Natural products: potential drugs for the treatment of renal fibrosis.

With the increasing prevalence and mortality, chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a world public health problem. As the primary pathological manifestation in CKD, renal fibrosis is often used as a critical target for the treatment of CKD and inhibits the progression of CKD to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). As a potential drug, natural products have been confirmed to have the potential as a routine or supplementary therapy for chronic kidney disease, which may target renal fibrosis and act through various pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidation of natural products. This article briefly introduces the pathological mechanism of renal fibrosis and systematically summarizes the latest research on the treatment of renal fibrosis with natural products of Chinese herbal medicines.

Drynaria fortunei improves lipid profiles of elderly patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis via regulation of Notch1-NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated inflammation.

BACKGROUND: Dyslipidemia is a common comorbidity in elderly patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP). Drynaria fortunei (Rhizoma drynariae) is well-known in traditional Chinese medicine for its ability to improve bone mineral density (BMD). However, whether and how Drynaria fortunei improves plasma lipid profiles in elderly PMOP patients remains unclear. METHODS: Eighty elderly female patients with concurrent PMOP and hyperlipemia were randomly assigned to Drynaria fortunei 2(n = 40) or control (n = 40) groups. The clinical efficacies of Drynaria fortunei were evaluated. At 0, 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month of follow-up, plasma levels of IL-1ß, IL-18, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 were measured using ELISA, whereas PBMC levels of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, NF-κB, SIRT1, and Notch1 were measured using RT-qPCR. PBMC isolated from PMOP patients were cultured and treated with Drynaria fortunei to determine its influence on NLRP3 inflammasome and associated cytokines. RESULTS: Drynaria fortunei effectively improved patients' BMD and lipid profiles. IL-1ß, IL-18, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8 levels, as well as inflammasome-molecules of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, and NF-κB increased over time in the control group, but were significantly attenuated with Drynaria fortunei administration. In vitro, Drynaria fortunei suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome and associated cytokines by increasing SIRT1 or decreasing Notch1. Drynaria fortunei had inhibitory effects on NLRP3 inflammasome and Notch1 even when SIRT1 expression was suppressed. CONCLUSIONS: Drynaria fortunei has been demonstrated to significantly improve lipid profiles for elderly PMOP patients. Drynaria fortunei may down-regulate Notch1 independently of SIRT1 to suppress NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated inflammation, thus improving plasma lipid profile.

In vivo hypoglycemic effects of phenolics from the root bark of Morus alba.

Moracin M (1), Steppogenin-4'-O-beta-D-glucosiade (2), Mullberroside A (3) were isolated from the root bark of Morus alba L. and identified by spectral evidence. Compounds 1, 2 and 3 were studied in hypoglycemic effects on alloxan-diabetic mice. The results showed that compounds 1, 2 and 3 all produced hypoglycemic effects. The compound 2 in a dose of 50 mg/kg exerted significant effect (p<0.05), 2 and 3 in a dose of 100 mg/kg exerted obviously effect (p<0.01). Meantime, the compound 1 in a dose of 100 mg/kg can make the fasting blood glucose level have decreasing tendency.

Euscaphic acid, a new hypoglycemic natural product from Folium Eriobotryae.

Folium Eriobotryae has been used as a medicinal plant for a long time, and it is known to have many physiological actions such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tussive, expectorant and anti-diabetic. We have reported that the 70% ethanol extract of Folium Eriobotryae exerted a significant hypoglycemic effect to alloxan-diabetic mice. In this study, we isolated euscaphic acid, a natural product from Folium Eriobotryae, and investigated its hypoglycemic effect in normoglycemic and alloxan-diabetic mice. All effects had been compared with those of gliclazide. The plasma glucose levels were significantly lowered in normoglycemic mice treated with euscaphic acid compared to mice treated with 0.5% CMC-Na solution only. Moreover, the dosage of 50 mg/kg exerted a significant (P < 0.05) hypoglycemic effect in alloxan-diabetic mice after orally administration. The research proved that euscaphic acid is one of the active hypoglycemic constituents in Folium Eriobotryae, but the details of the mechanism need to be investigated further.

[Studies on the triterpenes from loquat leaf (Eriobotrya japonica)].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chemical constituents from Loquat leaf (Eriobotrya japonica). METHODS: Compounds were isolated by a combination of silica gel and ODS column chromatographies and preparative TLC and HPLC, their structures were identified by chemical and spectral methods. RESULTS: Nine triterpenes were isolated and identified as methyl betuliate (I), oleanolic acid (II), ursolic acid (III), methyl maslinate (IV), methyl corosolate, (methyl 2alpha-3alpha-dihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oate, V), maslinic acid (VI), corosolic acid (VII), tormentic acid (VIII), euscaphic acid (IX) from loquat leaf. CONCLUSION: Compounds I and V are obtained from this plant and Eriobotrya genus for the first time.

New sphingolipids from the root of Isatis indigotica and their cytotoxic activity.

Two new sphingolipids were isolated from the 95% EtOH extract of traditional Chinese medicinal plant Isatis indigotica. Their structures were elucidated as (2S,3R)-3-hydroxymethyl-N-(2'-hydroxynonacosanoyl)-trideca-9E-sphingenine(1) and 1-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(2S,3R)-3-hydroxymethyl-N-(2'-hydroxynonacosanoyl)-trideca-9E-sphingenine(2) on the basis of spectroscopic data. Their cytotoxic effects were evaluated by using MTT method.