Furfural Derivatives and Phenolic Constituents in Stemona tuberosa Lour.

Chemical investigation on the water-soluble constituents of Stemona tuberosa Lour. resulted in the isolation of a previously undescribed furfural derivative namely (S)-5-((R)-hydroxy(5-(hydroxymethyl)furan-2-yl)methyl)-5-methylfuran-2(5H)-one and twenty-five known compounds from the water decoction of the dried root tubers. Their structures were determined by analysis of the extensive spectroscopic data, including 1D/2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS, and ORD, as well as the ECD simulation and comparison. Most of them were phenolic and among them, four compounds were isolated from Stemona plants for the first time. This study uncovers diverse constituents from water decoction of S. tuberosa dedicated for its quality control and allows for the exploitation of chemical markers with potential significance for discrimination of Stemona plants.

[Mechanism of Euodiae Fructus stir-fried with water decoction of Coptidis Rhizoma in treatment of chronic colitis based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, network pharmacology and experimental verification].

To elucidate the mechanism of Euodiae Fructus stir-fried with water decoction of Coptidis Rhizoma in the treatment of chronic colitis, this study employed ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS), network pharmacology, and experimental verification to predict the involved targets and signaling pathways. The chronic colitis mouse model was constructed to verify the core targets. A total of 48 compounds in the herbal medicine were identified by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. SwissTargetPrediction was used to screen the potential active components and drug targets. GeneCards, OMIM, PharmGKB, and TDD were used to search for the disease targets. A total of 31 active ingredients, 453 targets of the herbal medicine, and 3 960 targets of chronic colitis were obtained. The common targets shared by the herbal medicine and chronic colitis were introduced into STRING to construct the protein-protein interaction(PPI) network, and CytoNCA plug-in was used to screen the key targets. A total of 90 key targets were obtained, and the key active components included isorhamnetin, quercetin, limonin, and oxyberberine. GO annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment for the key targets were carried out via DAVID. The targets were mainly involved in the positive regulation of protein phosphorylation, positive regulation of nitric oxide biosynthetic process, and negative regulation of apoptotic process. The medicine may treat chronic colitis through PI3 K-Akt, VEGF, HIF-1, and TNF signaling pathways. A mouse model of chronic colitis was established and then treated with Euodiae Fructus stir-fried with the water decoction of Coptidis Rhizoma. The experimental results demonstrated that the medicine can alleviate the pathological damage of colon, significantly reduce the levels of IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α, inhibit the activation of PI3 K/Akt pathway, and down-regulate the expression of VEGFA in the treatment of chronic colitis.

Ephedra water decoction and cough tablets containing ephedra and liquorice induce CYP1A2 but not CYP2E1 hepatic enzymes in rats.

1. Ephedra water decoction (EWD) and cough tablets containing ephedra and liquorice (maxing cough tablets, MXCT) have been widely used in the treatment of asthma. In the clinic, EWD and MXCT may be prescribed with theophylline, one of the most popular antiasthmatic drugs. CYP1A2 and CYP2E1 are mainly involved in the oxidative metabolism of theophylline in human liver. Drug interactions involving the cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoforms generally are of two types: enzyme induction or enzyme inhibition. Enzyme inhibition reduces metabolism, whereas induction can increase it. 2. To evaluate the pretreatment effect of EWD and MXCT on CYP1A2 and CYP2E1, CYP1A2 and CYP2E1 activity, the protein expression and mRNA expression levels were determined. After pretreatment with EWD or MXCT, the enzyme activity, mRNA expression and protein expression of CYP1A2 were increased significantly (p < 0.05), but enzyme activity of CYP2E1 did not change compared with the control. 3. It was demonstrated that EWD or MXCT pretreatment obviously induced CYP1A2, therefore, in patients taking EWD or MXCT, possible CYP-induced drug interaction should be noted to decrease the risk of therapeutic failure or adverse effects resulting from the use of additional therapeutic agents.

Molecular clusters size of Puerariae thomsonii radix aqueous decoction and relevance to oral absorption.

The multi-component system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is very complicated. The clusters are dynamic aggregates whose molecules are held together by hydrogen-bonded, Van der Waals forces or the opposite charges of particles attract each other. In this paper, field emission scanning electron microscopy proved that molecules form clusters in Pueraria thomsonii Benth (Fenge) water decoction. Four kinds of Fenge water decoction, 0.07 g∙mL-1 (F-1), 0.1 g∙mL-1 (F-2), 0.17 g∙mL-1 (F-3), 0.35 g∙mL-1 (F-4); F-1, average diameter of molecular was about 120 nm; F-2, 195 nm; F-3, 256 nm; and F-4, 480 nm. The molecular size was shown to depend on concentration. Rabbits were given equal does of 2.8 g∙kg-1, to perfuse F-1, F-2, F-3, F-4 in volume of 80 mL, 56 mL, 33 mL, 17 mL, respectively. At 0-180 min to collect 2 mL blood from the rabbit ears middle arteries for metabolism fingerprints, the results show the particle size of molecular is smaller, the absorption of drugs is better instead. The acute blood stasis model rats were treatment with Fenge decoction of 1.5 g∙kg-1 for 14 days, the concentrations of Ang II in plasma were significantly lower in F-1 and F-2 groups than those in model group (p < 0.01 or p < 0.05), but there were no significantly difference in F-3 and F-4 groups than those in model group (p > 0.05). Despite the molecular aggregation is a common physical phenomenon, it influence on the kind and amount of molecule per unit volume. Molecules morphology influence on the absorption behavior of drugs in vivo therefore is to have an impact on pharmacological function.

Sesquiterpenoids and monoterpenoids from the water decoction of Valeriana officinalis L.

Nine previously undescribed compounds including three sesquiterpenoids, three iridoids, two monoterpenoids and a furan fatty acid, along with seventeen known ones, were isolated from the water decoction of roots and rhizomes of Valeriana officinalis L. Structure elucidation of the twenty-six compounds were accomplished by analysis of the extensive spectroscopic data, and the absolute configurations of the nine previously undescribed ones were established by NOESY experiment and the electronic circular dichroism (ECD) simulations. Among them, ß-patchoulene-8-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside, 11-methoxyl-viburtinal, and protocatechuic acid showed anti-neuroinflammatory potentials by significantly inhibiting the secretion of nitric oxide (NO) on BV-2 cells upon LPS stimulation (p < 0.001) without affecting the cell viability.