Active Compounds In Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Articles

TCMNPAS: a comprehensive analysis platform integrating network formulaology and network pharmacology for exploring traditional Chinese medicine

The application of network formulaology and network pharmacology has significantly advanced the scientific understanding of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment mechanisms in disease. The field of herbal biology is experiencing a surge in data generation. However, researchers are encountering challenges due to the fragmented nature of the data and the reliance on programming tools for data analysis. We have developed TCMNPAS, a comprehensive analysis platform that integrates network formularology and network pharmacology. This platform is designed to investigate in-depth the compatibility characteristics of TCM formulas and their potential molecular mechanisms. TCMNPAS incorporates multiple resources and offers a range of functions designed for automated analysis implementation, including prescription mining, molecular docking, network pharmacology analysis, and visualization. These functions enable researchers to analyze and obtain core herbs and core formulas from herbal prescription data through prescription mining. Additionally, TCMNPAS facilitates virtual screening of active compounds in TCM and its formulas through batch molecular docking, allowing for the rapid construction and analysis of networks associated with “herb-compound-target-pathway” and disease targets. Built upon the integrated analysis concept of network formulaology and network pharmacology, TCMNPAS enables quick point-and-click completion of network-based association analysis, spanning from core formula mining from clinical data to the exploration of therapeutic targets for disease treatment. TCMNPAS serves as a powerful platform for uncovering the combinatorial rules and mechanism of TCM formulas holistically. We distribute TCMNPAS within an open-source R package at GitHub (https://github.com/yangpluszhu/tcmnpas), and the project is freely available at http://54.223.75.62:3838/.

Establishment of an in vitro system based on AGM-S3 co-culture for screening traditional herbal medicines that stimulate hematopoiesis

Ethnopharmacological relevanceSpatholobus suberectus Dunn is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that can activate blood, dispel stasis, inhibit platelet aggregation, and stimulate hematopoiesis, and thereby treat anemia and diseases related to blood stasis syndrome (BSS). However, its hematopoiesis-stimulating activity is not well understood. Aim of studyFour phenolic compounds (daidzein, formononetin, catechin, and procyandin B2) were isolated and purified from stems of S. suberectus, and tested using an in vitro hematopoiesis system. Materials and methodsAn AGM-S3 co-culture system for hematopoiesis derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) was employed to explore effects on hematopoiesis. At different stages, extracts from Spatholobus suberectus Dunn were added to the co-culture system at concentrations of 2, 10, or 50 μM, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), hematopoietic colony culturing, and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) were used to probe changes in hematopoietic progenitors and erythroid progenitors. ResultsWhen H1 hESCs co-cultured with AGM-S3 were added along with 10 μM catechin from day 12 (D12), proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic and erythroid progenitors from hESCs was increased based on FACS with antibodies recognizing CD34/CD45 and GPA/CD71. Hematopoiesis colony culturing further confirmed the promotion effect of catechin on hematopoiesis, and other active fractions did not significantly promote hematopoiesis. qRT-PCR revealed that some important genes related to hematopoiesis and erythroid were up-regulated followed catechin exposure. ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that catechin, an active ingredient of Spatholobus suberectus Dunn, can increase the efficiency of hematopoiesis, including hematopoietic and erythroid progenitors, consistent with previous reports. The AGM-S3 co-culture system could provide an effective tool for screening active compounds in TCMs that promote hematopoiesis, and may be of clinical and pharmaceutical use.

Ionic-Liquid-Based Infrared-Assisted Extraction (IL-IRAE) Coupled with HPLC–MS: a Green and Convenient Tool for Determination of TCMs

Infrared radiation, one form of electromagnetic wave, has potential value due to its heating effect, but has become a matter of grave concern in recent years. We describe herein ionic-liquid-based infrared-assisted extraction (IL-IRAE) coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)–mass spectrometry (MS) as a green and convenient method for simultaneous determination of three alkaloids in Lycoris radiata, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Extraction parameters including the type and concentration of IL, extraction solvent, liquid/solid ratio, extraction time, and irradiation power were optimized via orthogonal design and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Chromatography–mass spectrometry was performed in positive ion mode on a TSK gel C18 column (150 mm × 4.6 mm id, 5-µm particle size) with less than 5-min separation. Evaluation of the method showed good results with analytical recovery ranging from 100.66 to 103.90 %. The extraction efficiency of IL-IRAE was proved to be increased by 25 % compared with conventional heat reflux extraction (HRE), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) methods under the operational parameters investigated in the study, indicating that the developed IL-IRAE method is environmentally friendly, simple, low cost, and efficient, offering great promise for quick determination of active compounds in TCMs and natural plants.

Detection of Chlorogenic Acid in Honeysuckle Using Infrared-Assisted Extraction Followed by Capillary Electrophoresis with UV Detector

In this study, a novel infrared-assisted extraction method coupled capillary electrophoresis (CE) is employed to determine chlorogenic acid from a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), honeysuckle. The effects of pH and the concentration of the running buffer, separation voltage, injection time, IR irradiation time, and anhydrous ethanol in the extraction concentration were investigated. The optimal conditions were as follows: extraction time, 30 min; extraction solvent, 80% (v/v) ethanol in water solution; and 50 mmol/L borate buffer (pH 8.7) was used as the running buffer at a separation voltage of 16 kV. The samples were injected electrokinetically at 16 kV for 8 s. Good linearity (r(2) > 0.9996) was observed over the concentration ranges investigated, and the stability of the solutions was high. Recoveries of the chlorogenic acid were from 95.53% to 106.62%, and the relative standard deviation was below 4.1%. By using this novel IR-assisted extraction method, a higher extraction efficiency than those extracted with conventional heat-reflux extraction was found. The developed IR-assisted extraction method is simple, low-cost, and efficient, offering a great promise for the quick determination of active compounds in TCM. The results indicated that IR-assisted extraction followed by CE is a reliable method for quantitative analysis of active ingredient in TCM.

Simultaneous in vivo RP‐HPLC‐DAD quantification of multiple‐component and drug–drug interaction by pharmacokinetics, using 6,7‐dimethylesculetin, geniposide and rhein as examples

Increasing evidence has demonstrated that multidrug combinations could amplify the therapeutic efficacies of each agent. Interestingly, the pharmacological effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is usually attributed to the drug-interaction property (synergism) of multiple active constituents. Pharmacokinetics is a useful means of evaluating the drug interactions of major active compounds in TCM. A simple, sensitive and reliable RP-HPLC-DAD method has been developed to simultaneously quantify 6,7-dimethylesculetin (D), geniposide (G) and rhein (R), which are the active ingredients in Yin-Chen-Hao-Tang (YCHT), performing drug-interaction pharmacokinetics studies in vivo. Plasma samples were prepared using methanolic precipitation, a filtration step, and then injection of the methanolic extract onto a Nova-Pak C₁₈ Guard-Pak™ guard column with a gradient mobile phase. Triple-wavelength diode array detection was set at λ(max) values of 343 nm for D, 241 nm for the G, and 259 nm for R. Our results successfully demonstrate that this method has excellent and satisfactory selectivity, sensitivity, linearity, precision, accuracy and recovery. In healthy rats, the estimated pharmacokinetic parameters (i.e. C(max) , AUC and Cl) of D, G and R, when administered with COC (a combination of D, G and R), were C(max) 16.05 mg/L, AUC 108.96 mg h/L and Cl 0.36 L/h for D; C(max) 9.35 mg/L, AUC 64.71 mg h/L and Cl 0.88 L/h for G; and C(max) 14.18 mg/L, AUC 57.98 mg h/L and Cl 1.77 L/h for R. Here, we report that the COC combination could significantly increase the plasma level and slow the elimination rate compared with any one or two of the three individual compounds, which may indicate a drug-drug interaction.