So Shiho Tang Reduces Inflammation in Lipopolysaccharide-Induced RAW 264.7 Macrophages and Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Colitis Mice.

So Shiho Tang (SSHT) is a traditional herbal medicine commonly used in Asian countries. This study evaluated the anti-inflammatory effect of SSHT and the associated mechanism using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages and murine dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis models. Pre-treatment of RAW 264.7 macrophages with SSHT significantly reduced LPS-induced inflammation by decreasing nitrite production and regulating the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Meanwhile, in mice, DSS-induced colitis symptoms, including colon shortening and body weight loss, were attenuated by SSHT. Moreover, representative compounds of SSHT, including glycyrrhizic acid, ginsenoside Rb1, baicalin, saikosaponin A, and saikosaponin B2, were quantified, and their effects on nitrite production were measured. A potential anti-inflammatory effect was detected in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Our findings suggest that SSHT is a promising anti-inflammatory agent. Its representative components, including saikosaponin B2, ginsenoside Rb1, and baicalin, may represent the key active compounds responsible for eliciting the anti-inflammatory effects and can, therefore, serve as quality control markers in SSHT preparations.

Analytical Quality by Design (AQbD) Approach to the Development of Analytical Procedures for Medicinal Plants.

Scientific regulatory systems with suitable analytical methods for monitoring quality, safety, and efficacy are essential in medicinal plant drug discovery. There have been only few attempts to adopt the analytical quality by design (AQbD) strategy in medicinal plants analysis over the last few years. AQbD is a holistic method and development approach that understands analytical procedure, from risk assessment to lifecycle management. The enhanced AQbD approach reduces the time and effort necessary to develop reliable analytical methods, leads to flexible change control through the method operable design region (MODR), and lowers the out-of-specification (OOS) results. However, it is difficult to follow all the AQbD workflow steps in the field of medicinal plants analysis, such as defining the analytical target profiles (ATPs), identifying critical analytical procedure parameters (CAPPs), among others, because the complexity of chemical and biological properties in medicinal plants acts as a barrier. In this review, various applications of AQbD to medicinal plant analytical procedures are discussed. Unlike the analysis of a single compound, medicinal plant analysis is characterized by analyzing multiple components contained in biological materials, so it will be summarized by focusing on the following points: Analytical methods showing correlations within analysis parameters for the specific medicinal plant analysis, plant raw material diversity, one or more analysis targets defined for multiple phytochemicals, key analysis attributes, and analysis control strategies. In addition, the opportunities available through the use of design-based quality management techniques and the challenges that coexist are also discussed.

Design of Experiments-Based Optimization of Flavonoids Extraction from Daphne genkwa Flower Buds and Flavonoids Contents at Different Blooming Stages.

The flower buds of Daphne genkwa have been reported as a potent resource associated with anti-angiogenic, anti-tumor, anti-rheumatoid arthritis activities, as well as immunoregulation. This paper aimed to establish an optimal extraction method for flavonoids, as active phytochemicals, and to conduct a comparative analysis by profiling the different blooming stages. Optimized shaking extraction conditions from the design of experiments (DoE), such as minutely mixture design, 23 full factorial design, and polynomial regression analysis, involved an agitation speed of 150 rpm and temperature of 65 °C for 12 h in 56% (v/v) acetone solvent. After, a comparative analysis was performed on three blooming stages, juvenile bud, mature purple bud, and complete flowering, by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-PDA-MS). Most flavonoids increased during bud growth and then decreased when the bud opened for blooming. In particular, apigenin 7-O-glucuronide, genkwanin 5-O-primeveroside, and genkwanin strikingly showcased this pattern. Furthermore, the raw spectrometric dataset was subjected to orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) to find significant differences in the flavonoids from the juvenile bud, mature purple bud, and complete flowering. In conclusion, the present study facilitates an understanding of flavonoid change at different blooming stages and provides a momentous reference in the research of D. genkwa.