ABSTRACT
Betel nut is the dry and mature seed of Areca catechu L., which is originated in Malaysia and cultivated in Yunnan, Hainan and Taiwan and other tropical areas of China. It is also known as big belly, binmen, olive seed, green seed and so on. Betel nut is a dual-use resource for medicine and food, which was first contained in LI Dang's Pharma?ceutical Record. Betel nut tastes bitter, pungent, warm in nature, and belongs to the stomach and large intestine meridian. It contains a variety of chemical components such as alkaloids, phenolic compounds, polysaccharides, fatty acids, amino acids, flavonoids, minerals, terpenoids, and steroids. It has the advantages of promoting digestion, lowering blood pres?sure, anti-depression, anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, and anti-parasites, antibacterial and other activities. The content of total phenols in fresh fruits of areca nut was 31.1％, mainly including catechin, isorhamnetin, chrysopanthoxanthin, luteolin, tannin and other polyphenols. The commonly used methods for determination of polyphenols in areca are vanil?lin titration potassium permanganate titration and potassium ferricyanide spectrophotometry. The main activities and mechanisms of areca polyphenols include: ① Antidepressant effect: polyphenols bind to monoamine oxidase type A (MAO-A) receptors that inhibit the production of neurotransmitters, thereby increasing the content of amine transmitters in the brain and playing a therapeutic effect on depression. ② Antioxidant effect: polyphenols contain multiple adjacent hydroxyl groups, which are easily oxidized and can effectively remove superoxide anion free radical, hydroxyl free radi?cal, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical, showing good antioxidant activity.③Bacteriostatic effect:polyphenols can spe?cifically bind to the surface of bacteria, thus achieving bacteriostatic effect. Studies have found that betel nut polyphenols have varying degrees of inhibitory effects on a variety of bacteria. ④ Inducing apoptosis of lymphocytes: polyphenols deplete the mercaptan in lymphocytes and make them unable to survive, thus inducing apoptosis of lymphocytes.⑤Anti-aging effect: polyphenols have the effect of anti-hyaluronidase and anti-elastase, so as to protect elastin fiber and pro?mote collagen synthesis.⑥Anti-allergic effect:studies have found that polyphenols can reduce ovalbumin induced aller?gic reactions.⑦Other functions:betel nut can freshen breath, eliminate bad breath, and resist the activity of cobra venom. At present, domestic and foreign scholars' research on betel nut mainly focuses on arecoline and its carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, effects on reproductive function, addiction and toxicity to the nervous system, and there are few studies on the positive effects of betel nut, especially on it. There is less research on phenolic ingredients. Therefore, this article reviews the polyphenolic chemical constituents of betel nut, and fully excavates its pharmacological activity to provide a reasonable basis for the scientific use of betel nut.
ABSTRACT
The morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases are very high, which has attracted more and more attention all over the world. Common treatment methods for clinical treatment of acute myocardial infarction include direct percutaneous coronary intervention and coronary artery bypass grafting, which can quickly restore blocked coronary blood flow and reduce the infarct size. However, the inevitable ischemia/reperfusion injury will occur during the recovery of coronary blood flow, its pathological mechanism is complicated, and the Western medicine countermeasures are very limited. Among the current drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, traditional Chinese medicine has become a research hotspot due to its multiple targets, safety, and low side effects. Ginger is the fresh rhizome of Zingiber offici?nale Rosc., a perennial herbaceous plant in the ginger family. It is a dual-purpose resource of medicine and food. Ginger has the functions of relieving the appearance and dispelling cold, warming up and relieving vomiting, resolving phlegm and relieving cough, and relieving fish and crab poison. The chemical components of ginger mainly include volatile oil, gingerol, diphenylheptane, etc.. Among them, 6-gingerol, as the main active component of gingerols, has obvious phar?macological effects in myocardial protection, anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, etc.. Studies have shown that 6-gingerol protects myocardium mainly through anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammatory, inhibiting cell apoptosis, and preventing cal?cium influx. ① Anti-oxidative stress: oxidative stress is a state where oxidation and anti-oxidation in the body are out of balance, and it is also an important factor leading to myocardial damage. Many studies have confirmed that 6-gingerol has an antioxidant effect, and it is considered a natural antioxidant. 6-gingerol can significantly reduce the degree of oxi?dative stress and the level of reactive oxygen species caused by cardiomyocyte damage, and has a significant cardiopro?tective effect. ② Anti-inflammatory: inflammation can cause substantial cell damage and organ dysfunction, which is another important cause of myocardial damage. 6-gingerol can reduce the levels of inflammatory factors such as inter?leukin-6, interleukin-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-αin cardiomyocytes, and at the same time inhibit the TLR4/NF-κB sig?naling pathway, an important regulatory pathway of inflammation, showing that it may improve myocardial damage through anti-inflammatory effects. ③ Inhibition of apoptosis: apoptosis is a complex and orderly process in the autono?mous biochemical process of cells, and one of the main mechanisms of myocardial injury. This process can be roughly divided into three pathways: mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and death receptors. Among them, the mitochondrial pathway plays an important role, and Bcl-2 and Bax located upstream of this pathway can regulate the entire process of cell apoptosis by regulating the permeability of the mitochondrial membrane. Studies have found that the preventive application of 6-gingerol can reduce cell damage, reduce the number of apoptotic cells, reduce the activity of Bax and caspase-3, and increase the expression of Bcl-2. Therefore, 6-gingerol pretreatment can reduce the damage of cardio?myocytes, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of apoptosis.④Prevent calcium influx:calcium overload is involved in the pathogenesis of myocardial ischemic injury, which may be related to excessive contracture, arrhythmia, and mitochondrial Ca2+accumulation that impairs myocardial function. 6-gingerol inhibits the increase of intracellular Ca2+concentration by inhibiting L-type calcium current, thereby reducing extracellular Ca2+ influx, thereby avoiding calcium overload and playing a cardioprotective effect. In summary, 6-gingerol can effectively treat and improve myocardial isch?emia/reperfusion injury, and it has great development potential in the fields of medicine and health products.