ABSTRACT
Through reviewing the ancient and modern literature， the name， origin， producing area， quality evaluation， harvesting and processing methods of Trichosanthis Fructus（TF） and Trichosanthis Radix（TR） in famous classical formulas were systematically sorted out following the chronological order. The results showed that there were many nicknames of TF and TR， and Gualou and Tianhuafen have become the mainstream names for its fruit and root， respectively. Both of them took Trichosanthes kirilowii as the mainstream base. TF and TR have been used as medicines in the Han dynasty， and since the North and South dynasties， Leigong Paozhilun had been clear that the effects of peels， seeds， stems， roots were different. TF was used as medicine with intact fruits， harvested after maturity from September to October， hung and dried in the shade， and its quality has been summarized in recent times as being best for those who are mature， large， thick and pliable peels， orange-yellow in color， and with sufficient sugary properties. In ancient times， the processing of TR was mostly crushed or shredded with the peels and seeds， or processing for pancakes and creams. TR was used as medicine with the roots， it is harvested from November to December， peeled and dried in the sun， and its quality was best when it was deep in the soil， large， white， powdery， firm and delicate with few muscles and veins， and it was considered to be toxic when it was born in briney land. Processing method of TR was to do powder into the medicine in the Tang dynasty， and gradually evolved into direct slicing use in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Since the modern era， the authentic producing areas of TF and TR were in the vicinity of Lingbao， Henan province， known as Anyang Huafen， and in modern times， there are well-known production areas such as Anguo， which produces Qihuafen， and Jinan， which produces Changqing Gualou. In the Song dynasty， there was a habit of substituting Trichosanthis Semen for the whole herb， which was later corrected by the materia medica in Ming dynasty. Based on the results， It is suggested that T. kirilowii be selected as the basal plant for the development of famous classical formulas involving TR and TF. In Qingjin Huatantang， Trichosanthis Semen is processed by stir-frying method， while TR and TF in other five formulas from the Catalogue of Ancient Famous Classical Formulas（The First Batch） were all used in raw form.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo observe the effects of the water extracts of Trichosanthis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma at different ratios on glucose and lipid metabolism in KKAy mice with spontaneous type 2 diabetes and explore the mechanism of the extract in alleviating insulin resistance based on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）/forkhead box O1 （FoxO1） signaling pathway. MethodThe 8-week-old C57BL/6J male mice were taken as the normal control group， and KKAy male mice of the same age were randomly assigned into a model group， a metformin group， Trichosanthis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma groups at the ratios of 1∶1 （Trichosanthis Radix 30 g， Polygonati Rhizoma 30 g）， 1∶3 （Trichosanthis Radix 15 g， Polygonati Rhizoma 45 g）， and 1∶5 （Trichosanthis Radix 10 g， Polygonati Rhizoma 50 g） according to blood glucose level and body weight， with 6 mice in each group. The administration lasted for 8 weeks， and the body weight （BW） and fasting blood glucose （FBG） of mice were recorded at the same time points of the 2nd， 4th， 6th， and 8th weeks， respectively. Oral glucose tolerance test （OGTT） was performed at the 7th week. After drug administration， the serum levels of total cholesterol （TC）， triglyceride （TG）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）， high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）， and fasting insulin （FINS） were measured， and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance （HOMA-IR） index was calculated. The liver tissue samples were stained with hematylin-eosin （HE） and periodic acid-Schiff （PAS） for observation of the fat distribution and glycogen content. The protein levels of PI3K， Akt， p-Akt， FoxO1， and p-FoxO1 in the liver were determined by Western blot. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed increased food intake， FBG， glucose tolerance， FINS， HOMA-IR， TC， TG， and LDL-C （P<0.01）， and down-regulated protein levels of PI3K， Akt， phosphorylaison （p）-Akt， FoxO1， and p-FoxO1 in the liver （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， Trichosanthis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma lowered FBG and HOMA-IR （P<0.05， P<0.01）. In particular， the combination at the ratio of 1∶3 showed the best performance （P<0.01） comparable to metformin. Furthermore， Trichosanthis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma at different ratios lowered blood glucose at different time points of OGTT （P<0.05） and TC and LDL-C （P<0.01）. Additionally， the combination at the ratio of 1∶3 reduced TG （P<0.01）. The liver of mice in the drug administration groups showed regular morphology， with few lipid droplets and rich glycogen. Western blot showed that Trichosanthis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma up-regulated the protein levels of PI3K and p-Akt， down-regulated the protein level of FoxO1， and up-regulated the protein level of p-FoxO1 （P<0.05）. ConclusionTrichosanthis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma， especially at the ratio of 1∶3， lowered the FBG， TC， LDL-C， and HOMA-IR index， promoted liver glycogen synthesis， and reduced steatosis in KKAy mice， which may be related to the regulation of PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 signaling pathway in the liver.
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Objective:To explore the potential targets and mechanism of action of "Clematis Radix et Rhizoma-Trichosanthis Radix" based on network pharmacology. Method:Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology Analysis Platform（TCMSP） was used to screen out active ingredients and corresponding target proteins of Clematis Radix et Rhizoma and Trichosanthis Radix according to oral bioavailability（OB） and drug likeness（DL），cancer disease targets were screened out using GeneCards and OMIM databases，R language software was used to screen out common targets of clematis，trichosanthin and cancer diseases， Cytoscape 3.7.2 software was used to construct a network map of "drug-active ingredient-disease-target"， STRING database was used to draw protein protein interaction（PPI）of common target proteins， R language software was used to perform enrichment analysis of gene ontology（GO） functions and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes（KEGG） channels on effective targets. Result:A total of 9 effective active ingredients were obtained from Clematis Radix et Rhizoma-Trichosanthis Radix powder pair. A total of 31 target genes were searched，and 814 relevant target genes were searched from cancer diseases. The two kinds of relevant target genes were matched to obtain 9 common target genes，which mainly involved endopeptidase，cysteine-type endopeptidase activities involving in the apoptosis process and cancer necrosis factor receptor superfamily binding and other biological processes，and played a role in the treatment of cancers by regulating apoptosis，measles，hepatitis B，kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection，p53，interleukin-17（IL-17），tumor necrosis factor（TNF） and many other pathways. Conclusion:The mechanism of Clematis Radix et Rhizoma-Trichosanthis Radix in the treatment of cancer is preliminarily studied. Clematis Radix et Rhizoma-Trichosanthis Radix has multiple active ingredients and can play a role in treating cancer through multiple targets and multiple pathways.
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Different parts of Trichosanthes kirilowii can all be used as medicines, including the fruits (Trichosanthis Fructus), pericarps (Trichosanthis Pericarpium), seeds (Trichosanthis Semen) and roots (Trichosanthis Radix). Modern research has confirmed that the main active ingredients of Trichosanthis Pericarpium are flavonoids and amino acids; Trichosanthis Semen mainly contains terpenoids and sterols; Trichosanthis Radix mainly contains protein, steroids and polysaccharides. And the pharmacological effects of various medicinal parts are also different. This paper summarizes the traditional efficacy, chemical composition and modern pharmacological effects of different medicinal parts of T. kirilowii, analyzes the relationship between them, so as to analyze and predict the quality marker of T. kirilowii.
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Objective:To separate and purify the immunoactive polysaccharide RTPS- I from Trichosanthis Radix and study the physicochemical properties and preliminary structure. Methods:The crude polysaccharides were extracted by water, and then precipita-ted by ethanol. After the deproteinization with trichloroacetic acid, the polysaccharide RTPS-I was separated and purified by using DE-AE-Cellulose, DEAE-Sepharose FF and Sephadex G-200 column chromatography. The analysis of properties and structure was per-formed by using GC, HPGPC, IR and NMR. Results:RTPS-I was a white flocculent solid after vacuum freeze-drying, and soluble in water. It contained three elements (carbon, hydrogen and oxygen) with the specific rotation [α]25D (H2O) of +164. 44 and the relative molecular mass of 17555. The glycosyl in RTPS- I was composed of glucose without uronic acid. The sugar ring was pyranoid ring, and each monosaccharide was linked by α-glycosidic bond. Conclusion: A homogeneous immunoactive polysaccharide RTPS- I from Trichosanthis Radix is isolated for the first time.
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Objective: To analyze the quality of medicinal parts of Trichosanthes kirilowii from different populations and to establish a new method to evaluate the medicinal material quality. Methods: Contents of protein, flavonoids, and polysaccharide were analyzed by AA3 Continuous Flow, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, and sulfuric acid-phenol. The 3, 29-dibenzoyl rarounitriol (3, 29-DR) content in Trichosanthis Semen and the cucurbitacin bcontent in Trichosanthis Radix were determined by RP-HPLC. In addition, the quality of medicinal materials was evaluated by the principal components analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis. Results: The quality of Trichosanthis Semen was the best in T. kirilowii from Henan Anyang-Liyuan with highest contents of 3, 29-DR and protein; Shanxi Jiang County T. kirilowii can be better used as Trichosanthis Pericarpium with higher contents of protein and polysaccharide; T. kirilowii from Anhui Yuexi-Heidapian could be regarded as Trichosanthis Radix for cultivating, because of higher protein content, lower starch content, and medium cucurbitacin bcontent. Conclusion: The PCA and cluster analysis are effective in evaluating the medicinal material quality. The newly established model will bring the significant benefits for evaluating the quality of T. kirilowii.
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Objective:To compare the contents of polysaccharide and protein in male and female Trichosanthis Radix to provide reasonable explanation for that male plant was better. Methods:Polysaccharides in Trichosanthis Radix were obtained by water-extrac-tion and ethanol-precipitation method, and the content was determined by anthrone-sulfuric acid method. Tichosanthin ( TCS) was ob-tained by hydrochloric acid extraction and acetone precipitation. Based on the light absorption of Coomassie brilliant blue G-250 com-bined with proteins, the content of TCS was detected. Results: The polysaccharides content in male and female Trichosanthis Radix was 2. 628% and 3. 237%, TCS content was 0. 193% and 0. 280%, respectively. Conclusion: The contents of polysaccharides and TCS in male plant are higher than those in female plant. The male plant is a better source for Trichosanthis Radix.