Geniposide is an iridoid glycosides purified from the fruit of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, which is known to have antiinflammatory, antioxidative and anti-tumor activities. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of geniposide on experimental rat colitis and to reveal the related mechanisms. Experimental rat colitis was induced by rectal administration of a TNBS solution. The rats were treated with geniposide (25, 50 mg·kg, ig) or with sulfasalazine (SASP, 100 mg·kg, ig) as positive control for 14 consecutive days. A Caco-2 cell monolayer exposed to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) was used as an epithelial barrier dysfunction model. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) was measured to evaluate intestinal barrier function. In rats with TNBS-induced colitis, administration of geniposide or SASP significantly increased the TNBS-decreased body weight and ameliorated TNBS-induced experimental colitis and related symptoms. Geniposide or SASP suppressed inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) release and neutrophil infiltration (myeloperoxidase activity) in the colon. In Caco-2 cells, geniposide (25-100 μg/mL) ameliorated LPS-induced endothelial barrier dysfunction via dose-dependently increasing transepithelial electrical resistance (TER). The results from both in vivo and in vitro studies revealed that geniposide down-regulated NF-κB, COX-2, iNOS and MLCK protein expression, up-regulated the expression of tight junction proteins (occludin and ZO-1), and facilitated AMPK phosphorylation. Both AMPK siRNA transfection and AMPK overexpression abrogated the geniposide-reduced MLCK protein expression, suggesting that geniposide ameliorated barrier dysfunction via AMPKmediated inhibition of the MLCK pathway. In conclusion, geniposide ameliorated TNBS-induced experimental rat colitis by both reducing inflammation and modulating the disrupted epithelial barrier function via activating the AMPK signaling pathway.

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Downregulating ER-α expression may be a potential treatment regimen for cervical cancer patients and will be of great significance for patients with cervical cancer who are receiving conventional treatment for nonsurgical treatments.

The title compound, C14H10BrFN2O, adopts an E geometry about the C=N bond. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the two benzene rings is 81.5 (6)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked through inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains running along the b axis.

In the crystal of the title compound, C17H17N3O2, the mol­ecules exist in the keto–enamine form. The pyrazole ring is oriented at 10.59 (4) and 57.98 (5)° to the phenyl and furyl rings, respectively, and the dihedral angle between phenyl and furyl rings is 73.30 (11)°. An intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond occurs between imino and carbonyl groups. In the crystal, weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into supra­molecular chains along the b axis.