Discrimination of Lonicera japonica THUNB. from different geographical origins using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis

Cationic Conjugated Polymer Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer for DNA Methylation Assessment to Discriminate the Geographical Origins of Lonicerae japonicae flos

The flavor and taste of Lonicerae japonicae flos (LJF) products are heavily influenced by geographical origin. Tracing the geographical origin is an important aspect of LJF quality assessment. Here, DNA methylation analysis coupled with chemometrics revealed that, in 10 CpG islands upstream of genes in the chlorogenic acid and iridoid biosynthetic pathways, DNA methylation differences appear close association with LJF geographical origin. DNA methylation status in these CpG islands was determined using the cationic conjugated polymer fluorescence resonance energy transfer method. As a result, LJFs from 39 geographical origins were classified into four groups corresponding to Northern China, Central Plain of China, Southeast China, and Western China, according to cluster analysis and principal component analysis. Our findings contribute to an understanding of the modulation of LJF taste and can assist in understanding how DNA methylation in LJF varies with geographical origin.

Systematic review for geo-authentic Lonicerae Japonicae Flos

In traditional Chinese medicine, Lonicerae Japonicae Flos is commonly used as anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antipyretic herbal medicine, and geo-authentic herbs are believed to present the highest quality among all samples from different regions. To discuss the current situation and trend of geo-authentic Lonicerae Japonicae Flos, we searched Chinese Biomedicine Literature Database, Chinese Journal Full-text Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Full-text Database, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Wanfang, and PubMed. We investigated all studies up to November 2015 pertaining to quality assessment, discrimination, pharmacological effects, planting or processing, or ecological system of geo-authentic Lonicerae Japonicae Flos. Sixty-five studies mainly discussing about chemical fingerprint, component analysis, planting and processing, discrimination between varieties, ecological system, pharmacological effects, and safety were systematically reviewed. By analyzing these studies, we found that the key points of geo-authentic Lonicerae Japonicae Flos research were quality and application. Further studies should focus on improving the quality by selecting the more superior of all varieties and evaluating clinical effectiveness.

A comparative study of Lonicera japonica with related species: Morphological characteristics, ITS sequences and active compounds

Morphological characteristics, ITS sequences, and active compounds have been used to differentiate between species of Lonicera used in the traditional Chinese medicines Flos Lonicerae Japonicae (FLJ) and Flos Lonicerae (FL). FLJ includes L. japonica whereas FJ includes Lonicera macranthoides, Lonicera hypoglauca, Lonicera confusa and Lonicera fulvotomentosa. FLJ could be distinguished from FL using four quantitative and 10 qualitative characters, ITS sequences, chlorogenic acid and luteoloside contents. Analyses revealed that L. japonica was very different from the other species. The results have implications for the identification and quality control of species of Lonicera used medicinally, suggesting that species should not be interchanged in medicinal preparations.

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Morphological characteristics, ITS sequences and active compounds of 30 Lonicera germplasm were compared.

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Flos Lonicerae Japonicae (FLJ) and Flos Lonicerae (FJ) could be distinguished.

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FLJs are easy to identify from FL by Cfr I digested reaction of the ITS PCR products.

Stability and accuracy assessment of identification of traditional Chinese materia medica using DNA barcoding: a case study on Flos Lonicerae Japonicae

DNA barcoding is a novel molecular identification method that aids in identifying traditional Chinese materia medica using traditional identification techniques. However, further study is needed to assess the stability and accuracy of DNA barcoding. Flos Lonicerae Japonicae, a typical medicinal flower, is widely used in China, Korea, and other Southeast Asian countries. However, Flos Lonicerae Japonicae and its closely related species have been misused and traded at varying for a wide range of prices. Therefore, Flos Lonicerae Japonicae must be accurately identified. In this study, the ITS2 and psbA-trnH regions were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sequence assembly was performed using CodonCode Aligner V 3.5.4. The intra- versus inter-specific variations were assessed using six metrics and "barcoding gaps." Species identification was conducted using BLAST1 and neighbor-joining (NJ) trees. Results reveal that ITS2 and psbA-trnH exhibited an average intraspecific divergence of 0.001 and 0, respectively, as well as an average inter-specific divergence of 0.0331 and 0.0161. The identification efficiency of ITS2 and psbA-trnH evaluated using BLAST1 was 100%. Flos Lonicerae Japonicae was formed into one clade through the NJ trees. Therefore, Flos Lonicerae Japonicae can be stably and accurately identified through the ITS2 and psbA-trnH regions, respectively.

The mitochondrial pathway is involved in American ginseng-induced apoptosis of SW-480 colon cancer cells

Numerous effective anticancer drugs have been developed from botanical sources, and there remains a significant untapped resource in herbal medicines. In this study, we evaluated the chemical composition of extracts from American ginseng after steaming, the antiproliferative effects of the ginsenosides in the extracts on SW-480 human colorectal cancer cells, and their apoptotic mechanisms. American ginseng roots were steamed at 120 degrees C for 2 or 4 h. Representative ginsenosides in the unsteamed and steamed extracts were determined using HPLC. The antiproliferative effects of the ginsenosides Rb1, Rg3 and Rh2 on SW-480 cells were determined by the MTS method. The effect of extract steamed for 4 h on apoptosis of SW-480 cell was assayed by flow cytometry after staining with annexin V/PI. The expression of 84 apoptotic-related genes, including TNF, mitochondria and p53 pathways, was determined using real-time quantitative PCR array analysis. The mitochondrial membrane potential (Deltapsim) was analyzed after staining with FC-1. Steaming of American ginseng increased Rg3 and Rh2 content and antiproliferative activity significantly. The quantitative PCR array data demonstrated that multiple genes in mitochondrial pathway are involved in American ginseng-induced apoptosis of SW-480 cells and the expression profiling was validated by the cellular functional assay. The mitochondrial pathway may play a key role in American ginseng-mediated cancer cell apoptosis.