Cimicifuga heracleifolia is therapeutically similar to black cohosh in relieving menopausal symptoms: evidence from pharmacological and metabolomics studies / 中国天然药物

In the market of botanical dietary supplements, Cimicifuga heracleifolia (CH) has always been considered as an adulterated species of Cimicifuga racemosa (CR), a conventional American herb with promising benefits to counteract troubles arising from the menopause. However, the detailed comparison of their therapeutic effects is lacking. In present study, the pharmacological and metabolomics studies were comparatively conducted between CH and CR in ovariectomized (OVX) female rats. Specifically, estrogen-like, anti-hyperlipidemia and anti-osteoporosis effects were evaluated through measuring serum biochemical parameters, histopathological examination and micro computed tomography (Micro-CT) scanning. At the same time, a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based serum metabolomics method was employed to profile the metabolite compositional changes. As a result, both CR and CH displayed anti-osteoporosis and anti-hyperlipemia on menopause syndrome. Meanwhile, their potentials in improving the OVX-induced metabolic disorders were discovered. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that CH is therapeutically similar to CR in relieving menopausal symptoms and CH could be considered as a promising alternative to CR instead of an adulterant in the market of botanical dietary supplements.

HPLC-UV fingerprint of Cimicifugae Rhizoma from different regions / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective To detect the HPLC-UV fingerprints of Cimicifugae Rhizoma. Methods The column of Waters XBridge? Shield RP18 (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm) and a mixture of 0.05% phosphoric acid water solution -acetonitrile as the mobile phase was at the flow rate of 1.0 ml/min, the column temperature was 30 and℃the ahsorhance was monitored at 320 nm, the injection volume was 20 μl. The fingerprints of Cimicifugae Rhizoma were analyzed, and the similarity analysis was used to evaluate the quality of Cimicifugae Rhizoma in different areas. Results To establish a method of HPLC-UV fingerprint of Cimicifugae Rhizoma, and eleven common peaks were identified of cimifugin, caffeic acid, isoferulic acid peaks. The similarity of the fingerprints of 12 batches of Cimicifugae Rhizoma in four producing areas was above 0.88. The precision, repeatability and stability of the method were good. Conclusions The method is simple, accurate and reproducible, which provides the basis for scientific evaluation of the quality control of Cimicifugae Rhizoma.

Effects of Different Processing Methods on Contents of Isoferulic Acid in Cimicifuga heracleifolia / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To investigate the effects of different processing methods on contents of main chemical components isoferulic acid in Cimicifuga heracleifolia. Methods Cimicifuga heracleifolia from the same batch were prepared by processing method. HPLC were used to determine the contents of isoferulic acid in crudes samples, wine-prepared samples, vinegar-prepared samples, and carbonized samples. Results The contents of isoferulic acid of crudes samples and the three different processed products were in the order as follows:carbonized samples (0.404 7%)>vinegar-prepared samples (0.302 3%)>wine-prepared samples (0.262 4%)>crudes samples (0.231 3%). Conclusion Different processing methods had certain effects on the content of isoferulic acid in Cimicifuga heracleifolia.