Abstract
As a folk medicine of the Jingpo minority in Yunnan province, the venom of Vespa magnifica has been commonly used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Quality standardization of the wasp venom is a necessary step for its pharmaceutical research and development. To control the quality of the wasp venom, a method based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed for chemical fingerprint analysis. In the chromatographic fingerprinting, chemometrics procedures, including similarity analysis (SA), hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA), and principal component analysis (PCA), were applied to classify 134 batches (S1–S134) of wasp venom from different origins. The HPLC fingerprint method displayed good precision (Relative standard deviation, RSD < 0.27%), stability (in 16 h, RSD < 0.34%), and repeatability (RSD < 1.00%). Simultaneously, four compounds (VMS1, VMS2, VMS3, and VMS4) in the wasp venom were purified and identified. VMS1 was 5-hydroxytryptamine, and the other compounds were three peptides that were sequenced as follows: Gly–Arg–Pro–Hyp–Gly–Phe–Ser–Pro–Phe–Arg–Ile–Asp–NH2 (VMS2), Ile–Asn–Leu–Lys–Ala–Ile–Ala–Ala–Leu–Ala–Lys–Lys–Leu–Leu–NH2 (VMS3), and Phe–Leu–Pro–Ile–Ile–Gly–Lys–Leu–Leu–Ser–Gly–Leu–Leu–NH2 (VMS4). The quantifications for these components were 110.2 mg/g, 26.9 mg/g, 216.3 mg/g, and 58.0 mg/g, respectively. The results of this work indicated that the combination of the chemical fingerprint and quantitative analysis offers a reasonable way to evaluate the quality of wasp venom.
Highlights
Animal venoms are a particular natural source for the discovery of new drugs, and venom therapy is practiced throughout the world
An high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint method to evaluate the quality of wasp (Vespa magnifica) venom was established for the first time
The comprehensive fingerprint analytical techniques used in this study included similarity analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA)
Summary
Animal venoms are a particular natural source for the discovery of new drugs, and venom therapy is practiced throughout the world. The venoms of toxic animals such as snakes, spiders, scorpions, and wasps have been widely used in traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) and Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years [1]. It has been reported that wasp venoms contain a number of pharmacologically active biomolecules, including amines, small peptides, and even enzymes, allergens, and toxins of high molecular mass [2,3]. Wasp (Vespa magnifica, Smith) venom is most widely used to treat rheumatoid arthritis in the medicinal practice of the Jingpo, a Chinese national minority. An and Yang et al independently identified two major allergens and purified a protein with phospholipase-like activity from wasp venom [7,8]. The functional activities of venom are being studied with the aim of drug discovery. Considering its widespread use, there is an urgent need to establish an effective method for standardization of wasp venom in order to carry out more and deeper research
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
