Establishment of fingerprint and mechanism of anti-myocardial ischemic effect of Syringa pinnatifolia.

This study established the fingerprint of Syringa pinnatifolia Hemsl. (SP), analyzed the SP ingredients absorbed into the rats blood, and evaluated its anti-myocardial ischemic effect to provide a scientific basis for the follow-up development and research of SP and lay a foundation for its clinical application using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-Q Exactive-mass spectrometry and GC-MS. Myocardial infarction was induced in rat by ligating the left anterior descending branch of the rat coronary artery, and SP alcohol extract was administered to evaluate its anti-myocardial ischemic effect. We analyzed the SP ingredients absorbed into the rats blood, screened the active compounds, established a database of SP anti-myocardial ischemic targets, and explored the possible mechanism of SP in treating myocardial infarction using bioinformatics. The rats were examined using echocardiography, serum biomarkers were determined, and pathological changes were observed by histopathological examination. TUNEL staining was performed to detect the apoptotic level of cells, and Western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were performed to detect the expression levels of Bcl-2, Bax, and Caspase-3 in heart tissues. In the fingerprint of SP, 24 common peaks were established, and the similarity evaluation results of 10 batches of SP were all >0.9. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-Q Exactive-mass spectrometry and GC-MS detected 17 active ingredients in the drug-containing serum, including terpenoids, flavonoids, phenols, phenylpropanoids, and phenolic acids, the most abundant of which was resveratrol. Enrichment analysis of SP targets against myocardial ischemia revealed that key candidate targets of SP were significantly enriched in multiple pathways associated with apoptosis. Resveratrol was administered to the successfully modeled rats, and the results showed that the resveratrol group significantly decreased left ventricular end-diastolic diameter and left ventricular end-systolic diameter and significantly increased ejection fraction and fractional shortening in all groups compared with the model group. Resveratrol significantly decreased the levels of creatine kinase isoenzyme and lactate dehydrogenase in serum compared to the model group (P < 0.001). Hematoxylin-eosin staining of rat myocardial tissue showed that all lesions were reduced under microscopic observation in the resveratrol group compared with the model group. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot results showed that the resveratrol group downregulated the expression of the proapoptotic factor Bax, upregulated the expression of the antiapoptotic factor Bcl-2, and decreased the expression of Caspase-3. The established fingerprints are accurate, reliable, and reproducible and can be used as an effective method for quality control of the herbs. The anti-myocardial ischemia effect of SP is that resveratrol improves cardiac function and inhibits cardiomyocyte apoptosis to protect cardiomyocytes. The present study provides ample evidence for the clinical use of SP, suggesting that this drug has great potential in the treatment of ischemic heart disease.

Systematic profiling of the effective ingredients and mechanism of Scabiosa comosa and S. tschilliensis against hepatic fibrosis combined with network pharmacology.

Scabiosa comosa and S. tschilliensis (SCST) are traditionally used for liver diseases in Mongolian medicine. However, their active ingredients and molecular mechanisms are unknown. The present study employed network pharmacology and experimental verification approaches to decipher the common pharmacological mechanisms of SCST on liver fibrosis, which is the key step in liver diseases. We predicted the targets of all available SCST ingredients with the SWISS and SuperPred servers and clustered the targets related to liver fibrosis from DrugBank, the OMIM database and the literature. We further evaluated the links between the herbal ingredients and pharmacological actions to explore the potential mechanism of action of SCST. We found that the PPARG signalling pathway could be regulated by SCST for liver fibrosis through enrichment analysis. The key targets included 8 co-targets, including HSP90AA1, PPARG, HSP90AB1, STAT1, etc., which play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. Additionally, the top 15 key compounds included flavonoids and phenylpropanoids. Central to the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis is trans-differentiation or activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Therefore, LX2 cells, an immortalized human HSC line, were studied. Here, a total 37 components were isolated and identified from the inflorescences of SCST, including the new compound tschilliensisin, and the first separated components, ß-sitosterol and luteolin, and these compounds were assessed against anti-hepatic fibrosis. An MTT assay and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting analyses demonstrated that the flavonoids of SCST revealed anti-hepatic fibrosis effects via anti-proliferation and increases in the Stat1, Pparg, Hsp90aa1 genes and STAT1 and PPARG proteins in LX-2 cells. In conclusion, these results indicate that SCST has multi-targeted and multi-component synergistic anti-hepatic fibrosis effects.

Applying Four-Step Characteristic Ion Filtering with HPLC-Q-Exactive MS/MS Spectrometer Approach for Rapid Compound Structures Characterization and Major Representative Components Quantification in Modified Tabusen-2 Decoction.

Modified Tabusen-2 decoction (MTBD) is traditional Chinese Mongolia medicine, mainly used to treat osteoporosis. However, the precise material basis of this prescription is not yet fully elucidated. Herein, we establish an HPLC-Q-Exactive MS/MS spectrometer method with four-step characteristic ion filtering (FSCIF) strategy to quickly and effectively identify the structural features of MTBD and determine the representative compounds content. The FSCIF strategy included database establishment, characteristic ions summarization, neutral loss fragments screening, and secondary mass spectrum fragment matching four steps. By using this strategy, a total of 143 compounds were unambiguously or tentatively annotated, including 5 compounds which were first reported in MTBD. Nineteen representative components were simultaneously quantified with the HPLC-Q-Exactive MS/MS spectrometer, and it is suitable for eight batches of MTBD. Methodology analysis showed that the assay method had good repeatability, accuracy, and stability. The method established above was successfully applied to assess the quality of MTBD extracts. Collectively, our findings enhance our molecular understanding of the MTBD formulation and will allow us to control its quality in a better way. At the same time, this study can promote the development and utilization of ethnic medicine.

The Interventional Effects of Tubson-2 Decoction on Ovariectomized Rats as Determined by a Combination of Network Pharmacology and Metabolomics.

Post-menopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) is associated with estrogen deficiency and worldwide, is becoming increasingly more prevalent in aging women. Various anti-PMOP drugs have been developed to reduce the burden of PMOP; generally, these drugs are efficacious, but with some adverse side effects. Tubson-2 decoction (TBD), a popular traditional Mongolian medicine, has been used to treat PMOP for centuries. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the action of TBD on PMOP have yet to be fully elucidated. Herein, we combined network pharmacology with untargeted metabolomics to identify the key targets and metabolic pathways associated with the interventional effects of TBD on ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Furthermore, we investigated the bone histomorphometry of eight different groups of rats to evaluate the therapeutic effect of TBD. First, we established a TBD-target/PMOP network via network pharmacology; this network identified three key protein targets-vitamin D receptor (VDR), cytochrome P450 19A1 (CYP19A1), and 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD11B1). Morphological analysis showed that severe impairment of the bone micro-architecture in OVX rats could be improved by TBD administration. The TBD-treated rats had a significantly lower bone surface-to-tissue volume (BS/TV) and a significantly smaller trabecular separation (Tb·Sp.) (P<0.05) than the OVX rats; in contrast, bone volume fraction (BVF), trabecular thickness (Tb·Th.), trabecular number (Tb·N.), and bone mineral density (BMD) were significantly higher in the TBD-treated rats (P<0.05). Multivariate and univariate analysis showed that OVX resulted in significant alterations in the concentrations of 105 metabolites and 11 metabolic pathways (P<0.05); in addition, 26 potential biomarkers were identified to investigate the progression of PMOP. Network pharmacology showed that major alterations in vitamin B6 metabolism were associated with the VDR target. Next, we validated the three crucial targets (VDR [P<0.01], HSD11B1 [P<0.01], and CYP19A1 [P<0.05]) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and demonstrated that the levels of these targets were elevated in the OVX group but reduced in the TBD-treatment group. Collectively, our results suggest that the interventional effects of TBD on OVX rats are likely to be associated with the down regulation of VDR. Our findings enhance our molecular understanding of the interventional effects of TBD on PMOP and will allow us to develop further TBD studies.

Pharmacokinetics study of 16 active ingredients from Tabson-2 decoction in normal and d-galactose induced osteoporosis rats by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Tabson-2 decoction is the traditional Mongolian formula for anti-osteoporosis, and the ambiguous of active ingredient is an important factor in restricting its modernization and globalization. Although pharmacokinetic profiles research is a viable approach to find the components being responsible for formula efficacy, the pharmacokinetics study of Tabson-2 decoction has not been elucidated yet. Owing to the existence of isomers, low bioavailability of some small molecule and interference of endogenous, the pharmacokinetics study of Tabson-2 decoction are more difficult than that of chemical drugs. In our experiment, a specific and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of 16 active ingredients in Tabson-2 decoction, which could fulfill the requirements of multi-compounds pharmacokinetic study of Tabson-2 decoction. Additionally, the ingredients with significant distributions in rats were gentianic acid, chlorogenic acid, and aucubin, which could be the main potential active components in Tabson-2 decoction. The components with a significant bioavailability difference between normal and d-galactose induced osteoporosis rats were achieved as well. These data offer useful information for screening the active ingredients in Tabson-2 decoction, and assessing the bioavailability of these active ingredients in different physiological status, which might provide a possible mechanism of anti-osteoporosis efficacy of Tabson-2 decoction.

Metabolomics profiling reveals Echinops latifolius Tausch improves the trabecular micro-architecture of ovariectomized rats mainly via intervening amino acids and glycerophospholipids metabolism.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Echinops latifolius Tausch (ELT) is traditional Mongolian medicine in China, and often used to against osteoporosis, strengthen tendons and bones, clear bones heat. AIM OF THE STUDY: To study efficacy of ELT on ovariectomized (OVX) rats and underly metabolic pathways related to trabecular micro-architecture changing of OVX. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three-month-old female Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 6) including normal group (without surgery), sham group (bilateral laparotomy), OVX group (bilateral ovariectomy), and ELT-treated groups (ELT-treated after bilateral ovariectomy). The effects of ELT on trabecular micro-architecture and biochemical markers of OVX rat were investigated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry machine and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Untargeted metabolomics strategy was applied to discover the potential biomarkers and related metabolic pathways involving the progression of OVX-induced osteoporosis. RESULTS: The trabecular micro-architecture and biochemical markers of OVX rats were improved by ELT. We found 36 potential biomarkers and 21 related metabolic pathways were involved in progression of OVX-induced osteoporosis. Amino acids metabolism and glycerophospholipids metabolism were mainly intervened in ELT treatment on ovariectomized rats. The disordered amino acids and glycerophospholipids metabolism closely related to the imbalance between bone resorption and formation were reversed by administration of ELT, indicating that the influences of ELT on OVX rats' trabecular micro-architecture may possible be associated with intervening amino acids and glycerophospholipids metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: This approach may provide the metabolomic perspective to link metabolic alterations and anti-osteoporosis action of ELT, to further explain how ELT works in postmenopausal patients with bone loss.

Simultaneous Quantitative Analysis of Q-Marker with One Single Reference in Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) studies, it is difficult to choose evaluation markers for the strict quality control of herbs. A high performance liquid chromatography coupled with metabolomics for simultaneous quantitative analysis of quality markers (Q-markers) in Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch was established, which could not only ensure the quality and batch-to-batch consistency of TCMs, but also achieve a quantitative analysis of multi-components by the single reference standard. Based on the construction of chromatographic profiles by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and HPLC-Q-Exactive/MS methods, different multivariate analyses were employed. Seven quantitative indices were selected as the Q-markers, and a reliable quantification method was established. The quantitative method was acceptable with good linearity with correlation coefficients >0.9993 and satisfactory repeatability (relative standard deviation (RSD) < 0.05%), precision (RSD < 0.24%), reproducibility (RSD < 0.97%), stability (RSD < 2.52%) and recoveries (96.96%-98.52%, RSD < 3.24%), and no significant differences were observed between the external standard method and the new method as determined by calculating standard method difference. Overall, the study suggests that the simultaneous quantitative analysis of main Q-marker in G. uralensis Fisch with one single marker can be considered good quality criteria for performing quality control of G. uralensis Fisch.

Understanding the Multitarget Pharmacological Mechanism of the Traditional Mongolian Common Herb Pair GuangZao-RouDouKou Acting on Coronary Heart Disease Based on a Bioinformatics Approach.

GuangZao and RouDouKou (Fructus Choerospondiatis and Nutmeg, FCN) are one of the most common herb pairs in traditional Mongolian medicine for the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, evidence for the protective effect of FCN is limited, and its underlying mechanism of action remains unclear. The present study employed a network pharmacology approach to identify the potentially active ingredients and synergistic effects of the herb pair FCN as traditional Mongolian medicine. We predicted the targets of all available FCN ingredients with PharmMapper, SWISS, and SuperPred Server and clustered CHD-related targets from the DrugBank and the OMIM database. We also evaluated the links between herbal ingredients and pharmacological actions to explore the potential mechanism of action of FCN. We found that FCN targets a network of CHD-related key processes, including stress responses, cell adhesion and connections, angiogenesis, cell apoptosis and necrosis, the endocrine system, inflammatory and immune responses, and other biological processes. To confirm the predicted results, we investigated the protective effect of FCN on isoproterenol- (ISO-) induced myocardial ischemia in rats. Pathological assessment indicated that FCN inhibits apoptosis and inflammatory responses involving the myocardium. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting analyses demonstrated the therapeutic effects of FCN on ISO-induced myocardial ischemia rats, possibly via regulating stress and inflammatory responses and inhibiting cardiomyocyte apoptosis. The findings of the present study indicate that bioinformatics combined with experimental verification provide a credible and objective method to elucidate the complex multitarget mechanism of action of FCN.

[Research progress of serum pharmacochemistry of traditional Chinese medicine].

Serum pharmacochemistry of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is an effective method to rapidly screen the effective substances and reveal the compatibility law of compound by identification and analysis of constituents migrating to blood after oral administration. In the last two decades, it has been universally accepted and widely applied in the field. With the cross-fusion with other disciplines, such as serum pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, metabolomics, network pharmacology and systems biology, serum pharmacochemistry shows comprehensive superiority in explaining drug changes in vivo and in vitro, interactions between drugs, interactions between drug and body, which coincides with the complexity of TCM compatibility, multi-components, multi-targets and multi-mechanisms. Based on the references related with the serum pharmacochemistry from CNKI scholar and Pubmed in 2013-2016, the research results of serum pharmacochemistry were statistically analyzed, and the key technical problems during the study of serum pharmacochemistry, for example, preparation of test sample, selection of experimental animal, determination of drug delivery scheme, method and time of the adoption blood, preparation and pretreatment of blood sample, as well as analysis of constituents migrating to blood, and the solving ways were empirically introduced. In addition, the development and comprehensive application of serum pharmacochemistry in TCM were summarized in this paper, hoping to lay a foundation for the further application of this method in TCM research.

[Chemical constituents from flowers of Scabiosa tschilliensis].

Twenty-two compounds were isolated from the flowers of Scabiosa tschilliensis. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic methods as octacosanol (1), stearic acid (2), ß-sitosterol (3), oleanolic acid (4), apigenin (5), luteolin (6), daucosterol (7), kaempferol-3-O-ß-D-6-O-(p-hydroxycinnamoyl) -glucopyranoside (8), kaempferol-3-O-ß-D- (3, 6-di-p-(hydroxycinnamoyl) -glucopyranoside (9), apigenin-7-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (10), luteolin-4'-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (11), apigenin-7-O-rutinoside (12), luteolin-7-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (13), apigenin-4'-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (14), caffeic acid methyl ester (15), loganin (16), adenosine (17), luteolin-6-C-ß-D-glycopyranosyl (18), sweroside (19), sylvestrosides I (20), sylvestrosides II (21), urceolide (22). Among them, compounds 1, 2, 7-9, 12, 15, 17-18, 20-22 were isolated from the genus Scabiosa for the first time, and compounds 1-4, 6-9, 11-12, 14-22 were isolated from this plant for the first time. 13C-NMR data of 22 were reported for the first time.

Chemical constituents from Mongolian herb Syringa pinnatifolia var. alashanensis.

Two new sesquiterpenes, innatifolone A (1) and pinnatifolone B (2), along with 6 known compounds, furostan (3), isocalamendiol (4), pluviatolide (5), (8S,8'R,9S)-cubebin (6), 2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl)-3-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl) tetrahydrofuran (7), and methyl 3-acetoxy-12-oleanen-28-oate (8), were isolated from Mongolian herb Syringa pinnatifolia.

New steroidal glycosides from Hosta plantaginea (Lam.) Aschers.

Four new furostanol glycosides were isolated from the flowers of Hosta plantaginea (Lam.) Aschers. On the basis of spectroscopic methods including 1D and 2D NMR experiments, their structures were elucidated as 26-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(25R)-22-O-methyl-5α-furostan-2α,3ß,22ξ,26-tetrol 3-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 4)-O-ß-d-xylopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 3)-[O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 2)]-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 4)-ß-d-galactopyranoside (hostaplantagineoside A, 1), 26-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(25R)-5α-furostan-20(22)-ene-2α,3ß,26-triol-3-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 2)-[O-ß-d-xylopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 3)]-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 4)-ß-d-galactopyranoside (hostaplantagineoside B, 2), 26-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(25R)-5α-furostan-22(23)-ene-2α,3ß,20α,26-tetraol-3-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 2)-[O-ß-d-xylopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 3)]-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 4)-O-ß-d-galactopyranoside (hostaplantagineoside C, 3), 26-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(25R)-5α-furostan-20(22)-ene-2α,3ß,26-triol-3-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 4)-O-ß-d-xylopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 3)-[O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 2)]-O-ß-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 4)-ß-d-galactopyranoside (hostaplantagineoside D, 4).

[Chemical constituents from Myricaria alopecuroides].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chemical constituents in the leaves and branches of Myricaria alopecuroides. METHOD: Solvent extraction method was employed to extract and partition. The chemical constituents were isolated by column chromatography on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, highly porous resin HP-20. The structures of the compounds were elucidated on the basis of physiochemical properties and spectral analysis. RESULT: Eleven compounds were isolated from this plant and identified as ellagic acid 3,3',4-trimethylether (1), ellagic acid 3,3'-dimethylether (2), isorhamnetin (3), kaempferol (4), 3, 5-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzoic acid (5), daucosterol (6), 6,7,10-trihydroxy-8-octadecenoic acid (7), quercetin (8), gallic acid (9), palmitic acid (10), hexadecanoic acid, 2,3-dihydroxypropyl ester (11). CONCLUSION: Except 8 and 9, all compounds were isolated from M. alopecuroides for the first time. Compound 1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 11 were obtained from the genus Myricaria for the frist time.

[Chemical constituents from flowers of Chrysanthemum indicum].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chemical constituents of the flowers of Chrysanthemum indicum. METHOD: The chemical constituents were isolated by various column chromatographic methods. The structures were identified by spectral data. RESULT: Twelve compounds were isolated and identified as acacetin (1), tricin (2), 2',4'-dihydroxychalcone(3), 5-hydroxy-4',7-dimethoxyflavon(4),7hydroxyflavonone (5), isorhamnetin (6),5,6,7-trihydroxy- 3',4', 5'-trimethoxyflanon (7 ), quercetin (8) , (3 beta, 5 alpha, 6 beta, 7 beta, 14 beta)-eudesmen-3,5,6,11-tetrol (9), syringaresinol (10), liriodendrin (11), and genkwanin (12). CONCLUSION: Compounds 3-7, 10-12 were isolated from this species for the first time, and compounds 3, 5, 7, 10, 11 were obtained from genus Chrysanthemum for the first time.

[Studies on chemical constituents of leaves of Aquilaria sinensis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chemical constituents of the leaves of Aquilaria sinensis, and provide a certain of basis for the comprehensive uses of the plant of A. sinensis. METHOD: The chemical constituents were isolated by various column chromatographic method. The structures were identified by spectral analyses of NMR, MS, et al. RESULT: Thirteen compounds were isolated and identified as 7-hyroxy-5, 4'-dimethoxy flovone (1), 5-hydroxy-7, 4'-dimethoxy flavone (2), luteolin-7-3',4'-trimethyl (3), isocorydine (4), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (5), triacontenoic (6), hentriacontane (7), alpha-stigmasterol (8), epifriedelanol (9), friedelan (10), friedelin (11), genkwanin (12), 5, 4'-dihyroxy-7, 3'-dimethoxy flovone (13). CONCLUSION: Compound 4 was obtained from this genus for the first time, compounds 1, 6-11, 13 were obtained from this species for the first time.

Simultaneous determination of seven flavonoids in Potentilla multifida by HPLC.

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the simultaneous determination of seven flavonoids in Potentilla multifida: hyperin, quercetin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, luteolin-7-O-beta-D-glucuronide, apigenin-7-O-beta-D-glucuronide, quercetin, tribuloside, and apigenin. The method involves the use of a Hypersil octadecylsilyl silica (ODS) analytical column (125A, 5 microm, 4.6 x 250 mm) at 25 degrees C with the mixture of acetonitrile and aqueous H(3)PO(4) as the mobile phase and detection at 254 nm. The recovery of the method is 95.4-104.8%, and linearity (r > 0.9998) is obtained for all the flavonoids. The results indicate that the flavonoid content of P. multifida varied significantly from locality to locality.

[The megastigman glycosides from herb of Potentilla multifida].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chemical constituents of Potentilla multifida. METHOD: Various chromatographic techniques were employed for isolation and purification of the constituents. The structures were elucidated by spectral analysis. RESULT: Four megastigmane glycosides were isolated from P. multifida and their structures were identified as citroside A (1), icariside B1 (2), (6S,7E,9R)-roseoside (3), (6S,7E,9R)-vomifoliol-9-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->6)-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (4), respectively. CONCLUSION: All compounds were obtained from the genus Potentilla for the first time.

[Studies on the chemical constituents from Potentilla multifida L].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents of Potentilla multifida L. METHODS: Chemical constituents were isolated by the repeated silica gel chromatography and Sephadex LH-20, and their structures were identified by the spectral analysis. RESULTS: Five compounds were obtained as follows: 3beta,24-dihydroxyl-urs-12-ene (1), ursolic acid (2), euscaphic acid (3), tormentic acid (4), and epihedaragenin (5). CONCLUSION: Five compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time. Compounds 1 and 5 were isolated from this genus for the first time. Compound 1 was a new natural product.