Resina Draconis is a highly valued traditional medicine widely used in Arabia since ancient times, and it has been commonly used as an antidiarrheic, antimicrobial, antiulcer, blood circulation promoter as well as an anti-inflammatory agent. The tree source from which this medicine orignates grows extremely slowly, producing a very low yield of Resina Draconis. To meet the increasing market demand, artificial methods for stimulating Resina Draconis formation have been developed and applied. However, the chemical differences between artificially induced Resina Draconis (AIRD) and natural Resina Draconis (NRD) have been rarely studied. The aim of this research was to explore and identify the chemical constituents of AIRD and NRD using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) based chemical profiling. A total of 56 chromatographic peaks were detected in AIRD, of these, 44 peaks have had their structures tentatively characterized based on high-resolution mass spectra (HRMS) data, fragmentation ions information, reference standards data and literature review. In total, 40 peaks were found both in AIRD and NRD. The potential chemical transformation mechanisms active in Resina Draconis during formation were explored. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of the chemical profiles of both AIRD and NRD. Furthermore, these findings are expected to provide a rational basis for the quality assessment of AIRD and the use of AIRD as a substitute for NRD.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive killer worldwide with high incidence and mortality. The herb Chloranthus fortunei (A. Gray) Solms-Laub is known as "Si Ji Feng" and is classified as a Feng-type medicine in classic Yao medicines. According to Yao's medical beliefs, Chloranthus fortunei has the functions of dispelling Feng, regulating qi, detoxifying, promoting blood circulation, etc. Folk uses its decoctions to treat stagnant liver conditions, such as liver abscesses, cirrhosis, hepatitis, and liver cancer. However, the bioactivity and mechanisms of Chloranthus fortunei extract against HCC have not been reported. To investigate the anti-HCC bioactivity and potential mechanism of the extract of Chloranthus fortunei (CFS). Using 70% ethanol for reflux extraction of CFS resulted in the CFS ethanol extract, followed by sequential extractions with petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol, yielding four fractions. The CCK-8 assay was utilized to examine the cytotoxic effects of 4 fractions on MHCC97-H and HepG2 cells, exploring the most effective component, namely petroleum ether extracts of CFS (PECFS). The major active ingredients of PECFS were identified using LC/MS technology, and the impact on cell proliferation and apoptosis in HCC cells was studied. The key genes and proteins in the pathway were validated using RT-PCR and Western blotting. BALB/c nude mice were chosen for tumor xenotransplantation and PECFS therapy. hinders the proliferation of HCC cells and promotes apoptosis. Among the four fractions, it was found that PECFS have the highest antiproliferative activity against MHCC97-H and HepG2 cells (IC₅₀ = 13.86, 10.55 μg/mL), with sesquiterpene compounds being the primary active constituents. The antiproliferative activity of PECFS on HCC cells was linked to the inhibition of cell cloning, invasion, and metastasis abilities, as well as the arrest of the cell cycle at the G2/M phase. Additionally, exerts pro-apoptotic effects on HCC cells by upregulating the pro-apoptotic protein Bax, downregulating the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, and activating the expression of the Caspase family. Moreover, protein and m-RNA expression data showed that PECFS inhibits HCC cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis by regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Besides, after PECFS treatment, tumor growth in nude mice was suppressed. PECFS can inhibit the viability of HCC cells by acting on the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, demonstrating anti-tumor potential. This study's findings suggest that PECFS may represent a promising source of novel agents for liver cancer treatment, providing scientific evidence for the traditional application of CFS in treating HCC.

Background: To explore the community composition and diversity of the endophytic fungi in Taxillus chinensis, samples of the parasites growing on seven different hosts, Morus alba, Prunus salicina, Phellodendron chinense, Bauhinia purpurea, Dalbergia odorifera, Diospyros kaki and Dimocarpus longan, were isolated. The strains were identified by their morphological characteristics and their internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. Results: 150 different endophytic fungi were isolated from the haustorial roots of the seven hosts with a total isolation rate of 61.24%. These endophytic fungi were found to belong to 1 phylum, 2 classes, 7 orders, 9 families, 11 genera and 8 species. Among of them, Pestalotiopsis, Neopestalotiopsis and Diaporthe were the dominant genera, accounting for 26.67, 17.33 and 31.33% of the total number of strains, respectively. Diversity and similarity analyses showed that the endophytic fungi isolated from D. longan (H’=1.60) had the highest diversity index. The highest richness indexes were found in M. alba and D. odorifera (both 2.23). The evenness index of D. longan was the highest (0.82). The similarity coefficient of D. odorifera was the most similar to D. longan and M. alba (33.33%), while the similarity coefficient of P. chinense was the lowest (7.69%) with M. alba and D. odorifera. Nine strains showed antimicrobial activities. Among them, Pestalotiopsis sp., N. parvum and H. investiens showed significant antifungal activity against three fungal phytopathogens of medicinal plants. At the same time, the crude extracts from the metabolites of the three endophytic fungi had strong inhibitory effects on the three pathogens. Pestalotiopsis sp., N. parvum and H. investiens had the strongest inhibitory effects of S. cucurbitacearum, with inhibitory rates of 100%, 100% and 81.51%, respectively. In addition, N. parvum had a strong inhibitory effect on D. glomerata and C. cassicola, with inhibitory rates of 82.35% and 72.80%, respectively. Conclusions: These results indicate that the species composition and diversity of endophytic fungi in the branches of T. chinensis were varied in the different hosts and showed good antimicrobial potential in the control of plant pathogens.

• Heat processing plays a key role in chemical profiles and health benefits of fresh SG. • Fresh SG exhibits significant anti‐inflammatory effect based on PDE4 inhibition. • The heat-labile quality and safety aspects of four astilbin isomers are compared.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is one of the primary pathogenic contaminants of foods, contributing to several foodborne outbreaks in recent years. Here, we report the complete genome sequences of two non-O157 STEC strains isolated from an outbreak of diarrhea in the city of Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.