Project description:Citrus fruits possess a distinctive aroma and flavor, with Citrus aurantium Changshan-huyou (CACH) standing out due to their considerable edible and medicinal value. However, the volatile components (VOCs) in the CACH pericarp (CP) remain underexplored. In this study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was utilized to qualitatively analyze VOCs in 27 CP samples across different growth stages. A total of 544 VOCs were identified, including 91 terpenoids. The types, quantities and distributions of VOCs were conducted. Detailed discussions on the major terpenoids in CP were also presented. A metabolomics approach combining multivariate statistical analysis with univariate analysis was employed for screening the differential metabolites. The study provides comprehensive insights into the VOCs in CP and citrus plants. Moreover, it delivers the first in-depth analysis of differential metabolites in CP throughout the entire CACH growth and development process, laying a foundation for ongoing research and development of the VOCs in CP.
Project description:PurposeThe ripe fruits of Citrus changshan-huyou, known as Quzhou Fructus Aurantii (QFA), have been commonly used for respiratory diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate their active compounds and demonstrate their mechanism in the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) through network pharmacology and molecular docking.MethodsThe prominent compounds of QFA were acquired from TCMSP database. Their targets were retrieved from SwissTargetPrediction database, and target genes associated with URTIs were collected from DisGeNET and GeneCards databases. The target protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed by using STRING database and Cytoscape. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were enriched. Visual compound-target-pathway network was established with Cytoscape. The effects of compounds were verified on the inhibitory activities against phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks). Finally, the molecular docking was carried out to confirm the binding affinity of the bioactive compounds and target proteins.ResultsFive important active compounds, naringenin (NAR), tangeretin (TAN), luteolin (LUT), hesperetin (HES), and auraptene (AUR), were obtained. The enrichment analysis demonstrated that the pathways associated with inflammation mainly contained PI3K/Akt signalling pathway, TNF signalling pathway, and so on. The most important targets covering inflammation-related proteins might be PI3Ks. In vitro assays and molecular docking exhibited that TAN, LUT, and AUR acted as PI3Kγ inhibitors.ConclusionThe results revealed that QFA could treat URTIs through a multi-compound, multi-target, multi-pathway network, in which TAN, LUT, and AUR acted as PI3Kγ inhibitors, probably contributing to a crucial role in treatment of URTIs.
| S-EPMC9300271 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Morphological and metabolic changes in Changshan Huyou (Citrus aurantium) following natural tetraploidization
