Comparison of bioactive components and pharmacological activities of ophiopogon japonicas extracts from different geographical origins.

Ophiopogon japonicus (Linn. f.) Ker-Gawl (O. japonicas), mainly cultivated in Sichuan and Zhejiang province in China, has different bioactive components and therefore their pharmacological activities. To explain the different clinical efficacy of O. japonicas derived preparations, herein we report differences of pharmacological activities between Sichuan and Zhejiang O. japonicas and behind them the exact differences of bioactive components. Based on a LC/MS-IT-TOF method, the differences of bioactive components between Sichuan and Zhejiang O. japonicas extracts were analyzed and respective characteristic components were picked out. We determined 39 ophiopogonones and 71 ophiopogonins compounds in Sichuan and Zhejiang O. japonicas extracts and found the contents of these compositions have several times difference. Evidenced by experimental data of pharmacological activities in inhibiting cardiomyocyte damage induced by H2O2, mouse macrophage cell inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide and cytotoxicity in vitro, Zhejiang O. japonicas extract had a stronger antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity than Sichuan O. japonicas extract, and the two O. japonicas extracts exhibited selective cytotoxicity on different cancer cell lines in vitro. These data shed light on the links between bioactive components and pharmacological activities of O. japonicas derived preparations. Thus, geographical origin of O. japonicas should be considered to be a key factor in efficacy studies and further clinical application.

Pharmacodynamics and potential synergistic effects of Mai-Luo-Ning injection on cardiovascular protection, based on molecular docking.

As a computer-assisted approach, molecular docking has been universally applied in drug research and development and plays an important role in the investigation and evaluation of herbal medicines. Herein, the method was used to estimate the pharmacodynamics of Mai-Luo-Ning injection, a traditional Chinese compound herbal prescription. Through investigating the interactions between several important proteins in cardiovascular system and characteristic components of the formula, its effect on cardiovascular protection was evaluated. Results showed the differences in the interactions between each component and the selected target proteins and revealed the possible mechanisms for synergistic effects of various characteristic components on cardiovascular protection. The study provided scientific evidence supporting the mechanistic study of the interactions among multi-components and targets, offering a general approach to investigating the pharmacodynamics of complicated materials in compound herbal prescriptions.