[Vinegar-processed Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix improves intestinal flora disorder and reduces colon toxicity].

The present study investigated the effect of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix(EPR) on intestinal flora structure before and after vinegar processing and explored the detoxification mechanism of vinegar-processed EPR. In this study, the extraction efficiency of casbane diterpenes from EPR with different solvents was investigated, and the optimal solvent was selected to enrich these components. After 14 days of intragastric administration of total diterpene extract of EPR and vinegar-processed EPR, 16 S rDNA sequencing technology was used to detect the structural changes of intestinal flora. The flora related to the intestinal toxicity of EPR was screened out based on the results of intestinal pathological damage by correlation analysis. The results showed that Soxhlet extraction with chloroform as extraction solvent could enrich Casbane diterpenes in EPR. As revealed by 16 S rDNA sequencing results, EPR could significantly change the structure of intestinal flora, which could be reversed by vinegar-processing EPR. Some intestinal flora candidates might be related to detoxification of vinegar processing. The correlation analysis of intestinal flora candidates and indexes related to intestinal mucosal injury showed that compared with EPR, vinegar-processed EPR could down-regulate the abundance of some pathogenic bacteria such as Mucispirillum, Bilophila, and Ruminiclostridium, and up-regulated some probiotics such as Enterorhabdus, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014, Barnesiella, and Candidatus. The intestinal toxicity caused by EPR may be related to the disturbance of intestinal flora, and vinegar-processed EPR can improve intestinal flora disorder by up-regulating the abundance of probiotics and down-regulating the abundance of pathogenic bacteria to remodel the intestinal mucosal barrier and reduce toxicity.

[Effects of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix before and after processing with vinegar on liver and gastrointestinal toxicity of zebrafish embryos].

To study the effects of different fraction of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix before and after processing with vinegar on liver and gastrointestinal toxicity of zebrafish embryos,the zebrafish embryos after fertilized 12 h(12 hpf) were exposed to different concentrations of solution until 96 h(96 hpf),for observation of the toxicity response of the liver and gastrointestinal of individual zebrafish embryos. The results showed that toxicity increased in a dose-dependent manner. The liver and gastrointestinal toxicity of the zebrafish embryos in various polar fractions of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix before and after processing with vinegar was mainly manifested as slow liver development,smaller liver area,edema of yolk sac,delayed absorption,slowing of gastrointestinal motility,abnormal function of gastrointestinal goblet cell secretion. In addition,the toxicity of different polarity was followed by petroleum ether,dichloromethane,ethyl acetate. The above results indicated that the toxicity was reduced after processing with vinegar,and the fractions of petroleum ether and methylene chloride were the main sites responsible for liver and gastrointestinal toxicity.

[Acute toxicity of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix and vinegar-processing Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix on zebrafish embryo].

The embryos of model organism zebrafish were used to evaluate the acute toxicity of the extracts of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix and vinegar-processing Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix, and the total terpene content of each extract was determined by using euphol as the reference standards. Twenty-four h normally developed zebrafish embryos were chosen, and 8 concentrations were adopted for each extract. Then the growth and death of zebrafish embryos were observed at 96 h after administration, and median lethal concentrations (LC50) of the different samples on zebrafish embryos were calculated. The results showed that all of the extracts (before and after vinegar processing) had acute toxicity on zebrafish embryos. The toxicity of vinegar-processing Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix was significantly lower than that of crude Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix. Among different extraction methods, ethanol extract was more poisonous than water extract; in different polarity fractions, the toxicity was in the following order: petroleum ether>dichloromethane>ethyl acetate>n-butyl alcohol and remaining part. Combined with the results of the determination of terpene components, it can be concluded that the terpenoids are the main toxic components of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix, positively correlated with toxicity degree. It indicates that the zebrafish embryo model is appropriate for the toxicity evaluation of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix and provides appropriate research methods and theoretical basis for the further study of the toxic components and the mechanism of reducing toxicity.

Quantitative analysis of biomarkers of liver and kidney injury in serum and urine using ultra-fast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry coupled with a hydrophilic interaction chromatography column: Application to monitor injury induced by Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix.

Fast and sensitive monitoring of drug-induced liver and kidney injury in early stage is beneficial. An ultrafast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry assay was developed and validated to simultaneously determine ten endogenous biomarkers in serum and urine, including hippuric acid, phenylacetylglycine, 5-oxoproline, cholic acid, taurine, indoleacetic acid, 3-indoxyl sulfate, guanidinosuccinic acid, guanidinoacetic acid and uric acid. A CAPCELL CORE PC column (2.1 × 150 mm, 2.7 µm) was adopted for analytes separation. Gradient elution was performed with acetonitrile and water containing 5 mM ammonium acetate. Simple protein precipitation was applied in sample preparation. Good linearities were achieved with all the regression coefficients above 0.9911. Accuracy was 2.9-14.2% in serum and 4.1-14.6% in urine. The mean recovery was above 70% with acceptable matrix effects. The method was applied to monitor injury induced by Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix with a subacute rats model. All the biomarkers showed obvious concentration changes during the injury period. Furthermore, several biomarkers showed significant changes in earlier stage when compared with the current clinical serum bio-parameters. The method might be helpful for early diagnosis of drug induced liver and kidney injury in clinical after tested on more drugs.

A fast, sensitive, and high-throughput method for the simultaneous quantitation of three ellagitannins from Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix in rat plasma by ultra-HPLC-MS/MS.

A fast, sensitive, and high-throughput ultra-HPLC-MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of three main active constituents of Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix in rat plasma. After addition of the internal standard, plasma samples were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate/isopropanol (1:1, v/v) and separated on a CAPCELL PAK C18 column (100 × 2.0 mm, 2 µm, Shiseido, Japan), using a gradient mobile phase system of methanol/water. The detection of the analytes was performed on a 4000Q UHPLC-MS/MS system with turbo ion spray source in the negative ion and multiple reaction-monitoring mode. The linear range was 1.0-1000 ng/mL for 3,3'-di-O-methyl ellagic acid-4'-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (i), 1.5-1500 ng/mL for 3,3'-di-O-methyl ellagic acid-4'-O-ß-D-xylopyranoside (ii), and 5.0-5000 ng/mL for 3,3'-di-O-methyl ellagic acid (iii). The intra- and interday precision and accuracy of all the analytes were within 15%. The extraction recoveries of the three analytes and internal standard from plasma were all more than 80%. The validated method was first successfully applied to the evaluation of pharmacokinetic parameters of compounds 1, 2, and 3 in rat plasma after intragastric administration of the Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix extract.

Vinegar-processed Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix improves intestinal flora disorder and reduces colon toxicity / 中国中药杂志

The present study investigated the effect of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix(EPR) on intestinal flora structure before and after vinegar processing and explored the detoxification mechanism of vinegar-processed EPR. In this study, the extraction efficiency of casbane diterpenes from EPR with different solvents was investigated, and the optimal solvent was selected to enrich these components. After 14 days of intragastric administration of total diterpene extract of EPR and vinegar-processed EPR, 16 S rDNA sequencing technology was used to detect the structural changes of intestinal flora. The flora related to the intestinal toxicity of EPR was screened out based on the results of intestinal pathological damage by correlation analysis. The results showed that Soxhlet extraction with chloroform as extraction solvent could enrich Casbane diterpenes in EPR. As revealed by 16 S rDNA sequencing results, EPR could significantly change the structure of intestinal flora, which could be reversed by vinegar-processing EPR. Some intestinal flora candidates might be related to detoxification of vinegar processing. The correlation analysis of intestinal flora candidates and indexes related to intestinal mucosal injury showed that compared with EPR, vinegar-processed EPR could down-regulate the abundance of some pathogenic bacteria such as Mucispirillum, Bilophila, and Ruminiclostridium, and up-regulated some probiotics such as Enterorhabdus, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014, Barnesiella, and Candidatus. The intestinal toxicity caused by EPR may be related to the disturbance of intestinal flora, and vinegar-processed EPR can improve intestinal flora disorder by up-regulating the abundance of probiotics and down-regulating the abundance of pathogenic bacteria to remodel the intestinal mucosal barrier and reduce toxicity.

Nephrotoxicity evaluation of a new cembrane diterpene from Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix with HEK 293T cells and the toxicokinetics study in rats using a sensitive and reliable UFLC-MS/MS.

(-)-(1S)-15-Hydroxy-18-carboxycembrene, the first cembrane-type diterpenoid found in the family Euphorbiaceae, isolated from Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix, was identified to be nephrotoxic using HEK 293T cells. Tests on cell morphology, cell viability and biochemical markers about oxidation stress were carried out using inverted microscope, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and commercial kits respectively, which proved the diterpene time- and dose-dependently decreased cells proliferation. Besides, a sensitive and robust UFLC-MS/MS method was developed and fully validated to investigate the in vivo behavior in rats of the diterpene after oral administration of Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix extracts at a dosage of 9g/kg. The method showed a good linearity in tested range (3-1500ng/mL) with acceptable accuracy and precision. The recovery of the diterpene was more than 85% and the matrix effect was within ±20%. The toxicokinetics parameters indicate the diterpene reached Cmax quickly and slowly eliminate. The study proved the newly found diterpene was one of the nephrotoxic substances of Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix and revealed its toxicokinetics behavior.

Effects of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix before and after processing with vinegar on liver and gastrointestinal toxicity of zebrafish embryos / 中国中药杂志

To study the effects of different fraction of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix before and after processing with vinegar on liver and gastrointestinal toxicity of zebrafish embryos,the zebrafish embryos after fertilized 12 h(12 hpf) were exposed to different concentrations of solution until 96 h(96 hpf),for observation of the toxicity response of the liver and gastrointestinal of individual zebrafish embryos. The results showed that toxicity increased in a dose-dependent manner. The liver and gastrointestinal toxicity of the zebrafish embryos in various polar fractions of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix before and after processing with vinegar was mainly manifested as slow liver development,smaller liver area,edema of yolk sac,delayed absorption,slowing of gastrointestinal motility,abnormal function of gastrointestinal goblet cell secretion. In addition,the toxicity of different polarity was followed by petroleum ether,dichloromethane,ethyl acetate. The above results indicated that the toxicity was reduced after processing with vinegar,and the fractions of petroleum ether and methylene chloride were the main sites responsible for liver and gastrointestinal toxicity.

In vitro and in vivo assessment of CYP2C9-mediated herb-herb interaction of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix.

According to traditional Chinese medicine theories, Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix should not be used together in one prescription, because their interaction leads to an unexpected consequence. However, the mechanism remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to find out whether CYP2C9 was involved in this herb-herb interaction by using tolbutamide as a probe substrate in vivo and in vitro. Both Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix showed induction activity toward CYP2C9, while the combination of them showed a more potent induction activity toward CYP2C9 in vivo. In vitro study revealed only the combination of the herbs could induce the activity of CYP2C9. Thus, both in vivo and in vitro study indicated combination of Glycyrrhizae Radix and Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix could induce the activity of CYP2C9 to a high level, which may result in decreased plasma levels of major active ingredients of these two herbs, as well as other herbs in the prescriptions. Further research also appears to be necessary to identify the main enzymes involved in the metabolism of the active ingredients in Glycyrrhizae Radix and Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix.

Cardiotoxicity in Zebrafish Embryos of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix Before and After Processing with Vinegar / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:Taking zebrafish embryos as research model, to investigate the toxic effect of different polar fractions of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix before and after processing with vinegar on heart. Method:Zebrafish embryos with normal development at 12 h after fertilization were treated with petroleum ether, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate extracts of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix before and after processing with vinegar for observation of cardiac development and function at 72 h. Result:Various polar fractions of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix before and after processing with vinegar had the cardiotoxicity on zebrafish embryos in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the cardiotoxicity of different polar fractions was followed by petroleum ether, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate. The cardiotoxicity was mainly manifested as slow cardiac development, pericardial edema, decrease of heart rate and apoptosis of cardiac cells. Compared with the corresponding polar fraction of raw products, the cardiotoxicity of the same polar fraction of vinegar-processed products with similar doses decreased. Conclusion:Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix has cardiotoxicity to zebrafish embryos and the cardiotoxicity is reduced after processing with vinegar, which can provide some experimental basis for further elucidation of the detoxication mechanism of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix processed with vinegar.

Acute toxicity of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix and vinegar-processing Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix on zebrafish embryo / 中国中药杂志

The embryos of model organism zebrafish were used to evaluate the acute toxicity of the extracts of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix and vinegar-processing Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix, and the total terpene content of each extract was determined by using euphol as the reference standards. Twenty-four h normally developed zebrafish embryos were chosen, and 8 concentrations were adopted for each extract. Then the growth and death of zebrafish embryos were observed at 96 h after administration, and median lethal concentrations (LC50) of the different samples on zebrafish embryos were calculated. The results showed that all of the extracts (before and after vinegar processing) had acute toxicity on zebrafish embryos. The toxicity of vinegar-processing Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix was significantly lower than that of crude Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix. Among different extraction methods, ethanol extract was more poisonous than water extract; in different polarity fractions, the toxicity was in the following order: petroleum ether>dichloromethane>ethyl acetate>n-butyl alcohol and remaining part. Combined with the results of the determination of terpene components, it can be concluded that the terpenoids are the main toxic components of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix, positively correlated with toxicity degree. It indicates that the zebrafish embryo model is appropriate for the toxicity evaluation of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix and provides appropriate research methods and theoretical basis for the further study of the toxic components and the mechanism of reducing toxicity.

Theoretical basis of imcompatibility of Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma based on diuretic and purgative effects on mice / 中草药

Objective: To investigate the theoretical basis of incompatibility of Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix (EPR) and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (GRR). Methods: In order to compare the effects of EPR used alone and combined with GRR, the diuretic effect was studied by weighing method to observe the urine output of normal mice, while the purgation effect was studied by observing the defecation time, feces pellets, and feces shape after drug administration. Results: In the equivalent dose range of China Pharmacopoeia 2010, the diuretic effect of EPR powder is stronger than its aqueous extract; GRR aqueous extract did not show any promoting or suppressing effect on the diuresis; Within 1 h after coadministration of EPR powder and GRR aqueous extract, urine output was significantly reduced, suggesting that GRR might inhibit the diuretic effect of EPR; The co-detection of EPR and GRR did not cause the obvious changes of urine output. There was no significant purgative effect of EPR powder alone and coadministered with GRR aqueous extract at the same dose level. Conclusion: The diuretic effect of EPR can be suppressed by GRR in the equivalent dose range of China Pharmacopoeia 2010, suggesting that the sweet and mitigation property of GRR relieving the effect of removing water retention by purgation is one of the incompatibility theoretical basis between EPR and GRR.