Polygalaxanthone III, an Active Ingredient in Polygala japonica Houtt., Repaired Malassezia-Stimulated Skin Injury via STAT3 Phosphorylated Activation.

Malassezia is a genus of commensal and lipid-dependent yeasts in human skin which also have a pathogenic lifestyle associated with several common skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis and eczema. Symptoms include red, itchy, and inflamed skin. We studied the growth characteristics and biochemical analyses of M. furfur which showed that the protein contents were greater in extracts taken at 24 h. These were then used to infect C57BL/6 mice, resulting in skin rupture. Polygalaxanthone III (POL), a more effective anti-inflammatory ingredient in Polygala japonica Houtt., was applied externally to the ulceration and successfully healed the wounds quickly. POL could not inhibit Malassezia activity as tested by the inhibition zone test, but affected the formation of lipid droplets in HaCaT cells. The wound-healing molecular mechanisms may be involved in the STAT3 pathway according to the Western blot results of skin tissues. Malassezia's role in skin health is far from certain, and there is no clear solution, so understanding the development of Malassezia-associated skin diseases in general and seeking solutions are very important.

Optimization of Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction of Active Components and Antioxidant Activity from Polygala tenuifolia: A Comparative Study of the Response Surface Methodology and Least Squares Support Vector Machine.

Dried roots of Polygala tenuifolia (YuanZhi in Chinese) are widely used in Chinese herbal medicine. These components in YuanZhi have significant anti-oxidation properties owing to high levels of 3,6'-disinapoylsucrose (DISS) and Polygalaxanthone III (PolyIII). In order to efficiently extract natural medicines, response surface methodology (RSM) and least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) were used for the modeling and optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of DISS and PolyIII together to determine the antioxidant activity of the extracts obtained from YuanZhi. For the optimal combination of the comprehensive yield of DISS and PolyIII (Y), the Box-Behnken design (BBD) was used to improve extraction time (X1), extraction temperature (X2), liquid-solid ratio (X3), and ethanol concentration (X4). The optimal process parameters were determined to be as follows: extraction time, 93 min; liquid-solid ratio, 40 mL/g; extraction temperature, 48 °C; and ethanol concentration, 67%. With these conditions, the predictive optimal combination comprehensive evaluation value is 13.0217. It was clear that the LS-SVM model had higher accuracy in predictive and optimization capabilities, with higher antioxidant activity and lower relative deviations values, than did RSM. Hence, the LS-SVM model proved to be more effective for the analysis and improvement of the extraction process.

Polygalaxanthone III downregulates inflammation in the lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages: A quantibody array analysis.

Polygala japonica Houtt. (PJ), a member of the Polygala L. family that is suggested to exhibit detoxification properties in traditional Chinese medicine, is often used to treat upper respiratory tract infections. The anti-inflammatory effects of four main components of PJ (POL, PS-XLIX, PS-E, and PS-F) were examined using the LPS(0.3 µg·mL-1)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage model. The levels of NO, ROS, and iNOS were examined to analyze the anti-inflammatory activity of POL. Additionally, the levels of extracellular inflammation-related cytokines and chemokines were measured using quantibody array. The KEGG pathway analysis was performed to examine the anti-inflammatory mechanism of POL. The levels of NO in the POL-pretreated group were significantly downregulated when compared with those in the PS-E-pretreated, PS-F-pretreated, and PS-XLIX-pretreated groups. POL significantly inhibited the changes of iNOS, ROS, and inflammatory factors caused by LPS stimulation (p < 0.001). The expression levels of IL21 and GM-CSF were examined using qPCR, while those of JAK-STAT signaling pathway-related proteins in the LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages were analyzed using western blotting. POL significantly downregulated the expression of IL-21 and GM-CSF. The anti-inflammatory mechanism of POL is mediated through the JAK-STAT pathway. Thus, this study demonstrated that POL is an anti-inflammatory component of PJ and elucidated its mechanism.

Content determination and quality analysis of five main components in Polygala tenuifolia from different habitats / 中草药

Objective: The contents of five main components in Polygala tenuifolia from different habitats were determined, which provided certain data support and theoretical basis for the quality evaluation system of P. tenuifolia. Methods: The contents of polygalaxanthone III, 3,6’-disinapoyl sucrose, polygalacic acid, senegenin and tenuifolin of roots from different wild samples were determined by HPLC. Then SPSS 20.0 and SIMCA 11.5 were used for difference analysis, correlation analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and principal component analysis (PCA). Results: The content of the five main components in wild P. tenuifolia samples from different habitats was significantly different. The 20 samples were placed into two clusters (I, II) by HCA and PCA. Cluster I comprised three samples with higher content of 3,6’-disinapoyl sucrose, polygalaxanthone III, senegenin and tenuifolin from Weinan, Xianyang in Shannxi Province, and Xinjiang in Shanxi Province, whereas cluster II contained the other 17 samples. Conclusion: The results showed that the main components of P. enuifolia from Weinan, Xianyang in Shannxi Province and Xinjiang in Shanxi Province were significantly higher than other origins, and which provided a reference for the quality control, selection of excellent germplasm and cultivation bases of P. tenuifolia.

Effects of salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate on growth, activity of related enzymes and chemical components in Polygala tenuifolia Willd / 中草药

Objective: To study the effects of salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on growth, activity of related enzymes and chemical components in Polygala callus. Methods: The callus of Polygala was used as material. After 30 d of dark culture at different concentrations of SA (0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32 mg/L) and MeJA (0, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1 000 μmol/L), the growth of callus, anti-oxidant enzyme activity, the content of MDA, total phenolic, total flavonoid, polygalaxanthone III, and 3,6’-disinapoyl sucrose were determined. Results: MeJA inhibited the growth of Polygala callus, and 12 mg/L SA promoted the growth of Polygala callus. SA and MeJA promoted the activity of SOD, CAT, POD, and MDA in the callus of Polygala. With the increase of SA and MeJA concentration, the activities of SOD, CAT and POD increased first and then decreased, and the content of MDA continued to rise. When the concentration of SA was 20 mg/L, the activities of CAT and SOD reached the maximum, which were 248.45 U/mg and 4451.06 U/mg, respectively. When the concentration of SA was 16 mg/L, the activity of POD reached the maximum, which was 7.22 U/mg. When the concentration of SA was 32 mg/L, the MDA content reached the maximum value of 25.09 nmol/mg. When the concentration of MeJA was 600 μmol/L, the activities of CAT, SOD, and POD reached the maximum, which were 273.30, 1451.06 and 15.27 U/mg, respectively. When the concentration of MeJA was 1000 μmol/L, the MDA content reached the maximum value of 27.10 nmol/mg. SA inhibited the accumulation of total flavonoids in Polygala callus, and had no significant effect on total phenols. MeJA promoted the accumulation of total phenols and total flavonoids in Polygala callus. When MeJA concentration was 600 μmol/L, the content of total flavonoids was the highest. When the concentration of MeJA was 400 μmol/L, the total phenolic content was the highest. Both SA and MeJA promoted the accumulation of polygalaxanthone III and 3,6’-disinapoyl sucrose in Polygala callus. When the concentration of SA was 32 mg/L, the concentration of polygalaxanthone III, 3,6’-disinapoyl sucrose was the highest. When the concentration of MeJA was 1 000 μmol/L, the content of polygalaxanthone III, 3,6’-disinapoyl sucrose was the highest. Conclusion: MeJA had an inhibitory effect on the growth of Polygala callus, and 12 mg/L SA can promote this effect. SA and MeJA promoted the activity of SOD, POD, CAT, the content of MDA and the accumulation of polygalaxanthone III and 3,6’-disinapoyl sucrose in Polygala callus. SA inhibited the accumulation of total flavonoids in Polygala callus, and had no significant effect on total phenolics. MeJA promoted the accumulation of total phenolics and total flavonoids in Polygala callus.

Effects of different drying methods on active constituents of root bark and root of Polygala tenuifolia / 中草药

Objective To investigate the effects of different drying methods on composition and content of five active constituents in root bark and root of Polgala tenuifoliaroot. Methods The contents of polygalaxanthone III, 3,6’-disinapoyl sucrose, polygalacic acid, senegenin, and tenuifolin in root bark and root from different drying samples were determined by HPLC. Then the data analysis was performed by ANOVA and TOPSIS methods. Results There is a difference in the order of drying methods for bark and root of P. tenuifoliaroot. For P. tenuifoliaroot root bark, the order of different drying methods was microwave drying > 60 ℃ hot-air drying > 50 ℃ hot-air drying > 70 ℃ hot-air drying > freeze-drying > 40 ℃ hot-air drying > shade drying > sun drying; For P. tenuifolia root, the different drying methods were sorted by microwave drying > 60 ℃ hot-air drying > shade drying > sun drying > 50 ℃ hot-air drying > 40 ℃ hot-air drying > 70 ℃ hot-air drying > freeze-drying. Conclusion Combined with the production practice, this study suggests that microwave drying and hot-air drying at 60 ℃ are suitable drying methods for P. tenuifoliaroot bark and root, providing a basis for the determination of drying methods for the origin processing of P. tenuifolia.

HPLC fingerprint analysis and chemistry pattern recognition of wild and cultivated Polygalae Radix from different regions / 中草药

Objective To study and establish the HPLC fingerprint of Polgala tenuifolia for the identification and quality controlof P. tenuifolia. Methods Twenty batches of wild and cultivated P. tenuifolia collected from different regions in China were detected by HPLC. The Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of TCM (2012 A edition) was used to evaluate the similarity of the samples. The differences among the samples were identified by chemical pattern recognition methods including principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminate analysis (PLS-DA). Results The common model of HPLC fingerprint of wild and cultivated P. tenuifolia was obtained, 24 common peaks were found in the chromatograph. The similarities between wild and cultivated P. tenuifolia fingerprints and control fingerprints in 20 batches from different regions were over 0.86, PCA results demonstrated obvious distinction between the wild and cultivated P. tenuifolia. The wild and cultivated P. tenuifolia was completely distinguished by PLS-DA. Twelve constituents, such as polygalactoneone III and 3,6’-disinapoyl sucrose were screened as biomarkers, representing the major differences between the two varieties. Conclusion The HPLC fingerprint combined with chemical pattern recognition can be used as an effective method for the quality control and identification of the different sources of P. tenuifolia, and provide a reference for the quality control and stoichiometric taxonomy of P. tenuifolia.

Quality research and analysis of Polygala tenuifolia with different commodity grade / 中草药

Objective To establish the main component analysis method of commodity grade Polygala tenuifolia, and to explore the correlation between the grade character of P. tenuifolia and the main chemistry. Methods P. tenuifolia of four markets were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to analyze the different level of medicine and explore the correlation between commodity grade and composition for P. tenuifolia. Results The main components determination of P. tenuifolia in different market grades were not completely consistent with the grade of commodity. Conclusion There are certain limitations of the commodity grading standards for P. tenuifolia in the medicinal materials market. It is necessary to establish a new grade quality standard for accurately evaluating the quality of P. tenuifolia. This study also provides some reference for the comprehensive quantitative evaluation of P. tenuifolia.

Simultaneous analysis on index compounds and fingerprint analysis on Polygalae Radix by ultra performance liquid chromatography / 中草药

Objective: A rapid and specific ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method was established for simultaneous analysis on six compounds and fingerprint analysis on Polygalae Radix to evaluate the herb quality from different habitats in China. Methods: The UPLC method was carried out by gradient elution with acetonitrile-formic acid water (0.1%). The flow rate was 0.4 mL/min. The detection wavelength was at 320 nm. The fingerprint chromatograms and the contents of six compounds including sibiricose A5, sibiricose A6, sibiricaxanthone B, glomeratose A, polygalaxanthone III, and 3,6'-disinapoyl sucrose in 24 batches of Polygalae Radix were analyzed. The common peaks were identified by ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem with time-of-flight mass spectrometry with MSE data-acquistion mode (UPLC-Q-TOF-MSE). Results: There was a difference in contents of six compounds, especially for the content of 3,6'-disinapoyl sucrose and sibiricose A6. Thirty-seven peaks were selected as the common peaks, of which 33 peaks were identified, and the similarities of 24 batches were between 0.756 and 0.997. Based on the results of quantification and fingerprint analysis, a certain difference between samples from different habitats was further proven. Conclusion: The validated UPLC quantitative analysis and fingerprint methods are successfully used in the quality control of Polygalae Radix.

Simultaneous quantitation of polygalaxanthone III and four ginsenosides by ultra-fast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry in rat and beagle dog plasma after oral administration of Kai-Xin-San: application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study.

A fast, selective, and quantitative ultra-fast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitation of polygalaxanthone III, ginsenoside Rb1, ginsenoside Rd, ginsenoside Re, and ginsenoside Rg1 in the plasma of rat and beagle dog after oral administration of Kai-Xin-San. After addition of the internal standard, salidroside, the plasma samples were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction and separated on a Venusil MP C18 column with methanol/0.01% acetic acid water as mobile phase. The tandem mass spectrometric detection was performed in the multiple reaction monitoring with turbo ion spray source in a switching ionization mode. The method was examined, and found to be precise and accurate with the linearity range of the compounds. The intra- and interday precision and accuracy of the analytes were well within acceptance criteria (±15%). The mean extraction recoveries of analytes and internal standard were all >75.0%. The validated method has been successfully applied to comparing pharmacokinetic profiles of analytes in rat and beagle dog plasma. The results indicated that no significant differences were observed in pharmacokinetic parameters of ginsenoside Rg1, while the others had significant differences, which may due to the different mechanisms of absorption and metabolism.

A UFLC-MS/MS method with a switching ionization mode for simultaneous quantitation of polygalaxanthone III, four ginsenosides and tumulosic acid in rat plasma: application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study in normal and Alzheimer's disease rats.

A fast, sensitive and reliable ultra fast liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantitation of polygalaxanthone III (POL), ginsenoside Rb1 (GRb1), ginsenoside Rd (GRd), ginsenoside Re (GRe), ginsenoside Rg1 (GRg1) and tumulosic acid (TUM) in rat plasma after oral administration of Kai-Xin-San, which plays an important role for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The plasma samples were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction using ethyl acetate-isopropanol (1:1, v/v) with salidrdoside as internal standard (IS). Good chromatographic separation was achieved using gradient elution with the mobile phase consisting of methanol and 0.01% acetic acid in water. The tandem mass spectrometric detection was performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode on 4000Q UFLC-MS/MS system with turbo ion spray source in a negative and positive switching ionization mode. The lower limits of quantification were 0.2-1.5 ng/ml for all the analytes. Both intra-day and inter-day precision and accuracy of analytes were well within acceptance criteria (±15%). The mean absolute extraction recoveries of analytes and IS from rat plasma were all more than 60.0%. The validated method has been successfully applied to comparing pharmacokinetic profiles of analytes in normal and AD rat plasma. The results indicated that no significant differences in pharmacokinetic parameters of GRe, GRg1 and TUM were observed between the two groups, while the absorption of POL and GRd in AD group were significantly higher than those in normal group; moreover, the GRb1 absorbed more rapidly in model group. The different characters of pharmacokinetics might be caused by pharmacological effects of the analytes.

Comparison of the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities between the cortexes and the roots of polygala tenuifolia / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To carry out a comparison between the cortexes and the roots of Polygala tenuifolia, and to supply references for developing scientific processing method of P. tenuifolia. METHODS: A comprehensive comparison was made by comparing the chemical constitution and pharmacological activities of the cortexes and the roots of P. tenuifolia, i.e., multi-components determination and fingerprint analysis were used to analyze their chemical constituents, and the traditional pharmacological actions of P. tenuifolia, such as cough-relieving, sputum-removing and sedative effects were used to evaluate their efficacy. RESULTS: The chemical constitution of the cortexes, roots and heartwoods of P. tenuifolia was similar, but the contents of the various effective components in the cortexes were more than those in the roots and heartwoods. The pharmacological result revealed that there was no obvious difference between the cortexes and the roots of P. tenuifolia for their activities of cough-relieving, sputum-removing and sedative actions. The roots of P. tenuifolia showed a better tendency than the cortexes for cough-relieving and sputum-removing activities. CONCLUSION: In order to avoid the waste of crude drugs, and to save the cost during heartwood-discarding, the heartwoods of P. tenuifolia are suggested to be kept.

Occupational Asthma and Rhinitis Induced by a Herbal Medicine, Wonji (Polygala tenuifolia)

Occupational asthma is induced by many agents, including herbal materials, that are exposed in working places. Although there are a few case reports for occupational allergy induced by herbal materials, there is none for that induced by Wonji (Polygala tenuifolia). This study was conducted to evaluate clinical characteristics and immunologic mechanism of Wonji-induced asthma in a exposed-worker. A patient who complained of asthma and rhinitis symptoms, and who had worked in a herbal manufacturing factory for 8 yr, underwent a skin prick test with crude extract of Wonji under the impression of occupational asthma induced by the agent. The patient had a strong positive response to the extract on the skin prick test. Allergen bronchial challenge to the extract demonstrated a typical dual response. Serum specific IgE level to the extract was higher in the patient than in healthy controls, and ELISA inhibition test revealed complete inhibition of IgE binding with the extract, but no inhibition with Der p 2 or mugwort extracts. Six IgE binding components to the extract (10, 25, 28, 36, 50, and 90 kDa) were detected using SDS-PAGE and immunoblot analysis. These findings suggest that Polygala tenuifolia, a herbal material, can induce IgE-mediated bronchoconstriction in exposed workers.