Latest ArticlesEleven monoterpene glucosides were isolated from a water decoction of Monochasma savatieri by column chromatography over macroporous adsorbent resin, MCI resin, Sephadex LH-20, and HW-40C, combined with preparative TLC, reversed phase HPLC, and flash column chromatographic techniques. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive analysis of spectroscopic data, along with acidic and enzymatic hydrolysis as well as electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and NMR calculations, including six new compounds (1-4, 7 and 8), named monochasides A-D, G and H, respectively. Comparing the reported data of 9-hydroxylinaloyl 3-O-β-D-glucoside (5), (6Z)-9-hydroxylinaloyl 3-O-β-D-glucoside (6), and kankanoside D1 (9) with those obtained in this study, the absolute configurations of 6 and 9 were proved for the first time. Other two compounds were identified as 8-hydroxygeraniol 1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (10) and 8-hydroxygeraniol 8-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (11), respectively.
Psidium guajava Linn. is an evergreen shrub or small tree of Psidium Linnaeus in the Myrtaceae family. One new glycoside (1) together with 3 known meroterpenoids (2-4) and 9 known glycosides (5-13) were isolated from the fruits of Psidium guajava Linn.. The structure of the new compound was elucidated by the spectroscopic data analysis of HR-ESIMS, 1D- and 2D-NMR, and it was named psiguaoside A (1). The known compounds were identified as guajadial (2), 4, 5-diepipsidial A (3), psidial A (4), chrysin-8-C-β-D-glucoside (5), 2, 6-dihydroxy-3, 5-dimethyl-4-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-benzophenone (6), quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), quercetin-3-O-xyloside (8), guaijaverin (9), avicularin (10), guavinoside E (11), guavinoside B (12), guajaphenone A (13). In the bioactivity assay, compound 3 exhibited significant inhibitory activitiy of U87 with IC50 values of 8.379 μmol·L-1.
Cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) is essential for the electron transport chain of cytochrome P450s, playing an indispensable role in electron transfer in vivo. In this study, one cDNA encoding cytochrome P450 reductase (Ascpr1) was identified from the callus of Aquilaria sinensis. Ascpr1 contains an open reading frame of 2 124 bp. The deduced protein is composed of 707 amino acids, with a predicted molecular weight of 78.82 kD. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that AsCPR1 is a type Ⅱ CPR protein closely related to the CPR from Theobroma cacao. Transmembrane prediction using TMHMM 2.0 indicated that the amino acids 52-71 of AsCPR1 comprise a transmembrane region. After truncating of 67 amino acid residues from N-terminal, the truncated AsCPR1 was successfully expressed in E. coli Transetta (DE3). Further purification of the recombinant AsCPR1 by affinity chromatography and determination of the enzymatic activity allowed the reducing ability of AsCPR1 to cytochrome C in vitro. The results pave the way for further study on the synthesis of defensive chemicals involved in P450s and the functions of CPR in self-defense of A. sinensis.
Seven compounds were isolated from Astragalus membranaceus of northern shaanxi by silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies. Their chemical structures were identified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties. These compounds were elucidated as astragaloside Ⅳ (1), formononetin (2), calycosin (3), 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-(2, 4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-hydroxy-1, 4-but anedione (4), (E)-4-methylcinnamic acid (5), quercetin (6), and uridine (7). Compound 4 is a new compound and compound 5 was isolated from the plants of Astragalus Linn. for the first time. The results of in vitro antitumor activity assay showed that compound 4 could inhibit the proliferation of A549 with IC50 values of 11.41 μmol·L-1.
In this study, a method for simultaneous quantitative analysis of 6 salvianolic acids and 4 tanshinones in extracts of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma was established by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC). The semi-biomimetic method was applied to simulate digestion process in vitro, to explore the digestion and transport characters of oral administration through the gastrointestinal tract, and to explain the content ratio changes and bioaccessibility of active ingredients in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. The results showed that the 10 index components have a good linear relationship in the corresponding concentration range, and the average recovery rate was 91.35% to 105.65%. After simulated digestion in vitro, types of chemical composition in simulated gastric fluid and simulated intestinal fluid digested extracts of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma did not change significantly. While the content ratio of salvianolic acid B and rosmarinic acid decreased, and the content ratio of protocatechuic aldehyde and danshensu increased. In the simulated gastric fluid digestion extract of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, the order of bioaccessibility was: danshensu (50.19%) > salvianolic acid B (33.44%) > lithospermic acid (27.34%) > salvianolic acid A (21.71%) > rosmarinic acid (12.31%). In the simulated intestinal fluid digestion extract of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, the order of bioaccessibility was: 15, 16-dihydrotanshinone Ⅰ (5.45%) > tanshinone Ⅰ (3.67%) > cryptotanshinone (3.29%) > tanshinone ⅡA (3.01%) > salvianolic acid A (2.39%) > lithospermic acid (1.57%) > salvianolic acid B (1.02%) > danshensu (0.41%) > rosmarinic acid (0.34%). In conclusion, the UHPLC method established in this study can be applied for accurately and sensitively detecting the contents of 6 salvianolic acids and 4 tanshinones in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. The results of semi-biomimetic extraction showed that not all components were extracted with simulated gastric fluid and simulated intestinal fluid, especially rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid B. Therefore, in the quality study of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and its extract, bioavailability should be considered at the same time when select quality markers and determine their content limits.
The combination of Shuanghuanglian injection (SHLI) and ciprofloxacin injection (CIPI) is frequently prescribed in clinical practice, but the basis for the combination is weak. In this study, isothermal titration calorimetry and ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrometry were applied to identify the molecular interactions of SHLI and its main components, chlorogenic acid and neochlorogenic acid with CIPI. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and cold-spray ionization mass spectrometry were performed to confirm that this molecular interaction was related to the formation of self-assembled supramolecular systems induced by chlorogenic acid and neochlorogenic acid with CIPI through weak intermolecular bonds. The antibacterial activity toward Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) was evaluated via molecular interactions, and the inhibitory ability of SHLI, chlorogenic acid and neochlorogenic acid against P. aeruginosa was significantly reduced after interaction with CIPI. A molecular docking study demonstrated that the reduced antibacterial ability was closely related to the competitive binding of drug molecules to the same binding site of the DNA gyrase B (GyrB) subunit of P. aeruginosa. The present study uncovered the intermolecular interactions of SHLI and its main components chlorogenic acid and neochlorogenic acid with CIPI from the perspective of molecular self-assembly and contribute to the reduction of its antibacterial ability, providing a basis for the clinical combination of SHLI and CIPI.
Wuzhi tablet (WZ) is a prescribed herbal medicine extracted from Schisandra sphenanthera, which is widely used to protect the liver injury and drug-induced hepatotoxicity in clinical practices. Previous studies showed that WZ significantly increased the blood concentrations of tacrolimus, cyclosporine A, paclitaxel by inhibiting the cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A)-mediated metabolism. CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 are the most important isoenzymes among the CYP3A subfamily. However, there are some differences in the catalytic and inhibitory activities between CYP3A4 and CYP3A5, which may lead to different risk of drug-drug and herb-drug interactions, and the risks may be further amplified in vivo. Currently, few reports have compared the herbal medicine inhibitory effects between CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 mediated metabolic reactions. Therefore, detailing the inhibitory effect of WZ on CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 will help understand and predict the potential herb-drug interaction. The results showed that WZ inhibited CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 in a NADPH-, time- and concentration- dependent manner. WZ showed more potent inhibition on CYP3A5 than CYP3A4. Cautions warranted when combining WZ with other therapeutic drugs to avoid the potential herb-drug interaction.
Rocuronium bromide is an acetylcholine N2 receptor antagonist, which can be used as an auxiliary drug for general anesthesia. It has been reported that rocuronium has two possible metabolic pathways: N-dealkylation and O-deacetylation, which are mainly taken up by liver and excreted by bile in the form of primary drugs. In this paper, the metabolites of rocuronium in human bile were detected by UHPLC-QE-orbitrap-MS, thirteen metabolites were detected, including eleven phase I metabolites and two phase II metabolites, eleven of which had not been previously reported. At the same time, HEK293 cells overexpressing transporter were used to explore the transmembrane transport mechanism of rocuronium, the results showed that rocuronium was the substrate of MATE1, OCT1, OATP1B1 and OATP1B3. The above research results enrich the metabolic pathway of rocuronium in vivo, and put forward the possible transport mechanism of liver uptake and bile excretion, which can better guide the accurate and safe clinical drug application. The collection of human bile samples in this study was approved by the ethics committee of Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Approval Number: 2019-775-130-01).
In order to clarify the pharmacodynamic substances and mechanism of Xiangju Preparations (Xiangju Tablets, Xiangju Drops) in the treatment of rhinitis and sinusitis, the multi-level network integration analysis of "ingredients-targets-pathways" was conducted. 137 chemical constituents were identified in Xiangju Preparations by high pressure liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-QTOF/MS) for the first time. Network pharmacology analysis was performed on 59 potential active components. The results of network pharmacology analysis demonstrated that the medicinal ingredients in Xiangju Preparations included caffeic acid, senkyunolide F, rosmarinic acid, ligustilide, prim-O-glucosylcimifugin, linarin, magnolin, luteolin, senkyunolide I and gallic acid. These ingredients act on the crucial targets of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin 1B (IL1B), protein kinase B (AKT1), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and participate in the regulation of advanced glycosylation end products-receptor of AGEs (AGE-RAGE), TNF, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), and cyclic guanosine monophosphate-protein kinase G (cGMP-PKG) signaling pathways to effectively treat rhinitis and sinusitis. The excellent binding performance between above 10 active components and 5 key target proteins was further confirmed by molecular docking, indicating that these 10 ingredients are pharmacodynamic substances of Xiangju preparations. In conclusion, this study preliminarily clarified the effective components and mechanism of Xiangju preparations in the treatment of rhinitis and sinusitis, and provided a theoretical basis for the clinical application of Xiangju preparations.
This study used pharmacology combined with metabolomics to explore the effect of Amygdalus mongolica total extract on bleomycin induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. The rat model of pulmonary fibrosis was established by intratracheal injection of bleomycin and treated with the total extract of Amygdalus mongolica. The pathological changes of lung tissue were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and Masson staining, the contents of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in lung tissue were detected, and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), Smad family member 3 (Smad3), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) pathway index expression in lung tissue was detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR. UPLC-Q-TOF/MS was used to study serum metabolomics to explore the changing patterns of biomarkers and the metabolic pathways affected by them. The results showed that compared with the model group, the medium (1.5 g·kg-1) and high (3.0 g·kg-1) doses of Amygdalus mongolica total extract could significantly reduce the lung index, significantly increase the activity of SOD in serum and lung tissue, reduce the degree of alveolar inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis, and reduce MDA in serum and lung tissue, and significantly reduce TGF-β1, Smad3, α-SMA mRNA expression in lung tissue. Serum metabolomics profile analysis identified 25 significantly different metabolites, the Amygdalus mongolica total extract can participate in linoleic acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism and alpha-linolenic acid metabolism by reducing five key biomarkers: lysoPE(0∶0/22∶5(4Z, 7Z, 10Z, 13Z, 16Z)), lysoPC(20∶0/0∶0), PC(20∶5(5Z, 8Z, 11Z, 14Z, 17Z)/15∶0), 12, 13-dihydroxy-9-octadecenoic acid (12, 13-DHOME), 9, 10-dihydroxy-12-octadecenoic acid (9, 10-DHOME) to affect pulmonary fibrosis. This study preliminarily revealed the action mechanism of Amygdalus mongolica total extract against pulmonary fibrosis in rats, and provided a reference basis for the clinical application of Amygdalus mongolica. The animal experiments were approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Baotou Medical College (No.20170315).
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