Ziziphus spinosa

Ziziphi Spinosae Semen refers to the dried seed of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H. F. Chou. The seed is composed of a reddish brown coat and a yellow kernel. A comparative study was conducted to investigate differences in the chemical composition and their relative contents between the seed coat and kernel of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen. First, the chemical compounds found in the seed coat and kernel were characterized and identified using ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS)...

Research on the comprehensive utilization of sour jujube and its beneficial properties to human health has attracted extensive attention. This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the bioactive profile of sour jujube and future trends in applications. The research advancements within this field from 2000 to 2023 were addressed using the Web of Science database and VOSviewer. Among the 322 results, the most frequent keywords of bioactivity are flavonoids, antioxidants, saponins, insomnia, polyphenols, terpenoids and anti-inflammatory; the most studied parts of sour jujube are seeds, fruits and leaves; the published articles with high citations mainly focus on identification, biological effects and different parts distribution of bioactive compounds...

Jujube ( Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) is the most economically important fruit tree of the Rhamnaceae and was domesticated from wild or sour jujube ( Z. jujuba Mill. var. spinosa Hu). During the process of domestication, there was a substantial reduction in the content of organic acids, particularly malate and citrate, which greatly influence the taste and nutritional value of the fruit. We previously demonstrated that ZjALMT4 is crucial for malate accumulation. However, the mechanism of citrate degradation in jujube remains poorly understood...

Jujube ( Ziziphus jujuba var. jujuba Mill.) and sour jujube ( Z. jujuba var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H.F.Chow.) are economically, nutritionally, and ecologically significant members of the Rhamnaceae family. Despite their importance, insufficient research on their genetics and habitats has impeded effective conservation and utilization. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted plastome sequencing, integrated distribution data from China, and assessed genetic diversity and suitable habitat. The plastomes of both species exhibited high conservation and low genetic diversity...

As a bioactive saponin derived from the seeds of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H. F. Chow, jujuboside B (JuB) shows great potential in anti-anxiety, anti-depression and improving learning and memory function. However, its oral bioavailability is very poor. In this study, a novel drug-loading nanoparticles system was prepared with polyethylene glycol and polylactic-co-glycolic acid copolymer (PEG-PLGA), and further modified with L-carnitine (LC) to target intestinal organic cation/carnitine transporter 2 (OCTN2) to improve the oral absorption of JuB...

AIM: Liver fibrosis remains a great challenge in the world. Spinosin (SPI), a natural flavonoid-C-glycoside, possesses various pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory and anti-myocardial fibrosis effects. In this study, we investigate whether SPI can be a potential lead for the treatment of liver fibrosis and explore whether the orphan nuclear receptor Nur77, a negative regulator of liver fibrosis development, plays a critical role in SPI's action. METHODS: A dual luciferase reporter system of α-SMA was established to evaluate the effect of SPI on hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation in LX2 and HSC-T6 cells...

Semen Ziziphi Spinosae (SZS) is the dried and ripe seeds of Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa. Currently, the yield of naturally grown SZS is unstable owing to environmental factors. Grafting high-quality sour jujube scions onto sour jujube or jujube tree stocks can result in a greater yield. However, the effects of grafting on the quality and gene expression of SZS have rarely been reported. This study used a DNA barcoding technique, high-performance liquid phase-evaporative luminescence detector (HPLC-ELSD), and transcriptomics to investigate the origin and genetic differences between grafted and wild jujube seeds...

Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) are NAD(P)-dependent enzymes that oxidize aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes. They play crucial roles in various biological processes and plant responses to stress. The impact of high temperatures on jujube quality and yield has been well documented. Nevertheless, the involvement of ALDHs in the response to heat stress remains poorly understood. This study aimed to identify ZjALDHs in the jujube genome (Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa) and conducted in silico analyses. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that ALDHs in plants, including jujube, can be divided into ten families, and members from the same family share conserved gene and protein structures...

Ziziphi Spinosae Semen(ZSS) is an edible TCM derived from the dried ripe seeds of Ziziphus jujube Mill. var. spinosa(Bunge)Hu ex H. F. Chou(Rhamnaceae), which has the effects of nourishing the heart, tonifying the liver, calming the heart, tranquilizing the mind, arresting sweating, and promoting fluid production, and is widely used in the treatment and health care of diseases related to cardiovascular, nervous, and immune systems. Jujuboside B(JuB), one of the main active ingredients of ZSS, possesses various pharmacological effects with application values...

INTRODUCTION: Jujube is an important economic forest tree whose fruit is rich in alkaloids. Chinese jujube ( Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) and sour jujube ( Ziziphus spinosa Hu.) are the two most important species of the jujube genus. However, the mechanisms underlying the synthesis and metabolism of alkaloids in jujube fruits remain poorly understood. METHODS: In this study, the fruits of Ziziphus jujuba 'Hupingzao' and Ziziphus spinosa 'Taigusuanzao' in different harvest stages were used as test materials, we first integrated widely targeted metabolomics and transcriptomics analyses to elucidate the metabolism of alkaloids of jujube fruits...

Since the early 19th century, a substantial amount of jujube ( Ziziphus spp.) germplasm has been introduced from China and Europe into the United States. However, due to a lack of passport data, cultivar mislabeling is common and the genetic background of the introduced germplasm remains unknown. In the present study, a low-density SNP array was employed to genotype 204 jujube trees sampled from multiple locations in New Mexico, Texas, Missouri, and Kentucky. Multilocus matching of SNP profiles revealed a significant rate of genetic redundancy among these jujube samples...

A highly efficient and promiscuous 7,4'-di- O -glycosyltransferase ZjOGT3 was discovered from the medicinal plant Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa . ZjOGT3 could sequentially catalyse 4'- and 7- O -glycosylation of flavones to produce 7,4'-di- O -glycosides with obvious regio-selectivity. For 7,4'-dihydroxyl flavanones and 3- O -glycosylated 7,4'-dihydroxyl flavones, ZjOGT3 selectively catalyses 7- O -glycosylation. The crystal structure of ZjOGT3 was solved. Structural analysis, DFT calculations, MD simulations, and site-directed mutagenesis reveal that the regio-selectivity is mainly controlled by the enzyme microenvironment for 7,4'-dihydroxyl flavones and 3- O -glycosylated 7,4'-dihydroxyl flavones...

Normal intestinal epithelial barrier function plays a key role in the prevention of many diseases such as infectious enteritis, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, etc. In this study, three novel acidic polysaccharides ZY-2, ZY-3 and ZY-4 were isolated from sour jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill. var. Spinosa) seeds and purified by DEAE Sephrose Fast Flow gel. The molecular weight of ZY-2, ZY-3 and ZY-4 was 7.76 kDa, 10.71 kDa and 8.31 kDa respectively, mainly composed of different proportions of mannose, rhamnose, glucose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, galactose, xylose and arabinose...

Comparative plastomics can be used to explicitly dissect various types of plastome variation. In the present study, the plastome variation pattern of Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa (also called sour jujube) and its phylogenomic relationship with Chinese jujube were investigated. Plastomes of 21 sour jujube individuals were sequenced and assembled. The length of the sour jujube plastomes ranged between 159399 and 161279 bp. The plastomes exhibited collinearity of structure, gene order and content. The most divergent regions were located in the intergenic spacers, such as trnR-UCU - atpA and psbZ - trnG-UCC ...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Semen Ziziphi Spinosae (SZS), the seed of Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H.F. Chow (Chinese name Suan-Zao-Ren), is widely distributed in China, Laos, Myanmar, and Iran. It is a classic traditional Chinese medicine with sedative and sleeping effects. In clinical practice, there are more than 155 proprietary Chinese medicines containing SZS. However, many commercial SZS products are difficult to qualify using current methods. Moreover, there is a scarcity of quality standards for SZS in proprietary Chinese medicines...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Febrile seizure is a common neurologic disorder with limited treatment occurring in infants and children under the age of five. Jujuboside B (JuB) is a main bioactive saponin component isolated from the Chinese anti-insomnia herbal medicine Ziziphi Spinosae Semen (ZSS), seed of Ziziphus jujuba Mill, which has been proved to exhibit neuroprotective effects recently. AIM OF THE STUDY: In this study, we aimed at elucidating the effect of JuB on suppressing febrile seizure and the potential mechanisms...

Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H.F . Chow [Rhamnaceae; Ziziphi Spinosae Semen (ZSS)] has attracted extensive attention as the first choice of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of insomnia. However, recent studies on the sleep-improving mechanism of ZSS have mainly focused on the role of single components. Thus, to further reveal the potential mechanism of ZSS, an assessment of its multiple constituents is necessary. In this study, ZSS extract (ZSSE) was obtained from ZSS via detailed modern extraction, separation, and purification technologies...

Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.), the most economically important fruit tree in Rhamnaceae, was domesticated from sour jujube (Z. jujuba Mill. var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H.F.Chow.). During domestication, fruit sweetness increased and acidity decreased. Reduction in organic acid content is crucial for the increase in sweetness of jujube fruit. In this study, determination of malate content among 46 sour jujube and 35 cultivated jujube accessions revealed that malate content varied widely in sour jujube (0.90-13...

Ziziphi Spinosae Semen (ZSS), the dried and ripe seed of Ziziphus jujube Mill. var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H. F. Chou, has been used as a sedative in China and other Asian countries for over a millennium. However, its quality markers (Q-markers) were not completely clear. In this study, Q-markers selected by metabolic in vivo study combined with network pharmacology are put forward to quality control for ZSS. An UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS method was developed to identify or tentatively assign 48 components including 21 flavonoid C-glycoside, 2 flavonoid O-glycoside, 11 dammarane triterpenoid saponins, 13 alkaloids and 1 other, by using a diagnostic product ions (DPIs) filtering strategy in ZSS...

Spinosin, a natural flavone- C -glycoside that is mainly isolated from the seeds of Ziziphus jujuba Mill . var. spinosa . It exerts the effects to ameliorate the neurological disorders, such as hypnosis effects, improvement of cognitive function, sedation effects, and anxiolytic effects, as well as anti-melanogenic effect, cardioprotective effects, and anti-cancer activity. However, the insufficient basic research, unclear mechanisms, and poor bioavailability may limit the prospects of spinosin in clinical utilization...