Screening, Characterization and Evaluation of Mangiferin Polymorphs

Mangiferin is a compound with many pharmacological activities and exists in many natural products.Anhydrous and hydrate of mangiferin have been reported separately in two literatures,but the polymorphism of this compound has not been realized until this paper.In this study,polymorph screening of mangiferin has been carried out and five forms have been obtained including three new forms never reported.Several solid state characterization methods,such as powder X-ray diffraction,differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry,are used to identify and characterize all of mangiferin forms.The comparison of the crystallographic data and hirshfeld surface analysis were first reported for mangiferin anhydrous and hydrate.Furthermore,the studies on stability,transformation and solubility have been undertaken,the results prompt that form V can be used as the dominant polymorph for the development of innovative pharmaceuticals.

Preparation and Certification of a New Salvianolic Acid A Reference Material for Food and Drug Research

Salvianolic acid A(Sal A),a water-soluble ingredient in Danshen,has various biological activities.Sal A and its impurities have similar physical and chemical properties,as well as strong reducibility;therefore,they are difficult to prepare and purify.In this study,high-purity Sal A was obtained by purification of sephadex chromatography and preparative chromatography.Furthermore,HPLC-DAD tandem ECD and HPLC-DAD tandem MS methods were used for non-volatile organic impurity analysis,ICP-MS method was used for non-volatile inorganic impurities and mass balance method and quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance were employed to certify the product.The structures of Sal A and its relative impurities were validated by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry,and their contents were quantified as well.Following the principles of ISO Guides 34:2009 and 35:2005,a Sal A reference material was certified,covering homogeneity studies,stability studies,characterization,and uncertainty estimations.

Optimized solubility and bioavailability of genistein based on cocrystal engineering

With various potential health-promoting bioactivities,genistein has great prospects in treatment of a series of complex diseases and metabolic syndromes such as cancer,diabetes,cardiovascular diseases,menopausal symptoms and so on.However,poor solubility and unsatisfactory bioavailability seriously limits its clinical application and market development.To optimize the solubility and bioavailability of genistein,the cocrystal of genistein and piperazine was prepared by grinding assisted with solvent based on the concept of cocrystal engineering.Using a series of analytical techniques including single-crystal X-ray diffraction,powder X-ray diffraction,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis,the cocrystal was characterized and confirmed.Then,structure analysis on the basis of theoretical calculation and a series of evaluation on the stability,dissolution and bioavailability were carried out.The results indicated that the cocrystal of genistein and piperazine improved the solubility and bioavailability of genistein.Compared with the previous studies on the cocrystal of genistein,this is a systematic and comprehensive investigation from the aspects of preparation,characterization,structural analysis,stability,solubility and bioavailability evaluation.As a simple,efficient and green approach,cocrystal engineering can pave a new path to optimize the pharmaceutical properties of natural products for successful drug formulation and delivery.

Theoretical and experimental cocrystal screening of temozolomide with a series of phenolic acids, promising cocrystal coformers

The virtual cocrystal screening approach based on molecular electrostatic potential surface(MEPS)maps is a fast and feasible computational method to estimate the probability of cocrystal formation by calculating the difference in the interaction site pairing energies of monomers and that of their assemblies prior to experimental screening.In this paper,we report 12 cocrystal forms of temozolomide with mono-,di-,and trihydroxy benzoic acids,namely,3-hydroxy-,2,4-dihydroxy-,2,5-dihydroxy-,2,6-dihydroxy-,3,4-dihydroxy-,and 3,4,5-trihydroxy-benzoic acids,as well as benzoic acid,as pharmaceutical coformers for the first time.10 single crystals out of the 12 cocrystal forms were obtained and unequivocally determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction,which clarified spatial arrangements,molecular conformations,and supramolecular synthons.MEPS further gains some insights into the sites of hydrogen bonding interactions for exploring combination patterns in these assemblies.Modulated stability of TMZ was successfully achieved by cocrystallization with these acids.

Pepper variome reveals the history and key loci associated with fruit domestication and diversification

Pepper(Capsicum spp.)is an important vegetable crop that provides a unique pungent sensation when eaten.Through construction of a pepper variome map,we examined the main groups that emerged during domestication and breeding of C.annuum,their relationships and temporal succession,and the molecular events underlying the main transitions.The results showed that the initial differentiation in fruit shape and pungency,increase in fruit weight,and transition from erect to pendent fruits,as well as the recent appearance of large,blocky,sweet fruits(bell peppers),were accompanied by strong selection/fixation of key alleles and introgressions in two large genomic regions.Furthermore,we identified Up,which encodes a BIG GRAIN protein involved in auxin transport,as a key domestication gene that controls erect vs pendent fruit orientation.The up mutation gained increased expression especially in the fruit pedicel through a 579-bp sequence deletion in its 5′upstream region,resulting in the phenotype of pendent fruit.The function of Up was confirmed by virus-induced gene silencing.Taken together,these findings constitute a cornerstone for understanding the domestication and differentiation of a key horticultural crop.

An innovative rhein-matrine cocrystal: Synthesis, characterization,formation mechanism and pharmacokinetic study

Rhein(Rhe), an anthraquinone derivative, exhibits excellent anti-inflammatory effects and other pharmacological activities, but its clinical application remains limited due to poor solubility. The present work aims at the improvement of solubility and oral bioavailability of Rhe through cocrystal formation. For this purpose, Rhe and matrine(Mat) were selected as pharmaceutical ingredient(API) and cocrystal former(CCF), respectively, and the Rhe-Mat cocrystal was synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction(SXRD), powder X-ray diffraction(PXRD), thermogravimetric analysis(TGA), differential scanning calorimetry(DSC). The formation mechanism of Rhe-Mat cocrystal was elucidated by molecular surface electrostatic potential(MSEP). It is worth mentioning that the 50-fold increment of dissolution in vitro was observed in pure water in the form of Rhe-Mat cocrystal. Furthermore, the in vivo studies revealed that Rhe-Mat cocrystal indicated the faster absorption rate and the higher peak blood concentration than the pure Rhe. Hence, it can be concluded that current study successfully improved the solubility and oral bioavailability of Rhe.