Protective Mechanism of Paeoniflorin on Mice with Ulcerative Colitis Based on AMPK/mTOR Autophagy Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the protective mechanism of paeoniflorin on mice with ulcerative colitis （UC） through the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase （AMPK）/mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR） autophagy pathway. MethodUC mouse model was established by allowing mice freely drink 4% DSS， and 56 BALB/c male mice were randomly divided into model group， AMPK inhibitor group （20 mg·kg-1）， paeoniflorin （50 mg·kg-1） + inhibitor （20 mg·kg-1） group， and high dose （50 mg·kg-1）， medium dose （25 mg·kg-1）， and low dose （12.5 mg·kg-1） paeoniflorin groups. After seven days of drug intervention， the protective effect of paeoniflorin on mice with UC was determined by comparing the body weight， disease activity index （DAI） changes， and Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining results. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to detect the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and interleukin-6 （IL-6） in the serum of mice in each group， and immunofluorescence was utilized to detect microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 （LC3） content in the colon， AMPK， mTOR proteins， and their phosphorylated proteins including p-AMPK and p-mTOR in the colon tissue were detected by Western blot， and the mRNA expression levels of AMPK， mTOR， Beclin1， LC3， and p62 were detected by Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. ResultCompared with the blank group， the model group showed a decrease in body mass， an increase in DAI score， and severe pathological damage to the colon. The levels of inflammatory factors including TNF-α and IL-6 increased in serum （P<0.01）， while the protein levels of LC3 and p-AMPK/AMPK were down-regulated in colon tissue， and those of p-mTOR/mTOR were up-regulated （P<0.01）. The mRNA expression levels of AMPK and LC3 were down-regulated， while the mRNA expression levels of mTOR and p62 were up-regulated （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group and the paeoniflorin + inhibitor group， the mice treated with paeoniflorin showed an increase in body mass， a decrease in DAI score， a reduction in pathological damage to colon tissue， and a reduction in the levels of inflammatory factors of TNF-α and IL-6 in serum （P<0.05）. The protein levels of LC3 and p-AMPK/AMPK in colon tissue were up-regulated， while the protein levels of p-mTOR/mTOR were down-regulated （P<0.01）. The mRNA expression levels of AMPK， Beclin1， and LC3 were up-regulated， while the mRNA expression of mTOR and p62 were down-regulated （P<0.01）. The colon tissue of the inhibitor group was severely damaged， and the trend of various indicators was completely opposite to that of the high dose paeoniflorin group. ConclusionPaeoniflorin can enhance autophagy and reduce inflammatory damage in mice with UC by activating the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway and thus play a protective role.

Optimization of the extraction process of Shangke Huoxue Granule by central composite design-response surface methodology / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To optimize the extraction process of Shangke Huoxue Granule.Methods:Taking the factors of extraction solvent multiple, extraction time and extraction times as investigation factors, and extraction amount of ferulic acid, paeoniflorin and the ratio of extraction as comprehensive evaluation indices, one-factor experimental design and central composite design-response surface methodology were adopted to optimize the extraction process of Shangke Huoxue Granule.Results:The binomial fitting equation was Y=96.16+2.42 A+0.63 B-3.76 AB-1.57 A2-1.87 B2 ( P<0.01). The optimal extraction process parameters were confirmed to be adding 16 times of water, 64 minutes each time, twice. The deviation rates between the measured values of three verification experiments and the predicted value were 2.00%, 3.23% and 0.66%. Conclusion:The established model of central composite design-response surface methodology has high predictability and the optimized extraction process is stable and feasible.

Paeoniflorin ameliorates diabetic cognitive dysfunction by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling in ovariectomized mice / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Objective:To investigate the effect of paeoniflorin on toll-like receptor 4(TLR4)/nuclear transcription factor(NF-κB) signaling pathway of streptozotocin combined with ovariectomized mice, and to explore whether it can improve the cognitive impairment of ovariectomized diabetic mice.Methods:Ninety female C57BL/6J mice were divided into SHAM group, ovariectomy group, diabetes group(intraperitoneal injection of STZ 50 mg·kg -1·d -1 for 5 consecutive days), dual model group(DM modeling and OVX operation), paeoniflorin low-dose intervention group(OVX+ STZ+ L-PF 50 mg·kg -1·d -1), paeoniflorin high-dose intervention group(OVX+ STZ+ H-PF 100 mg·kg -1·d -1; all groups n=15). After 8 weeks of paeoniflorin intervention, their cognitive function was tested by behavioral experiments(Morris water maze and Y maze). The pathological changes of hippocampal tissue were observed by HE and Nissl staining. The mRNA expressions of TLR4, tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-1β(IL-1β) and interleukin-6(IL-6) in hippocampal tissues were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The expression of TLR4, NF-κB P65, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, β-amyloid protein(Aβ), tau proteins, and p-tau proteins were detected by Western blot. Results:Compared with SHAM group, the learning and memory ability of ovariectomy group, diabetes group and dual model group decreased, hippocampal cells were damaged, and the expression of related gene mRNA and protein were increased, especially in dual model group; Compared with dual model group, paeoniflorin intervention could delayed the learning and memory impairment, improve cognitive function, reduce the degree of hippocampal injury, and decrease the expression levels of related gene mRNA and protein, The above changes were the most pronounced at paeoniflorin high-dose intervention group.Conclusion:Paeoniflorin improves cognitive dysfunction in ovariectomized diabetic mice by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

The healing effect of paeoniflorin on the wound and regulation of NGF/Akt/GSK3β pathway on rats with diabetic foot / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To analyze the healing effect of paeoniflorin on the wound of rats and regulation of NGF/Akt/GSK3β pathway on rats with diabetic foot.Methods:60 rats were randomly divided into normal control group, model group, low, medium and high dose paeoniflorin groups, 12 rats in each group. Diabetic foot model was established by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) and electrothermal scald. Paeoniflorin groups were injected intraperitoneally with 20 mg/kg, 40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg paeoniflorin, once a day for 21 days. The wound healing rate of the rats was measured. The fasting blood glucose was measured by blood glucose meter, HbAlc, TC, LDL-C and TG were measured by automatic biochemical analyzer. Serum CRP, IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α were measured by ELISA. The histopathological changes of the wound were examined by HE staining, the levels of NGF, Akt and GSK3 β mRNA in skin tissue were measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RTq-PCR), the protein and phosphorylation levels of NGF, Akt and GSK3 β were determined by Western blot.Results:Compared with the model group, the healing rate the rats' wounded surface in the low, medium and high dose groups of paeoniflorin was increased ( P<0.05). The levels of fasting blood glucose, HbAlc, TC, LDL-C, TG levels and serum CRP, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α was decreased ( P<0.05). The expression of rat skin tissue NGF mRNA (0.83±0.12, 3.17±0.11, 4.54±0.25 vs. 0.31±0.06), Akt mRNA (1.71±0.14, 2.96±0.27, 4.10±0.34 vs. 0.97±0.20) increased ( P<0.05), expression of GSK3β mRNA (4.28±0.35, 2.82±0.14, 1.22±0.33 vs. 7.62±0.43) decreased ( P<0.05), expression of NGF (0.46±0.02, 0.70±0.04, 0.87±0.04 vs. 0.30±0.06), Akt (0.51±0.09, 0.63±0.03, 0.79±0.06 vs.0.41±0.05),p-NGF/NGF (0.47±0.06, 0.61±0.04, 0.83±0.07 vs. 0.25±0.03), p-Akt/Akt(0.54±0.08, 0.83±0.11,0.96±0.07 vs. 0.13±0.05) was increased( P<0.05), the expression of GSK3β (0.67±0.05, 0.54±0.04,0.45±0.03 vs. 0.86±0.05), and the ratio of p-GSK3β/GSK3β (0.78±0.09, 0.64±0.07, 0.42±0.07 vs. 0.97±0.05) was decreased ( P<0.05), and the changes of each index were dependent on the dose of paeoniflorin. Conclusion:Paeoniflorin can regulate the level of blood glucose and blood lipid, inhibit the level of serum inflammatory factors and promote the healing of the wound in diabetic foot rats, and its mechanism may be related to the regulation of NGF/Akt/GSK3β pathway.

Therapeutic effects of benzoylaconitine and paeoniflorin in rats with collagen-induced arthritis

Abstract To explore the effects and mechanisms of benzoylaconitine and paeoniflorin on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats. Weight, paw swelling, arthritis index and joint pathologic changes were examined in each group after CIA induction. PGE2, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, VEGF, MMP-3, IgG and anti-CII Ab were assessed by ELISA; STAT1 and STAT3 expressions were analyzed immunohistochemically, and the ultrastructure of synovial cells was observed by transmission electron microscopy. Therapeutic effects were determined in CIA rats via injecting benzoylaconitine and paeoniflorin, which could alleviate the degree of swelling and arthritis index (AI) and pathological lesions of the sacroiliac gland; decrease the levels of PGE2, IL-1ß, TNF-α, VEGF and IgG in serum; reduce STAT1 and STAT3 expression in the membrane tissue; and inhibit the secretion and proliferation of synovial cells. These results showed that benzoylaconitine and paeoniflorin could significantly palliate the arthritic symptoms of CIA rats, and better therapeutic effects could be achieved if the two components were used in combination

Mechanism of paeoniflorin inhibiting apoptosis of hippocampal neurons of rats induced by lead acetate / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective: To investigate the effect and underlying mechanism of paeoniflorin on hippocampal neuron apoptosis induced by lead acetate. Methods: In September 2020, primary hippocampal neuronal cells were isolated and cultured from fetal rats, and identified using cellular immunofluorescent. MTT assay was used to measure the cell viability to determine the concentration and time of lead acetate-induced hippocampal neuron apoptosis. MTT was also used to evaluate the effect of paeoniflorin concentration on the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons induced by lead acetate. According to the results, different concentrations of paeoniflorin were selected to intervene hippocampal neuron cells, after 24 h, lead acetate was added to the cells, meanwhile, blank and model groups were set up, the content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) , superoxide dismutase (SOD) , lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) , malondialdehyde (MDA) and Caspase-3 were measured. Extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) , phosphorylated ERK (p-ERK) , p38 mitogen -activated protein kinases (p38MAPK) , phosphorylated p38MAPK (p-p38MAPK) , c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and phosphorylated JNK (p-JNK) protein expression in hippocampal neuronal cells were determined by Western blotting. Results: The isolated and cultured hippocampal neurons were identified by immunofluorescence chemical staining and then treated with lead acetate, MTT results showed that lead acetate had the best toxicity effect when treated for 24 h at a concentration of 25 μmol/L. Paeoniflorin showed no cytotoxic effect on hippocampal neuronal cells when the concentrations below 80 μmol/L. Compared with the model group, the activity of hippocampal neuronal cells was significantly increased after treating with 20, 40 or 80 μmol/L paeoniflorin (P<0.05) . Compared with the blank group, the ROS activity, LDH release level, MDA content and caspase-3 content were significantly increased (P<0.01) , and the SOD activity was significantly decreased (P< 0.01) in the hippocampal neuronal cells of the model group. Compared with the model group, the ROS activity, LDH release level, MDA content and caspase-3 content were obviously decreased (P<0.05) , SOD activity was significantly increased (P <0.01) after hippocampal neuronal cells were treated with 40 or 80 μmol/L paeoniflorin. Relative to the model group, the ratio of p-ERK/ERK were significantly up-regulated (P<0.01) , while the ratios of p-p38MAPK/p38MAPK and p-JNK/JNK were significantly down-regulated after hippocampal neuronal cells were treated with 40 or 80 μmol/L paeoniflorin (P<0.05) . Conclusion: Paeoniflorin may down-regulate the expression of p-p38MAPK and p-JNK protein, up-regulate the expression of p-ERK protein, and inhibit the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons induced by lead acetate through the MAPK signaling pathway.

Paeoniflorin improves myocardial injury via inhibition of Src/VE-cadherin pathway in septic rats / 中华内科杂志

Objective:To study the protective effect and mechanism of paeoniflorin (pae) on myocardial injury in septic rats.Methods:Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 4 groups with 10 rats in each group. Rats were intraperitoneally injected with 1.4 ml normal saline and 1.4 ml 5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)solution independently in control group and DMSO group. Rats were intraperitoneally injected with 1.4 ml normal saline and 1.4 ml pae independently, then with 0.1 ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS) 1 hour later in sepsis group and pae group. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels and myocardial tissue tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), interleukin(IL)-6, IL-1β, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (CXCL1), chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 2 (CXCL2), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) levels. Evans blue (EB) method was used to detect the EB content of myocardial tissue. HE staining method was used to observe the pathological changes, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to detect mRNA expression levels of the above molecules, and Western-blot to detect vascular endothelium-cadherin (VE-cadherin), phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (P-p38MAPK), phosphorylated Src protein (P-Src), Ras-Related C3 Botulinum Toxin Substrate 1 (Rac1) levels.Results:Compared with control group, cTnI level and the EB content in sepsis group increased significantly, and the myocardial inflammatory cell infiltration was obvious. The cTnI level and EB content in pae group were significantly reduced, and myocardial inflammatory cell infiltration was reduced [cTnI: (227.7±15.9)pg/ml vs. (312.9±17.9)pg/ml;EB: (13.2±2.3)μg/g vs. (23.8±2.9)μg/g; P<0.05]. Compared with control group, the levels of TNFα, IL-6, IL-1β, CXCL1, CXCL2, and VCAM-1 in sepsis group were increased. Compared with sepsis group, the above-mentioned molecular levels of pae group were significantly decreased [TNFα: (63.39±9.55)pg/ml vs. (126.54±19.17)pg/ml ;IL-6: (64.03±8.82)pg/ml vs. (85.60±9.52)pg/ml;IL-1β: (69.52±9.23)pg/ml vs. (130.45±15.10)pg/ml;CXCL1: (2 600.19±379.54)pg/ml vs. (4 903.89±533.42)pg/ml;CXCL2: (93.71±10.83)pg/ml vs. (127.24±13.92)pg/ml;VCAM-1: (112.22±13.49)pg/ml vs. (149.32±15.65)pg/ml, both P<0.05]. RT-qPCR results showed that the mRNA expressions of TNFα, IL-6, IL-1β, CXCL1, CXCL2 and VCAM-1 in the sepsis group were increased compared with the control group; Compared with sepsis group, the IL-6 mRNA (1.271±0.139 vs. 1.920±0.191, P<0.05), IL-1βmRNA (1.180±0.130 vs. 1.817±0.191, P<0.05), VCAM-1 mRNA (1.088±0.144 vs. 1.460±0.166, P<0.05) expression decreased significantly in the pae group. Compared with control group, the levels of P-p38MAPK and P-Src in sepsis group increased, and the level of VE-cadherin decreased. Compared with sepsis group, the levels of p38MAPK and P-p38MAPK in pae group were significantly decreased, and the level of VE-cadherin was increased (p38MAPK/β-actin: 1.125±0.078 vs. 1.520±0.164; P-p38MAPK protein: 1.639±0.133 vs. 2.112±0.222; both P<0.05). Conclusion:Paeoniflorin could improve the permeability of cardiac microvascular endothelium in sepsis rats and inhibit the secretion and expression of inflammation-related proteins and genes, which might be related to the inhibition of Src/VE-cadherin pathway by paeoniflorin.

Content determination of five constituents in Shenfukang Ⅱ capsule by HPLC / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To develop an HPLC method for the simultaneous dete rmination of morroniside ，loganin，paeoniflorin， salvianolic acid B and icariin in Shenfukang Ⅱ capsule. METHODS The determination was performed on Agilent 5 TC-C18 column with mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile- 0.1％ phosphate acid （gradient elution ）at the flow rate of 1 mL/min. The column temperature was 30 ℃，and detection wavelength was set at 240 nm. The sample size was 10 μL. RESULTS The linear range of morroniside，loganin，paeoniflorin，salvianolic acid B and icariin were 4.80-240.00，4.84-242.00，7.00-350.00，4.72-236.00 and 5.18-259.00 μg/mL（r≥0.999 8），respectively. RSDs of precision ，stability and reproducibility tests were all lower than 3％（n＝6）. Average recoveries were 97.22％-101.36％ with the RSDs of 1.19％-2.43％（n＝6）. The contents of above 5 components in 5 batches of samples were 2.019 3-2.360 0，1.624 2-1.847 1，5.637 7-6.828 0，5.015 9-5.717 0 and 1.208 8-1.754 6 mg/g，respectively. CONCLUSIONS The method is simple ，accurate and reproducible. It can improve the quality control level of Shenfukang Ⅱ capsule.

Pharmacokinetic behavior and brain tissue distribution of paeoniflorin combined with normal and toxic doses of strychnine in rats after percutaneous administration / 中国中药杂志

This study aims to establish a rapid and sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method for simultaneously determining the content of strychnine and paeoniflorin in plasma and brain tissue of rats, and compare the pharmacokinetic behavior and brain tissue distribution of paeoniflorin combined with normal and toxic doses of strychnine in rats after percutaneous administration. Compared with those in the toxic-dose strychnine group, the AUC_(0-t), AUC_(0-∞), and C_(max) of strychnine decreased by 51.51%, 45.68%, and 46.03%, respectively(P<0.01), and the corresponding values of paeoniflorin increased by 91.41%, 102.31%, and 169.32%, respectively(P<0.01), in the compatibility group. Compared with the normal-dose strychnine group, the compatibility group showed insignificantly decreased C_(max), AUC_(0-t), and AUC_(0-∞) of strychnine, increased C_(max) and T_(max) of paeoniflorin(P<0.01), 66.88% increase in AUC_(0-t), and 70.55% increase in AUC_(0-∞) of paeoniflorin. In addition, the brain tissue concentration of strychnine decreased and that of paeoniflorin increased after compatibility. The combination of paeoniflorin with normal dose and toxic dose of strychnine can inhibit the percutaneous absorption of strychnine, and greatly promote the percutaneous penetration of paeoniflorin, whereas the interaction mechanism remains to be explored. The UPLC-MS/MS method established in this study is easy to operate and has good precision. It is suitable for in vivo study of pharmacokinetic behavior and brain tissue distribution of paeoniflorin and strychnine after percutaneous administration in rats, which provides reference for the safe and rational clinical use of strychnine and the combined use of drugs, and lays a solid foundation for the development of external preparations containing Strychni Semen.

HPLC fingerprint of Moutan Cortex in different growth period / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To establish the HPLC fingerprint method for assessing the quality of Moutan Cortex, and to determine the contents of paeonol, paeoniflorin, gallic acid, hydroxyl-paeoniflorin and benzoyl-paeoniflorin of Moutan Cortex in different growth period. Methods:Diamonsil Plus C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) was used with the mobile phase comprising acetonitrile-0.05% formic acid solution and the flow rate of 1.0 ml/min with gradient elution manner. The detected wavelength was 230 nm for paeoniflorin and benzoyl-paeoniflorin, 267 nm for gallic acid, 258 nm for hydroxyl-paeoniflorin and 274 nm for paeonol with temperature column of 25 ℃. Then putting chromatograms into Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Chinese Materia Medica (2012A) to evaluate the similarity of Moutan Cortex in different growth period; then putting peak area data into SPSS software for cluster analysis and the clustering effect was determined. Results:The HPLC fingerprints established with this method has 23 shared peaks and 5 of them were identified, namely, paeonol, paeoniflorin, gallic acid, hydroxyl-paeoniflorin and benzoylpaeoniflorin. The similarity of Moutan Cortex in different years was between 0.850-0.991. This method has good linear relation ( r≥0.999 5), RSDs of precision, stability tests and reproducibility were lower than 1.6% ( n=6). Different growth periods of Moutan Cortex have obvious influence on the concentration of five compounds. Conclusion:This method is useful to evaluate and discriminate Moutan Cortex at different growth periods so as toprovide scientific reference on the harvest,industrialization and evaluation of Moutan Cortex.

Study on Improvement Effects and Mechanism of Paeoniflorin on Myocardial Injury in Type 2 Diabetic Model Rats / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE：To study the improvement effects of paeon iflorin（PF）on myocardial injury in type 2 diabetes mellitus（T2DM）model rats and its mechanism. METHODS ：The experiment was set up in the normal group ，model group ， positive control group （metformin 90 mg/kg），PF high-dose ，medium-dose and low-dose groups （90，60，30 mg/kg），with 8 rats in each group. Except for normal group ，other groups were given high-glucose and high-fat diet and intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin （30 mg/kg） to induce T 2DM model. After modeling ， administration groups were given relevant medicine intragastrically，normal group and model group were given constant volume of normal saline intragastrically ，once a day ，for consecutive 4 weeks. The body weight ，fasting blood glucose and oral glucose tolerance were measured ；serum levels of glycosylated serum protein （GSP），total cholesterol （TC），triacylglycerol（TG），glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px），superoxide dismutase（SOD），malondialdehyde（MDA），creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB （CK-MB） and troponin Ⅰ （cTn Ⅰ） were determined. The pathomorphological changes of myocardium were observed. The apoptosis index of rat cardiomyocytes was （ detected. The protein expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 （Bcl-2），Bcl-2 related X protein （Bax）and caspase- 3 in rat myocardium were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. RE SULTS：Compared with normal group ，the body weight ，serum levels of GSH-Px and SOD ，protein expression of Bcl- 2 in myocardium were decreased significantly in model group（P＜0.01）；while fasting blood glucose ，area under blood glucose curve ，serum levels of biochemical indexes （GSP，TC， TG，MDA，CK-MB，cTnⅠ），cardiomyocyte apoptosis index ，protein expression of Bax and caspase- 3 in myocardium were increased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The arrangement of myocardium was relatively irregular ，and some muscle fibers were broken. Compared with model group ，except for body weight ，serum levels of SOD and MDA ，the protein expression of Bax in myocardium in PF low-dose group ， above indexes of PF groups were reversed significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS：PF can regulate glycolipid metabolism ，enhance antioxidant ability ，inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis and improve myocardial injury in T 2DM model rats ；the mechanism may be associated with increasing the protein expression of Bcl- 2 and down-regulating the protein expression of Bax and caspase- 3 in myocardium.

Mechanism of paeonol combined with paeoniflorin against myocardial ischemia injury:based on proteomics / 中国中药杂志

The study aims to investigate the effect of the compatibility of paeonol and paeoniflorin(hereinafter referred to as the compatibility) on the expression of myocardial proteins in rats with myocardial ischemia injury and explore the underlying mechanism of the compatibility against myocardial ischemia injury. First, the acute myocardial infarction rat model was established by ligation of the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery. The model rats were given(ig) paeonol and paeoniflorin. Then protein samples were collected from rat cardiac tissue and quantified by tandem mass tags(TMT) to explore the differential proteins after drug intervention. The experimental results showed that differential proteins mainly involved phagocytosis engulfment, extracellular space, and antigen binding, as well as Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG) pathways of complement and coagulation cascades, syste-mic lupus erythematosus, and ribosome. In this study, the target proteins and related signaling pathways identified by differential proteomics may be the biological basis of the compatibility against myocardial ischemia injury in rats.

Paeoniflorin regulates gut microbiota and bile acids metabolism in colitis mice / 药学学报

The current study was designed to evaluate the modulatory effects of paeoniflorin on the dysregulated gut microbiota as well as the disturbed fecal bile acids (BAs) in colitis mice. After approved by Xi'an Jiaotong University Ethics Committees (Approval No. XJTU2019-679), the animals were randomly distributed into the control (Con), colitis, low dose paeoniflorin (PF-L, 25 mg·kg-1·d-1), high dose paeoniflorin (PF-H, 50 mg·kg-1·d-1) and 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA, 50 mg·kg-1·d-1) groups. Colitis was induced by administering 3% (w/v) DSS in drinking water for 7 days. Paeoniflorin and 5-ASA were dissolved in water and administered to the appropriate groups by oral gavage over the 7-day period. The mice were monitored daily, and the disease activity index (DAI) comprising of body weight loss, stool consistency and gross blood was measured. The pathological changes of colon were evaluated by HE staining; the levels of inflammatory cytokines in colonic tissue were determined by ELISA; the gut permeability was measured by FITC-dextran. Microbiota analysis based on 16S rDNA and targeted metabolomics for BAs were used to evaluate the composition of gut microbiota and fecal BAs pool. The results showed that administration of paeoniflorin markedly alleviated the inflammatory response and intestinal barrier dysfunction in DSS-induced colitis. Importantly, these ameliorative effects of paeoniflorin were accompanied by the improvements of disturbed composition of gut microbiota and the dysmetabolism of bile acids in feces. Finally, we performed Spearman's correlation analysis between the fecal BAs and gut microbiota genera, and found that Lactobacillus has a strong positive correlation with DCA and LCA which were reported to confer the beneficial effects of maintaining intestinal homeostasis. Taken together, paeoniflorin might improve the intestinal homeostasis in colitis mice via modulating gut microbiota and fecal BAs metabolism.

Chemical Constituents and Pharmacological Effects of Paeoniae Radix Rubra： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Paeoniae Radix Rubra is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used in clinical practice， it is mostly wild and widely distributed in different areas of China. In addition， the plant of Paeoniae Radix Rubra also has ornamental value. Modern phytochemical researches showed that the chemical constituents of Paeoniae Radix Rubra were complex. Up to now， more than 300 chemical constituents have been found， mainly including monoterpene glycosides， triterpenoids， flavonoids， tannins， phenolic acids， saccharides， steroids， volatile oils and so on. Among them， the content of monoterpene glycosides was the highest， and the types of volatile oil were the most. Paeoniae Radix Rubra has a wide range of pharmacological effects， exerting different curative effects in multiple systems such as blood， cardiovascular， nervous and digestive system. It can protect myocardial cells and nerve cells， stabilize microcirculation， anti-endotoxin， anti-atherosclerosis， reduce pulmonary hypertension， anti-depression， protect liver， anti-gastric ulcer， anti-tumor， slow down aging， treat Parkinson's syndrome and diabetes and its complications， anti-radiation， anti-inflammatory， anti-virus and so on. Through reviewing the literature on chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Paeoniae Radix Rubra， it was found that total glycosides and monomers such as paeoniflorin， albiflorin， benzoylpaeoniflorin and gallic acid may be the main active components of Paeoniae Radix Rubra. At present， the research on Paeoniae Radix Rubra mainly focused on monoterpene glycosides， while the research on flavonoids and volatile oil in Paeoniae Radix Rubra was less. It is suggested that research on these two components should be strengthened in the future.

Protective effect of paeoniflorin on H / 中国天然药物

This study was to investigate the protective effect of paeoniflorin (PF) on hydrogen peroxide-induced injury. Firstly, "SMILES" of PF was searched in Pubchem and further was used for reverse molecular docking in Swiss Target Prediction database to obtain potential targets. Injury-related molecules were obtained from GeenCards database, and the predicted targets of PF for injury treatment were selected by Wayne diagram. For mechanism analysis, the protein-protein interactions were constructed by String, and the KEGG analysis was conducted in Webgestalt. Then, cell viability and cytotoxicity assay were established by CCK8 assay. Also, the experimental cells were allocated to control, model (200 μmol·L

Effect of Zhenwu Decoction on chronic heart failure rats based on RAAS/NF-κB/ inflammatory factor cascade reaction / 中草药

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effect and potential mechanism of Zhenwu Decoction (ZWD) on chronic heart failure (CHF) rats. Methods: HPLC fingerprint of ZWD was established. All male SD rats were randomly divided into the sham operation group, the model group, the low, medium and high dose ZWD group (2.187 5, 4.375, and 8.75 g/kg) and the captopril group (10 mg/kg). Except for the sham operation group, the rest of rats were all established into the CHF model rats by ligating the left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery, after 8 weeks, all rats were ig administration for 4 weeks. The hemodynamic, viscera index, HE dyeing test were conducted at the end of experiments. Serum angiotensin II (Ang II), aldosterone (ALD), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), amino terminal brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6) were determinated by ELISA, and myocardial NF-κB protein expression was detected by Western blotting. Results: Higenamine, paeoniflorin, atractylenolide III, 6-gingerol and dehydrotumulosic acid, the five constituents of Zhenwu Decoction, were identified by HPLC chart. Compared with the model group, the administration of the ZWD significantly improved the hemodynamic parameters (P < 0.05), reduced the organ index (P < 0.05) and improved myocardial injury, reduced the serum Ang II, ALD, NF-κB, NT-proBNP, TNF-α and IL-6 levels and the myocardial NF-κB protein expression (P < 0.05). Conclusion: HPLC results provided an evidence for the quality control and pharmacodynamic substance of ZWD. ZWD can ameliorate CHF, which may be related to the inhibition of renin- angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS)/NF-κB/inflammatory factor cascade reaction.

Q-marker prediction analysis of Paeoniae Radix Alba based on fingerprint and network pharmacology / 中草药

Objective: To explore the potential Q-marker of Paeoniae Radix Alba in Danggui Sini Decoction based on fingerprint and network pharmacology. Methods: The fingerprints of Paeoniae Radix Alba decoction and Danggui Sini Decoction were established, and the law of components transfer was also defined. The "compounds-targets-pathways" network was then established to predict the potential Q-marker of Paeoniae Radix Alba through the network pharmacology. Results: The fingerprints of 15 batches of Paeoniae Radix Alba decoction and 15 batches of Danggui Sini Decoction were established, and the five chromatographic peaks were identified, they were gallic acid, albiflorin, paeoniflorin, 1,2,3,4,6-O-pentagalloylglucose, and benzoyl paeoniflorin. Through the network pharmacology analysis, the potential two active components, eight core targets and 13 key pathways were screened out, which indicated that paeoniflorin and albiflorin were preliminarily predicted to the potential Q-marker of Paeoniae Radix Alba. Conclusion: The analysis and prediction of the Q-marker in this study can provide a reference for the whole control of the Paeoniae Radix Alba quality, which can also provide the basis for the further research on the efficacy-related substance and mechanism of Paeoniae Radix Alba.

Study on specific chromatogram and content determination of multi-index components about material reference of classic prescription of Huaganjian / 中草药

Objective: To establish the UPLC specific chromatogram and HPLC content determination methods of multi-index components about the material reference of classical Huaganjian and build its quality control system. Methods: According to the ancient books and combining with the previously inspected process, 18 batches of Huaganjian material reference from different origins were prepared. The specific chromatogram was established by using UPLC. Similarity was calculated by using TCM Chromatographic Fingerprint Similarity Evaluation Software (2012). Combining with orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis, we excavated the main components that affected the quality of Huaganjian material reference from different batches and origins. Three of these index components (paeoniflorin, hesperidin, paeonol) from prescription sovereign drug, minister drug, and assistant drug were selected and used as indicators for content determination of Huaganjian material reference. HPLC content determination methods were established and the content of 18 batches of samples was determined respectively. Results: The similarity of the specific chromatogram was ≥ 0.989. Thirty-three common peaks were calibrated, and eight common peaks were identified by chemical composition (gallic acid, geniposide, paeoniflorin, hesperidin, didymin, paeonol, sinensetin, and 3,5,6,7,8,3',4'- heptamethoxyflavone). Nine index components that affected the stability between batches were found out (Peak 31, 20, 11, 13, 22, 33, 21, 29, 1). Paeoniflorin, hesperidin, and paeonol were selected as content determination indicators. The content range of these components in material reference was 1.28%-1.95% paeoniflorin, 0.91%-1.02% hesperidin, 0.48%-0.57% paeonol. Conclusion: The quality control method of the material reference of classic prescription Huaganjian was established preliminarily through the UPLC specific chromatogram and HPLC content determination of index components. This method was rapid, simple, feasible, reproducible, stable and could provide a theoretical basis for the subsequent development and quality control of Huaganjian preparations.

Preparation and in Vitro Release of Hollow Zein-paeoniflorin Nanoparticles / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To improve the stability and oral bioavailability of paeoniflorin, develop solid and hollow zein-paeoniflorin nanoparticles, and compare their properties and in vitro release. METHODS: The solid and hollow zein-paeoniflorin nanoparticles were fabricated by phase separation method, and the processing parameters were optimized according to the entrapment efficiency by orthogonal design. The morphology and mean size of nanoparticles were investigated and in vitro release was carried out using the optimal prescription. RESULTS: The mass of paeoniflorin, the concentration of zein and the stirring time in optimal prescription of solid zein-paeoniflorin nanoparticles were 10 mg, 10 mg•mL-1 and 2 h, respectively. These three factors in optimal prescription of hollow zein-paeoniflorin nanoparticles were 20 mg, 5 mg•mL-1 and 1 h, respectively. The obtained nanoparticles of solid and hollow zein-paeoniflorin nanoparticles were spherical with a mean particle size of 110 and 50 nm. And the drug load efficiency and entrapment efficiency of solid and hollow zein-paeoniflorin nanoparticles were 26.94%, 53.87%, 44.52% and 55.65%, respectively. In vitro release of both formulations indicated sustained release effect. CONCLUSION: The solid and hollow zein-paeoniflorin nanoparticles are successfully prepared by phase separation method. The method is simple and reliable. Compared with solid nanoparticles, the drug load efficiency of hollow nanoparticles is greatly improved, and in vitro studies of hollow zein-paeoniflorin nanoparticles show much slower release.

Chemical components and pharmacological effects for Guizhi Fuling Prescription and predictive analysis on quality marker (Q-marker) / 中草药

Guizhi Fuling Prescription is a classic prescription for promoting blood activation and resolving stasis. It has the functions of improving blood rheology, regulating endocrine, anti-inflammation, anti-cancer, and analgesia. In ancient times, it was used to treat women’s bleeding during pregnancy, abdominal pain, and postpartum lochia. It is also often used to treat gynecological diseases in modern clinics, such as uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, dysmenorrhea, endometriosis and so on. This paper reviewed the research progress of chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, clinical application, and quality control of Guizhi Fuling Prescription in recent years. On the basis of this, the quality markers of Guizhi Fuling Prescription are predicted and analyzed based on the “five principles” of quality markers of Chinese materia medica in order to provide reference for the study of quality control of Guizhi Fuling Prescription.