A new suberin from roots of Ephedra sinica Stapf / 药学学报

Six compounds were isolated from the roots of Ephedra sinica Stapf using various chromatographic techniques such as silica gel column chromatography, thin layer chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC. Their chemical structures were identified by analysis of physicochemical properties and spectral data, and determined as (Z)-docosanylferulate (1), (E)-docosanylferulate (2), bis (2-ethylheptyl) phythalate (3), 2,2′-oxybis (1,4-di-tert-butylbenzene) (4), diisobutyl phthalate (5), bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (6). Among them, compound 1 is a new compound, compounds 2-4 were first isolated from Ephedra. A corticosterone-induced PC-12 cell injury model was used for compound activity screening. The results showed that compounds 1 and 5 significantly improved corticosterone-induced PC-12 cell injury and significantly increased 5-HT7 receptor protein expression in the cells, indicating potential antidepressant activity.

Comparison on celluar anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory activities of seven derivative combinations of Yaotongning with alkaloid as main part and in vivo pharmacodynamic evaluation on optimized candidate combination / 中草药

Objective: To investigate which kind of Chinese medicinal effective fractions will produce good comprehensive cellular pharmacological activities when they were combined with alkaloids from Strychnos nux-vomica and Ephedra sinica, and to evaluate in vivo pharmacological activities of the effective fraction combination screened by cellular experiments. Methods: The equal proportion mixture of alkaloids from S. nux-vomica and E. sinica was set as a sample (sample 1, A); Two samples (samples 2 and 3) were designed by respectively adding the equal ratio mixture of five flavonoids (F) at 50% into alkaloids from S. nux-vomica or E. sinica; Four samples (samples 4-7) were designed by respectively adding F, equal proportion mixture of four saponins (S), equal ratio mixture of six volatile oils/aqueous (V), and equal proportion mixture of six polysaccharides (P) at 50% into A. Murine macrophage cells and chondrocytes were exposed to the new recipes, and then the half inhibitory concentration (IC50) of recipes for inhibiting (PGE2) in macrophages and the half effective concentration (EC50) for promotion of the secretion of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α in macrophages were detected and compared. The interactions among the active fractions were evaluated by comparing the experimental EC50/IC50 values to their corresponding additive EC50/IC50 values calculated by the least square optimum method. The in vivo pharmacodynamics of the best combination was evaluated by the ear swelling model and delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) model in mice. Results: Sample 4 has good comprehensive activities of cellular anti-inflammation and immunoregulation. Moreover, strong synergistic effect among the effective fractions in this sample was observed; Cellular anti-inflammatory activities of samples 5, 6, and 7 were equivalent with sample 4; Samples 5 and 7 had good comprehensive cellular immunoregulation activity; But the alkaloids mixture (A) and the combinations of S. nux-vomica or E. sinica alkaloids with F (samples 2 and 3) were significantly weaker than sample 4 in cellular anti-inflammation, immunoregulation, and chondrocyte-proliferation. Sample 4 also exhibits a certain effect on in vivo anti-inflammation and immunity in mice when A was decreased at 25% or 5%. Conclusion: It is not suitable to design a combination just by alkaloids from S. nux-vomica and alkaloids of E. sinica; Alkaloids from S. nux-vomica or alkaloids of E. sinica are also not appropriate to solely combine with the mixture of flavonoids (F). When A is combined with F, S, V, and P, respectively, synergistic or additive effects among the active fractions are usually observed. These active fractions help to strengthen comprehensive cellular pharmacological activities of A. Sample 4 not only has good cellular activities of anti-inflammation and immunoregulation but also has better in vivo effect on anti-inflammation and immunity, suggesting that it is feasible to screen the optimized Chinese medicine formula based on cellular pharmacological experiments.

Flavonoids from roots of Ephedra sinica / 中草药

Objective: To study the flavonoids from the roots of Ephedra sinica in Ephedra Tourn. ex L. Methods: The roots of E. sinica were extracted with 90% ethanol, and isolated and purified by silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and RP-18 gel column chromatography. All the compounds were identified based on spectral analyses (including MS, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR). Results: Thirteen flavonoids were isolated from the roots of E. sinica and were characterized as ephedrannin A (1), mahuannin A (2), mahuannin B (3), mahuannin D (4), apigenin (5), kaempferol (6), quercetin (7), dihydroquercetin (8), 3′, 4′, 5, 7-tetrahydroxy flavanone (9), (+)-catechin (10), (-)-epi-catechin (11), afzelechin (12), and (-)-epi-afzelechin (13), respectively. Conclusion: Compounds 7-13 are obtained from this plant for the first time.

Comparison on constituents from different parts between wild growing and cultivated planting of Ephedra sinica / 中草药

Objective To compare the difference in constituents from different parts of wild and cultivated Ephedra sinica. Methods Using the solvent of 50% methyl alcohol to extract from the stems and roots of wild and cultivated E. sinica under heating reflux, respectively and then determine the content of ephedrine in each extractions by HPLC. The volatile oil was extracted by stream-distillation and analyzed by GC-MS method. Results The content of the ephedrine in extraction of stems and roots of wild E. sinica was 0.55% and 0.000 57% while the content of the cultivated was 0.26% and 0.001 7%. Forty-five compounds in the volatile oil were identified by GC-MS method, among them 13 compounds existed in both wild and cultivated E. sinica. Conclusion The content of the ephedrine is about two times of the cultivated in wild E. sinica′s stems, while it is very low in the roots of two kinds of herbs. And ephedrine is not found in the volatile oil.

Determination of ephedrine alkaloids in Ephedra sinica by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis / 中草药

Object To develop a rapid method for the determination of ephedrine alkaloids in Ephedra sinica Stapf by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) and evaluate the extracting method by determining the amount of alkaloids Methods The buffer contained 50 mmol/L ammonium acetate in methanol without any additives was used And the detection wavelength was 210 nm Results The best separation result was achieved within 8 min Linearity was obtained in range of 9 8-147 0 ?g/mL pseudoephedrine, 6 8-102 0 ?g/mL for norephedrin, 9 4-141 0 ?g/mL for ephedrine, 4 8-72 0 ?g/mL for norpseudoephdrine, 6 8-102 0 ?g/mL for methylephedrine respectively The recovery range of these five alkaloids was 95 0%-100 4% Conclusion This method is rapid and accurate for the quantitative analysis of ephedrin alkaloids in E sinica

Analysis of essential oil in cultivated Ephedra Sinica Stapf in Gansu Province / 中成药

AIM: To analyze the chemical constituents of essential oil in Ephedra Sinica Stapf from Gansu Province. METHODS: The essential oil in Ephedra Sinica Stapf was extracted by steam distillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS). RESULTS: 71 Compounds were identified from Ephedra Sinica Stapf of 3 different sources(Minqin,Zhenyuan and Gulang County),and contained 28 same components such as tetramethylpyrazine、linalool、?-terpineol、4-terpineol、d-?-terpineol、hexadecanoic acid and so on.The contents of d-?terpineol and hexadecanoic acid in Ephedra Sinica Stapf were the highest. CONCLUSION: Essential oils in Ephedra Sinica Stapf from Gansu Province do not contain 1-?-terpineol.