The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity effect of ethyl acetate extract from the flowers of Syringa pubescens Turcz.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Syringa Pubescens Turcz. (SP), a member of the Oleaceae family, is a species of plant known as Syringa. Flowers, as the medicinal part, are commonly used in the treatment of hepatitis and tonsillitis. AIM OF THE STUDY: The research was the first to assess the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of different parts of SP flowers (SPF) in vitro. The most promising fraction was ethyl acetate fraction of SP flower (SPFEA). The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of SPFEA were further studied, and the chemical components were identified. METHODS: HPLC was used to identify the major components in various fraction of SPF. DPPH and ABTS + radical scavenging assays as well as FRAP test and ß-carotene bleaching test were employed to assess the antioxidant potential of SPF fraction in vitro. The inhibitory effect on NO production in LPS-treated RAW264.7 cells and heat-induced protein denaturation test were used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential of SPF fraction. Further analysis of the biological activity of SPFEA was performed. Acute toxicity test was conducted to assess the toxicity of SPFEA. The anti-inflammatory effect was assessed by utilizing xylene induced ear edema model, carrageenan-induced foot edema model and peritonitis model in vivo. The analgesic effect of SPFEA was evaluated using hot plate test, tail immersion test, formaldehyde test as well as acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing pain experiment in vivo. In carrageenan induced foot edema model, ELISA kits were employed to measure levels of inflammation factors (NO, TNF-α, IL-6, COX-2, IL-1ß) in foot tissue as well as MDA, CAT, SOD, GSH-PX levels in liver tissue. RESULTS: HPLC results showed that there were significant differences in bioactive substances among different fractions of SPF, and SPFEA was rich in bioacitve components. Compared with other fractions of SPF, SPFEA exhibited better antioxidant and anti-inflammatory abilities. The 3000 mg/kg SPFEA group in mice had no obvious side effects. The xylene-induced ear edema model, carrageenan-induced foot edema and peritonitis models demonstrated that the SPFEA had significant anti-inflammatory effect. Moreover, inflammation factors including NO, TNF-α, IL-6, COX-2, IL-1ß were significantly reduced in SPFEA groups in foot tissue induced by carrageenan. Additionally, SPFEA effectively decreased liver tissue oxidative stress levels (MDA, SOD, GSH-PX and CAT). The bioactivities of SPFEA demonstrated a clear dose-dependent relationship. The results of the hot plate test, tail immersion test, formaldehyde test and acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing pain experiments indicated the SPFEA possessed an excellent analgesic effect, and this effect was in dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: The study provides a scientific foundation for understanding the pharmacological action of SPFEA. It has been indicated that SPFEA has excellent antioxidant, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.

Chrysin Alleviates Monocrotaline-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension in Rats Through Regulation of Intracellular Calcium Homeostasis in Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells.

Chrysin (CH) is the main ingredient of many medicinal plants. Our previous study showed that CH could suppress hypoxia-induced pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells proliferation and alleviate chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension by targeting store-operated Ca entry (SOCE)-[Ca]i pathway. In this study, we investigated the effect of CH on monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension (MCTPH) and the mechanism behind it. Results show that, in MCTPH model rats, (1) CH significantly reduced the enhancement of right ventricular pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, and pulmonary vascular remodeling; (2) CH markedly suppressed the promotion of SOCE and [Ca]i in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells; and (3) CH obviously inhibited the MCT-upregulated proliferating cell nuclear antigen, TRPC1, TRPC4, and TRPC6 expression in distal pulmonary arteries. These results demonstrate that CH likely alleviates MCTPH by targeting TRPC1,4,6-SOCE-[Ca]i pathway.

[Wuling capsule played an assistant role in primary prevention of post-stroke depression: a clinical research].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the primary prevention role of Wuling Capsule (WC) on poststroke depression (PSD) patients. METHODS: Acute stroke patients were recruited and randomized into 2 groups by stratification, 55 in each group. All patients received same routine treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Patients in the experimental group additionally took WC (0.33 g each pill), 3 pills per day, three times per day; while those in the control group additionally took placebos, 3 pills per day, three times per day. Two weeks consisted of one therapeutic course. The diagnosis of PSD was performed once every other week. Those in accordance with PSD diagnosis discontinued any drug therapy. Those not in accordance with PSD diagnosis continued the drug therapy for 1-12 therapeutic course(s) (in total of 6 months). If they were still not in accordance with PSD diagnosis, then they discontinued the drug therapy. The morbidity of PSD, the average time of depression occurrence, Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD) score, and adverse reactions were observed. RESULTS: The 1-, 3-, and 6-month morbidity of PSD was 8%, 16%, and 34% in the experimental group, while they were 19.6%, 29.4%, and 54.9% in the control group. The occurrence rate was lower in the experimental group than in the control group. Besides, there was statistical difference in the 6-month occurrence rate between the two groups (chi2 = 4.465, P < 0.05). The average time of PSD occurrence was longer in the experimental group than in the control group (14.96 +/- 8.31 weeks vs. 9.36 +/- 6.06 weeks; t=6.762, P < 0.05). The HAMD score at the PSD occurrence was 11.96 +/- 2.14 in the experimental group, lower than that of the control group (14.57 +/- 4.24), showing statistical difference (t=5.641, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: WC was superior to the placebos in lowering the incidence of PSD, delaying the occurrence time of PSD, attenuating the depression degree of PSD, and had certain preventive effect on the incidence of PSD.