White tea and its active polyphenols lower cholesterol through reduction of very-low-density lipoprotein production and induction of LDLR expression.

Emerging in vivo and vitro data suggest that white tea extract (WTE) is capable of favourably modulating metabolic syndrome, especially by ameliorating abnormal lipid metabolism. Microarray-based gene expression profiling was performed in HepG2 cells to analyze the effects of WTE from a systematic perspective. Gene Ontology and pathway analysis revealed that WTE significantly affected pathways related to lipid metabolism. WTE significantly downregulated apolipoprotein B (APOB) and microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTTP) expression and thereby reduced the production of very-low-density lipoprotein. In the meanwhile, WTE stimulated low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c) uptake through targeting low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), as a consequence of the activation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP2) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ). Furthermore, WTE significantly downregulated triglycerides synthetic genes and reduced intracellular triglycerides accumulation. Besides, we demonstrated that the tea catechins epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG) are abundant in WTE and contribute to the regulation of cholesterol metabolism related genes, including LDLR, MTTP and APOB. Our findings suggest white tea plays important roles in ameliorating abnormal lipid metabolism in vitro.

Caffeine-free hawk tea lowers cholesterol by reducing free cholesterol uptake and the production of very-low-density lipoprotein.

Medicinal plants show important therapeutic value in chronic disease treatment. However, due to their diverse ingredients and complex biological effects, the molecular mechanisms of medicinal plants are yet to be explored. By means of several high-throughput platforms, here we show hawk tea extract (HTE) inhibits Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1)-mediated free cholesterol uptake, thereby inducing the transcription of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) downstream of the sterol response element binding protein 2 (SREBP2) pathway. Meanwhile, HTE suppresses hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α)-mediated transcription of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) and apolipoprotein B (APOB), thereby decreasing the production of very-low-density lipoprotein. The catechin EGCG ((-)-epigallocatechin gallate) and the flavonoids kaempferol and quercetin are identified as the bioactive components responsible for the effects on the NPC1L1-SREBP2-LDLR axis and HNF4α-MTP/APOB axis, respectively. Overall, hawk tea works as a previously unrecognized cholesterol-lowering agent in a multi-target and multi-component manner.

Activity directed investigation on anti-inflammatory fractions and compounds from flowers of Trollius chinensis.

The flower of Trollius chinensis Bunge is used as an anti-inflammatory drug to treat upper respiratory tract infection, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, and bronchitis. In order to identify the active components, the activity-screen directed compound isolation was carried out, leading to the identification of the major active fraction and 4 compounds thereof. As a result, flavonoids and phenolics were demonstrated to be the major anti-inflammatory components.

Distribution of Two bioactive compounds in flowers of Trollius chinensis.

A comprehensive procedure was established, which combined a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay for the simultaneous quantification of 2″-O-ß-L-galactopyranosylorientin (OGA) and veratric acid and a gravimetric analysis for the determination of the mass fraction of the floral parts (calyx, corolla, stalk, stamens and pistils and ovary) of Trollius chinensis, to investigate the distribution and identify the enriched floral part(s) of these two compounds in the flowers. The calculated mean distributions of OGA in calyx, corolla, stamens and pistils, stalk and ovary were 83.62, 7.76, 4.35, 2.92 and 1.35%, respectively, whereas those of veratric acid in the corresponding floral parts were 46.41, 9.01, 18.41, 4.11 and 22.06%, respectively, indicating the uneven and noncorresponding distribution of these two compounds. This study extends the application of the HPLC assay and favors the production of OGA and veratric acid from the flowers of T. chinensis in addition to the benefits of breeding, cultivation and utilization of these flowers.

Investigation on Flos Trollii: constituents and bioactivities.

Flos Trollii, the flowers of Trollius chinensis Bunge, has been widely used in Chinese and Mongolian medicine for its efficacy of heat-clearing and detoxification. This drug has both medicinal and edible applications, and has led to various pharmacognosy, natural product chemistry, and pharmacology studies. As a result, its chemical constituents and bioactivities have been well-characterized in recent years. Nevertheless, a couple of critical issues, such as the major effective components, are still unresolved. The present review summarizes research progress on this drug regarding the constituents and bioactivities based on investigations in these laboratories and the results reported in recent publications. In addition, the pending issues are discussed and constructive suggestions for further investigation are proposed.

[Evaluation of quality coherence of prepared slices of polygoni cuspidati rhizoma commercially available in China based on HPLC fingerprint].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality coherence of the prepared slices of Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma commercially available in China and provide a reference for their quality evaluation. METHODS: The fingerprints were obtained using HPLC method, and analyzed with Chromatographic Fingerprint Similarity Evaluation System (2004A Version) provided by Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission. The experiment was carried out with an Agilent TC-C18 column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) using acetonitrile-0.05% aqueous solution of phosphoric acid as mobile phase at the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, detection wavelength of 230 nm, and temperature of 25 degrees C. RESULTS: The fingerprint for Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma was established. 21 common characteristic peaks were identified and the similarities of 24 batches of prepared slices of Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma were between 0.882 - 0.988. CONCLUSION: The quality of the prepared slices of Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma commercially available in China is comparable.

[Study on the chemical components of volatile oil from Euphorbia pekinensis radix].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the volatile oil from Radix Euphorbia Pekinensis. METHODS: Volatile oil was extracted from Radix Euphorbia Pekinensis by steam distillation and GC-MS was employed for detecting the content of the constituents. The relative content of the chemical constituents were calculated using area normalization method. RESULTS: 35 peaks were separated and 29 constituents were identified. The yield rate of volatile oil extracted from the dried radix of Euphorbia Pekinensis was 0.3%. CONCLUSION: The main components of volatile oil were agarospirol and hedycargol and their contents were 49.23% and 20.66% respectively. This paper provides valuable experimental data for further research of Radix Euphorbia Pekinensis.