The Anticancer Potential of Quassinoids-A Mini-Review

The anticancer potential of quassinoids has attracted a great deal of attention for decades,and scientific data revealing their possible applications in cancer management are continuously increasing in the literature.Aside from the potent cytotoxic and antitumor properties of these degraded triterpenes,several quassinoids have exhibited synergistic effects with anticancer drugs.This article provides an overview of the potential anticancer properties of quassinoids,including their cytotoxic and antitumor activities,mechanisms of action,safety evaluation,and potential benefits in combination with anticancer drugs.

Comparative analysis of twenty-five compounds in different parts of Astragalus membranaceus var.mongholicus and Astragalus membranaceus by UPLC-MS/MS

As a traditional Chinese medicine,the root of Astragalus membranaceus var.mongholicus(AMM) or A.membranaceus(AM) has been widely used in China and other Asian countries for thousands of years.Till now,the flavonoids,phenolic acids and saponins are considered as the main active components contributing to their therapeutic effect in these plants.In order to clarify the distribution and contents of these compounds in different organs of these plants,a rapid and sensitive analytical method for simultaneous determination of 25 active compounds including seven types(i.e.dihydroflavones,isoflavane,isoflavones,flavones.pterocarpans,phenolic acid and saponins) within 10 min was established using ultra-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS/MS).Then,the established method was fully validated and successfully applied to the determination of the contents of these analytes in different parts(root,rhizome,stem,leaf and flower) of AMM and AM.The results indicated that the contents of the same type of compounds in two different species plants were significantly different.Moreover,the obvious differences were also found for the distribution and contents of different type of compounds in five organs of the same species.The present study could provide necessary information for the rational development and utilization of AMM and AM resource.

Elucidating the interaction of kansui and licorice by comparative plasma/tissue metabolomics and a heatmap with relative fold change

Although compatibility is highly advocated in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), inappropriate combination of some herbs may reduce the therapeutic action and even produce toxic effects. Kansui and licorice, one of TCM “Eighteen Incompatible Medicaments”, are the most representative cases of improper herbal combination, which may still be applied simultaneously under given conditions. However, the potential mechanism of their compatibility and incompatibility is unclear. In the present study, two different ratios of kansui and licorice, representing their compatibility and incompatibility respectively, were designed to elucidate their interaction by comparative plasma/tissue metabolomics and a heatmap with relative fold change. As a result, glycocholic acid, prostaglandin F2a, dihydroceramide and sphinganine were screened out as the principal alternative biomarkers of compatibility group;sphinganine, dihydroceramide, arachidonic acid, leukotriene B4, acetoacetic acid and linoleic acid were those of incompatibility group. Based on the values of biomarkers in each tissue, the liver was identified as the compatible target organ, while the heart, liver, and kidney were the incompatible target organs. Furthermore, important pathways for compatibility and incompatibility were also constructed. These results help us to better understand and utilize the two herbs, and the study was the first to reveal some innate characters of herbs related to TCM “Eighteen Incompatible Medicaments”.

Collagen derived species-specific peptides for distinguishing donkey-hide gelatin(Asini Corii Colla)

Objective:As an important food therapy product with traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) applications,donkey-hide gelatin(Asini Corii Colla,ACC) has been used for thousands of years.However,till now few effective strategy had been proposed to distinguish ACC from other animal hide gelatins,especially closely related horse-and mule-hide gelatins,which was an embarrassment of ACC quality control.Methods:Combined mass spectrometry and bioinformatic methods have been applied to identify and verify two ACC-specific peptides(Pep-1 and Pep-2) capable of distinguishing ACC from other closely related animal gelatins with high selectivity.Results:It confirmed that these two peptides could be not only used for distinguishing ACC from highly homologous horse-hide and mule-hide gelatins as well as other animal hide gelatins.Conclusion:The present study provides a simple method for species-specific peptides discovery,which can be used for assessing the quality of animal gelatin products,and ensure they are authenticable and traceable.