Evaluation of bioactive flavonoids in Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium from different regions and its association with antioxidant andα-glucosidase inhibitory activities

Background:To explore the differences of 14 batches of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium from different regions.Methods:The main aim of this study was to develop a high-performance liquid chromatography method-photodiode array detection for determining the contents of five flavonoids and the chromatographic fingerprints of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium from different regions.Theα-glucosidase inhibitory activities and antioxidant properties of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium,based on free-radical scavenging assays against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl,2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid),and hydroxyl radicals,were estimated and compared.Results:Among the tested compounds,the content of hesperidin(13.386-68.235 mg/g)was the highest and that of hesperitin(0.045-0.277 mg/g)was the lowest.In comparing different sources of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium,the contents of narirutin in Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium from Guangdong(0.824-0.851 mg/g)and Sichuan(1.069-1.204 mg/g)provinces of China were lower than in other provinces.In contrast,nobiletin(8.429-12.237 mg/g)and tangeretin(3.947-4.613 mg/g)were most abundant in Guangdong sources of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium,followed by samples from Sichuan Province(nobiletin:6.761-7.658 mg/g;tangeretin:3.422-3.933 mg/g).Correlation analysis showed that nobiletin and tangeretin were the main contributors to the antioxidant capacity,and narirutin was the main active component inhibiting theα-glucosidase activity of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium.Conclusion:This work revealed that the intrinsic quality of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium was affected by different growing regions,which provides a scientific basis for controlling the quality of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium and rationally developing and utilizing Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium.

Quality evaluation of Pinelliae Rhizoma using network pharmacology and multi-component quantitative analysis

Background:Pinelliae Rhizoma(Banxia)is a valuable traditional Chinese medicine,and its quality issues are related to the safety and effectiveness of the medicine.Several pharmacological experiments have shown that Pinelliae Rhizoma has anti-inflammatory activity,but the specific chemical components remain unclear.Methods:In the present study,network pharmacology was used to analyze the potential active ingredients and molecular mechanisms of Pinelliae Rhizoma’s anti-inflammatory activity.A new approach to simultaneously determine eight components using high performance liquid chromatography-photo-diode array was developed to evaluate the quality of Pinelliae Rhizoma and different processed Pinelliae Rhizoma products.Results:Twelve active ingredients were identified from Pinelliae Rhizoma,andβ-sitosterol may have a greater effect than the other active ingredients.Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses revealed the main pathways associated with Pinelliae Rhizoma’s mechanism for treating inflammation.Additionally,theβ-sitosterol content in different processed Pinelliae Rhizoma products decreased significantly,and the level of five nucleosides in Pinelliae Rhizoma was significantly higher than that of the processed Pinelliae Rhizoma products.The 6-gingerol content was detected in eight Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum cum Zingibere et Alumine batches with different origins,and liquiritin and liquiritigenin levels were detected in eight batches of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum with different origins.Conclusion:Pinelliae Rhizoma quality was affected by different regions and different processing methods,and this research provides a reference for Pinelliae Rhizoma quality evaluation.

Effect of salvianolic acid B-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

Background:Currently,no drugs can specifically improve clinical cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury or the prognosis of hemodialysis.Salvianolic acid B(SalB)is a widely used cardiac protectant;however,its clinical application is limited by its low oral bioavailability and poor intestinal absorption.The exploration of its preparation and clinical applications has become a research hotspot in recent years.Methods:To determine whether mesoporous silica nanoparticles(MSNs)efficiently delivered SalB to the heart and SalB@MSNs-RhB reduced myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury,we constructed a myocardial ischemia-reperfusion male rat model,hypoxia/reoxygenation cardiomyocytes,and treated them with SalB@MSNs-RhB.Results:SalB@MSNs-RhB showed improved bioavailability,therapeutic effect,heightened JAK2/STAT3-dependent pro-survival signaling,and antioxidant responses,thereby protecting cardiomyocytes from ischemia-reperfusion injury-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis.Conclusion:This use of SalB-loaded nanoparticles and investigation of their mechanism of action may provide a new strategy for treating cardiomyocytes.Thus,hypoxia/reoxygenation promotes the clinical application of SalB.

Systems Biology Application in Research on Sustainable Utilization of Chinese Materia Medica Resources

This paper reviews the progress of systems biology applied to researching on sustainable utilization of Chinese materia medica （CMM） resources in the following aspects： identification and evaluation of CMM resources, analysis of biosynthesis and their regulation of active ingredients in medicinal plants, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology research of medicinal plants, and molecular breeding of medicinal plants. Development of systems biology is currently leading to extremely broad applications in the field of CMM resources, and systems biology wiil become a significant approach for the sustainable utilization of CMM resources.

Free and Hidden Fumonisins in Hordei Fructus Germinatus and Their Transfer to the Decoction

Objective:This study aimed to determine the free and hidden fumonisins in Hordei Fructus Germinatus samples and to investigate the transfer rates of these mycotoxins from Hordei Fructus Germinatus to its decoction.Materials and Methods:The contamination levels of free and hidden fumonisins in a total of 60 Hordei Fructus Germinatus samples were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS).The decoction procedure was simulated with a highly contaminated Hordei Fructus Germinatus sample,and fumonisins in the resulting decoction preparation were determined by LC-MS/MS.Results:Among all the samples,8.3%were contaminated with free fumonisins(FB1 and/or FB2)and 13.3%were contaminated with total fumonisins(free+hidden,measured as hydrolyzed fumonisins,i.e.,HFB1 and/or HFB2).The concentrations of FB1 and HFB1 reached up to 83 and 95μg/kg,respectively,whereas FB2 and HFB2 were detected only in traces.The transfer rates of free and total fumonisins from Hordei Fructus Germinatus to the decoction were 71.8%and 83.3%for FB1 and FB2,respectively.In comparison,much lower transfer rates were found for total fumonisins,i.e.,38.2%and 24.7%for HFB1 and HFB2,respectively.Conclusion:The incidence and contamination levels of free and hidden fumonisins in Hordei Fructus Germinatus samples were generally low.Regarding decoction preparation,the transfer rates of free fumonisins into the decoction were high,whereas a large part of hidden fumonisins were retained in Hordei Fructus Germinatus rather than migrating into water.