ABSTRACT
Objective:To find the natural environmental boundary of the origin of the authentic Ligusticum chuanxiong by analyzing the distribution characteristics of soil elements in the traditional geo-authentic area and the southern continuous expanding areas along the same longitude. Method:The contents of 24 elements both in soil and plant L. chuanxiong samples were determined by using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry （XRF） and ICP-MS，etc. Spearman correlation test was used to evaluate the correlations of rhizosphere soil and each portion of L. chuanxiong，to screen out “characteristic elements”. Bray-Curtis similarity indexes based on all elements and "characteristic elements" were used for hierarchical cluster analysis of soil samples, to identify the sample range with similar soil element charateristics to the traditional geo-authentic area of L. chuanxiong. Result:K，Mg，Mn and Rb elements were significantly correlated in rhizosphere soil and plant L. chuanxiong. Geographical differentiation of all elements and four characteristic elements showed that there was a highest similarity between geo-authentic area and its neighbor plots S1-S6 (except plot S4) in soil elements distribution, followed by plots S14-S16. The middle section plots S7-S13 in the expansion areas were quite different from the traditional geo-authentic production areas. Conclusion:The soil element characteristics in the study areas were not completely controlled by geographical distance，but demonstrated the "fault" variation in the areas along longitude. This study provides a theoretical basis for the detrrmination of suitable cultivation area for Ligusticum Chuanxiong, and the natural boundary of its geo-authentic area may be extended an additional 60 km southward along longitude beyond the traditional origin. Additionally， K，Mg，Mn and Rb characteristic elements may be the potential markers to evaluate the suitable soil environment for cultivating L. chuanxiong.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To screen the differential ingredients between crude and wine-processed Corni Fructus and determin their content. Methods: An integrated strategy using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem quadrupole time-of- flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) and the chemometric approach was applied to compare the global chemical profile of crude and wine-processed Corni Fructus. Then, the main differential ingredients were quantified by UPLC-PDA. Results: The chemical profiling of wine-processed Corni Fructus was significantly different. Ten compounds could be considered as characteristic chemical markers for distinguishing crude and wine-processed Corni Fructus, including 5-hydroxymethyl furfuraldehyde (5-HMF), gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, morroniside, loganic acid, sweroside, cornin, dihydroquercetin, loganin and cornoside. A new UPLC-PDA quantitative method for analyzing simultaneously the above ten compounds in wine-processed Corni Fructus was established. The results of methodology investigation showed that the ten components were well linear within the investigation range (r ≥ 0.999 7). Compared with the crude Corni Fructus, the content of seven components were increased, including gallic acid, 5-HMF, loganin, morroniside, cornin, sweroside and dihydroquercetin, and the other three components in wine-processed Corni Fructus were decreased. Conclusion: The differential ingredients obtained by chemometric-based approach can be used to distinguish crude and wine-processed Corni Fructus. The determination method of wine-processed Corni Fructus established is accurate and reliable, which can be used for the quality control of Corni Fructus.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the potential anti-inflammatory active ingredient of Chinese herbal Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma et Radix. Method: The inflammatory model of peritoneal macrophages (RAW264.7 cells) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice was used to screen out the anti-inflammatory activity of 95% ethanol extract of Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma et Radix and its macroporous resin elution site (30%, 60%, 95% ethanol eluting site). The characteristic fingerprints were established by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) technology, and then partial least squares method (partial least squares, PLS) was used to study the spectrum-effect relationship between the peak area of the characteristic components and the inhibition rate of nitric oxide (NO), and potential anti-inflammatory active ingredients were identified according to variable important in projection (VIP). Result: The ethanol extract macroporous resin 60% ethanol elution site of Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma et Radix had the strongest inhibition ability of nitric oxide formation, with a certain dose-dependent relationship. The study of spectrum-effect relationship showed that 3 components had potential anti-inflammatory activity, namely Emodin-8-O-β-D-glucoside (E-8-G), Emodin-1-O-β-D-giucoside, and Emodin-8-O-(6'-O-malonyl)-glucoside. In addition, the anti-inflammatory activity of E-8-G was further validated at the cell level through molecular docking analysis. Conclusion: Three potential anti-inflammatory active ingredients were found base on the spectrum-effect relationship. This study strategy is helpful to find the active ingredients (group) of traditional Chinese medicine, and provides new research ideas and methods for studying the material basis of Chinese herbal medicine.