No abstract

Radix Scutellariae (RS) has long been used in the treatment of inflammatory and allergic diseases. Its main flavonoids, baicalin (BG) and wogonoside (WG), can be hydrolyzed into their corresponding aglycones, baicalein (B) and wogonin (W). In this study, we developed a safe and effective method of transforming these glycosides using Peclyve PR. The transformation rate of BG and WG reached 98.5 and 98.1%, respectively, with 10% enzyme at 40 °C for 60 h. Furthermore, we compared the anti-photoaging activity of RS before and after enzyme treatment, as well as their respective main components, in UVB-irradiated HaCaT cells. Results found that enzyme-treated RS (ERS) appeared to be much better at preventing UVB-induced photoaging than RS. ERS significantly inhibited the upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase-1 and IL-6 caused by UVB radiation by inactivating the MAPK/AP-1 and NF-κB/IκB-α signaling pathways. ERS treatment also recovered UVB-induced reduction of procollagen type I by activating the TGF-β/Smad pathway. In addition, ERS exhibited an excellent antioxidant activity, which could increase the expression of cytoprotective antioxidants such as HO-1 and NQ-O1, by facilitating Nrf2 nuclear transfer. These findings demonstrated that the photoprotective effects of RS were significantly improved by enzyme-modified biotransformation.

Icariin (ICA) and icaritin (ICT) exhibit many pharmacological functions including anti-osteoporosis, anti-cardiovascular, and anti-cancer activities; however, there are few comprehensive studies that track the detailed effects on UVB-induced photoaging. The recovery effects of ICA and ICT were investigated in UVB-irradiated human keratinocytes (HaCaTs). The results indicated that ICT and ICA showed strong radical scavenging activity, and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity of ICT was superior. UVB-induced matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) expression was blocked by ICA via the inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase/activator protein 1 (MAPK/AP-1), which directly reduced extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation. ICT activated nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) to improve the anti-oxidative stress capacity and suppress nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation, decreasing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein, and inflammatory cytokines induced ECM degrading enzyme secretion. Moreover, ICT was more advantageous to improve transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) and procollagen type I expression than ICA, promoting the synthesis of collagen. Therefore, ICA and ICT have potential to treat UVB-induced oxidative stress, inflammation and photoaging, and will be posited as a novel strategy to alleviate photodamage.

No abstract

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile, long rods with no flagellum strain, designated THG-YS3.2.1T, was isolated from rhizosphere soil of mugunghwa, collected from Kyung Hee University, Yongin, South Korea. Growth occurred at 10-40 °C (optimum 28 °C), at pH 6.0-8.0 (optimum pH 7.0) and with 0-1.0 % NaCl (optimum 1.0 %). The predominant menaquinone was menaquinone-7 (MK-7). The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C12 : 0, iso-C14 : 0, iso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 1 G, anteiso-C15 : 1 A, C15 : 0 2-OH, C16 : 0, iso-C16 : 0, C16 : 0 3-OH, iso-C16 : 0 3-OH, iso-C16 : 1 G, C17 : 0 2-OH, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, C17 : 1ω6c, C18 : 3ω6c (6, 9, 12), C18 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or iso-C15 : 0 2-OH). The major polar lipids were phosphatidylmethylethanolamine), phosphatidylethanolamine, five unidentified aminolipids and three unidentified lipids. The DNA G+C content of strain THG-YS3.2.1T was 45.3 mol%. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the nearest phylogenetic neighbours of strain THG-YS3.2.1T were Niastella populi KCTC 22560T (98.7 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), Niastella gongjuensis KACC 17399T (96.9 %), Niastella vici KCTC 42474T (96.2 %), Niastella yeongjuensis KACC 11466T (95.5 %) and Niastella koreensis KACC 11465T (95.1 %). DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain THG-YS3.2.1T and N. populi KCTC 22560T, N. gongjuensis KACC 17399T, N.vici KCTC 42474T, N. yeongjuensis KACC 11466T and N. koreensis KACC 11465Twere 55.8±1.0, 39.5±0.5, 35.2±0.1, 17.6±0.3 and 12.5±1.2 %, respectively. On the basis of the phylogenetic analysis, chemotaxonomic data, physiological characteristics and DNA-DNA hybridization data, strain THG-YS3.2.1T represents a novel species of the genus Niastella, for which the name Niastellahibisci sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is THG-YS3.2.1T (=KCTC 52084T=CCTCC AB 2015356T).