Compound Sophorae Decoction: treating ulcerative colitis by affecting multiple metabolic pathways / 中国天然药物

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic refractory non-specific intestinal inflammatory disease that is difficult to be cured. The discovery of new ulcerative colitis-related metabolite biomarkers may help further understand UC and facilitate early diagnosis. It may also provide a basis for explaining the mechanism of drug action in the treatment of UC. Compound Sophorae Decoction (CSD) is an empirical formula used in the clinical treatment of UC. Although it is known to be efficacious, its mechanism of action in the treatment of UC is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in endogenous substances in UC rats and the effects of CSD on metabolic pathways using the metabonomics approach. Metabolomics studies in rats with UC and normal rats were performed using LC-MS/MS. Rats with UC induced using TNBS enema were used as the study models. Metabolic profiling and pathway analysis of biomarkers was performed using statistical and pathway enrichment analyses. 36 screened potential biomarkers were found to be significantly different between the UC and the normal groups; it was also found that CSD could modulate the levels of these potential biomarkers. CSD was found to be efficacious in UC by regulating multiple metabolic pathways.

Plant Identification of Different Growth Forms of Justicia procumbens and Comparison of Their Chemical Components Content / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective: To identify two different growth types vertical growth (V-class) and lateral growth (L-class)) of Justicia procumbens, and compare the contents of chemical compounds between upper part and different organs. Method: DNA was extracted from the leaves of two growth forms of J. procumbens. Internal transcriptional spacer 2 (ITS2) and psbA-trnH sequences were obtained by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and bidirectional sequencing. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine the contents of justicidin B (JB) and chinensinaphthol methyl ether (CME) from the above-ground parts of V-class and L-class J. procumbens and their inflorescence,leaves,and stems. Independent sample T-test and Paired-sample T-test were used to compare the contents of JB and CME from two different growth forms of J. procumbens and their different organs. Result: The DNA sequences after shearing were shown to be identical between the V-class and L-class samples. Independent sample T-test showed no difference on the content of JB between the above-ground parts of V-class and L-class samples,but the content of CME was higher in V-class J. procumbens than L-class (PT-test showed that the content of JB and CME were different in the inflorescence,leaves,and stems of J. procumbens (PJ. procumbens was higher than that in L-class. Conclusion: DNA barcoding and comparison of JB and CME content indicated that the two different growth forms of J. procumbens belong to the same species. The contents of CME were different in J. procumbens between different growth forms,and was higher in V-class. Meanwhile,due to the little content of JB and CME in stems,the best picking time of J. procumbens is the flowering and fruiting period with more inflorescence and leaves.

The active substance of Rostellularia procunbens and its mechanism in inhibiting nephritis cell proliferation / 中成药

AIM To identify the active anti-chronic nephrotic substance of Rostellularia procunbens (L.) Nees,and to study its mechanism.METHODS Rat glomerular mesangial cells (HBZY-1) were developed into nephrotic cell models by LPS.The activities of extract of petroleum ether,ethyl acetate,n-butanol and water were screened by MTT and ELISA kit,after which isolation and purification of the various compounds were achieved,and their effects on the expression of TLR4/NF-κB pathway were determined by Western blot.RESULTS Both extracts of petroleum ether and ethyl acetate exhibited anti-nephrotic activity,and Justicidin A was determined to be the active compound inhibiting both the proliferation of mesangial cells and the release of cytokines to some extent.CONCLUSION Rostellularia procunbens (L.) Nees may inhibit the expression of inflammatory proteins through TLR4/NF-κB signalling pathway to prevent chronic nephritis.

Cultural regionalization for Coptis chinensis based on 3S technology platform Ⅰ. Study on growth suitability for Coptis chinensis based on ecological factors analysis by Maxent and ArcGIS model / 中国中药杂志

At the urgent request of Coptis chinensis planting,growth suitability as assessment indicators for C. chinensis cultivation was proposed and analyzed in this paper , based on chemical quality determination and ecological fators analysis by Maxent and ArcGIS model. Its potential distribution areas at differernt suitability grade and regionalization map were formulated based on statistical theory and growth suitability theory. The results showed that the most suitable habitats is some parts of Chongqing and Hubei province, such as Shizhu, Lichuan, Wulong, Wuxi, Enshi. There are seven ecological factor is the main ecological factors affect the growth of Coptidis Rhizoma, including altitude, precipitation in February and September and the rise of precipitation and altitude is conducive to the accumulation of total alkaloid content in C. chinensis. Therefore, The results of the study not only illustrates the most suitable for the surroundings of Coptidis Rhizoma, also helpful to further research and practice of cultivation regionalization, wild resource monitoring and large-scale cultivation of traditional Chinese medicine plants.

Level investigation on coptidis rhizoma processing methods and product specifications / 中国中药杂志

The existing processing methods, commercial specification and grades, and the marketing of Coptidis Rhizoma were systematical researched, referring to ancient, modern and contemporary medical literatures with the combination of our fieldwork on main origins of Coptidis Rhizoma and some herbs markets. Results showed that Coptidis Rhizoma processing methods mainly included sun-dried method and baked method anciently. For now, the processing methods become various, including thin paper-covering under the sun drying, direct drying, oven drying and microflame-fry drying. In the literatures, the main chemical constituent berberine was determined of its content to analyze the processing methods, finding that the sun drying and baked drying affect the berberine content, so the temperature must be controlled when drying. The thin paper-covering drying method is so cumbersome for large quantities of medicinal herbs and in wind conditions that it has been eliminated. Eventually, direct drying, oven drying and microflame-fry drying are chosen to the large-scale socialized production for their convenient and simple operation, making up the current main processing methods. Coptidis Rhizoma products have 3 specifications of Weilian, Yalian, Yunlian, of each specification there are 2 levels, but in fact the market of Weilian commodities overtakes the Yunlian, which only sold in parts of Yunnan, and the no-sale Yalian. The mainstream commercial Weilian are often sold in general way, gradeless and uniformly-priced. There are regional differences of the processing methods on Coptidis Rhizoma, which needs unified research and development of relevant standard operating procedures to ensure the quality of medicine, urgently. Coptidis Rhizoma product specifications and the intrinsic quality-grade correlation need to be further improved, which could provide a more reliable standard for quality at competitive prices, and it is recommended that "medicinal commercial specification and grade standard" content be increased into the Herbs part of Chinese Pharmacopoeia.

Flavonoids from the seeds of Alpinia galanga Willd / 药学学报

Ten flavonoids were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of the seeds of Alpinia galanga Willd. with a combination of various chromatographic techniques, including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and preparative HPLC. On the basis of spectroscopic data analysis, they were elucidated as (2R, 3S)-pinobaksin-3-cinnamate (1), (2R, 3R)-pinobaksin-3-cinnamate (2), pinocembrin (3), pinobaksin (4), 3-O-acetylpinobaksin (5), galangin (6), galangin-3-methylether (7), kumatakenin (8), 3-methylkaempferol (9) and (2R, 3R)-3, 5-dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavanone (10). Among them, compound 1 is a new compound, compounds 2, 5 and 10 were isolated from the genus Alpinia for the first time, and others were isolated from this plant for the first time.

Analysis of effect of topographical conditions on content of total alkaloid in Coptidis Rhizoma in Chongqin, China / 中国中药杂志

To study ecology suitability rank dividing of the total alkaloid content of Coptis Rhizoma for selecting artificial planting base and high-quality industrial raw material in Chongqing province. Based on the investigation of PCB and DEM data of Chongqing province, the relationship between the total alkaloid content in Coptis Rhizoma and topographical conditions was analyzed by statistical analysis. The geographic information systems (GIS)-based assessment and landscape ecological principles were applied to assess eco logy suitability areas of Coptis Rhizoma in Chongqing. slope, aspect and altitude are main topographical factors that affect the content of the total alkaloid content in Coptis Rhizoma The total alkaloid content in Coptis Rhizoma is higher in the lower altitude, shady slope and bigger slope areas. The total alkaloid content is higher in the south areas of Chongqing province and lower in the northeast. Terrain conditions of the southern region of Chongqing are most suitable for The accumulated of total alkaloid Coptis Rhizoma content.