Project description:The plastome sequences of Scrophularia buergeriana and S. takesimensis are completed in family Scrophulariaceae. The structure of two Scrophularia plastomes shows similar characteristic with the typical plastome of angiosperm. The lengths of two plastomes are 153,631bp and 152,436bp, respectively. They are divided into LSC region (84,454bp and 83,542bp) and SSC region (17,929bp and 17,938bp) by two IR regions (25,624bp and 25,478bp). Both plastomes contain 113 genes including 79 protein coding genes, 30 tRNA genes and 4 rRNA genes. Eight protein-coding, seven tRNA and four rRNA genes are duplicated in the IR regions. Eighteen genes have one or two intron(s). The overall A-T contents of two genomes are 62.0% and 61.9%, respectively. The A-T content in the non-coding (both 64.5%) is higher than in the coding (60.2% and 60.1%) region. Forty-four and forty-one simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci are identified in the S. buergeriana and S. takesimensis plastomes, respectively. In phylogenetic analysis, the genus Scrophularia shows closed relationship with Plantaginaceae.
Project description:Scrophularia ningpoensis has long been used in the Chinese Materia Medica for inflammation. Like other herbal medicines, S. ningpoensis collected from different localities may considerably differ in their therapeutic efficacy, and the one grown in Zhejiang Province is recognized as geo-authentic. However, it is difficult to confirm the geographical authenticity by similar morphological characteristics. In the present study, inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were conducted to detect S. ningpoensis from different origins. A 1 259-bp fragment amplified by primer UBC874 was found only in geo-authentic ones. By cloning and sequencing that specific band, sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers were designed to distinguish geo-authentic S. ningpoensis from others. This is a rapid and easy method that can be used to identify the geographical authenticity of S. ningpoensis.
Project description:Scrophulariae Radix, derived from the dried roots of Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl. or S. buergeriana Miq, is a traditional herbal medicine used in Asia to treat rheumatism, arthritis, and pharyngalgia. However, the effects of Scrophularia buergeriana, S. koraeinsis, and S. takesimensis on osteoclast formation and bone resorption remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the morphological characteristics and harpagoside content of S. buergeriana, S. koraiensis, and S. takesimensis, and compared the effects of ethanol extracts of these species using nuclear factor (NF)-κB ligand (RANKL)-mediated osteoclast differentiation. The harpagoside content of the three Scrophularia species was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS). Their therapeutic effects were evaluated by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive cell formation and bone resorption in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) harvested from ICR mice. We confirmed the presence of harpagoside in the Scrophularia species. The harpagoside content of S. buergeriana, S. koraiensis, and S. takesimensis was 1.94 ± 0.24 mg/g, 6.47 ± 0.02 mg/g, and 5.50 ± 0.02 mg/g, respectively. Treatment of BMMs with extracts of the three Scrophularia species inhibited TRAP-positive cell formation in a dose-dependent manner. The area of hydroxyapatite-absorbed osteoclasts was markedly decreased after treatment with the three Scrophularia species extracts. Our results indicated that the three species of the genus Scrophularia might exert preventive effects on bone disorders by inhibiting osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption, suggesting that these species may have medicinal and functional value.