Stomatal closure and metabolic impairment under drought stress limits photosynthesis. The objective of this study was to determine major stomatal and metabolic factors involved in photosynthetic responses to drought and recovery upon re-watering in a C(3) perennial grass species, Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.). Two genotypes differing in drought resistance, 'Midnight' (tolerant) and 'Brilliant' (sensitive), were subjected to drought stress for 15 days and then re-watered for 10 days in growth chambers. Single-leaf net photosynthetic rate (A), stomatal conductance (g(s)) and transpiration rate (Tr) decreased during drought, with a less rapid decline in 'Midnight' than in 'Brilliant'. Photochemical efficiency, Rubisco activity and activation state declined during drought, but were significantly higher in 'Midnight' than in 'Brilliant'. The relationship between A and internal leaf CO(2) concentration (A/Ci curve) during drought and re-watering was analyzed to estimate the relative influence of stomatal and non-stomatal components on photosynthesis. Stomatal limitation (Ls %), non-stomatal limitation (Lns %), CO(2) compensation point (CP) and dark respiration (Rd) increased with stress duration in both genotypes, but to a lesser extent in 'Midnight'. Maximum CO(2) assimilation rate (A(max)), carboxylation efficiency (CE) and mesophyll conductance (g(m)) declined, but 'Midnight' had significantly higher levels of A(max), CE and g(m) than 'Brilliant'. Maximum carboxylation rate of Rubisco (V(cmax)) and ribulose-1,5-bisphospate (RuBP) regeneration capacity mediated by maximum electron transport rate (J(max)) decreased from moderate to severe drought stress in both genotypes, but to a greater extent in 'Brilliant' than in 'Midnight'. After re-watering, RWC restored to about 90% of the control levels in both genotypes, whereas A, g(s), Tr and Fv/Fm was only partially recovered, with a higher recovery level in 'Midnight' than in 'Brilliant'. Rubisco activity and activation state restored to the control level after re-watering, with more rapid increase in 'Midnight' than in 'Brilliant'. The values of Ls, Lns, CP and Rd declined, and A(max), CE, V(cmax), J(max) and g(m) increased after re-watering, with more rapid change in all parameters in 'Midnight' than in 'Brilliant'. These results indicated that the maintenance of higher A and A(max) under drought stress in drought-tolerant Kentucky bluegrass could be attributed to higher Rubico activation state, higher CE and less stomatal limitation. The ability to resume metabolic activity (A(max), CE, Fv/Fm and Rubisco) was observed in the drought-tolerant genotype and is the most likely cause for the increased recuperative ability of photosynthesis. Incomplete recovery of photosynthesis upon re-watering could be attributable to lasting stomatal limitations caused by severe drought damage in both genotypes. Promoting rapid stomatal recovery from drought stress may be critical for plants to resume full photosynthetic capacity in C(3) perennial grass species.

Spice and medicinal plants grown under water deficiency conditions reveal much higher concentrations of relevant natural products compared with identical plants of the same species cultivated with an ample water supply. For the first time, experimental data related to this well-known phenomenon have been collected and a putative mechanistic concept considering general plant physiological and biochemical aspects is presented. Water shortage induces drought stress-related metabolic responses and, due to stomatal closure, the uptake of CO2 decreases significantly. As a result, the consumption of reduction equivalents (NADPH + H+) for CO2 fixation via the Calvin cycle declines considerably, generating a large oxidative stress and an oversupply of reduction equivalents. As a consequence, metabolic processes are shifted towards biosynthetic activities that consume reduction equivalents. Accordingly, the synthesis of reduced compounds, such as isoprenoids, phenols or alkaloids, is enhanced.

Tanshinones are a series of abietane diterpenes, isolated exclusively from Salvia miltiorrhiza and related species. More than 40 tanshinones and their analogs have been isolated since the 1930s. Their biosynthetic pathway correlates with the MEP/DOXP pathway, and many key enzymes, such as mCPS, are responsible for establishing their molecular scaffolds and stereospeci fi city. Because of their unique structural characteristics and promising biological activities, total syntheses of various tanshinones have attracted the interest of many synthetic chemists, including R. H. Thomson, H. Kakisawa, R. L. Danheiser, Y. Inouye and J. K. Snyder. Tanshinones and their analogs exhibit interesting and broad antitumor activity in various cell and animal models. Most recently, the tanshinone analog neo-tanshinlactone has shown potent and selective activity against breast cancer. This review will discuss the biosynthesis, total syntheses, and antitumor activities of tanshinones,especially neo-tanshinlactone and its analogs.

Lung cancer still remains the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. It is an urgent need for development of novel therapeutic agents to improve current treatment of this disease. Here we investigate whether the effective component formula of traditional Chinese Medicine could serve as new potential therapeutic drugs to treat lung cancer. We optimize the most effective component formula of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Panax Ginseng (FMG), which is composed of Salvianolic acid A, 20(S)-Ginsenoside and Ginseng polysaccharide. We discovered that FMG selectively inhibited lung cancer cell proliferation and induced apoptosis but had no any cytotoxic effects on normal lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells. Moreover, FMG inhibited lung cancer cell migration and invasion. Mechanistically, we found that FMG significantly promoted p-PTEN expression and subsequently inhibited PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. The phosphatase activity of PTEN protein was increased after FMG bound to PTEN protein, indicating that PTEN is one of the FMG targeted proteins. In addition, FMG regulated expression of some marker proteins relevant to cell apoptosis, migration and invasion. Collectively, these results provide mechanistic insight into the anti-NSCLC of FMG by enhancing the phosphatase activity of PTEN, and suggest that FMG could be as a potential option for lung cancer treatment.

Four novel compounds (1-4) as well as fourteen reported compounds (5-18) were isolated and purified from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Danshen). The structures of novel compounds were determined by 1D and 2D NMR, HRESIMS data, etc. The anti-inflammatory properties of all the compounds on RAW264.7 macrophages and their cytotoxicity on H1299 and Bel-7402 cell lines coupled with a structure-activity relationship (SAR) were investigated. Compound 4 demonstrated the best anti-inflammatory activity and was chosen for further research. Compound 4 greatly suppressed secretion of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the RAW264.7 macrophages stimulated by LPS. Additionally, the protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) was decreased and the nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB was attenuated after treatment with compound 4 in vitro. Compound 4 was able to dramatically inhibit LPS-induced activation of JNK1/2 and ERK1/2 and remarkably disrupted the TLR4 dimerization in LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophages. Thus, the new compound 4 suppressed LPS-induced inflammation partially is due to the blocking TLR4 dimerization. In addition, the anti-cancer activity investigation indicated that most of isolated compounds exhibited cytotoxicity and the SAR analysis showed that the intact D ring was indispensable and unsaturated D ring played vital role.

Insight into the hepatoprotective effects of medicinally important plants is important, both for physicians and researchers. Main reasons for the use of herbal medicine include their lesser cost compared with conventional drugs, lesser undesirable drug reactions and thus high safety, and reduced side effects. The present review focuses on the composition, pharmacology, and results of experimental trials of selected medicinal plants: Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn., Glycyrrhiza glabra, Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn., Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge., Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge, Capparis spinosa (L.), Cichorium intybus (L.), Solanum nigrum (L.), Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn., Ginkgo biloba (L.), Woodfordia fruticosa (L.) Kurz, Vitex trifolia (L.), Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., Cuscuta chinensis (Lam.), Lycium barbarum, Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, and Litsea coreana (H. Lev.). The probable modes of action of these plants include immunomodulation, stimulation of hepatic DNA synthesis, simulation of superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase to inhibit oxidation in hepatocytes, reduction of intracellular reactive oxygen species by enhancing levels of antioxidants, suppression of ethanol-induced lipid accumulation, inhibition of nucleic acid polymerases to downregulate viral mRNA transcription and translation, free radical scavenging and reduction of hepatic fibrosis by decreasing the levels of transforming growth factor beta-1, and collagen synthesis in hepatic cells. However, further research is needed to identify, characterize, and standardize the active ingredients, useful compounds, and their preparations for the treatment of liver diseases.

-2，上级率为40.91%，丹参酮ⅡA和丹酚酸B含量分别为0.24%和5.11%，具有出苗早、生育期长、产量与上级率高、品质优良等特点。区域适应性和抗逆性强，适宜于四川西北部龙泉山脉地区栽培。]]>

Tanshen, the rhizome of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, has been used in Chinese traditional medicine (TCM) for multiple therapeutic remedies. The major constituents of Tanshen include water-soluble phenolic acids and lipophilic tanshinones. Phenolic acids possess antioxidant and anticoagulant activities, whereas tanshinones show antibacterial, antioxidant, and antineoplastic activities. This review will focus on recent developments concerning the chemical constituents of Tanshen and their biological activities. These chemical and biological studies continue to increase our understanding about a scientific basis for the traditional clinical use of Tanshen and can also contribute to the development of new drug candidates. Recently, in the author's laboratory, a new compound, neo-tanshinlactone, was discovered to have potent selective antibreast cancer activity. This compound might serve as a lead for developing promising antibreast cancer clinical trials candidates.

An investigation was carried out to find out the extent of changes occurred in two safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) cultivars in response to water deficit stress. Two safflower cultivars namely IL.111 and Isfahan were used for the study. Thirty days after sowing, plants were grown under soil moisture corresponding to 100, 85, 70 and 55% field capacity for next 30 days. Water deficit treatments significantly decreased the shoot length, shoot dry matter, root dry matter, relative growth rate, leaf relative water content (LRWC) and leaf water potential (I(W)), whereas root length, root-to-shoot ratio, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant compounds such as ascorbic acid (AA), alpha-tocopherol (alpha-Toc) and reduced glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1), catalase (CAT, EC 1.11.1.6), and peroxidase (POX, EC 1.11.1.7) activities were increased. Water deficit stressed plants maintained higher levels of compounds and scavenging enzymes. Significant differences were observed between cultivars and irrigation levels treatments. The cv. IL.111 could be considered more tolerant to water stress than cv. Isfahan, registering greater biomass, LRWC and leaf water potential (I(W)), associated with high antioxidant activity.

The present study evaluates the use of hyperosmotic stress and a biotic elicitor YE (yeast elicitor; polysaccharide fraction of yeast extract) to stimulate diterpenoid tanshinone production in hairy-root culture of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Lamiaceae). Sorbitol was applied as an osmoticum at various concentrations (30-100 g/l) to the hairy-root culture in MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium [Murashige and Skoog (1962) Physiol. Plant. 15, 473-497] containing 30 g/l sucrose, and it increased the TT (total tanshinone) content of roots most dramatically at 50-70 g/l (medium osmolality 410-500 mmol/kg; 1 mol/kg approximately 1 osmol/kg), to 4.5-fold of that in the control. The hairy roots showed strong tolerance to hyperosmotic stress, retaining a stable or higher dry weight of roots at osmolality up to 500 mmol/kg. Most remarkably, the combined use of sorbitol (50 g/l) and YE (100 mg/l) increased the TT content 10-fold (1481.6 versus 146.4 microg/g dry root) and the volumetric tanshinone yield 9-fold (16.3 versus 1.77 mg/l) compared with the control. The results suggest that the combined use of hyperosmotic stress and a biotic elicitor can effectively enhance secondary metabolite production in hairy-root cultures.

0.9), but principal components analysis could classify the HPLC fingerprint and 10-component quantitation analysis. Meanwhile, the antioxidant activity of SSM was significantly higher than that of NSSM (p