Main Medicinal Ingredients Research Articles

Direct preparation of gels from herbal medicinal plants by using a low toxicity liquid zwitterion

Gels containing the medicinal ingredients of licorice were formed by dissolving herbal medicinal plants into a biocompatible zwitterionic cellulose solvent and successive precipitation. The licorice gels gradually released glycyrrhizic acid, the main medicinal ingredient in licorice, within 3 h. Although the licorice gels were mechanically weak, the gel strength was improved just by the addition of cellulose during the preparation of the gels. Gels containing the medicinal ingredients of licorice were formed by dissolving herbal medicinal plants into a biocompatible zwitterionic cellulose solvent and successive precipitation. The licorice gels gradually released glycyrrhizic acid, the main medicinal ingredient in licorice, within 3 h. Although the licorice gels were mechanically weak, the gel strength was improved just by the addition of cellulose during the preparation of the gels.

Polysaccharide biosynthetic pathway profiling and putative gene mining of Dendrobium moniliforme using RNA-Seq in different tissues

BackgroundDendrobium moniliforme (Linnaeus) Swartz is a well-known plant used in traditional Chinese medicine due to bioactive constituents. Polysaccharides are the main medicinal ingredients, yet no studies have been published on polysaccharide biosynthesis in D. moniliforme. To comprehensively investigate the polysaccharide at the transcription level, we performed de novo transcriptome sequencing for the first time to produce a comprehensive transcriptome of D. moniliforme.ResultsIn our study, a database of 562,580 unigenes (average length = 1115.67 bases) was generated by performing transcriptome sequencing. Based on the gene annotation of the transcriptome, we identified 1204 carbohydrate-active related unigenes against CAZy database, including 417 glycosyltransferase genes (GTs), 780 glycoside hydrolases (GHs), 19 carbohydrate esterases (CEs), 75 carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs), and 44 polysaccharide lyases (PLs). In the cellulose synthase family, 21 differential expression genes (DEGs) related to polysaccharide were identified. Subsequently, the tissue-specific expression patterns of the genes involved in polysaccharide pathway were investigated, which provide understanding of the biosynthesis and regulation of DMP at the molecular level. The two key enzyme genes (Susy and SPS) involved in the polysaccharide pathway were identified, and their expression patterns in different tissues were further analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR.ConclusionsWe determined the content of polysaccharides from Dendrobium moniliforme under different tissues, and we obtained a large number of differential genes by transcriptome sequencing. This database provides a pool of candidate genes involved in biosynthesis of polysaccharides in D. moniliforme. Furthermore, the comprehensive analysis and characterization of the significant pathways are expected to give a better insight regarding the diversity of chemical composition, synthetic characteristics, and the regulatory mechanism which operate in this medical herb.

Geniposide against atherosclerosis by inhibiting the formation of foam cell and lowering reverse lipid transport via p38/MAPK signaling pathways

Geniposide, the main medicinal ingredient of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, is known to be a resistant agent to atherosclerosis. Some reports its mechanism against atherosclerosis remains completely unclear. Herein, we have investigated the protective effect of geniposide against atherosclerosis as well as clarified the mechanisms related with inhibiting the formation of foam cells and lowering reverse lipid transport via p38/MAPK signaling pathways. Macrophage Raw264.7 was induced by lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) to form foam cell as a cell model. ApoE−/- mice were fed with a high-fat diet for 16 weeks to cause atherosclerosis in carotid artery. After treatment with geniposide, CCK-8, oil red O stain, qRT-PCR and western blot were carried out to explore the effect of geniposide. Morphological changes, histological analyses were used to evaluate atherosclerosis in ApoE–/– mice. Geniposide significantly reduced serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and LDL cholesterol levels in ApoE−/- mice compared with vehicle control. Meanwhile, geniposide dose dependently inhibited the development of atherosclerosis in ApoE−/- mice. Furthermore, geniposide observably inhibited the formation of foam cells induced by LPA, down-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of SR-A and up-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of ABCA1 or SR-B1 in vitro via inhibition of the p38MAPK and AKT signaling pathways. Our study shows that geniposide protected against atherosclerosis and inhibited the formation of foam cells by regulating the equilibrium on expression of diverse lipid transporters in cytomembrane which related with p38MAPK and AKT signaling pathways. Geniposide is a potential therapeutic drug for atherosclerosis.

The complete chloroplast genome of Cirsium setosum and its phylogenetic analysis

Cirsium setosum is a widely distributed species of edible medicinal plant around the world. Triterpenes, flavonoids, sterols, polyphenols, and glycosides are its main medicinal ingredients. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. setosum was assembled and characterized from high-throughput sequencing data. The chloroplast genome was 152,405 bp in length, consisting of large single-copy (LSC) and small single-copy (SSC) regions of 83,385 bp and 18,632 bp, respectively, which were separated by a pair of 25,193 bp inverted repeat (IR) regions. The genome is predicted to contain 133 genes, including 88 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The overall GC content of the genome is 37.7%. A phylogenetic tree reconstructed by 12 chloroplast genomes reveals that C. setosum is mostly related to Cirsium arvense, which is also a Cephalanoplos plant widely distributed all over the world. The work reported the firstly complete chloroplast genome of C. setosum which may provide useful information to the evolution of Cephalanoplos.

Analysis of Medicinal Composition and Pharmacological Action of Chinese Medicine Honeysuckle

Objective: To analyze and study the medicinal components and pharmacological effects of traditional Chinese medicine honeysuckle, and to provide important clinical value for future clinical treatment. Methods: Actively review relevant literature reports and medical works related to honeysuckle, and carry out scientific statistics and summary on its medicinal components and clinical pharmacological effects. Results: The main medicinal ingredients were volatile oil, triterpenoid soap and organic acid and acid compounds; it has many pharmacological effects, such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, liver-protecting, anti-viral, hemostasis and so on. Conclusion: The traditional Chinese medicine honeysuckle has a very high medicinal value in clinical practice, and can be actively promoted and used in the clinical treatment of Chinese and Western medicine.

Comparative transcriptome analysis to identify candidate genes related to chlorogenic acid biosynthesis in Eucommia ulmoides Oliv.

We performed a comparative transcriptome between two different concentrations of CGA from leaves in E. ulmoides. The key genes in the biosynthesis of CGA were identified by differential expression analysis. Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. is native to China and famous for its extensive medicinal value, such as anti-fatigue, anti-aging, and enhanced immunity, etc. Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is the main medicinal ingredient of E. ulmoides. In E. ulmoides, the gene functions related to CGA biosynthesis are not fully understood. In this study, we conducted Illumina transcriptome sequencing and digital gene expression (DGE) for E. ulmoides with high content of CGA (H01, H02, and H03) and low content of CGA (L01, L02, and L03) to explore the potential genes involved in CGA biosynthesis. A total of 82,065 unigenes were generated. Of these unigenes, 28 were involved in CGA biosynthesis pathways and 116 regulated the CGA biosynthesis. Furthermore, by gene expression profiling and differential expression analysis, three functional genes including two PALs (c133625.graph_c5 and c133625.graph_c7), one 4CL (c139078.graph_c0), and three transcription factors (TFs), including one ERF2 (c139016.graph_c3) and two WRKY (c139022.graph_c3 and c139022.graph_c0) were different expressed, these genes may play key roles in CGA biosynthesis. This study will provide useful genomic resources for the investigation of CGA biosynthesis and genetic improvements of E. ulmoides.

Oleanane-Type Saponins Biosynthesis in Panax notoginseng via Transformation of β-Amyrin Synthase Gene from Panax japonicus

Oleanane-type saponins considered as the main medicinal ingredients in Panax japonicus are not found in Panax notoginseng. β-Amyrin synthase (βAS) was recognized as the first key enzyme in the biosynthetic branch of oleanane-type saponins. In this study, βAS gene from P. japonicus ( PjβAS) was transferred into P. notoginseng cells. Along with PjβAS expression in the transgenic cells, the expression levels of several key enzyme genes related to triterpenoid saponins biosynthesis and the content of P. notoginseng saponins were also increased. Two oleanane-type saponins, chikusetsusaponin IV and chikusetsusaponin IVa, contained in P. japonicus were first discovered in transgenic P. notoginseng cells. This study successfully constructed a biosynthetic pathway of oleanane-type saponins in P. notoginseng by introducing just one gene into the species. On the basis of this discovery and previous studies, the common biosynthetic pathway of triterpenoid saponins in Panax genus may be unified to some extent.

Urinary metabolomics study on the anti-inflammation effects of flavonoids obtained from Glycyrrhiza

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease with pain, swelling, and limitation in the motion and function of multiple joints thus leading to high disability. Previous studies have shown that flavonoids and saponins are the most abundant and active constituents in Glycyrrhiza, which possess a wide range of pharmacological effects such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-bacteria. But the mechanisms of those actions are not entirely clear. In order to clarify the mechanisms of those actions, the pharmacodynamical assessments of extraction of water-soluble components and flavonoids and saponins obtained from Glycyrrhiza were investigated. Combining the pharmacodynamical researches, we found that flavonoids obtained from Glycyrrhiza had more significant therapeutic effects on acute inflammation, chronic inflammation and inflammatory pain than that of extraction of water-soluble components and saponins obtained from Glycyrrhiza. The results indicated that flavonoids are the main medicinal ingredients in Glycyrrhiza. In order to further investigate the mechanism of the action of flavonoids in Glycyrrhiza on treating RA, a urine metabolomics method based on ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was established to observe the metabolic variations in adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rats and investigate the therapeutic effect of flavonoids in Glycyrrhiza on RA. As a result, twenty potential biomarkers were found by comparison with the model group (MG) and flavonoid treated group (FG). We associated these compounds with related metabolic pathways, the results showed that these biomarkers were mainly associated with purine metabolism, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle), pantothenate and coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis. The results about the pharmacodynamics and metabolomics provided a theoretical basis for clarifying the mechanism of flavonoids in Glycyrrhiza in the treatment of RA.

Phytochemical and pharmacological overview on <i>Liriopes radix</i>

Liriopogons (Liriope and Opiopogon) species are used as the main medicinal ingredient in traditional medicine in several Asian countries. The roots or tubers of Liriope plants ( Liriopes radix ; LR) have traditionally been used for hundreds of years to treat cough, insomnia, constipation, asthma, and inflammation. The present review discusses extensively the available knowledge on its phytochemical and pharmacological activities in vitro and in vivo . The review does not include other parts of these plants. Literature evidence has been analyzed to identify responsible phytochemicals and their wide range of pharmacological activities. Further studies are needed for the isolation of purified compounds in order to understand their mechanisms of action and for clinical application. Keywords: Diabetes, Liriope platyphylla , Neuroprotective, Phytochemistry, Steroidal glycosides

Pharmacological Activities and Applications of Spicatoside A.

Liriopogons (Liriope and Opiopogon) species are used as a main medicinal ingredient in several Asian countries. The Liriopes Radix (tuber, root of Liriope platyphylla) has to be a promising candidate due to their source of phytochemicals. Steroidal saponins and their glycosides, phenolic compounds, secondary metabolites are considered of active constituents in Liriopes Radix. Spicatoside A, a steroidal saponin, could be more efficacious drug candidate in future. In this review, we summarized the available knowledge on phytochemical and pharmacological activities for spicatoside A. It significantly suppressed the level of NF-κB, NO, iNOS, Cox-2, IL-1β, IL-6 and MAPKs in LPS-stimulated inflammation. The production of MUC5AC mucin was increased. MMP-13 expression was down-regulated in IL-1β-treated cells and reduced glycosaminoglycan release from IL-1α-treated cells. The neurite outgrowth activity, PI3K, Akt, ERK1/2, TrkA and CREB phosphorylation and neurotropic factors such as NGF and BDNF were upregulated with increased latency time. It also showed cell growth inhibitory activity on various carcinoma cells. From this, spicatoside A exerts anti-inflammation, anti-asthma, anti-osteoclastogenesis, neurite outgrowth, memory consolidation and anticancer activities. Further studies are needed on spicatoside A in order to understand mechanisms of action to treat various human diseases.

Anti-inflammatory mechanism research of flavonoid compounds in Dalbergiae Odoriferae Lignum by module-based network analysis

Dalbergiae Odoriferae Lignum as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Flavonoid compounds are main chemical constituents of Dalbergiae Odoriferae Lignum, which exert anti-inflammatory property. However, the underlying anti-inflammatory mechanisms of flavonoid compounds are incompletely understood. It has been reported that isoliquiritigenin, liquiritigenin, naringenin and butein possess anti-inflammatory property. The purpose of this study is to illuminate the anti-inflammatory mechanism of flavonoid compounds based on the protein interaction network (PIN) analysis on molecular network level. 130 targets of the main medicinal ingredients of flavonoid compounds were gained though database retrieval. A protein interaction network of flavonoid compounds was constructed with 589 nodes and 216 interactions. By a graph theoretic clustering algorithm Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE), 26 modules were identified and analyzed by Gene ontology (GO) enrichment. Two modules were associated with anti-inflammatory actions. The most interesting finding of this study was that the anti-inflammatory effect of flavonoid compounds may be partly attributable to inhibite FOS, PTGS2 expression, inhibite of IL-1beta release, and block the MAPK pathway and toll-like receptor pathway.

Pharmacology Research Progress of Paeonol

Paeonol is one of main medicinal ingredients of Cortex Moutan. Paeonol has the functions of sedative, hypnosis, anti-bacterial, antibiosis, anti-inflammation, antioxidation, reducing blood pressure and so on. Paeonol has extensive biological activities and has broad prospects of exploitation and utilization. This paper reviews the latest progress of its pharmacology.

Protein interaction network analysis of Panax notoginseng saponins

Panax notoginseng (PN) is one of the commonly used clinical medicines for cardiovascular diseases and possesses a variety of pharmacological effects. P. notoginseng saponins (PNS) are the most important bioactive components in PN. The purpose of this study was to explain the mechanism of PNS on molecular network level. 18 targets of the main medicinal ingredients of PNS were gained by virtual screening based on pharmacophores and data mining. A protein interaction network of PNS was constructed with 189 nodes and 721 interactions. By a graph theoretic clustering algorithm Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE), 14 modules were detected. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of the modules demonstrated that the roles of PNS played in cardiovascular disease related to multiple biological processes, which could represent the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a whole to regulate the disease. The results showed that the blood circulation and hemostasis efficacy of PN related with the biological processes such as positive regulation of cAMP metabolic and biosynthetic process, platelet activation and regulation of blood vessel size, regulation of T cell proliferation and differentiation and so on. Therefore, the module-based network analysis will be an effective method for better understanding TCM.

Mechanism of action of Salvianolic Acid B by module-based network analysis

Salvianolic Acid B (Sal B) is one of the main medicinal ingredients of Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen) and possesses a variety of pharmacological effects. The purpose of this study was to discover the new mechanism of action of Sal B based on the protein interaction network (PIN) analysis. A PIN of Sal B was constructed with 852 nodes and 8,626 interactions. By fast agglomerate algorithm based on the edge clustering coefficients (FAG-EC), 11 modules were detected from the network. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of the modules demonstrated that the roles of Sal B played in cardiovascular disease were related to multiple biological processes, which could represent the characteristics of Chinese Material Medica (CMM) as a whole to regulate the disease. The most interesting finding of this work was that the anti-inflammatory effect of Sal B was due to the immune response of T lymphocytes by regulating IL-2 family, CD3E, CD79A, MAP3K7 and PRKCQ. Therefore, the module-based network analysis will be an effective method for better understanding CMM.

Molecular physiological mechanism on consecutive monoculture problems of Rehmannia glutinosa

Rehmannia glutinosa, a famous Chinese medicinal plant, is not suitable for consecutive monoculture, because there are autotoxic metabolites excreted by its tuberous roots, which can greatly limit the plant growth and development. In this research, cultivar “Wen 85-5” R. glutinosa under three diTerent cultivation modes, including the newly planted, the two-year and three-year consecutively monocultured, was used in the $eld test. +e diTerential expression of leaf proteins, physiological changes and corresponding medicinal quality of tuberous roots at the early tuberous root enlargement stage were detected and compared in diTerent years of consecutive monoculture. +e results showed that consecutive monoculture resulted in decrement of chlorophyll content, photosynthetic capacity and root activity, but increases in free radicals and lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, the content of catalpol, the main medicinal ingredient in R. glutinosa tuberous roots was analyzed by FTIR and HPLC. +e result showed that consecutive monoculture resulted in declined medicinal ingredients. Comparative proteomics analysis revealed 20 diTerentially expressed protein spots in response to increasing years of monoculture. Among them, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) kinase, Rubisco, sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase related to Calvin cycle, and other proteins, i.e. proteasome, malonyl CoA-ACP transferase, antioxidases, pathogenesis-related protein and mRNA-binding protein were down-regulated with increasing years of monoculture. While energy metabolism related proteins (ATP synthase subunit β, ATPase, ATP-binding protein) and stress response related proteins (heat shock proteins) were up-regulated. +erefore it was concluded that consecutive monoculture of R. glutinosa remarkably aTected the physiological reactions and induced the changes in the expression of leaf proteins, this in turn had a negative impact on the biomass and its quality of the medicinal plants