Nicotinate-curcumin improves NASH by inhibiting the AKR1B10/ACCα-mediated triglyceride synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a prevalent chronic liver condition. However, the potential therapeutic benefits and underlying mechanism of nicotinate-curcumin (NC) in the treatment of NASH remain uncertain. METHODS: A rat model of NASH induced by a high-fat and high-fructose diet was treated with nicotinate-curcumin (NC, 20, 40 mg·kg- 1), curcumin (Cur, 40 mg·kg- 1) and metformin (Met, 50 mg·kg- 1) for a duration of 4 weeks. The interaction between NASH, Cur and Aldo-Keto reductase family 1 member B10 (AKR1B10) was filter and analyzed using network pharmacology. The interaction of Cur, NC and AKR1B10 was analyzed using molecular docking techniques, and the binding energy of Cur and NC with AKR1B10 was compared. HepG2 cells were induced by Ox-LDL (25 µg·ml- 1, 24 h) in high glucose medium. NC (20µM, 40µM), Cur (40µM) Met (150µM) and epalrestat (Epa, 75µM) were administered individually. The activities of ALT, AST, ALP and the levels of LDL, HDL, TG, TC and FFA in serum were quantified using a chemiluminescence assay. Based on the changes in the above indicators, score according to NAS standards. The activities of Acetyl-CoA and Malonyl-CoA were measured using an ELISA assay. And the expression and cellular localization of AKR1B10 and Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCα) in HepG2 cells were detected by Western blotting and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: The results of the animal experiments demonstrated that NASH rat model induced by a high-fat and high-fructose diet exhibited pronounced dysfunction in liver function and lipid metabolism. Additionally, there was a significant increase in serum levels of FFA and TG, as well as elevated expression of AKR1B10 and ACCα, and heightened activity of Acetyl-CoA and Malonyl-CoA in liver tissue. The administration of NC showed to enhance liver function in rats with NASH, leading to reductions in ALT, AST and ALP levels, and decrease in blood lipid and significant inhibition of FFA and TG synthesis in the liver. Network pharmacological analysis identified AKR1B10 and ACCα as potential targets for NASH treatment. Molecular docking studies revealed that both Cur and NC are capable of binding to AKR1B10, with NC exhibiting a stronger binding energy to AKR1B10. Western blot analysis demonstrated an upregulation in the expression of AKR1B10 and ACCα in the liver tissue of NASH rats, accompanied by elevated Acetyl-CoA and Malonyl-CoA activity, and increased levels of FFA and TG. The results of the HepG2 cell experiments induced by Ox-LDL suggest that NC significantly inhibited the expression and co-localization of AKR1B10 and ACCα, while also reduced levels of TC and LDL-C and increased level of HDL-C. These effects are accompanied by a decrease in the activities of ACCα and Malonyl-CoA, and levels of FFA and TG. Furthermore, the impact of NC appears to be more pronounced compared to Cur. CONCLUSION: NC could effectively treat NASH and improve liver function and lipid metabolism disorder. The mechanism of NC is related to the inhibition of AKR1B10/ACCα pathway and FFA/TG synthesis of liver.

Green and Efficient Extraction of Phenolic Components from Plants with Supramolecular Solvents: Experimental and Theoretical Studies.

The supramolecular solvent (SUPRAS) has garnered significant attention as an innovative, efficient, and environmentally friendly solvent for the effective extraction and separation of bioactive compounds from natural resources. However, research on the use of a SUPRAS for the extraction of phenolic compounds from plants, which are highly valued in food products due to their exceptional antioxidant properties, remains scarce. The present study developed a green, ultra-sound-assisted SUPRAS method for the simultaneous determination of three phenolic acids in Prunella vulgaris using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The experimental parameters were meticulously optimized. The efficiency and antioxidant properties of the phenolic compounds obtained using different extraction methods were also compared. Under optimal conditions, the extraction efficiency of the SUPRAS, prepared with octanoic acid reverse micelles dispersed in ethanol-water, significantly exceeded that of conventional organic solvents. Moreover, the SUPRAS method demonstrated greater antioxidant capacity. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) images revealed the spherical droplet structure of the SUPRAS, characterized by a well-defined circular fluorescence position, which coincided with the position of the phenolic acids. The phenolic acids were encapsulated within the SUPRAS droplets, indicating their efficient extraction capacity. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations combined with CLSM supported the proposed method's mechanism and theoretically demonstrated the superior extraction performance of the SUPRAS. In contrast to conventional methods, the higher extraction efficiency of the SUPRAS can be attributed to the larger solvent contact surface area, the formation of more types of hydrogen bonds between the extractants and the supramolecular solvents, and stronger, more stable interaction forces. The results of the theoretical studies corroborate the experimental outcomes.

[Quality control mode between Lonicera macranthoides and L. japonica based on multi-elemental difference through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry].

Numerous studies show that Lonicera macranthoides and L. japonica have significant differences in organic matter. However, there is still a lack of research on inorganic elements between them. In this study, a non-targeted elemental metabolomics method was established by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS), so as to compare the overall differences of inorganic elements between L. macranthoides and L. japonica. In addition, the differential markers were screened, and these differential markers were quantitatively analyzed by the targeted method. The non-targeted elemental metabolomics showed that the established mathematical model could reflect the difference in element content between L. macranthoides and L. japonica. Four inorganic elements such as ~(55)Mn, ~(209)Bi, ~(111)Cd, and ~(85)Rb were confirmed as the differential markers of L. macranthoides and L. japonica based on the screening principles of variable importance in the projection(VIP) value>2.0, P<0.01 and fold change(FC) value>1.2 or <0.80. The targeted quantitative results showed that the content of ~(209)Bi in L. japonica was significantly higher than that in L. macranthoides, while ~(55)Mn, ~(111)Cd, and ~(85)Rb in L. macranthoides were significantly higher than that in L. japonica. The non-targeted and targeted elemental metabolomics methods based on ICP-MS can significantly reflect the overall differences in inorganic elements between L. macranthoides and L. japonica. Exploring the differences between them from the perspective of elements can partly reflect the differences in their drug properties and lay a foundation for further study on the quality control mode of inorganic elements in L. macranthoides and L. japonica and their pharmacological effects.

The diagnostic role of PD-1+ CXCR5+ follicular helper CD8+ T cell in renal allograft dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: The roles of PD-1+ CXCR5+ follicular helper CD8+ T cell were reported in different disease conditions, but their roles in transplantation are unclear. In this study, the association between PD-1+ CXCR5+ follicular helper CD8+ T cell and renal allograft dysfunction in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) was investigated. METHODS: 82 KTRs were enrolled in this study. 45 KTRs were included in the chronic allograft dysfunction (CAD) group, and 37 KTRs were included in the stable recipients group. Among the CAD group, 12 cases of antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) and 4 cases of T cell-mediated rejection (TCMR) were diagnosed by biopsy. The percentage of CXCR5+ CD8+ T cells and the co-expression of signal transducers and activators of transcription 4 (STAT4), STAT5, and PD-1 in peripheral blood were determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The expression of CXCR5 on CD3+ CD8+ T cells and the percentage of STAT5+ CXCR5+ cells in the CD3+ CD8+ T-cell population were significantly lower in the CAD group (p < 0.05), while the expression of PD-1+ CXCR5+ CD8+ T cells was significantly higher (p < 0.05). Through logistic regression analysis, we concluded that the percentage of PD-1+ CXCR5+ CD8+ T cells was an independent risk factor for renal dysfunction. Grouping by pathological type, PD-1+ CXCR5+ CD8+ T cells showed relatively good diagnostic efficacy for ABMR by ROC analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that PD-1+ CXCR5+ CD8+ T cells were a promising biomarker for distinguishing renal allograft dysfunction and different allograft pathological types. Also, our findings may provide new ways of identifying and treating allograft rejection.

Design and Synthesis of Novel Oleanolic Acid-Linked Disulfide, Thioether, or Selenium Ether Moieties as Potent Cytotoxic Agents.

A series of novel oleanolic acid (OA)-linked disulfide, thioether, or selenium ether derivatives was synthesized, and their antiproliferative activity was evaluated against human liver cancer (BEL-7402 and HepG-2), colon cancer (HCT116), and normal liver (L02) cell lines using methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay (MTT). Preliminary bioassay results revealed that OA derivatives modified at the C3-OH position, i. e., compound a4 containing sulfide ether, exhibited the best antiproliferative activity against BEL-7402 cells, with an IC50 value of 5.70±0.82 µM. Further flow cytometry assays revealed that compound a4 exerted its antiproliferative effects by inducing cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase leading to apoptosis. Moreover, compared with the lead compound OA and the positive control drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), the OA derivatives demonstrated potent antiproliferative activities against the cancer cell lines.

Preparation and Characterization of Polysaccharides from Turpiniae Folium and Its Antioxidative, Anti-Inflammatory Activities and Antiproliferative Effect on VSMCs.

Turpiniae Folium, the dried leaves of Turpinia arguta Seem., is a kind of historic traditional Chinese medicine. Here, based on our previous study, we extracted the Turpiniae Folium polysaccharides (TFP) and isolated three polysaccharide fractions from TFP. Then, TFP and one of the major polysaccharide fractions (TFP-1a) were identified through HPLC, HPGPC, and ATR-FTIR. Furthermore, the evaluations of their antioxidative, anti-inflammatory activities and inhibitory effect on angiotensin II-induced vascular smooth muscle cells (VSCMs) proliferation in vitro were conducted. Both TFP and TFP-1a showed strong hydroxyl radical scavenging, DPPH radical scavenging, and Fe2+ chelating activities, and exerted strong anti-inflammatory activity. Moreover, TFP and TFP-1a also possessed a strong inhibitory effect on Ang II-induced VSCMs proliferation. On these premises, we inferred that TFP and TFP-1a could be potential and promising natural antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and implicated to treat cardiovascular disease.

Discrimination and Prediction of Lonicerae japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos and Their Related Prescriptions by Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Combined with Multivariate Statistical Analysis.

LJF and LF are commonly used in Chinese patent drugs. In the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, LJF and LF once belonged to the same source. However, since 2005, the two species have been listed separately. Therefore, they are often misused, and medicinal materials are indiscriminately put in their related prescriptions in China. In this work, firstly, we established a model for discriminating LJF and LF using ATR-FTIR combined with multivariate statistical analysis. The spectra data were further preprocessed and combined with spectral filter transformations and normalization methods. These pretreated data were used to establish pattern recognition models with PLS-DA, RF, and SVM. Results demonstrated that the RF model was the optimal model, and the overall classification accuracy for LJF and LF samples reached 98.86%. Then, the established model was applied in the discrimination of their related prescriptions. Interestingly, the results show good accuracy and applicability. The RF model for discriminating the related prescriptions containing LJF or LF had an accuracy of 100%. Our results suggest that this method is a rapid and effective tool for the successful discrimination of LJF and LF and their related prescriptions.

[Correlations Between Gut Microbiota Changes and Cognitive Function in Patients with Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment in the Early Stage].

Objective: To observe the changes in the composition of gut microbiota in stroke patients showing cognitive impairment within one month after the stroke, and to explore the correlation between bacteria presenting dissimilarity and cognitive functions and other clinical indicators. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, involving 12 patients with post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI group), 12 stroke patients without cognitive impairment (Non-PSCI group), and 12 healthy volunteers in a normal control group (NC group). The demographic and clinical data were gathered. The abundance, diversity and dissimilarity of gut bacterial communities were determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Then, we studied the correlation between gut microbiota and clinical characteristics and the effectiveness of using microbiome markers to identify cognitive decline. Results: The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores of the PSCI group were significantly lower than those the Non-PSCI group ( P<0.001). There was no significant intergroup difference in the demographic data, the clinical data, and the Alpha diversity of gut microbiota among the three groups ( P>0.05). Microbial composition analysis of the three groups revealed proportion alternations at the phylum, genus and species levels. At the phylum level, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) analysis suggested that the Actinomycetes had significantly increased relative abundance in the PSCI group (LDA score>2). At the genus and species levels, Firmicutes had the highest diversity among the top 10 bacteria in the three groups, while the relative abundance of Verrucomicrophyla presented an increasing trend in the Non-PSCI group and that of Actinobacteria showed an increasing trend in the PSCI group. Further LEfSe analysis revealed that there were different microbiome markers in each group, among which the Bifidobacterium, Alloscardovia, and Alloscardovia omnicolens of the phylum Actinomycetes and Lactobacillus gasseri and Anaerostipes hadrus of the phylum Firmicutes in the PSCI group increased significantly (LDA score>2). Correlation analysis indicated that Anaerostipes hadrus was negatively correlated with the MoCA scores, while Bifidobacterium was positively correlated with blood uric acid (UA). Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus gasseri and Anaerostipes hadrus could be used to distinguish PSCI patients from Non-PSCI patients, presenting an area under the curve of 0.785, 0.792 and 0.750, respectively ( P<0.05). Conclusion: Stroke patients with cognitive impairment in the early stage showed composition changes in their gut microbiota, and the bacteria exhibiting dissimilarity were correlated, to some degree, with cognitive function and related risk factors, which could provide new clues for the early management of PSCI.

[Differences of flavor compounds in Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos based on headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectroscopy].

Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos, as traditional Chinese medicinal and edible food, are widely used in medicine, food, health products, and other industries. However, there is no comprehensive study on the differences of flavor compounds in Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos. This study applied headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry(HS-GC-IMS) to analyze the differences of flavor compounds in Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos. The differential biomarkers were confirmed by multivariate statistical analysis. The results showed that there were significant differences in the forty-seven flavor compounds in Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos. The differential markers were ethyl acetate, propyl alcohol, 1-octanol, 1-hexanol, hexanal, and(Z)-2-hexen-1-ol. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that the above markers were involved in the biosynthesis of major secondary metabolism, sulfate metabolism pathways, and formation of other flavor compounds. This study provides important references for the evaluation of flavor compounds of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos and the development of medicinal and edible products.

The therapeutic effects of Prunella vulgaris against fluoride-induced oxidative damage by using the metabolomics method.

Fluoride is considered as one of the most ubiquitous environmental pollutants. Numerous studies have linked reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent oxidative damage with fluoride intoxication, which could be prevented by antioxidants. However, the metabolomic changes induced by ROS disruptions in fluoride intoxication are yet unknown. The present study aimed to provide novel mechanistic insights into the fluoride-induced oxidative damage and to investigate the potential protective effects of ethanolic extract of Prunella vulgaris (natural antioxidant, PV) against fluoride-induced oxidative damage. The serum biochemical indicators related to fluoride-induced oxidative damage, such as lipid peroxidation parameter, inflammation and marker enzymes in the liver increased significantly in the fluoride-treated group, while antioxidant enzymes were decreased. However, PV treatment restored the level of these biochemical indicators, indicating satisfactory antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective potential of PV. The metabolomics analysis in the serum was performed by liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy, whereas the fluoride treatment caused severe metabolic disorders in rats, which could be improved by PV. The differential metabolites screened by multivariate analysis after fluoride and PV treatment, were organic acids, fatty acids, and lipids. These differential metabolites represented disorders of glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism and the citrate cycle (TCA) according to metabolic pathway analysis in fluoride treatment rats. Interestingly, the result of metabolic pathway analysis of post-treatment with PV was consistent with that of fluoride treatment, indicating that the energy metabolism plays a major role in the progress of fluoride-induced oxidative damage, as well as the therapeutic effect of PV. These findings provided a theoretical basis for understanding the mechanism underlying metabolic disorders of fluoride toxicity and the effect of PV.

[Dysbiosis of Gut Microbiota in Patients with Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment].

OBJECTIVE: To identify the differences in the composition of gut microbiota of patients with post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) in comparison with the normal cognition healthy controls (HC), and to study the potential association between gut microbiota and cognition function. METHODS: A total of 24 patients were recruited for the PSCI group, which was matched with 23 healthy subjects with no history of cardiovascular disease recruited over the same period for the control group. Fecal samples were collected for both groups, and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were used to evaluate cognitive functions. The abundance, diversity and group difference of gut bacterial communities were determined with 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and the correlations between differences in bacterial species of the gut microbiota and cognitive function scores were examined with redundancy analysis (RDA)/canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the general data or the alpha diversity of gut microbiota between the two groups ( P>0.05). Inter-group comparison of microbial species composition revealed differences at the phylum and species levels, mainly represented as reduction in the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, and the relative enrichment of Proteobacteria. The relative abundance of Intestinibacter bartlettii, uncultured bacterium Tyzzerella_3, Lactobacillus gasseri, and Fusicatenibacter saccharivorans of phylum Firmicutes in the PSCI patients were significantly reduced in comparison to that of the HC (LDA score>2), and these bacteria were positively correlated with MMSE and MoCA scores. In addition, the Ruminococcus gnavus and Faecalimonas umbilicata of phylum Firmicutes and uncultured bacterium Prevotellaceae_NK3 B31 group of phylum Bacteroidetes were significantly enriched in comparison with those of the HC (LDA score>2), and these bacteria were negatively correlated with MMSE and MoCA scores. There were also correlations among these bacteria. CONCLUSION: In this study, we observed compositional differences between the gut microbiota of PSCI patients and those of HC, and revealed that the differences were correlated, to some degree, to the cognitive functions, which will provide new perspectives for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of PSCI.

[Metabolic mechanism of Prunella vulgaris in treatment of ethanol-induced oxidative stress in rats based on metabonomics].

Prunella vulgaris(PV) is an edible and traditional medicinal herb which has a wide range application in fighting inflammation and oxidative stress, and protecting liver. Now it has been used to treat various types of liver diseases and has significant clinical efficacy. This study aims to investigate the effects of PV on ethanol-induced oxidative stress injury in rats and its metabolic mechanism. The rats were divided into control group, model group, PV group, and VC group. The liver protection of PV was identified by measuring pharmacological indexes such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. The metabolic mechanism of long-term ethanol exposure and the metabolic regulation mechanism of PV treatment were studied by LS-MS metabonomics. The pharmacological investigation indicated that ethanol could significantly decrease the contents of SOD, GSH-Px, CAT and other antioxidant enzymes in liver and increase the content of MDA. At the same time, PV could significantly reduce the contents of inflammatory factors(TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1ß) and liver function markers(ALT, AST, ALP) in serum. What's more, long-term ethanol exposure could significantly cause liver injury, while PV could protect liver. Metabolomics based on multiple statistical analyses showed that long-term ethanol exposure could cause significant metabolic disorder, and fatty acids, phospholipids, carnitines and sterols were the main biomarkers. Meanwhile, pathway analysis and enrichment analysis showed that the ß oxidation of branched fatty acids was the main influencing pathway. Also, PV could improve metabolic disorder of liver injury induced by ethanol, and amino acids, fatty acids, and phospholi-pids were the main biomarkers in PV treatment. Metabolic pathway analysis showed that PV mainly regulated metabolic disorder of ethanol-induced liver injury through phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthetic pathways. This study could provide a new perspective on the hepatoprotective effect of natural medicines, such as PV.

Comparison of urine and blood NGAL for early prediction of delayed graft function in adult kidney transplant recipients: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

BACKGROUND: Neutrophil gelatinase-assoicated lipocalin (NGAL) appears to be a promising proximal tubular injury biomarker for early prediction of delayed graft function (DGF) in kidney transplant recipients. However, its predictive values in urine and blood were varied among different studies. Here, we performed the meta-analysis to compare the predictive values of urine NGAL (uNGAL) and blood NGAL (bNGAL) for DGF in adult kidney transplant recipients. METHODS: We systematically searched Medline, Cochrane library and Embase for relevant studies from inception to May 2018. The summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves, the pooled sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were used to evaluate the prognostic performance of uNGAL and bNGAL for the identification of DGF. RESULTS: A total of 1036 patients from 14 eligible studies were included in the analysis. 8 studies focused on NGAL in urine and 6 reported NGAL in serum or plasma. The composite area under the ROC (AUC) for 24 h uNGAL was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.89-0.94) and the overall DOR for 24 h uNGAL was 24.17(95% CI, 9.94-58.75) with a sensitivity of 0.88 (95% CI, 0.75-0.94) and a specificity of 0.81 (95% CI, 0.68-0.89). The composite AUC for 24 h bNGAL was 0.95 (95% CI, 0.93-0.97) and the overall DOR for 24 h bNGAL was 43.11 (95% CI, 16.43-113.12) with a sensitivity of 0.91 (95% CI, 0.81-0.96) and a specificity of 0.86 (95% CI, 0.78-0.92). CONCLUSIONS: Urine and serum/plasma NGAL were valuable biomarkers for early identification of DGF in kidney transplantation. In addition, the bNGAL was superior to uNGAL in early prediction of DGF.

[Mechanisms of Fuke Qianjin Capsules in treatment of pelvic inflammatory disease based on GC-MS metabolomics].

Pelvic inflammatory disease( PID) rat model was induced by the mixture of Escherichia coli,Staphylococcus aureus,and Streptococcus hemolytic-ß． Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry( GC-MS) based metabolic profiling method was combined with multivariate statistical analysis,such as PCA,PLS-DA and OPLS-DA to analyze endogenous small molecule metabolites in serum of rats after treatment of Fuke Qianjin Capsules. The results showed that Fuke Qianjin Capsules could significantly improve the inflammatory pathological characteristics and tissue damages in model rats. Based on the principle of VIP>1 and P<0. 05,a total of 6 different metabolic biomarkers were identified,including L-valine,L-isoleucine,L-threonine,butanedioic acid,serine and D-glucose,respectively.The contents of these six different metabolites were significantly reversed after administration. Further analysis of the metabolite pathways through KEGG database showed that Fuke Qianjin Capsules achieved the effect possibly through glycine,serine and threonine metabolism,aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis and valine,leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis. Therefore,this study came to the conclusion that Fuke Qianjin Capsules can be used in the treatment of mixed bacteria induced pelvic inflammatory disease possibly by regulating amino acid and its derivative metabolism.

[Analysis on multiple pharmaceutical ingredients and antioxidant capacities of Prunellae Spica based on multivariate statistical analysis].

Prunellae Spica is a perennial edible and medicinal plant, rich in antioxidant substances. Total flavonoids (TFC), Phenolics (TPC), triterpenoids (TSC), polysaccharides (PC) and their antioxidant capacities (by the FRAP, DPPH and ABTS⁺ methods) of ethyl acetate fraction, n-butanol fraction and other fractions of aqueous extract from Prunellae Spica were investigated in this study. Then the multivariate statistical method was adopted to analyze the relationship between the multiple pharmaceutical ingredients and antioxidant capacities of Prunellae Spica. The results showed that ethyl acetate fraction had relatively high concentration of TFC (0.61±0.10) g·g⁻¹DW, TPC (0.52±0.09) g·g⁻¹DW, and TSC (0.21±0.03) g·g⁻¹DW, with high scavenging capacity of DPPH (3.1±0.38) mmol·L⁻¹·g⁻¹DW and FRAP (2.56±0.35) mmol·L⁻¹·g⁻¹DW. Hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) results indicated the information from chemical compositions and antioxidant capacity can represent the "differences" of different fractions. Canonical correlation analysis (CCorA) revealed a high positive correlation between the amounts of multiple chemical compositions and the antioxidant capacities (r=0.970 0), and the first canonical variate had been reached. Moreover, ABTS⁺ method showed a low response to the compositions of different fractions, so this method may not be suitable for evaluation of Prunellae Spica antioxidant capacities, while DPPH evaluation method was more suitable for TSC and TPC. The results of this study have important reference significance for the evaluation method on antioxidant activity of Prunellae Spica in the field of food or medicine as well as for the development of related extracts.

[Extraction of flavonoids in Prunella vulgaris based on deep eutectic solvent method：application of new green solvent].

Flavonoids have attracted much attention due to their good anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation and anti-tumor effects. At present, the extraction of flavonoids is mainly based on organic solvent, while the researches on the use of green and safe solvents are quite limited. Therefore, in the present study, different types of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were applied to investigate their effect on extraction of flavonoids and optimize the process, also investigate the recovery efficiency of DESs and evaluate the recovery method for total flavonoids. The extraction yield of the total flavonoids acted as the comprehensive evaluation indexes, and a central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to further optimize the alcohol-based DES extraction conditions. The results showed that the optimized extraction conditions were as follows: water-DES ratio of 27%, solid-liquid ratio of 15 mL·g⁻¹, extraction temperature of 83 °C and extraction time of 42 min in ChCl-glycerol at 1:4 ratio. Under these conditions, the mean experimental value of the extraction yield (75.05 mg·g⁻¹) corresponded well with the predicted value (77.86 mg·g⁻¹). Moreover, these experimental results showed more advantages such as in higher efficiency, economy and environmental protection as compared with previously reported conventional extraction methods. In addition，the recovery yield of the total flavonoids from the DESs extraction solution achieved 97.88% by using AB-8 macroporous resin, and 88.12% desorption ratio can be achieved by 100% ethanol with 5 times resin content. After the above treated DESs were collected, the extraction yield with the same method reached 95.23%, indicating that the method of macroporous resin can be used for efficient and simple recovery and reuse. This study suggests that DESs can be used as a kind of sustainable and efficient natural extraction solvents for extraction of flavonoids from Prunella vulgaris.

[Analysis of different dosage forms of Xiasangju granules on fingerprints and models using high performance liquid chromatography].

To establish the fingerprints of Xiasangju granules (with sugar and non-sugar forms) by HPLC, and provide reference for their identification and effective quality control. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was used to collect the fingerprints of 20 batches of non-sugar Xiasangju granules and 34 batches of sugar type Xiasangju granules. Their main different components were classified and screened by mode identification methods (principal component analysis, PCA, and orthogonal partial least squares discriminate analysis, OPLS-DA). The principal components were identified by comparing with reference standards. The fingerprints of Xiasangju granules (sugar type and non-sugar type) were established. PCA could not fully classify the two types of granules, while OPLS-DA could obviously classify these two different types of Xiasangju granules. Six components showed greatest difference between two types of granules, including salviaflaside, luteoloside and linarin. The developed mode identification method is helpful to control the overall quality of Xiasangju granules, and it provides an effective approach to quality evaluation.

[Overview on method and strategy of therapeutic material basis in traditional Chinese medicine by multidisciplinary approach].

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a good reputation for preventing or healing diseases in clinic due to its higher efficacy, minor toxicity and abundant resources. Screening bioactive components in TCMs is not only crucial for clarifying their action mechanisms, but also the basis of their safety and quality control. TCM is characterized by multiple components, multiple targets and multiple mechanisms, however the complex composition of TCM makes it difficult to study the therapeutic material basis which has become the bottleneck in the process of its modernization and internationalization. Recently, with the rapid development of modern technologies and the unceasing progress of various disciplines, multidisciplinary approach, such as analytical chemistry, chemistry of TCM, pharmacology, cell biology, systems biology and bioinformatics has been successfully applied to the study of TCM. Multidisciplinary approach realizes the communication and interaction of multi-discipline, and accelerates the research and development of TCM. This review summarizes the application of multidisciplinary approach which may have certain potential of bringing new thoughts to TCM research and provide references for screening and identification of therapeutic material basis of TCMs.

Bioactivities and Structure-Activity Relationships of Usnic Acid Derivatives: A Review.

Usnic acid has a variety of biological activities, and has been widely studied in the fields of antibacterial, immune stimulation, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and antiparasitic. Based on this, usnic acid is used as the lead compound for structural modification. In order to enhance the biological activity and solubility of usnic acid, scholars have carried out a large number of structural modifications, and found some usnic acid derivatives to be of more potential research value. In this paper, the structural modification, biological activity and structure-activity relationship of usnic acid were reviewed to provide reference for the development of usnic acid derivatives.