Magnolol (MG) is one of the primary active components of Magnoliae officinalis cortex, which has been widely used in traditional Chinese and Japanese herbal medicine and possesses a wide range of pharmacological activities. In recent years, attention has been drawn to this component due to its potential as an anti-inflammatory and antitumor drug. To summarize the new biological and pharmacological data on MG, we screened the literature from January 2011 to October 2020. In this review, we provide an actualization of already known anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular protection, antiangiogenesis, antidiabetes, hypoglycemic, antioxidation, neuroprotection, gastrointestinal protection, and antibacterial activities of MG. Besides, results from studies on antitumor activity are presented. We also summarized the molecular mechanisms, toxicity, bioavailability, and formulations of MG. Therefore, we provide a valid cognition of MG.

Luteolin is a flavonoid compound with a variety of pharmacological effects. In this study, we explored the effects of luteolin on monocrotaline (MCT) induced rat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and underlying mechanisms. A rat PAH model was generated through MCT injection. In this model, luteolin improved pulmonary vascular remodeling and right ventricular hypertrophy, meanwhile, luteolin could inhibit the proliferation and migration of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells induced by platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, our results showed that luteolin could downregulate the expression of LATS1 and YAP, decrease YAP nuclear localization, reduce the expression of PI3K, and thereby restrain the phosphorylation of AKT induced by PDGF-BB. In conclusion, luteolin ameliorated experimental PAH, which was at least partly mediated through suppressing HIPPO-YAP/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Therefore, luteolin might become a promising candidate for treatment of PAH.

A simple, sensitive and accurate method based on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detector (DAD) was developed and validated for systematic quality evaluation of one type of traditional Chinese medicine preparations named Xinkeshu (XKS) tablet. In this study, the chromatographic fingerprints of XKS tablet were developed first, 23 peaks were selected as the common peaks to evaluate the similarities among different batches of XKS samples, which were manufactured in a long time span of three years. Additionally, simultaneous quantification of six markers in XKS tablet, including Danshensu, Protocatechuic aldehyde, Puerarin, Daidzin, Salvianolic acid B and Daidzein, was performed. The validation results showed that the developed method was specific, accurate, precise and robust. The preliminary explanation on why a close similarity between fingerprints did not exactly mean similar contents of chemical components in samples was given. The contribution of each chromatographic peak to similarity was also evaluated. The developed method offers an efficient, reliable and practical approach for systematic quality evaluation of XKS tablet.

PurposeLong noncoding RNA (lncRNA) PVT1 was detected all types of cancer from Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project; however, the role of PVT1 in cancer is not clear. This study aimed to reanalyze and determine the effect of PVT1 on cancer diagnosis, especially detection in serum.Materials and MethodsDifferential expression of PVT1 between cancers and corresponding normal tissues and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were analyzed for all types of cancers in TCGA database. RevMan5.3, Meta-DiSc1.4 and STATA14.0 were used to estimate pooled diagnostic effects of PVT1 in tissue as well as serum.ResultsCompared to corresponding normal tissues, PVT1 expression was significantly upregulated in 18 types of cancer and further being an effective diagnosis biomarker in 16 of them. For the 23 diagnosis tests performed in tissue, the pooled AUC and diagnostic odd ratio (DOR) were estimated to be 0.81 (95% CI: 0.76–0.86) and 17.25 (95% CI: 8.43–35.27), when the pooled AUC and DOR were 0.83 (95%CI: 0.75–0.91) and 13.86 (95% CI: 4.70–40.66) for serum tests. Furthermore, the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.83 (95% CI: 0.76–0.89) and 0.74 (95% CI:0.70–0.84) for tissue as well as 0.81 (95% CI: 0.76–0.86) and 0.76 (95% CI:0.70–0.81) for serum.ConclusionsPVT1, especially in serum, might be a usable biomarker for cancer diagnosis / detection.

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Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai is a folk medicine with a long history in China, which has been applied to treat sore throat, abscess, even tumor and so on. Meanwhile, it is also used as tea in some areas. At present, more than 200 chemical compounds have been isolated and identified from it, such as, sesquiterpenes, flavonoids, phenolic acids, coumarins and so on. Pharmacological studies have already confirmed that the extracts of S. glabra have many effects, such as antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti-thrombocytopenia, especially the effects of anti-tumor and anti-thrombocytopenia are confirmed in clinic. Therefore, this paper systematically summarized the traditional uses, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicity of S. glabra, in order to provide a beneficial reference of its further research.

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Polygonum perfoliatum L. (synonym: Polygonum knotweed L.; Persicaria perfoliata ; family: Polygonaceae) is a kind of folk traditional Chinese medicine with a long history of wide use in the treatment of ancient internal, surgical, and gynecological diseases. At present, 80 chemical constituents have been isolated from P. perfoliatum , including flavonoids, anthraquinones, terpenoids, phenolic acids, phenylpropanoids, and alkaloids, among which flavonoids are the main active components. Modern studies have shown that P. perfoliatum has pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antiviral, anti-liver fibrosis, antitussive and expectorant, anti-tumor, anti-oxidation, and so on. By consulting and sorting out a large number of related literatures at home and abroad in recent years, this paper systematically reviewed the botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, and quality control of P. perfoliatum , and discussed its development potential in new drug research and clinical application in the future, in order to provide a reference basis for further research and promote the in-depth development and utilization.