Analysis and evaluation of bioactive constituents from different parts of Epimedium brevicornum / 中国中药杂志

A comprehensive analytical method based on ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole/linear ion trap tandem mass spectrometry(UFLC-QTRAP-MS/MS) was established for simultaneous determination of the content of 45 bioactive constituents including flavonoids, alkaloids, amino acids, phenolic acids, and nucleosides in Epimedium brevicornum. The multiple bioactive constituents in leaves, petioles, stems and rhizomes of E. brevicornum were analyzed. The gradient elution was performed at 30 ℃ in an XBridge~® C_(18) column(4.6 mm×100 mm, 3.5 μm) with 0.4% formic acid aqueous solution-acetonitrile as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.8 mL·min~(-1). Single factor experiment and response surface methodology were employed to optimize the extraction conditions. Multivariate statistical analyses including systematic cluster analysis(SCA), principal component analysis(PCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA), and one-way analysis of variance(One-way ANOVA) were carried out to classify the samples from different parts and identify different constituents. Grey relation analysis(GRA) and entropy weight-TOPSIS analysis were performed to build a multi-index comprehensive evaluation model for different parts of E. brevicornum. The results showed that there was a good relationship between the mass concentrations of 45 constituents and the corresponding peak areas, with the correlation coefficients(r) not less than 0.999 0. The precision, repeatability, and stability of the established method were good for all the target constituents in this study, with the relative standard deviations(RSDs) less than 5.0%(0.62%-4.9%) and the average recovery of 94.51%-105.7%. The above results indicated that the bioactive constituents varied in different parts of E. brevicornum, and the overall quality followed the trend of leaves > petioles > rhizomes > stems. This study verified the rationality of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition) stipulating that the medicinal part of E. brevicornum is the leaf. Moreover, our study indicated that the rhizome had the potential for medicinal development. The established method was accurate and reliable, which can be used to comprehensive evaluate and control the quality of E. brevicornum. This study provides data reference for clarifying the medicinal parts and rationally utilizing the resources of E. brevicornum.

Improvement of solubility of epimedium flavonoid secondary glycoside components by traditional Chinese medicine polysaccharides and its mechanism / 中国中药杂志

The poor solubility of insoluble components of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is an important factor restricting the development of its preparations. Natural polysaccharides of TCM can be used as functional components to increase the solubility of insoluble components. Epimedium flavonoid secondary glycoside components(EFSGC) have been shown to have positive effects on the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, but they exhibit poor solubility. Therefore, the strategy of solubilizing EFSGC with TCM polysaccharides was adopted, and its effect on the permeability and stability of EFSGC was evaluated in this study. Based on the equilibrium solubility experiment of EFSGC, it was found that Panax notoginseng crude polysaccharide(PNCP) had the best solubilization effect on EFSGC among the ten kinds of TCM polysaccharides, which increased the solubility of EFSGC from 0.8 mg·mL~(-1) to 13.3 mg·mL~(-1). It should be noted that after the solubilization of EFSGC by preparation technology, the effects on permeability and stability should be considered. Therefore, this study also investigated these two properties. The results showed that PNCP increased the effective transmittance of EFSGC from 50.5% to 71.1%, which could increase the permeability of EFSGC significantly. At the same time, it could improve the stability of EFSGC in the simulated gastric juice environment. In order to explain the solubilization mechanism of PNCP on EGSGC, critical micelle concentration, particle size, potential, differential scanning calorimetry, and infrared spectroscopy were analyzed. It was preliminarily inferred that the mechanism was as follows: PNCP and EFSGC could self-assemble into aggregates for solubilization by intermolecular hydrogen bonding interaction in water. In summary, PNCP can not only improve the solubility of EFSGC but also improve its permeability and stability. This study lays the foundation for the application of TCM polysaccharides as a functional component to solubilize insoluble components.

Aqueous extract of Epimedium sagittatum mitigates pulmonary fibrosis in mice / 中国中药杂志

This study aims to investigate the intervention effect of the aqueous extract of Epimedium sagittatum Maxim on the mouse model of bleomycin(BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis, so as to provide data support for the clinical treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. Ninety male C57BL/6N mice were randomized into normal(n=10), model(BLM, n=20), pirfenidone(PFD, 270 mg·kg~(-1), n=15), and low-, medium-, and high-dose E. sagittatum extract(1.67 g·kg~(-1), n=15; 3.33 g·kg~(-1), n=15; 6.67 g·kg~(-1), n=15) groups. The model of pulmonary fibrosis was established by intratracheal instillation of BLM(5 mg·kg~(-1)) in the other five groups except the normal group, which was treated with an equal amount of normal saline. On the day following the modeling, each group was treated with the corresponding drug by gavage for 21 days. During this period, the survival rate of the mice was counted. After gavage, the lung index was calculated, and the morphology and collagen deposition of the lung tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) and Masson staining, respectively. The levels of reactive oxygen species(ROS) in lung cell suspensions were measured by flow cytometry. The levels of glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px), total superoxide dismutase(T-SOD), and malondialdehyde(MDA) the in lung tissue were measured. Terminal-deoxynucleoitidyl transferase-mediated nick-end labeling(TUNEL) was employed to examine the apoptosis of lung tissue cells. The content of interleukin-6(IL-6), chemokine C-C motif ligand 2(CCL-2), matrix metalloproteinase-8(MMP-8), transforming growth factor-beta 1(TGF-β1), alpha-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA), E-cadherin, collagen Ⅰ, and fibronectin in the lung tissue was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). The expression levels of F4/80, Ly-6G, TGF-β1, and collagen Ⅰ in the lung tissue were determined by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA levels of CCL-2, IL-6, and MMP-7 in the lung tissue were determined by qRT-PCR. The content of hydroxyproline(HYP) in the lung tissue was determined by alkaline hydrolysation. The expression of α-SMA and E-cadherin was detected by immunofluorescence, and the protein levels of α-SMA, vimentin, E-cadherin in the lung tissue were determined by Western blot. The results showed the aqueous extract of E. sagittatum increased the survival rate, decreased the lung index, alleviated the pathological injury, collagen deposition, and oxidative stress in the lung tissue, and reduced the apoptotic cells. Furthermore, the aqueous extract of E. sagittatum down-regulated the protein levels of F4/80 and Ly-6G and the mRNA levels of CCL-2, IL-6, and MMP-7 in the lung tissue, reduced the content of IL-6, CCL-2, and MMP-8 in the alveolar lavage fluid. In addition, it lowered the levels of HYP, TGF-β1, α-SMA, collagen Ⅰ, fibronectin, and vimentin, and elevated the levels of E-cadherin in the lung tissue. The aqueous extract of E. sagittatum can inhibit collagen deposition, alleviate oxidative stress, and reduce inflammatory response by regulating the expression of the molecules associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition, thus alleviating the symptoms of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice.

New anti-pulmonary fibrosis prenylflavonoid glycosides from Epimedium koreanum / 中国天然药物

Four new prenylflavonoid glycosides, namely koreanoside H-K (1-4), together with eleven known ones (5-15) were isolated from the leaves of Epimedium koreanum Nakai. Their structures were elucidated by 1D NMR, 2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS, IR and UV. The identification of the sugar moieties was carried out by means of acid hydrolysis and HPLC analysis of their derivatives. It is worth noting that compound 3 and compound 4 were elucidated to contain fucose and quinovose moieties, which were two extremely rare sugar units from the genus Epimedium. The anti-pulmonary fibrosis activity of the new compounds was evaluated using A549 cell line. Compounds 1, 2 and 4 showed significant anti-pulmonary fibrosis activities.

Effect and Mechanism of Epimedium Polysaccharide on Bone Marrow Hematopoietic Function and Th17/Treg Balance in Aplastic Anemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effects of Epimedium polysaccharides (EPS) on bone marrow hematopoietic function and Th17/Treg balance in aplastic anemia (AA) mice, and preliminarily explore its therapeutic mechanism.@*METHODS@#Forty BALB/C mice were randomly divided into control (control), model (model), stanozolol (stanozolol) and epimedium polysaccharide (EPS) group, with 10 mice in each group. Except for the control group, Acetophenazine, Gy irradiation and cyclophosphamide triple application were used to establish AA models for the other groups. After the model was established, the stanozolol group was intragastrically administered with 4 mg/kg stanozolol suspension, the EPS group was intragastrically administered with 100 mg/kg epimedium polysaccharide, while the control group and the model group were given an equal volume of 0.9% sodium chloride solution by gavage once a day, for 14 consecutive days. The automatic animal blood analyzer was used to detect the changes in peripheral blood hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC) and platelets (PLT), flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of Treg and Th17 cells, the levels of interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 11 (IL-11) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were detected by ELISA, the number of nucleated bone marrow cells was counted, HE staining and immunohistochemical staining were used to detect the number, the proliferation and apoptosis of bone marrow cells, Western blot was used to detect the expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γ (RORγt), transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) and fork head transcription factor 3 (Foxp3).@*RESULTS@#Compared with the model group, the levels of Hb, RBC, WBC and PLT in the peripheral blood of mice in stanozolol and EPS group significantly increased, the proportion of Th17 cells was significantly reduced, and the proportion of Treg cells significantly increased. The levels of IL-2 and TNF-α in serum were significantly reduced (P<0.05), the level of IL-11 significantly increased (P<0.05), the number of bone marrow nucleated cells significantly increased (P<0.05), the positive rate of Ki-67 significantly increased (P<0.05) and the positive rate of Caspase-3 was significantly reduced (P<0.05). At the same time, the protein expression of STAT3 and RORγt significantly decreased, and the protein expression of STAT5 and Foxp3 increased, the difference showed statistically significant (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#EPS can promote the recovery of bone marrow hematopoietic function in AA mice and improve Th17/Treg imbalance, the mechanism may be related to the inhibition of STAT3/RORγt expression and promotion of STAT5/Foxp3 expression.

Effects and mechanism of epimedium polysaccharide on solubility of icariin and baohuoside Ⅰ / 中国中药杂志

This study evaluated the effects of epimedium polysaccharide(EPS) on the solubility of icariin and baohuoside Ⅰ so as to preliminary explore its solubilization function and the underlying mechanism. The solubility of these two insoluble flavonoids in water and polysaccharide solutions was compared by high performance liquid chromatography, and the mechanism was investigated by diffe-rential scanning calorimetry(DSC) and critical micelle concentration determination. The results indicated that their solubilization in crude EPS solutions was concentration-dependent. The solubility of icariin and baohuoside Ⅰ in 20 mg·mL~(-1) EPS-1-1 was 9.05 times and 5.76 times that in water, respectively; while their solubility in 20 mg·mL~(-1) EPS-2-1 was 10.55 and 8.39 times that in water, respectively. The change of the DSC thermograms suggested the formation of new complexes from icariin and baohuoside Ⅰ with polysaccharides. The critical micelle concentrations proved the micellar properties of both EPS-1-1 and EPS-2-1. In short, EPS can significantly increase the solubility of icariin and baohuoside Ⅰ, the mechanism of which may be related to the formation of micellar complexes between EPS and insoluble flavonoids.

Screening combination ratio and exploring mechanism of Momordicae Semen and Epimedii Folium / 中国中药杂志

The aim of this paper was to obtain low toxicity and high efficiency anti-tumor Chinese medicine through screening the combination ratios of Momordicae Semen and Epimedii Folium, and to explore the anti-tumor mechanism of the combination of two drugs by observing their effect on apoptosis-related proteins in cancer cells. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium(MTT) assay was used to observe the effect of drug combination on the proliferation of tumor cells from different tissue sources. The effects of the combination of the two drugs on tumor cells were analyzed by Compusyn software. Plate cloning assay was used to observe the effect of combination of these two drugs on the proliferation of A549 cells in vitro. The expression of reactive oxygen species(ROS) and apoptotic proteins p53, Bcl-2 and Bax were compared by using ROS kit and Western blot. Lewis lung cancer model was used to observe the anti-tumor effect of drugs in vivo. The results showed that the anti-tumor effect of their ethanol extract was more significant than that of water extract, and the anti-proliferation effect was strongest when the ratio was 1∶1(P<0.05). Compusyn analysis showed that the combination of the two drugs had synergistic effect. Further studies showed that after combined use, the number of clonogen formation in A549 cells was significantly reduced(P<0.01); ROS production was increased; the expression of apoptosis-related protein p53 was up-regulated, and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax was decreased. In vivo animal study showed that the tumor inhibition rate was 53.06%(P<0.05) in the high dose group. As compared with the single use of the two drugs, the combination of the two drugs had more significant anti-proliferative effect on tumors, and the optimum ratio was 1∶1. The combination of the two drugs at a ratio of 1∶1 inhibited the proliferation of various tumor cells, and had no significant effect on normal liver cells LO2 when compared with other ratios. Therefore, it can be preliminarily inferred that the combination of the two drugs may have the effect of synergism and detoxification. Further studies showed that the combination of the two drugs can significantly inhibit the proliferation of A549 cells, and its mechanism may be related to the activation of endogenous apoptotic pathway. In vivo experiments also showed that the tumor inhibition rate increased with the increase of drug concentration.

Study on mechanism of "Epimedii Folium-Paeoniae Radix Alba" in treatment of lumbar disc herniation based on network pharmacology / 中国中药杂志

The aim of this paper was to investigate the key targets and mechanism of "Epimedii Folium-Paeoniae Radix Alba" in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation by means of network pharmacology. The currently recognized databases and analysis software at home and abroad were used to construct the network from drugs and diseases. The chemical components of Epimedii Folium and Paeo-niae Radix Alba were collected by using databases such as TCMSP, while their active components were determined and the action targets were predicted according to threshold screening and literature reports. The genes for lumbar disc herniation were collected by using GeneCards, OMIM, and DisGeNET databases. The drug targets were mapped to disease targets, and protein interaction network analysis for key targets, GO function enrichment analysis and KEGG signaling pathway enrichment analysis were performed. Finally, 23 active components of Epimedium Folium and 13 active components of Paeoniae Radix Alba were determined, and a total of 624 drug targets were obtained. After standardization, 214 drug targets were obtained. In addition, 306, 2 and 5 related targets of lumbar disc herniation were collected from GeneCards, OMIM, and DisGeNET database, respectively, and a total of 293 disease targets were obtained after deduplication. After the mapping of drug target and disease target, 44 common targets were obtained. PPI protein interaction network analysis showed that IL-6, TNF, AKT1, MAPK1, and VEGFA may be the core targets for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. GO enrichment analysis identified 56 items(P<0.05), among which biological processes mainly included immune response, apoptosis, etc.; cell components mainly included extracellular space, extracellular region, etc.; molecular functions mainly included cytokine activity, metallopeptidase activity and so on. Through KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, 91 signaling pathways related to inflammation, metabolism, and senescence were identified, mainly including IL-17 signaling pathway and TNF signaling pathway and so on. "Epimedii Folium-Paeoniae Radix Alba" showed the characteristics of multi-channel and multi-target for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. This study preliminarily explored the key targets for its role and the biological processes and signaling pathways involved. It was found that it may play a therapeutic role by affecting inflammation and immune regulation, which laid the foundation for further experimental verification.

Ethanol extraction technology of Epimedii Folium and protective effect of ethanol extract on chondrocyte / 中国中药杂志

Uniform design-comprehensive scoring method was used to investigate the effects of ethanol dosage, ethanol concentration and extraction time, based on the evaluation index from transfer rates of epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C, icariin and baohuoside Ⅰ, which are the main active components in Epimedii Folium. Furthermore, the optimum conditions for the ethanol extraction process were determined by multiple linear stepwise regression and empirical test. Then, the ethanol extract of Epimedii Folium prepared according to the optimized technological conditions was used to intervene the injury model of chondrocyte induced by interleukin-1 beta(IL-1β). Annexin V-FITC/PI staining flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptotic rate of chondrocyte and analyze the effect of ethanol extract of Epimedii Folium on chondrocyte injury model. The optimum conditions of ethanol extraction were as follows. Crude powder of Epimedii Folium was added with 18 times of 70% ethanol solution, and extracted for twice in the refluxing process, for 60 minutes each time. Under the conditions, the extraction rates of the above five active components were 94.21%, 94.76%, 93.85%, 96.17% and 96.85%, respectively. The optimized ethanol extraction process of Epimedii Folium was reasonable, feasible and reproducible. This ethanol extract could significantly reduce the early apoptotic rate, late apoptotic and necrotic rate, total apoptotic rate(P<0.05 or P<0.01) of chondrocyte injury model induced by IL-1β, suggesting that the ethanol extract of Epimedii Folium can inhibit the apoptosis of chondrocytes induced by IL-1β to a certain extent, which lays a foundation for further study on its prevention and treatment of osteoarthritis.

Effects of light quality on growth and icariin flavonoid content of Epimedium pseudowushanense under different light intensity / 中国中药杂志

In this study, the growth index including plant height, compound leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf water content, number of branches, and leaf biomass per plant and the icariin flavonoids such as epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C and icariin of Epimedium pseudowushanense were determined on 30 d and 60 d under light intensity(18.2±2.5) μmol·m~(-2)·s~(-1)(L1) and(90.9 ±2.5) μmol·m~(-2)·s~(-1)(L2), and white light as control, red light, blue light and yellow light were used as three light quality treatments, to study the effect of light quality on the growth and flavonoids accumulation of E. pseudowushanense. The E. pseudowushanense was sui-table for growth under L1 light intensity, the blue light treatment significantly reduced the leaf area, but had little effect on the stem height, the red light treatment and the yellow light treatment had no obvious effect on the stem height and leaf area, but the yellow light treatment significantly increased the germination of new branches, and had a sustained promoting effect, and the biomass was significantly higher than the white light treatment at 60 d. The content of icariin flavonoids in red light, blue light and yellow light treatment was higher than that in white light treatment at 30 d and 60 d under L1 light intensity, while yellow light treatment promoted the synthesis of icariin flavonoids to the largest extent, which was 1.8 and 1.9 times of white light treatment(30 d and 60 d).Under L2 light intensity, the effect of strong light on promoting stem germination became the main factor, while the yellow light treatment showed no significant effect on promoting stem germination, and the red light treatment exhibited a significant effect on reducing leaf area. Icariin flavonoids under red light, blue light and yellow light treatment were all lower than that under white light treatment, that is, the effect of white light treatment on the synthesis of icariin flavonoids is better than red light, blue light and yellow light treatment. When the time of strong light treatment was longer, the degradation range of icariin flavonoids in other light treatment appeared, while red light treatment promotes the synthesis of icariin flavonoids. Therefore, the influence of light quality on E. pseudowushanense is quite different under different light intensity, no matter from growth index or flavonoid content index. The results support that the biomass and icariin flavonoid content can be increased by providing appropriate red and yellow light.

Investigation and analysis of influence of geographical environment factors on spatial distribution of flavonoid of Epimedium koreanum / 中国中药杂志

The study is aimed to clarify the spatial distribution of Epimedium koreanum( Ek) high-quality production areas. Through visiting and field investigation,collecting the distribution information of Ek samples,and based on the four kinds of flavonoids in Ek,the high-quality production areas and distribution of Ek distribution of the main environmental factors were drawn using GIS technology,the maximum entropy model( MaxEnt),geographical detector statistical analysis method,and the statistical significance of regression equation were obtained. Considering the content of 4 main flavonoids in Ek,the results of this study showed that the main environmental factors,such as precipitation,annual precipitation variation coefficient,annual average temperature and clay content exhibited the greatest influence on the growth suitability of Ek. Ek materials quality concentrated distribution in southeastern Jilin province Changbai mountain hinterland and northeastern Liaoning province. Ek with high content of epimedine A and epimedine C are mainly distributed in the southeastern Jilin province and northeastern Liaoning province,Ek with high epimedine B is distributed in eastern Liaoning province; high icariin Ek was found in most area of northeastern Liaoning province,a small amount distributed in the southeast of Jilin province. This study predicted the climate suitability distribution of Ek,and provided reference for the rational planning and establishment of the standardized cultivation base of Ek.

Effect of processing excipient suet oil on formation and absorption of baohuoside Ⅰ-bile salt self-assembled micelles / 中国中药杂志

The fried method with suet oil,which can strengthen the effect of Epimedium in warming kidney and enhancing Yang,has been widely used in the processing of Epimedium in traditional Chinese medicine. Based on the formation mechanism of Epimedium flavonoids self-assembled micelles in vivo,the synergistic mechanism of processing excipient suet oil was investigated in this paper from the perspective of pharmaceutics. Baohuoside Ⅰ,as representative component of processed Epimedium,was selected as model drug.Average size and zeta potential were measured and the morphology of micelles was observed under transmission electron microscopy. Caco-2 monolayer cell model,rat intestinal perfusion model and in vivo serum drug concentration method were established to investigate the effect of suet oil on the formation and absorption of the baohuosideⅠ bile salt self-assembled micelles. Baohuoside Ⅰ can form selfassembled micelles under the action of sodium deoxycholate. While,adding suet oil into the baohuoside Ⅰ-bile salt micelles( BSDOC) can make it form a more stable system with a smaller average size,higher Zeta potential,lower polydispersity index( PDI) value,significantly improved encapsulation efficiency and drug loading,indicating that suet oil could significantly improve the micelle formation in vivo. In addition,the permeability coefficient of baohuoside Ⅰ in Caco-2 monolayer cells and the four intestinal organs( duodenum,jejunum,ileum and colon) was increased and the oral bioavailability was also improved after adding the suet oil to BS-DOC.All the results demonstrated that the suet oil can promote the formation and absorption of baohuoside Ⅰ self-assembled micelles,so as to enhance its synergistic effects.

Molecular mechanism of Epimedii Folium in treatment of osteoporosis based on network pharmacology / 中国中药杂志

Osteoporosis is a systematic bone disease,characterized by deterioration in bone mass or micro-architecture,and increasing risk of fragility and fractures. With the development of aging problems,osteoporosis has been a global health problem. At present,due to the undesirable side effects of synthetic osteoporosis inhibitors,more efforts are made in treatment of osteoporosis by traditional Chinese medicine and its prescriptions. Epimedii Folium,one of the most common herbs for osteoporosis,has attracted great attentions worldwide.In this study,network pharmacology was employed to analyze the active components and potential molecular mechanism of Epimedii Folium on osteoporosis. Component-target network analysis showed that those with higher molecular network degree were flavonoids,with estrogen-like activity,antioxidation and free radical-scavenging activities,playing certain roles in preventing and treating osteoporosis. On the other hand,the targets with high degree were mostly related with sex hormone,osteoclast differentiation,bone matrix degradation,and reactive oxygen species in drug-target network. Multiple components of Epimedii Folium could be interacted with these targets. This study shows that Epimedium could prevent and treat osteoporosis through multiple active ingredients acting on multiple targets.

Discussion on safety evaluation and risk control measures of Epimedii Folium / 中国中药杂志

Epimedii Folium,a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine,has the effect of tonifying kidney Yang,strengthening bones and treating rheumatism. However,in recent years,the number of reports on adverse reactions of Epimedii Folium and its Chinese patent medicines such as Xianling Gubao Capsules and Zhuanggu Guanjie Pills has been gradually increased,and the toxicity of Epimedii Folium has attracted more and more attention. In this article,the ancient and modern literature on Epimedii Folium was traced through a comprehensive and systematic literature analysis method. According to the 2015 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia,Epimedii Folium refers to the dried leaves of Epimedii Folium brevicomu,E. sugittutum,E. pubescens or E. koreuuum. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia also includes E. wushanense of Wushan Epimedium,which is the same plant variety as Epimedium. The study showed that there were differences in the geographical distribution,composition and toxicity among five species of Epimedium. This paper also explained the toxicity mechanism as well as efficacy enhancing and toxicity reducing effects of Epimedii Folium,and reported its related adverse reaction cases. Through a retrospective comparative study on the toxicity of the modern Chinese patent medicines Xianling Gubao Capsules and Zhuanggu Guanjie Pills containing Epimedii Folium,it was believed that Epimedii Folium had cardiovascular system toxicity,neurotoxicity,hepatotoxicity,long-term toxicity,acute toxicity,genotoxicity and special toxicity; its safe medication factors included patient syndrome,doctor factors,drug factors,processing and compatibility factors. Meanwhile,strategies were proposed to improve patient safety medication awareness,standardize Epimedii Folium varieties and quality supervision,and the toxicity of Epimedii Folium was studied,hoping to draw attention from scholars to the safety of Epimedii Folium,improve the safe use of Epimedii Folium,and prevent adverse reactions.

Change of icariin content in five Epimedium species by heating process / 中国中药杂志

The change of icariin( ICA) content in thirty-three samples of five Epimedium species listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia( 2015 edition),including E. brevicornu,E. sagittatum,E. pubescens,E. koreanum,and E. wushanense has been investigated in this study. The results indicated that the optimized process procedure was baking at 150 ℃ for 30 min,and 3'''-carbonyl-2″-β-L-quinovosyl icariin( CQICA) could not be translated into ICA and ICA could be converted under this heating process condition. ICA increased remarkably after the heating process by 1-3 times in E. brevicornu,E. wushanense and E. koreanum,and increased lightly in E. brevicornum and E. pubescens,while ICA slightly increased or decreased in E. sagittatum and E. wushanense.

Study on original investigation, macroscopic and microscopic identification of pharmacopoeia contained species of Epmedii Folium / 中国中药杂志

Epimedii Folium is a commonly used traditional Chinese drug, and now still depends on the wild resource. In recent years, with the surge in consumption, the resources are declining, the use of market varieties are constantly changing. In this paper, Production and sales situation of the five species contained in pharmacopoeia(Epimedium brevicornu, E. sagittatum, E. pubescens, E. koreanum and E. wushanense) have been studied on the basis of the existing researches, in-depth investigation and collection of accurate plant specimens and samples. And the origins of Epimedii Folium regulated by the pharmacopoeia have been discussed. At the same time, more exclusive and practical features have been summarized on the basis of observation and comparison with the stereo, optical and stereo-fluorescence microscopy technologies, and refering the related literatures on leaf structure and anatomy.The results of this study will provide a useful reference for the clinical medication, supervision, inspection, and standard drafting and so on.

Effective components and signaling pathways of Epimedium brevicornumbased on network pharmacology / 中国中药杂志

The aim of this paper was to find out the active components of Epimedium brevicornum using network pharmacology, and find the potential targets and mechanisms. The TCMSP database was used to screen the active ingredients, and TTD and DrugBank databases were used to predict the potential targets with the literature mining. The pathway annotation was used to enrich and analyze the active ingredients and potential targets of E. brevicornum. The results showed that E. brevicornum had34 potential target active ingredients, including 21 flavones components, such as icariin, epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C, Yinyanghuo A, Yinyanghuo C and so on, 2 lignans involved in (+)-cycloolivil and olivil, 3 sterols consisting of sitosterol, 24-epicampesterol and poriferast-5-en-3beta-ol. The main predicted targets included Ptgs2, NCOA6, RANK, OPG, WNT9B, PTH1R, BMPs, SMAD4A and so on. There were 88 signaling pathways involved in 10 signaling pathways which was related to inflammation, such as NF-kappa B signaling pathway, T cell receptor signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway and 10 pathways which was related to cancer included breast cancer, bladder cancer, pancreatic cancer and so on, and estrogen related signaling pathways included estrogen signaling pathway. This laid the foundation for the discovery of the active components of Epimedium and the study on its mechanism of action.

Steroids in traditional Chinese medicine: what is the evidence?

Local healthcare providers often question the possible steroidal activity of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbs or herbal products and implicate them as a cause for adrenal insufficiency or Cushing's syndrome in patients with a history of TCM intake. We conducted a comprehensive database search for evidence of potential glucocorticoid, mineralocorticoid, androgenic or oestrogenic activity of herbs or herbal products. Overall, there are not many herbs whose steroidal activity is well established; among these, most cases were based on preclinical studies. Liquorice root may cause pseudoaldosteronism through interference with the steroidogenesis pathway. Although ginseng and cordyceps have some in vitro glucocorticoid activities, the corroborating clinical data is lacking. Deer musk and deer antler contain androgenic steroids, while epimedium has oestrogenic activity. On the other hand, adulteration of herbal products with exogenous glucocorticoids is a recurrent problem encountered locally in illegal products masquerading as TCM. Healthcare providers should stay vigilant and report any suspicion to the relevant authorities for further investigations.

Restoration of Spermatogenesis Using a New Combined Herbal Formula of Epimedium koreanum Nakai and Angelica gigas Nakai in an Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone Agonist-Induced Rat Model of Male Infertility

PURPOSE: We investigated the protective effect of a mixture of 2 herbal extracts, KH-465, which consisted of Epimedium koreanum Nakai and Angelica gigas Nakai, on spermatogenesis in a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist-induced rat model of male infertility. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-five 12-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5 groups, containing 15 rats each: a normal control group that received no treatment and 4 experimental groups (I, II, III, and IV) in which an LHRH agonist was administered for 4 weeks to induce spermatogenic failure. Group I received distilled water, and groups II, III, and IV received 200 mg/kg/day of KH-465, 400 mg/kg/day KH-465, and depo-testosterone for 4 weeks, respectively. Weight changes of the testis and epididymis, sperm count motility, and levels of testosterone (T), free T, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were estimated. RESULTS: Body, testis, and epididymis weight showed no significant differences among the control and experimental groups. Treatment with KH-465 increased the sperm count and motility. Serum hormone levels of T, free T, and FSH were not significantly different in the experimental groups, while the LH level was higher than in the LHRH agonist-induced control group, but not to a significant extent. Levels of SOD were higher and 8-OHdG were lower in the groups that received KH-465 than in the LHRH agonist-induced control group. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that KH-465 increased sperm production via reducing oxidative stress and had a positive effect in a male infertility model.

Icaritin, a Flavonoid Derived from the Herb Epimedium, Promotes Osteogenic Differentiation of MC3T3-E1 Cells

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease that is characterized by low bone mass resulting from an increase in bone resorption relative to bone formation. The most current therapies for osteoporosis have focused on inhibiting bone resorption by osteoclasts. The purpose of this study is to develop new anabolic agents for treatment of osteoporosis that have fewer risks compared to conventional therapies. We searched the natural products that were derived from the traditional Asian medicines which have been used for treatment of bone related diseases. Icaritin is a flavonoid glycoside derived from the herb Epimedium which has beneficial effects on bone formation. To determine the effect of icaritin on bone formation, we examined the effect of icaritin on MC3T3-E1 cell proliferation and differentiation. For determining the effects of icaritin on proliferation, we performed the MTT assay using MC3T3-E1 cells. To evaluate whether icaritin could promote the osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and mRNA expressions of Runx2, osteocalcin (OCN), RANKL, and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were determined. Icaritin increased MC3T3-E1 cell proliferation. Icaritin increased the ALP activity of MC3T3-E1 cells on 72 hour culture in osteogenic media. mRNA expression of Runx2 was increased after 24 hour culture with icaritin. mRNA expression of osteocalcin was increased after 72 hour culture with icaritin. In addition, icaritin increased the mRNA expressions of OPG and RANKL. However, icaritin increased the mRNA expression of OPG much more than that of RANKL, and then, it increased the OPG/RANKL ratio. These results suggest that icaritin promotes osteogenic differentiation of osteoblasts and decreases osteoclast formation regulated by osteoblasts.