Pinocembrin is one of the most abundant flavonoids in propolis, and it may also be widely found in a variety of plants. In addition to natural extraction, pinocembrin can be obtained by biosynthesis. Biosynthesis efficiency can be improved by a metabolic engineering strategy and a two-phase pH fermentation strategy. Pinocembrin poses an interest for its remarkable pharmacological activities, such as neuroprotection, anti-oxidation, and anti-inflammation. Studies have shown that pinocembrin works excellently in treating ischemic stroke. Pinocembrin can reduce nerve damage in the ischemic area and reduce mitochondrial dysfunction and the degree of oxidative stress. Given its significant efficacy in cerebral ischemia, pinocembrin has been approved by China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) as a new treatment drug for ischemic stroke and is currently in progress in phase II clinical trials. Research has shown that pinocembrin can be absorbed rapidly in the body and easily cross the blood–brain barrier. In addition, the absorption/elimination process of pinocembrin occurs rapidly and shows no serious accumulation in the body. Pinocembrin has also been found to play a role in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and specific solid tumors, but its mechanisms of action require in-depth studies. In this review, we summarized the latest 10 years of studies on the biosynthesis, pharmacological activities, and pharmacokinetics of pinocembrin, focusing on its effects on certain diseases, aiming to explore its targets, explaining possible mechanisms of action, and finding potential therapeutic applications.

Pterostilbene is a natural 3,5-dimethoxy analog of resveratrol. This stilbene compound has a strong bioactivity and exists widely in Dalbergia and Vaccinium spp. Besides natural extraction, pterostilbene can be obtained by biosynthesis. Pterostilbene has become popular because of its remarkable pharmacological activities, such as anti-tumor, anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, and neuroprotection. Pterostilbene can be rapidly absorbed and is widely distributed in tissues, but it does not seriously accumulate in the body. Pterostilbene can easily pass through the blood-brain barrier because of its low molecular weight and good liposolubility. In this review, the studies performed in the last three years on resources, synthesis, bioactivity, and pharmacokinetics of pterostilbene are summarized. This review focuses on the effects of pterostilbene on certain diseases to explore its targets, explain the possible mechanism, and look for potential therapeutic applications.

The crop production of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), the only plant meeting basic human nutritional requirements, is affected by drought stress. To better understand the drought tolerance mechanism of quinoa, we screened the drought-tolerant quinoa genotype “Dianli 129” and studied the seedling leaves of the drought-tolerant quinoa genotype after drought and rewatering treatments using transcriptomics and targeted metabolomics. Drought-treatment, drought control, rewatering-treated, and rewatered control were named as DR, DC, RW, and RC, respectively. Among four comparison groups, DC vs. DR, RC vs. RW, RW vs. DR, and RC vs. DC, we identified 10,292, 2,307, 12,368, and 3 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and 215, 192, 132, and 19 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs), respectively. A total of 38,670 genes and 142 pathways were annotated. The results of transcriptome and metabolome association analysis showed that gene-LOC110713661 and gene-LOC110738152 may be the key genes for drought tolerance in quinoa. Some metabolites accumulated in quinoa leaves in response to drought stress, and the plants recovered after rewatering. DEGs and DEMs participate in starch and sucrose metabolism and flavonoid biosynthesis, which are vital for improving drought tolerance in quinoa. Drought tolerance of quinoa was correlated with gene expression differences, metabolite accumulation and good recovery after rewatering. These findings improve our understanding of drought and rewatering responses in quinoa and have implications for the breeding of new drought-tolerance varieties while providing a theoretical basis for drought-tolerance varieties identification.

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Wheat starch biosynthesis is influenced by the Wx gene, which may also affect the quality and characteristics of flour and food. In this study, eight near-isogenic Wx wheat lines were bred and used as test materials for analysis of the content and biosynthesis dynamics of starch, and the changes in flour and dry noodle qualities were evaluated. The results showed that the contents and accumulation rates of amylose, amylopectin, and total starch initially increased and then decreased at 20 d after anthesis. Additionally, the three Wx genes examined in this study had varying effects on the amylose content and accumulation rate, in the order of Wx-B1 > Wx-A1 > Wx-D1. Wx genes had only minor effects on amylopectin biosynthesis. Lack of Wx gene expression was expected to affect the physiochemical properties of wheat flour, with the Wx-B1 gene exhibiting the most dramatic effects. Almost all properties except taste, stickiness, and total score of dry noodles decreased following silencing of the Wx-B1 and Wx-D1 genes. Dry noodle qualities deteriorated to different degrees after silencing of one, two, or three Wx genes, and almost no amylose biosynthesis and very poor dry noodle quality were observed in wheat lacking all three Wx genes.