Research progress of Chinese herbal medicine compounds and their bioactivities: Fruitful 2020 / 中草药·英文版

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have continued to be a treasure trove. The study of chemodiversity and versatility of bioactivities has always been an important content of pharmacophylogeny. There is amazing progress in the discovery and research of natural components with novel structures and significant bioactivities in 2020. In this paper we review 271 valuable natural products, including terpenoids, steroids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, phenolics, nitrogen containing compounds and essential oil, etc., isolated and identified from TCMs published in journals of Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs (Zhong Cao Yao) and Chinese Herbal Medicines (CHMs), and focus on their structures, source organisms, and relevant bioactivities, paying special attention to structural characteristics of novel compounds and newly revealed pharmacological properties of known compounds. It is worth noting that natural products with antitumor activity still constitute the primary object of research. Among the reported compounds, two new triterpenoids, i.e., ursolic acid 3-O-β-cis-caffeate and mollugoside E, display remarkable cytotoxicity against PC-9 and HL-60 cell lines, respectively. Three known phenolic compounds, i.e., pyoluteorin, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy cinnamaldehyde and 3,7-dimethoxy-5-hydroxy-1,4-phenanthrenequinone, exhibit significant cytotoxicity against multiple cell lines. Numerous studies on the free radical scavenging activity of reported compounds are currently underway. In vitro, three known phenolic compounds, i.e., 3,4-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid methyl ester, 3,4,5-O-tricaffeoylquinic acid methyl ester and arbutin, had more considerable antioxidant activities than vitamin C. The anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, hypolipidemic, neuroprotective and antimicrobial activities of isolated compounds are also encouraging. The structural characteristics and bioactivities of TCM compounds highlighted here reflect the enormous progress of CHM research in 2020 and will play a positive role in the future drug discovery and development. According to pharmacophylogeny, the phylogenetic distribution of compounds with different natures and flavors can be explored, with view to better mining TCM resources.

medicinal plants: ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and biology

The Ranunculaceae genus(order Ranunculales), comprising more than 150 species, mostly herbs, has long been used in folk medicine and worldwide ethnomedicine. Various medicinal compounds have been found inplants, especially triterpenoid saponins, some of which have shown anti-cancer activities. Somecompounds and extracts display immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. More than 50 species have ethnopharmacological uses, which provide clues for modern drug discovery.compounds exert anticancer and other bioactivitiesmultiple pathways. However, a comprehensive review of themedicinal resources is lacking. We here summarize the ethnomedical knowledge and recent progress on the chemical and pharmacological diversity ofmedicinal plants, as well as the emerging molecular mechanisms and functions of these medicinal compounds. The phylogenetic relationships ofspecies were reconstructed based on nuclear ITS and chloroplast markers. The molecular phylogeny is largely congruent with the morphology-based classification. Commonly used medicinal herbs are distributed in each subgenus and section, and chemical and biological studies of more unexplored taxa are warranted. Gene expression profiling and relevant "omics" platforms could reveal differential effects of phytometabolites. Genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics should be highlighted in deciphering novel therapeutic mechanisms and utilities ofphytometabolites.

Chemical Constituents in Tibetan Medicine Dolomiaea Souliei (Franch.) Shih / 中国药师

Objective: To study the chemical constituents in the dry roots of Dolomiaea souliei (Franch.) Shih.Methods: Various chromatographic methods were used to isolate and purify the chemical constituents of Dolomiaea souliei, and the structures were elucidated through the analysis of spectral data and literatures.Results: Six compounds including 3 sesquiterpene compounds and 3 fatty acids were obtained and identified as dihydrodehydrocostuslactone(Ⅰ), vladimenal(Ⅱ), arbusculin A(Ⅲ), n-hendecane(Ⅳ), butanedioic acid(Ⅴ) and methyl linoleate(Ⅵ).Conclusion: Compounds Ⅳ-Ⅵ are obtained from the genus of Dolomiaea for the first time.

Research Progress in Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf and Lemongrass Tea / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

C.citratus has been usedin many countries with a long history.Traditionally,it is applied as a food seasoning in cooking.It is also used in tea beverage and folk medicine as well.Modern application of C.citratus is focused on the development of citronella oil,which can be used for food additives,disinfectants,cosmetics,drugs and etc.C.citratus is also a potential plant in landscaping.Its special lemony flavor contains chemical constituents,mainly including citral,myrcene,linalool,geraniol,nerol,citronellol,and etc.The modern research showed that C.citratus had the main effects of anti-microbial,anti-inflammation,analgesia,anti-oxidation,anti-tumor,anti-anxiety,anti-hypertension,antihyperglycemia,and etc.With further studies,some new pharmacological properties of C.citrates are going to be discovered gradually.It is worthy of further research and development to meet the needs of the health industry.

Investigation of free amino acid, total phenolics, antioxidant activity and purine alkaloids to assess the health properties of non-Camellia tea

To find novel functional beverages from folk teas, 33 species of frequently used non-Camellia tea (plants other than Camellia) were collected and compared with Camellia tea (green tea, pu-erh tea and black tea) for the first time. Data are reported here on the quantities of 20 free amino acids (FAAs) and three purine alkaloids (measured by UHPLC), total polyphenols (measured by Folin-Ciocalteu assay), and antioxidant activity (DPPH). The total amounts of FAAs in non-Camellia tea (0.62-18.99 mg/g) are generally less than that of Camellia tea (16.55-24.99 mg/g). However, for certain FAAs, the quantities were much higher in some non-Camellia teas, such as γ-aminobutyric acid in teas from Ampelopsis grossedentata, Isodon serra and Hibiscus sabdariffa. Interestingly, theanine was detected in tea from Potentilla fruticosa (1.16±0.81 mg/g). Furthermore, the content of polyphenols in teas from A. grossedentata, Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala are significantly higher than those from Camellia tea; teas from I. serra, Pistacia chinensis and A. tataricum subsp. ginnala have remarkable antioxidant activities similar to the activities from green tea (44.23 μg/mL). Purine alkaloids (caffeine, theobromine and theophylline) were not detected in non-Camellia teas. The investigation suggest some non-Camellia teas may be great functional natural products with potential for prevention of chronic diseases and aging, by providing with abundant polyphenols, antioxidants and specific FAAs.

Commercialized non-Camellia tea: traditional function and molecular identification

Non-Camellia tea is a part of the colorful Chinese tea culture, and is also widely used as beverage and medicine in folk for disease prevention and treatment. In this study, 37 samples were collected, including 33 kinds of non-Camellia teas and 4 kinds of teas (Camellia). Traditional functions of non-Camellia teas were investigated. Furthermore, non-Camellia teas of original plants were characterized and identified by molecular methods. Four candidate regions (rbcL, matK, ITS2, psbA-trnH) were amplified by polymerase chain reaction. In addition, DNA barcodes were used for the first time to discriminate the commercial non-Camellia tea and their adulterants, and to evaluate their safety. This study showed that BLASTN and the relevant phylogenetic tree are efficient tools for identification of the commercial non-Camellia tea and their adulterants. However, some sequences from original plants have not been found and there is a limitation of sequence number of original plants in GenBank. Submitting more original plant sequences to the GenBank will be helpful for evaluating the safety of non-Camellia teas.

Pharmaphylogeny vs. pharmacophylogenomics: molecular phylogeny, evolution and drug discovery / 药学学报

With the surge of high-throughput sequencing technology, it is becoming popular to perform the phylogenetic study based on genomic data. A bundle of new terms is emerging, such as phylogenomics, pharmacophylogenomics and phylotranscriptomics, which are somewhat overlapping with pharmaphylogeny. Phylogenomics is the crossing of evolutionary biology and genomics, in which genome data are utilized for evolutionary reconstructions. Pharmaphylogeny, advocated by Prof. Pei-gen Xiao since 1980s, focuses on the phylogenetic relationship of medicinal plants and is thus nurtured by molecular phylogeny, chemotaxonomy and bioactivity studies. Phylogenomics can be integrated into the flow chart of drug discovery and development, and extend the field of pharmaphylogeny at the omic level, thus the concept of pharmacophylogenomics could be redefined. This review gives a brief analysis of the association and the distinguished feature of the pharmaphylogeny related terms, in the context of plant-based drug discovery and sustainable utilization of pharmaceutical resource.

Chemical constituents of Kadsura oblongifolia and evaluation of their toxicity / 药学学报

To study the chemical constituents of K. oblongifolia, silica gel column chromatography, MCI and Sephadex LH-20 were used to separate the 70% acetone extract of the stems of K. oblongifolia. The structures of the isolated compounds have been established on the basis of physicochemical and NMR spectroscopic evidence as well as ESI-MS in some cases. Twenty compounds were obtained and identified as heteroclitalignan A (1), kadsulignan F (2), kadoblongifolin C (3), schizanrin F (4), heteroclitalignan C (5), kadsurarin (6), kadsulignan O (7), eburicol (8), meso-dihydroguaiaretic acid (9), kadsufolin A (10), tiegusanin M (11), heteroclitin B (12), (7'S)-parabenzlactone (13), angeloylbinankadsurin B (14), propinquain H (15), quercetin (16), kadsulignan P (17), schizanrin G (18), micrandilactone C (19) and (-)-shikimic acid (20). Compouds 1, 5, 8, 11-15, 18 and 20 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Toxicity of compounds 1-10 were evaluated with zebrafish model to observe the effect on its embryonic development and heart function. The results showed that compounds 7, 9 and 10 caused edema of zebrafish embryo and decreased the heart rate of zebrafish, which exhibited interference effect on heart development of zebrafish.

Comparative Studies on Antioxidant Activities of Green Tea and Four Tree-type Non-Camellia Teas / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

This article was aimed to compare the antioxidant activities of Green tea and four tree-type non-Camellia teas. The antioxidant activities of the water extract of Green tea, Eagle tea, Large-leaved Kuding tea, Shiya tea and Qingqianliu tea were evaluated with four different in vitro assays including 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), ferrous ion-chelating (FIC) and β-carotene-linoleate bleaching assay. In addition, the polyphenol contents of different teas were estimated by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay. The results showed that Shiya tea had strong antioxidant activity; its FIC and FRAP abilities are better compared with Green tea. The Eagle tea and Large-leaved Kuding tea have better antioxidant activity. The FRAP activity of Large-leaved Kuding tea was better than green tea. The DPPH of Eagle tea and Large-leaved Kuding tea were slightly lower than Green tea, but higher than the butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). The antioxidant ability of Qingqianliu tea was the lowest. It was concluded that Shiya tea, Eagle tea, Large-leaved Kuding tea had relatively high development value which re-quires in-depth research and promotion.

Quick determination of five sweet constituents in Duosuike Tiancha by RSLC / 中国中药杂志

Duosuike Tiancha contain multiple dihydrochalcone sweet constituents, which are mainly active constituents. For the purpose of overall assessment on quality Duosuike Tiancha, 5 sweet dihydrochalcones in Duosuike Tiancha, phloridzin, phloretin-4'-beta-D-glucopyranoside, 3'-O-acetylphloridzin, 2'-O-acetylphloridzin and phloretin are determined as indicators. The separation was carried out through a isocratic elution using a Waters Acquity UPLC BRH C18 (2.1 mm x 100 mm, 1.7 microm) column and a mobile phase consisting of water (75%) and acetonitrile (25%) at a flow rate of 0.5 mL x min(-1). The detection wavelength was set at 285 nm. The column temperature was 40 degrees C. Under the optimized conditions, all the 5 sweet constituents were successfully separated with in 6 min, and good linearity (r2 > 0.999 1) was achieved. The linear range (g x L(-)) and recoveries were tested with results of 0.022 2-0.444 (98.37%), 0.102 84. 112 (97.32%), 0.003 39-0.067 68 (96.77%), 0.005 1-0.204 (98.85%) and 0.000 538-0.010 76 (100.91%) respectively. The results indicate that the content of the 5 dihydrochalcones were 7.83-62.37, 114.24-272.35, 0-1.02, 0-5.11 and 0.10-1.19 mg x g(-1), respectively. Furthermore, with certain regularity between their content and the sample size, harvest time. The separation and analysis method are fast and simple, as evidenced by the fact that the gradient elution is adopted to rapidly determine one sample within six minutes. Therefore, it can be used for dsetermine 5 sweet dihydrochalcones Duosuike Tiancha.

Chemical constituents of Dolomiaea souliei / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the chemical constituents of Dolomiaea souliei.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Various chromatographic techniques were adopted to separate the constituents, and the spectrum analysis was made to identify their structures.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Seventeen compounds were isolated and identified as: dehydrocostus lactone (1), costunolide (2), mokko lactone (3), santamarine(4), reynosin (5), 4alpha-hydroxy-4beta-methyldihydrocostol (6), sulfocostunolide A (7), beta-costic acid (8), beta-cyclocostunolide (9), vladinol A (10), ursolic acid (11), betulinic acid (12), betulin (13), dibutyl terephthalate (14), dibutyl phthalate (15), uridine (16), and emodin (17).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compounds 6-9 and 12-17 were obtained from this genus for the first time, and compound 11 was obtained from this plant for the first time.</p>

Ethno-pharmacological investigation of Schisandraceae plants in China / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate and arrange the ethno-pharmacological information of Schisandraceae plants in China.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The information was obtained by literature search, specimen inspection, field resource investigation and samples collection.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Twenty-six Schisandraece plants (inlcuding 4 varieties) have been used as folk medicines in different regions of China, the identical medicinal parts of different species in one genus show the similar usage, action and indications, and different medicinal parts with different administrated ways show different action and indications.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results provide reliable information for resource development and comprehensive utilization of Schisandraece plant resource in China.</p>

Chemical constituents of petroleum ether extract of fruits of Schisandra sphenanthera / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the chemical constituents in the fruits of Schisandra sphenanthera.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The constituents were isolated by their silica gel column, Sephadex LH-20 gel column, and their structures were elucidated by their chemical properties and spectroscopic analyses.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Twelve compounds were isolated and identified as (+)-anwulignan (1), deoxyschizandrin (2), interiotherin A (3), schisantherin A (4), beta-sitosterol (5), schisantherin D (6), 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (7), 6-O-benzoylgomisin O (8), schizandronic acid (9), schisanlactone D (10), schisanlactone B (11), kadsulactone A (12).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compounds 3, 7, 10-12 were obtained from this plant for the first time.</p>

Antimicrobial activity of endophytic fungi isolated from Dendrobium species in southwestern China / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To isolate and characterize endophytic fungi from seven Dendrobium species, and detect their antimicrobial activities.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Fungal endophytes were isolated by strictly sterile sample preparation and fungal identification methods were based on their ITS ribosomal DNA (ITS rDNA gene) sequences. The agar well diffusion method was then employed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity against six pathogenic organisms and the phylogenetic tree of active isolates was constructed by the MEGA.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Ninety-eight endophytic fungi obtained from seven Dendrobium spp., and among them twenty-four isolates, representing 11 genera and 14 species, displayed anti-microbial activities. The phylogenetic assay based on ITS-rDNA showed that 24 active isolates were sorted to 7 taxonomic orders: Hypocreales, Sordariales, Capnodiales, Eurotiales, Botryosphaeriales, Xylariales and Mucorales. The results of antimicrobial activity assay revealed that 1.02%, 10.2%, 18.4%, 1.02%, 1.02% and 10.2% of fermentation broths of 98 isolates displayed significant antimicrobial activities against E. coli, B. subtilis, S. aureus, C. albicans, C. neoformans and A. fumigatus, respectively. Four strains DL-R-3, DL-S-6, DG-R-10 and DN-S-1 displayed strong and broad antimicrobial spectrum.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Endophytic fungi associated with Dendrobium species have fungal diversity, and possess diverse antimicrobial activity.</p>

New Collection of Crude Drugs in Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2010 Ⅲ.Kadsurae Caulis / 中草药·英文版

The dried cane of Kadsura interior (Kadsurae Caulis) is recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2010 as Dian Jixueteng for the treatment of rheumatism,irregular menstruation,and deficiency of Qi and blood.In this paper,morphological characteristics,chemical constituents,and pharmacological activities in the cane of K.interior were summarized.Moreover,some suggestions about application and quality control of Kadsurae Caulis were proposed in order to provide a theoretical basis for further scientific use.

Research progress and trend analysis of biology and chemistry of Taxus medicinal resources / 药学学报

Taxus is the source plant of anti-cancer drug paclitaxel and its biosynthetic precursor, analogs and derivatives, which has been studying for decades. There are many endemic Taxus species in China, which have been studied in the field of multiple disciplines. Based on the recent studies of the researchers, this review comments on the study of Taxus biology and chemistry. The bibliometric method is used to quantify the global scientific production of Taxus-related research, and identify patterns and tendencies of Taxus-related articles. Gaps are present in knowledge about the genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and bioinformatics of Taxus and their endophytic fungi. Systems biology and various omics technologies will play an increasingly important role in the coming decades.

Development trend of traditional Chinese medicine resources / 中国中药杂志

The paper analyzed the current status and existing problems of traditional Chinese medicine resources. Blind introduction phenomenon, slow progress of variety breeding, low utilization rate of medicinal parts and herb residue seriously affected the sustainable development of traditional Chinese medicine resources. This paper raised suggestions according to these problems: to develop directional cultivation based on genuine drug, to develop directive breeding based on improvement the content of effective components, to expanding use the medicinal parts based on diversification and to comprehensive use the herb residue.

Comparison of green tea and four other kind of teas / 中国中药杂志

Nowadays, tea and the substitution (other kinds of tea) take an important status in the drinking, food, health product and the related industry. The most popular Green tea, Maté originated from South America, Large-leaved Kudingcha, Small-leaved Kudingcha, and the Eagle tea used civilian have many similarities on history, chemical constituents and biological activities. In this article, we summarized the similarities and the characteristics of the Green tea and the other four teas in order to provide scientific evidences for better development of the tea and substitutions.

Affect of Ag+ and La3+ elicitors on growth and accumulation of adventitious roots of Periploca sepium / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the characteristics of the growth and periplocin accumulation of the adventitious roots of Periploca sepium, and on this basis, study the effect of Ag+ and La3+ elicitors on the growth and periplocin accumulation of the adventitious roots.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The adventitious roots were sampled every four days, and the dry weight and the contents of the periplocin were measured. The curves of the growth and periplocin accumulation of the roots were plotted. The Ag+ and La3+ elicitors with different concentrations were added to the medium when the adventitious roots grew in the stable phase to study the optimal concentration which was good to synthesize the periplocin. Besides, the optimal concentration of Ag+ and La3+ elicitors was added to the different growth phases to study the effect of the elicitors on the growth and periplocin synthesis of adventitious roots.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The characteristics of the growth of adventitious roots of P. sepium showed a typical growth S-Curve, which displayed a half-coupling relationship with the metabolism of periplocin. The optimal concentrations of Ag+ and La3+ elicitors were both 0.05 mmol L(-1). Besides, it was the best period for the Ag+ and La3+ elicitors to elicit the synthesis of periplocin when in the terminally exponential phase.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The growth of adventitious roots and the accumulation of periplocin show a half-coupling relationship. Besides, the concentration and additive time of Ag and La3+ elicitors obviously influences the growth of adventitious roots and synthesis of periplocin.</p>

The HPLC determination of the content of magnoflorine in main species of Epimedii Herba / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the content of magnoflorine in main species of Epimedii Herba.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Ultrasonic extraction, HPLC analysis.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The content of magnoflorine of Epimedium leaves range between 0.0029% and 1.688%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The content of magnoflorine of Epimedium show large differences between species but relatively stable within the species, E. koreanum Nakai is the highest one and E. brevicornu is the lowest.</p>