Qianjin Wenwu decoction suppresses renal interstitial fibrosis by enhancing the degradation of extracellular matrix in mice with unilateral ureteral obstruction / 中国天然药物

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the most common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). Qianjin Wenwu decoction (QWD), a well-known traditional Korean medicine, has been used for the treatment of DKD, with satisfactory therapeutic effects. This study was designed to investigate the active components and mechanisms of action of QWD in the treatment of DKD. The results demonstrated that a total of 13 active components in five types were found in QWD, including flavonoids, flavonoid glycosides, phenylpropionic acids, saponins, coumarins, and lignins. Two key proteins, TGF-β1 and TIMP-1, were identified as the target proteins through molecular docking. Furthermore, QWD significantly suppressed Scr and BUN levels which increased after unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) and Masson staining results demonstrated that QWD significantly alleviated renal interstitial fibrosis in UUO mice. We also found that QWD promoted ECM degradation by regulating MMP-9/TIMP-1 homeostasis to improve renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis and interfere with the expression and activity of TGF- β1 in DKD treatment. These findings explain the underlying mechanism of QWD for the treatment of DKD, and also provide methodological reference for investigating the mechanism of traditional medicine in the treatment of DKD.

Study on chemical constituents from Xiaoer Fupi Granules based on UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS / 中草药

Objective To clarify the chemical constituents from Xiaoer Fupi Granules and establish an effective identification method for the complex composition of Chinese material medica. Methods UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS was used to analyze the chemical constituents of Xiaoer Fupi Granules. The analysis was performed on Waters HSS T3-C18 (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm). The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% ammonium formate (A)-acetonitrile (B), which was used for gradient elution, with the flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. This objective was achieved mainly depending on the information of the accurate mass and the multistage fragment ions obtained by UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS, comparing the mass spectrometric data of the standard substance and consulting the reference literatures. Results A total of 84 compounds were identified in this study, including the flavones, glycosidics, phenoliacids, and its esters, and so on, which were attributed the herbs source of each compound. Meanwhile, an effective and quickly identification method for the glycosides, flavonoids, and polyoxyflavonoids were established based on the law of multistage mass spectrometry. Conclusion The comprehensive chemical constituents analysis of Xiaoer Fupi Granules will provide the scientific theory basis for the pharmacodyamic material basis and the quality control of this drug.