Effects of various artificial agarwood-induction techniques on the metabolome of Aquilaria sinensis

Salty treatment increased bioactive compounds accumulation during agarwood development in Aquilaria sinensis trees

To compare the bioactive compounds in agarwood induced by different methods in Aquilaria sinensis(Lour.) Gilg trees, a two dimensional thin layer chromatograph(2D-TLC) combined with effect directive analysis(EDA) was developed. Three antioxidants were found by 2D-TLC-DPPH and further identified as 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromones(PECs) with LC-MS/MS. The 3 antioxidants decreased along agarwood formation and their compositions in drilling induced agarwood differed with those in microbe culture induced agarwood. Further study showed NaCl treatment promoted antioxidants accumulation in agarwood induced by drilling or hot drilling. Hot drilling combined with salty stimulation was most efficient in some chemicals accumulation, which were identified as PECs with antioxidant, tyrosinase or β-glucosidase inhibiting activities by 2D-TLC-EDA-LC-MS/MS. This study provided a 2D-TLC-EDA-LC-MS/MS method for bioactive compounds screen and qualification of agarwood. Based on this method, non-conventional methods were found to accelerate the accumulation of some bioactive PECs in A. sinensis trees.

Feeding Aquilaria sinensis Leaves Modulates Lipid Metabolism and Improves the Meat Quality of Goats

Aquilaria (A.) sinensis is a medicinal plant widely grown in tropical South China. Given the abundant pruning waste of its leaves, the use of A. sinensis leaves is valuable. In this study, goats were fed a diet containing 20% A. sinensis leaves. Compared with the basal diet, feeding A. sinensis leaves to goats did not affect growth performance but considerably reduced the feeding cost. Strikingly, feeding A. sinensis leaves resulted in a significant decrease in the blood cholesterol levels (2.11 vs. 1.49 mmol/L, p = 0.01) along with a significant increase in the high-density lipoprotein levels (1.42 vs. 1.82 mmol/L, p = 0.01). There was also a tendency to lower the content of low-density lipoprotein levels in goats (0.78 vs. 0.45 mmol/L, p = 0.09). Furthermore, metabolomics analysis demonstrated that the reduction in cholesterol levels occurred in both the serum (0.387-fold change) and muscle (0.382-fold change) of goats during A. sinensis leaf feeding. The metabolic responses to feeding A. sinensis leaves suggest that the activation of lipolysis metabolism might happen in goats. These observed changes would be conducive to improving animal health and meat quality, ultimately benefiting human health.

Rediscovering the Therapeutic Potential of Agarwood in the Management of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

The inflammatory response is a central aspect of the human immune system that acts as a defense mechanism to protect the body against infections and injuries. A dysregulated inflammatory response is a major health concern, as it can disrupt homeostasis and lead to a plethora of chronic inflammatory conditions. These chronic inflammatory diseases are one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide and the need for them to be managed in the long term has become a crucial task to alleviate symptoms and improve patients’ overall quality of life. Although various synthetic anti-inflammatory agents have been developed to date, these medications are associated with several adverse effects that have led to poor therapeutic outcomes. The hunt for novel alternatives to modulate underlying chronic inflammatory processes has unveiled nature to be a plentiful source. One such example is agarwood, which is a valuable resinous wood from the trees of Aquilaria spp. Agarwood has been widely utilized for medicinal purposes since ancient times due to its ability to relieve pain, asthmatic symptoms, and arrest vomiting. In terms of inflammation, the major constituent of agarwood, agarwood oil, has been shown to possess multiple bioactive compounds that can regulate molecular mechanisms of chronic inflammation, thereby producing a multitude of pharmacological functions for treating various inflammatory disorders. As such, agarwood oil presents great potential to be developed as a novel anti-inflammatory therapeutic to overcome the drawbacks of existing therapies and improve treatment outcomes. In this review, we have summarized the current literature on agarwood and its bioactive components and have highlighted the potential roles of agarwood oil in treating various chronic inflammatory diseases.