The sulfur-fumigation reduces chemical composition and biological properties of Angelicae Sinensis Radix.

Angelica Sinensis Radix (roots of Angelica sinensis; ASR) is a popular herbal supplement in China for promoting blood circulation. Today, sulfur-fumigation is commonly used to treat ASR as a means of pest control; however, the studies of sulfur-fumigation on the safety and efficacy of ASR are very limited. Here, we elucidated the destructive roles of sulfur-fumigation on ASR by chemical and biological assessments. After sulfur-fumigation, the chemicals in ASR were significantly lost. The biological activities of anti-platelet aggregation, induction of NO production and estrogenic properties were compared between the water extracts of non-fumigated and sulfur-fumigated ASR. In all cases, the sulfur-fumigation significantly reduced the biological properties of ASR. In addition, application of water extract deriving from sulfur-fumigated ASR showed toxicity to cultured MCF-7 cells. In order to ensure the safety and to achieve the best therapeutic effect, it is recommended that sulfur-fumigation is an unacceptable approach for processing herbal materials.

Identification of Angelica oil as a suppressor for the biological properties of Danggui Buxue Tang: a Chinese herbal decoction composes of Astragali Radix and Angelica Sinensis Radix.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction commonly used in treating women׳s ailments, contains two herbs: Angelica Sinensis Radix (ASR) and Astragali Radix (AR). Traditionally, ASR had to be pre-treated with yellow wine before the herbal preparation, which reduced the amount of volatile oil in water extract of ASR and DBT, and meanwhile the volatile oil-reduced DBT processed better bioactivities in cell cultures. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of volatile oil from ASR (Angelica oil) on the solubility of AR-derived ingredients and the biological properties of DBT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To standardize Angelica oil, four marker chemicals in ASR were determined by GC-QQQ-MS/MS. Subsequently, fifteen gram of AR was boiled with different amounts of Angelica oil. The amounts of astragaloside IV, calycosin, formononetin, total polysaccharides, total saponins and total flavonoids, all derived from AR, were extracted and determined by HPLC-UV/ELSD. To reveal the effect of Angelica oil on DBT functions, several cell assays related to the traditional functions of DBT were selected, including anti-platelet aggregation, induction of NO production, hematopoetic, estrogenic and osteogenic properties. RESULTS: The inclusion of Angelica oil in AR during preparation significantly decreased the amount of AR-derived astragaloside IV, calycosin, formononetin, total saponins and total flavonoids in the final water extract. In parallel, an inclusion of Angelica oil caused a decrease of DBT׳s estrogenic and hematopoetic activities in cultured cells. Moreover, the Angelica oil decreased DBT-induced cell proliferation of cultured MG-63 and endothelial cells. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that Angelica oil was a negative regulator for DBT chemically and biologically, which supported the traditional practice of preparing DBT by using the wine-treated ASR.

Hydrolysis of Glycosidic Flavonoids during the Preparation of Danggui Buxue Tang: An Outcome of Moderate Boiling of Chinese Herbal Mixture.

Chemical change during boiling of herbal mixture is a puzzle. By using Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a herbal decoction that contains Astragali Radix (AR) and Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR), we developed a model in analyzing the hydrolysis of flavonoid glycosides during the boiling of herbal mixture in water. A proper preparation of DBT is of great benefit to the complete extraction of bioactive ingredients. Boiling of DBT in water increased the solubility of AR-derived astragaloside IV, calycosin, formononetin, calycosin-7-O- ß -D-glucoside, and ononin in a time- and temperature-dependent manner: the amounts of these chemicals reached a peak at 2 h. The glycosidic resides of AR, calycosin-7-O- ß -D-glucoside, and ononin could be hydrolyzed during the moderate boiling process to form calycosin and formononetin, respectively. The hydrolysis efficiency was strongly affected by pH, temperature, and amount of herbs. Interestingly, the preheated herbs were not able to show this hydrolytic activity. The current results supported the rationality of ancient preparation of DBT in boiling water by moderate heat.

Can Hedysari Radix replace Astragali Radix in Danggui Buxue Tang, a Chinese herbal decoction for woman aliment?

Astragali Radix (AR) has been used for over 2000 years in China for the enrichment of "Qi". Hedysari Radix (HR), a herb having similar chemical composition with AR, has been commonly used as a substitute of AR in herbal decoction. In order to evaluate the possible replacement of HR for AR in Chinese herbal decoction, systematic comparison of AR and HR was done by chemical and biological assessments. The water extract of AR contained higher levels of calycosin, calycosin-glucoside, ononin, astragaloside III and astragaloside IV, while higher amount of formononetin was found in the HR extract. The estrogenic, erythropoetic and osteogenic effects were compared between the water extracts of AR and HR, and in all cases AR extract showed higher biological activities. Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT) is a very common herbal decoction for woman aliment, and which contains AR and Angelica Sinensis Radix. Here, we generated two forms of DBT having either AR or HR as the major herbs. Chemically, AR-contained DBT showed higher amounts of various active chemicals, except formononetin that was higher in HR-contained DBT. In parallel, the estrogenic, osteogenic and erythropoetic effects of DBT containing AR showed better activities than that of DBT having HR. Thus, AR and HR showed distinct differences in terms of chemical and biological properties. In order to achieve the best therapeutical effect, as well as to guarantee the safety, AR is recommended here to be used for making DBT.

Chemical changes of Angelicae Sinensis Radix and Chuanxiong Rhizoma by wine treatment: chemical profiling and marker selection by gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry.

BACKGROUND: Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR) and Chuanxiong Rhizoma (CR) can be treated with wine to promote their biological functions in Chinese medicine. Both ASR and CR contain similar volatile chemicals that could be altered after wine treatment. This study aims to identify the differential chemical profiles and to select marker chemicals of ASR and CR before and after wine treatment. METHODS: Chemical analyses were carried out by gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-QQQ-MS/MS) coupled with multivariate statistical analysis. Characterization of the compositions of essential oils was performed by automated matching to the MS library and comparisons of their mass spectra (NIST08 database). For ferulic acid, butylphthalide, Z-butylidenephthalide, senkyunolide A and Z-ligustilide, the mass spectrometer was operated in electron ionization mode, the selection reaction monitoring mode was used and an evaluation of the stability and sensitivity of the chromatographic system was performed for the tested extraction. RESULTS: Principal component analysis (PCA) simultaneously distinguished ASR and CR from different forms. Ferulic acid, Z-butylidenephthalide, Z-ligustilide, butylphthalide and senkyunolide A were screened by PCA loading plots and can be used as chemical markers for discrimination among different groups of samples. CONCLUSION: Different chemical profiles of ASR and CR after wine treatment could be identified by GC-QQQ-MS/MS. The five marker chemicals selected by PCA, namely ferulic acid, butylphthalide, Z-butylidenephthalide, senkyunolide A and Z-ligustilide, were sufficient to distinguish between the crude and corresponding wine-treated forms of ASR and CR.

Chemical and biological assessment of Angelica herbal decoction: comparison of different preparations during historical applications.

The commonly used Angelica herbal decoction today is Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), which is a dietary supplement in treating menopausal irregularity in women, i.e. to nourish "Qi" and to enrich "Blood". According to historical record, many herbal decoctions were also named DBT, but the most popular formulation of DBT was written in Jin dynasty (1247 AD) of China, which contained Astragali Radix (AR) and Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR) with a weight ratio of 5:1. However, at least two other Angelica herbal decoctions recorded as DBT were prescribed in Song (1155 AD) and Qing dynasties (1687 AD). Although AR and ASR are still the major components in the DBT herbal decoctions, they are slightly varied in the herb composition. In order to reveal the efficiency of different Angelica herbal decoctions, the chemical and biological properties of three DBT herbal extracts were compared. Significantly, the highest amounts of AR-derived astragaloside III, astragaloside IV, calycosin and formononetin and ASR-derived ferulic acid were found in DBT described in 1247 AD: this preparation showed stronger activities in osteogenic, estrogenic and erythropoetic effects than the other two DBT. The current results supported the difference of three DBT in chemical and biological properties, which could be a result of different herbal combinations. For the first time, this study supports the popularity of DBT described in 1247 AD.