Broussonetia papyrifera (B. papyrifera) is a deciduous tree of the genus Broussonetia of Mo-raceae. Its roots, stems, leaves, skins, fruits and seeds can be used as folk medicine. Modern technology research showed that the B. papyrifera was rich in flavonoids and triterpenoids, and its components exhibited anti-proliferation, antibacterial, anti-oxidation, cytotoxicity, enzyme inhibition and other activities. In this paper, we summarized the progress in the chemical constituents and bioactivities of B. papyrifera since 2000 to provide ideas for the medicinal development prospects of B. papyrifera.

In this paper, the surface of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) scaffold is modified to improve the hydrophilicity and cell adhesion behavior with silk fibroin (SF) grafting. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Thermogravimetric (TG) and water contact angle analysis are performed to characterize the chemical structure, hydrophilicity and the morphology of UHMWPE/SF composites. The results show that SF can coat on the surface of UHMWPE scaffold, and the chromic acid etching is more conducive to SF deposition. After chrome-acid etching, both of the hydrophilicity and SF deposition on the surface of UHMWPE scaffold are improved, and the coating amount of SF is 10.31%. Furthermore, there is no obvious decrease in mechanical properties, which proves that SF on the surface of UHMWPE scaffold has no effect on its mechanical properties. The cell adhesion experiments on UHMWPE scaffold are evaluated and the maximum cell viability appears in PECrSFs, which means that the biocompatibility is the best. All results have clearly indicated that the surface modification on UHMWPE scaffold with SF is an effective way of producing a suitably hydrophilic surface for their applications in biomedicine.

Dendrobium has a long clinical usage history and diverse chemical compositions. The picrotoxane type alkaloid represented by dendrobine from Dendrobium species has antipyretic and anti-hypertensive activities. Since the 1930s, the study of dendrobine has made a huge progress, including many new reported picrotoxane type alkaloid compounds. In this article, some developments of picrotoxane type alkaloids in D. wardianum and D. findlayanum are described.

Education: Ph.D., South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Experience: Professor, Guizhou Medical University
Research Areas: Natural Medicinal Chemistry
Awards: Excellent Teaching Staff of Guizhou Medical University

The Xplorer Award is awarded by the Tencent Foundation for supporting research and development in mathematical physics, life sciences, astronomy and geosciences, new chemical materials, information electronics, energy and en-vironmental protection, advanced manufacturing, transporta-tion and construction technology, cutting-edge and cross-discip- linary technology. The Award winners, 50 sci-ence professionals aged below 45 with a full-time job in Mainland China each year, will receive 600,000 yuan annually for five consecutive years.