The phylogenetic relationship among 30 accessions belonging to nine species of the genus Echinochloa Beauv. was studied on the basis of the sequence of three non-coding regions ( trn T-L, trn L-F intergenic spacers, and trn L intron) of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA). A strict consensus parsimonious tree of the three most parsimonious trees derived from 25 polymorphic sites (six indels and 19 substitutions) in the total sequences, ranging from 1715-1760 bp, represented five groups: (i) Echinochloa oryzicola Vasing. and Echinochloa stagnina Beauv. from Thailand; (ii) Echinochloa crus-galli Beauv. complex; (iii) Echinochloa crus-pavonis Schult; (iv) Echinochloa colonum Link. and Echinochloa frumentacea Link.; and (v) the African species, Echinochloa obtusiflora Stapf and Echinochloa stagnina . Japanese barnyard millet ( Echinochloa esculenta H. Scholz) and various weedy varieties of E. crus-galli and Echinochloa oryzoides Fritsch had quite similar sequences and formed the E. crus-galli complex, which was characterized by six substitutions. A cultivated form of E. oryzicola (Mosuo barnyard millet) and various morphological and agronomical forms of E. oryzicola were characterized by two indels. Indian barnyard millet ( E. frumentacea ) and its wild counterpart ( E. colonum ) were characterized by five substitutions. Domestication as millets and adaptation to paddy environments as mimic weeds might occur after the divergence of species in the Asian Echinochloa .

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Drug-induced liver injury is a major safety concern in drug development and clinical pharmacotherapy; however, advances in the understanding of the mechanisms of drug-induced liver injury are hampered by the lack of animal models. Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a widely used antiepileptic agent. Although the drug is generally well tolerated, only a small number of patients prescribed CBZ develop severe hepatitis. In the present study, we developed a mouse model of CBZ-induced liver injury and elucidated the mechanisms accounting for the hepatotoxicity of CBZ. Male BALB/c mice were orally administered CBZ for 5 days. The plasma levels of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase were prominently increased, and severe liver damage was observed via histological evaluation. The analysis of the plasma concentration of CBZ and its metabolites demonstrated that 3-hydroxy CBZ may be relevant in CBZ-induced liver injury. The hepatic glutathione levels were significantly decreased, and oxidative stress markers were significantly altered. Mechanistic investigations found that hepatic mRNA levels of toll-like receptor 4, receptor for advanced glycation end products, and their ligands were significantly increased. Moreover, the plasma concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines were also increased. Prostaglandin E(1) administration ameliorated the hepatic injury caused by CBZ. In conclusion, metabolic activation followed by the stimulation of immune responses was demonstrated to be involved in CBZ-induced liver injury in mice.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) techniques were applied for establishing the reliable practice in identification of Echinochloa oryzicola Vasing. and E. crus‐galli (L.) Beauv. (barnyardgrass). Total DNA was extracted from 18 accessions and 86 individuals of E. oryzicola, 33 accessions and 140 individuals of E. crus‐galli var. crus‐galli, 23 individuals of E. crus‐galli var. praticola, and six individuals of E. crus‐galli var. formosensis that were collected from Japan. A partial region of intergenetic spacer between trnT and trnL, and an intron of trnL were amplified separately using a trn‐a and trn‐b1 primer set, and a trn‐c and trn‐d primer set, respectively. All individuals of E. oryzicola showed the same fragment amplified by the trn‐a and trn‐b1 primer set. The fragment was 481 bp in length, and was undigested by EcoR I, whereas all individuals of E. crus‐galli, including three botanical varieties, showed the same fragment with a 449‐bp length. The fragment was digested by EcoR I into two fragments (178 and 271 bp). The fragment amplified by the trn‐c and trn‐d primer set in all individuals of E. oryzicola was digested by Alu I into two fragments (174 and 452 bp), but undigested by Dra I. In contrast, the fragment amplified by the trn‐c and trn‐d primer set in all individuals of E. crus‐galli was digested by Dra I into two fragments (134 and 487 bp), but undigested by Alu I. There was no intraspecific variation in these regions; thus, these two species are easily identifiable by using our method.