Abstract
BackgroundThe stems of Kadsura interior A. C. Smith are used as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Kadsurae Caulis, with the traditional efficacy of tonifying and invigorating the blood, therefore being favored to treat blood deficiency (BD) widely. However, the stems of K. interior and its closely related species are morphologically similar and they may readily be misused as Kadsurae Caulis, thus likely to exert negative effects on clinical efficacy and clinical medication safety.MethodsFirstly, blood tonic efficacies of the stems of K. interior (KIS) and its closely related species were compared using BD mouse model induced by 1-acetyl-2-phenylhydrazine (APH) and cyclophosphamide (CTX). Secondly, the chemical constituents from the stems of K. interior and its closely related species were evaluated and compared using a plant metabolomics approach. Plant metabolomics in this study aims at discovering differential metabolites and comprehensively assessing the chemical constituents by combining state-of-the-art high-resolution UPLC-Q/TOF–MS/MS technique and multivariate data analysis. Finally, based on the pharmacological data and the chemical constituents in UPLC-Q/TOF–MS fingerprints, the potential blood tonic active markers were screened by the spectrum-effect relationship analysis and quantified by UPLC-UV-DAD.ResultsThe ethanol extract of the stems of K. interior significantly increased the levels of hematocrit (HCT), hemoglobin (HGB), and red blood cells (RBC) in BD mice. In addition, it significantly increased the serum levels of interleukin 3 (IL-3), granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and macrophage-stimulating factor (M-CSF) in BD mice (P < 0.01). The blood tonic efficacy of the stems of K. interior was superior to those of its closely related species, especially at the dose of 200 mg/kg. Six differential compounds in the stems of K. interior were screened out to distinguish it from its closely related species. In combination with the results of the spectrum-effect relationship analysis, heteroclitin D, interiorin C, and heteroclitin G were identified as potential bioactive markers. The contents of heteroclitin D and heteroclitin G in the freeze-dried powder of KIS were 15.90 and 3.74 μg/mg.ConclusionsThis study illustrated the differences in the blood tonic efficacies and the chemical constituents of the stems of K. interior and its closely related species, and pinpointed the potential bioactive markers of K. interior.
Highlights
The body weights of the mice in the control group steadily increased, whereas the body weights of the mice in other groups decreased in the first 5 days, and gradually increased in varying degrees after stopping modelling at the 8th day (Fig. 1), with the body weights of mice in the model group increasing at the slowest rate
The resulting matrix was imported into SIMCA for multivariate statistical analysis such as principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) to classify the metabolic phenotypes
The results showed that K. interior could greatly increase the levels of HCT, HGB, red blood cells (RBC), the thymus index, and significantly decrease the spleen index, which is comparable to Fufang E’jiao Jiang (FEJ) in terms of blood tonic efficacy
Summary
C. Smith, the original plant of Kadsurae Caulis (Dian Ji Xue Teng in Chinese), was recorded in Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Gang Mu Shi Yi in Chinese, published in 1765 A.D.) for the first time. Prior work on phylogenetic systematics revealed other three Kadsura species (K. heteroclita (Roxb.) Craib, K. longipedunculata Finet et Gagnep., and K. japonica (L.) Dunal) are closely related to K. interior [5]. Besides their genetic similarity, during the field research and market survey, we discovered that they share indistinguishable morphological traits, such as leaves and stems. This study intended to investigate the distinction in the blood tonic efficacies and chemical constituents of the stems of K. interior and its closely related species, and to identify the potential active markers of blood tonic activity
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
