Protective effects of Moutan Cortex polysaccharides components on renal injury in diabetic nephropathy rats / 中国中药杂志

This study investigated the protective effects of Moutan Cortex polysaccharides components(MCPC) on the renal tissues of diabetic nephropathy(DN) rats and explored their regulation effect on inflammatory response and oxidative stress. The DN rat model was induced by high-glucose and high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin(STZ), and then the rats were randomly divided into control group, model group, positive group and MCPC high(120 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)), low(60 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) dose groups. After 12 weeks treatment, blood was taken from the orbit of the rats, and then they were sacrificed before the kidney tissues were collected. The serum and tissues were detected for related biochemical indicators and pathological changes of the kidney. Immunohistochemical methods were used to determine the expression of FN and ColⅣ in the kidney tissue of DN rats. Compared with the model group, blood glucose, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and 24 h urine protein in the MCPC high-dose group were significantly reduced(P<0.01). The results of HE, PAS, Masson staining showed that glomerular basement membrane thickening, Bowman's capsule narrowing and inflammatory cell infiltration in DN rats were improved in the MCPC high-dose group; the activity of T-SOD and GSH-Px in serum significantly increased(P<0.001), and the expression level of FN significantly decreased(P<0.001). The high-dose MCPC treatment could effectively inhibit the abnormal expression of Col Ⅳ(P<0.001) and significantly reduce the levels of AGEs and RAGE in serum(P<0.001), the content of VCAM-1 and IL-1β in serum(P<0.001), and the levels of IL-1β mRNA in kidney tissue(P<0.001), but failed to effectively reduce VCAM-1 mRNA levels in kidney tissues. The high-dose MCPC could significantly improve pathological injury of renal tissue and related renal indicators in DN rats, and achieve renal protection in DN rats mainly by regulating oxidative stress and inflammatory factors.

Practice and development of structural characteristics and quality control of multi-dimensional structure of basic components of genuine material of Moutan Cortex / 中国中药杂志

Traditional Chinese medicine is the product of clinical medication practice of the Chinese nation for thousands of years. Its material basis is the key to reveal the essence of the roles of traditional Chinese medicine, and the fundamental guarantee to solve the difficulties in the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine. However, the material basis of traditional Chinese medicine is to exert the overall pharmacodynamic effect through multi-targets, multi-approaches and mutual cooperation, resulting in unclear quality control index. In recent years, the quality control standards of traditional Chinese medicine have experienced great changes by shifting the focus from the appearance characteristics to the internal material basis, which however is limited to the control of a single com-ponent or multiple components. In other words, the intrinsic effectiveness and safety could not be guaranteed without the characteristics of the integrity of traditional Chinese medicine. With Moutan Cortex as an example, this paper analyzed the evolution of Moutan Cortex quality standards based on Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and comprehensively summarized the material basis of Moutan Cortex. Based on the theory of "component structure", this study analyzed current quality control of the material basis of Moutan Cortex and its preparations, and expounded the development trend of multi-dimensional quality control, so as to lay a foundation for establishing a more rational quality control system for traditional Chinese medicine in the future.

Structural characteristics of pharmacodynamical components in genuine Moutan Cortex / 中国中药杂志

Guided by the theory of "component structure", we analyzed the structural characteristics of pharmacodynamical components in genuine Moutan Cortex. The compositions of organic small molecules were determined by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) for 20 batches of genuine Moutan Cortex and 12 batches of non-genuine Moutan Cortex. By means of similarity analysis, clustering analysis(CA), principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA), the elements in structural characteristics of the pharmacodynamical components were extracted as follows: terpene glycosides components(oxidized paeoniflorin, paeoniflorin,galloyl paeoniflorin, benzoyloxy paeoniflorinand benzoyl paeoniflorin), tannin components(1,3,6-tri-O-galloside acyl glucose, pentagalloyl glucose), and phenolic acid components(methyl gallate, paeonol). The contents and quantity ratios of terpene glycoside component, tannin component and phenolic acid components in genuine Moutan Cortex were determined as 14.1, 12.5, 21.7 mg·g~(-1), 1.00∶0.89∶1.54. The contents and quantity ratios of the oxidized paeoniflorin, paeoniflorin and benzoylpaeoniflorin in the terpene glycoside components were characteristic and determined as 2.05, 7.05, 3.30 mg·g~(-1), 1.00∶3.44∶1.61. The unique structural characteristics of genuine Moutan Cortex provide scientific basis for the formulation of quality standards.

Comparative analysis and study on component characteristics of inorganic elements in genuine Moutan Cortex and their differences from other areas / 中国中药杂志

Based on the theory of "component structure", the component structure characteristics of 17 inorganic elements in 20 batches of genuine Moutan Cortex and 12 batches of non-genuine Moutan Cortex were analyzed. The analytical method of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS) for inorganic elements in Moutan Cortex was established, and the fingerprint of inorganic elements was drawn. Through correlation analysis and principal component analysis, the constituent elements of inorganic elements in Moutan Cortex were excavated, namely characteristic elements As, Cr, Pb, Se, K, Cu and Cd. The amount and the quantity relative ratio between the components of genuine and non-genuine Moutan Cortex samples were analyzed. It was found that the amount of characteristic elements in the bulk genuine Moutan Cortex samples was 0.33, 1.42, 1.33, 0.11, 4 385.78, 4.87, 0.49 mg·kg~(-1), with the quantity relative ratio of 1.00∶4.30∶4.03∶0.33∶13 290.24∶14.76∶1.48. The amount of characteristic elements in sub-packaged genuine Moutan Cortex was 0.24, 1.96, 0.36, 0.05, 5 122.01, 4.81, 0.05 mg·kg~(-1), with the quantity relative ratio of 1.00∶8.17∶1.50∶0.21∶21 341.71∶20.04∶0.21. The unique structural characteristics of inorganic elements in genuine Moutan Cortex are studied to provide a basis for the quality control and safety evaluation of Moutan Cortex.