Iridoids are a class of active compounds that widely exist in the plant kingdom. In recent years, with advances in phytochemical research, many compounds with novel structure and outstanding activity have been identified. Iridoid compounds have been confirmed to mainly exist as the prototype and aglycone and Ι and II metabolites, by biological transformation. These metabolites have been shown to have neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, hypoglycemic, and hypolipidemic activities. This review summarizes the new structures and activities of iridoids identified locally and globally, and explains their pharmacokinetics from the aspects of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion according to the differences in their structures, thus providing a theoretical basis for further rational development and utilization of iridoids and their metabolites.

Platycodon grandiflorus is a widely used edible, traditional Chinese medicinal herb. It is rich in saponins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and other compounds. It contains a large number of fatty acids such as linoleic acid (up to 63.24%), a variety of amino acids, vitamins, and multiple essential trace elements. P. grandiflorus has several biological applications, such as in hypotension, lipid reduction, atherosclerosis, inflammation, relieving cough and phlegm, promoting cholic acid secretion, and as an antioxidant. Further, P. grandiflorus is often used in the development of cold mixed vegetables, canned vegetables, preserved fruit, salted vegetables, and cosmetics in northeast China, South Korea, Japan, and Korea. In this paper, the active chemical components and the health benefits of P. grandiflorus have been reviewed, providing new ideas for the further development of nutraceutical products to prevent and manage chronic diseases.

The incidence and mortality rate of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are continuously increasing. Recently, the important roles of long noncoding ribonucleic acid (lncRNA) zinc finger antisense1 (ZFAS1) in the development of many disease have been proved. However, the roles of ZFAS1 in NSCLC are still not completely understood. Thus, this study aimed to explore the potential roles and underlying mechanisms of lncRNA ZFAS1 in the progression of NSCLC. Our results demonstrated that lncRNA ZFAS1 expression was significantly upregulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Loss-of-function experiments revealed that lncRNA ZFAS1 inhibition could remarkably suppress NSCLC cells proliferation in vitro. Bioinformatic analysis and luciferase reporter assay revealed that lncRNA ZFAS1 directly interacted with miR-590-3p. Rescue experiments showed that miR-590-3p inhibitor reversed the cell proliferation function of lncRNA ZFAS1 knockdown in vitro. Furthermore, we confirmed that lncRNA ZFAS1 inhibited cell division cycle 42 (Cdc42) expression by regulating of miR-590-3p in NSCLC cells. Therefore, our study indicates that lncRNA ZFAS1/miR-590-3p axis is involved in NSCLC cell proliferation. It also suggests that lncRNA ZFAS1 is a putative tumor oncogene in NSCLC.

Objective: The R language was used to quantitatively compare the medication patterns of Mongolian medicines used for the treatment of liver diseases between China and Mongolia, with a view to provide a reference for the research and clinical application of Mongolian medicines in the treatment of liver diseases. Methods: The Mongolian medicinal prescriptions used for treating liver disease in Mongolia were collected from the Mongolian Pharmacy and Mongolian Treatment Guide for Common diseases in Mongolian Medicine, and those used in China were collected from the Inner Mongolia Standard for Mongolian Proprietary Medicine and Annotation of Mongolian Medicine Preparation Specifications. After the database was established, the frequency, properties, and tastes of the Mongolian medicines were analyzed, and R studio was used for the association rules analysis and cluster analysis. Results: A total of 27 prescriptions used in Inner Mongolia, China, were collected involving 105 Mongolian medicines, with a total frequency of 284. Among them, there were 18 high-frequency medicines (frequency ≥5), which had a frequency of 147, accounting for 51.76% of the total frequency. The medicine with the highest frequency (14, 4.93%) was Carthamus tinctorius L.. The analysis of the medicine data in China revealed 15 association rules. A total of 21 prescriptions used in Mongolia were collected, involving 92 Mongolian medicines, with a total frequency of 254. Among them, there were 17 high-frequency (frequency ≥5) medicines, with a total frequency of 124 (48.82%). The medicine with the highest frequency (13, 5.12%) was Carthamus tinctorius L.. The analysis of the medicine data in Mongolia revealed 79 association rules. In both regions, the high-frequency medicines used for treating liver disease commonly had cool or warm property with bitter or sweet taste. Conclusions: Carthamus tinctorius L., Terminalia chebula Retz., and other Mongolian medicines are commonly used to treat liver diseases in Inner Mongolia and Mongolia. The Mongolian medicines with cool or warm property and bitter, sweet, or astringent taste are commonly used to protect the liver.

Andai therapy is a traditional therapy combining body, mind, and language with Mongolian characteristics. In the form of singing and dancing, it is widely popular among people of all ages in Mongolian areas of Inner Mongolia. According to Mongolian medicine, Heyi is one of the three elements of human body, and it can maintain life activities, promote blood circulation, and improve the functions of the sensory and mental consciousness. Andai therapy stimulates the whole body nerves and Heyi through music and dance, improves Heyi and blood operation, strengthens physique, improves immunity, effectively promotes physical and mental health, and plays a role in preventing and treating diseases. Objective. In this study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to explore the mechanism of Andai therapy, so as to provide a new research direction for taking targeted prevention and treatment measures for diseases. Methods. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) on all its cases baseline plasma to the targeted metabonomics testing, the differential metabolites of the experimental group (receiving Andai therapy) and control group (without receiving Andai therapy), analysis-related metabolite function, and screening of metabolites and related pathways through adjusting mechanism to explore the related factors are compared, to study the mechanism of the influence of Mongolian medical Andai therapy on the metabolism of different healthy people. Results. The differences in metabolic numbers between the experimental group and the control group are 114, such as cyclohexylamine chlorinated acid, 2,4-2 aminobutyric acid bitter almond alcohol, l-methyl inosine, 2-picolinate, and 2-hydroxy-2-glutaric acid metabolite content of the control group that are significantly higher than the experimental group, experimental groups other substance content is significantly higher than that of the control group, and two groups metabolite content was obviously different. The number of differential metabolites between the female experimental group and the female control group was 119, and the number of differential metabolites between the male experimental group and the male control group was 48.

The study was designed to determine whether Mongolian medical warm acupuncture (MMWA) can alleviate neuropathic pain through regulating gut microbiota and inflammation-related pathways in the chronic constriction injury (CCI) rat model. Rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham, model, and treatment. A bilateral chronic constriction injury (CCI) was induced to establish a rat model of neuropathic pain. Rats in the treatment group received MMWA at the Heyi and Shen acupoints once daily for seven consecutive days. Pain-related behaviors were evaluated using mechanical pain threshold and thermal withdrawal latency measurements. The mRNA levels of c-fos in spinal dorsal horns were determined using real-time PCR. Gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing. Interleukin (IL)-1?, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-? were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis. MMWA could relieve behavioral symptoms (P<0.01). MMWA intervention significantly suppressed the expression of c-fos in CCI rats (P<0.05). The relative abundance of gut bacteria was disturbed in CCI rats, with the microbiota disorder ameliorated by MMWA. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that changes in gut microbiota were associated with the pentose and glucuronate interconversion pathway and secondary bile acid biosynthesis. The concentrations of IL-1?, IL-6, and TNF-? in CCI rats were increased (P<0.05), an effect that was reversed by MMWA intervention (P<0.05). The current study indicated that the MMWA could effectively alleviate neuropathic pain by modulating gut microbiota and inhibiting inflammation in the CCI rat model, suggesting that gut microbiota could be a promising potential biological target for treating neuropathic pain.