Harmonizing international quality standards for Andrographis paniculata: A comparative analysis of content determination methods across pharmacopeias.

The quality standards for Andrographis paniculata, a widely used medicinal herb, exhibited significant variations across different pharmacopeias. In this study, we compared the HPLC content determination methods and total lactone content of A. paniculata samples from different regions, as specified in the Chinese (CP), United States (USP), European (EP), Thai (TP), and Indian pharmacopeias (IP), as well as the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards (HK). We aimed to assess the differences and similarities among these pharmacopeias and harmonized international quality standards for A. paniculata. The analysis revealed variations in sample preparation, liquid chromatographic conditions, fingerprint profiles, and total lactone content among the different pharmacopeias. Specifically, the CP and HK methods exhibited superior sample preparation and chromatographic separation. Further comparing the content of 20 A. paniculata samples with the CP, USP, EP and HK methods showed consistent determinations for the same components, indicating similar detection capabilities. The discrepancies in total lactone content primarily stemmed from differences in the number and types of detected compounds. Moreover, the acceptance criteria exhibited a stringency in the order CP > HK > EP > USP. In conclusion, this comparison analysis of content determination in CP, USP, HK, EP, TP and IP provided a scientific foundation for the international standardization and trade regulations of A. paniculata. It also served as a valuable reference for the development of international quality standards for other medicinal herbs, facilitating the harmonization of global pharmaceutical standards.

[Overview of research and development of polypeptide drugs and traditional Chinese medicine-peptides].

Peptide is a compound consisting of 2-50 amino acids, which is intermediate between small molecule and protein. It is characterized by a variety of biological activities, easy absorption, strong specific targeting, and few side effects and has become one of the hotspots in biomedical research in recent years. Chinese medicine contains a large number of peptides. The traditional processing methods such as decocting and boiling can effectively boost peptides to exert their due biological activities. At present, however, the research on Chinese medicinal components in laboratory generally employs high-concentration alcohol extraction method, which may cause the peptides to be ignored in many natural Chinese medicines. Substantial studies have revealed that the peptides in Chinese medicine are important material basis responsible for the traditional efficacy. Based on years of research and literature retrieval, this study put forward the concept of "traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)-peptides", referring to the components consisting of two or more amino acids with molecular weight between small molecules and proteins that can express the efficacy of Chinese medicine. Furthermore, this study also summarized the extraction and separation of TCM-peptides, and structure determination methods and routes, predicted the research prospect of modern research methods of TCM-peptides based on "holistic view" and big data. The artificial intelligence prediction was combined with high-throughput screening technology to improve the discovery efficiency and accuracy of TCM-peptides, and holographic images between TCM-peptides and biological targets were established to provide references for the innovative drug design and related health product development of TCM-peptides based on TCM theories.

[Current quality standards of Andrographis Herba of different countries and regions].

Andrographis Herba is a commonly used plant medicine, and has been recorded in pharmacopeias of different countries. However, there are some differences in the quality standards. Based on this, this paper compare the quality standards of Andrographis Herba between Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards, United States Pharmacopoeia, European Pharmacopoeia and Indian Pharmacopoeia, including origin, botanical characteristics, identification(microscopic identification and chromatographic identification), content determination, specific test(such as impurities, loss on drying, extractives, pesticides, heavy metals, mycotoxins, and other items) and storage requirements, so as to provide a reference for studying international quality standards of Andrographis.

Isolation, chemotaxonomic significance and cytotoxic effects of quassinoids from Brucea javanica.

A new quassinoid, bruceene A (1) along with seventeen known quassinoids (2-18) was isolated from the fruits of Brucea javanica. The structure of 1 was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods, and was further confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Isolation of similar quassinoids 1-3 as those in genus Ailanthus from genus Brucea, indicated the close chemotaxonomic relationship between these two genera, which further supported the phylogenetic study by DNA analysis. Compounds 5, 7, 10 and 12 with a 3-hydroxy-3-en-2-one moiety showed potent inhibitory activities against the MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells with IC50 values in the ranges 0.063-0.182 µM and 0.081-0.238 µM, respectively; while glycosidation at 3-OH significantly decreased the cytotoxicity. It was also found that the most potent compound 7 induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells via the intrinsic mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.