photosynthetic system are not clear. Hydroponic culture experiments were conducted to illustrate the toxicity differences of antimonite [Sb(III)] and antimonate [Sb(V)] to the photosynthetic system in a rice plant (Yangdao No.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIndirubin is considered to have promising potential in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). However, poor aqueous solubility and low bioavailability limit its clinical application. We produced indirubin-loaded bovine serum albumin nanoparticles (INPs) and characterized their drug encapsulation efficiency, drug-loading capacity, capacity to release indirubin and short-term physical stability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic stressors represented risk factors for the etiology or exacerbation of several gastrointestinal diseases. The goal of the present study was to examine whether chronic restraint stress (CRS) could initiate and aggravate colonic inflammation, integrity damage and metabolic disturbance of rats. Firstly, increased inflammatory cytokines (interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and interleukin-10(IL-10)) and decreased tight junction (TJ) proteins (occludin and zonula occludins-1 (ZO-1)) in rat colon were observed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnthropogenic activities such as mining, industrialization and subsequent emission of industrial waste, and agricultural practices have led to an increase in the accumulation of metal(loid)s in agricultural soils and crops, which threatens the health of people; the risk is more pronounced for individuals whose survival depends on food sources from several contaminated regions. Selenium (Se) is an element essential for the normal functioning of the human body and is a beneficial element for plants. Se deficiency in the diet is a common issue in many countries around the world, such as China and Egypt.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper studies the characteristics and controlling factors of nanopores in organic-rich shale in the Niutitang Formation. Six samples were collected from the bottom of the formation at the Jiumen Outcrop, Guizhou Province. Experiments were conducted to investigate the pore structures of these high-maturity shale samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFShales are widely developed in the strata of the Carboniferous-Permian coal measures in the Qinshui Basin, and these shales have great potential for shale gas exploration. In this paper, the shales of the Taiyuan Formation in the eastern Qinshui Basin are studied. The shales of the Taiyuan Formation in the study area are investigated through field investigation, organic geochemical testing, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high pressure mercury injection, low temperature liquid nitrogen adsorption and PetroMod simulation and through other tests to study the reservoir characteristics, such as organic geochemistry, mineralogy, petrology, pore permeability, and gas burial history.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDue to breakthroughs in the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the Sichuan Basin and multiple strata around the basin, the northern part of Guizhou adjacent to the Sichuan Basin has become a key area for shale gas exploration. Compared with the Longmaxi Formation, the Niutitang Formation displays greater TOC (total organic carbon) content, depositional thickness and distribution area, but the details remain undetermined. In the study area, the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation typically has high TOC content, maturity and brittle mineral content.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe molecular composition of organic matter formed during pyrolysis is complex. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is a good technique to investigate the coal chemical structural evolution. However, reports on the effects of chemical structure on the -alkane yields and their relative functional groups are scarce in the literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince selenium (Se) was shown to be an essential element for humans in 1957, the biofortification of Se to crops via foliar spraying or soil fertilization has been performed for several decades to satisfy the daily nutritional need of humans. Appropriate doses of Se were found to counteract a number of abiotic and biotic stresses, such as exposure to heavy metals (metalloids) (HMs), via influencing the regulation of antioxidant systems, by stimulation of photosynthesis, by repair of damaged cell structures and functions, by regulating the metabolism of some substances and the rebalancing of essential elements in plant tissues. However, few concerns were paid on why and how Se could reduce the uptake of a variety of HMs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe co-contamination of arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) in soils is a common problem. Selenium (Se) can reduce the uptake of As and Cd in plants, and in practice, the alternate wetting and drying is a common culture mode in rice production. However, it is unknown whether Se can efficiently reduce As and Cd concentrations in crops suffering from a high-level contamination of As and Cd under different soil water conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimonite [Sb(III)] and antimonate [Sb(V)] are known to have different toxicity to plants, but the corresponding mechanisms are not fully understood. This study was conducted to investigate reactive oxygen species (ROS), antioxidant systems, and levels of certain essential elements in response to exposure to Sb(III) and Sb(V). Results showed that exposure to Sb(V) caused oxidative stress in a rice plant (Yangdao No.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimony (Sb) is a toxic element for both human and plants, but the toxic responses of plants to different forms of antimony and the associated mechanisms are unknown. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of different forms of Sb [Sb(III) and Sb(V)] on the root exudates, root endogenous hormones, root cell wall components and antioxidant systems in rice plant via three hydroponic experiments. The results showed that Sb(III) displayed a higher toxicity than Sb(V) to the plant which accumulated much more Sb in its tissues under Sb(III) exposure than that under Sb(V) exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSucrose non-fermenting related protein kinases (SnRKs) are a ubiquitous Ser/Thr protein kinase in the plant kingdom. These kinases play important roles in plant growth, development, metabolism and resistance to environmental stresses. The soybean (Glycine max L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci
May 2017
Ganoderic acid A (GAA), an active triterpenoid of the traditional Chinese herbal medicine Lingzhi, has been reported to exhibit antinociceptive, antioxidative, and anti-cancer activities. The present study aims to establish a sensitive and rapid UPLC-MS/MS method for studying the plasma and brain pharmacokinetics of GAA in rats. The analytes were separated on a C18 column eluted with a gradient mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Ethnopharmacol
December 2016
Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The Chinese herbal medicine He-Ye, the leaves of the lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) plant, is traditionally used in China for the treatment of sunstroke, thirst, diarrhea, and fever. Currently, the leaf is used not only as an herbal tea to reduce lipid level and control body weight, but also as a major ingredient in some lipid-lowering Chinese patented medicines. Our previous study demonstrated that the alkaloid fraction (AF) of the herb has a strong inhibitory effect on CYP2D6 isoenzyme activity in vitro.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLotus leaves have been used traditionally as both food and herbal medicine in Asia. Open-field, sodium pentobarbital-induced sleeping and light/dark box tests were used to evaluate sedative-hypnotic and anxiolytic effects of the total alkaloids (TA) extracted from the herb, and the neurotransmitter levels in the brain were determined by ultrafast liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The effects of picrotoxin, flumazenil, and bicuculline on the hypnotic activity of TA, as well as the influence of TA on Cl(-) influx in cerebellar granule cells, were also investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVitrinite in coal, the mainly generating methane maceral, plays an important role in hydrocarbon generation of coal. This study aims at obtaining products formation mechanism of vitrinite pyrolysis, and hence determining the chemical bond, molecular liquefaction activity, and reactions mechanism of methane and C2-4 during pyrolysis. The ReaxFF molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was carried out at temperature of 1500 K in order to investigate the mechanism of vitrinite pyrolysis.
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