Project description:Astragalus mongholicus Bunge (Fabaceae) is an important plant source of the herbal drug known as Radix Astragali, which is used worldwide as a medicinal ingredient and a component of food supplement. Russian Federation, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and China are the main natural distribution areas of A. mongholicus in the world. However, the quality of medicinal plant varies among different locations. As for A. mongholicus, limited literature focused on its biodiversity mechanism. Here, we combined the chemometric analysis of chemical components with genetic variation, as well as climatic and edaphic traits, to reveal the biodiversity mechanism of A. mongholicus. Results showed that the detected chemical, genetic and climatic traits comprehensively contributed to the quality diversity of A. mongholicus. The eight main chemical components, as well as the inorganic elements of P, B and Na were all significant chemical factors. The precipitation and sunshine duration were the main distinguishing climatic factors. The inorganic elements As, Mn, P, Se and Pb were the distinguishing edaphic factors. The systematic method was firstly established for this medicinal plant in order to illustrate the formation of diversity in terms of quality, and provide scientific evidence for geographic indications and climatic adaptation in production and in the clinical application of herbal medicinal plants.
Project description:Radix Astragali is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, and its quality is closely related to ecological factors, such as climate and soil, in the production area. To provide high-quality Radix Astragali to Chinese and foreign markets, we used maximum entropy model and statistical analysis method, combined with data on ecological factors, Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus geographical distribution, and index component content to predict the ecological suitability distribution of A. membranaceus var. mongholicus and establish the relationship between astragaloside IV and calycosin-7-glucoside in this species and ecological factors. Subsequently, we could determine the suitability regionalization of high-quality A. membranaceus var. mongholicus in Inner Mongolia, China. The results showed that the standard deviation of seasonal changes in temperature (40.6%), precipitation in October (15.7%), vegetation type (14.3%), soil type (9.2%), and mean sunshine duration in the growing season (9.1%) were the top five most influential factors out of the 17 main ecological factors affecting the distribution of A. membranaceus var. mongholicus. The standard deviation of seasonal changes in temperature, precipitation in October, precipitation in April, soil pH, and mean sunshine duration in the growing season were found to be the key ecological factors affecting the accumulation of astragaloside IV and calycosin-7-glucoside in A. membranaceus var. mongholicus. The regions with the highest-quality A. membranaceus var. mongholicus were distributed in Baotou (Guyang County), Hohhot (Wuchuan County), and central Wulanchabu (Chahar Right Middle Banner, Chahar Right Back Banner, and Shangdu County) and its surroundings in Inner Mongolia. Baotou, Hohhot, and their surrounding areas were the main traditional production areas of A. membranaceus var. mongholicus, and central Wulanchabu was a potentially suitable distribution area of this species. The main production areas were consistent with the actual production base of A. membranaceus var. mongholicus. This study therefore provides a scientific basis to guide the cultivation of A. membranaceus var. mongholicus.
Project description:Neutrophils are the primary immune cells in innate immunity, which are related to various inflammatory diseases. <i>Astragalus mongholicus Bunge</i> is a Chinese medicinal herb used to treat various oxidative stress-related inflammatory diseases. However, there are limited studies that elucidate the effects of <i>Astragalus mongholicus Bunge</i> in human neutrophils. In this study, we used isolated human neutrophils activated by various stimulants to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of <i>Astragalus mongholicus Bunge</i> water extract (AWE). Cell-free assays were used to examine free radicals scavenging capabilities on superoxide anion, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and nitrogen-centered radicals. Imiquimod (IMQ) induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation mouse model was used for investigating anti-psoriatic effects. We found that AWE inhibited superoxide anion production, ROS generation, and elastase release in human neutrophils, which exhibiting a direct anti-neutrophil effect. Moreover, AWE exerted a ROS scavenging ability in the 2,2'-Azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride assay, but not superoxide anion in the xanthine/xanthine oxidase assay, suggesting that AWE exhibited anti-oxidation and anti-inflammatory capabilities by both scavenging ROS and by directly inhibiting neutrophil activation. AWE also reduced CD11b expression and adhesion to endothelial cells in activated human neutrophils. Meanwhile, in mice with psoriasis-like skin inflammation, administration of topical AWE reduced both the affected area and the severity index score. It inhibited neutrophil infiltration, myeloperoxidase release, ROS-induced damage, and skin proliferation. In summary, AWE exhibited direct anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting neutrophil activation and anti-psoriatic effects in mice with IMQ-induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation. Therefore, AWE could potentially be a pharmaceutical Chinese herbal medicine to inhibit neutrophilic inflammation for anti-psoriasis.
Project description:<h4>Background</h4> Plant health and growth are negatively affected by pathogen invasion; however, plants can dynamically modulate their rhizosphere microbiome and adapt to such biotic stresses. Although plant-recruited protective microbes can be assembled into synthetic communities for application in the control of plant disease, rhizosphere microbial communities commonly contain some taxa at low abundance. The roles of low-abundance microbes in synthetic communities remain unclear; it is also unclear whether all the microbes enriched by plants can enhance host adaptation to the environment. Here, we assembled a synthetic community with a disease resistance function based on differential analysis of root-associated bacterial community composition. We further simplified the synthetic community and investigated the roles of low-abundance bacteria in the control of Astragalus mongholicus root rot disease by a simple synthetic community. <h4>Results</h4> Fusarium oxysporum infection reduced bacterial Shannon diversity and significantly affected the bacterial community composition in the rhizosphere and roots of Astragalus mongholicus. Under fungal pathogen challenge, Astragalus mongholicus recruited some beneficial bacteria such as Stenotrophomonas, Achromobacter, Pseudomonas, and Flavobacterium to the rhizosphere and roots. We constructed a disease-resistant bacterial community containing 10 high- and three low-abundance bacteria enriched in diseased roots. After the joint selection of plants and pathogens, the complex synthetic community was further simplified into a four-species community composed of three high-abundance bacteria (Stenotrophomonas sp., Rhizobium sp., Ochrobactrum sp.) and one low-abundance bacterium (Advenella sp.). Notably, a simple community containing these four strains and a thirteen-species community had similar effects on the control root rot disease. Furthermore, the simple community protected plants via a synergistic effect of highly abundant bacteria inhibiting fungal pathogen growth and less abundant bacteria activating plant-induced systemic resistance. <h4>Conclusions</h4> Our findings suggest that bacteria with low abundance play an important role in synthetic communities and that only a few bacterial taxa enriched in diseased roots are associated with disease resistance. Therefore, the construction and simplification of synthetic communities found in the present study could be a strategy employed by plants to adapt to environmental stress. Video abstract <h4>Supplementary Information</h4> The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40168-021-01169-9.
Project description:Astragalus is the largest genus in Leguminosae. Several molecular studies have investigated the potential adulterants of the species within this genus; nonetheless, the evolutionary relationships among these species remain unclear. Herein, we sequenced and annotated the complete chloroplast genomes of three <i>Astragalus</i> species-<i>Astragalus adsurgens</i>, <i>Astragalus mongholicus</i> var. <i>dahuricus</i>, and <i>Astragalus melilotoides</i> using next-generation sequencing technology and plastid genome annotator (PGA) tool. All species belonged to the inverted repeat lacking clade (IRLC) and had similar sequences concerning gene contents and characteristics. Abundant simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci were detected, with single-nucleotide repeats accounting for the highest proportion of SSRs, most of which were A/T homopolymers. Using <i>Astragalus membranaceus</i> var. <i>membranaceus</i> as reference, the divergence was evident in most non-coding regions of the complete chloroplast genomes of these species. Seven genes (<i>atpB</i>, <i>psbD</i>, <i>rpoB</i>, <i>rpoC1</i>, <i>trnV</i>, <i>rrn16</i>, and <i>rrn23</i>) showed high nucleotide variability (Pi), and could be used as DNA barcodes for <i>Astragalus</i> sp. <i>cemA</i> and <i>rpl33</i> were found undergoing positive selection by the section patterns in the coded protein. Phylogenetic analysis showed that <i>Astragalus</i> is a monophyletic group closely related to the genus <i>Oxytropis</i> within the tribe Galegeae. The newly sequenced chloroplast genomes provide insight into the unresolved evolutionary relationships within <i>Astragalus</i> spp. and are expected to contribute to species identification.
Project description:Astragalus mongholicus (MG) and Astragalus membranaceus (MJ), both generally known as Huangqi in China, are two perennial herbals widely used in variety diseases. However, there were still some differences in the chemical ingredients between MG and MJ. In this paper, metabolomics combined with the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS) was employed to contrastively analyze the chemical constituents between MG and MJ. As a result, principal component analysis showed that MG and MJ were separated clearly. A total of 53 chemical markers were successfully identified for the discrimination of MG and MJ. Of them, the contents of 36 components including Astragaloside I~III, Astragaloside IV, Agroastragaloside I, etc. in MJ were significantly higher than those in MG. On the contrary, the contents of 17 other components including coumaric acid, formononetin, sophoricoside, etc. in MG were obviously higher than those in MJ. The results showed that the distinctive constituents in MG and MJ were remarkable, and MJ may own stronger pharmacological activities than MG. In a word, MG and MJ may be treated as two different herbs. This paper demonstrated that metabolomics was a vitally credible technology to rapidly screen the characteristic chemical composition of traditional Chinese medicine.
Project description:Neurons with atrophic neurites may remain alive and therefore may have the potential to regenerate even when neuronal death has occurred in some parts of the brain. This study aimed to explore effects of drugs that can facilitate the regeneration of neurites and the reconstruction of synapses even in severely damaged neurons.We investigated the effects of extracts of Astragalus mongholicus on the cognitive defect in mice caused by injection with the amyloid peptide Abeta(25-35). We also examined the effect of the extract on the regeneration of neurites and the reconstruction of synapses in cultured neurons damaged by Abeta(25-35).A. mongholicus extract (1 g kg(-1) day(-1) for 15 days, p.o.) reversed Abeta(25-35)-induced memory loss and prevented the loss of axons and synapses in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus in mice. Treatment with Abeta(25-35) (10 microM) induced axonal atrophy and synaptic loss in cultured rat cortical neurons. Subsequent treatment with A. mongholicus extract (100 microg/ml) resulted in significant axonal regeneration, reconstruction of neuronal synapses, and prevention of Abeta(25-35)-induced neuronal death. Similar extracts of A. membranaceus had no effect on axonal atrophy, synaptic loss, or neuronal death. The major known components of the extracts (astragalosides I, II, and IV) reduced neurodegeneration, but the activity of the extracts did not correlate with their content of these three astragalosides.A. mongholicus is an important candidate for the treatment of memory disorders and the main active constituents may not be the known astragalosides.
Project description:<i>Astragalus membranaceus</i> (Fisch.) Bge. var. <i>mongholicus</i>, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine, contains several bioactive ingredients. The root-associated microbial communities play a crucial role in the production of secondary metabolites in plants. However, the correlation of root-associated bacteria and fungi with the bioactive ingredients production in <i>A</i>. <i>mongholicus</i> has not been elucidated. This study aimed to examine the changes in soil properties, root bioactive ingredients, and microbial communities in different cultivation years. The root-associated bacterial and fungal composition was analyzed using high-throughput sequencing. The correlation between root-associated bacteria and fungi, soil properties, and six major bioactive ingredients were examined using multivariate correlation analysis. Results showed that soil properties and bioactive ingredients were distinct across different cultivation years. The composition of the rhizosphere microbiome was different from that of the root endosphere microbiome. The bacterial community structure was affected by the cultivation year and exhibited a time-decay pattern. Soil properties affected the fungal community composition. It was found that 18 root-associated bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and four fungal OTUs were positively and negatively correlated with bioactive ingredient content, respectively. The abundance of <i>Stenotrophomonas</i> in the rhizosphere was positively correlated with astragaloside content. <i>Phyllobacterium</i> and <i>Inquilinus</i> in the endosphere were positively correlated with the calycosin content. In summary, this study provided a new opportunity and theoretical reference for improving the production and quality of in <i>A. mongholicus</i>, which thus increase the pharmacological value of <i>A. mongholicus.</i>