Cytotoxicity and the bioconversion strategy of Aristolochia spp

Aristolochia plants are notable from an ethnopharmacological viewpoint, but the relevance of these species for medicinal purposes has been debated because of their inherent toxicity. The convergence of these contrasting realities can be readily achieved using bioconversion methods, which have been shown to be useful tools for numerous applications, including the detoxification of biomass. In this context, methanolic extracts of leaves from Aristolochia triangularis and Aristolochia gibertii, as well as the feces of Battus polydamas larvae fed with leaves from these plants, were prepared, and their cytotoxic activities were evaluated on a human fibroblast cell line (GM07492). The leaf extracts were found to be cytotoxic, leading to reductions of 42.1 and 33.8% on cell viability, respectively, while the fecal extracts were considered inactive. In addition to evidencing the cytotoxicity of A. triangularis and A. gibertii, these findings demonstrated a potential bioconversion strategy for obtaining aristolochiaceous extracts with reduced toxicity using the larvae of a specialist phytophagous insect, thus renewing expectations in relation to the pharmacological importance of Aristolochia spp. The results were also ecologically relevant, as B. polydamas larvae were found to be able to detoxify compounds from host plants.(AU)

Analysis of aristolochic acids, aristololactams and their analogues using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry / 中国天然药物

More than 80 aristolochic acids (AAs) and aristololactams (ALs) have been found in plants of the Aristolochiaceae family, but relatively few have been fully studied. The present study aimed at developing and validating a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS(n)) for the analysis of these compounds. We characterized the fragmentation behaviors of 31 AAs, ALs, and their analogues via high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. We summarized their fragmentation rules and used these rules to identify the constituents contained in Aristolochia contorta, Ar. debilis, Ar. manshurensis, Ar. fangchi, Ar. cinnabarina, and Ar. mollissima. The AAs and ALs showed very different MS behaviors. In MS(1) of AAs, the characteristic pseudomolecular ions were [M + NH4](+), [M + H](+), and [M + H - H2O](+). However, only [M + H](+) was found in the MS(1) of ALs, which was simpler than that of AAs. Distinct MS(n)fragmentation patterns were found for AAs and ALs, showing the same skeleton among the different substituent groups. The distribution of the 31 constituents in the 6 species of Aristolochia genus was reported for the first time. 25 Analogues of AAs and ALs were detected in this genus. A hierarchical schemes and a calculating formula of the molecular formula of these nitrophenanthrene carboxylic acids and their lactams were proposed. In conclusion, this method could be applied to identification of similar unknown constituents in other plants.

aqueous root extract of Aristolochia ringens [Vahl.] Aristolochiaceae inhibits chemically-induced inflammation in rodents

The potential of the aqueous root extract of Aristolochia ringens [AR] [10-100 mg/kg p.o] to inhibit inflammation induced by phlogistics was evaluated using the carrageenan and egg albumin induced rat paw oedema, formaldehyde induced arthritic inflammation and xylene induced mouse ear oedema models. AR [10-50 mg/kg] dose-dependently decreased rat paw oedema in the carrageenan and egg albumin induced inflammation, producing comparable inhibition of 57.1% and 65.6% to the 57.9% and 63.9% of indomethacin and diclofenac [10 mg/kg p.o] respectively at 50 mg/kg. AR [10-50 mg/kg] also dose dependently inhibited formaldehyde-induced arthritic paw oedema over the 10 day observation period, with a greater inhibition of 50% at 50 mg/kg than the 40.8% inhibition by diclofenac [10 mg/kg i.p]. AR [50 mg/kg] also produced greater inhibition of 84.78% than the 65.21% by dexamethasone [1 mg/kg] in xylene-induced ear oedema. Results show that the aqueous root extract of Aristolochia ringens possesses antiinflammatory activity

Studies on the renal toxicity caused by aristolochic acids (AAs) and Chinese herbs containing AAs / 中国中药杂志

The article summarized the general situation of the study on the renal toxicity caused by aristolochic acids (AAs) and Chinese herbs containing AAs. The renal lesion induced by AAs and Chinese herbs containing AAs locates mainly in renal tubules, and glomeruluses have no obvious histological change. The short term administration of large doses causes acute renal epithelia denaturalization and tubular necrosis, but the long-term administration may result in chronically progressive interstitial fibrosis of the kidney. Renal failure may occur following both acute and chronic renal lesion. The renal function should be strictly monitored while one is using the Chinese herbs containing AAs, and the dosage and duration for the treatment must be limited to prevent renal toxicity.