The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of paeoniflorin on insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis induced by fructose. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed 20% fructose drink for eight weeks. The insulin sensitivity, serum lipid profiles, and hepatic lipids contents were measured. The results showed that paeoniflorin significantly decreased serum insulin and glucagon levels, improved insulin sensitivity and serum lipids profiles, and alleviated hepatic steatosis in fructose-fed rats. Moreover, paeoniflorin enhanced the phosphorylation level of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and protein kinase B (PKB/AKT) and inhibited the phosphorylation of acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACC)1 in liver. Paeoniflorin also increased the hepatic carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT)-1 mRNA and protein expression and decreased the mRNA expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)1c, stearyl coenzyme A decarboxylase (SCD)-1 and fatty acid synthetase (FAS). Furthermore, we found that paeoniflorin significantly increased the heptatic protein expression of tumor suppressor serine/threonine kinase (LKB)1 but not Ca²⁺/CaM-dependent protein kinase kinase (CaMKK)β. These results suggest that the protective effects of paeoniflorin might be involved in the activation of LKB1/AMPK and insulin signaling, which resulted in the inhibition of lipogenesis, as well as the activation of β-oxidation and glycogenesis, thus ameliorated the insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis. The present study may provide evidence for the beneficial effects of paeoniflorin in the treatment of insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver.

Icariin is a prenylated flavonol glycoside isolated from Epimedium herb, and has been shown to be its main bioactive component. Recently, the antidepressant-like mechanism of icariin has been increasingly evaluated and demonstrated. However, there are few studies that have focused on the involvement of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/serine-threonine protein kinase (AKT) signaling in mediating the perimenopausal depression effects of icariin. Perimenopausal depression is a chronic recurrent disease that leads to an increased risk of suicide, and poses a significant risk to public health. The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of icariin on the expression of the PI3K–AKT pathway related to proteins in a rat model of perimenopausal depression. Eighty percent of the left ovary and the entire right ovary were removed from the model rats. A perimenopausal depression model was created through 18 days of chronic unpredictable stimulation, followed by the gavage administration of target drugs for 30 consecutive days. We found that icariin administered at various doses significantly improved the apparent symptoms in the model rats, increased the organ indices of the uterus, spleen, and thymus, and improved the pathological changes in the ovaries. Moreover, icariin administration elevated the serum levels of female hormone estradiol (E₂), testosterone (T), and interleukin (IL)-2, decreased those of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteotropic hormone (LH), promoted the expression levels of estrogen receptor (ER) and ERα in the hypothalamus, and increased those of serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), and noradrenaline (NA) in the brain homogenate. Furthermore, icariin elevated the expression levels of AKT, phosphorylation-akt (p-AKT), PI3K (110 kDa), PI3K (85 kDa), and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) in the ovaries, and inhibited those of Bax. These results show that icariin administration rebalanced the disordered sex hormones in perimenopausal depression rats, regulated the secretion of neurotransmitters in the brain, boosted immune function, and improved the perimenopausal syndrome. The mechanism of action may be related to the regulation of the expression of PI3K–AKT pathway-related proteins.

The present study was envisaged to investigate the chemical constituents and the intervention effects of Portulaca oleracea extract (POE) on acute alcoholic liver injury of rats. The chemical composition of POE was detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Sixty male Wistar rats were divided into 6 groups: Normal control (NC) group, acute alcoholic liver injury model group (ALI), low, medium and high dose of POE (25, 50, 100 mg/kg) groups and bifendate (BF, 3.75 mg/kg) group. Each group was given by intragastrical administration for 7 days. Alcoholic liver injury was induced in the experimental model by administering 50% ethanol at 8 mL/kg and repeated administration after 6 h, for a period of 7 days. The results showed that pretreatment with POE significantly reduced the ethanol-elevated serum level of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and triglyceride (TG). The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) in liver were enhanced followed by administration of POE, while the content of nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) was found to decrease. Hepatic content of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) was also reduced by POE treatment. These results indicated that POE could increase the antioxidant capacity and relieve the inflammatory injury of the liver cells induced by ethanol. Meanwhile, in our study, POE reduced the expression of miR-122, acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACC) 1 mRNA and protein and increased the expression of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) mRNA and protein in liver, which indicated that POE could improve the lipid metabolism disorder induced by ethanol. Our findings suggested that POE had protective effects on acute alcoholic liver injury of rats.

Purpose: Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza (RSM), a commonly used medicinal plant, has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects, but relevant studies on burn injuries are lacking. We investigated the anti-inflammation and wound healing (WH) effects of an aqueous extract of RSM on a burn model in rats. Methods: The effects of RSM were studied by heat-induced burns in rats, treatment with vehicle, Jinwanhong ointment, and RSM (1.5 or 0.75 g/mL). Indicators of burn tissue (BT) were photographed by digital machines and analyzed. The microcirculation in BT was detected by scattered full-frame real-time imaging. Levels of inflammatory mediators and growth factors were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunohistochemical staining. Local pathologic changes in BT were observed by hematoxylin-and-eosin (HE) staining. Ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography–linear ion trap–Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC–LTQ–Orbitrap-MS) was used to explore the absorption of RSM in local skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle tissue, serum, liver tissue, and kidney tissue. Results: RSM treatment could reduce the wound area, increase percent WH, increase blood perfusion in BT, reduce serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), increase levels of epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, and hydroxyproline (Hyp) in serum, and increase protein expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), TGF-β 1, EGF, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF)-1 in skin tissues. RSM treatment led to micro-absorption in the skin, subcutaneous tissues, and muscle, but not in the blood, liver, or kidney. Conclusion: RSM may promote WH by exerting anti-inflammatory effects, improving local-wound microcirculation, and accelerating the metabolism at the wound surface.

Three co-formers of 2-chloro-4-nitroaniline (CNA), 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB), and 4,4′-biphenol (DOD) were selected to prepare the co-crystal of progesterone (PROG) based on crystal engineering strategies. These co-crystals were successfully obtained via slow evaporation from different solutions and were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. Different binding networks were observed in the co-crystal structures of PROG. The PROG-CNA co-crystal had the fastest rates and highest concentrations of PROG in PBS solution compared with PROG or other co-crystals in the dissolution experiments. This might be attributable to more stable and abundant interactions between the PROG and CNA molecules. Our investigations provide positive support for the selection of suitable co-formers using crystal engineering strategies.