ABSTRACT
Aim To explore the diuretic effect, diuretic mechanism and pharmacokinetics of Phytolacca acinosa Roxb., and clarify its "quantity-time-effect" relationship.Methods Firstly, qualified rats were modeled by water load model, given different doses of Phytolacca acinosa Roxb.aqueous extract, then the diuretic effect was investigated.Secondly, Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of aquaporins AQP2, AQP4 and the angiotensin II receptors ATGR1, ATGR2, and renin in the RAAS system in kidney tissues.Thirdly, the established LC-MS/MS biological analysis method was used to detect the esculentoside A(EsA)content in the plasma, calculate the pharmacokinetic parameters and analyze the correlation between the blood concentration and the drug effect.Results The water load model was successfully established.Compared with the model group, hydrochlorothiazide had a significant diuretic effect(P<0.01).Low, medium and high dose groups of Phytolacca acinosa Roxb.all had obvious diuretic effects(P<0.01), EsA also had a significant diuretic effect(P<0.05).Phytolacca acinosa Roxb.aqueous extract and EsA significantly down-regulated the expression of AQP2, AQP4, ATGR1 and renin protein.The pharmacokinetic results showed that the Cmax and AUC0-t of EsA in the plasma of rats in the low, medium, and high dose groups of aqueous extract increased with the increase of the dose.Conclusions Phytolacca acinosa Roxb.had a diuretic effect, which is related to inhibiting the expression of aquaporins AQP2 and AQP4 and inhibiting the expression of angiotensin II type 1 receptor and renin, thereby inhibiting the reabsorption of renal tubules and collecting ducts.
ABSTRACT
In order to explore the use of DNA barcode in the identification of wild Phytolacca resources in the Shaanxi Guanzhong area, 29 DNA samples were amplified and sequenced by using the universal primers ITS2 and psbA-trnH. The sequences were spliced and proof-read by Codon CodeA aligner V3.0, followed by blast comparison and identification analysis; mega 6.0 was used to analyze sequence characteristics, Kimura 2-Parameter (K2P) was used to analyze distance and intraspecific or interspecific variation, and Neighbor-Joining trees were established to evaluate the ability of two pairs of candidate sequences to distinguish Phytolaccae Radix from its adulterants. The results showed that the success rate of PCR amplification and sequencing of ITS2 and psbA-trnH was 100%; the NJ tree showed that both ITS2 and psbA-trnH sequences could separate P. acinosa, P. americana, other species of the same genus like P. japonica, P. exiensis and two adulterant species into a single clade; primer ITS2 had an advantage over psbA-trnH in determining interspecific genetic distances. Therefore, both ITS2 and psbA-trnH sequences can be used for identification of Phytolacca and their adulterants, which provides a theoretical basis for the distribution of wild Phytolacca resources and their rational development and utilization.
ABSTRACT
Phytolaccae Radix, including Phytolacca acinosa and P. Americana, is recorded by Chinese Pharmacopoeia for its important medicinal property. The most characteristic chemical constituents of Phytolaccae Radix are triterpenoid saponins, and there are also flavone, phenolic acid, sterol, and polysaccharides in it. Phytolaccae Radix has various pharmacological activities, such as diuretic, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammation, anticancer effects, and so on, and it is usually used to treat hepatitis B, psoriasis, irritability, and so on. In this paper, we summarize the chemical composition, pharmacyological action, and clinical curative effect of Phytolaccae Radix to prompt the development and utilization of them.