Abstract Acanthopanax trifoliatus (L.) Merr. have been used as folk medicine to treat various diseases traditionally and the young leaves and shoots of A. trifoliatus are popularly consumed as vegetables and herbal tea in southern China. In the study, we firstly tested the cytotoxicity and NO production of 18 fractions that extracted from the leaves, stems and roots of A. trifoliatus to select the bioactive fraction. The increasing evidence suggested that the dichloromethane extract prepared from stems of A. trifoliatus (ATSDC) have anti-inflammatory activity. Therefore, the study followed to investigate the effects of ATSDC on the inflammatory response and the molecular mechanisms underpinning this effect in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. The manuscript showed that ATSDC effectively inhibited NO production in LPS-stimulated cells and significantly reduced the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, at a dose of 40 µg/mL, whereas TNF-α production tended to decrease under ATSDC treatment. We also confirmed a dose-dependent and significant inhibition of iNOS and COX-2 protein expression. In conclusion, ATSDC exerted strong inhibitory effect on the expression of iNOS and COX-2 protein in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages and could be potentially used in treatment of inflammatory-related diseases in the future.

Abstract This study investigated the effects of different concentrations of catalpa seed oil (CSO) and pomegranate seed oil (PSO) on body weight and intestinal flora in mice. The results showed that the addition of 10% w/t CSO or PSO had a more significant effect than control (soybean oil) on reducing the body mass index of mice, which was reduced by 24.94% ± 0.08% (p < 0.01) and 25.88% ± 0.11% (p < 0.01), respectively. Histological observations indicated that no significant changes in the development and structure of mouse intestinal tissue were detected as a result of CSO and PSO. Using bioinformatics technology, CSO and PSO were used to study the clustering of operational taxonomic units and the relative abundance of microorganisms in intestinal bacteria. The analysis found that both functional lipids could reduce the relative abundance of γ-Proteobacteria. It is suggested that CSO and PSO have a regulatory effect on the structure of intestinal microflora in mice. The development reported in this paper provided theoretical support for the functional research and in-depth development of CSO and PSO.

Two centrosymmetric mononuclear nickel(II) and zinc(II) complexes, [NiL2]-2NO3 (1) and [ZnL2(dca)2] (2), where L is the zwitterionic form of 2-bromo-6-[(3-cyclohexylaminopropylimino)methyl]phenol, and dca is the dicyanamide anion, have been synthesized. The complexes have been characterized by physico-chemical methods and single crystal X-ray determination. Complex (1) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2Jn with unit cell dimensions a = 7.0091(7) Å, b = 11.137(1) Å, c = 23.997(2) Å, β = 97.390(3)°, V = 1857.7(3) ų, Z = 2, R1 = 0.0617, and wR2 = 0.1632. Complex (2) crystallizes in the triclinic space group P-1 with unit cell dimensions a = 8.762(1) Å, b = 10.386(1) Å, c = 10.687(2) Å, α = 85.209(2)°, β = 83.931(2)°, g = 88.734(2)°, V = 963.6(2) ų, Z = 1, R1 = 0.0374, and wR2 = 0.0873. The Ni atom in (1) is in a square planar geometry, and the Zn atom in (2) is in an octahedral geometry. The preliminary antibacterial activities of the complexes were assayed.

Two new end-to-end azido-bridged polymeric copper(II) complexes, [CuL¹(µ13-N3)Jn (1) and [CuL²(µ13-N3)Jn (2), where L¹ and L² are the monoanionic form of 5-methoxy-2-[(2-methylaminoethylimino)methyl]phenol and 4-chloro-2-[(3-dimethylaminopropylimino)methyl]phenol, have been prepared and structurally characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectra, and single crystal X-ray determination. Complex (1) crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit cell dimensions a = 7.6651(9) Å, b = 8.3213(9) Å, c = 20.149(2) Å, V = 1285.2(2) A³, Z = 4, R1 = 0.0296, and w׳R2 = 0.0697. Complex (2) crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbca, with unit cell dimensions a = 10.353(1) Å, b = 13.069(2) Å, c = 22.265(2) Å, V = 3012.6(7) A³, Z = 8, R1 = 0.0400, and w׳R2 = 0.1014. Each Cu atom in the complexes is in a square pyramidal coordination, with three donor atoms of the Schiff base ligand and one azido N atom defining the basal plane, and with another azido N atom occupying the apical position. The Cu-Cu distances are 5.173(2) Å in (1) and 5.277(2) Å in (2). Hydrogen bonds can influence the bridging mode of the azide ligand.