The objectives of this study were to investigate the seasonal changes of steroid profiles, estradiol-17P (E2), testosterone (TI, and 17a-hydroxyprogesterone (17a-OH p), among female, male, and reversing female black porgy, Acanthopagrus schlegeli. The experimental induction of sex reversal in juvenile black porgy by exogenous E2 was also studied. Three-year-old male (n = 8) and four-year-old female (n = 7) black porgy were selected for the experiment of seasonal changes of steroid profiles. Blood samples were collected from each fish at 2 week intervals for 8 months. Plasma samples in three-year-old males were further classified to those of males (n = 4) and reversing females (n = 4) based on the sexual stage of the gonad at the end of the experiment. Plasma E2 profiles in males were significantly different from those in the reversing females. Peak levels of plasma E2 in the females and reversing females occurring during the early prespawning season were similar. Lower levels of plasma E2 were, however, observed in the males. Plasma T did not differ significantly in females, males or reversing females. Low and constant levels of plasma 17a-OH P were observed in each group of fish. In the experimental induction of sex reversal, oral administration of E2 (4 mg per kg of feed) for 5 months suppressed the spermiation and inhibited gonadal growth but successfully induced the precocious sex change at the prespawning stage in one-year-old black porgy. Ovarian tissue with primary oocytes was predominant in the gonads of E2-fed fishes. Our data suggest that high levels of plasma E2 in the prespawning and spawning season are likely correlated with the natural sex reversal of black porgy. E2 likely plays an important role i n sex reversal of protandrous black porgy. o 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Black porgy, Acanthopagrus schlegeli, a marine protandrous hermaphrodite, is widely distributed and considered a valuable species in various parts of Asia (Sadovy and Shapiro, '87; Chang and Yueh, '90a). Fish are males for the first two years of life but begin to sexually reverse to females after the third year. Only approximately 39% of the cultured black porgy changed to females, and the remainder still exhibited the male phase during the third spawning season (Lin et al., '87). Black porgy in Taiwan have an annual reproductive cycle with a pattern of multiple spawning occurring in later winter and early spring. The annual cycle of plasma steroid profiles in one-year-old male and adult female black porgy has been investigated (Chang and Yueh, '90a). Both estradiol-17P (E2) and testosterone (T) were increased to high levels during the spawning season (Chang and Yueh, '90a). Plasma hormonal profiles during the process of natural sex reversal in black porgy have not been closely investigated. The possible role of hormones in the onset of the natural sex reversal in protandrous fish is still not known (Reinboth, '88). Therefore, seasonal change of the plasma sex steroids, E2, T, and 0 1994 WILEY-LISS, INC.17a-hydroxyprogesterone (17a...

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Erianin is a small‐molecule compound that is isolated from Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl. In recent years, it has been found to have evident antitumor activity in various cancers, such as bladder cancer, cervical cancer, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. In this study, we assessed the effect of erianin on lung cancer in terms of cell growth inhibition and the related mechanism. First, erianin at a concentration of less than 1 nmol/L exhibited cytotoxicity in H1975, A549, LLC lung cancer cells, did not cause marked growth inhibition in normal lung and kidney cells, induced obvious apoptosis and G2/M phase arrest of cells, and inhibited the migration and invasion of lung cancer cells in vitro. Second, in a mouse xenograft model of lewis lung cancer (LLC), oral administration of erianin (50, 35, and 10 mg kg−1 day−1 for 12 days) substantially inhibited nodule growth, reduced the fluorescence counts of lewis cells and the percentage vascularity of tumor tissues, increased the number of apoptotic tumor cells, the thymus indices, up‐regulated the levels of interleukin (IL)‐2 and tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), decreased IL‐10 levels and the spleen index, and enhanced immune function. Lastly, the possible targets of erianin were determined by molecular docking and verified via western blot assay. The results indicated that erianin may achieve the above effects via inhibiting the phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in vitro and vivo. Taken together, the results showed that erianin had obvious antitumor effects via inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in vitro and vivo and may have potential clinical value for the treatment of lung cancer.

Patchouli (“Guanghuoxiang”) or scientifically known as Pogostemon cablin Benth, belonging to the family Lamiaceae, has been used in traditional Chinse medicine (TCM) since the time of the Eastern Han dynasty. In TCM theory, patchouli can treat colds, nausea, fever, headache, and diarrhea. Various bioactive compounds have been identified in patchouli, including terpenoids, phytosterols, flavonoids, organic acids, lignins, glycosides, alcohols, pyrone, and aldehydes. Among the numerous compounds, patchouli alcohol, β-patchoulene, patchoulene epoxide, pogostone, and pachypodol are of great importance. The pharmacological impacts of these compounds include anti-peptic ulcer effect, antimicrobial effect, anti-oxidative effect, anti-inflammatory effect, effect on ischemia/reperfusion injury, analgesic effect, antitumor effect, antidiabetic effect, anti-hypertensive effect, immunoregulatory effect, and others.For this review, we examined publications from the previous five years collected from PubMed, Web of Science, Springer, and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases. This review summarizes the recent progress in phytochemistry, pharmacology, and mechanisms of action and provides a reference for future studies focused on clinical applications of this important plant extract.

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