Erwei Liu

A Review of Recent Research Progress on the Astragalus Genus

Astragalus L., is one of the largest genuses of flowering plants in the Leguminosae family. Roots of A. membranaceus Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao, A. membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. and its processed products are listed in the China Pharmacopeia for “qi deficiency” syndrome treatment. However, more and more researches on other species of Astragalus have been conducted recently. We summarize the recent researches of Astragalus species in phytochemistry and pharmacology. More than 200 constituents, including saponins and flavonoids, obtained from 46 species of Astragalus genus were collected for this article. In pharmacological studies, crude extracts of Astragalus, as well as isolated constituents showed anti-inflammatory, immunostimulant, antioxidative, anti-cancer, antidiabetic, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, and antiviral activities. The goal of this article is to provide an overview of chemical and pharmacological studies on the Astragalus species over the last 10 years, which could be of value to new drug or food supplement research and development.

Regulation of lipid and glucose homeostasis by mango tree leaf extract is mediated by AMPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways

Ethanolic extract of Mangifera indica (mango) dose-dependently decreased serum glucose and triglyceride in KK-A(y) mice. Our in vitro and in vivo investigations revealed that the effect of mango leave extract (ME) on glucose and lipid homeostasis is mediated, at least in part, through the PI3K/AKT and AMPK signaling pathway. ME up-regulated the expression of PI3K, AKT and GYS genes by 2.0-fold, 3.2-fold, and 2.7-fold, respectively, leading to a decrease in glucose level. On the other hand, ME up-regulated AMPK and altered lipid metabolism. ME also down-regulated ACC (2.8-fold), HSL (1.6-fold), FAS (1.8-fold) and PPAR-γ (4.0-fold). Finally, we determined that active metabolites of benzophenone C-glucosides, Iriflophenone 3-C-β-glucoside and Foliamangiferoside A from ME, may play a dominant role in this integrated regulation of sugar and lipid homeostasis.

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Eclipta prostrata L. by LC/MS

Eclipta prostrata L. is one of the Chinese medicinal tonics which are usually used for treating loose teeth, dizziness, tinnitus, hemoptysis, hematuria, and uterine bleeding. However, quality control of this herbal medicine has been not satisfactory. This study reported its qualitative and quantitative analyses based on LC/MS method. UHPLC-DAD-Q-TOF-MS fingerprinting and MS fragmentation cleavage pathway were investigated for qualitative analysis. Furthermore, a method for simultaneous quantitative determination of nine compounds, luteolin 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, ecliptasaponin C, luteolin, eclalbasaponin IV, apigenin, ecliptasaponin A, echinocystic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, echinocystic acid, and 3-oxo-16α-hydroxy-olean-12-en-28-oic acid in E. prostrata, was established. The method was validated for samples of E. prostrata from different habitats. The results showed good linear correlation, precision, accuracy, and repeatability that could be used for contents determination of the nine compounds in E. prostrata from different habitats.

Eucommia ulmoides Bark Protects Against Renal Injury in Cadmium-Challenged Rats

Eucommia ulmoides Oliver is a perennial woody plant distributed widely in China. To characterize some major compounds in E. ulmoides bark extract, six compounds were identified via high-performance liquid chromatography qualitative analysis. E. ulmoides bark extract protects against cadmium-induced oxidative damage in rat kidneys. Two compounds of E. ulmoides bark extract, geniposide and genipin, which were identified both in serum and in kidney tissue, showed inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production. This study provides biological evidence supporting the usefulness of E. ulmoides bark against cadmium-induced toxic oxidative stress in rat kidney tissue.

An activity-integrated strategy involving ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and fraction collector for rapid screening and characterization of the α-glucosidase inhibitors in Coptis chinensis Franch. (Huanglian).

An activity integrated strategy was established and validated to screen α-glucosidase inhibitors by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and fraction collector (UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS-FC). UHPLC was used to separate the components in Coptis chinensis Franch. (Huanglian in Chinese) extract, which was identified by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS to acquire structural information and collected by the fraction collector. Finally, the collected fractions were tested for inhibitory activity of α-glucosidase. The results showed that Huanglian extract had the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with the IC50 value at 3.528mg mL(-1), which could be used for the treatment of diabetes. Alkaloids were the main components that had inhibitory activity of α-glucosidase in Huanglian extract, while the inhibitory activity of phenolic acids against α-glucosidase was relatively weaker. Coptisine, epiberberine, jatrorrhizin and berberine were screened and identified as α-glucosidase inhibitors from Huanglian extract in vitro. Compared with conventional methods, the integrated UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS-FC method could quantitatively analyze α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of individual constituent and provide the total α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the samples. The results demonstrated that the activity integrated UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS-FC method was an effective and powerful tool for screening and identifying active ingredients from Traditional Chinese medicines.

The Activity-Integrated Method for Quality Assessment of Reduning Injection by On-Line DPPH-CE-DAD

A sensitive on-line DPPH-CE-DAD method was developed and validated for both screening and determining the concentration of seven antioxidants of Reduning injection. The pH and concentrations of buffer solution, SDS, β-CD and organic modifier were studied for the detection of DPPH and seven antioxidants. By on-line mixing DPPH and sample solution, a DPPH-CE method for testing the antioxidant activity of the complex matrix was successfully established and used to screen the antioxidant components of Reduning injection. Then, antioxidant components including caffeic acid, isochlorogenic acid A, isochlorogenic acid B, isochlorogenic acid C, chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid and cryptochlorogenic acid were quantified by the newly established CE–DAD method. Finally, the total antioxidant activity and the multiple active components were selected as markers to evaluate the quality of Reduning injection. The results demonstrated that the on-line DPPH-CE-DAD method was reagent-saving, rapid and feasible for on-line simultaneous determination of total pharmacological activity and contents of multi-components samples. It was also a powerful method for evaluating the quality control and mechanism of action of TCM injection.

In vivo pharmacokinetics of bakuchiol after oral administration of bakuchiol extraction in rat plasma

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Psoralea corylifolia L. (Fabaceae) was a traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of various skin diseases such as psoriasis, vitiligo and chronic graft-versus-host, and has been proved to show anticancer, cytotoxic, anti-bacterial, cardiac, diaphoretic, diuretic, stimulant, aphrodisiac and tonic effects. Bakuchiol was one of the main active ingredients of this traditional Chinese medicine. AIM OF THE STUDY In this paper, pharmacokinetic study was conducted to obtain pharmacokinetic parameters of bakuchiol. MATERIALS AND METHODS Bakuchiol was enriched using resin inform the ethanol extract of Psoralea corylifolia L., HPLC-UV was used to determine the concentration of bakuchiol in rat plasma at different time points after administration. The main pharmacokinetic parameters of bakuchiol in rat were obtained based on the analysis of the plasma sample. RESULTS The pharmacokinetics of bakuchiol was fitted with a two-compartment model and it was eliminated relative slowly in rats. CONCLUSIONS The HPLC-UV method was successfully applied to study the pharmacokinetics of bakuchiol in rats.

A Review on the Terpenes from Genus Vitex

The genus Vitex, which belongs to the Verbenaceae family, includes approximately 250 species. Some species of the genus Vitex have traditionally been used for the treatment of headaches, ophthalmodynia, coughs, asthma, premenopausal syndrome, etc. Chemical investigations indicate that the characteristic constituents of the genus Vitex are terpenes, and 210 of these compounds, including monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, diterpenoids and triterpenoids, have been obtained from 12 species. Pharmacological studies had shown that these terpenes possess anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antibacterial, antioxidant activities, and so on. In this paper, the identity of these terpenes and their pharmacological effects are reviewed, which can provide references for further research regarding the chemistry and utilization of the Vitex species.

Oleanane type saponins from the stems of Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao

Astragalus membranaceus is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) belonging to the Leguminosae family. It has been used as antidiabetic, cardioprotective, and hepatoprotective in the TCM clinic. From the stems of A. membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao, 14 oleanane type saponins (1-14) including eight new ones, astroolesaponins A (1), B (2), C1 (3), C2 (4), D (5), E1 (6), E2 (7), and F (8) were obtained, and their structures were elucidated by chemical and spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1-5, 7, 8, 11, and 13 showed decreased effects on triglyceride levels in sodium oleate induced HepG2 cells.

LC/MS/MS determination and pharmacokinetic studies of six compounds in rat plasma following oral administration of the single and combined extracts of Eucommia ulmoides and Dipsacus asperoides.

AIM To establish and apply a new LC/MS/MS method for the simultaneous, quantitative determination of six ingredients, aucubin (AU), geniposide (GP), geniposidic acid (GPA), pinoresinol diglucoside (PDG), secologanin (SLG), and loganin (LG) in single and combined extracts of Eucommia ulmoides and Dipsacus asperoides. METHOD Using the LC/MS/MS-ESI(-)-MRM mode to detect the six compounds, chromatographic separation was achieved on an Agilent Eclipse plus C18 column, and the mobile phase consisted of solvent A (CH3CN) and solvent B (H2O containing 0.01% CH3COOH V/V). RESULTS This method was successfully applied to quantify the six compounds in rat plasma after oral administration, and showed good precision, accuracy, reproducibility, and linear regression (r(2)>0.99). CONCLUSION The results showed that following the use of the two medicinal plants, for AU and GP, the values of Cmax markedly increased, and the values of cmax markedly decreased. It was found that the compatibility of the medicinal plants might affect their pharmacokinetic properties of their constituents.