Research progress on metabolism and pharmacological activities of several iridoid glycosides / 中国中药杂志

As a large category of natural products widely present in traditional Chinese medicine, iridoid glycosides have multiple pharmacological activities. Recent researches suggest that iridoid glycosides mainly exist in the forms of original form, aglycone and a series of their Ⅰ and Ⅱ metabolites under the biotransformation effect, and their metabolites have been proved to have multiple pharmacological activities. The research progress on metabolism and metabolite activities of several iridoid glycosides would be reviewed in this article, to provide a theoretical basis for the further development and utilization of iridoid compounds and their metabolites.

Effect of astragalus polysaccharide on cell proliferation and the relevant gene expression during senescence of zebrafish / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the anti-aging mechanism of astragalus polysaccharide (AP). METHODS: The effect of AP on cell apoptosis and senescence was evaluated by p-galactosidase (SA-p-gal) and acridine orange fluorescence analysis. In addition, the differential gene expression of AP treated zebrafish embryos was examined by RT-PGR. RESULTS: AP delayed zebrafish embryos apoptosis at the concentration of 0.125 mg · mL-1. Moreover, the expression of mdm2 and tert genes were up-regulated while bax, p21 and p53 genes were down-regulated during the early apoptosis of zebrafish embryos mediated by AP. CONCLUSION: AP may play a role in anti-aging by affecting the expression of some relevant genes.