Chinese Herbal Medicines最新文献

Objective

The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect and explore the underlying mechanisms of Longxue Tongluo Capsule (LTC) on ischemic stroke rats.

Methods

Twenty-six rats were randomly divided into four groups, including sham group, sham + LTC group, MCAO group, and MCAO + LTC group. Ischemic stroke rats were simulated by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), and LTC treatment group were orally administrated with 300 mg/kg of LTC once daily for seven consecutive days. LTC therapy was validated in terms of neurobehavioral abnormality evaluation, cerebral infarct area, and histological assessments. The plasma metabolome comparisons amongst different groups were conducted by UHPLC-Q Exactive MS in combination with subsequent multivariate statistical analysis, aiming to finding the molecules in respond to the surgery or LTC treatment.

Results

Intragastric administration of LTC significantly decreased not only the neurobehavioral abnormality scores but also the cerebral infarct area of MCAO rats. The interstitial edema, atrophy, and pyknosis of glial and neuronal cells occurred in the infarcted area, core area, and marginal area of cerebral cortex were improved after LTC treatment. A total of 13 potential biomarkers were observed, and Youden index of 11 biomarkers such as LysoPC, SM, and PE were more than 0.7, which were involved in neuroprotective process. The correlation and pathway analysis showed that LTC was beneficial to ischemic stroke rats via regulating glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid metabolism, together with nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism. Heatmap and ternary analysis indicated the synergistic effect of carbohydrates and lipids may be induced by flavonoid intake from LTC.

Conclusion

The present study could provide evidence that metabolomics, as systematic approach, revealed its capacity to evaluate the holistic efficacy of TCM, and investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the clinical treatment of LTC on ischemic stroke.

Objective

Identifying novel strategies to prevent particulate matter (PM)-induced lung injury is crucial for the reduction of the morbidity of chronic respiratory diseases. The combined intervention represented by herbal formulae for simultaneously targeting multiple pathological processes can provide a more beneficial effect than the single intervention. The aim of this paper is therefore to design a safe and effective medicinal and edible Chinese herbs (MECHs) formula against PM-induced lung injury.

Methods

PM-induced oxidative stress, inflammatory response and apoptosis A549 cell model were used to screen anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic MECHs, respectively. A network pharmacology method was utilized to rationally design a novel herbal formula. Ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer was utilized to assess the quality control of MECHs formula. The excretion of magnetic iron oxide nanospheres of the MECHs formula was estimated in zebrafish. The MECH formula against PM-induced lung injury was investigated with mice experiments.

Results

Five selected herbs were rationally designed to form a new MECH formula, including Citri Exocarpium Rubrum (Juhong), Lablab Semen Album (Baibiandou), Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Baizhu), Mori Folium (Sangye) and Polygonati Odorati Rhizoma (Yuzhu). The formula effectively promoted the magnetic iron oxide nanospheres excretion in zebrafish. The mid/high dose formula significantly prevented PM-induced lung damage in mice by enhancing the activity of SOD and GSH-Px, reducing the MDA and ROS level and attenuating the upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β and TNF-α), down regulating the protein expression of NF-κB, STAT3 and Caspase-3.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that the effective MECHs formula will become a novel strategy for preventing PM-induced lung injury and provide a paradigm for the development of functional foods using MECHs.

Perilla frutescens, an annual herb of the Labiatae family, has been cultivated in China for more than 2000 years. P. frutescens is the one of the first medicinal and edible plant published by the Ministry of Health. Its leaves, stems and seeds can be used as medicine and edible food. Because of the abundant nutrients and bioactive components in this plant, P. frutescens has been studied extensively in medicine, food, health care and chemical fields with great prospects for development. This paper reviews the cultivation history, chemical compositions and pharmacological activities of P. frutescens, which provides a reference for the development and utilization of P. frutescens resources.

Objective

To study the chemical constituents of the roots of Angelica dahurica, a well-known Chinese herbal medicine named Baizhi in Chinese.

Methods

Compounds were separated by various chromatographies, and the structures of new compounds were elucidated based on the analysis of their spectroscopic and spectrometric data (1D, 2D NMR, HRESI MS, IR, and UV). The absolute configurations of new compounds were determined by the calculated electronic circular dichroism and chemical derivatization. The inhibitory activities of all isolates against nitric oxide (NO) production were evaluated using lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells.

Results

Seven new 3,4-dihydro-furanocoumarin derivatives (1a/1b, 2a/2b, 3a/3b, 4) together with a known furanocoumarin (5) were isolated from the roots of A. dahurica. The new compounds included three pairs of enantiomers, (4S, 2′′R)-angelicadin A (1a)/(4R, 2′′S)-angelicadin A (1b), (4S, 2′′S)-angelicadin A (2a)/(4R, 2′′R)-angelicadin A (2b), and (4S, 2′′S)-secoangelicadin A (3a)/(4R, 2′′R)-secoangelicadin A (3b), together with (4R, 2′′R)-secoangelicadin A methyl ester (4). The known xanthotoxol (5) inhibited the NO production with the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) value of (32.8 ± 0.8) µmol/L, but all the new compounds showed no inhibitory activities at the concentration of 100 µmol/L.

Conclusion

This is the first report of the discovery of 3,4-dihydro-furanocoumarins from A. dahurica. The results are not only meaningful for the understanding of the chemical constituents of A. dahurica, but also enrich the reservoir of natural products.

Objective

To study the chemical constituents from the roots of Curcuma longa.

Methods

The structures of the compounds were elucidated based on extensive spectral analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR, MS, UV, and CD analysis.

Results

Two new sesquiterpene compounds (1S,2R,5R,7S,8R)-2,8-epoxy-5-hydroxybisabola-3,10-dioen-9-one (1), (1R,2R,5R,7S,8R)-2,8-epoxy-5-hydroxybisabola-3,10-dioen-9-one (2), and a new natural product 6-(4-Hydroxymethylphenyl)-2-methyl-hept-2-ene-4-one (3) together with three known compounds ar-turmerone (4), 2-methyl-6-(4-hydroxyphenyl-3-methyl)-2-hepten-4-one (5) and 2-methyl-6-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-hepten-4-one (6) were isolated from C. longa root extract with 95% ethanol.

Conclusion

In the study, three new compounds were isolated from C. longa, and their absolute configurations were determined.

Objective

Cassiae Semen (CS, Juemingzi in Chinese) has been used for thousands of years in ancient Chinese history for relieving constipation, improving liver function as well as preventing myopia. Here we aimed to elucidate the anti-steatosis effect and underlying mechanism of CS against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Methods

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to identify the major components of CS water extract. Mice were fed with a high-fat and sugar-water (HFSW) diet to induce hepatic steatosis and then treated with CS. The anti-NAFLD effect was determined by measuring serum biomarkers and histopathology staining. Additionally, the effects of CS on cell viability and lipid metabolism in oleic acid and palmitic acid (OAPA)-treated HepG2 cells were measured. The expression of essential genes and proteins involved in lipid metabolism and autophagy signalings were measured to uncover the underlying mechanism.

Results

Five compounds, including aurantio-obtusin, rubrofusarin gentiobioside, cassiaside C, emodin and rhein were simultaneously identified in CS extract. CS not only improved the diet-induced hepatic steatosis in vivo, as indicated by decreased number and size of lipid droplets, hepatic and serum triglycerides (TG) levels, but also markedly attenuated the OAPA-induced lipid accumulation in hepatocytes. These lipid-lowering effects induced by CS were largely dependent on the inhibition of fatty acid synthase (FASN) and the activation of autophagy-related signaling, including AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), light chain 3-II (LC3-II)/ LC3-1 and autophagy-related gene5 (ATG5).

Conclusion

Our study suggested that CS effectively protected liver steatosis via decreasing FASN-related fatty acid synthesis and activating AMPK-mediated autophagy, which might become a promising therapeutic strategy for relieving NAFLD.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with high pathogenicity and infectiousness has become a sudden and lethal pandemic worldwide. Currently, there is no accepted specific drug for COVID-19 treatment. Therefore, it is extremely urgent to clarify the pathogenic mechanism and develop effective therapies for patients with COVID-19. According to several reliable reports from China, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), especially for three Chinese patent medicines and three Chinese medicine formulas, has been demonstrated to effectively alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19 either used alone or in combination with Western medicines. In this review, we systematically summarized and analyzed the pathogenesis of COVID-19, the detailed clinical practice, active ingredients investigation, network pharmacology prediction and underlying mechanism verification of three Chinese patent medicines and three Chinese medicine formulas in the COVID-19 combat. Additionally, we summarized some promising and high-frequency drugs of these prescriptions and discussed their regulatory mechanism, which provides guidance for the development of new drugs against COVID-19. Collectively, by addressing critical challenges, for example, unclear targets and complicated active ingredients of these medicines and formulas, we believe that TCM will represent promising and efficient strategies for curing COVID-19 and related pandemics.

Objective

To establish a high-performance liquid chromatographic method (HPLC) for the simultaneous determination of 16 compounds from Artemisia ordosica.

Methods

HPLC was used to analyze 16 quality indicators of A. ordosica. The HPLC conditions were as follows: Agilent Eclipse Plus C₁₈ column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) with acetonitrile (A)-water (B) as mobile phase, gradient elution: 0–10 min, 75%−65% B; 10–30 min, 65%−35% B; and finally 30–40 min, 35%−15% B. The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min, the column temperature was 40 °C, the injection volume was 10 μL, and monitored by absorbance at 285 nm for compounds 1–10, 12 and 225 nm for compounds 11, 13–16.

Results

Under the selected experimental chromatographic conditions, compounds 1–16 showed good linearity (r > 0.9993) in a wide concentration range. Their average recoveries were 99.50%, 95.38%, 97.75%, 96.00%, 98.20%, 97.50%, 95.50%, 99.33%, 96.75%, 96.50%, 98.50%, 97.83%, 99.20%, 95.33%, 97.33% and 96.30%, respectively, and the RSD were 1.99%, 1.81%, 1.63%, 1.98%, 1.67%, 1.92%, 1.74%, 1.67%, 1.90%, 1.72%, 1.88%, 1.83%, 1.79%, 1.76%, 1.81% and 1.96%, respectively.

Conclusion

Based on the results of the HPLC analysis, it was concluded that p-hydroxycinnamic acid (1), O-hydroxycinnamic acid (2), coniferyl alcohol (5), 5,4′-dihydroxy-7,3′-dimethoxyflavanone (8), 5,4′-dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavanone (9), 5-hydroxy-7,4′-dimethoxyflavanone (12), dehydrofalcarindiol (13), arteordoyn A (14), dehydrofalcarinol (15) and capillarin (16) are best suited for the role of quality indicators of A. ordosica grown in different ecological environments.

Objective

To clarify the anti-depressive potential mechanisms of Kaixin Powder (KP), a drug that helps to prevent and treat depression and other mentaldiseases, from genome-wide transcriptome profiling.

Methods

Transcriptome and KEGG pathway analysis were conducted on the hippocampus of depressed rats, then the differentially expressed genes were validated and serum concentration of lipid parameters were identified by enzymatic assays. Furthermore, high-fat diets induced depression-like behaviors in Syrian golden hamsters were conducted to verify the predicted molecular mechanisms acquired from the transcriptome analysis.

Results

Transcriptome results revealed that the 24 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in chronic mild stress (CMS) rats could be reversed after two weeks of KP treatment. The mechanisms of KP in treating depression firstly involved the regulation of several pathology modules, including lipid metabolism, synapse function and inflammation. KP could regulate imbalances of lipid homeostasis in high-fat diet induced depressive symptoms. Furthermore, it was validated that cholesterol metabolism dysfunction can be ameliorated by KP, which was correlated with upregulation of the AdipoR1-BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) co-regulatory pathway.

Conclusion

Taken together, our results demonstrated that KP not only alleviates depression via traditional mental illness targets, but it may also simulates the cholesterol metabolism and adiponectin signaling with multi-target characteristics.

Objective

To rapidly identify the two morphologies and chemical properties of similar herbal medicines, Blumea riparia and B. megacephala as the basis for chemical constituent analysis.

Methods

UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS/MS was utilized for profiling and identification of the constituents in B. riparia and B. megacephala. Chemical pattern recognition (CPR) was further used to compare and distinguish the two herbs and to identify their potential characteristic markers. Then, an HPLC method was established for quality evaluation.

Results

A total of 93 constituents are identified, including 54 phenolic acids, 35 flavonoids, two saccharides, one phenolic acid glycoside, and one other constituent, of which 67 were identified in B. riparia and B. megacephala for the first time. CPR indicates that B. riparia and B. megacephala samples can be distinguished from each other based on the LC–MS data. The isochlorogenic acid A to cryptochlorogenic acid peak area ratio calculated from the HPLC chromatograms was proposed as a differentiation index for distinguishing and quality control of B. riparia and B. megacephala.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates significant differences between B. riparia and B. megacephala in terms of chemical composition. The results provide a rapid and simple strategy for the comparison and evaluation of the quality of B. riparia and B. megacephala.