Pheretima aspergillum decoction suppresses inflammation and relieves asthma in a mouse model of bronchial asthma by NF-κB inhibition.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE AND AIM OF THE STUDY: Guang-Pheretima, the live form of the earthworm Pheretima aspergillum, is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used for the treatment of asthma, cough, stroke, epilepsy and other diseases due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-asthmatic, anti-seizure, thrombolytic and diuretic properties. Although Guang-Pheretima is effective in the relief of asthma, its pharmacological activity and the underlying molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Hence, we investigated the effects of a Pheretima aspergillum decoction (PAD) against inflammation in a model of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma in BALB/c mice, as well as the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway involved in this process. MATERIALS AND METHODS: OVA was used to sensitize and challenge the airway of the mice, and PAD was administrated by gavage. We measured airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in the mice 24h following a final methacholine challenge with whole-body plethysmography. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), serum and pulmonary tissues were collected 48h after the last challenge. The levels of inflammatory factors and the related mRNAs were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respectively. The number of differential inflammatory cells in the BALF was counted. Serum total and OVA-specific IgE levels were measured with ELISA. The activation of NF-κB signaling in the lung was detected by western blotting. In addition, the lung tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin or periodic acid Schiff stain for histopathological examination. RESULTS: PAD treatment significantly alleviated AHR in the asthmatic mice, decreased the mRNA and protein levels of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 and downregulated IgE. In addition, PAD treatment attenuated mucus secretion and infiltration of inflammatory cells in the lung while inhibiting the activation of NF-κB signaling. CONCLUSIONS: PAD effectively inhibited the activation of NF-κB signaling in the lungs of mice with OVA-induced asthma, and mitigated AHR and Th2 type inflammatory reactions. Therefore, PAD may serve as a drug candidate for asthma treatment.

[Chemical variation in Aurantii Fructus before and after processing based on UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS].

To explore the processing mechanism of Aurantii Fructus decoction pieces used in Guangdong province and Hong Kong by analysing the chemical variation between raw and processed Aurantii Fructus with different methods based on UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS. The total ion chromatograms detected in positive and negative ion modes, and ion peak area ratio before and after processing were taken as variation indexes in the comparison. The results indicated that fermented Aurantii Fructus could produce three new ingredients, namely eriodictyol-7-glucoside, hesperetin-7-O-glucoside and 5-demethylnobiletin. At the same time, it could significantly increase the content of naringenin and hesperetin components, and could increase the content of such limonin derivatives as sudachinoid A, obacunoic acid and limoninand nomilinic acid. This suggests that the fermentation processing method of Aurantii Fructus decoction pieces used in Guangdong province and Hong Kong is of important significance for enhancing biological activity and bioavailability, and improving the clinical efficacy of Aurantii Fructus decoction pieces, and so is worth further protection and promotion.

[GC-MS analysis on the volatile components of Platycladus orientalis extracted by HS-SPME and DSE].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the volatile components of Platycladus orientalis extracted by headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and steam distillation-extraction (DSE). METHODS: The volatile components which were extracted by DSE and analyzed by GC-MS; The HS-SPME conditions was optimized, and the volatile components were analyzed by GC-MS. RESULTS: Sixty-two kinds of volatile components extracted by DSE were isolated and 50 of them were identified; Sixty-eight kinds of volatile components extracted by HS-SPME were isolated and 67 of them were identified. CONCLUSION: Compared with DSE,HS-SPME has higher retrieval matching and sensitivity, which is more suitable for the analysis of the volatile components of P. orientalis.