Platostoma palustre (Blume) A. J. Paton is an important edible and medicinal plant. To gain a comprehensive and clear understanding of the variation patterns of metabolites in P. palustre, we employed the UPLC-MS platform along with widely targeted metabolomics techniques to analyze the metabolites in the stems and leaves of P. palustre at different stages. Our results revealed a total of 1228 detected metabolites, including 241 phenolic acids, 203 flavonoids, 152 lipids, 128 terpenes, 106 amino acids, 79 organic acids, 74 saccharides, 66 alkaloids, 44 lignans, etc. As the growth time increased, the differential metabolites (DAMs) mainly enriched in P. palustre leaves were terpenoids, phenolic acids, and lipids, while the DAMs primarily enriched in stems were terpenoids. Compared to stems, there were more differential flavonoids in leaves, and saccharides and flavonoids were significantly enriched in leaves during the S1 and S2 stages. Additionally, we identified 13, 10, and 23 potential markers in leaf, stem, and leaf vs. stem comparison groups. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that arginine biosynthesis was the common differential metabolic pathway in different growth stages and tissues. Overall, this study comprehensively analyzed the metabolic profile information of P. palustre, serving as a solid foundation for its further development and utilization.

Mesona chinensis, in Thai called Chao Kuay and in Chinese Hsian-tsao, belongs to the Lamiaceae family. This herbal plant grows widely in Southern China, Taiwan (China), Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand. The Mesona plant is used to make functional products such as drinks and soft textured sweet treats, and also traditional medicine, to treat heat stroke, high blood pressure, heart attack, high blood sugar, hepatic diseases, colon diseases, inflammatory conditions, and to alleviate myalgia. The proximate composition of M. chinensis is a mixture of protein, fat, fiber, ash, and minerals. The main biological compounds in M. chinensis extracts are polysaccharides, terpenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols, with wide-ranging pharmacological properties including antioxidant, antidiabetic, antilipidemic, carcinoma-inhibitory, renal-protective, antihypertensive, DNA damage-protective, and anti-inflammatory effects. This review investigated the proximate composition, polysaccharide type, and pharmacological properties of M. chinensis extracts. Phytochemical properties enhance the actions of the gut microbiota and improve health benefits. This review assessed the functional and medicinal activities of M. chinensis extracts. Future studies should further elucidate the in vitro/in vivo mechanisms of this plant extract and its impact on gut health.

In this study, the antioxidant and hypolipidemic effects of Mesona Chinensis Benth (MCB) extracts were evaluated. Seven fractions (F0, F10, F20, F30, F40, F50 and MTF) were obtained from the MCB ethanol extracts. Compared to the commercial antioxidants (vitamin C), MTF and F30 exhibited higher antioxidant activities in the antiradical activity test and the FRAP assay. The half-inhibition concentration (IC50) for MTF and F30 were 5.323 µg/mL and 5.278 µg/mL, respectively. MTF at 200 µg/mL significantly decreased the accumulation of TG in oleic acid (OA)-induced HepG2 cells and reversed the inhibitory effect of Compound C on AMPK (MTF and F30 significantly increased the glucose utilization of insulin-induced HepG2 cells). In addition, the components of MTF were identified by HPLC-MS, which were caffeic acid, quercetin 3-O-galactoside, isoquercetin, astragalin, rosmarinic acid, aromadendrin-3-O-rutinoside, rosmarinic acid-3-O-glucoside and kaempferol-7-O-glucoside. Through statistical correlations by Simca P software, it was found that the main antioxidant and hypolipidemic components of MCB might be caffeic acid, kaempferol-7-O-glucoside, rosmarinic acid-3-O-glucoside and aromadendrin-3-O-rutinoside, which may play important roles in the AMPK pathway. MTF and F30 in MCB could be potential health products for the treatment of hyperlipidemia.

Mesona chinensis Benth. (or Platostoma palustre (Blume) A. J. Paton), an edible and medicinal plant, is the main ingredient in black jelly, Hsian-tsao tea, and beverages, and its processed products are popular in China as well as in Southeast Asian countries. Previous studies have shown that the alcohol extract of Mesona chinensis Benth. (MC) can reduce the accumulation of oleic acid and ameliorate hyperlipidemia. However, researchers have not yet determined whether it could improve intestinal permeability and metabolic dysfunction by controlling gut microbial dysbiosis and thus reducing hyperlipidemia. This study aimed to explore the potential mechanism by which MC regulates metabolic function disorders in hyperlipidemic high-fat diet (HFD)-fed rats and mice from the perspective of gut microbiota. This study analyzed the effects of MC on metabolic indices related to hyperlipidemia in HFD-fed rats and the abundance and diversity of the gut microbiota via 16S rRNA V3–4 region pyrosequencing to investigate the regulation of the gut microbiota by MC. We further confirmed that MC ameliorates hyperlipidemia by regulating the gut microbiota by simultaneously administering antibiotics and MC to C57BL/6 mice and measuring their metabolic indices. These results indicate that MC reduces the lipid concentration in the serum of HFD-fed rats, thereby significantly alleviating hyperlipidemia, and regulates the abundance ratio and diversity of the gut microbiota, thereby exerting a beneficial effect on hyperlipidemia. Our further antibiotic experiments in mice revealed that the administration of MC was unable to reduce body weight or serum and organ lipid concentrations in the antibiotic-treated group of hyperlipidemic mice. This study provides evidence that the microbiota is an alternative target for the antihyperlipidemic effect of MC.

Quality control of Chinese herbal tea remains a challenge due to our poor knowledge of their complex chemical profile. This study aims to investigate the chemical composition of one of the best-selling and famous brand of beverage in China, Wanglaoji Herbal Tea (WLJHT), via a full component quantitative analysis. In this paper, a total of thirty-four representative constituents were identified or tentatively characterized using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Moreover, the quantitative analyses of fourteen constituents were performed by high performance liquid chromatography with a triple quadruple tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method and saccharide compositions of WLJHT were also quantitatively determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) on a Hilic column, separately. Using multiple chromatographic techniques presented a good precision, sensitivity, repeatability and stability, and was successfully applied to analyze 16 batches of WLJHT samples. Therefore, it would be a reliable and useful approach for the quality control of WLJHT.

本研究以仙草为对象，探讨了不同施肥量对其产量及根际土壤微生物多样性的影响。通过大田栽培试验，设置多个氮磷钾复合肥施肥量处理，测定仙草产量，采用Pacbio三代测序平台构建采收期仙草根际土壤细菌16S rRNA基因文库，对其进行高通量测序和生物信息学分析。结果表明：仙草产量随施肥量的增加呈先增后降的趋势；土壤微生物多样性随施肥量的增加呈先降后增的趋势；与对照相比，300、450、600 kg/hm²复合肥处理的土壤中在门水平上优势种群及其含量变化较少，在目水平上拟杆菌目和黄单胞菌目的相对丰度均有所增加，在属水平上未分类酸杆菌属显著降低，在种水平上表皮葡萄球菌丰度显著降低；NMDS分析显示，不施肥和施300 kg/hm²复合肥土壤细菌多样性显著不同于其他处理，施450~600 kg/hm²复合肥细菌群落多样性差异不显著。施用300~450 kg/hm²化肥可显著提高仙草产量，显著降低土壤细菌微生物多样性，类杆菌门、厚壁菌门和拟杆菌目的富集受施肥影响较大。综合考量，300 kg/hm²为仙草最佳施肥量。

【目的】 探析间作对凉粉草（Mesona chinesis）品质的影响及其作用机制，为凉粉草的高质量栽培技术开发提供理论依据。【方法】 通过田间随机区组试验，设置大豆/凉粉草/玉米间作（S/M/C）和大豆/凉粉草间作（S/M）两种间作模式，并以单独种植凉粉草（M）为对照，比较不同种植模式对凉粉草品质及其根际土壤特性的影响。【结果】 相比于单独种植凉粉草，S/M/C间作模式和S/M间作有利于促进凉粉草叶片和茎中的钙（Ca，叶中增加11.36%—24.20%，茎中增加33.44%—38.16%）、镁（Mg，叶增加34.41%—52.00%、茎增加15.20%—91.99%）、铁（Fe，叶中增加15.21%—15.46%）、铜（Cu，茎增加17.19%—30.73%）等元素积累。S/M/C间作时，凉粉草茎部总黄酮含量增加44.42%。两种间作显著降低了凉粉草根际土壤全氮（TN）、碱解氮（AHN）、速效钾（AK）等养分含量，显著改善了凉粉草土壤pH（M模式4.82，S/M模式5.22，S/M/C模式5.51），而pH是本研究中驱动细菌群落结构改变最重要的土壤因子。S/M/C处理显著提高凉粉草根际土壤的细菌多样性，两种间作均显著提高优势菌属芽孢杆菌（Bacillus）的相对丰度：由M模式下的3.24%分别增加至S/M模式下的5.28%和S/M/C模式下的8.09%。此外，S/M/C间作时，凉粉草根际土壤招募更多的蛭弧菌门（Bdellovibrionota）、Dependentiae、WS2等菌门及甲基孢囊菌属（Methylocystis）等菌属。【结论】 大豆/凉粉草/玉米间作（S/M/C）可促进凉粉草营养元素和总黄酮等活性成分积累，有利于其品质提升。土壤pH的改善可能是S/M/C模式驱动土壤细菌多样性提高、群落结构变化的最主要因素。凉粉草根际土壤中特定细菌在S/M/C模式下的富集有利于凉粉草种植土壤的生物学特性的改善。因此，S/M/C等合理间作是实现凉粉草高质量种植的有效措施。