Houttuynia cordata (Saururaceae) injection (HCI) is a traditional Chinese medicine used in China. It was chosen as one of eight types of traditional Chinese medicine that play a unique role in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) owing to the effect of curbing inflammation. In order to validate this plausible anti-inflammatory property, the chemical composition of HCI has been analysed by GC/MS, 22 components were identified, and the inflammation induced by carrageenan in the rat pleurisy model and by xylene in the mice ear edema model was adopted to study the anti-inflammatory activity of HCI. Injection of carrageenan into the pleural cavity elicited an acute inflammatory response characterized by protein rich fluid accumulation and leukocyte infiltration in the pleural cavity. The peak inflammatory response was obtained at 24 h when the fluid volume, protein concentration, C-reactive protein and cell infiltration were maximums. The results showed that these parameters were attenuated by HCI at any dose and touched bottom at dose of 0.54 ml/100 g, although less strong than dexamethasone. This drug was also effective in inhibiting xylene induced ear edema, and the percentage of inhibition came to 50% at dose of 80 microl/20 g. The results clearly indicate that HCI have anti-inflammatory activity.

Houttuynia THUNB. (Saururaceae) had a long history of use in the Chinese indigenous systems of medicine and was considered antiseptic, febrifuge, diuretic and deobstruan. It was frequently used in many traditional medicines for their antimicrobial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. 1-4)The occurrence of the essential oil in this plant was associated with a possible role in HIV and SARS. 5,6)

BackgroundDyes derived from plants have an extensive history of use for coloring food and clothing in Dong communities and other indigenous areas in the uplands of China. In addition to use as coloring agents, Dong communities have historically utilized dye plants for their value for enhancing the nutritive, medicinal and preservative properties of foods. However, the persistence of plant-derived dyes and associated cultural practices and traditional knowledge is threatened with rapid socio-economic change in China. Research is needed to document the ethnobotany of dye plants in indigenous communities towards their conservation and potential commercialization as a sustainable means of supporting local development initiatives.MethodsSemi-structured surveys on plants used for coloring agents and associated traditional knowledge were conducted in fifteen Dong villages of Tongdao County in Hunan Province of South Central China during 2011–2012. Transect walks were carried out with key informants identified from semi-structured surveys to collect samples and voucher specimens for each documented plant species for taxonomic identification.ResultsDong households at the study sites utilize the flowers, bark, stems, tubers and roots of 13 plant species from 9 families as dyes to color their customary clothing and food. Out of the documented plants, a total of 7 are used for coloring food, 3 for coloring clothing and 3 for both food and clothing. Documented plants consist of 3 species that yield black pigments, 3 for brownish red/russet pigments, 3 for red pigments, 2 for dark blue pigments and 2 for yellow pigments. In addition to dyes, the plants have multiple uses including medicinal, ornamental, sacrificial, edible, and for timber.ConclusionsThe use of dyes derived from plants persists at the study sites for their important role in expressing Dong cultural identity through customary clothing and food. Further research is needed to evaluate the safety of dye plants, their efficacy in enhancing food items and their commercial potential. Conservation policies and management plans are called for to preserve these ethnobotanical resources in a sustainable manner that supports local livelihoods while maintaining cultural practices.

a b s t r a c tAberrant expression of miR-204 had been frequently reported in cancer studies; however, the mechanism of its function in retinoblastoma remained unknown. Here, we reported that miR-204 was frequently downregulated in retinoblastoma tissues and cell lines. Enforced expression of miR-204 inhibited retinoblastoma cells' proliferation and invasion. In vivo study indicated that restoration of miR-204 inhibited tumor growth. CyclinD2 and MMP-9 were identified as potential targets of miR-204. In addition, a reverse correlation between miR-204 and CyclinD2 or MMP-9 expression was noted in retinoblastoma tissues. Taken together, our results identified a crucial tumor suppressive role of miR-204 in the progression of retinoblastoma.

Background Houttuynia cordata Thunb. is an important traditional medical herb in China and other Asian countries, with high medicinal and economic value. However, a lack of available genomic information has become a limitation for research on this species. Thus, we carried out high-throughput transcriptomic sequencing of H. cordata to generate an enormous transcriptome sequence dataset for gene discovery and molecular marker development.Principal FindingsIllumina paired-end sequencing technology produced over 56 million sequencing reads from H. cordata mRNA. Subsequent de novo assembly yielded 63,954 unigenes, 39,982 (62.52%) and 26,122 (40.84%) of which had significant similarity to proteins in the NCBI nonredundant protein and Swiss-Prot databases (E-value <10−5), respectively. Of these annotated unigenes, 30,131 and 15,363 unigenes were assigned to gene ontology categories and clusters of orthologous groups, respectively. In addition, 24,434 (38.21%) unigenes were mapped onto 128 pathways using the KEGG pathway database and 17,964 (44.93%) unigenes showed homology to Vitis vinifera (Vitaceae) genes in BLASTx analysis. Furthermore, 4,800 cDNA SSRs were identified as potential molecular markers. Fifty primer pairs were randomly selected to detect polymorphism among 30 samples of H. cordata; 43 (86%) produced fragments of expected size, suggesting that the unigenes were suitable for specific primer design and of high quality, and the SSR marker could be widely used in marker-assisted selection and molecular breeding of H. cordata in the future.ConclusionsThis is the first application of Illumina paired-end sequencing technology to investigate the whole transcriptome of H. cordata and to assemble RNA-seq reads without a reference genome. These data should help researchers investigating the evolution and biological processes of this species. The SSR markers developed can be used for construction of high-resolution genetic linkage maps and for gene-based association analyses in H. cordata. This work will enable future functional genomic research and research into the distinctive active constituents of this genus.