Classification and Authentication of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos by Using 1H-NMR Spectroscopy and Chemical Pattern Recognition Analysis.

Lonicerae japonicae flos and Lonicerae flos are increasingly widely used in food and traditional medicine products around the world. Due to their high demand and similar appearance, they are often used in a confused or adulterated way; therefore, a rapid and comprehensive analytical method is highly required. In this case, the comparative analysis of a total of 100 samples with different species, growth modes, and processing methods was carried out by nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy and chemical pattern recognition analysis. The obtained 1H-NMR spectrums were employed by principal component analysis (PCA), partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Specifically, after the dimensionality reduction of data, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) exhibited good classification abilities for the species, growth modes, and processing methods. It is worth noting that the sample prediction accuracy from the testing set and the cross-validation predictions of the LDA models were higher than 95.65% and 98.1%, respectively. In addition, the results showed that macranthoidin A, macranthoidin B, and dipsacoside B could be considered as the main differential components of Lonicerae japonicae flos and Lonicerae Flos, while secoxyloganin, secologanoside, and sweroside could be responsible for distinguishing cultivated and wild Lonicerae japonicae Flos. Accordingly, 1H-NMR spectroscopy combined with chemical pattern recognition gives a comprehensive overview and provides new insight into the quality control and evaluation of Lonicerae japonicae flos.

Discrimination of Radix Astragali from Different Growth Patterns, Origins, Species, and Growth Years by an H1-NMR Spectrogram of Polysaccharide Analysis Combined with Chemical Pattern Recognition and Determination of Its Polysaccharide Content and Immunological Activity.

The fraud phenomenon is currently widespread in the traditional Chinese medicine Radix Astragali (RA) market, especially where high-quality RA is substituted with low-quality RA. In this case, focused on polysaccharides from RA, the classification models were established for discrimination of RA from different growth patterns, origins, species, and growth years. 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (H1-NMR) was used to establish the spectroscopy of polysaccharides from RA, which were used to distinguish RA via chemical pattern recognition methods. Specifically, orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were used to successfully establish the classification models for RA from different growth patterns, origins, species, and growth years. The satisfactory parameters and high accuracy of internal and external verification of each model exhibited the reliable and good prediction ability of the developed models. In addition, the polysaccharide content and immunological activity were also tested, which was evaluated by the phagocytic activity of RAW 264.7. And the result showed that growth patterns and origins significantly affected the quality of RA. However, there was no significant difference in the aspects of origins and growth years. Accordingly, the developed strategy combined with chemical information, biological activity, and multivariate statistical method can provide new insight for the quality evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine.

Comparison of the Chemical Components, Efficacy and Mechanisms of Action of Chrysanthemum morifolium Flower and Its Wild Relative Chrysanthemum indicum Flower against Liver-Fire Hyperactivity Syndrome of Hypertension via Integrative Analyses.

To clarify the differences in the clinical application scope of Chrysanthemum morifolium flower (CMF) and Chrysanthemum indicum flower (CIF), two herbs of similar origin, an integrated strategy of network pharmacology, molecular pharmacology, and metabolomics was employed, with a view to investigating the commonalities and dissimilarities in chemical components, efficacy and mechanisms of action. Initial HPLC-Q-TOF-MS analysis revealed that CMF and CIF had different flavonoid constituents. The biological processes underlying the therapeutic effects of CMF and CIF on liver-fire hyperactivity syndrome of hypertension (LFHSH) were predicted to be related to inflammatory response, fatty acid production, and other pathways based on network pharmacology analysis. ELISA, molecular docking, Western blot, and metabolomics techniques showed similar effects of CMF and CIF in lowering blood pressure, resistance to tissue, organ and functional damage, and dyslipidemia. However, distinct effects were found in the regulation of inflammatory response, PI3K-Akt and NF-κB signaling pathways, lipid anabolism, renin-angiotensin system, and metabolic abnormalities. The comparable efficacies of CMF and CIF, despite having distinct mechanisms of action, may be attributed to the integration and counteraction of their different regulating capabilities on the above anti-LFHSH mechanisms. This study offers a vital platform for assessment of differential and precise applications of herbs of close origin with similar but slightly different medicinal properties, and provides a research strategy for bridging Chinese medicine and modern precision medicine.

A nano-preparation approach to enable the delivery of daphnoretin to potentiate the therapeutical efficacy in hepatocellular cancer.

Daphnoretin (DAP), isolated from a traditional Chinese medicine Wikstroemia indica (Linn. C. A. Meyer), could induce apoptosis of hepatocellular cancer (HCC) and inhibit tumor growth. However, the application of DAP in cancer therapies was hampered because to its poor solubility. Herein, this study aimed to design an approach of double-targeted nano-preparation to enable the delivery of DAP to potentiate the therapeutical efficacy in liver cancer via glycyrrhetinic acid-polyethylene glycol-block-poly (D,L-lactic acid)/polyethylene glycol-block-poly (D,L-lactic acid)-DAP (GPP/PP-DAP). In particular, the purity of separated DAP was up to 98.12% for preparation research. GPP/PP-DAP was successfully prepared by the thin-film hydration method. Subsequently, the GPP/PP-DAP was optimized by univariate analysis and the response surface methodology, producing a stable and systemically injectable nano-preparation. Impressively, on the one hand, cytotoxicity studies showed that the IC50 of the GPP/PP-DAP was lower than that of free DAP. On the other hand, the GPP/PP-DAP was more likely to be endocytosed by HepG2 cells and targeted to the liver with orthotopic tumors, potentiating the therapeutical efficacy in HCC. Collectively, both in vitro and in vivo results indicated the excellent tumor inhibition and liver targeting of GPP/PP-DAP, suggesting the nano-preparation could serve as a potential drug delivery system for natural ingredients with anti-hepatoma activity to lay the theoretical foundation for clinical application.

Integrating Anti-Influenza Virus Activity and Chemical Pattern Recognition to Explore the Quality Evaluation Method of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos.

Lonicerae japonicae flos (LJF, Lonicera japonica Thunb.) is adopted as a core herb for preventing and treating influenza. However, the anti-influenza virus components of LJF and the impact of quality-affecting factors on the anti-influenza activity of LJF have not been systematically investigated. In this study, a strategy integrating anti-influenza virus activity, ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography fingerprint and chemical pattern recognition was proposed for the efficacy and quality evaluation of LJF. As a result, six bioactive compounds were screened out and identified as neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, 4,5-Di-O-caffeoylquinic acid, sweroside and secoxyloganin. Based on the bioactive compounds, chemical pattern recognition models of LJF were established by a linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The results of the LDA models and anti-influenza virus activity demonstrated that cultivation pattern significantly affected the anti-influenza effect of LJF and that the neuraminidase inhibition rate of wild LJF was significantly higher than that of cultivated LJF. Moreover, the quality of LJF samples with different processing methods and geographical origins showed no obvious difference. Overall, the proposed strategy in the current study revealed the anti-influenza virus components of LJF and provided a feasible method for thequality evaluation of LJF, which has great importance for assuring the clinical effect against influenza of LJF.

Discrimination of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos according to species, growth mode, processing method, and geographical origin with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography analysis and chemical pattern recognition.

Lonicerae japonicae flos (LJF, Lonicera japonica Thunb.) is often confused and/or adulterated with Lonicerae flos (LF, Lonicera macrantha (D.Don) Spreng.). Ecological conditions and processing methods strongly influenced the safety and efficacy of LJF. For the strict quality control of LJF, a rapid and feasible strategy for identification and classification of LJF by species, growth mode, processing method and geographical origin, based on chromatographic profiles and pattern recognition analysis, in 119 batches of Lonicera samples was systematically established. Firstly, comprehensive analysis of the chemical compositions of LJF was achieved using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC). Next, unsupervised principal component analysis showed that the influence of species, growth mode, processing method and geographical origin displayed a decreasing trend. Subsequently, classification models for authentication of LJF samples were established by linear discriminant analysis (LDA) with good classification abilities. Finally, sweroside and secoxyloganin could be considered as markers associated of cultivated and wild LJF, respectively, while 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 3,5-Di-O-caffeoylquinic acid could be regarded as markers for LF. Consequently, the findings suggest that UHPLC profiles combined with pattern recognition analysis is precise and feasible strategy for the discrimination and quality control of LJF.

Chemical characteristics of Rhodiola Crenulata and its mechanism in acute mountain sickness using UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS combined with network pharmacology analysis.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Rhodiola crenulata (Hook.f. & Thomson) H.Ohba has a long history of clinical application for the prevention and treatment of acute mountain sickness (AMS) in traditional Chinese medicine. However, gaps in knowledge still exist in understanding the underlying mechanisms of Rhodiola crenulata against AMS. AIMS: To address this problem, a comprehensive method was established by combining UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS analysis and network pharmacology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ingredients of Rhodiola crenulata were comprehensively analyzed using UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS method. On this basis, a network pharmacology method incorporated target prediction, protein-protein interaction network, gene enrichment analysis and components-targets-pathways network was performed. Finally, the possible mechanisms were verified through molecular docking, in vitro and in vivo experiments. RESULTS: A total of 106 constituents of Rhodiola crenulata were charactered via UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS. The 98 potentially active compounds out of 106 were screened and corresponded to 53 anti-AMS targets. Gene enrichment analysis revealed that hypoxia and inflammation related genes may be the central factors for Rhodiola crenulata to modulate AMS. Molecular docking revealed that TNF, VEGFA and HIF-1α had high affinities to Rhodiola crenulata compounds. Subsequently, Rhodiola crenulata extract was indicated to inhibit the protein expression level of TNF in hypoxia induced H9c2 cells. Lastly, Rhodiola crenulata extract was further verified to ameliorate heart injury and decreased the heart levels of TNF, VEGFA and HIF-1α in acute hypoxia-induced rats. CONCLUSIONS: This study used UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS analysis and a network pharmacology to provide an important reference for revealing the potential mechanism of Rhodiola crenulata in the prevention and treatment of AMS.

The therapeutic effect of Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with excessive heat in the lung and fu-organs based on gut and lung microbiota as well as metabolic profiles.

As a prescription for treating lung inflammation and intestinal diseases, Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction (XBCQD) in clinical practice can effectively treat COPD with excessive heat in the lung and fu-organs, which is characterized by phlegm-heat accumulation in the lung and constipation. This study aims to find the potential biomarkers of COPD with excessive heat in the lung and fu-organs from two aspects of lung and intestine based on metabolomics and microbiota analysis, and to evaluate the efficacy of XBCQD as well as to explore the mechanism of drug function according the regulating effect of drugs on these markers. The HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS, 16SrDNA technology and multiple statistical methods were used to trace the process of disease and curative effect with XBCQD. Results showed that the onset and development of disease was associated with the imbalance of 41 differential metabolites in plasma, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and feces and 82 bacteria at the levels of phylum, class, order, family and genus from lung and intestine, including Escherichia-Shigella. However, after treatment with XBCQD, 30 differential metabolites mainly involving in the metabolism of linoleic acid, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, biosynthesis of primary bile acids, tryptophan metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism and 65 pulmonary and intestinal bacteria at all levels were reversed in the drug group. In addition, the results of the correlation analysis showed that specific microbiota from lung and intestine and reversed differential metabolites had a significant correlation, and they could affect each other in the course of disease occurrence and treatment. This study preliminarily confirmed that XBCQD can be used to treat COPD with excessive heat in the lung and fu-organs through lung-intestine simultaneous treatment. It also provided new strategies for the treatment of lung diseases or intestinal diseases, and new research ideas for the evaluation of drug efficacy.

Leonurus japonicus Houtt. (Motherwort): Systematic research through chemical profiling, stability under controlled conditions and pharmacokinetic analysis on screening Q-markers for quality control.

Leonurus japonicus Houtt. (Motherwort) is the fresh or dried aerial part of Leonurus japonicus Houtt. (Labiaceae), which is widely used in clinical practice and daily life, used to treat gynecological diseases. However, the differences between different parts, single index component in Pharmacopoeias and the less stability of active ingredients affect its clinical efficacy. This study aimed to find the multi-active compounds between different parts of Motherwort to ensure its clinical efficacy, which related to stability and had pharmacokinetic behavior. Firstly, HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was used to analyze the components in vitro and in vivo, as well as multivariate statistical analysis and network pharmacology analysis was conducted to find the significant different components related to activity. Secondly, the content determination methods were established to study the stability of effective components during storage in order to establish the content limit for quality control of Motherwort. Thirdly, UFLC-MS/MS was used to analyze the pharmacokinetic behavior of active components in Motherwort. The results showed that a total of 131 chemical constituents were identified in vitro and 21 prototype absorption compounds and 72 metabolites were found in vivo. Meantime, multivariate statistical analysis and network pharmacology analysis was combined to find that leonurine, stachydrine and trigonelline were activity-related substance, which could be used as active components related to pharmacodynamics in different parts. Then the stability variation trend and content limit of three alkaloids were found, which could be used for the quality control of Motherwort. Furthermore, the results showed that three alkaloids had pharmacokinetic behavior in vivo. 3 alkaloids were screened, which could be used as active components most closely related to pharmacodynamics among different parts. The stable stage, assay tolerance and pharmacokinetic characteristics were studied by the active substances, which could provide a basis for quality control and clinical medication of Motherwort.

The Study of Steaming Durations and Temperatures on the Chemical Characterization, Neuroprotective, and Antioxidant Activities of Panax notoginseng.

Panax notoginseng (PN) is one of the most valuable traditional Chinese medicines and has extensive pharmacological effects. Recent studies demonstrated that PN exhibited pharmacological effect related to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, whether steaming process can boost its anti-AD activity is still unexplored. To fill this gap, effects of steaming durations and temperatures on the chemical characterization, neuroprotective and antioxidant activities of PN were systematically investigated in this study. HPLC fingerprint coupled with quantitative analysis demonstrated striking conversion of original saponins to less polar ones with the increase in the steaming time and temperature. In the viewpoint of anti-AD activity on neuroprotective and antioxidant effects, several steamed PN samples (110°C-6/8/10 h, 120°C -4/6 h samples) displayed a significant increase both in cell viability and oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) values compared with the no steamed one (P < 0.01 or P < 0.005). Steaming temperature had the greater impact on the change of chemical composition and anti-AD activity of PN. Moreover, the spectrum-effect relationship analysis revealed that the transformed saponins were partially responsible for the increased neuroprotective and antioxidant effects of steamed PN. Therefore, steamed PN could be used as a potential crude drug for prevention and treatment of AD.

Application of UHPLC Fingerprints Combined with Chemical Pattern Recognition Analysis in the Differentiation of Six Rhodiola Species.

Rhodiola, especially Rhodiola crenulate and Rhodiola rosea, is an increasingly widely used traditional medicine or dietary supplement in Asian and western countries. Because of the phytochemical diversity and difference of therapeutic efficacy among Rhodiola species, it is crucial to accurately identify them. In this study, a simple and efficient method of the classification of Rhodiola crenulate, Rhodiola rosea, and their confusable species (Rhodiola serrata, Rhodiola yunnanensis, Rhodiola kirilowii and Rhodiola fastigiate) was established by UHPLC fingerprints combined with chemical pattern recognition analysis. The results showed that similarity analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) could not achieve accurate classification among the six Rhodiola species. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) combined with stepwise feature selection exhibited effective discrimination. Seven characteristic peaks that are responsible for accurate classification were selected, and their distinguishing ability was successfully verified by partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), respectively. Finally, the components of these seven characteristic peaks were identified as 1-(2-Hydroxy-2-methylbutanoate) ß-D-glucopyranose, 4-O-glucosyl-p-coumaric acid, salidroside, epigallocatechin, 1,2,3,4,6-pentagalloyglucose, epigallocatechin gallate, and (+)-isolarisiresinol-4'-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside or (+)-isolarisiresinol-4-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside, respectively. The results obtained in our study provided useful information for authenticity identification and classification of Rhodiola species.

Based on Multi-Activity Integrated Strategy to Screening, Characterization and Quantification of Bioactive Compounds from Red Wine.

According to French Paradox, red wine was famous for the potential effects on coronary heart disease (CHD), but the specific compounds against CHD were unclear. Therefore, screening and characterization of bioactive compounds from red wine was extremely necessary. In this paper, the multi-activity integrated strategy was developed and validated to screen, identify and quantify active compounds from red wine by using ultra high performance liquid chromatography-fraction collector (UHPLC-FC), ultra fast liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight/mass spectrometry (UFLC-Q-TOF/MS) and bioactive analysis. UHPLC-FC was employed to separate and collect the components from red wine, which was further identified by UFLC-Q-TOF/MS to acquire their structural information. Furthermore, the active fractions were tested for antioxidant activity, inhibitory activity against thrombin and lipase activities in vitro by the activity screening kit. As the results, there were 37 fractions had antioxidant activity, 22 fractions had thrombin inhibitory activity and 28 fractions had lipase inhibitory activity. Finally, 77 active components from red wine were screened and 12 ingredients out of them were selected for quantification based on the integration of multi-activity. Collectively, the multi-activity integrated strategy was helpful for the rapid and effective discovery of bioactive components, which provided reference for exploring the health care function of food.

Fast analysis of alkaloids from different parts of Mahonia bealei (Fort.) Carr. studied for their anti-Alzheimer's activity using supercritical fluid chromatography.

In this study, a rapid and highly efficient method was developed for the separation of eight isoquinoline alkaloids using supercritical fluid chromatography. The separation conditions were carefully optimized including stationary phases, additives, backpressure, and temperature. Compared to high-performance liquid chromatography, the use of supercritical fluid chromatography could provide a 13 times faster separation. Subsequently, the method was validated and applied for the determination of eight alkaloids from different parts of Mahonia bealei (Fort.) Carr. (stem, root, leaf, and seed). The results indicated a good repeatability with relative standard deviations for overall precisions lower than 3.2%. The limit of detection was between 0.4 and 2.3 µg/mL while limit of quantitation ranged from 1.5 to 7.5 µg/mL. Recovery ranged from 95.7 to 102.5% indicating a validity of recovery. The content of total eight alkaloids was the highest in stem (66.0 µg/g) and root (65.1 µg/g) compared to leaf or seed. Moreover, anti-acetylcholinesterase activity for those extracts was evaluated by Ellman's colorimetric assay. As a result, the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of the extracted samples was in the following decreasing order: stem > root > leaf or seed. In conclusion, the results indicated that supercritical fluid chromatography could be a useful tool for quality control of Mahonia bealei (Fort.) Carr. containing alkaloids as active compounds.

Determination and Comparison of Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Serum and Colon Content Samples: Alzheimer's Disease Rat as a Case Study.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are the main microbial fermentation products from dietary fibers in the colon, and it has been speculated that they play a key role in keeping healthy in the whole-body. However, differences in SCFAs concentration in the serum and colon samples had attracted little attention. In this study, we have optimized the extract and analysis methods for the determination of ten SCFAs in both serum and colon content samples. Methanol and acetonitrile were chosen for extraction of SCFAs from serum and colon content samples, respectively. Biological samples were collected from Alzheimer's disease rats treated by extract of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill (SC-extract) were taken as research objects. The results showed that, the relative peak intensities of SCFAs in the colon content from all groups were quite similar, and the trend was identical in the serum samples. Compared with the values in humans, the ratio of ten SCFAs in rat's colon was similar, while the percent of acetate in rat's serum was significantly higher. For therapy of Alzheimer's disease (AD), SC-extract decreased the concentration of butyrate, 3-Methyvalerate, and caproate in the serum samples towards the trend of normal rats. This study may help our understanding of how SCFAs are transported across colonic epithelium in healthy and diseased organisms.

High-performance liquid chromatography-based fingerprint analysis with chemical pattern recognition for evaluation of Mahonia bealei (Fort.) Carr.

A simple and efficient high-performance liquid chromatography method combined with chemical pattern recognition was established for quality evaluation of Mahonia bealei (Fort.) Carr. A common pattern of 30 characteristic peaks was applied for similarity analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and partial least squares discriminant analysis in the 37 batches of M. bealei (Fort.) Carr. to discriminate wild M. bealei (Fort.) Carr., cultivated M. bealei (Fort.) Carr., and its substitutes. The results showed that partial least squares discriminant analysis was the most effective method for discrimination. Eight characteristics peaks with higher variable importance in projection values were selected for pattern recognition model. A permutation test and 26 batches of testing set samples were performed to validate the model that was successfully established. All of the training and testing set samples were correctly classified into three clusters (wild M. bealei (Fort.) Carr., cultivated M. bealei (Fort.) Carr., and its substitutes) based on the selected chemical markers. Moreover, 26 batches of unknown samples were used to predict the accuracy of the established model with a discrimination accuracy of 100%. The obtained results indicated that the method showed great potential application for accurate evaluation and prediction of the quality of M. bealei (Fort.) Carr.

In Vitro and In Vivo Anti-AChE and Antioxidative Effects of Schisandra chinensis Extract: A Potential Candidate for Alzheimer's Disease.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition and antioxidants are two common strategies for the treatment in the early stage of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). In this study, extracts from nine traditional Chinese medical (TCM) herbs were tested for anti-AChE activity by Ellman's microplate assay and cytotoxicity by CCK-8. Based on its excellent AChE inhibition effect and its lowest cytotoxicity, Schisandra chinensis (SC) extract was selected to do the mechanism research. SC extract protected pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells against H2O2-induced toxicity by improving the cell survival rate in a dose-dependent manner. And it also showed significant free radical (DPPH) scavenging activities, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and 2,2'-Azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging. To confirm these results, the scopolamine-induced mice models were utilized in this study. Compared with the positive drug (piracetam), SC could also exhibit similar effects to alleviate the mice's cognitive deficits. Moreover, in the mice brain samples, the AChE activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels of SC-treatment group both showed a reverse as compared to model group. Taken together, these results all suggested that SC extract may be a potential therapeutic candidate for AD.

Antimicrobial activities of Asian ginseng, American ginseng, and notoginseng.

Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer), American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and notoginseng (Panax notoginseng) are the three most commonly used ginseng botanicals in the world. With the increasing interests on antimicrobial properties of plants, the antimicrobial activities of ginseng species have been investigated by a number of researchers worldwide. This overview interprets our present knowledge of the antimicrobial activities of the three ginseng species and some of their bioactive components against pathogenic bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Helicobacter pylori, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Propionibacterium acnes, et al.) and fungi (Candida albicans, Fusarium oxysporum, et al). Ginsenosides, polysaccharides, essential oil, proteins, and panaxytriol are all might responsible for the antimicrobial activities of ginseng. The antimicrobial mechanisms of ginseng components could be summarized to the following points: (a) inhibit the microbial motility and quorum-sensing ability; (b) affect the formation of biofilms and destroy the mature biofilms, which can weaken the infection ability of the microbes; (c) perturb membrane lipid bilayers, thus causing the formation of pores, leakages of cell constituents and eventually cell death; (d) stimulate of the immune system and attenuate microbes induced apoptosis, inflammation, and DNA damages, which can protect or help the host fight against microbial infections; and (e) inhibit the efflux of antibiotics that can descend the drug resistance of the microbial. The collected information might facilitate and guide further studies needed to optimize the use of ginseng and their components to improve microbial food safety and prevent or treat animal and human infections.

Quality Evaluation of Mahonia bealei (Fort.) Carr. Using Supercritical Fluid Chromatography with Chemical Pattern Recognition.

Mahonia bealei (Fort.) Carr. (M. bealei) plays an important role in the treatment of many diseases. In the present study, a comprehensive method combining supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) fingerprints and chemical pattern recognition (CPR) for quality evaluation of M. bealei was developed. Similarity analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to classify and evaluate the samples of wild M. bealei, cultivated M. bealei and its substitutes according to the peak area of 11 components but an accurate classification could not be achieved. PLS-DA was then adopted to select the characteristic variables based on variable importance in projection (VIP) values that responsible for accurate classification. Six characteristics peaks with higher VIP values (≥1) were selected for building the CPR model. Based on the six variables, three types of samples were accurately classified into three related clusters. The model was further validated by a testing set samples and predication set samples. The results indicated the model was successfully established and predictive ability was also verified satisfactory. The established model demonstrated that the developed SFC coupled with PLS-DA method showed a great potential application for quality assessment of M. bealei.

Cranberry anthocyanin as an herbal medicine lowers plasma cholesterol by increasing excretion of fecal sterols.

BACKGROUND: Interest in using herbal medicines to treat the hypercholesterolemia is increasing. Cranberry extract could decrease plasma cholesterol, however, the active ingredients and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. HYPOTHESIS: The present study was to test the hypothesis that cranberry anthocyanins (CrA) were at least one of the active ingredients responsible for the cholesterol-lowering activity of cranberry fruits via a mechanism of increasing fecal sterol excretion. METHODS: Forty-four hamsters were randomly divided into five groups and fed one of the five diets, namely a non-cholesterol control diet (NCD), a high-cholesterol control diet (HCD), a HCD diet supplemented with a low dose of 1% CrA (CL), a HCD diet supplemented with a high dose of 2% CrA (CH), and a HCD diet supplemented with 0.5% cholestyramine as a positive control drug (P-CTL), respectively, for six weeks. Plasma lipoprotein cholesterol was quantified using the enzymatic kits, while the gene expressions of transporters, enzymes and receptors involved in cholesterol absorption and metabolism were quantified using the quantitative RT-PCR. Fecal sterols were quantified using gas chromatography (GC). RESULTS: Plasma total cholesterol and aorta atherosclerotic plaque decreased dose-dependently with the increasing amounts of CrA added into diets. This was accompanied by a dose-dependent increase in excretion of both neutral and acidic sterols. CrA had no effect on the mRNA levels of intestinal Niemann-Pick C1 like 1 protein (NPC1L1), acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase2 (ACAT2), microsomal triacylglycerol transport protein (MTP), and ATP binding cassette transporter 5 (ABCG5) as well as hepatic cholesterol-7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1), 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl reductase (HMG-CoA-R), sterol regulatory element binding protein 2 (SREBP2), LDL receptor (LDL-R), and Liver X receptor alpha (LXRα). CONCLUSION: CrA as an herbal medicine could favorably modify the lipoprotein profile in hamsters fed a high cholesterol diet by enhancing excretion of fecal neutral and acidic sterols, most likely not mediated by interaction with genes of transporters, enzymes and proteins involved in cholesterol absorption and metabolism.

HPLC-MS/MS determination of flavonoids in Gleditsiae Spina for its quality assessment.

Gleditsiae Spina, the thorn of Gleditsia sinensis Lam., has been used as an anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti-bacterial traditional medicine for hundreds of years in China. This study used high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry combined with chemometric methods to allow the fast and accurate identification and quantification of the flavonoids compounds in Gleditsiae Spina, and created reliable criteria for accurate identification of Gleditsiae Spina and its adulterants. This research provides good evidence for the classification and quality evaluation of Gleditsiae Spina. Firstly, eight flavonoids compounds were detected and identified on the basis of their mass spectra, fragment characteristics, and comparison with published data. Then the mass spectroscopic fragmentation pathways of these compounds were determined and, in addition rutin, isoquercitrin, and quercitrin were detected in Gleditsiae Spina for the first time. The quantification was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer in multi-reaction monitoring mode, and the baseline separation of the eight bioactive flavonoids components was achieved within 13 min. Furthermore, the proposed method was successfully applied for simultaneous quantitative determination of the eight Gleditsiae Spina compounds and adulterants obtained from different sources in China. Then, we built a classification model which showed a high level of accuracy predicting 100% of the samples, correctly.