Research progress in the study of Clinacanthus nutans and treatment of liver diseases

Background:Based on the long history of medicinal value and modern pharmacological research,a systematic collation of the Clinacanthus nutans has been carried out with a view to providing useful references for the clinical application of the Clinacanthus nutans in hepatoprotection and the research and development of new drugs.Methods:The research progress of a large number of domestic and international studies on the therapeutic mechanism of the antiliver diseases of Clinacanthus nutans and its active ingredients is summarized.The aim is to explore the greater value of the herb.Results:The major chemical constituents with pharmacological activities of the Clinacanthus nutans were summarized,and a feasible mechanism of action was compiled and analyzed.Conclusion:Many studies have confirmed the great medicinal value of Clinacanthus nutans and its active monomer components,especially in the prevention and treatment of liver diseases,which is worthy of more in-depth research,development and utilization.Chinese medicine is the treasure of China,therefore,it should be used in more clinical applications.

Effects of Ethanol Extract of Clinacanthus nutans on Gut Microbiota and Lipid Metabolism of HFD-induced Obese Mice

[Objectives]To explore the effects of ethanol extract of Clinacanthus nutans on gut microbiota and lipid metabolism in high-fat diet(HFD)-induced obese mice.[Methods]A HFD-induced obesity mouse model was established,and the mice were randomly divided into high-fat model group,high-dose and low-dose groups of ethanol extract of C.nutans.Normal group and high-fat model group were given normal saline by intragastric administration every day.The high-dose and low-dose groups of the ethanol extract of C.nutans were given corresponding drugs by intragastric administration.After 8 weeks of administration,the body weight,fat accumulation,blood lipid level,and liver histopathological changes of the mice in each group were compared.The high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA was used to sequence the fecal samples of mice in each group,and the effects of ethanol extract of C.nutans on lipid metabolism and gut microbiota structure in HFD-induced obese mice were analyzed.[Results]Compared with the normal group,the high-fat model group had significantly higher body weight(P<0.01),increased subcutaneous fat accumulation(P<0.01),increased liver fat content,and increased serum TC,TG and LDL levels(P<0.01).Compared with the high-fat model group,the high-dose group of the ethanol extract of C.nutans significantly reduced the body weight of obese mice(P<0.01),reduced the subcutaneous fat accumulation in obese mice(P<0.05),inhibited the synthesis of fat in the liver,significantly reduced serum TC,TG levels(P<0.01),and significantly increased serum HDL levels(P<0.01).Compared with the normal group,the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria in the gut microbiota of mice in the high-fat model group was significantly increased,while the relative abundances of Bacteroidetes,Verrucomicrobia,and Akkermansia were significantly decreased(P<0.01),and the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes was significantly increased.After treatment with ethanol extract of C.nutans,the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes was reduced,the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes,Verrucomicrobia and Akkermansia(AKK)increased(P<0.05),while the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria decreased(P<0.05).[Conclusions]HFD-induced obese mice have imbalanced gut microbiota structure and abnormal lipid metabolism,and the ethanol extract of C.nutans can improve the imbalance of microbiota structure and lipid metabolism in obese mice.

Geographical Traceability of Clinacanthus nutans with Near-Infrared Pectroscopy and Chemometrics

In this study, a seed origin discrimination model for Clinacanthus nutans was developed. First, 81 C. nutans samples from three seed origin locations were collected, and their Near-Infrared (NIR) spectra were obtained. Next, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed on the NIR spectra of the 81 C. nutans samples. Then, MSC (multiplicative scatter correction), SNV (standard normal variate), first derivative, and second derivative pre-treatments of the C. nutans spectra were performed and combined with the Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm for modelling and analysis. Among these methods, first-order derivative pre-treatment achieved the best SVM model effectiveness, with a training set accuracy of 93.44% (57/61) and a test set accuracy of 85.00% (17/20). In order to further improve the discrimination accuracy of the model, three optimization algorithms Grid Search (GS), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) were employed to identify the best c and g parameters for the SVM model. The results demonstrated that the PSO optimization algorithm yielded the best parameters of c = 0.8343, g = 57.8741, with corresponding model training set the accuracy of 96.36% (60/61) and test set the accuracy of 95.00% (20/21). Therefore, developing a seed origin classification model for C. nutans based on NIR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics is feasible and has the advantages of being simple, rapid, and green.