The incidence and mortality of strokes have increased over the past three decades in China. Ischemic strokes can cause a sequence of detrimental events in patients, including increased permeability and dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier, brain edema, metabolic disturbance, endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy, oxidative stress, inflammation, neuron death and apoptosis, and cognitive impairment. Thrombolysis using recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) and mechanical embolectomy with a retrievable stent are two recognized strategies to achieve reperfusion after a stroke. Nevertheless, rtPA has a narrow therapeutic timeframe, and mechanical embolectomy has limited rates of good neurological outcomes. EGb761 is a standardized and extensively studied extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves. The ginkgolides and bilobalide that constitute a critical part of EGb761 have demonstrated protective properties towards cerebral injury. Ginkgolides include Ginkgolide A (GA), Ginkgolide B (GB), Ginkgolide C (GC), Ginkgolide J (GJ), Ginkgolide K (GK), Ginkgolide L (GL), and Ginkgolide M (GM). This review seeks to elucidate the neuroprotective effects and mechanisms of ginkgolides, especially GA and GB, and bilobalide in cerebral injury following ischemic strokes.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancer and deadly disease worldwide. Despite substantial advances made in the treatment of gastric cancer, existing therapies still encounter bottlenecks. Chemotherapy, for instance, could lead to serious side effects, high drug resistance and treatment failure. Phytochemical-derived compounds from plants offer novel strategies as potent drug molecules in cancer therapy. Given the low toxicity and higher tolerance rate of naturally occurring compounds, the present study evaluated the effects of syringic acid on cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, mitochondrial membrane potential, apoptosis, and inflammatory responses in gastric cancer cell line (AGS). AGS cells were treated with various concentrations (5–40 μg/mL) of syringic acid for 24 h, after which cytotoxicity was analyzed. Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), antioxidant enzyme activities, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP, Δψ_m), cell morphologies, the expression of apoptotic markers and protein expression patterns were also investigated. Results indicated that syringic acid-treated cells developed anti-cancer activities by losing MMP, cell viability, and enhancing intracellular ROS. Syringic acid selectively developed apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner via enhanced regulation of caspase-3, caspase-9 and Poly ADP-ribose Polymerase (PARP) whereas decreasing the expression levels of p53 and BCL-2. Syringic acid also lowered activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) whereas Thio Barbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) increased. Syringic acid suppressed gastric cancer cell proliferation, inflammation, and induced apoptosis by upregulating mTOR via AKT signaling pathway. The study suggests syringic acid may constitute a promising chemotherapeutic candidate for gastric cancer treatment. Our study is the first report on the anti-cancer effects of syringic acid against gastric cancer cells via apoptosis, inhibition of inflammation, and the suppression of the mTOR/AKT signaling pathway.

Vacuolar invertase (VI) can irreversibly degrade sucrose into glucose and fructose and involve in plants abiotic-stress-tolerance. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is susceptible to drought stress, especially during the seedling stage. To date, the involvement of VI in drought tolerance in cucumber seedlings is in urgent need of exploration. In the present study, a cucumber vacuolar invertase gene, CsVI2, was isolated and functionally characterized. The results showed that (1) CsVI2 showed vacuolar invertase activity both in vivo and in vitro; (2) the transcript level of CsVI2, along with VI activity, was significantly induced by drought stress. Moreover, the expression of sucrose synthase 3 (CsSUS3) was increased and that of sucrose phosphate synthase 1 (CsSPS1) was decreased after exposure to drought stress, which was followed by an increase in sucrose synthase activity and a decrease in sucrose phosphate synthase activity; (3) CsVI2-overexpressing transformed cucumber seedlings showed enhanced vacuolar invertase activity and drought tolerance and 4) protein–protein interaction modelling indicated that a cucumber invertase inhibitor, CsINVINH3, can interact with CsVI2. In summary, the results indicate that CsVI2 as an invertase can regulate sucrose metabolism and enhance drought stress in cucumber seedlings.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), an important vegetable plant species, is susceptible to low temperature stress especially during the seedling stage. Vacuolar invertase (VI) plays important roles in plant responses to abiotic stress. However, the molecular and biochemical mechanisms of VI function in cucumber, have not yet been completely understood and VI responses to low temperature stress and it functions in cold tolerance in cucumber seedlings are also in need of exploration. The present study found that hexose accumulation in the roots of cucumber seedlings under low temperature stress is closely related to the observed enhancement of invertase activity. Our genome-wide search for the vacuolar invertase (VI) genes in cucumber identified the candidate VI-encoding gene CsVI1. Expression profiling of CsVI1 showed that it was mainly expressed in the young roots of cucumber seedlings. In addition, transcriptional analysis indicated that CsVI1 expression could respond to low temperature stress. Recombinant CsVI1 proteins purified from Pichia pastoris and Nicotiana benthamiana leaves could hydrolyze sucrose into hexoses. Further, overexpression of CsVI1 in cucumber plants could increase their hexose contents and improve their low temperature tolerance. Lastly, a putative cucumber invertase inhibitor was found could form a complex with CsVI1. In summary, these results confirmed that CsVI1 functions as an acid invertase involved in hexose accumulation and responds to low temperature stress in cucumber seedlings.

RET is a proto-oncogene encoding a receptor tyrosine kinase. RET regulates key aspects of cellular proliferation, differentiation and survival. The activation of RET via gene fusions or point mutat...

Further assessment of ultraviolet C light-emitting diode (UVC-LED) irradiation for influencing shiitake mushrooms’ (Lentinus edodes) volatile and sensory properties is needed. In this study, a comparison of UVC-LED irradiation treatment on the flavor profiles in various parts of shiitake mushrooms was conducted using gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) and sensory analysis. Sixty-three volatile compounds were identified in shiitake mushrooms. The fresh shiitake mushrooms were characterized by the highest values of raw mushroom odors. After UVC-LED treatment, the content of C8 alcohols decreased, especially that of 1-octen-3-ol, while the content of aldehydes increased, especially the content of nonanal and decanal. The score of fatty and green odors was enhanced. For fresh samples, the mushroom odors decreased and the mushroom-like odors weakened more sharply when treated in ethanol suspension than when treated with direct irradiation. The fruit odors were enhanced using direct UVC-LED irradiation for fresh mushroom samples and the onion flavor decreased. As for shiitake mushroom powder in ethanol suspension treated with UVC-LED, the sweaty and almond odor scores decreased and the vitamin D₂ content in mushroom caps and stems reached 668.79 μg/g (dw) and 399.45 μg/g (dw), respectively. The results obtained from this study demonstrate that UVC-LED treatment produced rich-flavored, quality mushroom products.