Study on the mechanism of Danpi-Chishao in the treatment of sepsis based on network pharmacology / 中国医师杂志

Objective:To analyze the mechanism of Danpi-Chishao in treatment of sepsis based on network pharmacology.Methods:The corresponding targets of Danpi-Chishao and sepsis were carried out through TCMSP database, OMIM database and Genecards database. Cystoscope 3.8.2 software was used to construct the " Chinese medicine-active components-target-disease" network diagram. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis were carried out by DAVID database. Weisheng cloud platform was used to draw bubble map.Results:A total of 36 effective components of Danpi-Chishao was obtained, mainly including quercetin, kaempferol, baicalin, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, paeoniflorin and so on. There were 96 potential common key targets between Danpi-Chishao and sepsis, such as prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), transcription factor p65 (RELA), phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit gamma (PIK3CG), B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2)-associated X (BAX), BCL-2, Caspase-3 (CASP3) with a degree value>4.9. The result of protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis showed that there were 10 important target proteins, including alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (AKT1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), cellular tumor antigen p53 (TP53), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9), CASP3, PTGS2, C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2). The pathways obtained by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis included atherosclerosis pathway, advanced glycation end products (AGE)-receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) signal pathway, cancer pathway, tumor necrosis factor signal pathway, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) signal pathway, IL-17 signal pathway and other pathway.Conclusions:The mechanism of the intervention effect of Danpi-Chishao on sepsis may be that the active components such as quercetin, kaempferol, paeoniflorin act on target proteins such as PTGS2, RELA, PIK3CG, BAX, BCL2, CASP3, and through TNF-related signal pathway, HIF-1 signal pathway, IL-17 signal pathway, etc. Nonetheless, the conclusion needs further experimental verification.

The application law of Moutan Cortex in Synopsis of the Golden Chamber / 国际中医中药杂志

We aimed to study the articles and applied prescriptions of Moutan Cortex in Synopsis of theGolden Chamber, summarize and analyze its laws on the disease location and disease nature, and analyze its compatibility, dosage and processing laws. Based on the knowledge of Moutan Cortex by Zhongjing, we found that the kidney, bladder, uterus and intestine involved in Zhongjing's application of peony bark prescription, which belongs to the disease of "lower abdomen" in Huangdi Nei Jing. And the prescription of Moutan Cortex mainly focused on the syndromes of "depression" and "blood stasis", which are characterised by five kinds: water depression, dampness depression, stasis-heat, blood stasis and ecchymosis. and the compatibility rule of Zhongjing application of Moutan Cortex is analyzed accordingly. In addition, the study found that as the downward movement of the disease position, the amount of Moutan Cortex increased, and the processing of the problem followed the principle of "if disease is slow onset, the Moutan Cortex heart should be removed, but if disease is acute, Moutan Cortex heart should be kept". Finally, we combined modern clinical application of Moutan Cortex with modern pharmacological research, in order to expand the scope of clinical application of Moutan Cortex and "the same treatment of different diseases" to provide theoretical guidance.

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.

Protective effect of serum containing ginseng and Moutan Cortex on HUVEC injured by H_2O_2 / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to investigate the effect of serum containing ginseng and Moutan Cortex on human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC) injured with hydrogen peroxide(H_2O_2). HUVEC injured with H_2O_2 were divided into 6 groups, namely blank group, model group, ginsenoside(TGG) group, total glucosides of Moutan Cortex(TGM) group, paeonol(P) group and TGG+TGM+P group. After 24 hours of co-culture with H_2O_2, the activities of succinate dehydrogenase(SDH) and Ca~(2+)-Mg~(2+)-ATP were detected by microenzyme labeling. The apoptosis rate, intracellular Ca~(2+) concentration, reactive oxygen species(ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential(JC-1) were detected by flow cytometry. The expressions of mitochondrial apoptosis pathway-related proteins Bax, Bcl-2, cytochrome C, caspase-3 and caspase-9 were detected by Western blot. The results showed that H_2O_2 could significantly damage HUVEC, decrease the activity of SDH and Ca~(2+)-Mg~(2+)-ATP(P<0.01), while could increase the apoptosis+necrosis rate, JC-1 decline rate, ROS increase rate and Ca~(2+) concentration increase rate(P<0.01). Serum containing ginseng and Moutan Cortex could increase the activities of SDH and Ca~(2+)-Mg~(2+)-ATP to different degrees, decrease the apoptosis+necrosis rate, JC-1 decline rate, ROS increase rate and Ca~(2+) concentration increase rate(P<0.05 or P<0.01), and down-regulate the protein expressions of Bax, caspase-3, caspase-9, cytochrome C, and up-regulate the protein expression of Bcl-2. The results showed that serum containing ginseng and Moutan Cortex has a protective effect on vascular endothelial cell injury induced by ROS, and its mechanism may be related to the improvement of mitochondrial function and the inhibition of the activation of mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.

The effect of Moutan cortex carbonisata nano-components on the blood-cooling and hemostatic / 药学学报

At present, the research of Moutan cortex carbonisata (MCC) mainly focuses on the changes of chemical composition before and after charcoal production, and there is a lack of material basic research directly related to the efficacy at home and abroad. In this study, Moutan cortex, as a precursor, and was calcined to MCC at high temperature. The Moutan cortex carbonisata nano-components (MCC-NCs) were extracted and separated from MCC to explore its cooling-blood and hemostatic effects. In the experiment, the MCC was calcined at a high temperature in a muffle furnace (350 ℃, 1 h), and then MCC-NCs were extracted for MCC, and characterized by transmission electron microscopy and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In addition, the study evaluated the blood-cooling and hemostatic effects of MCC-NCs. The results showed that MCC-NCs have a size distribution of 0.80-2.8 nm, a lattice spacing of 0.26 nm. MCC-NCs are mainly composed of C, O and N elements and have abundant surface functional groups such as OH, C=O, C-N and C=C. The fluorescence yield of MCC-NCs was 7.18%. The experiments complied with the Animal Ethics Committee of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. The result indicated that pretreatment MCC-NCs can significantly (P < 0.05) reduce the high, medium, and low viscosity of whole blood and plasma viscosity, and reduce hematocrit, red blood cell distribution width, hemoglobin and red blood cell level. In addition, MCC-NCs significantly reduced the levels of activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time and fibrinogen (P < 0.05). The pathological examination results showed that MCC-NCs can significantly reduce lung tissue damage, reduce bleeding and inflammatory cell infiltration. At the same time, it can also significantly reduce the symptoms of gastric mucosal bleeding. In conclusion, the results indicated that MCC-NCs has significantly the effect of blood cooling and hemostasis, and its hemostatic effect is mainly related to the activation of endogenous coagulation pathway or fibrinogen system, which provided a novel strategy for exploring the material basis of traditional Chinese medicine for hemostasis.

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.

Quality analysis of Moutan Cortex Formula Granules based on structural characteristics of genuine components / 中国中药杂志

To evaluate the quality of Moutan Cortex Formula Granules from different manufacturers based on the structural characteristics of the genuine components of Moutan Cortex. High performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) fingerprint analysis method of Moutan Cortex Formula Granules was established to characterize the elements of the structural characteristics for genuine Moutan Cortex. Nineteen common peaks were determined and the similarity between the Moutan Cortex Formula Granules of each batch and the control fingerprint was 0.856-0.981. The results showed that there were differences in the internal quality of Moutan Cortex Formula Granules from three manufacturers. The contents of components as well as inter-component and intra-component quantity ratio for Moutan Cortex Formula Granules from different manufacturers were analyzed. It was found that the inter-component quantity ratio of G1 and G2 produced by manufacturer A was close to that of G4 produced by manufacturer B; the inter-component quantity ratio of G3 from manufacturer B was close to that of G7 from manufacturer C; and the inter-component ratios of samples G5, G6, G8-G11 produced by manufacturer C were closer to each other. The results of the study guided by the theory of "component structure" provide a new analytical method and basis for the quality evaluation of Moutan Cortex Formula Granules.

Quality evaluation of Moutan Cortex Formula Granules / 中国中药杂志

A scientific and perfect quality evaluation system for Moutan Cortex Formula Granules was established,including content determination method,characteristic chromatogram method and mass spectrometry method. The content of paeoniflorin and paeonol in Moutan Cortex Formula Granules was determined by high performance liquid chromatography( HPLC),and the average content was 1. 72% and 1. 42%,respectively. The characteristic chromatogram was used to characterize Moutan Cortex Formula Granules,which contained 7 characteristic peaks,namely gallic acid,p-hydroxybenzoic acid,oxypaeoniflorin,paeoniflorin,tetragalloyl glucose,1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose and paeonol. A total of 40 compounds in Moutan Cortex Formula Granules,including gallic acids,paeoniflorins,paeonols,flavonoids and benzoic acids,were identified by mass spectrometry. In this study,a variety of analytical methods were used to evaluate the quality system of Moutan Cortex Formula Granules,which could play a positive role in improving the level of quality evaluation and process quality control.

Investigation of Integrated Pharmacokinetics of Active Components in Moutan Cortex and Its Correlation with Pharmacodynamics / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To study on the correlation between integrated pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic effects of five active components(oxidized paeoniflorin,paeoniflorin,quercetin,gallic acid, paeonol) in Moutan Cortex. Method:Rats were divided into blank group,model group(syndrome of blood-heat and blood stasis) and drug-administered group.The concentration of five active components in serum were detected with UPLC-MS at different time points after being administrated ethanol extract of Moutan Cortex.The integrated concentrations were calculated according to area under the curve(AUC) self-defined weighting coefficiency.At the same time,the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to determine the contents of thromboxane B2(TXB2) and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α(6-keto-PGF1α) in serum at different time points,and then correlation between pharmacodynamics and integrated pharmacokinetics of these five active ingredients was analyzed. Result:At different time points(0.083,0.25,0.5,0.75,1,2,3,4,6,8,10,12 h),the integrated plasma concentrations of these five active ingredients in Moutan Cortex(158.65,174.60,220.13,227.23,244.31,251.51,404.28,654.39,472.62,355.04, 231.56,199.40 mg·L-1) had a good correlation with concentration of TXB2(264.44,261.03,284.93,273.30,264.04, 278.90,274.83,303.58,260.03,264.78,264.40,256.62 μg·L-1) and value of TXB2/6-keto-PGFlα(4.50,4.47,3.66,3.37, 3.29,3.66,3.71,4.30,3.63,3.65,3.75,3.66). Conclusion:There is a good correlation between the dynamic changes in vivo of active components from Moutan Cortex and pharmacodynamic effects of activating blood circulation of this herb.

Pharmacokinetics of paeonol and its metabolites after oral administration of Moutan Cortex in rats / 中草药

Objective: To investigate the pharmacokinetics of paeonol and its metabolites M1-M4 in rats after intragastric administration of Moutan Cortex. Methods: SD rats were orally administered different doses (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 g/kg) of Moutan Cortex, and blood was taken from the fundus venous plexus at various time points to collect plasma samples. After given 1.0 g/kg Moutan Cortex extract, urine, bile and feces samples were collected for the corresponding time period. The biological samples were treated with acetonitrile (containing 0.1% formic acid) to precipitate protein, and the established UPLC-MS/MS analysis method was used to detect the content of paeonol and its four metabolites in biological samples. Results: The established biological sample analysis method satisfied the analytical requirements. After administered to rats with doses (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 g/kg) of Moutan Cortex extract, the tmax of paeonol was (0.15 ± 0.08) h, (0.33 ± 0.19) h, (0.31 ± 0.13) h; and t1/2 was (1.16 ± 0.37) h, (1.19 ± 0.45) h, (1.24 ± 0.35) h. Cmax and AUC0-t were increased with the increase of dosage of Moutan Cortex extract, which showed dose-dependent manner. M1-M4 also reached Cmax after 1 h of administration. The main way of excretion of metabolites was confirmed by urine > bile > feces. Conclusion: After ig administration of Moutan Cortex, paeonol has the characteristics of rapid absorption, metabolism and elimination and mainly excreted in the form of metabolites through urine.

Correlation Analysis of Color and Effective Components Content in Moutan Cortex before and after Carbonized / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE： To study the correlation between the color of Moutan Cortex and the contents of effective components before and after carbonized， and to provide reference for identification and quality evaluation of Moutan Cortex and its charcoal piece decoction. METHODS： Using colorimeter determination of Moutan Cortex and Moutan Cortex charcoal decoction pieces powder chroma space parameter [lightness value （L*）， red， green and component values （a*）， yellow and blue component value （b*） and total color difference value （E*ab）]， HPLC method for content determination of 10 effective components （gallic acid， 5-HMF， catechins， oxypaeoniflorin， paeoniflorin， quercetin， benzoyl paeoniflorin， isorhamnetin， paeonol， kaempferide） content in Moutan Cortex and Moutan Cortex charcoal decoction pieces. On this basis， the correlation between the content of effective components and the chromaticity space parameter of a color was studied by SPSS 21.0 software. RESULTS： There was no correlation between gallic acid content and the chromaticity space parameter of a color （P＞0.05）. There was an extremely significant negative correlation between 5-HMF content and L*， b*， E*ab （P＜0.01）， and an extremely significant positive correlation between 5-HMF content and a* （P＜0.01）. The content of paeoniflorin was positively correlated with L*， b* and E*ab， but not with a* （P＞0.05）. The content of oxidized paeoniflorin was positively correlated with L* and E*ab （P＜0.01）， and negatively correlated with a* （P＜0.01）， but not with b* （P＞0.05）. The content of catechins， quercetin， benzoyl paeoniflorin， isorhamnin， paeonol and kaempferol were positively correlated with L*， b* and E*ab （P＞0.05）， and negatively correlated with a* （P＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS： Chromatic aberration technology can quantify the color of Moutan Cortex and its charcoal decoction pieces， and there is a significant correlation between the color of Moutan Cortex before and after processing and the content of its active ingredients.

Study on Improvement Effects of Different Proportions of Total Ginsenoside of Ginseng ，Total Glucosides of Moutan Cortex and Paeonol Containing Serum on HUVEC Injury Induced by H 2O2 / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE： To study improvement effects of different proportions of total glucosides of ginseng （TGG）， total glucosides of moutan cortex （TGM） and paeonol containing serum on the injury of human umbilical vein endothelial cells （HUVEC） injury induced by hydrogen peroxide （H2O2）， screen the optimal proportion and investigate its mechanism. METHODS： The rats were randomly divided into blank group （distilled water）， TGG group （TGG， 2.025 g/kg）， TGM group （TGM， 4.05      g/kg） and paeonol group （paeonol， 1.08 g/kg）， with 12 rats in each group. They were given relevant medicine twice a day for consecutive 7 days. 1 h after last medication， the blood samples were collected via abdominal aorta to prepare drug containing serum. Using survival rate of HUVEC as evaluation indexes， different proportions of TGG， TGM and paeonol containing serum as factors， L9（34） orthogonal test was designed to optimize the optimal proportion of 3 kinds of drug containing serum. HUVEC were divided into blank group， model group， TGG group， TGM group， paeonol group and optimal proportion group. Except that blank group were treated with relevant medium， other group were treated with 1.2 mmol/L H2O2 to induce HUVEC injury， and then TGG group （volume fraction of drug containing serum was 0.000 5％）， TGM group （volume fraction of drug containing serum was 0.000 5％）， paeonol group （volume fraction of drug containing serum was 1％） and optimal proportion group were intervened with drug containing serum. The levels of LDH， NO and ET-1 in cells were detected by microplate method and ELISA. RESULTS： The optimal proportion of drug containing serum were TGG 0.000 5％， TGM 0.000 5％ and paeonol 1％. Compared with blank group， the levels of LDH and ET-1 were higher in model group （P＜0.01）， while NO level was lower （P＜0.05）. Compared with model group， the levels of NO were higher in TGG group， TGM group and optimal proportion group （P＜0.01）， while the levels of LDH and ET-1 were lower （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with TGG group， TGM group and paeonol group， the level of LDH was lower in optimal proportion group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）， while the level of NO was higher （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS： TGG and TGM combined with paeonol can significantly improve HUVEC injury induced by H2O2， and the mechanism of which may be associated with the decrease of LDH and ET-1 and the increase of NO.

Preparation and quality standard of standard decoction of Chinese herbal medicine containing volatile components-case study of Moutan Cortex / 中国中药杂志

To prepare the standard decoction of Moutan Cortex, and research its quality standard. According to the preparation principle of standard decoction of Chinese herbal medicines, the extraction conditions were optimized, and the 14 batches of standard decoction of Moutan Cortex were prepared. The content of paeonol was determined by HPLC; the transfer rate was calculated; and the extraction rate, pH value and the fingerprint of the decoction were determined. The results showed that the transfer rate of paeonol in the standard decoction of 14 batches of samples was at the range of 43.9%-67.3%; the range of extraction rate was 22.0%-38.7%, and the pH value range was 3.98-4.77. At the same time, the fingerprints of 14 batches of Moutan Cortex standard decoction were established; 9 common peaks were determined, and the similarities were more than 0.9. The preparation method in this study was standardized with good reproducibility, and can be used for the preparation and quality standard of standard decoction of Moutan Cortex, providing reference for the quality evaluation of Moutan Cortex dispensing granules.

Research on Pollution-free and Technical Regulations of Paeonia suffruticosa and Paeonia lactiflora / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

Moutan Cortex and Paeonia Radix are also traditional Chinese herbal medicines. The market is in great demand. However, the market sales of Moutan Cortex and Paeonia Radix have problems such as pesticide residues, excessive heavy metals and degraded quality, which affect their safety and effectiveness. The establishment of a pollution-free and planting system can effectively reduce the pesticide residue and heavy metal content and improve the quality of the medicinal materials while ensuring the production of Moutan Cortex and Paeonia Radix. The article uses field data which based on P.suffruticosa and P.lactiflora cultivation, combined with growth habits and distribution of origin, this research has developed a pollution-free and planting technology system for P.suffruticosa and P.lactiflora. The system includes planting base regionalization, field management, fertilization, pest control and so on, which provides reference for P.suffruticosa and P.lactiflora.

Optimization of Water Extraction Technology of Feng-Moutan Cortex by Orthogonal Test-Multiple-index Normalization Method / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE: To optimize water extraction technology of Feng-Moutan Cortex. METHODS: L9 (34) orthogonal design was used to optimize soaking time, solid-liquid ratio, extraction time and extraction times in water extraction technology of Feng-Moutan Cortex using comprehensive scores for the peak area percentage and extract yield of 8 ingredients in Feng-Moutan Cortex as gallic acid, paeoniflorin, catechin, paeoniflorin, benzoic acid, benzoyloxypaeoniflorin, benzoylpaeoniflorin and paeonol after normalization as indexes. Verification test was conducted. RESULTS: The optimal water extraction technology was that 20-fold water, soaking for 1 h, extracting twice, 2 h each time. Results of verification test showed that comprehensive scores of 3 times of tests were 65. 98, 68. 85 and 69. 25, respectively. RSDs of each index were lower than 5％ (n=3). CONCLUSIONS: Established comprehensive scoring method can reflect the relative contents of effective components in Feng-Moutan Cortex comprehen- sively, so that optimized extraction technology is reasonable and feasible.

Morphological, microscopic, multiple-component assay and fingerprinting based systematic research on quality evaluation of Moutan Cortex(Paeonia suffruticosa) / 中国中药杂志

The purpose of this study was to combine morphological, microscopic, UHPLC multiple-component assay and fingerprinting studies in order to evaluate the quality of Moutan Cortex (MC) systematically. The root system of Paeonia suffruticosa was measured to compare the morphological variation and the chemical composition of different grades of MC was discussed according to previous studies. The difference between the main microscopic features of MC powder and the xylem powder is dramatic, the MC powder contains great amount of starch granules and clusters of calcium oxalate, while the xylem powder displays considerable vessels. Interestingly, the growth rings of P. suffruticosa was first reported in the xylem of the root transection, this can help to determine the growth years of the plant. Moreover, through the assay of 16 component, MC produced in Tongling and Bozhou in Anhui province were compared, content of PGG in MC produced in Bozhou was significantly higher than MC produced in Tongling (<0.01). MC with different growth years, MC with xylem and unprocessed MC and MC decoction pieces were compared respectively by combining the results of 16 compounds assay and fingerprinting. It is proposed that the quality evaluation standard include the assay of paeoniflorin. Above all, the holistic quality difference can be evaluated more comprehensively by combining multiple analytical methods.

Preparation Technology of Standard Decoction and Formula Granules of Moutan Cortex Containing Volatile Components / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To establish the preparation technology of Moutan Cortex standard decoction and formula granules. METHODS: Moutan Cortex standard decoction was prepared by decocting pot and the parameters and fingerprints of 15 batches of decoction were established.To improve the preparation process of Moutan Cortex formula granules, paeonol was quickly recovered by using volatile oil collection device in the process of vacuum concentration, and the collected paeonol was added back to the concent rated solution.Then, the formula granules of Moutan Cortex were prepared by spray drying and dry granulating.The correlation between the decoction pieces, extract, concentrate, powder, formula granules and standard decoction were compared by taking the contents of paeoniflorin, paeonol and fingerprint as indexes. RESULTS: The range of parameters for Moutan Cortex standard decoction(70%-130% of the average value) were as follows:the dry extract rate was 19.46%-36.14%. The content of paeoniflorin was in the range of 1.83%-3.40%, and the transfer rate was 60.32%-100.00%. The content of paeonol was 1.25%-2.33%, and the transfer rate was 14.42%-26.78%.The contents of paeoniflorin and paeonol in the formula granules of Moutan Cortex conformed to the range of standard decoction parameters. CONCLUSION: The parameters of Moutan Cortex standard decoctions prepared by decocting pot are confirmed, and a new preparation process of Moutan Cortex formula granules is established.Both of standard decoction and formula granules have good consistency in the contents of the index components,which could provide a certain scientific basis for the guidance of actual production.

Induction of apoptosis by Moutan Cortex Radicis in human gastric cancer cells through the activation of caspases and the AMPK signaling pathway

Abstract Moutan Cortex Radicis, the root bark of Paeonia × suffruticosa Andrews, Paeoniaceae, has been widely used in traditional medicine therapy. Although it has been shown to possess many pharmacological activities, the molecular mechanisms of its anti-cancer activity have not been clearly elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the pro-apoptotic effects of the ethanol extract of Moutan Cortex Radicis in human gastric cancer AGS cells. Moutan Cortex Radicis treatment inhibited the cell viability of AGS cells in a concentration-dependent manner, which was associated with apoptotic cell death. Moutan Cortex Radicis's induction of apoptosis was connected with the upregulation of death receptor 4, death receptor 5, tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, Fas ligand, and Bax, and the downregulation of Bcl-2 and Bid. Moutan Cortex Radicis treatment also induced the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm), the proteolytic activation of caspases (-3, -8, and -9), and the degradation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, an activated caspase-3 substrate protein. However, the pre-treatment of a caspase-3 inhibitor significantly attenuated Moutan Cortex Radicis-induced apoptosis and cell viability reduction. In addition, Moutan Cortex Radicis treatment effectively activated the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase signaling pathway; however, a specific inhibitor of AMPK significantly reduced Moutan Cortex Radicis-induced apoptosis. Overall, the results suggest that the apoptotic activity of Moutan Cortex Radicis may be associated with a caspase-dependent cascade through the activation of both extrinsic and intrinsic signaling pathways connected with adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase activation, and Moutan Cortex Radicis as an activator of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase could be a prospective application to treat human cancers.