Homogenate-assisted Vacuum-powered Bubble Extraction of Moso Bamboo Flavonoids for On-line Scavenging Free Radical Capacity Analysis.

A homogenate-assisted vacuum-powered bubble extraction (HVBE) method using ethanol was applied for extraction of flavonoids from Phyllostachys pubescens (P. pubescens) leaves. The mechanisms of homogenate-assisted extraction and vacuum-powered bubble generation were discussed in detail. Furthermore, a method for the rapid determination of flavonoids by HPLC was established. HVBE followed by HPLC was successfully applied for the extraction and quantification of four flavonoids in P. pubescens, including orientin, isoorientin, vitexin, and isovitexin. This method provides a fast and effective means for the preparation and determination of plant active components. Moreover, the on-line antioxidant capacity, including scavenging positive ion and negative ion free radical capacity of different fractions from the bamboo flavonoid extract was evaluated. Results showed that the scavenging DPPH˙ free radical capacity of vitexin and isovitexin was larger than that of isoorientin and orientin. On the contrary, the scavenging ABTS⁺˙free radical capacity of isoorientin and orientin was larger than that of vitexin and isovitexin.

Demethyleneberberine attenuates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with activation of AMPK and inhibition of oxidative stress.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has reached an epidemic level globally, which is recognized to form non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) by the "two-hit" model, including oxidative stress and inflammation. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has long been regarded as a key regulator of energy metabolism, which is recognized as a critical target for NAFLD treatment. Here we introduce a natural product, demethyleneberberine (DMB), which potentially ameliorated NAFLD by activating AMPK pathways. Our study showed that the intraperitoneal injection of DMB (20 or 40 mg/kg body weight) decreased hepatic lipid accumulation in methionine and choline deficient (MCD) high-fat diet feeding mice and db/db mice. The further investigation demonstrated that DMB activated AMPK by increasing its phosphorylation in vitro and in vivo. Accompanied with AMPK activation, the expression of lipogenic genes were significantly reduced while genes responsible for the fatty acid ß-oxidation were restored in DMB-treated NAFLD mice. In addition, the remarkable oxidative damage and inflammation induced by NAFLD were both attenuated by DMB treatment, which is reflected by decreased lipid oxidative product, malonaldehyde (MDA) and inflammatory factors, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß). Based on all above, DMB could serve as a novel AMPK activator for treating NAFLD and preventing the pathologic progression from NAFLD to NASH by inhibiting the oxidative stress and inflammation.