Flavanones are the common precursors of plant polyphenolic compounds collectively known as flavonoids. Leguminous plants have evolved a distinct class of flavanone molecules, known as 5-deoxyflavanones that play important roles in their symbiotic interactions. A four-step metabolic circuit was constructed in Escherichia coli with plant genes from heterologous origins: 4-coumarate:coenzyme A lig...

A sensitive and rapid ultra high-performance liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method has been applied to investigate the influence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on the pharmacokinetics of nine analytes (daphnetin, daphnoretin, 7-hydroxycoumarin, liquiritin, isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritigenin, glycyrrhizin, and glycyrrhetinic acid), which are major active...

Sijunzi decoction (SJZT), a traditional Chinese formula (TCMF) consisting of four herbs, has been widely used for the treatment of various gastrointestinal symptoms. However, its modernization process is hindered by the lack of a powerful quality control method that covers the major active components in the formula. The aim of this study was to establish a UPLC method for the quantitative deter...

Flavones are important secondary metabolites found in many plants. In Lonicera species, flavones contribute both physiological and pharmaceutical properties. However, flavone synthase (FNS), the key enzyme responsible for flavone biosynthesis, has not yet been characterized in Lonicera species. In this study, FNSII genes were identified from Lonicera japonica Thunb. and L. macranthoides Hand.-M...

Legumes form symbioses with rhizobia, which initiate the development of a new plant organ, the nodule. Flavonoids have long been hypothesized to regulate nodule development through their action as auxin transport inhibitors, but genetic proof has been missing. To test this hypothesis, we used RNA interference to silence chalcone synthase (CHS), the enzyme that catalyzes the first committed step...