No abstract

Current evidences show water extract of V. axillare is effective for defending against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal lesions, significantly inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the expressions of TNF-α and ET-1 mRNA, which may be useful for inhibiting apoptosis and improving local microcirculation.

We used human gastric epithelial cells (GES-1) line in an ethanol-induced cell damage model to study the protective effect of Veronicastrum axillare and its modulation to NF-κB signal pathway. The goal was to probe the molecular mechanism of V. axillare decoction in the prevention of gastric ulcer and therefore provide guidance in the clinical application of V. axillare on treating injuries from chronic nephritis, pleural effusion, gastric ulcer, and other ailments. The effects of V. axillare-loaded serums on cell viability were detected by MTT assays. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Real-Time PCR methods were used to analyze the protein and mRNA expression of TNF-α, NF-κB, IκBα, and IKKβ. The results showed that V. axillare-loaded serum partially reversed the damaging effects of ethanol and NF-κB activator (phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate: PMA) and increased cell viability. The protein and mRNA expressions of TNF-α, NF-κB, IκBα, and IKKβ were significantly upregulated by ethanol and PMA while they were downregulated by V. axillare-loaded serum. In summary, V. axillare-loaded serum has significantly protective effect on GES-1 against ethanol-induced injury. The protective effect was likely linked to downregulation of TNF-α based NF-κB signal pathway.

Veronicastrum axillare polysaccharides (VAP) were isolated by cellulase‐assisted digestion. The optimum conditions (2 % cellulase, 47 °C for 2.5 h, then, 95 °C for 2.5 h, pH 4.1, solid/liquid ratio 1 : 7.6) were identified by a combination of single factor optimization and response surface DOE (design of experiment) methods, and achieved a yield of 4.7 %. Treatment with 1 % TCA for 10 min, then, 2 % DEAE‐cellulose removed protein and colored impurities. Purified VAP retained most of the radical‐scavenging activities and GES‐1 cell protection capability in vitro, indicating VAP were the key active components of V. axillare. Some molecular features were identified by FT‐IR and NMR analyses. The molecular weight was estimated from DOSY NMR experiments to be around 21 kDa. There were 6.3 % uronic acid residues in the VAP. The constituent sugars after TFA hydrolysis were identified by HPLC to include glucose, arabinose, rhamnose, galactose, and xylose in a molar ratio of 405 : 259 : 82 : 42 : 1.

A monoclonal antibody (McAb), 4B8, was developed to whole homogenates of the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stå l), using hybridoma technology. It reacted with all the stages of BPH but did not cross-react with other insects and predator species tested with an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Immunodiffusion revealed it to belong to the IgG 3 subclass. The ascites developed with 4B8 cell lines had high absorbance values until it was diluted over 6.5536 6 10 7 times tested by indirect ELISA. It could recognize the BPH proteins after one female was ingested by Pardosa pseudoannulata for about 2.13 days at 258C. The results of extended antigen detection period and the high specificity of the antibody indicated that 4B8 could be used to study interactions between planthoppers and their predators in the field. Application of the McAb to assess relative importance of four major spider species in subtropical rice ecosystem showed that P. pseudoannulata was more important than Ummeliata insecticeps, and those were more important than Tetragnatha sp. and Coleosoma octomaculatum.