Cissampelos pareira is a medicinal plant with the potential effect of treating diabetes, commonly used by the Dai people in southern Yunnan Province. However, the wild resources of C. pareira are currently scarce. Endophytic fungi are a natural component of medicinal plants, while also serving as important repositories for discovering active natural products. In this study, we focused on 2-year-old C. pareira plants cultivated in potted and non-potted conditions. The community structure of endophytic fungi in the roots, stems, leaves, and flowers of two cultivation methods of C. pareira was investigated by using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and traditional culture methods. Through HTS, we discover that the richness and diversity of endophytic fungi in C. pareira are associated with its growth environment and plant tissues. The endophytic fungi richness of C. pareira showed significant differences between the two habitats. And significant differences existed in the diversity of root endophytic fungi of C. pareira compared to those in the stems, leaves, and flowers. Additionally, the richness of endophytic fungi in the stems showed significant differences from that in the roots, leaves, and flowers. The results obtained using traditional culture methods revealed 69 endophytic fungi strains, classified into 2 phylum, 4 classes, 11 orders, 23 families, and 69 genera. The fermentation products of the obtained strains were evaluated for in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, and the results demonstrated that 11 endophytic fungi strains exhibited an inhibition rate exceeding 80%. The above-mentioned study can provide a theoretical basis for a comprehensive understanding of the community composition and diversity of endophytic fungi in C. pareira.

Postharvest processing plays an important role in improving the quality and storage stability of mature fresh Amomum villosum Lour. (A. villosum). We investigated the effects of seven common drying methods (electric baking drying (EBD), heat pump drying, sun drying after heat pump drying, shade drying, hot air drying, sun drying, and freeze drying) on the volatile components of Amomum villosum. To discriminate different samples and identify key markers, chemometric techniques, including principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), were applied to Chromatography–Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) data of 70 identified metabolites. As an unsupervised method, PCA was first utilized to observe the overall clustering tendency of 21 samples, showing clear dispersion among seven groups with a slight overlap in the samples from sun drying after heat pump drying and hot air drying. To improve discrimination accuracy, the OPLS-DA model was further established as a supervised method. Its reliability was verified by permutation tests and cross-validation, which confirmed the absence of overfitting (R² and Q² intercepts with the vertical axis were <1 and <0, respectively). S-plots combined with variable importance in projection (VIP) values greater than 1 were used to screen differential metabolites, and camphor, borneol, and bornyl acetate were identified as the key discriminant markers for the samples obtained by different drying methods. Consequently, camphor, borneol and bornyl acetate, which are regarded as quality markers of A. villosum, were determined by gas chromatography (GC) to identify the optimal drying method for fresh A. villosum. The results showed that the content of the quality markers in A. villosum obtained by the seven drying methods outclass the standards of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.Comprehensively considering the experimental results and the convenience and operability of the drying process, EBD is the most suitable drying process of A. villosum for popularization and application. It is on account of the shortest drying time among the seven drying methods, which only took 21.63 h to complete the drying of fresh A. villosum. Besides that, the quality control parameters in the content of bornyl acetate, camphor, borneol and the essential oil of A. villosum obtained by EBD were far more than the standards stipulated in the pharmacopeia.

Objectives: Aspidopterys obcordata has been traditionally used by the Dai people in Xishuangbanna, China, for the prevention and treatment of renal calculi. This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of A. tomentosa extracts on calcium oxalate stone formation. Methods: The extracts of A. tomentosa (EA) were obtained via 95% ethanol reflux extraction, followed by multi-polar solvent extraction and elution. The HK-2 cell injury model induced by calcium oxalate and the renal calculus mouse model established by intraperitoneal injection of glyoxylic acid were established to assess drug efficacy. EA intervention was performed to evaluate its effects on calcium oxalate crystal deposition, renal tubular injury, cell apoptosis, and serum creatinine (Scr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels. Furthermore, the potential mechanism underlying, particularly the regulation of PERK/ATF4/CHOP signaling pathway and endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis, was investigated. Results: EA treatment significantly reduced renal calcium oxalate crystal deposition, alleviated renal tubular injury, inhibited cell apoptosis, and decreased Scr and BUN levels. Mechanistically, the protective effects of EA were mediated by the downregulation of the PERK/ATF4/CHOP signaling pathway and the suppression of endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis. Conclusions: These findings provide experimental evidence supporting that A. tomentosa can be developed as a promising agent for the prevention of nephrolithiasis.