Search Results (7)

Helicobacter pylori, a spiral-shaped bacterium found in the stomach, is associated with various gastrointestinal and systemic health conditions. Effective suppression of H. pylori is therefore critical for managing gastrointestinal diseases. In a search for natural products with anti-H. pylori activity, the extract of Atractylodes macrocephala rhizoma showed significant inhibitory effects. Chromatographic purification of A. macrocephala extract yielded thirteen compounds, which were identified as ten sesquiterpenes and three polyacetylenes by spectroscopic analysis. The sesquiterpene compounds belong to the eudesmane or eudesmane lactone types and exhibited structure-dependent efficacy. The major eudesmane lactone sesquiterpene, atractylenolide I (1), showed strong inhibitory activity comparable to metronidazole, a positive control, and atractylenolide III (3) also showed good efficacy. However, structural modification such as hydroxylation, methylation, or acetylation of the sesquiterpenes led to reduced activity. In contrast, polyacetylene derivatives displayed only mild inhibitory effects. Further evaluation of the active compounds against three H. pylori strains such as 51, 43504, and 26695 showed that atractylenolide I (1) had potent inhibitory effects against all three strains, with MIC₅₀ values of ranging from 27.3 to 48.6 μM and MIC₉₀ values from 45.4 to 87.2 μM. Atractylenolide III (3) exhibited selective activity against strain 51 with MIC₅₀ value of 89.9 μM. Both compounds also exhibited anti-inflammatory activity with IC₉₀ values of 23.3 and 31.1 μM, respectively, although they showed little effect on urease. This is the first report on the anti-H. pylori efficacy of various constituents of A. macrocephala and comparative analysis of inhibitory effects against several strains, which will provide scientific evidence supporting its potential as therapeutic agent for H. pylori-related infection. Full article

Organic fertilizers produced from agricultural waste materials using earthworms have many advantages. The impact of vermicompost bio-organic fertilizer (VcF) prepared from waste mushroom bran on the quality of Chinese herbal medicine and soil health deserves attention. We conducted a field experiment to explore the quality of Rhizoma atractylodis and soil, using chemical fertilizer and VcF at dosages of 30 t·ha⁻¹ and 40 t·ha⁻¹. The results demonstrated that VcF significantly increased the contents of atractylenolide II, β-eudesmol, atractylenol, and atractylenolone by 34%, 175%, 72%, and 24%, respectively, along with a 70% increase in yield compared to the control. VcF significantly increased the available phosphorus content and the activity of the soil enzymes (α-Galactosidase, β-Galactosidase, and peroxidase), while reducing the nitrate nitrogen content. The addition of vermicompost did not change the soil bacterial diversity, while it significantly increased the soil fungal diversity. VcF improved the soil fungal diversity and significantly enhanced the relative abundance of the bacterial phylum Actinobacteriota and WPS-2, as well as the fungal phylum Ascomycota. Vermicompost significantly increased the relative abundance of bacteria phylum Actinobacteriota and WPS-2, as well as the fungi phylum Ascomycota. Actinobacteria mainly participate in the decomposition of detritus and the heterotrophic nutrient cycle. A Principal Coordinates Analysis of the soil bacterial and fungi communities suggested a significant impact of vermicompost application on the community structure of the soil bacteria. Conversely, no significant variance was detected in the bacterial community composition across the two levels of vermicompost. This study contributes to the enhancement of fertilization strategies for Atractylodes macrocephala, broadens the application scope of vermicompost, and advances the growth of organic agriculture. Full article

The aim of this study was to conduct a screening of potential therapeutic compounds found in the Atractylodes macrocephala rhizoma essential oil (AO) and explore its mechanism of action in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). An inflammation cell model was employed in conjunction with phospho-antibody array technology to explore potential therapeutic compounds of AO and their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Furthermore, we assessed their efficacy and mechanisms of action in treating dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. Via the screening process, we identified atractylone (ATR) as the primary active compound in AO. It has been demonstrated that ATR can both decrease the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increase the expression of adhesion proteins such as claudin, ZO-1, and occludin in vitro. Moreover, ATR has been shown to improve UC symptoms in vivo. Via a non-targeted metabolomics analysis of colon tissue, we identified 57 distinct metabolites that responded to ATR treatment. Subsequent analysis of the metabolic pathways revealed that the action of ATR was primarily focused on the amino acid metabolism pathway. In summary, ATR may alleviate the symptoms of UC by regulating multiple signaling pathways. Additionally, ATR has a comprehensive function in anti-inflammation, antioxidative stress, and intestinal injury reduction. Full article

The present study evaluated the nutritional values and in vitro fermentation characteristics of 29 different Chinese herbs in order to develop effective feed additives for livestock nutrition. The Chinese herbs were analyzed for their chemical composition. The in vitro fermentation characteristics were evaluated using the gas production technique with swine cecal chyme inoculum. The results showed that the Allium tuberosum Rottl (Semen allii tuberosi, SAT) had the highest gross energy (GE), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), and total amino acid (TAA) contents, whereas Anemones raddeanae Rhizoma (Agstache rugosus, AR) had the highest crude fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber contents compared with the other Chinese herbs. The Rhus chinensis Mill (Chinese gall, CG), Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl (Radix scrophulariae, RS), Punica granatum L (Punica granatum L, PGL), Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz (White atractylodes rhizome, WAR), Sanguisorbae radix (Garden burnet, GB), Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge (Rhizoma anemarrhenaw, RA), and Rhei radix Et Rhizoma (Rheum officinale, RO) had a higher non-fiber carbohydrate content than the other Chinese herbs. The in vitro fermentation kinetic analysis showed that the RS, WAR, and RA had a higher gas production, a theoretical gas production, and a fractional rate of gas production than the other groups. Furthermore, the RA, WAR, RS, and Crataegi fructus (Crataegus pinnatifida Bun, CPB) had a higher total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) concentration, and CPB had the highest acetate concentration, whereas the WAR and RS had higher propionate and butyrate concentrations than the other groups. Moreover, the Isatis indigotica Fort (Folium isatidis, FI) and SAT had higher ammonia-N concentration than the other groups. In summary, among the 29 different Chinese herbs, the SAT had the highest nutritional value, which is reflected in the highest contents of GE, CP, EE, and TAA, whereas the RA, WAR, and RS showed better intestinal fermentation profiles, which is reflected in the higher fermentation degree and suitable SCFAs fermentation pattern. These findings provide a theoretical basis for using Chinese herbs as feed additives or microbial carbon sources in the intestines of animals. Full article

Targeting energy expenditure offers a strategy for treating obesity more effectively and safely. In previous studies, we found that the root of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidzumi (Atractylodis Rhizoma Alba, ARA) increased energy metabolism in C2C12 cells. Here, we investigated the effects of ARA on obesity and glucose intolerance by examining energy metabolism in skeletal muscle and brown fat in high-fat diet (HFD) induced obese mice. ARA decreased body weight gain, hepatic lipid levels and serum total cholesterol levels, but did not modify food intake. Fasting serum glucose, serum insulin levels and glucose intolerance were all improved in ARA treated mice. Furthermore, ARA increased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC1α) expression, and the phosphorylation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in skeletal muscle tissues, and also prevented skeletal muscle atrophy. In addition, the numbers of brown adipocytes and the expressions of PGC1α and uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) were elevated in the brown adipose tissues of ARA treated mice. Our results show that ARA can prevent diet-induced obesity and glucose intolerance in C5BL/6 mice and suggests that the mechanism responsible is related to the promotion of energy metabolism in skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissues. Full article

Rhizoma Atractylodes macrocephala polysaccharides (RAMP) have been reported to have a variety of important biological activities. In this study, an ultrasonic-assisted enzymatic extraction (UAEE) was employed to obtain the highest extraction yield and strongest antioxidant activity of RAMP and optimized by a multi-response optimization process. A three-level four-factor Box-Behnken design (BBD) was performed as response surface methodology (RSM) with desirability function (DF) to attain the optimal extraction parameters. The DPPH scavenging percentage was used to represent the antioxidant ability of RAMP. The maximum D value (0.328), along with the maximum yield (59.92%) and DPPH scavenging percentage (13.28%) were achieved at 90.54 min, 57.99 °C, 1.95% cellulase and 225.29 W. These values were further validated and found to be in good agreement with the predicted values. Compared to the other extraction methods, both the yield and scavenging percentage of RAMP obtained by UAEE was favorable and the method appeared to be time-saving and of high efficiency. These results demostrated that UAEE is an appropriate and effective extraction technique. Moreover, RSM with DF approach has been proved to be adequate for the design and optimization of the extraction parameters for RAMP. This work has a wide range of implications for the design and operation of polysaccharide extraction processes. Full article

Rhizoma Atractylodes macrocephala (AM) has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for about 2,000 years. In the study, we firstly determined the antioxidant levels of five AM extracts by •OH-scavenging, •O₂⁻-scavenging, Fe²⁺-chelating, Cu²⁺-chelating, DPPH·-scavenging, and ABTS⁺·-scavenging assays. After measurement of the chemical contents in five AM extracts, we quantitatively analyzed the correlations between antioxidant levels and chemical contents. It was observed that total phenolics and total flavonoids had significant positive correlations with antioxidant levels (R = 0.685 and 0.479, respectively). In contrast, total sugars and total saponins presented lower correlations with antioxidant levels (R = −0.272 and 0.244, respectively). It means that antioxidant activity of AM should be attributed to total phenolics (including phenolic acids and flavonoids), and not total sugars and total saponins. Further analysis indicated that phenolic acids exhibited higher R values with radical-scavenging assays (R = 0.32–1.00), while flavonoids showed higher R values with metal-chelating assays (R= 0.86 and 0.90). In conclusion, AM exerts its antioxidant effect through metal-chelating, and radical-scavenging which is via donating hydrogen atom and donating electron. Its metal-chelating may result from flavonoids, while its radical-scavenging can be attributed to phenolic acids, especially caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and protocatechuic acid. Full article