ABSTRACT
Hyaluronic acid is widely used in biomaterials, cosmetics, clinical medicine and other fields due to its good biocompatibility, degradability, hydrophilicity, tumor targeting, viscosity and other characteristics. Pharmacodynamic activities of natural small molecular products which derived from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are significant, but their low solubility and poor targeting limit the clinical application. Based on supramolecular properties of hyaluronic acid, in this review, numerous studies were reviewed on the improvement of solubility, bioavailability, targeting and suitable dosage forms of small molecular compounds in TCM by domestic and foreign scholars using hyaluronic acid as carrier. It provides new ideas and inspirations for exploring the potential application value of small molecule compounds in TCM and even for the research and development of new drugs.
ABSTRACT
It is a common understanding that turbidity and precipitation of traditional Chinese medicine are easy to occur in the process of decocting. At present, our research group found that the cause of "multi-phase of traditional Chinese medicine decoction" mainly came from the interaction between the effective components of traditional Chinese medicine, especially the interaction of acid and base components. For example, the Liquorice and Rhizoma chinensis was a supramolecular system formed by a large number of active components in the decoction (>30%), and could stably exist in the decoction system. In this study, the supramolecular part was extracted, and the morphology of the supramolecular part was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. It was observed that the supramolecular particles were uniform in size and regular in shape. The main components of supramolecular sites were identified by liquid mass spectrometry (LC-MSn). The results of UV and IR spectra showed that the chemical components of Liquorice and Rhizoma chinensis in the co-decocting process collided with each other, and weak bonds were formed between the functional groups of the molecules, which then induced the aggregation to form supramolecules. Thereafter, Through the diarrhea model of mice, sensory evaluation and antibacterial activity evaluation found that Liquorice and Rhizoma chinensis decocted together enhanced the antibacterial activity of Rhizoma, and compatibility "reconcile" Rhizoma "big bitter cold" property compared with single decoction group and interval administration group. All animal experiments were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, and the relevant regulations of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine on experimental animals were strictly followed. In this study, supramolecular chemistry method was used to preliminarily discuss the scientific connotation of "increasing efficiency and decreasing toxicity" of Liquorice and Rhizoma chinensis combined decoction from three perspectives of "property, efficacy and taste", and provide new ideas for the basic research of "reconcile" compatibility of Liquorice.
ABSTRACT
The cross combination of dry-method(network pharmacology analysis) and wet-method(high-resolution mass spectro-metry with antioxidation experiment) was used to predict antioxidant quality markers(Q-markers) of Hippophae tibetana. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap-MS) was developed to rapidly separate and identify the chemical constituents in H. tibetana. Then in DPPH free radicals and superoxide anion scavenging experiment, the antioxidant activity of the four different polar parts with extracts of petroleumether, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water was evaluated. Network pharmacology method was used for functional enrichment and pathway analysis to screen antioxidant-related components and preliminarily explain the mechanism of action. On this basis, multi-source information was integrated to predict the antioxidant Q-markers. The results showed that 51 components in H. tibetana were identified, including 18 flavonoids, 14 terpenoids, 6 alkaloids, 4 coumarins and phenylpropanoids, 3 volatile components and 2 polyphenols. The antioxidant capacity of different fractions: ethyl acetate > n-butanol > water > petroleum ether. The medicine mainly acted on PI3 K-Akt and FoxO signaling pathways to perform antioxidant effects through flavonoids such as quercetin, luteolin and kaempferol. According to the results of dry-method and wet-method, quercetin, luteolin and kaempferol, the representatives of poly-hydroxy flavone, may be the antioxidant Q-markers of H. tibetana. In this study, with the antioxidant Q-markers of H. tibetana as an example, an investigation model of predicting Q-marker was discussed based on the ternary system of composition, function and informatics, providing a scientific basis for the establishment of quality evaluation standards for H. tibetana.