Efficacy of Compounds Isolated from the Essential Oil of Artemisia lavandulaefolia in Control of the Cigarette Beetle, Lasioderma serricorne

Network pharmacology analysis of the pharmacological mechanism of Artemisia lavandulaefolia DC. in rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE

The traditional She medicine is a notable type of traditional Chinese medicine, which has been applied for a long history despite the lack of sufficient mechanistic understanding. Our study revealed the possible molecular mechanism of sesquiterpene 5α-Hydroxycostic acid, active ingredient of traditional She medicine Artemisia lavandulaefolia DC., in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

METHODS

RA-fibroblast like synoviocytes (RA-FLSs) were treated with 5α-Hydroxycostic acid, Anthemidin, and methotrexate (MTX). CCK-8 and ELISA were used to measure the resultant viability of RA-FLSs and to quantify pro-inflammatory cytokines. Target genes of 5α-Hydroxycostic acid and Anthemidin, RA-related differentially expressed genes, and RA-related genes were retrieved by bioinformatics analyses, results of which were further intersected to identify candidate genes. The protein-protein interaction network was constructed to develop the pharmacophore model. The molecular docking was simulated to determine the core target androgen receptor (AR) for subsequent molecular mechanism investigation in vitro.

RESULTS

The 5ɑ-Hydroxycostic acid, Anthemidin, or MTX of different concentrations inhibited the viability of RA-FLSs, and downregulated the levels of proinflammatory cytokines. The pharmacophore model and molecular docking of 10 candidate targets with 5α-Hydroxycostic acid were successfully established. In vitro experiments provided evidence confirming that 5α-Hydroxycostic acid elevated AR expression to inhibit inflammatory responses of RA-FLSs and degradation of extracellular matrix.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, this study reveals the active ingredient sesquiterpene 5α-Hydroxycostic acid of traditional She medicine Artemisia lavandulaefolia DC., and illustrates potential molecular mechanism in RA treatment by upregulating AR expression. This study is the first to report the effect of the active ingredient sesquiterpenes in traditional She medicine A.lavandulaefolia DC on RA and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanism associated with up-regulated AR expression. This study provides new insights into the mechanistic understanding of traditional She medicine in the treatment of RA.

Insecticidal Activity of a Component, (-)-4-Terpineol, Isolated from the Essential Oil of Artemisia lavandulaefolia DC. against Plutella xylostella (L.)

Plutella xylostella (L.) is one of the most serious pests of cruciferous vegetables. Our previous work demonstrated that the essential oil of Artemisia lavandulaefolia DC. exhibits promising insecticidal activities against P. xylostella. This study further characterizes the key components that are responsible for the insecticidal effect. In total, 47 compounds (96.52% of the total compounds) were identified from the total oil using GC-MS, and the major compounds were eucalyptol (21.57%), D(+)-camphor (17.33%), (-)-4-terpineol (9.96%) and caryophyllene oxide (10.96%). Among them, (-)-4-terpineol showed significantly larvicidal and fumigant activities against P. xylostella. The LD₅₀ of (-)-4-terpineol was 43.15 mg/mL at 12 h and 31.22 mg/mL at 24 h for 3rd instar larvae, and the LC₅₀ for adults was 8.34 mg/mL at 12 h and 7.35 mg/mL at 24 h. In addition, the adults treated with (-)-4-terpineol showed varying degrees of inhibitory activity toward glutathione S-transferase, catalase, acetylcholinesterase and Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase at different post-treatment intervals and concentrations. The results indicate that (-)-4-terpineol has promising insecticidal activities against P. xylostella, and it has good inhibitory effects on the four enzymes of P. xylostella adults.

Chemical Diversity and Anti-Insect Activity Evaluation of Essential Oils Extracted from Five Artemisia Species

As a source of aromatic plants, the genus Artemisia has long been considered to have the potential to develop plant pesticides. In this study, components of essential oils from A. dalai-lamae, A. tangutica, A. sieversiana, A. tanacetifolia and A. ordosica were identified by GC-MS. A total of 56 constituents were analysed, and each species consisted of 9 to 24 constituents. Principle component analysis (PCA) revealed that A. dalai-lamae, A. tangutica and A. tanacetifolia are characterised by monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) showed the most remarkable similarity between A. sieversiana and A. ordosica, but the similarity was still lower than 50%. Contact toxicity and repellency of essential oils were evaluated by bioassays; A. ordosica oil exhibited the most substantial contact toxicity (LD50 = 52.11 μg/cm2) against Liposcelis bostrychophila, while A. tangutica oil showed the most potent contact toxicity (LD50 = 17.42 μg/adult) against Tribolium castaneum. Except for A. dalai-lamae, the other four species showed the same level (p > 0.05) of repellent activity as the positive control against both pests at high concentrations. The results indicated that these five Artemisia species had high chemical diversity and great potential to be developed into more effective and environmentally friendly anti-insect agents.

Behavioral Response, Fumigation Activity, and Contact Activity of Plant Essential Oils Against Tobacco Beetle (Lasioderma serricorne (F.)) Adults

Tobacco beetle (Lasioderma serricorne (F.)) is one of the main storage pests that harm tobacco leaves. The current control methods mainly include physical control, chemical control, and biological control, but they all have their own disadvantages. In this study, 22 kinds of plant essential oils in grapefruit, peppermint, juniper, eucalyptus, myrrh, lemon grass, geranium, tea tree, cypress, citronella, patchouli, benzoin, rosemary, cinnamon, clary sage, bergamot, mastic, ginger, rose hydrosol, cedar, thyme, and basil, respectively, are selected to explore their behavioral responses against L. serricorne adults using a glass Y-tube olfactometer. The behavioral responses results show that 17 kinds of essential oils in eucalyptus, basil, grapefruit, cypress, mastic, peppermint, patchouli, juniper, geranium, thyme, benzoin, lemon grass, cinnamon, ginger, rosemary, clary sage, and citronella can avoid L. serricorne adults, while five kinds of essential oils in tea tree, rose hydrosol, myrrh, bergamot, and cedar can attract L. serricorne adults. Especially, essential oils in eucalyptus and grapefruit can avoid L. serricorne adults at 1 μl/L with the repellent rates of 94.67 and 94.56%, respectively. Meanwhile, 17 kinds of essential oils which can avoid L. serricorne adults are selected to determine their fumigation activity against L. serricorne adults using the Erlenmeyer flask test method, and bioassay results show that after 72 h of treatment, five kinds of plant essential oils in rosemary, eucalyptus, basil, citronella, and geranium show excellent fumigation activity against L. serricorne adults with the mortality rates of 100.00, 95.29, 95.29, 94.12, and 91.76%, respectively, and their LD50 of the contact activity against L. serricorne adults determined using the leaf-dipping method are 3.60, 3.49, 8.90, 6.70, and 7.80 μl/L, respectively. Our results show that plant essential oils could be developed as environmentally friendly insect control agents.

Chlorogenic Acid Isomers Isolated from Artemisia lavandulaefolia Exhibit Anti-Rosacea Effects In Vitro

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting facial skin. It is associated with immune and vascular dysfunction mediated via increased expression and activity of cathelicidin and kallikrein 5 (KLK5), a serine protease of stratum corneum. Therefore, KLK5 inhibitors are considered as therapeutic agents for improving the underlying pathophysiology and clinical manifestation of rosacea. Here, we isolated the active constituents of Artemisia lavandulaefolia (A. lavandulaefolia) and investigated their inhibitory effect on KLK5 protease activity. Using bioassay-guided isolation, two bioactive compounds including chlorogenic acid isomers, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (isochlorogenic acid A) (1), and 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (isochlorogenic acid C) (2) were isolated from A. lavandulaefolia. In this study, we evaluated the effects of isochlorogenic acids A and C on dysregulation of vascular and immune responses to rosacea, and elucidated their molecular mechanisms of action. The two chlorogenic acid isomers inhibit KLK5 protease activity, leading to reduced conversion of inactive cathelicidin into active LL-37. This inhibition of LL-37 production by isochlorogenic acids A and C reveals the efficacy of suppressing the expression of inflammatory mediators induced by LL-37 in immune cells such as macrophages and mast cells. In addition, both isomers of chlorogenic acid directly inhibited the proliferation and migration of vascular endothelial cells induced by LL-37.

Secondary Metabolites from Artemisia Genus as Biopesticides and Innovative Nano-Based Application Strategies

The Artemisia genus includes a large number of species with worldwide distribution and diverse chemical composition. The secondary metabolites of Artemisia species have numerous applications in the health, cosmetics, and food sectors. Moreover, many compounds of this genus are known for their antimicrobial, insecticidal, parasiticidal, and phytotoxic properties, which recommend them as possible biological control agents against plant pests. This paper aims to evaluate the latest available information related to the pesticidal properties of Artemisia compounds and extracts and their potential use in crop protection. Another aspect discussed in this review is the use of nanotechnology as a valuable trend for obtaining pesticides. Nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, and nanocapsules represent a more efficient method of biopesticide delivery with increased stability and potency, reduced toxicity, and extended duration of action. Given the negative impact of synthetic pesticides on human health and on the environment, Artemisia-derived biopesticides and their nanoformulations emerge as promising ecofriendly alternatives to pest management.

Essential oils and their bioactive compounds as eco-friendly novel green pesticides for management of storage insect pests: prospects and retrospects

The control of storage insect pests is largely based on synthetic pesticides. However, due to fast growing resistance in the targeted insects, negative impact on humans and non-target organisms as well as the environment, there is an urgent need to search some safer alternatives of these xenobiotics. Many essential oils (EOs) and their bioactive compounds have received particular attention for application as botanical pesticides, since they exhibited high insecticidal efficacy, diverse mode of action, and favourable safety profiles on mammalian system as well as to the non-target organisms. Data collected from scientific articles show that these EOs and their bioactive compounds exhibited insecticidal activity via fumigant, contact, repellent, antifeedant, ovicidal, oviposition deterrent and larvicidal activity, and by inhibiting/altering important neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine esterase (AChE) and octopamine or neurotransmitter inhibitor γ-amino butyric acid (GABA), as well as by altering the enzymatic [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidases (POx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and glutathione reductase (GR)] and non-enzymatic [glutathione (GSH)] antioxidant defence systems. However, in spite of promising pesticidal efficacy against storage pests, the practical application of EOs and their bioactive compounds in real food systems remain rather limited because of their high volatility, poor water solubility and susceptibility towards degradation. Nanoencapsulation/nanoemulsion of EOs is currently considered as a promising tool that improved water solubility, enhanced bio-efficacy, stability and controlled release, thereby expanding their applicability.

Insecticidal Activities and Chemical Composition of the Essential Oils of Ajania nitida and Ajania nematoloba from China

In this work, we investigated insecticidal and repellent activities of the essential oils extracted from Ajania nitida and Ajania nematoloba against Tribolium castaneum and Lasioderma serricorne adults. The components of essential oils were analyzed by GC-MS. The main components of A. nitida oil were camphor (20.76%), thujone (18.64%), eucalyptol (13.42%), borneol (8.32%) and those of A. nematoloba oil were β-pinene (34.72%), eucalyptol (24.97%) and verbenol (20.39%). The results showed that the two essential oils possessed insecticidal and repellent activities against two species of insects. A. nitida oil possessed contact and fumigant toxicity against T. castaneum (LD₅₀ = 30.10 µg/adult and LC₅₀ = 21.07 mg/L air) and L.serricorne (LD₅₀ = 17.51 µg/adult and LC₅₀ = 11.23 mg/L air). A.nematoloba oil showed contact and fumigant toxicity against T. castaneum (LD₅₀ = 102.29µg/adult and LC₅₀ = 69.45 mg/L air) and contact toxicity against L.serricorne (LD₅₀ = 53.43 µg/adult), but no obvious fumigant effect was observed against L.serricorne. Both of essential oils possessed strong repellent activity against T. castaneum and certain repellent activity against L.serricorne. Especially, A. nematoloba oil showed the same level percentage repellency as DEET(the positve control) against T. castaneum. The results indicated that the essential oils of A. nitida and A. nematoloba had the potential to be developed as natural insecticides and repellents for the control of T. castaneum and L.serricorne.

Endophytic Fungi in Species of Artemisia

The genus Artemisia, a collection of ~400 hardy herbaceous plant and shrub species, is an important resource contributing to chemistry, medicine, agriculture, industry, and ecology. Its communities of endophytic fungi have only recently begun to be explored. Summarized from studies conducted on the fungal endophytes in Artemisia species, both fungal phylogenetic diversity and the associated bioactivity was examined. Isolations from 14 species of Artemisia have led to 51 genera of fungal endophytes, 28 families, and 18 orders. Endophytes belonged mainly to Ascomycota, except for two taxa of Cantharellales and Sporidiobolales, one taxon of Mucoromycota, and one species of Oomycota. The mostly common families were Pleosporaceae, Trichocomaceae, Leptosphaeriaceae, and Botryosphaeriaceae (relative abundance = 14.89, 8.51, 7.14 and 6.38, respectively). In the search for bioactive metabolites, 27 novel compounds were characterized and 22 metabolites were isolated between 2006 and 2017. The first study on endophytic fungi isolated from species of Artemisia was published but 18 years ago. This summary of recently acquired data illustrates the considerable diversity of biological purposes addressed by fungal endophytes of Artemisia spp.