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Medicinal plants are rich in nutrients and phytochemicals which prevent and treat a wide range of ailments. Accumulating experimental studies exhibit that some bioactive ingredients extracted from medicinal plants have suitable therapeutic effects on hepatic and renal injuries. This review focuses on the hepato- and reno-protective effects of thymoquinone, crocin, and carvacrol. The relevant literature was retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases from the beginning of 2015 until the end of November 2021. According to the scientific evidence, the considered phytochemicals in this review have been applied with useful therapeutic effects on hepatic and renal damage. These therapeutic effects were mainly mediated through the amelioration of oxidative stress, suppression of inflammatory responses, and inhibition of apoptosis. Intracellular signaling pathways linked to nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, c-jun N-terminal kinase, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and Toll-like receptors are the most important pathways targeted by these phytochemicals. Up-regulation of transcription factor Nrf2 and down-regulation of transforming growth factor-beta 1 by these natural compounds also contribute to the alleviation of hepatic and renal injuries.
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ObjectiveTo optimize the extraction and purification process of Gardeniae Fructus for industrial production， and to obtain the total iridoid and total crocin extracts. MethodOrthogonal test was used to optimize the water extraction process by taking contents of geniposide， genipin gentiobioside， gardenoside， crocin-1 and crocin-2 as indicators and the decocting time， decocting times and water amount as factors. The purification process was optimized by single factor test， and four different types of macroporous adsorption resins were screened. The process conditions such as resin type， maximum loading amount， water washing amount， ethanol concentration， ethanol dosage， and flow rate of sample loading were mainly investigated. In addition， the drying methods （vacuum drying and spray drying） of the extract were investigated， and a pilot scale-up verification test was carried out. ResultThe optimal water extraction process of Gardeniae Fructus was to add 15， 10 times the amount of water for decocting twice， 1 h each time. The optimal purification process was as follows：the water extract through SP825L macroporous resin column， the amount of crude drug-the amount of resin （1∶1.5）， the sample loading flow rate of 3 BV h-1， adding 2 BV of water to remove impurities， adding 4 BV of 30% ethanol to obtain the iridoid part， then adding 3 BV of 70% ethanol to obtain the crocin part， collecting the ethanol lotion， and drying at 70 ℃. Under these conditions， the extraction amount of total iridoids was 590.75 mg·g-1 with the transfer rate of 70.48%， and the yield of dry extract was 8.89%. The extraction amount of total crocins was 83.37 mg·g-1 with the transfer rate of 22.20%， and the dry extract yield was 2.60%. ConclusionThe optimized extraction and purification process is stable and feasible with high extraction rate of active components， which is suitable for the industrial extraction and purification of active parts of Gardeniae Fructus.
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OBJECTIVE：To study the prot ective effects of crocin （CR）against triptolide （TP）-induced visceral organ injury in mice，and to provide reference for the studying TP compatibility and detoxification. METHODS ：Fifty mice were randomly divided into normal group ，TP low-dose and high-dose groups （i.e. TP-L group ，TP-H group ，with 300，600 μg/kg），TP low-dose and high dose combined with CR groups （i.e. TP-L+CR group ，TP-H+CR group ，with 300 μg/kg TP+100 mg/kg CR ，600 μg/kg TP+ 100 mg/kg CR ），with 10 mice in each group. Except for normal group ，other groups were given relevant medicine intragastrically ， once a day ，for consecutive 7 d. The body weight of mice was weighted every day ，and their death was recorded. After last administration，the mice were sacrificed ，and the heart ，liver，kidney and testis were taken ，and the organ index was calculated ； serum levels of ALT ，AST，BUN and Scr ，the activity of T-SOD and the contents of MDA were all determined. The pathological changes of heart ，liver，kidney and testis were observed ；mRNA expression of Bcl- 2，Bax and caspase- 3 in liver tissue were determined. RESULTS ：Three，five，two and three mice in TP-L group ，TP-H group ，TP-L+CR group and TP-H+CR group died respectively，and the survival rates were 70％，50％，80％ and 70％，respectively. Compared with normal group ，the body weight （7th day of experiment ），heart index ，liver index ，kidney index （except for TP-L group ），testicular index ，T-SOD activity and mRNA expression of Bcl- 2 in liver tissue ，serum levels of ALT （except for TP-L group ），AST（except for TP-L group ），BUN and Scr，MDA content and mRNA expression of Bax ，mRNA expression of caspase- 3 in liver tissue were increased significantly （P＜ 0.05 or P＜0.01）. There were obvious pathological changes in heart ，liver，kidney and testis tissue. Compared with the same dose of TP alone group ，the above indexes of TP combined with CR group were improved in varying degrees. Except for the renal index and serum ALT level of TP-L+CR group ，there was statistical significance for all indexes （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）；the pathological injuries of heart ，liver，kidney and testis were significantly improved. CONCLUSIONS ：CR can relieve the damage of heart ， liver，kidney and testis induced by TP ，which may be related to the antioxidant stress of CR.
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According to data from studies, antioxidant herbal compounds are, likely to have a useful role in reducing the harmful effects of environmental pollutants and toxic chemicals that most people are exposed to. Cadmium is one of the toxic elements that accumulate in many organs, especially in kidneys. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of crocin on the expression of PKHD1 and KLLN genes in cadmium-treated rats.In this experimental study, 40 adults male Wistar rats (200-250 g) were randomly divided into the following groups: control group received normal saline, cadmium group (15mg/kg), crocin group (20mg/kg) and cadmium group daily fed with crocin at a dose of 20 mg/kg.After eight weeks of treatment, rats were dissected, and kidney tissues were removed for evaluation of PKHD1 and KLLN gene expression by real time method. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and significant difference between groups was P<0.05.Our results showed an increase in PKHD1 gene expression and a decrease in KLLN gene expression in kidney tissue in the cadmium group compared to the control group (P <0.001).Also, a significant decrease in PKHD1 gene expression (P <0.001) and an increase in KLLN gene expression P <0.05) were observed in the tissues of all cadmium-treated rats compared to cadmium.Crocin consumption can have a protective effect against the impaired expression of PKHD1 and KLLN cadmium-induced apoptotic pathway.
Diversos estudios sugieren que compuestos antioxidantes de hierbas tienen un papel útil en la reducción de los efectos nocivos de los contaminantes ambientales y los químicos tóxicos a los que está expuesta la mayoría de las personas. El cadmio es uno de los elementos tóxicos que se acumulan en muchos órganos, especialmente en los riñones. El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar el efecto de la crocina en la expresión de los genes PKHD1 y KLLN en ratas tratadas con cadmio.En este estudio experimental, 40 ratas Wistar macho adultas (200-250 g) se dividieron aleatoriamente en los siguientes grupos: el grupo de control recibió solución salina normal, el grupo de cadmio (15 mg / kg), el grupo de crocina (20 mg / kg) y el grupo de cadmio alimentado diariamente con crocina a una dosis de 20 mg / kg.Después de ocho semanas de tratamiento, se disecaron las ratas y se extrajeron los tejidos renales para evaluar la expresión de los genes PKHD1 y KLLN mediante un método en tiempo real. Los datos se analizaron mediante ANOVA de una vía y la diferencia significativa entre los grupos fue P <0,05.Nuestros resultados mostraron un aumento en la expresión del gen PKHD1 y una disminución en la expresión del gen KLLN en el tejido renal en el grupo de cadmio en comparación con el grupo de control (P <0,001).Además, se observó una disminución significativa en la expresión del gen PKHD1 (P <0,001) y un aumento en la expresión del gen KLLN P <0,05) en los tejidos de todas las ratas tratadas con cadmio en comparación con el cadmio.El consumo de crocina puede tener un efecto protector contra la expresión alterada de la vía apoptótica inducida por cadmio PKHD1 y KLLN.
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Animals , Rats , Cadmium/therapeutic use , Carotenoids/pharmacology , Receptors, Cell Surface/genetics , Tumor Suppressor Proteins/genetics , Rats, Wistar , Kidney Neoplasms/drug therapyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Crocin has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress effects. The therapeutic effects of crocin on ulcerative colitis and related mechanisms are still unclear. OBJECTIVE: To explore the protective effect of crocin in ulcerative colitis rats and its related mechanism. METHODS: Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: normal group, model group, low-dose crocin group, high-dose crocin group, and positive control group. Experimental rat model of ulcerative colitis was induced by dextran sodium sulfate. Starting on the first day of modeling, rats were routinely fed in the normal group, were given sulfasalazine by gavage in the positive drug group, and were gavaged with 0.05 and 0.1 g/kg crocin in the low-and high-dose crocin groups, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: One week after intervention, the crocin-treated rats had significantly decreased scores on colon tissue injury and Crohn’s disease activity index(P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, crocin groups had a decrease in the content of malondialdehyde and activity of myeloperoxidase(P < 0.05), and an increase in the activity of superoxide dismutase in the colon tissue(P < 0.05). Shown by immunohistochemical staining, compared with the model group, treatment with crocin significantly reduced immune responses of tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 23 proteins after 1 week of intervention(P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, treatment with crocin downregulated the expression levels of total protein Bax, Caspase-3, Toll-like receptor 4 and MyD88(P < 0.05), and upregulated the expression of Bcl-2 in the intestinal tissue of rats(P < 0.05). These results indicate that crocin has a certain therapeutic effect in ulcerative colitis rats and its mechanism may be related to down-regulation of the Toll-like receptor 4/MyD88 signaling pathway and inhibition of oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis in the colon.
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Objective: To compare the differences of Gardeniae Fructus and its stir-baked preparation and screen out the differential markers, and provide reference for the establishment of quality standard. Methods: The whole and partial fingerprints of Gardeniae Fructus and its stir-baked prepared slices were established by HPLC-UV analysis. And the fingerprints were statistically analyzed using hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA), principle component analysis (PCA), and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), then the characteristic markers were screened out. And then content of 6-α-hydroxygeniposide, gentioside, geniposide, crocin I, and crocin II was determined. Results: A total of 15 peaks were acquired for Gardeniae Fructus and stir-baked Gardeniae Fructus respectively, 12 peaks of which were the common peaks. The similarity of whole and partial reference fingerprints of Gardeniae Fructus and its stir-baked prepared slices was 0.991 and 0.880, respectively, and partial fingerprint can successfully distinguished Gardeniae Fructus from its stir-baked prepared slices. HCA and OPLS-DA results showed that significant differences were observed between Gardeniae Fructus and stir-baked Gardeniae Fructus with peak 3, peak 5, peak 9 (geniposide), and peak 11 (crocin I), which being identified as the main differential markers. Contents of geniposide, crocin I and crocin II in Gardeniae Fructus were higher than those in stir-baked Gardeniae Fructus, while 6-α-hydroxygeniposide was lower. Conclusion: The composition was significantly different before and after stir-baked. The established partial fingerprints combined with multi-component determination method can effectively distinguish them. And the differential markers obtained by multivariate statistical analysis can provide reference for the selection of quality markers.
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This research is to establish an HPLC method for determination of geniposidic acid, genipin-1-β-D-gentiobioside, geniposide, p-trans-coumaroylgenipin gentiobioside, chlorogenic acid, crocin-Ⅰ, crocin-Ⅱ and crocin-Ⅲ in Gardeniae Fructus at different harvest time. The detection wavelength was 238, 320 and 440 nm. Principal component analysis(PCA), correlation analysis, regression analysis and partial least squares(PLS) analysis were used to explore the relationship of color and content of eight components in Gardeniae Fructus. The result showed that the trend of the eight components in Gardeniae Fructus at harvest time in different three years was varied similarly. According to the variation of eight components at different harvest time, the mature and immaturate Gardeniae Fructus were discriminated. The content of crocin-Ⅰwas correlated positively with a~* of color significance. The redder color of Gardeniae Fructus showed the higher value of a~* and content of crocin-Ⅰ, indicating the better quality of Gardeniae Fructus. This method provided reference for justifying the color and quality of Gardeniae Fructus and scientific evidence for "assessing quality by distinguishing color".
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Chlorogenic Acid , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Fruit , GardeniaABSTRACT
Crocin is derived from stigmas of Crocus sativus and fruits of Gardenia jasminoides. It is a type of unique water-soluble carotenoids with long conjugate, possessing remarkable neuroprotection, cardiovascular protection, antitumor, and other pharmacological activities. Data showed that orally administrated crocin couldn’t permeate into the bloodstream as the prototype, but it can be absorbed into the blood circulation after being hydrolyzed to crocetin in gastrointestinal tract. Then, crocetin is converted to glucuronic acid conjugate. Moreover, the metabolite crocetin are mainly distributed in heart, liver, spleen, lung, and other blood-rich tissues. In view of the low bioavailability and poor stability of crocin and its metabolite crocetin, researchers have extensively employed novel drug delivery system to study crocin (crocetin) in order to improve its stability, bioavailability, and pharmacological activity. This article reviews in vivo metabolism of crocin (crocetin) in recent years and investigations on drug delivery system, therefore, facilitating further research and development of these natural products.
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Objective: To investigate the pharmacological mechanism of the crocin compounds from Gardenia jasminoides in Zhejiang Province by using network pharmacology. To provide a valuable research strategy for the rational use and in-depth research and development of G. jasminoides from Zhejiang. Methods: Our previous research results showed that the Zhejiang area of Gardenia crocin content and other areas have significant difference. Based on the results, the crocin compounds from G. jasminoides were used to predict the targets according to Pubchem, Uniprot, STITCH, SWISS, and TCMSP online databases. Cytoscape software was used to construct compound-target-disease network of the G. jasminoides crocin ingredients. The targets were analyzed by Gene ontology (GO) enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis using CTD online analysis platform to analyze main biological pathways for obtaining the deep mechanism of G. jasminoides in Zhejiang. Results: The crocin compounds from G. jasminoides in Zhejiang Province were obtained through previous work and network pharmacology screening, such as crocin-1 and crocin-2, and 18 corresponding targets were acted, such as FGF2, VEGFA, KDR, and FLT1. These targets could joint in pathways, such as GPCR, Rap1, and Ras signaling pathway. These ingredients are mainly used to treat 18 related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, tumors and digestive system. Conclusion: The method based on system pharmacology could help to find the key targets of characteristic high-content chemical constituents of herb from different producing areas, signaling pathway and disease network of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and provide useful information and data support for giving a further study on TCM resources in different regions of China.
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Objective: To evaluate the quality of Gardeniae Fructus from different producing areas and optimize the best place of production by using chemical pattern recognition method based on HPLC fingerprint and multi-component content determination. Methods: The RP-HPLC using acetonitrile-0.1% phosphoric acid aqueous solution as mobile phase based on the wavelength switching (234 nm and 440 nm) and gradient elution method was developed to evaluate the quality of 30 batches of Gardeniae Fructus from 10 different producing areas. The combination of chromatographic fingerprints and quality determination of five active ingredients, as well as chemometrics including hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA), were further employed for the quality assessment. Results: The fingerprint similarity of 30 batches of Gardeniae Fructus from 10 different producing areas were all above 0.95. The content ranges of deacetylated methyl oxalate, genipin gentiobioside, geniposide, crocin I, and crocin II were 0.61-4.26 mg/g, 1.73-12.92 mg/g, 51.79-82.76 mg/g, 5.03-12.80 mg/g, and 0.71-2.28 mg/g. Samples can be divided into three categories by HCA: The first category is Yongzhou in Hunan, Yong’ an in Hunan, Fengcheng in Jiangxi, Hukou in Jiangxi, Guangde in Anhui, and Fuding in Fujian; The second category is Lichuan in Jiangxi, Jurong in Jiangsu and Tanghe in Henan; And the third category is Lu’ an in Anhui. PCA was used to further evaluate the quality differences of the samples from different producing areas, and it was found that the medicinal materials from Lu’ an in Anhui, Hukou in Jiangxi, and Yong’ an in Hunan were of superior quality. Conclusion: The quality of Gardeniae Fructus from different producing areas was different to a certain extent, while the quality of same batches was stable. By combination of fingerprint and content determination, the chemical pattern recognition method can be used to evaluate the quality of the Gardeniae Fructus comprehensively. The establishment of this method provided an effective reference for the quality control and evaluation of Gardeniae Fructus.
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Ischemic stroke is one of the diseases that seriously threaten human health. It is characterized by the high morbidity, disability rate and mortality, and has been lacking effective treatment. Its occurrence is related to metabolic disorder, calcium overload, free radical injury, inflammatory reaction, etc. Gardeniae Fructus not only has antipyretic, analgesic, hepatoprotective and cholagogic effects, but also has protective effects against ischemic brain injury. At present, there are more studies about the main components of Gardeniae Fructus against ischemic brain injury, but the mechanism is unclear. In this paper, the mechanism of the main active ingredients from Gardeniae Fructus in the treatment of cerebral ischemia injury in recent years was reviewed, and the effective component monomer and the whole were analyzed, so as to provide a basis for the prevention and treatment of ischemic brain injury of Gardeniae Fructus decoction pieces, and provide a reference for further research and application of this decoction pieces.
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In this experiment,the gradation analysis method was used to evaluate the quality of different pieces of Gardeniae Fructus through the extraction rate difference and the difference analysis of the main components in the extract. In this experiment cold-dip and hot-dip methods were used to compare the yield of Gardeniae Fructus extract and the content of chemical constituents with water,25%,50%,75% and 95% ethanol fractions. By weighted calculation,the optimal extraction method of Gardeniae Fructus was determined,and this was verified by practical application. RESULTS:: showed that for the water-soluble extract,cold dip method was better than the hot dip method; and for alcohol-soluble extract,75% ethanol under cold dip method was best. The verification results showed that water-soluble extracts under cold dip methods could be used to significantly distinguish the raw Gardeniae Fructus( GF) and processed( stir-baked) GF( GFP) collected from the market. Meanwhile,this method could be also used to distinguish the same batch of GF,GFP and carbonized GF( GFC) with significant differences,respectively( P<0. 05). Ethanol-soluble extract can be used to clearly distinguish GFP and GFC pieces in the same batch( P<0. 05). The results of content determination showed that the variation coefficient of components in GF processed products was higher than that in extracts,and the content of hydroxygeniposide was the most significant component between GF and its processed products. It is suggested that the method of water-soluble extract of GF and the determination of the content of gardoside should be combined together to evaluate the quality of GF and its heat processed products.
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Fruit , Chemistry , Gardenia , Chemistry , Plant ExtractsABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the effect of crocin carotenoid on BNDF and CREB gene expression in the brain ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the serum level of BDNF in morphine-treated rats compared to control. Methods: In this study, 40 male Wistar rats (200-250 g) were used in 5 experimental groups: 1) non morphine treat rats (control); 2) non morphine-treated rats with 25 mg/kg crocin carotenoid (i.p., for 21 d); 3) morphine treated rats (10 mg/kg twice a day, s.c., 21 d); 4 and 5) morphine-treated rats with 12.5 and 25 mg/kg crocin carotenoid, respectively. By the end of research, BDNF and CREB expression was determined by real-time-PCR method. ELISA analysis was also applied for assessing the serum BDNF level. Results: The data indicated that morphine treatment could cause a significant decrease in BDNF and CREB gene expression (P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively) in brain VTA as well as serum level of BDNF (P<0.01) in comparison to control group. Treatment with 25 mg/kg crocin carotenoid caused a significant enhancement in BDNF and CREF gene expression (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively) and serum level of BDNF (P<0.01) in morphine-treated rats in comparison to morphine-treated group. Conclusions: Regarding to obtained results, crocin carotenoid can inhibit unfavorable effects of morphine on the neural system to some extent through enhancing BDNF and CREB gene expression in brain VTA and serum level of BDNF.
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OBJECTIVE: To propose a holistic strategy for quality control of Chinese patent medicines, and establish an HPLC analytical method for Tongzhi Surunjiang preparation according to the strategy. METHODS: The strategy contained three steps.The first step was multi-wavelength chromatographic detection.The second step was multivariate analysis for identification and assay. The third step was to establish substitute reference substance method.The preparations were extracted by ultrasound with methanol, chromatography was performed on ODS column with gradient elution with acetonitrile and 0.1%phosphoric acid aqueous solution.The detection wavelengths were set at 270, 350, 410 and 440 nm.The radar chart, HCA heatmap, principal component analysis and cosine similarity were used for data analysis.At last, linear calibration using two reference substances, relative retention time method and PDA spectrum method were used for peak identification, and relative correction factor method was used for quantitative analysis. RESULTS: The multi-components determination method and fingerprint analysis met the method validation requirements. Data analysis showed that there were some differences among the samples of different manufacturers. Strong characteristic peaks for classification were gallic acid, chebulinic acid, chebulea fructus, sennae folium, sennae folium and crocin.CONCLUSION: The method is specific, with low cost, and could be used to accurately control the quality of Tongzhi Surunjiang preparation.
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Objective: To establish HPLC coupled with wavelength switching and gradient elution method (HPLC-DVD) for simultaneous determination of ten main components (calycosin-7-glucoside, ruscogenin, amygdalin, ginsenoside Rb1, ginsenoside Re, ferulic acid, crocin I, salvianolic acid B, acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid, and tanshinone IIA) in Shuangshenlong Capsule (SSLC). Methods: The chromatographic separation was achieved on Hypersil ODS C18 (150 mm × 4.0 mm, 3 μm) column with methanol- water (8∶2) T (A)-0.1% phosphoric acid solution (B) as mobile phases for gradient elution, at the flow rate of 0.6 mL/min; The detection wavelength was set at 260 nm for α-calycosin-7-glucoside, 280 nm for ruscogenin, 210 nm for amygdalin, 203 nm for ginsenoside Rb1 and ginsenoside Re, 320 nm for ferulic acid, 440 nm for crocin I, 286 nm for salvianolic acid B, 250 nm for acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid, and 270 nm for tanshinone IIA. The volume of sample injection was 10 μL. Results :The ten active components were well separated and showed good linearity between mass concentration and peak area, such as calycosin-7-glucoside 3.88—69.86 mg/L (r = 0.999 2), ruscogenin 22.1—397.8 mg/L (r = 0.999 1), amygdalin 37.43—673.5 mg/L (r = 0.999 4), ginsenoside Rb1 45.15—812.72 mg/L (r = 0.999 6), ginsenoside Re 4.55—81.95 mg/L (r = 0.999 5), ferulic acid 3.06—55.15 mg/L (r = 0.999 4), crocin I 1.93—34.76 mg/L (r = 0.999 5), salvianolic acid B 15.68—282.15 mg/L (r = 0.999 6), acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid 11.31—203.58 mg/L (r = 0.999 1), and tanshinone IIA 1.89—34.16 mg/L (r = 0.999 6). The precision was good, and RSD was not more than 1.27%. The repeatability was good, and RSD was not more than 1.28%. The stability was good in 8 h, and RSD was not more than 0.96%. The average recoveries and corresponding RSD values were 99.61% (1.21%), 100.11% (0.76%), 101.52% (0.62%), 101.22% (1.03%), 100.83% (1.14%), 98.94% (0.53%), 101.04% (1.09%), 100.05% (1.25%), 99.81% (0.68%), and 101.94% (1.31%), respectively. The contents of nine batches of calycosin-7-glucoside, ruscogenin, amygdalin, ginsenoside Rb1, ginsenoside Re, ferulic acid, crocin I, salvianolic acid B, acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid, and tanshinone IIA were 0.142—0.158, 0.747—0.764, 1.578—1.619, 2.163—2.185, 0.235—0.251, 0.557—0.580, 0.105—0.122, 0.311—0.328, 0.605—0.624, 0.062—0.079 mg/capsule, respectively. Conclusion: HPLC coupled with wavelength switching and gradient elution method has been established for simultaneous determination of ten components in SSLC. The method is simple, quick, accurate, and it can be used for content determination and quality control of SSLC.
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Objective To establish the multi-wavelength fusion HPLC fingerprints of Gardeniae Fructus and to make quantitative analysis of the common peaks by ESI-Q-TOF MS. Methods The Kromasil 100-5 C18 column was used with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-0.1% phosphoric acid in gradient elution; The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min; The column temperature was 35 ℃; The detection wavelength was 238, 327, and 440 nm. Matlab7.1 was adopted for multi-wavelength fusion of the data in CSV format. Results Twenty chemical constituents were detected in fusion fingerprint, which included more information. Sixteen chemical constituents were compared with reference standards and identified by MS. The similarity of 10 batches of Gardeniae Fructus was over 0.90. Conclusion The systematic quantified fingerprint method based on the technique of multi-wavelength fusion fingerprint and identifying 16 constituents can be used for the fully quality control of Gardeniae Fructus.
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Objective To find the constituents that is closely related to the color change during the stir-frying process of Gardeniae Fructus Praeparatus (Jiaozhizi in Chinese herbal name, JZZ). Methods The colorimetric method was used to measure the chromatic value of the samples during the stir-frying process of JZZ. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine the common constituents of samples in the processing of JZZ, and the multivariate statistical methods of correlation and discriminant analysis was used to investigate the color and constituents of JZZ. Results The E* ab of eight constituents in processed JZZ samples showed a highly linear positive correlation, they were gardoside, crocin-I, crocin-II, p-coumaroylgenipin gentiobioside, I6, I12, C1 and C2. The contents of these eight components decreased with the increase of color in the stir-frying process. Ten key components of JZZ samples, scandoside methyl ester, deacetyl asperulosidic acid methyl ester, gardoside, crocin II, crocin I, peaks C1, C2, C4, C6, and C7,had significant changes in contents. Conclusion Gardoside, crocin I and crocin II are the most important components in the stir-frying process of JZZ, which are highly correlated with the change of color and can be used as chemical markers for the quality control of JZZ.
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The apo-carotenoid compounds represented by crocins are the main medicinal components of Crocus sativus, which have extensive anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerosis, anticancer, antidepressant, and other pharmacological activities. Biosynthetic pathways of apo-carotenoids in C. sativus include the traditional upstream route of the synthesis of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate to zeaxanthin starting from mevalonate, and downstream pathway for the specific synthesis of crocetin and crocin by cleavage of zeaxanthin. This article reviews the recent research of key enzymes involved in the metabolism of apo-carotenoids in C. sativus, which facilitates further analysis of downstream pathways for the synthesis of apo-carotenoid derivatives such as crocin, and further provides a theoretical basis for the use of metabolic engineering methods to increase the production of crocins and other pharmacodynamic substances.
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Objective: To investigate the effect of crocin carotenoid on BNDF and CREB gene expression in the brain ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the serum level of BDNF in morphine-treated rats compared to control. Methods: In this study, 40 male Wistar rats (200-250 g) were used in 5 experimental groups: 1) non morphine treat rats (control); 2) non morphine-treated rats with 25 mg/kg crocin carotenoid (i.p., for 21 d); 3) morphine treated rats (10 mg/kg twice a day, s.c., 21 d); 4 and 5) morphine-treated rats with 12.5 and 25 mg/kg crocin carotenoid, respectively. By the end of research, BDNF and CREB expression was determined by real-time-PCR method. ELISA analysis was also applied for assessing the serum BDNF level. Results: The data indicated that morphine treatment could cause a significant decrease in BDNF and CREB gene expression (P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively) in brain VTA as well as serum level of BDNF (P<0.01) in comparison to control group. Treatment with 25 mg/kg crocin carotenoid caused a significant enhancement in BDNF and CREF gene expression (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively) and serum level of BDNF (P<0.01) in morphine-treated rats in comparison to morphine-treated group. Conclusions: Regarding to obtained results, crocin carotenoid can inhibit unfavorable effects of morphine on the neural system to some extent through enhancing BDNF and CREB gene expression in brain VTA and serum level of BDNF.
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Objective To investigate the effects of different concentrations of crocin on receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis using the monocyte-macrophage cell line RAW264.7. Methods The monocyte-macrophage cell line RAW264.7 was cultured routinely.After treatment with 0,6.25,12.5,25, 50,100,200 and 400 μmol/L crocin,cell counting kit-8(CCK-8)assay was used to analyze the viability of RAW264.7 cells to screen out the appropriate experimental concentration. RAW264.7 cells were induced by RANKL (100 ng/L) to form osteoclasts. After treated with 0, 12.5, 50 and 100 μmol/L crocin respectively, the number of osteolasts was counted by tatrate resistant acid phosphatasec (TRAP) staining. Real-time PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of calcitonin receptor(CTR),nuclear factor of active T cells 1(NFATC1),C-fos and TRAP.Results No significant effects of crocin (within 0-100 μmol/L) were found on the viability of RAW264.7 cells (P>0.05). However, When crocin concentration was over 100 μmol/L,the cell proliferation was decreased,and which showed a significant inhibitory effect on proliferation (P<0.05). Thus, 0-100 μmol/L crocin was selected as the experiment concentration. The amount of differentiated osteolasts and the expression levels of CTR,NFATC1,C-fos and TRAP mRNA were decreased significantly with the increased concentrations of crocin(P<0.05).Conclusion At a certain concentration(0-100 μmol/L),the higher levels of crocin could inhibit RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis.