RESUMEN

Water eutrophication caused by nitrogen pollution is an urgent global issue that requires attention. The Qingyi River is a typical micro-polluted river in China. In this study, we took this river as the research object to investigate the nitrogen pollution purification capacity of a herbaceous plant, Rumex japonicus Houtt. (RJH). Compared to nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) and nitrite nitrogen (NO2--N), RJH showed better purification performance on total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), with a highest removal rate of 37.22%, 52.13%, and 100%, respectively. RJH could completely remove ammonia nitrogen and exhibit excellent resistance to pollutant interference when the initial concentration of ammonia nitrogen in the cultivation devices increased from 1 mg/L to 10 mg/L or in the actual river. This indicated the great application potential of RJH in ammonia nitrogen removal from natural micro-polluted rivers. In addition, combined effects of nitrification of roots, absorption of self-growth, stripping, and others contributed to nitrogen removal by RJH. Particularly, the nitrification of roots played a dominant role, accounting for 73.85% ± 8.79%. High-throughput sequencing results indicate that nitrifying bacteria accounted for over 75% of all bacterial species in RJH. Furthermore, RJH showed good growth status and strong adaptability. The correlation coefficients of its relative growth rate with chlorophyll A and the degradation rate of absorption were 0.9677 and 0.9594, respectively. Our research demonstrates that RJH is one of the excellent varieties for ammonia removal. This provides a very promising and sustainable method for purifying micro-polluted rivers.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Irritable bowel disease (IBD), which results in an elevated risk of colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC), is characterized by inflammation and barrier disruption of the gut. The genus Rumex has anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects, and the roots of Rumex japonicus Houtt (RJ) have been traditionally used in East Asia to treat digestive problems. We investigated the protective effect of RJ against azoxymethane (AOM)-and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced CAC in C57BL/6N male mice. The mice were intraperitoneally injected with AOM on the first day and orally treated with 2% DSS for 2 weeks (on the third and sixth weeks). RJ extract (100 mg/kg) was administered to the mice in the RJ group for 4 weeks (from the third to sixth week), and all mice were sacrificed on the final day of the eighth week. Changes in morphology, tight junctions (TJs), inflammation-related factors in the colon and serum inflammatory cytokine levels were measured. The colons of AOM/DSS-treated mice were shorter and heavier than those of normal mice. The number of tumors in the colons of AOM/DSS-treated mice increased; however, RJ suppressed these changes. RJ also reduced the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1ß in the colon and serum, and it increased the level of IL-10 in the colon. Moreover, RJ inhibited the barrier disruption and apoptosis in the colons of AOM/DSS-treated mice. RJ effectively suppressed AOM/DSS-induced CAC by inhibiting tumor formation, inflammation, disruption of TJ, and apoptosis in the colon.

RESUMEN

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide. Rumex japonicus Houtt. (RJ) has been used to treat gastrointestinal and inflammatory diseases in East Asia. However, it is unknown whether RJ can prevent PD. We investigated the neuroprotective effects of RJ in cellular and animal PD models, focused on mitochondrial function and the gut-brain axis. SH-SY5Y cells were treated with RJ (0.01 mg/mL) for 24 h, after which they were treated with the 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+). MPP+-induced apoptosis increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and decreased ATP, PINK1, and DJ-1, which were inhibited by RJ. Ten-week-old C57BL/6N male mice were treated with 30 mg/kg of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) for 5 days and orally administered 50 or 100 mg/kg of RJ for 14 days. RJ alleviated MPTP-induced behavioral impairment, dopaminergic neuronal death, and mitochondrial dysfunction in the substantia nigra (SN) and suppressed the MPTP-induced increase in lipopolysaccharide, interleukin-1ß, tumor necrosis factor-α, α-synuclein, and apoptotic factors in the SN and colon. Moreover, RJ inhibited the MPTP-mediated disruption of the tight junction barrier in the colon and blood-brain barrier of mice. Therefore, RJ alleviates MPTP-induced inflammation and dopaminergic neuronal death by maintaining mitochondrial function and tight junctions in the brain and colon.

RESUMEN

Rumex japonicus Houtt (RJH) is a valuable plant used in traditional medicine to treat several diseases, such as scabies and jaundice. In this study, Jurkat cell growth inhibitory extracts of R. japonicus roots were subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation, resulting in the isolation of three naphthalene derivatives (3-5) along with one anthraquinone (6) and two phenolic compounds (1 and 2). Among these compounds, 2-methoxystypandrone (5) exhibited potent anti-proliferative effects on Jurkat cells. Analysis by flow cytometry confirmed that 2-methoxystypandrone (5) could significantly reduce mitochondrial membrane potential and promote increased levels of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS), suggesting a strong mitochondrial depolarization effect. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis was also performed, and the results revealed that the accumulation of ROS was caused by reduced mRNA expression levels of heme oxygenase (HO-1), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). In addition, 2-methoxystypandrone (5) triggered strong apoptosis that was mediated by the arrest of the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. Furthermore, 2-methoxystypandrone (5) downregulated p-IκB-α, p-NF-κB p65, Bcl2, and Bcl-xl and upregulated BAX proteins. Taken together, these findings revealed that 2-methoxystypandrone (5) isolated from RJH could potentially serve as an early lead compound for leukemia treatment involving intracellular signaling by increasing mitochondrial ROS and exerting anti-proliferative effects.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Rumex japonicus Houtt. (RJH-Yang Ti) RJH has been used as a folk medicine in East Asian countries for thousands of years. It has a wide range of therapeutic effects in terms of anti-microorganic, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor effects. Therefore, it is urgent to thoroughly review the existing knowledge for this herb from phytochemical, pharmacological, and pharmacokinetic perspectives. "Yang Ti" and its English, botanical and pharmaceutical names used as keywords to perform database search which included the Encyclopaedia of traditional Chinese Medicines, PubMed, EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, and China Network Knowledge Infrastructure. Forty-five compounds identified from RJH. Besides, the therapeutic effects of RJH have been summarized as well. The root of RJH contains derivatives of anthraquinones, phytosterols, nepodin, oxanthrone c-glycosides, phenolic acid, cinnamic acid, flavonoid, epoxynaphthoquinol, triterpenoids, methoxynaphthalene, trihydroxybenzene, anthracene-9,10-dione, and other compounds. The extract of RJH and its chemical compounds showed the potentials as a complementary agent to exert antioxidant, antimicrobial, antisepsis, anticancer, anti-haematological disease, anti-dermatological disease, and antidiabetic activities. For the record, there is no study conducted on RJH regarding its pharmacokinetic aspect. Notably, Emodin may require additional attention due to its multiple organ toxicity concerns.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Rumex japonicus Houtt. (RJ) is traditionally used in folk medicines to treat patients suffering from skin disease in Korea and other parts of East Asia. However, the beneficial effect of RJ extract on atopic dermatitis (AD) has not been thoroughly examined. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of RJ on AD in vitro and in vivo. Treatment with RJ inhibited the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) as well as the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) stimulated in HaCaT cells. The five-week-old Balb/c mice were used as an AD-like mouse model by treating them with 1-chloro-2, 4-dinitrobenzene (DNCB). Topical administration of RJ to DNCB-treated mice significantly reduced clinical dermatitis severity, epidermal thickness, and decreased mast cell and eosinophil infiltration into skin and ear tissue. These results suggest that RJ inhibits the development of AD-like skin lesions by regulating the skin inflammation responses in HaCaT cells and Balb/c mice. Thus, RJ may be a potential therapeutic agent for AD.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Objective To study the treating effect of middle and high doses of acetone and aether extracts from Rumex.Japonicus Houtt on mouse thrombocytopenia.Methods 80 BACB/C mice were randomly divided into 5 groups(n=16): negative control group(salad oil),middle dose(0.5 g?kg-1) and high dose(5 g?kg-1)of acetone and aether extracts groups.All mice in various group were injected with cyclophos-phamide(0.3 mL/20 g) by hypodermic for 3 d to set up the thrombocytopenic model;after mouse thrombocytopenic model was successfully set up,the mice were given salad oil,middle and high doses of acetone and aether extracts,respectively,by gastric perfusion,20 d later the mice were executed,the numbers of the platelet,red cells and white cells were determined.Results ①The numbers of platelet numbers of all groups on the 14th day after making model decreased significantly(P0.05).Conclusion Middle and high doses of acetone and aether extracts have obviously curative effect on mouse thrombocytopenia.