Application of partial least squares algorithm to explore bioactive components of crude and stir-baked hawthorn for invigorating spleen and promoting digestion / 中国中药杂志

This study was aimed at identifying the bioactive components of the crude and stir-baked hawthorn for invigorating spleen and promoting digestion, respectively, to clarify the processing mechanism of hawthorn by applying the partial least squares(PLS) algorithm to build the spectrum-effect relationship model. Firstly, different polar fractions of crude and stir-baked hawthorn aqueous extracts and combinations of different fractions were prepared, respectively. Then, the contents of 24 chemical components were determined by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The effects of different polar fractions of crude hawthorn and stir-baked hawthorn aqueous extracts and combinations of different fractions were evaluated by measuring the gastric emptying rate and small intestinal propulsion rate. Finally, the PLS algorithm was used to establish the spectrum-effect relationship model. The results showed that there were significant differences in the contents of 24 chemical components for different polar fractions of crude and stir-baked hawthorn aqueous extracts and combinations of different fractions, and the gastric emptying rate and small intestinal propulsion rate of model rats were improved by administration of different polar fractions of crude and stir-baked hawthorn aqueous extracts and combinations of different fractions. The bioactive components of crude hawthorn identified by PLS models were vitexin-4″-O-glucoside, vitexin-2″-O-rhamnoside, neochlorogenic acid, rutin, gallic acid, vanillic acid, citric acid, malic acid, quinic acid and fumaric acid, while neochlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, rutin, gallic acid, vanillic acid, citric acid, quinic acid and fumaric acid were the bioactive components of stir-baked hawthorn. This study provided data support and scientific basis for identifying the bioactive components of crude and stir-baked hawthorn, and clarifying the processing mechanism of hawthorn.

Analysis of metabolites of 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid in rat plasma and urine based on LC-MS / 中国中药杂志

Ultra high performance liquid chromatography tandem high field orbital trap mass spectrometry(UPLC-Orbitrap Elite-MS/MS) method was applied in this paper to analyze the metabolites of 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid in rat plasma and urine after oral administration. A gradient elution was performed by using Thermo C_(18) column(2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.9 μm), with 0.1% formic acid solution-acetonitrile as the mobile phase. Mass spectral data of biological samples were collected in negative ion mode. The data were extracted by Compound Discovery 2.1 software. Then the blank group samples and the drug samples were compared for exact molecular weight and the mass fragmentation information, and the secondary fragment fitting ratio was calculated to finally attribute the metabolites. As a result, 15 metabolites were detected in rat plasma, and 16 metabolites were detected in urine. The involving metabolic reactions included methylation, hydration, dehydration, reduction, glucuronide conjugation, and sulfation reaction. The metabolites in plasma and urine complemented each other and initially revealed the migration and excretion patterns of this compound in the body. A method for pre-processing biological samples, high-resolution LC-MS instrumentation data, and qualitative software was established in this study to identify metabolite structures, laying the foundation for the study of the active ingredients and in vivo pharmacodynamics forms of Chinese medicines.

Anti-nociceptive and Anti-inflammatory Properties of Ilex latifolia and its Active Component, 3,5-Di-caffeoyl Quinic Acid Methyl Ester

The present study was conducted to investigate anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of the leaves of Ilex latifolia Thunb (I. latifolia) in in vivo and in vitro. Writhing responses induced by acetic acid and formalin- and thermal stimuli (tail flick and hot plate tests)-induced pain responses for nociception were evaluated in mice. I. latifolia (50 – 200 mg/kg, p.o.) and ibuprofen (100 mg/kg, p.o.), a positive non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), inhibited the acetic acid-induced writhing response and the second phase response (peripheral inflammatory response) in the formalin test, but did not protect against thermal nociception and the first phase response (central response) in the formalin test. These results show that I. latifolia has a significant anti-nociceptive effect that appears to be peripheral, but not central. Additionally, I. latifolia (50 and 100 µg/mL) and 3,5-di-caffeoyl quinic acid methyl ester (5 µM) isolated from I. latifolia as an active compound significantly inhibited LPS-induced NO production and mRNA expression of the pro-inflammatory mediators, iNOS and COX-2, and the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and IL-1β, in RAW 264.7 macrophages. These results suggest that I. latifolia can produce antinociceptive effects peripherally, but not centrally, via anti-inflammatory activity and supports a possible use of I. latifolia to treat pain and inflammation.

Effect of different sulfur fumigation dosages on activity of browning enzymes and chemical constituents of Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. Boju / 中国中药杂志

This study aims to investigate the influence of the different dosages of sulfur on the quality and the browning enzyme activity of Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. Boju. In this experiment,UV-spectrophotometry was used to determine the activities of browning enzymes,including polyphenol oxidase( PPO) and peroxidase( POD),in 7 different dosages of 0,4,8,16,50,150,200 g·kg~(-1)( weight ratio of sulfur/fresh chrysanthemum). A comprehensively comparison of the 7 chemical constituents of C. morifolium cv. Boju fumigated with 7 different dosage of sulfur was conducted by HPLC analysis. In this paper,the results showed that the activities of PPO and POD enzymes decreased significantly in chrysanthemum processed by sulfur fumigation. The activities of PPO and POD enzymes decreased gradually with the increase of sulfur dosage. When the sulfur dosage was higher than 4 g·kg~(-1),the PPO enzyme was significantly reduced. When the sulfur dosage was higher than 8 g·kg~(-1),the PPO enzyme was completely inactivated. The effect of different sulfur dosage s on the chemical composition was investigated. In comparison,it was found that when the sulfur dosage was 8 g·kg~(-1),the content of chlorogenic acid was higher than the 4 g·kg~(-1) and that of the sample without sulfur fumigation. Thereafter,with the increase of the sulfur dosage,the content of chlorogenic acid was unchanged. It was speculated that when harvesting,the tissue of fresh flower was destroyed,which caused the activation of browning enzymes. Afterwards,the sulfur fumigation could significantly reduce the activity of browning enzymes,which prevented the conversion of phenols in the reaction substrates( chlorogenic acid and 3,5-dicaffeoylquninic acid) into terpenoids,and better retained quinic acid components. However,when the sulfur dosage reached 8 g·kg~(-1) or16 g·kg~(-1),the content of quinic acid components were no longer changed,which indicated that the sulfur dosage had reached the saturated dosage. Similarly,when the sulfur dosage was increased,the contents of flavonoid aglycones showed a downward trend except for luteolin-7-O-glucoside. It was speculated that the sulfur fumigation inhibited the activity of hydrolase,which reduced the hydrolysis of flavonoid glycosides to aglycones. However,the reaction mechanism needed further verification. In conclusion,although sulfur fumigation could significantly inhibit browning,different dosages of sulfur had a significant effect on the chemical composition of C. morifolium cv. Boju,which could affect the consistency of quality and the stability of the therapeutic effect. Excessive use of sulfur was likely to cause a large amount of SO2 residues in C. morifolium cv. Boju,Therefore,different Sulphur dosages had a significant effect on the quality of chrysanthemum,which therefore was not recommended in production. A small dose of sulfur could be used to prevent enzymatic browning. When the dosage of sulfur increased to a certain extent or reached a saturation state,a small dose of sulfur is recommended in necessary. In this paper,the correlation between the sulfur dosage,the enzyme activity,and the main chemical constituents of chrysanthemum was clarified. The experimental research provided the guidance for regulating the harvesting processing of chrysanthemum and the harvesting processing,and improving the quality of chrysanthemum.

Anti-neuroinflammatory effects of ethanolic extract of black chokeberry (Aronia melanocapa L.) in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated BV2 cells and ICR mice

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: One of the mechanisms considered to be prevalent in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is hyper-stimulation of microglia. Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocapa L.) is widely used to treat diabetes and atherosclerosis, and is known to exert anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects; however, its neuroprotective effects have not been elucidated thus far. MATERIALS/METHODS: We undertook to assess the anti-inflammatory effect of the ethanolic extract of black chokeberry friut (BCE) in BV2 cells, and evaluate its neuroprotective effect in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mouse model of AD. RESULTS: Following stimulation of BV2 cells by LPS, exposure to BCE significantly reduced the generation of nitric oxide as well as mRNA levels of numerous inflammatory factors such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). In addition, AD was induced in a mouse model by intraperitoneal injection of LPS (250 µg/kg), subsequent to which we investigated the neuroprotective effects of BCE (50 mg/kg) on brain damage. We observed that BCE significantly reduced tissue damage in the hippocampus by downregulating iNOS, COX-2, and TNF-α levels. We further identified the quinic acids in BCE using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS). Furthermore, we confirmed the neuroprotective effect of BCE and quinic acid on amyloid beta-induced cell death in rat hippocampal primary neurons. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that black chokeberry has protective effects against the development of AD.

Chemical constituents from Gnaphalium affine and their xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity / 中国天然药物

Gnaphalium affine D. Don, a medicinal and edible plant, has been used to treat gout in traditional Chinese medicine and popularly consumed in China for a long time. A detailed phytochemical investigation on the aerial part of G. affine led to the isolation of two new esters of caffeoylquinic acid named (-) ethyl 1, 4-di-O-caffeoylquinate (1) and (-) methyl 1, 4-di-O-caffeoylquinate (2), together with 35 known compounds (3-37). Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data and first-order multiplet analysis. All the isolated compounds were tested for their xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity with an in vitro enzyme inhibitory screening assay. Among the tested compounds, 1 (IC 11.94 μmol·L) and 2 (IC 15.04 μmol·L) showed a good inhibitory activity. The current results supported the medical use of the plant.

Chemical constituents from Gnaphalium affine and their xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity / 中国天然药物

Gnaphalium affine D. Don, a medicinal and edible plant, has been used to treat gout in traditional Chinese medicine and popularly consumed in China for a long time. A detailed phytochemical investigation on the aerial part of G. affine led to the isolation of two new esters of caffeoylquinic acid named (-) ethyl 1, 4-di-O-caffeoylquinate (1) and (-) methyl 1, 4-di-O-caffeoylquinate (2), together with 35 known compounds (3-37). Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data and first-order multiplet analysis. All the isolated compounds were tested for their xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity with an in vitro enzyme inhibitory screening assay. Among the tested compounds, 1 (IC 11.94 μmol·L) and 2 (IC 15.04 μmol·L) showed a good inhibitory activity. The current results supported the medical use of the plant.

Pandanus tectorius derived caffeoylquinic acids inhibit lipid accumulation in HepG2 hepatoma cells through regulation of gene expression involved in lipid metabolism / 药学学报

The fruit of Pandanus tectorius (PTF) has a long history of use as a folk medicine to treat hyperlipidemia in Hainan province, South China. Our previous studies have shown that the n-butanol extract of PTF is rich in caffeoylquinic acids and has an adequate therapeutic effect on dyslipidemic animals induced by high-fat diet. In this work, seven caffeoylquinic acids isolated from PTF were screened for the lipid-lowering activity in HepG2 hepatoma cells. Oil-Red O staining, microscopy and intracellular triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) quantification showed that 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3-CQA), 3, 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3,5-CQA), and 3,4,5-tri-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3,4,5-CQA) significantly inhibited lipid accumulation induced by oleic acid and decreased intracellular levels of TC and TG in a dose-dependent manner. These three caffeoylquinic acids showed no significant cytotoxicity at concentrations of 1 -50 μmol x L(-1) as determined by MTT assay. Realtime quantitative PCR revealed that 3-CQA and 3, 5-CQA significantly increased the expression of lipid oxidation-related genes PPARα, CPT-1 and ACOX1 while 3-CQA, 3, 5-CQA and 3,4,5-CQA decreased the expression of lipogenic genes SREBP-1c, SREBP-2, HMGR, ACC, FAS. Overall, 3-CQA, 3, 5-CQA and 3, 4, 5-CQA may be the principal hypolipidemic components in PTF which can decrease intracellular lipid accumulation through up-regulating the expression of lipid oxidative genes and down-regulating the expression of lipogenic genes.

Quantitative analysis of seven phenolic acids in eight Yinqiao Jiedu serial preparations by quantitative analysis of multi-components with single-marker / 药学学报

The study aims to develop a unified method to determine seven phenolic acids (neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, 4-caffeoylquinic acid, caffeic acid, isochlorogenic acid B, isochlorogenic acid A and isochlorogenic acid C) contained in honeysuckle flower that is the monarch drug of all the eight Yinqiao Jiedu serial preparations using quantitative analysis of multi-components by single-marker (QAMS). Firstly, chlorogenic acid was used as a reference to get the average relative correction factors (RCFs) of the other phenolic acids in ratios to the reference; columns and instruments from different companies were used to validate the durability of the achieved RCFs in different levels of standard solutions; and honeysuckle flower extract was used as the reference substance to fix the positions of chromatographic peaks. Secondly, the contents of seven phenolic acids in eight different Yinqiao Jiedu serial preparations samples were calculated based on the RCFs durability. Finally, the quantitative results were compared between QAMS and the external standard (ES) method. The results have showed that the durability of the achieved RCFs is good (RSD during 0.80% - 2.56%), and there are no differences between the quantitative results of QAMS and ES (the relative average deviation < 0.93%). So it can be successfully used to the quantitative control of honeysuckle flower principally prescribed in Yinqiao Jiedu serial preparations.

Chemical Constituents from the Aerial Parts of Bupleurum falcatum L. and Biological Evidences

In this study, phytochemical investigation on the aerial parts of Bupleurum falcatum resulted in the isolation of fourteen compounds including three quinic acid derivatives (1 - 3), five flavonoids (4 - 8), three monoterpene glycosides (9 - 11), and three saikosaponins (12 - 14). Compound 1 was first isolated from nature and unambiguously determined to be 3-O-feruloyl 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid on the basis of the extensive spectroscopic evidence. Biological testing revealed that saikosaponin A (12) and saikosaponin D (13) showed moderate antiproliferative effects on HL-60 and HepG2 cancer cell lines.

Study on combined effects of chemical components for different flowers blossoming degree of yellow medicinal Chrysanthemum morifolium from Zhejiang / 中国中药杂志

The ingredients of five kinds of Zhejiang's yellow Chrysanthemum morifolium with different flower blossoming stages were comparatively analyzed. Polysaccharides, total flavonoids, volatile oil, alcohol extract, water extract, chlorogenic acid, luteolin, 3,5-O-dicaffeoyl quinic acid and fingerprint of the ingredient were determined as indicators. During flower blossoming stages, the ingredients of Ch. morifolium showed a big difference with a certain variation. At the early opening stage, the contents of flavonoids and volatile oil were higher, the content of chlorogenic acid, luteolin, 3,5-O-dicaffeoyl quinic acid were higher in the middle of the flowers 50% -80% fowers blossoming degree is the optimal time for harvest.

Chemical comparison of different Farfarae Flos by NMR-based metabolomic approaches / 药学学报

1H NMR-based metabolomic approach combined with multivariate statistical analysis was used to evaluate the quality of 21 Farfarae Flos (FF) samples from different growth regions. Principal component analysis showed that wild and cultivated FF could be separated clearly, suggesting a big chemical difference existed between them. Supervised PLS-DA analysis indicated that the wild samples showed higher levels of secondary metabolites, such as bauer-7-ene-3β, 16α-diol, chlorogenic acid, rutin, 7-(3'-ethylcrotonoyloxy)-1α-(2'-methyl-butyryloxy)-3, 14-dehydro-Z-notonipetranone (EMDNT), tussilagone, β-sitosterol and sitosterone. This is consistent with traditional experience that the quality of wild samples are better than that of cultivated ones. The content of pyrrolizidine alkaloids senkirkine also differed greatly among samples from different habitats. The Pearson correlation analysis showed that senkirkine is positively correlated with 4, 5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,4-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, rutin, kampferol analogues, to a statistically significant extent. The correlation between the toxic compounds and the bioactive components in FF should be further studied.

Cloning and expression analysis of a hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA shikimate/quinate hydroxycinnamoyl transferasegene(IiHCT) from Isatis indigotica / 中国中药杂志

Based on the transcriptome data, we cloned the open reading frame of IiHCT gene from Isatis indigotica, and then performed bioinformatic analysis of the sequence. Further, we detected expression pattern in specific organs and hairy roots treated methyl jasmonate( MeJA) by RT-PCR. The IiHCT gene contains a 1 290 bp open reading frame( ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 430 amino acids. The predicted isoelectric point( pI) was 5.7, a calculated molecular weight was about 47.68 kDa. IiHCT was mainly expressed in stem and undetectable in young root, leaf and flower bud. After the treatment of MeJA, the relative expression level of IiHCT increased rapidly. The expression level of IiHCT was the highest at 4 h and maintained two fold to control during 24 h. In this study, cloning of IiHCT laid the foundation for illustrating the biosynthesis mechanism of phenylpropanoids in I. indigotica.

Comparison of anti-bacterial activity of three types of di-O-caffeoylquinic acids in Lonicera japonica flowers based on microcalorimetry / 中国天然药物

The anti-bacterial activities of three types of di-O-caffeoylquinic acids (diCQAs) in Lonicera japonica flowers, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), on Bacillus shigae growth were investigated and compared by microcalorimetry. The three types of diCQAs were 3, 4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3, 4-diCQA), 3, 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3, 5-diCQA), and 4, 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (4, 5-diCQA). Some qualitative and quantitative information of the effects of the three diCQAs on metabolic power-time curves, growth rate constant k, maximum heat-output power Pm, and the generation time tG, total heat output Qt, and growth inhibitory ratio I of B. shigae were calculated. In accordance with a thermo-kinetic model, the corresponding quantitative relationships of k, Pm, Qt, I and c were established. Also, the half-inhibitory concentrations of the drugs (IC50) were obtained by quantitative analysis. Based on the quantity-activity relationships and the IC50 values, the sequence of inhibitory activity was 3, 5-diCQA > 4, 5-diCQA > 3, 4-diCQA. The results illustrate the possibility that the caffeoyl ester group at C-5 is the principal group that has a higher affinity for the bacterial cell, and that the intramolecular distance of the two caffeoyl ester groups also has an important influence on the anti-bacterial activities of the diCQAs.

Optimization of processing technology for xanthii fructus by UPLC fingerprint technique and contents of toxicity ingredient / 中国中药杂志

The experiment's aim was to optimize the processing technology of Xanthii Fructus which through comparing the difference of UPLC fingerprint and contents of toxicity ingredient in water extract of 16 batches of processed sample. The determination condition of UPLC chromatographic and contents of toxicity ingredient were as follows. UPLC chromatographic: ACQUITY BEH C18 column (2.1 mm x 100 mm, 1.7 microm) eluted with the mobile phases of acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acidwater in gradient mode, the flow rate was 0.25 mL x min(-1) and the detection wavelength was set at 327 nm. Contents of toxicity ingredient: Agilent TC-C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm), mobile phase was methanol-0.01 mol x L(-1) sodium dihydrogen phosphate (35: 65), flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1), and detection wavelength was 203 nm. The chromatographic fingerprints 16 batches of samples were analyzed in using the similarity evaluation system of chromatographic, fingerprint of traditional Chinese medicine, SPSS16.0 and SIMCA13.0 software, respectively. The similarity degrees of the 16 batches samples were more than 0.97, all the samples were classified into four categories, and the PCA showed that the peak area of chlorogenic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid and caffeic acid were significantly effect index in fingerprint of processed Xanthii Fructus sample. The outcome of determination showed that the toxicity ingredient contents of all samples reduced significantly after processing. This method can be used in optimizing the processing technology of Xanthii Fructus.

Protective Effects of Chlorogenic Acid against Experimental Reflux Esophagitis in Rats

Esophageal reflux of gastric contents causes esophageal mucosal damage and inflammation. Recent studies show that oxygen-derived free radicals mediate mucosal damage in reflux esophagitis (RE). Chlorogenic acid (CGA), an ester of caffeic acid and quinic acid, is one of the most abundant polyphenols in the human diet and possesses anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-oxidant activities. In this context, we investigated the effects of CGA against experimental RE in rats. RE was produced by ligating the transitional region between the forestomach and the glandular portion and covering the duodenum near the pylorus ring with a small piece of catheter. CGA (10, 30 and 100 mg/kg) and omeprazole (positive control, 10 mg/kg) were administered orally 48 h after the RE operation for 12 days. CGA reduced the severity of esophageal lesions, and this beneficial effect was confirmed by histopathological observations. CGA reduced esophageal lipid peroxidation and increased the reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione ratio. CGA attenuated increases in the serum level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 protein. CGA alleviates RE-induced mucosal injury, and this protection is associated with reduced oxidative stress and the anti-inflammatory properties of CGA.

Chemical constituents from Artemisia annua / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the chemical constituents of dried whole plants of Artemisia annua.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The chemical constituents were isolated by repeated silica gel chromatography, medium pressure column chromatography, and semi-preparative HPLC, and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses and comparison of NMR data with those reported in literature.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>15 compounds were isolated and identified to be 5-O-[(E)-Caffeoyl] quinic acid(l), 1,3-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid(2), 4 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid(3), 3, 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (4), 3, 4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (5), methyl-3,4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid(6), methyl-3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid(7), 3,6'-O-diferuloylsucrose(8), 5'-β-D-glucopyranosyloxyjasmonic acid(9), Scopoletin(10), scoparone (11), 4-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-2-hydroxyl-6-methoxyacetophenone (12), chrysosplenol D (13), casticin (14), chrysosplenetin(15).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compounds 2, 6, 8 and 9 are obtained from the Artemisia genus for the first time. Compounds 7 and 15 are obtained from this plant for the first time.</p>

Preventive effect of Ligularia fischeri on inhibition of nitric oxide in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264. 7 macrophages depending on cooking method

BACKGROUND: Ligularia fischeri (common name Gomchwi) is known for its pharmaceutical properties and used in the treatment of jaundice, scarlet-fever, rheumatoidal arthritis, and hepatic diseases; however, little is known about its anti-inflammatory effect. In this study the influence of blanching and pan-frying on the anti-inflammatory activity of Ligularia fischeri (LF) was evaluated. RESULTS: Fresh LF and cooked LF showed no significant effect on the viability of macrophages after 24 h incubation. Fresh LF was found to be the most potent inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) production at 100 µg/ml, while pan-fried LF showed little inhibitory effect on lipoloysaccharide (LPS) stimulated murine machrophage RAW264.7 cells. In contrast with its effect on NO production, pan-fried LF showed significant attenuation of the expression of inducible nitiric oxide synthase (iNOS) compared with fresh LF. In the cooking method of LF, PGE2 production was not affected in the LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. In LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells, pretreatment by fresh and cooked LF increased COX2 mRNA expression. The 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid content of blanching and pan-frying LF increased by 4.92 and 9.7 fold with blanching and pan-frying respectively in comparison with uncooked LF. CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of the cooking method, Ligularia fischeri exhibited potent inhibition of NO production through expression of iNOS in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells.

Chemical constituents from the roots of Angelica polymorpha Maxim / 药学学报

Angelica polymorpha Maxim. is a plant of the Angelica genus (Umbelliferae). The root and stem of this plant is a folk medicine known to have the actions of relieving rheumatism and cold and subsiding swelling and pains. To investigate the chemical constituents in the root of A. polymorpha Maxim., seven compounds were isolated from an 80% ethanol extract by column chromatography. Their structures were elucidated according to the spectroscopic analysis. Compound 1 is a new sesquiterpene, named as bisabolactone. Its absolute configuration was determined by 1D NOESY and CD analysis. The others were identified as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (2), hycandinic acid ester 1 (3), ferulic acid (4), isooxypeucedanin (5), noreugenin (6) and cimifugin (7). Compound 2 and 3 were isolated from this genus for the first time and compound 4 was isolated from this plant for the first time.

Rapid recognition and identification of chemical constituents in Qinghuo Zhimai tablets by SPE-HPLC-ESI-MS(n) / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish a method for analyzing solid phase extraction-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-HPLC-ESI-MS(n)), in order to recognize and identify the main chemical constituents in Qinghuo Zhimai tablets.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The possible structures of the compounds were determined according to the structure information of compounds observed from molecular ion peaks and fragment ions in HPLC-ESI-MS(n) negative ion mode and by comparing with literature data or control samples.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Through the comparative analysis on Qinghuo Zhimai Tablets and components of its formula, 39 chemical constituents were identified, including 7 caffeoylquinic acids, 7 iridoids, 6 diterpenoid lactones, 5 homoisoflavonoids, 13 steroidal saponins and 1 flavone glycoside.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This study provides a simple and rapid method for identifying chemical components in Qinghuo Zhimai tablets.</p>