Water Extract of Mixed Mushroom Mycelia Grown on a Solid Barley Medium Is Protective against Experimental Focal Cerebral Ischemia

Although the individual consumption of medicinal mushrooms, including Phellinus linteus (PL), Ganoderma lucidum (GL), and Inonotus obliquus (IO), is known to be neuroprotective, the associated mechanisms underlying their therapeutic synergism on focal cerebral ischemia (fCI) have yet to be elucidated. This study aimed to demonstrate the neuroprotective effects of mixed mushroom mycelia (MMM) against experimental fCI. The water-fractions, ethanolic-fractions, and ethyl acetate-fractions of the MMM (PL, GL, and IO) grown in a barley medium using solid-state fermentation techniques were prepared and their protective effects against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity were compared in PC-12 cells. After the identification of the water extracts of MMM (wMMM) as the most suitable form, which possessed the lowest toxicity and highest efficacy, further analyses for evaluating the anti-apoptotic effects of wMMM, including Hoechst 33258-based nuclear staining, fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection assays, were performed. Rats were subjected to a 90 min middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion, after which a wMMM treatment resulted in significant dose-dependent improvements across a number of parameters. Furthermore, measurements of intracellular ROS and levels of antioxidant enzymes revealed a wMMM-mediated ROS attenuation and antioxidant enzyme upregulation. We suggest that wMMM is neuroprotective against fCI through its anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative effects.     

Protective role of hispolon and its derivatives against apoptosis in cortical neurons induced by electromagnetic radiation from 4G mobile phone

Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from wireless devices, particularly mobile phones, is a potentially growing public health concern. In this study, the neuronal effects of EMR on primary cortical neurons (PCNs) from neonatal rat cerebral cortex and the protective role of hispolon (HIS) and its derivatives were investigated as a measure of cranial exposure during mobile phone use. PCNs were isolated and cultured from day-old neonatal rats, then exposed for 2 h to EMR emitted by a mobile phone operating at a frequency of 2100 MHz with 1.6 W/Kg specific absorption rate (SAR) in call-answered mode treated with HIS and its derivatives. The induction of apoptosis through modulation of pro and anti-apoptotic genes via mitochondrial pathway and the protection by the test compounds was assessed. Pyrazole derivatives decreased apoptosis by modulating the levels of pro and anti-apoptotic genes by reducing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via mitochondrial damage, which was observed in the EMR exposed PCNs. The pyrazole compounds were found to have antioxidative and anti-apoptotic properties. Thus, the neuroprotective mechanisms of the pyrazole derivatives can be investigated further, which may make them appropriate as lead compounds in developing neuroprotective formulations.     

Reconstitution into Liposomes of the Tonoplast ATP- and Pyrophosphate-Dependent Proton Pumps from Rubus hispidus Cell Cultures

The ATP- and pyrophosphate-dependent proton pumps from tonoplast-enriched vesicles prepared from Rubus hispidus cell cultures were solubilized in the presence of polyoxyethylene(9,10)p-t-octylphenol (Triton X-100) and reconstituted into liposomes of soybean phospholipids, using Bio-Beads SM-2 to remove the detergent. The specific activity of the two pumps was greatly increased by the solubilization-reconstitution procedure. Identical characteristics were found for pyrophosphate-dependent proton transport in native and reconstituted vesicles. On the other hand, the ATP-dependent proton transport of the reconstituted vesicles was no longer inhibited by KNO₃.     

荩草上的瘿螨2新种记述（瘿螨总科，瘿螨科，叶刺瘿螨亚科）

记述在草Arthraxon hispidus （Thunb.） Makino（禾本科Poaceae）上发现的营自由生活的2种新瘿螨：草畸瘿螨Abacarus arthraxis sp. nov.和草花刺瘿螨Anthocoptes hispidus sp. nov.,二者均采自陕西秦岭山中。模式标本保存在安康学院农学与生命科学学院植物保护实验室。     

中国锈革孔菌科两新记录种

本文报道了中国秀革孔菌科两个新记录种,路易斯安纳纤孔菌Inonotus ludovicianus和金黄木层孔菌Phellinus chryseus。这两个种分别采自于广东省的南岭自然保护区和海南省的尖峰岭自然保护区。根据所采集的材料对这两种真菌进行了详细描述。     

Geographic variation of host use in the leaf beetle Agelasa nigriceps suggests host range expansion

Host range expansion is an important event in the evolution of host use in phytophagous insects. Herein, we report geographic variation of host use in the chrysomelid leaf beetle, Agelasa nigriceps Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), and suggest that this beetle is expanding its host range. This beetle has been recently recorded on Pterostyrax hispidus Sieb. et Zucc. (Styracaceae) in addition to its common host plant Actinidia arguta (Sieb. et Zucc.) Planch. ex Miq. (Actinidiaceae). The A. arguta‐associated populations were widely found in Japan, whereas the P. hispidus‐associated populations were found only in central and southwestern Japan. In the present study, we examined adult feeding behavior and larval performance of 12 A. nigriceps populations collected from eight localities, four localities where beetles occurred only on A. arguta (allopatric localities) and four localities where A. arguta‐ and P. hispidus‐associated populations occurred sympatrically (sympatric localities). Beetles of all populations, irrespective of their host plants and localities, showed high acceptance of and high larval performance on A. arguta leaves. In contrast, we found considerable variation in the beetle response to P. hispidus leaves. The A. arguta‐associated populations of allopatric localities scarcely accepted P. hispidus leaves, whereas those of sympatric localities, particularly those of P. hispidus‐associated populations, accepted and grew on P. hispidus leaves, although the degree of acceptance and larval performance varied among localities. These results strongly suggest that A. arguta is the ancestral host for A. nigriceps, and host range expansion to the P. hispidus has occurred in this beetle.     

Chronic exposure to increasing background ozone impairs stomatal functioning in grassland species

Two species found in temperate calcareous and mesotrophic grasslands (Dactylis glomerata and Leontodon hispidus) were exposed to eight ozone treatments spanning preindustrial to post‐2100 regimes, and late‐season effects on stomatal functioning were investigated. The plants were grown as a mixed community in 14 L containers and were exposed to ozone in ventilated solardomes (dome‐shaped greenhouses) for 20 weeks from early May to late September 2007. Ozone exposures were based on O₃ concentrations from a nearby upland area, and provided the following seasonal 24 h means: 21.4, 39.9 (simulated ambient), 50.2, 59.4, 74.9, 83.3, 101.3 and 102.5 ppb. In both species, stomatal conductance of undamaged inner canopy leaves developing since a midseason cutback increased linearly with increasing background ozone concentration. Imposition of severe water stress by leaf excision indicated that increasing background ozone concentration decreased the ability of leaves to limit water loss, implying impaired stomatal control. The threshold ozone concentrations for these effects were 15–40 ppb above current ambient in upland UK, and were within the range of ozone concentrations anticipated for much of Europe by the latter part of this century. The potential mechanism behind the impaired stomatal functioning was investigated using a transpiration assay. Unlike for lower ozone treatments, apparently healthy green leaves of L. hispidus that had developed in the 101.3 ppb treatment did not close their stomata in response to 1.5 μm abscisic acid (ABA); indeed stomatal opening initially occurred in this treatment. Thus, ozone appears to be disrupting the ABA‐induced signal transduction pathway for stomatal control thereby reducing the ability of plants to respond to drought. These results have potentially wide‐reaching implications for the functioning of communities under global warming where periods of soil drying and episodes of high vapour pressure deficit are likely to be more severe.     

NMR-based metabonomic analysis on effect of light on production of antioxidant phenolic compounds in submerged cultures of Inonotus obliquus

This study was designed to investigate the light effect on biosynthesis of antioxidant phenolic compounds by Inonotus obliquus grown in submerged cultures using ¹H NMR spectroscopy combining multivariate pattern recognition strategies. I. obliquus were exposed to a range of light conditions and resultant data were compared to those from field-grown sclerotia and the mycelia grown in daylight. Daylight illumination inhibited biosynthesis of davallialactone and phelligridins and other hispidin analogs. Continuous darkness enhanced the formation of phelligridins, davallialactone and inoscavins. Phelligridins and davallialactone also occurred in the mycelia grown in blue and red light with levels lower than those found in darkness. In addition, polyphenols synthesized under daylight conditions showed less potential antioxidant activity than those determined with other light regimes. These findings demonstrate that light regulates biosynthesis of polyphenols in I. obliquus and their subsequent antioxidant activities, and ¹H NMR-based metabolic profiling is a cost-effective approach for evaluating light effects on fungal metabolisms.     

粗毛纤孔菌子实体与菌丝体粗多糖改善小鼠急性酒精肝损伤的比较研究

粗毛纤孔菌是一种常见的药用真菌,具有医疗保健价值,多糖作为其主要活性成分之一,在生物活性中发挥着重要的作用。本文从粗毛纤孔菌子实体和菌丝体中提取了多糖成分,探讨了子实体多糖（IHFPS）和菌丝体多糖（IHMPS）对小鼠急性酒精肝损伤的保护作用。采用灌胃的方式给予C57BL-6小鼠多糖,连续灌胃3周,最后一次给药4h后,给予乙醇造成小鼠急性酒精肝损伤,通过记录小鼠醉酒、醒酒的时间,测定血清和肝脏相关生理生化指标以及病理切片来评价子实体和菌丝体多糖对急性酒精肝损伤小鼠的作用效果。结果表明,子实体与菌丝体多糖均能够显著延长小鼠的醉酒时间和缩短醒酒时间（P<0.05）,并降低了由酒精引起的肝指数、谷丙转氨酶（ALT）、谷草转氨酶（AST）和丙二醛（MDA）的升高,提高了乙醇脱氢酶（ADH）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）和超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）的活性,病理切片结果进一步证实了子实体多糖与菌丝体多糖可以减轻由酒精引起的细胞损伤,总体来说,子实体多糖比菌丝体多糖对急性酒精损伤小鼠的保护作用更强。该研究表明了粗毛纤孔菌子实体与菌丝体多糖对急性酒精肝损伤小鼠具有一定的保护作用,研究结果丰富了粗毛纤孔菌多糖的药理药效,为其功能食品的开发提供了新思路。     

桦褐孔菌三萜化合物提取工艺的优选

为了提高桦褐孔菌三萜化合物的产量,对其三萜化合物的提取工艺进行了初步优选。试验以桦褐孔菌发酵菌丝体为材料,齐墩果酸为标准品,用香草醛比色法测桦褐孔菌三萜化合物含量。通过单因素实验考察了不同提取剂、提取剂用量、提取温度、提取时间对桦褐孔菌三萜化合物提取的影响。结果表明,提取的最佳工艺为：以异丙醇为提取溶剂,用量为7倍,最佳提取温度为80℃,提取时间2h,在此条件下三萜化合物占菌丝体干质量的9．03％。该工艺的三萜桦褐物的提取率高,可用于桦褐孔菌中三萜化合物的提取。