[Optimize preparation of compound licorice microemulsion with D-optimal design].

In order to increase the solubility of essential oil in compound licorice microemulsion and improve the efficacy of the decoction for treating chronic eczema, this experiment intends to prepare the decoction into microemulsion. The essential oil was used as the oil phase of the microemulsion and the extract was used as the water phase. Then the microemulsion area and maximum ratio of water capacity was obtained by plotting pseudo-ternary phase diagram, to determine the appropriate types of surfactant and cosurfactant, and Km value-the mass ratio between surfactant and cosurfactant. With particle size and skin retention of active ingredients as the index, microemulsion prescription was optimized by D-optimal design method, to investigate the in vitro release behavior of the optimized prescription. The results showed that the microemulsion was optimal with tween-80 as the surfactant and anhydrous ethanol as the cosurfactant. When the Km value was 1, the area of the microemulsion region was largest while when the concentration of extract was 0.5 g·mL⁻¹, it had lowest effect on the particle size distribution of microemulsion. The final optimized formulation was as follows: 9.4% tween-80, 9.4% anhydrous ethanol, 1.0% peppermint oil and 80.2% 0.5 g·mL⁻¹ extract. The microemulsion prepared under these conditions had a small viscosity, good stability and high skin retention of drug; in vitro release experiment showed that microemulsion had a sustained-release effect on glycyrrhizic acid and liquiritin, basically achieving the expected purpose of the project.

[Optimize preparation parameters of colon-specific pellets of Angelica Sinensis Radix supercritical fluid extraction with response surface analysis methodology].

To prepare pellets of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of Angelica Sinensis Radix by using the ionic crosslinking method, and the drug loading and encapsulation efficiency were used as the index to investigate the multiple factors which may impact the drug loading and encapsulation efficiency. Box-Behnken design and response surface analysis method were then taken to optimize the prescription of pellets and study the coating technology. Through the study on the release of pellets in vitro, an optimal coating technology and prescription of colon-specific pellets of Angelica Sinensis Radix SFE were selected and their colon targeting was evaluated. The optimal preparation parameters of pellets were determined as follows： 3% pectin; 4∶1 for pectin/lecithin; 4∶5 for pectin/SFE of Angelica Sinensis Radix; 4% zinc acetate solution as crosslinking agent, blending temperature 35 ℃, crosslinking temperature 35 ℃, crosslinking time 30 min; coating technology： coating material Eudragit FS 30D, 1.5% triethyl citrate and polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate（tween-80）, 1.2% monostearin and 15% coating weight gained. The colon-specific pellets of Angelica Sinensis Radix SFE prepared with optimized conditions were almost not released in simulated gastric fluid in 2 h, released less than 20% in simulated intestine fluid in 4 h, and released more than 90% in simulated colon fluid in 6 h, indicating that the colon-specific pellets of Angelica Sinensis Radix SFE had an excellent colon targeting property.

Two new saponins from Thalictrum fortunei.

Two new cycloartane glycosides were isolated from the aerial parts of Thalictrum fortunei (Ranunculaceae). The chemical structures of these compounds were elucidated as 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl (1 → 4)-ß-d-fucopyranosyl-(22S,24Z)-cycloart-24-en-3ß,22,26,30-tetraol 26-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside and 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl (1 → 4)-ß-D-fucopyranosyl-(22S,24Z)-cycloart-24-en-3ß,22,26,29-tetraol 26-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside by extensive 1D and 2D NMR methods, HR-ESI-MS, and hydrolysis. Their cytotoxic activities toward human hepatoma Bel-7402 cells, human colon carcinoma LoVo cells, and human non-small-cell lung cancer NCIH-460 cells were evaluated by MTT assay, respectively.

New cycloartane glycosides from the aerial part of Thalictrum fortunei.

Four new cycloartane glycosides, 3-O-ß-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-ß-D-fucopyranosyl (22S,24Z)-cycloart-24-en-3ß,22,26-triol 26-O-(6-O-acetyl)-ß-D-glucopyranoside (1), 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-ß-D-fucopyranosyl (22S,24Z)-cycloart-24-en-3ß,22,26-triol 26-O-(6-O-acetyl)-ß-D-glucopyranoside (2), 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl (24S)-cycloartane-3ß,16ß,24,25,30-pentaol 25-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-ß-D-glucopyranoside (3) and 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl (24S)-cycloartane-3ß,16ß,24,25,30-pentaol 25-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-ß-D-glucopyranoside (4), were isolated from the aerial parts of Thalictrum fortunei. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive NMR and HR-ESI-MS analyses, along with acid hydrolysis.