Total saponins from Trillium tschonoskii Maxim promote neurological recovery in model rats with post-stroke cognitive impairment.

Total saponins from Trillium tschonoskii Maxim (TSTT), a bioactive component of local natural herbs in the Enshi area, China, have been demonstrated to have functions of restoring cognitive capacity and promoting axonal regeneration post-stroke, but the mechanism of this process remains unclear. The hippocampus is a critical tissue for controlling learning and memory capacity, and the sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway plays a major role in the patterning and synaptic plasticity of hippocampal neural circuits. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether TSTT could restore learning and cognitive functions by modulating the Shh pathway in rats with post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). The ischemia model was established by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in 100 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, and the model rats were administered using TSTT (100 mg/kg) or donepezil hydrochloride as the positive control (daily 0.45 mg/kg, DON) for 4 weeks after the operation. As assessed by the Morris water maze test, the cognitive function of PSCI rats was significantly improved upon TSTT treatment. Meanwhile, the cerebral infarct volume reduced with TSTT, as shown by HE and TTC staining, and the number of Nissl bodies and dendritic spine density were significantly increased, as shown by Nissl and Golgi staining. In addition, TSTT upregulated PSD-95, SYN, and GAP-43, and inhibited neuronal apoptosis, as evidenced by increased Bcl-2 levels along with decreased Bax and caspase-3 expression. TSTT could also significantly upregulate Shh, Ptch1, Smo, and Gli1 proteins, indicating the activation of the Shh signaling pathway. Therefore, TSTT can protect PSCI rats by inhibiting apoptosis and promoting neuronal synaptic remodeling. The Shh pathway is also involved.

Protective Effect of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim Components Against Glutamate-Induced SH-SY5Y Cells Damage Through Regulating Apoptosis.

Context: Among the Tujia people, the root or rhizome of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim.in Bull.Acad (TTM) is considered a miraculous herb for headaches. Previous studies have shown ethyl acetate extract (TTM1) can protect SH-SY5Y cells against glutamate injury. Objective: This study clarified TTM1's mechanism against glutamate-induced cell damage, focusing on the regulation of apoptosis. The compounds were separated, identified, and performed molecular docking with pro-apoptotic proteins. Materials and Methods: SH-SY5Y cells were treated with glutamate (2 mM) for 12 hour, and the effect of TTM1 (2.5, 5, 10, and 20 µg/mL) was evaluated with MTT and LDH release assays, taking EGb761(40 µg/mL) as a control. Cell apoptosis was detected with Hoechst 33258 and Annexin V-FITC and measurements of intracellular calcium and caspase-3. The major components were separated and identified by LCMS-IT-TOF and NMR, then the proapoptotic activity of TTM1 was confirmed by molecular docking method. Results: TTM1 protected SH-SY5Y cells by resisting apoptosis, TTM1 (10 and 20 µg/mL) decreased apoptotic bodies and nuclear fragments, increased the proportion of normal cells to 68.38 ± 5.63% and 92.80 ± .88%, decreased VA cells to 4.30 ± .76% and 3.58 ± .45% and caspase-3 to .365 ± .034 and .344 ± .047 ng/mL.TTM1 (10 µg/mL) decreased intracellular free calcium to 2.77 ± .40. Polyphyllin VI and pennogenin 3-O-ß-chacotrioside were identified in TTM1 at 15.04% and 2.84%, and had potential anti-apoptosis activities. Discussion and Conclusions: Folk records of TTM for headache may be related to its anti-apoptosis of nerve cells. Identification and content determination of index components based on effective extract provides research paradigms for rare and endangered ethnic plants.

Effects of total saponins from Trillium tschonoskii maxim on cognition impairment and mitochondrial autophagy in aging rats induced by D-Gal / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the effects of total saponins from Trillium tschonoskii maxim(TST)on cognitive impairment and mitochondrial autophagy in aging rats induced by D-galactose(D-gal). Methods Male SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group,model group(D-gal,subcutaneous injection),intervention group(TST,low,medium and high dose groups by intragastric administration),with 10 rats in each group,and administered for 6 weeks. Morris water maze was used to evaluate the cognitive function. HE and Nissl staining were used to test the hippocampal and brain cortex morphology. Immunohistochemistry staining was applied to detect the localization expression of Pink1 and Parkin. Western blot was employed to detect the expressions of Pink1,Parkin,LC3-Ⅱ,p62 and Beclin1. Results Compared with the normal control group,the escape latency time was prolonged and the number of crossing platform decreased in D-gal model group(P<0.05). The number of neurons in hippocampus significantly decreased. The positive cells labeled by Pink1 and Parkin staining in hippocampus significantly decreased. The expressions of Pink1,Parkin,LC3-Ⅱ and Beclin1 were markedly reduced,while the expression of p62 was significantly raised(P<0.05). Compared with D-gal model group,the escape latency time of TST dose groups was shortened,the Times of crossing the platform was more,and the time of staying in the platform quadrant increased(P<0.05). The number of neurons in hippocampus significantly increased. The positive cells labeled by Pink1 and Parkin staining in hippocampus significantly increased. The expressions of Pink1,Parkin,LC3-Ⅱ and Beclin1 in hippocampus were apparently up-regulated,while the protein expression of p62 was evidently down-regulated(P<0.05). Conclusions TST has neuroprotective effects on the learning and memory capacities in aging rats induced by D-gal,which may be related to the increasing levels of Pink1,Parkin,LC3-Ⅱ and Beclin1 proteins and the activation of mitochondrial autophagy.

[Effects of total saponins from Trillium tschonoskii Maxim on vascular cognitive impairment and its mechanisms].

Objective: To investigate neuroprotective effects of total saponins from Trillium tschonoskii Maxim (TST) on vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) rats through inflammatory body of the NOD-like body protein 3 (NLRP3) regulated by endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS). Methods: SD rats were divided into sham-operated group (SHAM), model group (VCI, bilateral neck arterial ligation (BCCAO) method), TST intervention group (TST, 100 mg/kg), and positive group (donepezil hydrochloride, 0.45 mg/kg ), continuous administration for 4 weeks. The ability of learning and memory was evaluated by the morris water labor. The tissue pathological changes were observed by HE and NISSL staining. Western blot was used to detectendoplasmic reticulum-related proteins GRP78, IRE1, XBP1. Inflammasome-related proteins NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, IL-18, IL-1ß. Results: Compared with the SHAM group, the escape latency of VCI group rats was prolonged significantly, and the number of times of crossing the platform and the percentage of target quadrant residence time were shortened (P＜0.01); The cells in the hippocampus of VCI rats were damaged, with obvious pyknosis, decreased number of neurons and damage of cell body structure; The endoplasmic reticulum and inflammatory corpuscle-associated proteins were increased in VCI group (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01). Compared with the VCI group, the TST group and the positive group had less time to search for the platform, and the ratio of the times of crossing the platform to the time in the target quadrant was longer (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01). There was no significant difference in the times of crossing the platform between the positive group and VCI group (P＞0.05); The cell damage, nuclear pyknosis and the number of neurons in TST and positive groups were significantly reduced; The endoplasmic reticulum associated proteins and inflammatory body associated proteins in TST group and positive group were decreased to different degrees (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01). Conclusion: TST has neuroprotective effects on VCI rats, and its mechanism may be related to the involvement of ERS in the regulation of NLRP3 inflammatory small bodies.

Study on mechanism of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim in treatment of myocardial ischemia based on network pharmacology and molecular docking / 中国药理学通报

Aim To reveal the aetion mechanism of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim (TTM) in the treatment of myoeardial ischemia ( MI) by using network pharma¬cology combined with molecular docking.Methods Compounds of TTM were detected and fished out from TCMID, TCM@TAIWAN , BATMAN-TCM database, and the literature data from PubMed , CNK1, and WAN- FANGD database.PharmMapper database was used to find the targets related to compounds, and DISGeNET, GeneCards, DrugBank and OMIM databases were used to find the targets related to Ml.The predictive targets of TTM in the treatment of Ml were obtained.Cytosca- ope 3.1.2 Software and String database were used to build compound-target network and PP1 network.Gene ontology ( GO ) functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes ( KEGG ) pathway enrichment analysis were performed by utili¬zing the CludterProfiler Software package of RStudio software.The molecular docking was used for verifying the results of network analysis.Results The 10 active compounds of TTM were screened , and 13 core targets of Ml were predicted, such as ALB, EGFR, MAPK1 , CASP3,ESR1 ,etc.A total of 28 Ml-related signaling pathways were fished out.The results of molecular docking showed that the core active ingredients had good binding activity with the key targets.Conclusion TTM may play a role in the treatment of Ml through regulating multiple ingredients, multiple pathways, and multiple targets.

Effect of Neurorepair for Motor Functional Recovery Enhanced by Total Saponins From Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. Treatment in a Rat Model of Focal Ischemia.

Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. (TTM), is a perennial herb from Liliaceae, that has been widely used as a traditional Chinese medicine treating cephalgia and traumatic hemorrhage. The present work was designed to investigate whether the total saponins from Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. (TSTT) would promote brain remodeling and improve gait impairment in the chronic phase of ischemic stroke. A focal ischemic model of male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats was established by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Six hours later, rats were intragastrically treated with TSTT (120, 60, and 30 mg/kg) and once daily up to day 30. The gait changes were assessed by the CatWalk-automated gait analysis system. The brain tissues injuries, cerebral perfusion and changes of axonal microstructures were detected by multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), followed by histological examinations. The axonal regeneration related signaling pathways including phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3)/collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP-2) were measured by western blotting. TSTT treatment significantly improved gait impairment of rats. MRI analysis revealed that TSTT alleviated tissues injuries, significantly improved cerebral blood flow (CBF), enhanced microstructural integrity of axon and myelin sheath in the ipsilesional sensorimotor cortex and internal capsule. In parallel to MRI findings, TSTT preserved myelinated axons and promoted oligodendrogenesis. Specifically, TSTT interventions markedly up-regulated expression of phosphorylated GSK-3, accompanied by increased expression of phosphorylated PI3K, AKT, but reduced phosphorylated CRMP-2 expression. Taken together, our results suggested that TSTT facilitated brain remodeling. This correlated with improving CBF, encouraging reorganization of axonal microstructure, promoting oligodendrogenesis and activating PI3K/AKT/GSK-3/CRMP-2 signaling, thereby improving poststroke gait impairments.

Chemical constituents of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim.

A new fatty acid-spirostan steroid glycoside ester, a new cholestane glycoside and a new stilbene trimer, along with three known steroidal saponins, were isolated from the 70% EtOH extract of the roots and rhizomes of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. The structure of isolated compounds was elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. Compound 1-6 were assessed for their cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HCT-116, DU-145, SGC-7901, MCF-7/ADR, K562/ADR), and the result showed that compound 4 was highly toxic to six human tumor cell lines.

Novel steroidal saponin isolated from Trillium tschonoskii maxim. exhibits anti-oxidative effect via autophagy induction in cellular and Caenorhabditis elegans models.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidences indicate the important roles of autophagy in anti-oxidative stress, which is closely associated with cancer, aging and neurodegeneration. OBJECTIVE: In the current study, we aimed to identify autophagy inducers with potent anti-oxidative effect from traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) in PC-12 cells and C. elegans. METHODS: The autophagy inducers were extensively screened in our herbal extracts library by using the stable RFP-GFP-LC3 U87 cells. The components with autophagic induction effect in Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. (TTM) was isolated and identified by using the autophagic activity-guided column chromatography and Pre-HPLC technologies, and MS and NMR spectroscopic analysis, respectively. The anti-oxidative effect of the isolated autophagy inducers was evaluated in H2O2-induced PC-12 cells and C. elegans models by measuring the viability of PC-12 cells and C. elegans, with quantitation on the ROS level in vitro and in vivo using H2DCFDA probe. RESULTS: The total ethanol extract of TTM was found to significantly increase the formation of GFP-LC3 puncta in stable RFP-GFP-LC3 U87 cells. One novel steroidal saponin 1-O-[2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-4-O-acetyl-α-L-arabinopyranosyl]-21-Deoxytrillenogenin, (Deoxytrillenoside CA, DTCA) and one known steroidal saponin 1-O-[2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-4-O-acetyl-α-L-arabinopyranosyl]-21-O-acetyl-epitrillenogenin (Epitrillenoside CA, ETCA) were isolated, identified and found to have novel autophagic effect. Both DTCA and ETCA could activate autophagy in PC-12 cells via the AMPK/mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway in an Atg7-dependent. In addition, DTCA and ETCA could increase the cell viability and decrease the intracellular ROS level in H2O2-treated PC-12 cells and C. elegans, and the further study demonstrated that the induced autophagy contributes to their anti-oxidative effect. CONCLUSION: Our current findings not only provide information on the discovery of novel autophagy activators from TTM, but also confirmed the anti-oxidative effect of the components from TTM both in vitro and in vivo.

Effect of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim on expression of miRNA-155-3p in rats with brain aging induced by D-gal / 中国药理学通报

Aim To explore the effect of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim (TTM) on the expression of miR-NA-155-3p in rats with brain aging induced by D-gal. Methods Fifty SD rats were divided into five groups randomly. The rats were administered with 0. 9% normal saline (NS) subeutaneously every day in control group, 200 mg • kg • d-1 of D-galactose (D-gal) daily inD-galmodelgroup,and50,100and200mg • kg • d-1 of TTM by gavage 2 hours before D-gal injection everyday in TTM treatment groups for 6 weeks. After 5 weeks, Morris water maze was used to test the ability of spatial learning and memory every day. At the 6th week, rats were sacrificed arid hippocampi were tested by Nissl staining and 8-OHdG immunohistochemical (8-OHdC) staining. The expression of miR-155-3p was determined by Real-time PCR, and the levels of Rheb. mTOR, p-inTOR and p70S6K were detected by Western blot. Results The length of escape latency time and path distance in five groups showed a trend of shortening gradually in the orientation navigation experiments. The average escape latency and the distance in D-gal group were longer than those in control group and TTM group (P <0. 01 and 0. 05) , and the number of crossing platform limes less too (P < 0. 05). The arrangement of neurons was irregular and the intercellular space widened in D-gal group compared with those in TTM group by HE staining. There were more Nissl particles in neurons of the hippocampal CA1 area in con-trol group than that in D-gal group, and TTM treatment could increase the number of Nissl bodies-induced by D-gal. Compared with control group, the fluorescence density of 8-OHdG in D-gal group significantly in-creased (P <0. 01) , while that in TTM group was lower than that in D-gal group (P < 0. 05). The expression of miR-155-3p in the hippocampi in D-gal group was significantly higher than that in normal group (P < 0. 05) , while TTM treatment could alleviate D-gal-in-duced increase of miR-155-3p (P < 0. 05) , followed by an increase of the levels of Rheb and p70S6K, and decrease of mTOR. Conclusions The expression of miR-155-3p increased in the hippocampi of aging rats induced by D-gal. TTM could execute the anti-aging process of brain and down-regulate the level of iniR-155-3p through Rheb/mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway.

Trillium tschonoskii maxim extract attenuates abnormal Tau phosphorylation.

Large-scale epidemiological studies have found that hyperhomocysteinemia is a powerful, independent risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Trillium tschonoskii maxim is a traditional Chinese medicine that is used to promote memory. However, scientific understanding of its mechanism of action is limited. This report studied the potential neuroprotective effects of Trillium tschonoskii maxim extract against homocysteine-induced cognitive deficits. Rats were intravenously injected with homocysteine (400 µg/kg) for 14 days to induce a model of Alzheimer's disease. These rats were then intragastrically treated with Trillium tschonoskii maxim extract (0.125 or 0.25 g/kg) for 7 consecutive days. Open field test and Morris water maze test were conducted to measure spontaneous activity and learning and memory abilities. Western blot assay was used to detect the levels of Tau protein and other factors involved in Tau phosphorylation in the hippocampus. Immunohistochemical staining was used to examine Tau protein in the hippocampus. Golgi staining was applied to measure hippocampal dendritic spines. Our results demonstrated that homocysteine produced learning and memory deficits and increased levels of Tau phosphorylation, and diminished the activity of catalytic protein phosphatase 2A. The total number of hippocampal dendritic spines was also decreased. Trillium tschonoskii maxim extract treatment reversed the homocysteine-induced changes. The above results suggest that Trillium tschonoskii maxim extract can lessen homocysteine-induced abnormal Tau phosphorylation and improve cognitive deterioration such as that present in Alzheimer's disease.

Trillium tschonoskii Maxim improves cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease induced by okadaic acid in rats and its possible mechanism / 中国药理学通报

Aim To assess the effects of Trillium Tschonoskii Maxim ( TTM) decoction on learning and memory dysfunction in Alzheimer’ s disease ( AD ) model rats which induced by okadaic acid( OA) and its possible mechanism. Methods The SD rats were di-vided into ten groups,namely,d DMSO control group, OA group, TTM high-dose ( 0. 5 g·kg-1·d-1) group,TTM medium-dose ( 1 g·kg-1·d-1) group, TTM lower-dose (2 g·kg-1·d-1) group,and these groups were divided into one week and two weeks of gavage. Treatment groups were gavaged with TTM de-coction twice a day. After 5 days of Morris water maze training,treatment groups and AD model groups were injected with OA (0.392 mmol·L-1,1. 5 μL) in bi-lateral hippocampal of the rats. The DMSO groups were injected with 10% DMSO. The spatial memory reten- tion wereas detected by water maze at 24 h after injec-tion. After the test, we prepared sample for Western blot and Nissl’s staining. The Western blotting test was used to detect the PP2A activity and the phospho-rylation of Tau protein in the hippocampus. Nissl’'s staining was used to observe the changes of the number of Nissl’s bodies in the hippocampal CA1 and CA3 re-gions. Results The Morris water maze test showed that after injection of OA, the latency of TTM groups wereas shorter than that of OA groups. Western blot showed that the high dose TTM could increase the ac-tivity of PP2A and decrease the level of Tau phospho-rylation at PS-Tau396,,PT-Tau404. The Nissl’s stai-ning results showed that the number of Nissl’s bodies in the hippocampal CA1 and CA3 regions of OA groups wereas significantly attenuated compared with that of the number of Nissl's bodies in the hippocampal CA1 and CA3 regions than DMSO groups. The number of Nissl’s bodies in high groups were morewas larger than that of OA group. Conclusion The results show that TTM can improve the learning and memory dysfunction in AD model rats which induced by OA. The mecha- nism wasis probably that TTM can increase PP2A ac-tivity and then down-regulate the level of Tau phospho-rylation and improve neural development.

Trillium Tschonoskii Maxim improves cognitive dysfunction in AD rats by inhibiting GSK-3βactivity, attenuating tau pathologies and promoting synaptic development / 中国药理学通报

Aim To assess the effects of Trillium Tschonoskii Maxim ( TTM ) decoction on Tau protein phosphorylation and synaptic development in AD model rats induced by high activity GSK-3β. Methods The SD rats were divided into five groups of ten animals, named sham-operated group ( blank group) , AD model group, TTM group (0. 5, 0. 25, 0. 125 g·kg-1 · d-1 ) . Treatment group received gavage once a day for seven days with TTM decoction, while other groups by gavage once a day for seven days with drinking water. On 2nd day by gavage, Morris water maze test was used to assess the spatial learning and memory ability of the rats. After five days' training, rats in the treat-ment groups and AD model group were injected wort-mannin ( WT, PI3K specific inhibitor ) and GF-109203X (GFX, PKC specific inhibitor) (100 μmol ·L-1 of each, total volume of 10 μL) into the right lateral ventricle. Western blot was used to detect the levels of phosphorylation Tau protein at multiple sites and the expression level of PI3K, Akt, PKC, GSK-3β(S9, T216) and synapse-associated proteins. Immu-nohistochemical method was used to detect the hyper-phosphorylation of Tau protein in hippocampus of rats. Golgi staining was applied to detect the number and morphological changes of synaptic development and dendritic spines. Nissl' s staining was employed to ob-serve the development of neonatal neurons in hippo-campus and cortex. Results Western blot showed that the phosphorylation level of Tau in hippocampus increased in model group, and the activity of GSK-3βwas up-regulated. Among them, however, in middle dose TTM group, the phosphorylation level of Tau in hippocampus decreased and the activity of GSK-3βde-creased. The expression levels of p-PKC and p-Akt in low and middle dose treatment group were higher than those in model group, thus increasing the activity of PKC and Akt to inhibit the activity of GSK-3β kinase. Immunohistochemistry also indicated that TTM could decrease the biological effects of Tau phosphorylation in hippocampus of AD rats. Western blot showed that TTM could increase the expression levels of synapsin-1 , syn-aptophysin and GluR-1 in hippocampus of AD rats. Nissl staining showed that the number of Nissl bodies in hippocampal neurons of AD model group were signif-icantly fewer than those of sham operation group, which could be increased by TTM middle and high dose group, and the complexity and dendritic spine density of hippocampal neurons in AD rats could be en-hanced as well. Conclusion TTM can effectively im-prove the cognitive function of AD rats induced by the increase of GSK-3β activity, and its possible mecha-nism may be via down-regulating the activity of GSK-3β and inhibiting the phosphorylation of tau protein and promoting the development of neurons.

Enrichment of total steroidal saponins from the extracts of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim by macroporous resin and the simultaneous determination of eight steroidal saponins in the final product by HPLC.

An effective and simple method was established for the separation and enrichment of steroidal saponins from Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. The adsorption and desorption properties of seven macroporous resins were investigated. Among the tested resins, AB-8 resin showed the best adsorption and desorption capacities. The adsorption of steroidal saponins on AB-8 at 25°C was quite consistent with both the Freundlich isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order kinetics model. By optimizing the dynamic adsorption and desorption parameters, the content of steroidal saponins increased from 5.20% in the crude extracts to 51.93% in the final product, with a recovery yield of 86.67%. Furthermore, by scale-up separation, the concentration and recovery of total steroidal saponins were 43.8 and 85.5%, respectively, which suggested that AB-8 resin had great industrial and pharmaceutical potential because of its high efficiency and cost-effectiveness. In addition, a high-performance liquid chromatography method for the simultaneous determination of eight steroidal saponins was established for the first time, which was employed to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the final product. Based on the methodological validation results, the high-performance liquid chromatography method can be widely applied to the quality control of steroidal saponins from Trillium tschonoskii Maxim due to its excellent accuracy, stability, and repeatability.

Evaluation of Quality Coherence of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. from Different Producing Areas Based on HPLC Fingerprint and PCA / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To evaluate the quality coherence of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim.from different producing areas by HPLC fingerprint and PCA; To provide a method for quality control. Methods Samples were separated by Hibar C18 (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm) with acetonitrile-water as gradient mobile phase at the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The wavelength was 203 nm and the temperature was 30 ℃. Chromatographic Fingerprint Similarity Evaluation System and PCA were used to analyze the data. Results The results of method validation of HPLC fingerprint met technical standards.15 common peaks was verified and the similarities of 14 batches of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. from different producing areas were among 0.389–0.979. 3 principal components with the characteristic root cumulative contribution rate reaching 87.674% were screened out by PCA results. The composite score of S2 was the highest (4.926), and the quality was the best. Conclusion The application of HPLC combined with PCA can objectively and effectively evaluate the quality difference of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim.from different producing areas.

Evaluation of Quality Coherence of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. from Different Producing Areas Based on HPLC Fingerprint and PCA / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To evaluate the quality coherence of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim.from different producing areas by HPLC fingerprint and PCA; To provide a method for quality control. Methods Samples were separated by Hibar C18 (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm) with acetonitrile-water as gradient mobile phase at the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The wavelength was 203 nm and the temperature was 30 ℃. Chromatographic Fingerprint Similarity Evaluation System and PCA were used to analyze the data. Results The results of method validation of HPLC fingerprint met technical standards.15 common peaks was verified and the similarities of 14 batches of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. from different producing areas were among 0.389–0.979. 3 principal components with the characteristic root cumulative contribution rate reaching 87.674% were screened out by PCA results. The composite score of S2 was the highest (4.926), and the quality was the best. Conclusion The application of HPLC combined with PCA can objectively and effectively evaluate the quality difference of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim.from different producing areas.

Protective effect of Trillium tschonoskii saponin on CCl4-induced acute liver injury of rats through apoptosis inhibition.

To explore hepatoprotective role and underlying mechanisms of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim (TTM), 36 rats were randomly divided into control, CCl4-induced liver injury model, and biphenyl dimethyl dicarboxylate (DDB) and low-, moderate-, and high-dose TTM treatment groups. After CCl4-induced model establishment, the rats from DDB and TTM groups were administrated with DDB at 0.2 g/kg per day and TTM at 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 g/kg per day, while the rats from control and model groups were administrated with saline. After 5 days of treatments, all rats were sacrificed for determining serum ALT and AST levels and liver index, examining histopathological changes in liver through HE and TUNEL staining, and evaluating TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA expression by real-time PCR, and caspase-3, Bcl-2, and Bax expression by Western blot. Results indicated that CCl4 could induce acute liver injury and abnormal liver function in rats with obvious hepatomegaly, increased liver index, high ALT and AST levels, up-regulated TNF-α and IL-6, and overexpressed Bax and caspase-3. However, DDB and TTM could execute protective role in CCl4-induced liver injury in rats through reducing ALT and AST levels, rescuing hepatomegaly, down-regulating inflammatory factors and inhibiting hepatocyte apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Therefore, TTM has obvious protective role in CCl4-induced liver injury of rats through inhibiting hepatocyte apoptosis.

[The protective effects and mechanisms of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim on rats' liver damage induced by lipopolysaccharide].

OBJECTIVE: To study the protective effects of Trillium tschonoskii maxim (TTM) on rats' oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity in-duced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). METHODS: Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into TTM high, medium and low dose groups, model group, Dexamethasone (DEX) control group and blank control group with ten rats in each group. The TTM high, medium and low dose groups were treated with 8, 4, 2 g/(kg·d) TTM by intragastric administration and model group, DEX control group and blank control group were treated with the same amount of distilled water respectively. The TTM high, medium and low dose groups, model group, DEX control group were injected intraperitoneal with 1 mg/kg LPS and the DEX control group was injected intraperitoneal with 5 mg/kg DEX, the blank control group was injected with same amount of normal saline every five days. The indexes of rats' thymus and spleen were measured in 30 days. The activities of serum nitric oxide synthase (NOS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the contents of nitric oxide (NO), glutathione (GSH), glu-cosinolates barbituric acid reaction product(TBARS), white cells interleukin-6(IL-6), IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), the activi-ties of liver SOD, GSH-Px and the contents of GSH and TBARS were measured. RESULTS: TTM high dose group was significantly different in body weight in 19~30 days(P<0.05); The index of thymus in TTM high, medium and low dose groups and the index of spleen in TTM high dose group were decreased significantly compared with those of the model group. The activity of serum NOS and the contents of TBARS and NO in TTM high, medium and low dose groups were decreased significantly(P<0.05). The activity of serum SOD in TTM high dose group and the contents of GSH in TTM medium and low dose groups were increased significantly(P<0.05). The contents of serum IL-6 and TNF-αin TTM high, medium dose groups were decreased significantly and the contents of serum IL-10 were increased significantly(P<0.05). The con-tents of liver TBARS in TTM high, medium dose groups were decreased significantly. The activity of liver SOD in TTM high, medium and low dose groups, the activity of GSH-Px in TTM high, medium dose groups and the contents of GSH in TTM high dose group were increased signifi-cantly(P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: TTM has a certain effect to delay the rats' atrophy of thymus and spleen generated by LPS. It can effectively reduce the activity of NOS in serum, reduce the formation of NO, improve the activity of SOD, GSH-Px and the contents of GSH, reduce lipid peroxidation, decrease the excessive secretion of IL-6, TNF-α, increase the contents of IL-10, which can resist inflammation and protect the liver.

The protective effects of ethanol extract of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. on hypoxia-ischemia brain damage in neonatal rats / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the effect of Trillium tschonoskii Maxim ( TTM ) ethanol extract on hypoxia ischemia brain damage ( HIBD ) in neonatal rats and potential mechanisms. Methods Fifty healthy SD rats of 7 day-old were randomly divided into three groups:the sham operation group ( n=10 ) , the model group ( n=20 ) and TTM treatment group ( n=20 ) , which received 3-day intraperitoneal injection of normal saline or ethanol extract of TTM respectively. TTC staining and Nissl staining were performed to detect the cerebral ischemia area and neuronal death. Western blot was used to detect the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax. Re-sults The brain tissue of model group was slightly swollen, and white necrotic zone induced by ischemia occured on the right side of the brain, while the brain morphology of TTM treatment group was good. After TTC staining, ischemia zone was clearly seen on the right side of the brain in model group, while after TTM treatment, the size of ischemic zone was decreased. Compared with the model group , Nissl staining showed the neuronal cells increased in TTM treatment group. Western blot showed the expression of Bcl-2 protein in TTM group increased than that in HIBD model group ( P <0. 01 ) , while the expression of Bax protein de-creased ( P <0. 01 ) . Conclusion TTM therapy is beneficial for HIBD,which may be related to reducing neuronal apoptosis.

Rapid Identification of Steroidal Saponins in Trillium tschonoskii Maxim by Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Electrospray Ionisation Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

INTRODUCTION: Steroidal saponins in Trillium tschonoskii Maxim have many biological activities, including immunological regulation and anti-tumour. Comprehensive ingredient identification is critical for understanding its pharmacological mechanism and establishing quality control protocols. However, it is a challenging problem because of the complexity of steroidal saponins. OBJECTIVES: To develop a UPLC-MS method for identifying and characterising steroidal saponins in the root and rhizome of T. tschonoskii. METHODS: Methanolic extracts of T. tschonoskii were analysed by using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionisation quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI/QTOF/MS). The UPLC experiments were performed by means of a reversed-phase C18 -column and a binary mobile phase system consisting of water and acetonitrile with formic acid under gradient elution conditions. For the UPLC-MS measurements, positive and negative ion modes were used in order to obtain better tandem mass spectra and high-resolution mass spectra. RESULTS: Based on retention times, accurate mass and mass spectrometric fragmentation, a total of 31 saponins distributed over eight steroidal aglycone skeletons were identified or tentatively elucidated from T. tschonoskii. CONCLUSION: The UPLC-ESI/QTOF/MS method has proven to be a powerful tool for rapid identification of steroidal saponins in T. tschonoskii without tedious and time-consuming isolation of pure constituents.

Studies on chemical constituents in roots and rhizomes of Trillium tschonoskii (II) / 中草药

Objective: To investigate the chemical constituents in the roots and rhizomes of Trillium tschonoskii. Methods: The roots and rhizomes of T. tschonoskii were extracted with 70% ethanol and separated by chromatography on polyamide, silica gel, RP-C18, and Sephadex LH-20 columns. Chemical structures were identified by MS, 1D and 2D NMR experiments. Results: Twelve compounds were isolated and identified from the ethyl acetate extract from the roots and rhizomes of T. tschonoskii and n-butanol fractions were identified as β-ecdysone (1), pinnatasterone (2), polypodine B (3), methyl ferulorate (4), regaloside A (5), 4-hydroxy-benzoic acid (6), vanillic aldehyde (7), β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-O- [α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)]-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (8), paris saponin V (9), paris saponin III (10), trillenoside A (11), and trillenoside C (12). Conclusion: Compounds 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, and 10 are isolated from the plants in this genus for the first time, and compounds 3-5, 11, and 12 are isolated from this plant for the first time.