Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is a newly discovered swine enteropathogenic coronavirus with worldwide distribution. However, efficient strategies to prevent or treat the infection remain elusive. Our in vitro study revealed that ergosterol peroxide (EP) from the mushroom Cryptoporus volvatus has efficient anti-PDCoV properties. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of EP as a treatment for PDCoV in vivo and elucidate the possible mechanisms. Seven-day-old piglets were infected with PDCoV by oral administration in the presence or absence of EP. Piglets infected with PDCoV were most affected, whereas administration of EP reduced diarrhea incidence, alleviated intestinal lesion, and decreased viral load in feces and tissues. EP reduced PDCoV-induced apoptosis and enhanced tight junction protein expressions in the small intestine, maintaining the integrity of the intestinal barrier. EP showed immunomodulatory effect by suppressing PDCoV-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines and the activation of IκBα and NF-κB p65, and upregulating IFN-I expression. Knockdown of p38 inhibited PDCoV replication and alleviated PDCoV-induced apoptosis, implying that EP inhibited PDCoV replication and alleviated PDCoV-induced apoptosis via p38/MAPK signaling pathway. Collectively, ergosterol peroxide can protect piglets from PDCoV, revealing the potential of EP for development as a promising strategy for treating and controlling the infection of PDCoV.

Background: Medicinal plant is a main source of cancer drug development. Some of the cycloartane triterpenoids isolated from the aerial part of Cimicifuga dahurica showed cytotoxicity in several cancer cell lines. It is of great interest to examine the antiproliferative activity and mechanisms of total triterpenoid glycosides of C. dahurica and therefore might eventually be useful in the prevention or treatment of Hepatoma. Methods: The total glycosides from the aerial part (TGA) was extracted and its cytotoxicity was evaluated in HepG2 cells and primary cultured normal mouse hepatocytes by an MTT assay. Morphology observation, Annexin V-FITC/PI staining, cell cycle analysis and western blot were used to further elucidate the cytotoxic mechanism of TGA. Implanted mouse H₂₂ hepatoma model was used to demonstrate the tumor growth inhibitory activity of TGA in vivo. Results: The IC₅₀ values of TGA in HepG2 and primary cultured normal mouse hepatocytes were 21 and 105 μg/ml, respectively. TGA induced G₀/G₁ cell cycle arrest at lower concentration (25 μg/ml), and triggered G₂/M arrest and apoptosis at higher concentrations (50 and 100 μg/ml respectively). An increase in the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 was implicated in TGA-induced apoptosis. In addition, TGA inhibited the growth of the implanted mouse H₂₂ tumor in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: TGA may potentially find use as a new therapy for the treatment of hepatoma.

A sesquiterpene coumarin, sinkiangenorin E, consisting of a novel bicyclo[4.3.1]decane-type sesquiterpene system, was isolated from the seeds of Ferula sinkiangensis. The structure of sinkiangenorin E including the relative stereochemistry and the absolute configuration was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. The new compound showed cytotoxic activity against AGS cells (IC₅₀, 12.7 μM) and inhibiting effect against influenza A H₁N₁ (IC₅₀, 4.0 μM), which provided important clues for the study on the bioactivities of this type of sesquiterpene coumarins.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a class of natural toxins with hepatotoxicity, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. They are endogenous and adulterated toxic components widely found in food and herbal products. In this study, a sensitive and efficient ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was used to detect the PAs in 386 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020). The estimated daily intake (EDI) of 0.007 μg/kg body weight (bw)/day was adopted as the safety baseline. The margin of exposure (MOE) approach was applied to evaluate the chronic exposure risk for the genotoxic and carcinogenic potential of PAs. Results showed that PAs was detected in 271 out of 386 samples with a content of 0.1–25,567.4 μg/kg, and there were 20 samples with EDI values above the baseline, 0.007 μg/kg bw/day. Beyond that, the MOE values for 10 out of 271 positive samples were below 10,000. Considering the actual situation, Haber’s rule was used to assume two weeks exposure every year during lifetime, and still the MOE values for four out of 271 positive samples were under 10,000, indicating these products may have potential health risk. The developed method was successfully applied to detect the PAs-containing Chinese herbal medicines. This study provides convincing data that can support risk management actions in China and a meaningful reference for the rational and safe use of Chinese herbal medicines.