Research progress on chemical constituents of Schisandra chinensis and its effect on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease / 中国中药杂志

Schisandra chinensis, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, is rich in chemical constituents, including lignans, triterpenes, polysaccharides, and volatile oils. Clinically, it is commonly used to treat cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, liver, gastrointestinal, and respiratory diseases. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that S. chinensis extract and monomers have multiple pharmacological activities in lowering liver fat, alleviating insulin resistance, and resisting oxidative stress, and have good application prospects in alleviating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD). Therefore, this study reviewed the research progress on chemical constituents of S. chinensis and its effect on NAFLD in recent years to provide references for the research on S. chinensis in the treatment of NAFLD.

Molecular identification and efficacy analysis of herbs at Orussey Herbal Market, Phnom Penh, Cambodia / 中国中药杂志

Cambodia is rich in medicinal plant resources. One hundred and thirty-three medicinal material samples, including the hole herb, root, stem/branch, leaf, flower, fruit, seed, and resin, were collected from the Orussey Herbal Market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and then authenticated by ITS and psbA-trnH. A total of 46 samples were identified based on ITS sequences, belonging to 24 families, 40 genera, and 42 species. A total of 100 samples were identified by psbA-trnH sequences to belong to 42 families, 77 genera, and 84 species. A total of 103 samples were identified by two DNA barcodes. According to the morphological characteristics of the medicinal materials, 120 samples classified into 50 species, 86 genera, and 86 families were identified, and the majority of them were from Zingiberaceae, Fabaceae, and Acanthaceae. Such samples have been commonly used in traditional Cambodian medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, Unani medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, and ethnomedicine, but different medical systems focus on different functional aspects of the same medicinal material. The results of this study have demonstrated that DNA barcoding has a significant advantage in identifying herbal products, and this study has provided basic data for understanding the traditional medicinal materials used in Cambodia.

Virtual screening of antithrombotic alkaloids from Houttuynia cordata / 中国中药杂志

Antithrombus is one of the effective methods to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases. Based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine,the author's previous research and relevant literature,it was found that the alkaloids in Houttuynia cordata has potential antithrombotic effect. However,the pharmacological substance basis and antithrombotic mechanism of H. cordata have not been clarified. In this study,molecular docking was used for virtual screening of antithrombotic alkaloids from H. cordata. Seventy alkaloids selected from H. cordata were screened in the docking ligand data-base with teen thrombosis targets with known crystal structures as the receptors. In addition,the small-molecule approved or to be approved drugs of targets from Drug Bank database were set as a positive reference with minimum score(S value) of each target's approved or to be approved drugs as threshold. The Dock module in Molecular Operating Environment(Version 2016) software was applied to screen the potential active compounds which their scores(S value) were lower than the minimum score of reference. At last the mechanism of antithrombotic effect was preliminarily revealed by compared the main active sites of the test alkaloids with original ligands and references. This study provided some useful information to development of antithrombus drugs.

Study on content determination of alkaloids and HPLC fingerprint of "Jianlian" Nelumbinis Plumula / 中国中药杂志

This study is to determine the content of three alkaloids and establish the HPLC fingerprint of "Jianlian" Nelumbinis Plumula. The HPLC method of content determination was as follows: Thermo C18 (4. 6 mm x 250 mm, 5 μm) was conducted with acetonitrile-sodium dodecyl sulfonate solution-acetic acid (56: 43: 1) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL x min(-1). The monitoring wavelength was set at 282 nm and the column temperature was 35 degrees C. The method of HPLC fingerprint was as follows: Agilent ZORBAX SB-Aq C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 μm) was conducted with gradient elution of methanol and water at a flow rate of 0.8 mL x min(-1), the monitoring wavelength was set at 282 nm and the column temperature was 35 degrees C. Similarities evaluation and hierarchical clustering analysis were applied to demonstrate the variability of 12 batches of "Jianlian" Nelumbinis Plumula samples. The results demonstrated that 11 batches showed good similarity on chemical constituents. The method could well display the chemical information of "Jianlian" Nelumbinis Plumula. It was simple, reliable and could be used for the chemical quality control of "Jianlian" Nelumbinis Plumula.

Pandanus tectorius derived caffeoylquinic acids inhibit lipid accumulation in HepG2 hepatoma cells through regulation of gene expression involved in lipid metabolism / 药学学报

The fruit of Pandanus tectorius (PTF) has a long history of use as a folk medicine to treat hyperlipidemia in Hainan province, South China. Our previous studies have shown that the n-butanol extract of PTF is rich in caffeoylquinic acids and has an adequate therapeutic effect on dyslipidemic animals induced by high-fat diet. In this work, seven caffeoylquinic acids isolated from PTF were screened for the lipid-lowering activity in HepG2 hepatoma cells. Oil-Red O staining, microscopy and intracellular triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) quantification showed that 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3-CQA), 3, 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3,5-CQA), and 3,4,5-tri-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3,4,5-CQA) significantly inhibited lipid accumulation induced by oleic acid and decreased intracellular levels of TC and TG in a dose-dependent manner. These three caffeoylquinic acids showed no significant cytotoxicity at concentrations of 1 -50 μmol x L(-1) as determined by MTT assay. Realtime quantitative PCR revealed that 3-CQA and 3, 5-CQA significantly increased the expression of lipid oxidation-related genes PPARα, CPT-1 and ACOX1 while 3-CQA, 3, 5-CQA and 3,4,5-CQA decreased the expression of lipogenic genes SREBP-1c, SREBP-2, HMGR, ACC, FAS. Overall, 3-CQA, 3, 5-CQA and 3, 4, 5-CQA may be the principal hypolipidemic components in PTF which can decrease intracellular lipid accumulation through up-regulating the expression of lipid oxidative genes and down-regulating the expression of lipogenic genes.

Establishment of traceability system of Chinese medicinal materials' quality / 中国中药杂志

The quality of Chinese medicinal materials relates greatly to the clinical curative effect and security. In order to ensure the quality and safety of Chinese medicinal materials, a systematic and operable traceability system needs to be established. It can realize the whole process of quality and safety management of Chinese medicinal materials "from production to consumption" through recording and inquiring information and recalling defective products, which is an important direction for the future development of traditional Chinese medicine. But it is still at the exploration and trial stage. In this paper, a framework of Chinese medicinal materials' quality and safety traceability system was established on the basis of the domestic and international experience about the construction of food and agricultural products traceability systems. The relationship between traceability system of Chinese medicinal materials' quality and GAP, GMP, GSP was analyzed, and the possible problems and the corresponding solutions were discussed.

Chemical constituents in plants of genus kadsura kaempf. ex juss / 中草药·英文版

Genus Kadsura Kaempf. ex Juss. includes important medicinal plants widely used in the south and southwest of China. The stems and roots are effective in activating blood and resolving stasis, promoting qi circulation to relieve pain, dispelling wind and eliminating dampness, in which lignans and triterpenoids are the major bioactive constituents. Here we summarized the chemical constituents isolated from genus Kadsura Kaempf. ex Juss., which would provide a primary and strategic platform for further exploiting the medicinal value and resources of genus Kadsura Kaempf. ex Juss. © 2014 Tianjin Press of Chinese Herbal Medicines.

Chemical constituents of Kadsura oblongifolia and evaluation of their toxicity / 药学学报

To study the chemical constituents of K. oblongifolia, silica gel column chromatography, MCI and Sephadex LH-20 were used to separate the 70% acetone extract of the stems of K. oblongifolia. The structures of the isolated compounds have been established on the basis of physicochemical and NMR spectroscopic evidence as well as ESI-MS in some cases. Twenty compounds were obtained and identified as heteroclitalignan A (1), kadsulignan F (2), kadoblongifolin C (3), schizanrin F (4), heteroclitalignan C (5), kadsurarin (6), kadsulignan O (7), eburicol (8), meso-dihydroguaiaretic acid (9), kadsufolin A (10), tiegusanin M (11), heteroclitin B (12), (7'S)-parabenzlactone (13), angeloylbinankadsurin B (14), propinquain H (15), quercetin (16), kadsulignan P (17), schizanrin G (18), micrandilactone C (19) and (-)-shikimic acid (20). Compouds 1, 5, 8, 11-15, 18 and 20 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Toxicity of compounds 1-10 were evaluated with zebrafish model to observe the effect on its embryonic development and heart function. The results showed that compounds 7, 9 and 10 caused edema of zebrafish embryo and decreased the heart rate of zebrafish, which exhibited interference effect on heart development of zebrafish.

Chemical constituents of Conioselinum vaginatum / 中国中药杂志

Sixteen compounds were isolated from Conioselinum vaginatum by silica column chromatography over silica gel and Sephadex LH-20, as well as recrystallization. On the basis of their physical and chemical properties and spectral data, their structures were identified as ligustilide (1), 1,3-dilinolein (2), coniferaldehyde (3), myristicin (4), stigmasterol (5), beta-sitosterol (6), vanillin (7), pregnenolone (8), bergapten (9), xanthotoxin (10), methyl indole-3-carboxylate (11), ferulic acid (12), (E)-3-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxy-cinnamic alcohol (13), p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (14), 3-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxy-acetophenone (15), and alpha-(ethoxymethyl)-4-hydroxy- benzenemethanol (16). Among them, compound 15 was a new natural product, and compounds 2, 3, 10, 11, 14, and 16 were obtained from this genus for the first time.

Effects of different therapeutic methods and typical recipes of Chinese medicine on activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase in kupffer cells of rats with fatty liver disease / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effects of different therapeutic methods and the recipes of Chinese medicine (CM) on the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in Kupffer cells of rats with fatty liver disease and to explore the mechanisms of these therapeutic methods.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>By using a random number table, 98 rats were randomly divided into 7 groups: control group, model group, and 5 treatment groups, including soothing Liver (Gan) recipe group, invigorating Spleen (Pi) recipe group, dispelling dampness recipe group, promoting blood recipe group, and complex recipe group. Rats in the control group were fed with normal food and distilled water by gastric perfusion, while rats in the model group were fed with high-fat food and distilled spirits by gastric perfusion. Rats in the 5 treatment groups were fed with high-fat food and corresponding recipes by gastric perfusion. Twelve weeks later, all rats were sacrificed and liver tissues were stained for pathohistological observation. Kupffer cells were isolated from livers of rats to evaluate JNK and phospho-JNK expressions by Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The grade of hepatic steatosis was higher in the model group than the control group (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the grade of fatty degeneration in soothing Liver recipe group and invigorating Spleen recipe group were significantly ameliorated (P<0.05). Expressions of JNK and phospho-JNK in Kupffer cells were significantly higher in the model group than those in the control group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the model group, expressions of JNK in all treatment groups decreased, especially in invigorating Spleen recipe group and promoting blood recipe group (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, expressions of phospho-JNK in all treatment groups declined significantly (P<0.01), especially in soothing Live recipe group and invigorating Spleen recipe group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The high expressions of JNK and phospho-JNK in Kupffer cells might play an important role in the pathogenesis of fatty liver disease in rats. The recipes of CM, especially invigorating Spleen recipe and soothing Liver recipe, might protect liver against injury by reducing the total JNK protein content and inhibiting the activation of JNK protein in Kupffer cells of fatty liver model rats, which showed beneficial effects on fatty liver disease.</p>

Chemical constituents from stems of Schisandra propinqua / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the chemical constituents in the stems of Schisandra propinqua and evaluate their effects on proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in vitro by MTT assay.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The compounds were isolated and purified by various column chromatographic techniques and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral analysis (ESI-MS, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR).</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Five compounds were isolated and identified as galgravin (1), veraguensin (2), octadecanoic acid 2, 3-dihydroxypropyl ester (3), hexadecanoic acid 2, 3-dihydroxypropy ester (4), tetracosanoic acid 2, 3-dihydroxypropyl ester (5).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>All the compounds were isolated for the first time from the plant. 1, 2, 5 showed inhibiting effects on vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMCs) proliferation in vitro.</p>

Advances in residues analysis of pesticide in Chinese herbal medicine and new technological development / 中国中药杂志

The current methods to prepare and determine pesticide residues in Chinese herbal medicine were summarized in this paper. In addition,the new techniques to prepare and determine pesticide residues used in recent years was reviewed, which included solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) , supercritical fluid extraction ( SFE) , accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) , immune affinity chromatography (IAC), supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), column switching high performance liquid chromatography (CSHPLC), high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS), capillary electrophoresis (CE) and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) , and immune analysis (IA), etc. To sum up, these would bring a great progress in analysis of the pesticide residues in Chinese herbal medicine, and make it more rapidly, accurately and normatively.