ABSTRACT
Zanthoxyli Radix is a traditional Chinese medicine. It can be used for the treatment of wind-cold-dampness arthralgia, muscle and bone pain, fall fracture, hernia, sore throat, toothache and other diseases. Due to possessing many excellent and mild pharmacological properties, there are lots of reports about Zanthoxyli Radix worldwide. At present, more than 100 bioactive components have been extracted and purified from Zanthoxyli Radix. Nitidine chloride (NC), one of the most important alkaloids in Zanthoxyli Radix, has the activities of anti-tumor, anti-inflammation, anti-bacteria, etc. In this review, we summarize the chemical components of Zanthoxyli Radix, pharmacological activity and mechanism of action of NC to provide references for further research and utilization of Zanthoxyli Radix.
ABSTRACT
Liangmianzhen(Zanthoxyli Radix) has long been used as medicine. The current medicinal parts are different from those in the ancient. As recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopeia, the medicinal part is root. However, in ancient works, the medicinal parts include root, stem, leaf, and fruit. In an attempt to find the historical basis that stem is a reasonable medicinal part, the herbalogical study was carried out on this medicinal based on the formal names, synonyms, original plant, medicinal parts, habitat of the medicinal plant, producing area, processing and preparation methods, efficacy, and indications recorded in ancient Chinese materia medica and local gazetteers. The results showed that Liangmianzhen was firstly recorded as a medicinal in Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica with the formal name of "Manjiao". "Manjiao" was adopted from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty when it was changed to "Rudijinniu", the name originating from the folk in the south of the Five Ridges. Now, the formal name is "Liangmianzhen", which was firstly recorded in Wuxuan County Gazetteer in 1914 and then as a synonym in the Updated Records of Picking Herbs in the South of the Five Ridges. According to the formal names, synonyms, and the descriptions of the original plant, the medicinal plants of Liang-mianzhen have the characteristics of shrub-like young seedlings, vine adult seedlings, corymbiform thyrsus, stems with thorns, amphitropous golden-yellow roots with horn-like branches, and thorns on both sides of the leaves. Thus, "Manjiao", "Rudijinniu", and "Liangmianzhen" were from the same species of Zanthoxylum nitidum(Rutaceae), which was also verified based on the growth environment, habitat, processing and preparation methods, efficacy, and indications. In ancient times, the stem and root were the main medicinal parts and leaves and fruits were also used. However, in the Chinese Pharmacopeia, root is recorded as the only medicinal part, which is obviously inconsistent with the records in the ancient classics. In light of the limited medicinal resources for Liang-mianzhen, other medicinal parts of Z. nitidum is recommended. This study clarified the medicinal parts of Z. nitidum in history. It is recommended that the stem be added to the medicinal parts of Z. nitidum in the next edition of Chinese Pharmacopeia.
Subject(s)
China , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Fruit , Materia Medica , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , Plants, MedicinalABSTRACT
The apoptosis of mono-hepatocellular induced by the active ingredients of the Zanthoxyli Radix was investigated using laser Raman spectroscopy. Hepatoma cells (BEL-7404) were treated with 10 mg•L⁻¹ nitidine chloride and 3 g•L⁻¹ the extracts of Zanthoxyli Radix, respectively, then were divided into two parts, one for fluorescence staining, the other for determination of Raman spectroscopy. The acquired spectra were then processed by background elimination, smoothing, and normalization. Fluorescence staining results showed that the nucleuses from untreated group were uniformly stained, while those from the group treated for 48 hours were densely stained and broken. The spectra results revealed that the intensity of peaks associated with nucleic acid and protein decreased after the cells were incubated with the extracts of Zanthoxyli Radix for 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours. The intensity of peaks at 785,1 002,1 175,1 660 cm⁻¹ was decreased with the time of the cells were incubated by the extracts of Zanthoxyli Radix. The results indicated that the extracts of Zanthoxyli Radix could induce the apoptosis of hepatoma cells and reduce the amount of nucleic acid and protein in the cells. There is a certain relevance between the drug treatment time and the efficacy. The above results suggest that Raman spectra can provide abundant information about the changes in biological macromolecules within the cells after incubated by the extracts of Zanthoxyli Radix and serve as an effective method for the real time measurement of apoptosis.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the relationship between HPLC fingerprint and antihepatoma activity of the extract from Zanthoxyli Radix. Methods: Zanthoxyli Radix fingerprint was established and human hepatic carcinoma cell line HepG2 was chosen as efficacy model. The antihepatoma activity of the extracts in Zanthoxyli Radix of 33 batchs from different habitats was determined by MTT method. After integrated the area of characteristic peak with the antihepatoma activity of Zanthoxyli Radix, the hepatic carcinoma "spectrum-effect" relationship was established by step-back technique. Results: The HPLC-fingerprint of Zanthoxyli Radix was established, and the similarity of fingerprint had reached above 0.7. All data were done with the chromatographic fingerprint similarity evaluation system software, chosen out 24 fingerprint peaks. The spectrum-effect relationship on HepG2 was established and this relationship was significantly different. The results indicated that the multiple linear regression could predict the antihepatoma activity to HepG2 with statistical and practical significance. Conclusion: The spectrum-effect relationship on HepG2 has the good predictive and describing abilities to evaluate the quality and therapeutic activity of Zanthoxyli Radix. According to the spectrum-effect relationship equation, we can predict the sensibility of different tumor cells.
ABSTRACT
Objective: ITS2 barcoding was used to discriminate Zanthoxyli Radix and its adulterants to ensure the quality and clinical safety of this Chinese materia medica. Methods: The internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) regions were amplified and sequenced bi-directionally. Then the obtained sequences were assembled using the CodonCode Aligner. The ITS2 regions were obtained using the hidden Markov model (HMM)-based annotation methods. The genetic distances of the ITS2 regions were computed in accordance with the kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model and Neighbor-joining (NJ) phylogenetic trees were constructed using MEGA5.0. Results: The length of ITS2 sequences of the plants in Zanthoxyli Radix and its adulterants were between 224 and 227 bp. Their mean intraspecific genetic distance (K2P distance) was lower than their mean interspecific genetic distance with the adulterants. The NJ trees showed that the roots of Zanthoxyli Radix could be easily distinguished from its adulterants. Conclusion: ITS2 barcode could be used to identify the roots of Zanthoxyli Radix and its adulterants effectively, and provide the important molecular evidence for the authentication of germplasm resources.