Herbal Textual Research on Asteris Radix et Rhizoma in Famous Classical Formulas / 中国实验方剂学杂志

By reviewing the ancient and modern literature， the name， origin， scientific name evolution， place of origin， quality， harvesting， processing， efficacy and toxicity of Asteris Radix et Rhizoma（ARR） were systematically sorted out， so as to provide reference for the development and utilization of the relevant famous classical formulas. According to textual research， ARR was first contained in Shennong Bencaojing， all generations are Ziwan for its proper name， and there are still aliases such as Ziyuan， Ziqian and Xiaobianer. Its mainstream origin in successive generations was Aster tataricus， and there are also Ligularia fischeri and others in local area of use. The medicinal parts of ARR are root and rhizome， but in modern times， the rhizome is mostly used for propagation and cultivation， so some of ARR medicinal materials only have the root without the rhizome. The earliest recorded ancient origin of ARR was now Fangxian（Hubei）， Zhengding and Handan（Heibei）， then the range of production areas gradually expanded， the mainstream production areas from the Song dynasty to the Ming and Qing dynasties included Hebei， Jiangsu， Anhui， Henan and other places， since modern times， two major producing areas have been formed in Anguo， Hebei province and Bozhou， Anhui province. From the quality evaluation， it is clear that from ancient times， flexible roots and purple color are the best. The ancient harvesting was mainly in lunar February or March， and then dried in the shade， and the modern harvesting is mostly in spring and autumn， and the roots are braided into pigtails and then dried in the sun or dried in the sun after 1-2 d. The ancient and modern processing method of ARR are basically the same， mainly honey processing， there are still methods of frying， steaming， vinegar sizzling， etc. Based on the results， it is recommended that the dried roots and rhizomes of A. tataricus should be used in clinical and the development of related famous classical formulas， and those whose original formulas specify the processing requirements can be processed according to the relevant requirements， while whose processing requirements are not specified should be used in the form of raw products.

Chemical structure and antioxidant activity of a neutral polysaccharide from Asteris Radix et Rhizoma.

Asteris Radix et Rhizoma (AR) has been widely used as a herbal medicine for treating various symptoms and possesses a number of bioactivities. A neutral polysaccharide ARP-1 was isolated from AR with weight-average molecular weight of 214 kDa. The heteropolysaccharide ARP-1 was composed of fucose, arabinose, galactose, glucose and mannose with a molar ratio of 0.40:14.25:10.22:1.06:0.41. Linkage and NMR analysis showed that ARP-1 had a backbone containing →3,6)-ß-d-Galp-(1→ and →6)-ß-d-Galp-(1 â†’ residues, and oligosaccharide side chains containing Araf and Galp units were attached to the backbone at C-3 of →3,6)-ß-d-Galp-(1 â†’ residues. Antioxidant activity assays showed that ARP-1 exhibited potent antioxidant activities, including ABTS, hydroxy and DPPH radicals scavenging and reducing power. Besides, ARP-1 decreased the production of ROS and MDA, and improved the activities of SOD, which resulted in the protection of PC12 cells against H2O2-induced oxidative stress. The findings indicated that ARP-1 might be used as a potential natural antioxidant.

Asteris Radix et Rhizoma suppresses testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia in rats by regulating apoptosis and inflammation.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Asteris Radix et Rhizoma (AR) refers to the roots and rhizomes of Aster tataricus L., which is widely distributed throughout East Asia. AR has been consumed as a traditional medicine in Korea, Japan and China for the treatment of urologic symptoms. To date, however, the therapeutic effect of AR on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) has not been investigated. AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study evaluated the therapeutic effects of AR on a testosterone-induced BPH rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We induced BPH to rats by subcutaneous injections (s.c) of testosterone propionate (TP) daily for four weeks. Rats were also administered daily oral gavage of AR (150 mg/kg) or vehicle. After four weeks of induction, all animals were euthanized humanely and their prostate glands were removed, weighed and processed for further analysis, including histopathological examination, real-time PCR, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay and Western blot analysis. RESULTS: Administration of AR to TP-induced BPH rats considerably reduced prostate weight and concentrations of serum testosterone and prostate dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Epithelial thickness and expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were markedly suppressed by AR-treatment in the rats. Furthermore, the expression of the B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) were reduced and expression of the Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) increased, resulting in significant reduction in Bcl-2/Bax ratio. In addition, AR decreased the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). The expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were reduced by AR treatment in a TP-induced BPH rat model. CONCLUSIONS: AR alleviates BPH by promoting apoptosis and suppressing inflammation, indicating that AR may be used clinically to treat BPH accompanied by inflammation.

Fingerprint and multi-components quantitative determination for Jizhi Syrup by HPLC / 中草药

Objective: To establish an HPLC fingerprint method of Jizhi Syrup and determine the contents of its main components. Methods: The Waters XTerra RP-18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column was used with a mobile phase of 0.8% acetic acid (containning 0.2% triethylamine) and acetonitrile gradient elution, the flow rate was 1.0 mL/min, the column temperature was 35℃, and the detection wavelength was 280 nm. The Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of TCM (2012 edition) was used to establish the fingerprint spectra and analyze the similarity degree. The common peaks were identified by reference compounds and negative controls, and the content was detected. Results: The fingerprint chromatography included 17 mutual peaks. Peak 2 and peak 8 were from Houttuyniae Herba, peak 4 and peak 10 were from Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma, peaks 7, 12, and 15 were from Ilicis Chinensis Folium, peaks 1 and 13 were from Ephedrae Herba, peaks 16 and 17 were from Aurantii Fructus, and peaks 3 and 6 were from Houttuyniae Herba, Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma, and Ilicis Chinensis Folium. The similarity among the batches was more than 0.98. Based on the retention time of master compounds, six components [protocatechuic acid (peak 3), protocatechualdehyde (peak 6), ferulic acid (peak 7), chlorogenic acid (peak 10), ephedrine hydrochloride (peak 13), and naringin (peak 16)] were identified and quantified. The contents of protocatechuic acid, protocatechualdehyde, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, ephedrine hydrochloride, and naringin in 10 batches of Jizhi Syrup were 3.122 1-3.270 0, 5.108 6-5.224 9, 8.893 2-9.120 8, 6.792 1-6.931 0, 2.154 4-2.236 2, and 4.125 8-4.183 3 mg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The established method has high sensitivity, fast, precise and specificity, and can be used for the quality control of Jizhi Syrup.

Optimization of extraction technology for Asteris Radix et Rhizoma in Zibai Zhisou Capsules with orthogonal test / 中草药

Objective: To optimize the extraction technology of Asteris Radix et Rhizoma in Zibai Zhisou Capsules. Methods: Orthogonal test was carried out. The influences of concentration of solvent, the dosage of solvent, duration of extraction, and frequency of extraction on extraction results were investigated by using the content of shionons as index. Results: The optimal extraction technique was to extract pueraria in 80% alcohol with 8 times the weight of herbal medicine for 3 times, with 60 min once. Conclusion: High yield of extractum and high content of shionon are obtained with the present technology. The results with better repeatability are stable, which can provide the reference for the production of Zibai Zhisou Capsules.