Introduction In recent years, research on wild edible plant resources has become increasingly popular. The Hassan Nature Reserve is a multiethnic area mainly composed of people belonging to the Han, Hui, and Mongolian groups. The utilization of edible wild plant resources in this area is extremely high. However, with the advancement of urbanization and the development of modern agricultural technology, these resources have been seriously damaged, and related traditional knowledge, such as that related to national medicine, has been lost. Methods Based on a literature study, interviews with village and community organizations, participatory observation, and quantitative evaluation of ethnobotanical resources, wild edible plants in the Gansu–Ningxia–Inner Mongolia junction zone, were investigated. Results The survey results showed that there were 53 species (varieties) of wild edible plants belonging to 24 families in this area. The Compositae and Liliaceae families were the most abundant, with 8 and 7 species, respectively. The young stems and leaves were the most edible parts of the plants, as observed for 17 species, followed by fruits (including young fruits), which were considered the edible part of 16 species. Other edible parts included the roots or rhizomes (bulbs), seeds, whole plants, skins, etc. The edible plants were consumed in two forms: raw and cooked; raw plants, mainly fruit, were typically consumed as snacks. The cooked foods mainly consisted of vegetables, with tender stems and leaves as the main food source. These components were also used as seasoning, in medicinal diets, and as an emergency food source in times of famine. Important (CFSI > 500) wild edible plants used in health care in the region include Mulgedium tataricum (L.) DC., Nostoc commune Vaucher ex Bornet & Flahault, Sonchus arvensis L., Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz., Allium schoenoprasum L., Robinia pseudoacacia L., Hemerocallis citrina Baroni, Elaeagnus angustifolia L., Medicago sativa L., Ulmus pumila L., Stachys sieboldii Miq., and Toona sinensis (Juss.) M. Roem., and these plants had high utilization values and rates locally. Conclusion In summary, the species of wild edible plants and their edible parts, categories, consumption forms and roles in health care in this area are diverse. The utilization of traditional knowledge is rich, and some wild plants have high development value.

Introduction: In recent years, research on wild edible plant resources has become a hotspot.Hassan Nature Reserve is a multi-ethnic mixed area mainly composed of Han, Hui and Mongolian. The edible development of wild plant resources in this area is extremely high. However, with the advancement of urbanization and the development of modern agricultural technology, such resources have been seriously damaged, and the related traditional knowledge such as national medicine has been lost.Methods: With the methods of literature study, interview with village and community organizations, participatory observation and quantitative evaluation of ethnobotany, the wild edible plants in hassan region of gansu-ningxia-inner mongolia interchange belt were investigated and studied.Results: The survey results showed that there were 53 species (varieties) of wild edible plants belonging to 24 families in this area, with 8 species and 7 species in Compositae and Liliaceae, respectively, being the most abundant. The young stems and leaves were the most edible parts, with 17 species, followed by the fruits (including young fruits) with 16 species. In addition, the edible parts also included root or rhizome (bulb), seed, whole plant, skin, etc. There were two types of raw food and cooked food, raw food was mainly used as snacks, mainly fruit; The cooked food is mainly vegetables with tender stems and leaves as the main, in addition can also be used as seasoning, medicinal diet, emergency food in the famine years. Important (CFSI>500) wild edible health-care plants in the region include: Mulgedium tataricum (L.) DC., Nostoccommune, Sonchus arvensis L., Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz., Allium schoenoprasum, Robinia pseudoacacia, Hemerocallis citrina Baroni, Elaeagnus angustifolia Linn., Medicago sativa L., Ulmus pumila L., Stachys sieboldii Miq. var. sieboldii, Tooinensis (A. Juss.) Roem. var. sinensis, had high utilization value and utilization rate in the locality.Conclusion: In summary, the species, edible parts, edible categories, edible methods and health care functions of wild edible plants in this area are diverse, and the traditional utilization knowledge is rich, and some wild plants have high development value.

In herbal markets, an overwhelming majority the Dendrobium nobile are sold in dried strips form, and this product type would lead to the incomplete release of the active ingredient. To increase the bioaccessibility of Dendrobium nobile, we obtained powders of different particle sizes by shear-breaking and superfine-grinding to further compare its sensory properties, physical properties, the leaching rate of active ingredients and antioxidant activity in vitro. The results showed that the superfine-grinding changed the sensory properties and physical properties of Dendrobium nobile, with an increase in bulk density, a decrease in swelling capacity and water-holding capacity and an increase in water solubility index. The method also contributed to the release of total polysaccharides, dendrobine, total polyphenols and total flavonoids components, thereby increasing ABTS, DPPH and nitrite ion scavenging activity. In addition, scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy analyses showed that superfine-grinding had no effect on the primary structure of the fractions as with decreasing particle size. This study suggested that superfine-grinding could be a promising method for producing Dendrobium nobile powders with higher contents of bioactive compounds and bioactivity.

In order to investigate the differences in the chemical composition of Dendrobium officinale at different altitudes, we collected Dendrobium officinale from different altitudes in Guizhou Province, China, and firstly determined its polysaccharide content by using a sulfuric acid-phenol color development method with reference to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and further determined its metabolites by using widely targeted metabolomics, and explored the differences in the chemical composition of Dendrobium officinale at different altitudes using multivariate statistical analysis. We found that the polysaccharide content was higher in plants growing at 1122 m, a total of 902 secondary metabolites were detected by wildly targeted metabolomics, and amino acids and their derivatives were more highly expressed at 1122 m, while other metabolites were more highly expressed at 835 m. Furthermore, we found that the phenolic acid compound nerugein was only present in plants at 835 m, and two lipid compounds, namely Lyso PE 20 : 4 and its isomer, were only present at 1122 m. Taken together, these results may provide a basis for the selection and clinical application of D. officinale cultivated at different altitudes.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is currently considered a global healthcare problem with limited pharmacological treatment options. There are abundant cell types in the liver, such as hepatocytes, endothelial cells, Kupffer cells and so on, but little is known about which kind of liver cells play the most important role in the process of ALD. To obtain a cellular resolution of alcoholic liver injury pathogenesis, 51,619 liver single-cell transcriptomes (scRNA-seq) with different alcohol consumption durations were investigated, 12 liver cell types were identified, and the cellular and molecular mechanisms of the alcoholic liver injury were revealed. We found that more aberrantly differential expressed genes (DEGs) were present in hepatocytes, endothelial cells, and Kupffer cells than in other cell types in alcoholic treatment mice. Alcohol promoted the pathological processes of liver injury; the specific mechanisms involved: lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, hypoxia, complementation and anticoagulation, and hepatocyte energy metabolism on hepatocytes; NO production, immune regulation, epithelial and cell migration on endothelial cells; antigen presentation and energy metabolism on Kupffer cells, based on the GO analysis. In addition, our results showed that some transcription factors (TFs) are activated in alcohol-treated mice. In conclusion, our study improves the understanding of liver cell heterogeneity in alcohol-fed mice at the single-cell level. It has potential value for understanding key molecular mechanisms and improving current prevention and treatment strategies for short-term alcoholic liver injury.

Introduction The Gelao people are a unique minority in Southwest China with a unique culture for the utilization of edible plants, including a large number of medicinal plants. They believe that at least 61 species are edible and have medicinal value. Ethnobotany research can reveal the local knowledge of the Gelao people regarding the traditional use of plants and the relationship between this minority and their living environment to help retain and pass on this traditional knowledge forever. Methods Edible wild plants and their applied ethnic knowledge were investigated in three counties in northern Guizhou. Gelao residents were the main informants, and literature search, village interviews, participatory observation and quantitative ethnobotany evaluation were used. Results A total of 151 species of wild plants in 67 families are collected and eaten by Gelao residents, among which 61 species were considered to have medicinal value, accounting for 40.4% of the total, and 43 were listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. There were 57 plant species with fruits as their edible parts, which are consumed as snacks, followed by 54 species whose young seedlings and leaves are the edible parts, most of which are consumed cold or stir-fried. Other edible parts included roots or rhizomes (bulbs), flowers, whole plants, seeds, fruiting bodies and stems. There were two consumption modes: raw and cooked. Raw foods were mainly consumed as snacks, which mainly comprise fruits. Cooked foods were mainly vegetables consumed cold or stir-fried. Some plants were used as seasonings, infused wines, condiments and grains. The main medicinal functions were nourishing and reducing heatiness. Nourishing plants were mainly “shen” plants and Liliaceae, while plants able to reduce heatiness were mainly Asteraceae. Others functions included anti-hangover, anticancer and insecticidal. There were 38 species of important edible wild plants (CFSI > 500) in northern Guizhou, which had a high utilization rate. Houttuynia cordata Thunb. and Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. were the most representative edible wild plants in this area. The species, edible parts, edible categories, consumption modes and medicinal functions of edible wild plants in this area are diverse, and the traditional knowledge on their uses is rich. However, the number of wild plant species eaten by the informants and their related knowledge were positively correlated with age, which indicates that the rich traditional knowledge in this area is gradually disappearing with urbanization. Conclusions The Gelao have a rich history of consuming wild plants. With the development of the social economy, the traditional knowledge passed from older generations is gradually being lost and its inheritance is facing great risks. This study collects, sorts and spreads this precious traditional knowledge, which is of great value to its protection and inheritance and fully demonstrates the value and importance of our work.

Introduction: Gelao is a unique minority in southwest China, which has a unique culture on the utilization of edible plant resources, including a large number of medicinal plant resources. They believe that at least 61 species are edible and have medicinal value, and they are used for health care in their lives. Ethnobotany research can understand the local knowledge of Gelao people regarding the traditional use of plants and the relationship between Gelao people and their living environment in order to keep and pass on this traditional knowledge forever. At the same time, we can also explore wild plant resources with high utilization value such as medicine plants, discuss their development value, and provide appropriate suggestions for protecting biodiversity and sustainable development and utilization of wild resources in minority areas. Methods: The edible wild plant resources and their applied ethnic knowledge were investigated by taking Daozhen County, Wuchuan County and Zheng'an County in Northern Guizhou as the study areas, and Gelao residents as the main interviewees and by using the methods of literature research, village interviews, participatory observation and quantitative evaluation of ethnobotany. Results: The survey results showed that 151species of wild plants belonging to 67families are collected and eaten by Gelao residents in this area, among which 61 species are considered by Gelao residents to have medicinal value, accounting for 40.4% of the total, and 43 were collected in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 edition). There are 57 plants species with fruits as their edible parts, so they eat more snack items. This was followed by 54 species of plants whose young seedlings and leaves are the edible parts, most of which are consumed cold or stir-fried. In addition, other edible parts include roots or rhizomes (bulbs), flowers, whole plants, seeds, fruiting bodies, and stems. There were two consumption modes: raw and cooked. Raw foods are mainly consumed as snacks, which mainly comprise fruits. Cooked foods are mainly vegetables that mainly consumed cold or stir-fried. In addition, some plant resources were be used seasoning, infused wines, condiments, and miscellaneous grains. The main medicinal functions are nourishing and reducing heatiness, the nourishing were mainly from "Shen" and Liliaceae,while the reducing heatiness were mainly from plants of Asteraceae, and others include anti-hangover, anticancer and insecticidal functions. There were 38 species of important edible wild plants (CFSI>500) in Northern Guizhou, and these wild plants have a high utilization rate in this area. Houttuynia cordata Thunb. and Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. are the most representative edible wild plants in this area. The species, edible parts, edible categories, consumption modes and medicinal functions of edible wild plants in this area are diverse, and the traditional knowledge on their uses is rich. However, the number of wild plant species eaten by the reporters and their related processing information were positively correlated with age, which indicates that the rich traditional knowledge in this area is gradually disappearing with the urbanization process. Conclusions: Gelao is a special ethnic group in mountainous area of northern Guizhou with a rich history of edible wild plant. With the development of social economy, the traditional knowledge accumulated from generations to generations is gradually forgotten by the younger generation, and the inheritance is faced with great risks. This study collect, sort out and spread these traditional knowledge, which is of great value to the protection and inheritance of these precious traditional knowledge and also fully demonstrate the value and importance of our work.

Terpenoids are one of the secondary metabolites of plants and are the most widely distributed in nature with a diverse skeleton and significant biological activity, among which sesquiterpenoids are the most abundant. Sesquiterpenoids and triterpenoids are mainly synthesized by the mevalonate pathway, and the processes involve a variety of key enzymes and are regulated by transcription factors. They play important roles in plant growth and development, environmental adaptation, and resistance to pests and diseases. It is important to understand the gene functions of key enzymes to increase the production of sesquiterpenoids and triterpenoids to meet the market demand and to study the mevalonate biosynthesis pathway in depth. In this paper, the progress of gene cloning and transcription factor regulation of sesquiterpenes, triterpenoids and key enzymes of mevalonate synthesis pathway will be briefly reviewed.