An Acidic Polysaccharide from Tribulus terrestris

An aqueous acidic polysaccharide, named rhamnogalacturonan (designated as TTP-D2) was isolated from Tribulus terrestris L by means of DEAE-cellulose chromatography and gel filtration. The molecular mass of TTP-D2 was estimated to be 26 KDa by gel filtration. TTP-D2 is composed of galacturonic acid, rhamnose, arabinose, galactose, fucose, mannose, xylose and glucose in a ratio of 71.4 : 13.5 : 5.6 : 4.9 : 3.1 : 1.9 : 1.9 : 1.0. The main chain structure of TTP-D2 was elucidated as an acidic hetero-polysaccharide with the connection of a-(1-4) galacturonic acid with a-(1-3) rhamnose by GC analysis of partially hydrolyzed products and the determination of 1H, 13C-NMR spectra.

Effect of osthole,aFructus Cnidii-derivednature coumarin,on osteogenesis and bone healing in mice

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of osthole,a natural coumarin isolated from traditional Chinese medicine Fructus Cnidii,on osteogenesis in vitro and bone fracture healing in vivo.METHODS Primary bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs)were isolated from 6-week C57/B6 mice,and osteogenic differentiation was assessed by alkaline phosphate(ALP)activity and calcium nodule formation.Adult(12-week)C57mice were subjected to mid-shaft osteotomy on femur.The mice were oral administrated with osthole(5,20 or 50mg·kg-1)or vehicle solvent daily from post-operational week 1.Radiographic imaging,real time molecular imaging,micro computed tomography(μCT)and histology analysis were performed to evaluate the healing progress.RESULTS Results showed that osthole promoted osteogenesis of bone marrow MSCs by enhancing ALP activity and mineralization dose dependently in the range of 1-100μmol·L-1.Plain radiographs showed that administration of osthole at 20 and 50 mg·kg-1 significantly accelerated fracture healing by reducing the period of reparative phase.Further investigation withμCT and histology showed that osthole-treated group had high proportion of newly-formed woven bone and smaller cartilage island compare to control group at week 2;and treatment group had completed endochondral ossification and started remodeling phase at week 3.Molecular imaging of near-infrared(NIR)fluorescent labeled palmidronate depositing on newly formed bone suggested that osthole treatment(20 mg·kg-1)augmented callus mineralization process at both postoperative week 2 and week 3 by 80.72% and 25.95% respectively.CONCLUSION Osthole demonstrates significant osteopromotive effect in vitro and anabolic effect on bone formation in fracture repair,which makes it a potential agent for bone regeneration and against osteoporosis.

Effects of Gastrodia elata and Uncaria rhynchophylla water extract on cerebral ischemic rat revealed by LC-FTICR-MS metabolomics approach

OBJECTIVE To study the treatment effect of Gastrodia elata and Uncaria rhynchophylla water extract(GUW)against cerebral ischemia,and the metabolomic profile of cerebrospinal fluid in GUW treated cerebral ischemia in rat model.METHODS Middle cerebral artery occlusion was performed in male SD rat.GUW or control(PBS)was administered orally for 7d post-operationally.At day 7,the brain of the rat was harvested.The infarct volume of the brain was measured after TTC staining.The brain was subjected to H&E and cresyl violet staining in histological analysis.The cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)of another set of animals was aspirated.The CSF samples were labeled with 13 C-dansyl and 12C-dansyl chloride.The reaction mixture was put into liquid chromatography Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry for analysis of the CSF metabolome.Multivariate statistical analysis will be carried out to determine the differences of metabolomic profile in CSF of GUW versus control group.RESULTS After GUW treatment,the neurological deficit score was significantly improved from day 3 to 7(P<0.001).GUW treated group significantly reduced 55.7%infarct volume on MCAO rats in TTC stained brain slices(P<0.001)and preserved brain histological structure observed in H&E and cresyl violet staining.On the other hand,according to various statistical analyses to compare CSF metabolite in the GUW and control group,volcano plot analysis showed 48 metabolites(P<0.001);OPLS-DA analysis showed 129 metabolites(VIP score >2.0)and 45 metabolites in ROC curve analysis.Among identified metabolites,L-aspartic acid(60%)and glycine(62%)decreased in GUW while threoninyl-alanine increased by 1.6 fold significantly.CONCLUSION GUW ameliorated cerebral ischemic injury,and the metabolomic approach may be a potential means to find biomarker of the Chinese medicine treatment on cerebral ischemia.