Structural characteristics and antioxidant activities of a novel polysaccharide from Euphorbia himalayensis root.

Euphorbia himalayensis Boiss. is an alpine member of the Euphorbiaceae family. Its dried roots have been used to treat digestive problems and chest congestion in traditional Tibetan and Mongolian medicine. Despite thousands of years of use in medicine, the bioactive compounds of the root remain unknown. Herein, we isolated a novel aqueous-soluble polysaccharide (EHP2) from the E. himalayensis root and determined its structural characteristics via high-performance gel permeation chromatography, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. The homogeneous molecular weight of EHP2 was 23.6 kDa with narrow polydisperity (Mw/Mn = 1.4), and EHP2 mainly comprised of glucose (86.4%), galactose (11.9%) and mannose (1.7%). The major backbone of EHP2 was →4)-α-D-GalAp-(1 â†’ 4)-α-D-Glcp-(1 â†’ and the branch chain was α-D-Glcp-(1→. The antioxidant activity of the EHP2 was evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and superoxide anion radical scavenging assays, and antioxidant enzyme activity (SOD, GSH and MDA) was determined in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The EHP2 demonstrated lower potential scavenging effects on DPPH and superoxide free radical scavenger than ascorbic acid, and in HUVECs, it led to increased SOD and GSH activities and decreased MDA levels. This study is the first to describe an E. himalayensis polysaccharide compound with potential antioxidant activity.

Preliminary discussion on the mechanism of active components of Radix Aconiti kusnezoffii in the treatment of migraine based on network pharmacology.

To investigate the mechanism of action of Cao Wu in the treatment of migraine from the perspective of network pharmacology. The Swiss Target Prediction Database and CTD database were used to predict the target information of Cao Wu. Human Genome Database gene cards were used to find migraine-related target genes. The target protein interaction network and the "active ingredient-target" network were obtained by combining Cytoscape 3.7.1 software and R language. Enrichment analysis of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway and gene function analysis (GO) were performed using the R language to preliminarily explore the multiple pharmacological mechanisms of Radix Aconiti kusnezoffii. Forty-three indicators were identified. A total of 176 migraine targets were identified through the genecards database and OMIM database. Radix Aconiti kusnezoffii targets were compared with migraine targets and 12 overlapping targets were extracted. The protein interaction network of the overlapping targets was analyzed to identify the key targets for the drug to affect the disease. In addition, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway and go function enrichment analyses were performed on the overlapping targets to explore the therapeutic mechanism of migraine. The treatment of migraine with herbal woo is characterized by multi-component, multi-target, and multi-channel, which exerts complex network regulation through the interaction between different targets, providing a new idea and basis for further exploring the mechanism of action of herbal woo in the treatment of migraine.