From Pharmacognosia to DNA-Based Medicinal Plant Authentication - Pharmacognosy through the Centuries.

For centuries, pharmacognosy was essential for the identification, quality, purity, and, until the end of the 18th century, even for the efficacy of medicinal plants. Since the 19th century, it concentrated on authenticity, purity, quality and the analysis of active substances, and was established as an academic branch discipline within pharmacy and continuously developed into a modern, highly sophisticated science. Even though the paradigm in pharmacy changed in the 19th century with the discovery of morphine and concentrated on single substances that could be synthesized fast by the upcoming industry, medicinal plants always remained an important element of the Materia medica, and during the last decades, medicinal plants continue to be a source of remedies, and natural products are an inspiration for new medicine. In this research, pharmacognostic skills remain an essential element, both with regards to identity, quality assurance of botanicals (both herbal medicines and supplements), and the discovery and development of new medicines. Over the years, the specific pharmacognostical tools have changed dramatically, and most recently, DNA-based techniques have become another element of our spectrum of scientific methods.

The relevance of pharmacognosy in pharmacological research on herbal medicinal products.

As all medicines, herbal medicinal products are expected to be safe, effective, and of appropriate quality. However, regulations on herbal medicinal products vary from country to country, and herbal preparations do occur not only in the form of medicinal products but also as less strictly regulated product groups like dietary supplements. Therefore, it is not always easy for the consumers to discriminate high-quality products from low-quality products. On the other hand, herbal medicines have many special features that distinguish them from conventional medicinal products. Plants are complex multicomponent mixtures; in addition, their phytochemical composition is not constant because of inherent variability and a plethora of external influences. Therefore, the production process of an herbal medicinal product needs to be strictly monitored. First of all, the starting materials need to be correctly authenticated and free of adulterants and contaminants. During plant growth, many factors like harvest season and time, developmental stage, temperature, and humidity have a strong impact on plant metabolite production. Also, postharvest processing steps like drying and storage can significantly alter the phytochemical composition of herbal material. As the production of many phytopharmaceuticals includes an extraction step, the extraction solvent and conditions need to be optimized in order to enrich the bioactive constituents in the extract. The quality of finished preparations needs to be determined either on the basis of marker constituents or on the basis of analytical fingerprints. Thus, all production stages should be accompanied by appropriate quality assessment measures. Depending on the particular task, different methods need to be applied, ranging from macroscopic, microscopic, and DNA-based authentication methods to spectroscopic methods like vibrational spectroscopy and chromatographic and hyphenated methods like HPLC, GC-MS and LC-MS. Also, when performing pharmacological and toxicological studies, many features inherent in herbal medicinal products need to be considered in order to guarantee valid results: concerning in vitro studies, difficulties are often related to lacking knowledge of ADME characteristics of the bioactive constituents, nuisance compounds producing false positive and false negative results, and solubility problems. In in vivo animal studies, the route of administration is a very important issue. Clinical trials on herbal medicinal products in humans very often suffer from a poor reporting quality. This often hampers or precludes the pooling of clinical data for systematic reviews. In order to overcome this problem, appropriate documentation standards for clinical trials on herbal medicinal products have been defined in an extension of the CONSORT checklist. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Botanicals for Epilepsy".

Interacciones entre preparados vegetales y fármacos de síntesis: revisión de las monografías de la EMA y ESCOP / Interacções entre preparações à base de plantas e fármacos de síntese: uma revisão das monografias da ema e eScoP / A tamareira e a palmeira das ilhas canárias na medicina tradicional de espanha / Interactions between herbal preparations and synthetic drugs: a review of the monographs of the EMA and ESCOP

El uso racional de la Fitoterapia se asienta en los requisitos de calidad, seguridad y eficacia. Uno de los aspectos que más preocupan al profesional de la salud es conocer las posibles interacciones entre los preparados a base de plantas medicinales y los fármacos de síntesis, especialmente los que tienen un margen terapéutico más estrecho, como los anticoagulantes y los inmunosupresores. Aunque existen multitud de publicaciones sobre el tema, los resultados que ofrecen son a menudo contradictorios y no siempre están basados en evidencias clínicas. En este trabajo mostramos las interacciones descritas en las monografías de referencia en la actualidad: las de la EMA (Agencia Europea del Medicamento) y de ESCOP (European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy), que ofrecen datos relevantes desde el punto de vista clínico, tanto en lo que respecta a indicaciones como a precauciones. Su análisis nos muestra que el número de drogas vegetales que interaccionan con medicamentos es relativamente bajo (menos del 25%) y que las interacciones más frecuentes son con anticoagulantes, corticoides, cardiotónicos, antiarrítmicos, benzodiazepinas, antidepresivos y antivirales. Las drogas y preparados vegetales que muestran un nivel significativo de interacciones son la sumidad de hipérico, los laxantes hidroxiantracénicos, las drogas con mucílagos, la raíz de regaliz, las drogas con taninos, el bulbo de ajo, la hoja de ginkgo y la raíz de ginseng (AU)

The rational Phytotherapy is based on the requirements of quality, safety and efficacy. A major concern of the health care professional is the potential interactions between the herbal preparations and synthetic drugs, especially those with a narrow therapeutic margin, such as anticoagulants and immunosuppressants. Although there are many publications on the subject, the results they provide are often contradictory and they are not always based on clinical evidence. The present paper presents the interactions described in the today’s monographs of reference: those of EMA (European Medicines Agency) and ESCOP (European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy), which provide clinically relevant information both regarding indications and precautions. Their analysis shows that the number of herbal drugs that interact with synthetic drugs is relatively low (below 25%) and that the most frequent interactions are with anticoagulants, corticosteroids, cardiac glycosides, antiarrhythmics, benzodiazepines, antidepressants and antivirals. Herbal drugs and preparations that show a significant level of interactions are: Saint John’s wort, hydroxyanthracene laxatives, mucilage containing preparations, licorice preparations, tannin containing herbal drugs, garlic, ginkgo leaf and ginseng root (AU)

O uso racional da Fitoterapia baseia-se nos requisitos de qualidade, segurança e eficácia. Um dos aspectos que mais preocupam os profissionais de saúde é conhecer as possíveis interacções entre os produtos à base de plantas medicinais e os fármacos de síntese, especialmente aqueles com uma margem terapêutica estreita, tais como os anticoagulantes e os imunossupressores. Embora existam muitas publicações sobre o assunto, os resultados que fornecem são muitas vezes contraditórios e nem sempre são baseados em evidências clínicas. Este trabalho apresenta as interacções descritas nas monografias actualmente reconhecidas como sendo monografias de refe-rência: as da EMA (Agência Europeia do Medicamento) e da ESCOP (European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy), que disponibilizam informações relevantes do ponto de vista clínico, tanto relativamente a indicações terapêuticas como a precauções de utilização. A análise mostra que o número de fármacos vegetais que interagem com medicamentos é relativamente baixo (inferior a 25%) e que as interacções mais frequentes são com anticoagulantes, corticosteroides, cardiotónicos, antiarrítmicos, benzodiazepinas, antidepres-sivos e antivíricos. Os fármacos e preparações de origem vegetal que apresentam um nível significativo de interacções são as sumidades floridas de hipericão, os laxantes hidroxiantracénicos, os fármacos com mucilagens, as preparações de alcaçuz, os fármacos com taninos, o bolbo de alho, a folha de ginkgo e a raiz de ginseng

[Study on quality standard for mori cortex].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a new evaluation model and compare the differences of Mori Cortex from different habitats at different harvest time. METHODS: TLC method was used to identify sanggenon D in the sample with silica gel G plate and a mixture of chloroform-methanol-formic acid (5: 1:0. 3) as a developing solvent. UV was used for determination the centent of total flavonoids of Mori Cortex with sanggenon C as the reference substance. HPLC was applied for determination the contents of sanggenons C, D and DNJ of Mori Cortex. RESULTS: In the TLC chromatogram, sanggenon D showed a distinct fluorescence spot under UV 365 nm with good separation. In UV, sanggenon C calibration curve showed a good linear relationship at the range of 146.8 - 734.0 microg/mL, the average recovery was 97.4% (RSD = 2.1%); For the HPLC quantitation method, sanggenons C, D and DNJ showed good linear within the scope of 700 - 4 000 microg, 500 - 3 000 microg and 4.8 - 96 microg, respectively. The average recovery of sanggenons C, D and DNJ were 98.8% (RSD = 2.6%), 99.1% (RSD = 2.2%) and 98.9% (RSD = 1.7%), respectively. The contents of index components in samples from different habitats at different harvest time were different. CONCLUSION: The established method is reliable and accurate. It can be used for quality control of Mori Cortex.

[The standard operating procedure of the standardization breeding for Poecilobdella manillensis].

OBJECTIVE: To prepare Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the artificial breeding technology of Poecilobdella manillensi. METHODS: The environment of producing area and breeding technology, the control of diseases, reserving seeds for breeding, harvesting and processing,the standard of the product quality and supervision for the standardization breeding of Poecilobdella Manillensis was studied. RESULTS: The average yield of vital specimen of Poecilobdella Manillensis was 420.88 kg/mu, the natural hirudin in 1kg of the living specimen of Poecilobdella Manillensis contained 430,000 AT-U, and the quality index and hygienic standard of all products complied with the regulations and standards of the State. CONCLUSION: SOP is applicable for the breeding of Poecilobdella manillensi for Guangxi district.

La colección de drogas vegetales del Museo de Historia de la Farmacia “Prof. José Mª Suñé Arbussᔠde Granada / Drug plant collection of The museum of History of Pharmacy

La colección de drogas vegetales está compuesta por una serie de 663 botes grandes de vidrio y conteniendo ambos drogas vegetales procedentes de la antigua Cátedra de Farmacognosia de la Facultad de Farmacia de Granada. Catalogado dentro de los fondos del Museo “Profesor José Mª Suñé Abrussà” como material docente de la propia Facultad de Farmacia, forma una colección interesante desde el punto de vista científico-farmacéutico y de alto valor estético. El objetivo del trabajo es dar a conocer esta importante colección, sistematizar el diverso contenido y proceder a su catalogación en el Museo(AU)

The collection of drug plants is composed of a series of 663 large glass jars containing both herbal drugs from the former Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Granada. Cataloged in the Museum's "Professor José Mª Suñé Abrussà" as teaching material it self Faculty of Pharmacy, is an interesting collection from the scientific point of view, high-value pharmaceutical estético. El paper aims to present this important collection, systematize the different contents and proceed to their classification in the Museum(AU)

[Determination of the total content of astragaloside IV in Radix Astragali].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the total content of astragaloside IV in Radix Astragali. METHODS: The measurement conditions were used as follows: Irregular C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) column; mobile phase: acetonitrile-water (32:68); flow rate: 1.0 ml/min; detector: ELSD 2000; the temperature of drift tube: 100 degrees C; gas flow: 2.7 L/min. RESULTS: Eight batches of Radix Astragali from different sources were determined. The stability, precision and reproducibility of the method were studied, RSD <3%. CONCLUSION: There is great difference between the content of astragaloside IV in Radix Astragali by different processing methods.

[Study on quality specification of Rhizoma et Radix Valeriana Jatamansi].

OBJECTIVE: To provide scientific basis for the utilization and development of Valeriana jatamansi by setting up the quality control specification of V. jatamansi. METHOD: The pharmacognostical methods were applied. The extract of V. jatamansi was examined. Moisture and ash were determined. And the bioactive constituents were analyzed by TLC and HPLC. RESULT: The morphological and histological characters of V. jatamansi were observed. Content of total ash, acid-insoluble ash, and moisture of 15 samples from different habitats and times were determined. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of valtrate and acevaltrate by TLC and HPLC were preformed respectively. CONCLUSION: The established method can be used for the quality control of V. jatamans.

Pharmacognostic standardization of Turnera aphrodisiaca Ward.

Turnera aphrodisiaca Ward (Turneraceae) has been used traditionally as an aphrodisiac, stimulant, nerve tonic, and laxative and in kidney, menstrual, and pregnancy disorders. Despite a long tradition of use in the treatment of various ailments, no systematic phytochemical and pharmacological work has ever been carried out on T. aphrodisiaca. The authors suggest that the major stumbling block in systematic exploration of the plant is non-availability of authentic plant material. In the present investigation, various pharmacognostic standards for the plant have been generated so that authentic T. aphrodisiaca could be explored for its traditional claims. Microscopically, T. aphrodisiaca leaf showed the presence of abundant unicellular, warty, non-glandular trichomes, anomocytic stomata, and a large number of calcium oxalate crystals along the veins. Powdered stem of the plant showed lignified spiral and pitted tracheidal vessels, and pericyclic fibers were observed in powder microscopy of stem. Total ash of the aerial parts of T. aphrodisiaca was approximately eight and four times more than acid-insoluble and water-soluble ash, respectively. The water-soluble extractive value of the plant was slightly higher than its ethanol-soluble extractive value. Volatile oil content of T. aphrodisiaca was found to be 0.44% (wt/vol), the thin-layer chromatography of which exhibited seven spots using toluene:ethyl acetate (93:7 vol/vol) as mobile phase. Thin-layer chromatography of the petroleum ether extract showed nine spots using hexane:dichloromethane (1:1 vol/vol), while the chloroform extract showed 11 spots using toluene:ethyl acetate:glacial acetic acid (35:4:1 by volume). Phytochemically, the plant was found to contain alkaloids, cyanogenic glycosides, steroids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins, carbohydrates, and proteins.

[Discussion on criterions of endanger and protection levels of traditional Chinese medicine herbs].

To efficiently protect the endangered traditional Chinese medicine herbs is essential for the sustainable development of traditional Chinese medicine. On the bases of present species endanger and protection levels, problems in the traditional Chinese medicine herbs are analyzed. The endangered levels of traditional Chinese medicine herbs should refer to the standard of IUCN, and the protection levels should adopt qualitative and quantitative analysis based on the characteristic of traditional Chinese medicine herbs. Some qualitative and quantitative factors are discussed, some useful information was also provided for the establishment of protection levels of traditional Chinese medicine herbs.

[A study on quality standard for Herba Siegesbeckidae].

OBJECTIVE: To establish the qualitative and quantitative methods of Herba Siegesbeckiae. METHOD: A TLC method was used for qualitative identification and a HPLC analysis was applied for quantitative determination of Herba Siegesbeckiae with kirenol as the reference substances. RESULT: Chloroform-methanol-formic acid (25:5:1) as a mobile phase of TLC, the spot of kirenol can be easily detected; Methanol extracts of Herba Siegebeckiae were separated on a Polaris C18 column with acetonitrile-water (25:75) as mobile phase and kirenol was separated well. The average content of kirenol in Herba Siegebeckiae was 0.14%. A good linear relationship between the peak areas and injected amounts of kirenol in the range of 0.19-14.9 microg and the average recovery was 100.0% (RSD = 2.4%). CONCLUSION: The method can be used for qualitative identification and quantitation determination of Herba Siegesbeckiae.

[Chemical pattern recognition of traditional Chinese medicine xixin (I)].

In this paper, three species of traditional Chinese medicine Xixin (Asarum heterotropoides Fr. var. mandshuricum (Maxim.) kitag, Asarum sieboldii Miq. var. seoulense Nakai and Asarum sieboldii Miq.) were identified by means of chemical pattern recognition, with 26 samples as training set and 19 samples as test set. The numerical characteristic features for identification were obtained from GC-MS analysis of volatile oils, all of obtained data were treated with PRIMA (Pattern Recognition by Independent Multivariate Analysis), thus computerized classification of Xixin samples was accomplished. The results agree with those from pharmacognosy. As a new method, chemical pattern recognition is especially suitable for identification of a large number of traditional Chinese medicine samples.