Influence of ultrafiltration membrane on ophiopogonins and homoisoflavonoids in Ophiopogon japonicus as measured by ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry / 中国天然药物

Ultrafiltration is one of the most fascinating technologies, which makes it possible to improve the quality of traditional medicines for application in the pharmaceutical industry. However, researchers have paid little attention to the effect of ultrafiltration membrane on traditional medicines chemical constituents. In this work, Ophiopogon japonicus (L.f) Ker-Gawl. was used as an example to illuminate the influence of ultrafiltration with different material and molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) membrane on natural chemical constituents as measured by ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UFLC-IT-TOF/MS). Our results indicated that ultrafiltration membrane significantly impacted homoisoflavonoids, especially homoisoflavonoids that were almost completely retained on the polyethersulfone (PES) membrane. We also found that the larger number of aglycone hydroxy and sugar moiety in steroid saponins, the higher the transmittance. Furthermore, the passage rate (%) of ophiogenin type saponins was higher than that of others. The possible adsorptive mechanisms were hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, and benzene ring interaction by π-π stacking. In conclusion, it is crucial to choose appropriate ultrafiltration membrane based on the characteristics of produce products for application of ultrafiltration technique.

Comparison on histology of root tubers and fibrous roots of Ophiopogon japonicus and ophiopogonins content / 中草药

Objective: To study the yield of the fibrous roots of Ophiopogon japonicus in Sichuan province and to compare the microscopic characteristics and the content of total ophiopogonins between the root tubers and fibrous roots of O. japonicus. Methods: The ratio for root tubers and fibrous roots of O. japonicus was compared by statistics; The microscopic characteristics of epidermal cell, cortex, stele arrangement, and pith were observed by microscope and photomicrography system; The total saponins in the extract from the root tubers and fibrous roots of O. japonicus were determined by UV, and the content of ophiopogonin D in the extract from the root tubers and fibrous roots of O. japonicus was determined by HPLC-ELSD. Results: The average ratio of fibrous root weight and root tuber weight was 0.68, and there were some differenes in the epidermal cell shape, stele arrangement, and proportion of the cortex between the fibrous roots and root tubers of O. japonicus. The average contents of total saponins in the root tubers and fibrous roots of O. japonicus were 1.204% and 2.847%, and the contents of ophiopogonin D were 0.034% and 0.041% in the root tubers and fibrous roots of O. japonicus. Conclusion: The resource of fibrous roots of O. japonicus is rich, which has the histological differences in the epidermal cell shape, stele arrangement, and proportion of the cortex between the fibrous roots and root tubers of O. japonicus. There is no significant difference in powder between the root tuber and fibrous root; The the content of total saponin in the fibrous roots is obviously higher than that in the root tubers while the content of ophiopogonin D between the root tubers and fibrous roots of O. japonicus is similar.