Cornus officinalis prior and post-processing: Regulatory effects on intestinal flora of diabetic nephropathy rats.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most common and serious chronic complications in the clinic. Cornus officinalis has the effects of replenishing qi and nourishing yin, tonifying liver and kidney, and it is one of the main traditional Chinese medicines used clinically to treat diabetes and its complications. However, the effect and mechanism of Cornus officinalis before and after processing on intestinal flora of diabetic nephropathy need to be further elucidated. Methods: SD rats were randomly divided into a blank group (10 rats) and DN groups (70 rats). After 4 weeks of high-sugar and high-fat diet, the DN rat model was established by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. After successful modeling, the rats were randomly divided into DN model group, irbesartan group (1.35 mg·kg-1), Cornus officinalis group (281.25 mg·kg-1), wine Cornus officinalis group (281.25 mg·kg-1), wine honey Cornus officinalis group (281.25 mg·kg-1), auxiliary wine group (10 ml·kg-1), auxiliary wine honey group (10 ml·kg-1). During the observation of the rats' general state, after 6 weeks of continuous administration, the fasting blood glucose of rats in each group was detected, and the kidney index was calculated. The serum creatinine levels, urea nitrogen and 24 h urinary microalbumin were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expression levels of YKL-40, Wnt4, ß-catenin and TGF-ß 1 mRNA in renal tissue were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the changes in renal pathological injury in each group; GC-MS detected the changes of short chain fatty acid content. Feces were collected for 16 s high-throughput sequencing to analyze the effects of Cornus officinalis on the diversity of intestinal flora in DN before and after processing. Results: Compared with the blank group, the serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, 24 h urinary microalbumin, kidney index and fasting blood glucose in the DN model group were significantly increased (p < 0.05). The renal tissue morphology was disordered and a large number of inflammatory cells were infiltrated. The expression of YKL-40, Wnt4, ß-catenin and TGF-ß 1 mRNA was significantly increased (p < 0.05). Compared with the DN model group, the serum creatinine, urea. Nitrogen, 24 h urine microalbumin, kidney index and fasting blood glucose of rats in each administration group were significantly decreased (p < 0.05), and the general condition and pathological renal damage of DN rats were improved. The effect of wine honey Cornus officinalis was the best, and the expression of YKL-40, Wnt4, ß-catenin and TGF-ß 1 mRNA was significantly decreased (p < 0.05). In each administration group, the improvement of the above indicators in the wine honey Cornus officinalis group was significantly better than that in the raw Cornus officinalis group and wine Cornus officinalis group (p < 0.05), There was no significant difference compared with the irbesartan group (p > 0.05). Each administration group had a significant callback effect on the content of short-chain fatty acids in rat feces, with increased intestinal beneficial bacteria and decreased pathogenic bacteria. Compared with the blank group, the abundance of Firmicutes in the DN model group increased, the abundance of Bacteroidetes decreased, and the ratio showed an upward trend in the DN model group decreased. Each administration group could improve the relative abundance of the above intestinal flora in the model group to varying degrees. Conclusion: The processing of Cornus officinalis may improve the renal injury of DN rats by blocking the activation of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, regulating the structural composition of intestinal microorganisms, and ultimately playing a role in renal protection.

Determination of orcinol glucoside by LC-MS in Curculigo orchioides and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

ABSTRACT This study was designed to explore the pharmacokinetic regularity of the plasma concentration, tissue distribution and excretion of orcinol glucoside from aqueous extracts of raw and processed Curculigo orchioides Gaertn., Hypoxidaceae. The experiment first used an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry approach with multiple reaction monitoring and a positive mode to separate orcinol glucoside from naringin to obtain the plasma concentration curves, bar graph of tissue distribution and excretion curves. These results might be beneficial for reasonable clinical application of C. orchioides and for further development of its wine and salt-processing mechanism.

[Study on decoction's effect of different processed rhizomes of Cibotium barometz on retinoic acid induced male rats osteoporosis].

This study compared the decoction's HPLC figures of the different processed rhizomes of Cibotium barometz including the raw, the sand-baked, the wined, the steamed and the salted, on the basis of which, with the sand-baked Drynaria fortunei decoction as the positive control group, comparingall groups' decoction, concentration of which was 104.2 g x L(-1), for 4 weeks, by their effects (s-TRAP and total scores of OPG, Ca, P, IL-6, TNF-alpha and IL-1) on retinoic acid induced male rats osteoporosis. The experiment results showed the sand-baked and the wined were better than the steamed, the salted and the raw;in the processing methods' selection, the sand-baked was a better heating method than the steamed and the rice wine was the better excipient than the salt. It provided a reference to explain the processing principle of rhizomes of C. barometz and work mechanism of anti-osteoporosis.

Effect of the RW-Cb and its active ingredient like P-acid and P-aldehyde on primary rat osteoblasts.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: RW-Cb, the first processed product of Cibotium barometz (L.) J. Sm. (Dicksoniaceae) in TCM has been widely used to treat osteoporosis, a major worldwide health problem, influencing more and more people in the word et al. To do research on RW-Cb, one processed product of Cibotium barometz (L.) J. Sm. (Dicksoniaceae) in TCM has been widely used to treat osteoporosis, a major worldwide health problem, influencing more and more people in the word et al. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The raw rhizome slices of Cibotium barometz were identified and both P-acid and P-aldehyde had a high purity. Primary rat osteoblasts were cultured and identified to be used for the assay. RESULTS: RW-Cb contributed the most to osteoblasts proliferation and the AKP activity among all the groups; osteoblasts proliferation effect of P-acid and P-aldehyde: the mixed group(high>middle>low)>the P-acid group (high>middle>low) or the P-aldehyde group(high>middle>low), P<0.001; AKP activity: the P-acid's high group was higher than P-aldehyde's high, the mixed of low and middle groups had no significant difference, the rest of groups' results were similar to the osteoblasts' proliferation, P<0.05. CONCLUSIONS: RW-Cb and its index constituents like P-acid and P-aldehyde could promote proliferation and differentiation of primary rat osteoblasts cultured in vitro, and it could be the theoretical basis for the treatment of osteoporosis.

[Detection on effect of different processed Cibotium barometz on osteoblasts by CCK-8].

The pancreatic enzyme-II type collagenase digestion method was adopted for primary culture of osteoblasts, inoculation and passage. They were identified by alkaline phosphatase dye-liquor. N-butanol extract fractions from different processed products of Cibotium barometz were prepared. The above osteoblasts were jointly cultured with protocatechuic acid, protocatechuic aldehyde, kojic acid and the mixed control liquid of the above three substances, and their proliferation was detected by CCK-8. Various n-butanol extract fractions from different processed products of C. barometz showed a significant proliferative effect on osteoblasts in the order of the wined > the heated > the salted > the sand-heated and wined system > the alcohol-processed > the steamed > the crude. The q test showed no significant difference among sand-heated, alcohol-processed and steamed C. barometz, no significant difference between heated and salted C. barometz. Various control substances also showed a certain proliferative effect on osteoblasts in the order of the mixed control > protocatechuic aldehyde > protocatechuic acid > kojic acid. The q test showed no significant difference between protocatechuic aldehyde and protocatechuic acid. All of n-butanol extract fractions from different processed products of C. barometz showed a significant effect on osteoblast proliferation, of which wined C. barometz showed the best effect. All of phenolic compounds such as protocatechuic aldehyde, protocatechuic acid and kojic acid showed a significant proliferative effect on osteoblasts.