[Content of secondary metabolites and antioxidant activities of Lonicera japonica flowers at different developmental stages from Shandong province].

This study established an ultrasound-assisted extraction-high performance liquid chromatography method for simulta-neously determinining the content of 11 bioactive compounds including iridoids, phenolic acids, and flavonoids in Lonicera japonica flowers. The flowers at six stages from the rice bud stage(ML) to the golden flower stage(JH) of L. japonica varieties 'Sijuhua' and 'Beihua No.1' in two planting bases in Shandong province were collected. The established method was employed to determine the content of 11 target compounds, on the basis of which the dynamics of active components in L. japonica sampels during different development stages was investigated. The correlation analysis was carried out to reveal the correlations of the content of iridoids, phenolic acids, and flavonoids. Furthermore, the antioxidant activities of samples at different developmental stages were determined, and the relationship between antioxidant activity and chemical components was analyzed by the correlation analysis. The results showed that the total content of the 11 components in 'Sijihua' changed in a "W" pattern from the ML to JH, being the highest at the ML and the second at the slight white stage(EB). The total content of 11 compounds in 'Beihua No.1' was the highest at the ML and decreased gra-dually from the ML to JH. The samples of 'Sijihua' had higher content of iridoids and lower content of phenolic acids than those of 'Beihua No.1'. The content of flavonoids and phenolic acids showed a positive correlation(R~2=0.90, P<0.05) in 'Sijihua' but no obvious correlation in 'Beihua No.1'. The antioxidant activity and phenolic acid content showed positive correlations, with the determination coefficients(R~2) of 0.84(P<0.05) in 'Beihua No.1' and 0.73(P<0.05) in 'Sijihua'. The antioxidant activity of both varieties was the strongest at the ML and the second at the EB. This study revealed that the content dynamics of iridoids, phenolic acids, and flavonoids in 'Sijihua' and 'Beihua No.1' cultivated in Shandong province during different developmental stages. The results indicated that the antioxidant activity of L. japonica flowers was significantly correlated with the content of phenolic acids at different deve-lopmental stages, which provided a basis for determining the optimum harvest time of L. japonica flowers.

Analyzing chemical composition of Sargentodoxae caulis water extract and their hypouricemia effect in hyperuricemic mice.

Hyperuricemia (HUA) is a metabolic disease characterized by the increase of serum uric acid (UA) level. Sargentodoxae Caulis (SC) is a commonly used herbal medicine for the treatment of gouty arthritis, traumatic swelling, and rheumatic arthritis in clinic. In this study, a total of fifteen compounds were identified in SC water extract using UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS, including three phenolic acids, seven phenolic glycosides, four organic acids, and one lignan. Then, to study the hypouricemia effect of SC, a HUA mouse model was induced using a combination of PO, HX, and 20% yeast feed. After 14 days of treatment with the SC water extract, the levels of serum UA, creatinine (CRE), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were reduced significantly, and the organ indexes were restored, the xanthine oxidase (XOD) activity were inhibited as well. Meanwhile, SC water extract could ameliorate the pathological status of kidneys and intestine of HUA mice. Additionally, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blotting results showed that SC water extract could increase the expression of ATP binding cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2), organic cation transporter 1 (OCT1), organic anion transporter 1 (OAT1) and organic anion transporter 3 (OAT3), whereas decrease the expression of glucose transporter 9 (GLUT9). This study provided a data support for the clinical application of SC in the treatment of HUA.

[Application of bioassay in quality evaluation of Chinese medicine:a review].

The quality of Chinese medicine is the foundation of the clinical effects and industrial development. Component analysis ensures the consistency and stability of medicinals, but fails to evaluate the clinical efficacy. Bioassay is an analytical method to evaluate the effect of a substance on living organisms, tissues, or cells, which is an optimal option for assessing the quality of Chinese medicine. Bioassay of Chinese medicine starts early but progresses slowly. At the moment, it has attracted the interest of scholars. However, no systematic research is available. This study aims to summarize the research on the application of bioassay in quality evaluation of Chinese medicine, focusing on the application of key techniques and experimental systems in bioassay in heat-clearing and blood-activating and stasis-eliminating Chinese medicine and the common problems. Meanwhile, suggestions were proposed in terms of the association with clinical efficacy and chemical analysis and the status quo of biological assay. This study is expected to promote the study and application of bioassay.

Preparative Separation of Monoterpenoid Indole Alkaloid Epimers from Ervatamia yunnanensis Tsiang by pH-Zone-Refining Counter-Current Chromatography Combined with Preparative High-Performance Liquid Chromatography.

An effective method was developed for the preparative separation and purification of monoterpenoid indole alkaloid epimers from Ervatamia yunnanensis Tsiang using a combination of pH-zone-refining counter-current chromatography and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. With this method, two pairs of MIA epimers including ervatamine (72 mg, 1), 20-epi-ervatamine (27 mg, 4), dregamine (95 mg, 2), tabernaemontanine (129 mg, 3), along with two MIAs, apparicine (112 mg, 5) and isovoacangine (15 mg, 6), were successfully purified from 2.1 g crude extract of E. yunnanensis, each with a purity of over 95% as determined by HPLC. The structures of the MIAs were identified by ESI-MS, 1D, and 2D NMR.

Four new phenolic constituents from the rhizomes of Gastrodia elata Blume.

Four new gastrodin derivatives containing a trans-cinnamoyl unit (1-4) and nine known compounds (5-13) were isolated from the rhizomes of Gastrodia elata Blume. All these compounds were evaluated for their neuroprotective effects against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced cell death, and compounds 7 and 12 showed potent activities with EC50 values of 10.5 and 10.2 µM, respectively.

[Optimization of Aqueous Two-Phase Extraction of Polysaccharide from Schisandra chinensis Using Response Surface Methodology with Box-Behnken Design].

Objective: To optimize the extraction condition of polysaccharide from Schisandra chinensis. Aqueous two-phase extraction（ ATPE） method was used, based on Box-Behnken design with Response surface methodology（ BBD-RSM）. Methods: solvent volume,K2HPO4 and PEG6000 were selected as the investigation factors by the single-factor experiment, and the overall desirability（ OD）of phase volume ratio, partition coefficient and extraction rates were the reponse value. BBD-RSM was used to optimize the extraction process. . Results: The optimal parameters were as follows,the solvent volume was 5 m L,the addition amount of K2HPO4 was 1. 0 g, the addition amount of PEG6000 was 1. 8 g and centrifugation time was 9 min, which indicated that the model had a good predictability. The predicted value was 0. 950,and the deviation between observed and predicted values was 3. 94% Conclusion: The ATPE technology is easy to operate and cost-effective for the extraction of polysaccharides from Schisandra chinensis.