Assessment of classification ability for rbcL and trnL barcode in some Stemonaceae samplescollected from northern Vietnam

Stemona tuberosa Lour. a precious medicinal plant that belongs to the Stemonaceae family, has high applicability to human life. Extracts from leaves or roots of this herb contain many bioactive compounds with great value for both medical application and economy. However, there is not enough data related to evaluation and classification for Stemona species in Vietnam. Therefore, in this study, the authors used the DNA barcoding method to evaluate at the molecular level for four samples of Stemona tuberosa Lour. in northern Vietnam compared with other reference sequences from other species in the Stemonaceae family from GenBank based on two chloroplast barcodes rbcL and trnL. The primary results of genetics distance analysis and phylogenetic trees showed the close relationship between the four studied samples with Stemona tuberosa Lour. (sequenced from GenBank). The trnL with 1100 bp in length also proves the better classification ability of Stemona than the rbcLregion with 600 bp in length. These outcomes would be the first promising step for further studies about Stemona and other herbs, thus contributing to both scientific research and practical applicability demands as classification and conservation.

Structure-based virtual screening of plant-derived natural compounds as potential PPARα agonists for the treatment of dyslipidemia

Background: Nowadays, metabolic disorders such as dyslipidemia have become serious health problems in the modern world. PPARs are regulators of numberous metabolic pathways, hence there has been a huge increase in the development and use of the PPARs agonists, especially PPARα agonists as main therapeutic of dyslipidemia. Objectives: The study aimed to explore potential plant-derived natural compounds as PPARα agonist agent for drug discovery of dyslipidemia. Methods: Structure-based virtual screening through molecular docking was conducted for 142 bioactive compounds from 29 medicinal plants on the main binding site of PPARα (PDB ID: 5HYK). Binding affinities and binding interactions between the ligands and PPARα were investigated. Results: Screening results showed that 34 compounds had strong binding affinities into the PPARα (binding affinities of less than -8.0 kcal.mol-1), including 20 flavonoid, 4 terpenoid and 10 alkaloid compounds. Flavonoid was found as the best group which fitted well in the binding site of the PPARα. Top compounds were identified, including formononetin from Thermopsis alterniflora (-10.2 kcal.mol-1), diosmetin from Musa spp. (-10.1 kcal.mol-1), luteolin from Elsholtzia ciliate (-9.9 kcal.mol-1); steviol from Stevia rebaudiana (-9.4 kcal.mol-1); and tuberocrooline from Stemona tuberosa (-10.5 kcal.mol-1), respectively. These compounds showed the potential agonistic activities due to forming the hydrogen bonds as well as hydrophobic interactions with four key residues of the receptor such as Ser280, Tyr314, His440 and Tyr464. Conclusions: These potential natural compounds may provide useful information in the drug design and discovery for anti-dyslipidemia agents.