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Essential oils are promising as environmentally friendly and safe sources of pesticides for human use. Furthermore, they are also of interest as aromatherapeutic agents in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and inhibition of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) has been evaluated as an important mechanism. The essential oils of some species in the genera Callicarpa, Premna, Vitex and Karomia of the family Lamiaceae were evaluated for inhibition of electric eel AChE using the Ellman method. The essential oils of Callicarpa candicans showed promising activity, with IC50 values between 45.67 and 58.38 μg/mL. The essential oils of Callicarpa sinuata, Callicarpa petelotii, Callicarpa nudiflora, Callicarpa erioclona and Vitex ajugifolia showed good activity with IC50 values between 28.71 and 54.69 μg/mL. The essential oils Vitex trifolia subsp. trifolia and Callicarpa rubella showed modest activity, with IC50 values of 81.34 and 89.38, respectively. trans-Carveol showed an IC50 value of 102.88 µg/mL. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation were performed on the major components of the studied essential oils to investigate the possible mechanisms of action of potential inhibitors. The results obtained suggest that these essential oils may be used to control mosquito vectors that transmit pathogenic viruses or to support the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

The aim of this study was to conduct a screening of potential therapeutic compounds found in the Atractylodes macrocephala rhizoma essential oil (AO) and explore its mechanism of action in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). An inflammation cell model was employed in conjunction with phospho-antibody array technology to explore potential therapeutic compounds of AO and their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Furthermore, we assessed their efficacy and mechanisms of action in treating dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. Via the screening process, we identified atractylone (ATR) as the primary active compound in AO. It has been demonstrated that ATR can both decrease the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increase the expression of adhesion proteins such as claudin, ZO-1, and occludin in vitro. Moreover, ATR has been shown to improve UC symptoms in vivo. Via a non-targeted metabolomics analysis of colon tissue, we identified 57 distinct metabolites that responded to ATR treatment. Subsequent analysis of the metabolic pathways revealed that the action of ATR was primarily focused on the amino acid metabolism pathway. In summary, ATR may alleviate the symptoms of UC by regulating multiple signaling pathways. Additionally, ATR has a comprehensive function in anti-inflammation, antioxidative stress, and intestinal injury reduction.

Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. has been used as an invigorating spleen drug for eliminating dampness and phlegm in China. According to recent researches, different processing methods may affect the drug efficacy, so we collected A. macrocephala from the Zhejiang Province, produced with different processing methods, crude A. macrocephala (CA) and bran-processed A. macrocephala (BA), then analyzed its essential oils (EOs) by GC/MS. The results showed 34 components representing 98.44% of the total EOs of CA were identified, and 46 components representing 98.02% of the total EOs of BA were identified. Atractylone is the main component in A. macrocephala. Compared with CA, BA has 46 detected compounds, 28 of which were identical, and 6 undetected compounds. Pharmacodynamic results revealed that the EOs of CA and atractylone exhibited more effective anticancer activity in HepG2, MCG803, and HCT-116 cells than the EOs of BA; while the EOs of BA exhibited simple antiviral effect on viruses H3N2, both the EOs and atractylone show anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in ANA-1 cells.

Chemical compositions of plants are affected by the initial nutrient contents in the soil and climatic conditions; thus, we analyzed for the first time the effects of soil and leaf nutrients on the compositions of the essential oils (EOs) of Siparuna muricata in four different localities in Ecuador. EOs were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and a gas chromatography/flame ionization detector (GC/FID). Enantiomeric distribution by GC/MS was determined, modifying the enantiomeric separation of β-pinene, limonene, δ-elemene, β-bourbonene, cis-cadina-1 (6), 4-diene and atractylone. A total of 44 compounds were identified. The most representative for L1 were guaiol, atractylone and 4-diene; for L2, cis-cadina-1(6),4-diene and myrcene; for L3, atractylone, myrcene and germacrene B; and finally, L4 germacrene B, myrcene and cis-cadina-1(6),4-diene. Correlations between soil- leaf chemical elements such as Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, N and Si in the different localities were significant with chemical composition of the essential oil of Siparuna muricata; however, correlations between soil and leaf K, P, and Na were not significant. Cluster and NMDS analysis showed high dissimilarity values of secondary metabolites between four localities related with changes in soil- leaf nutrients. Thus, the SIMPER routine revealed that not all secondary metabolites contribute equally to establishing the differences in the four localities, and the largest contributions are due to differences in guaiol, cis-cadina-1(6),4-diene, atractylone and germacrene. Our investigation showed for the first time the influences of altitude and soil- leaf chemical elements in the chemical composition of the EOs of S. muricata.

Gastric ulcer (GU) is the most common multifactor gastrointestinal disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. There is evidence that gut microbiota is closely related to the development of GU. Atractylone (ATR) has been reported to possess potential biological activities, but research on ATR alleviating GU injury is unprecedented. ( )-induced GU model in zebrafish and ethanol-induced acute GU model in rat were established to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and ulcer inhibitory effects of ATR. Then, 16S rRNA sequencing and metabolomics analysis were performed to investigate the effect of ATR on the microbiota and metabolites in rat feces and their correlation. Therapeutically, ATR inhibited -induced gastric mucosal injury in zebrafish. In the ulceration model of rat, ATR mitigated the gastric lesions damage caused by ethanol, decreased the ulcer area, and reduced the production of inflammatory factors. Additionally, ATR alleviated the gastric oxidative stress injury by increasing the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and decreasing the level of malondialdehyde (MDA). Furthermore, ATR played a positive role in relieving ulcer through reshaping gut microbiota composition including and and regulating the levels of metabolites including amino acids, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and bile acids. Our work sheded light on the mechanism of ATR treating GU from the perspective of the gut microbiota and explored the correlation between gut microbiota, metabolites, and host phenotype.

There are around 140 species in the genus Callicarpa, with 23 species occurring in Vietnam. The Vietnamese Callicarpa species have been poorly studied. In this work, the leaf essential oils of C. bodinieri, C. candicans, C. formosana, C. longifolia, C. nudiflora, C. petelotii, C. rubella, and C. sinuata, have been obtained from plants growing in central Vietnam. The chemical compositions of the essential oils were determined using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry. Mosquito larvicidal activities of the essential oils were carried out against Aedes aegypti. All of the Callicarpa leaf essential oils showed larvicidal activity, but two samples of C. candicans were particularly active with 48-h LC50 values of 2.1 and 3.8 μg/mL. Callicarpa candicans essential oil should be considered as a potential alternative mosquito control agent.