Advances in Pharmacological Studies of Calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside

The isoflavone compound Calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside (CG) is an active monomer component extracted from the dry roots of the leguminous plant Astragalus mongolicus and Astragalus. It is also one of the main active ingredients in the Astragalus that is a commonly used traditional herb. CG has obvious effects of anti-oxidation, anti-virus, inhibition of melanin formation, and immunosuppression. With the advancement of modern technology, it has become a pivotal subject that the adjuvant therapy or even substitute for the synthetic drug of monomer of Chinese herb in medical field. In recent years, with the deepening of research on the mechanism of action of CG, which has been found that its pharmacological effects are very extensive, such as the anti-tumor effect and the effect on cerebrovascular diseases of CG. This review summarizes the pharmacological effects and the latest research progress of CG.

Calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside stimulates osteoblast differentiation through regulating the BMP/WNT signaling pathways

The iso fl avone calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(CG) is a principal constituent of Astragalus membranaceus(AR) and has been reported to inhibit osteoclast development in vitro and bone loss in vivo. The aim of this study was to investigate the osteogenic effects of CG and its underlying mechanism in ST2 cells. The results show that exposure of cells to CG in osteogenic differentiation medium increases ALP activity, osteocalcin(Ocal) m RNA expression and the osteoblastic mineralization process. Mechanistically, CG treatment increased the expression of bone morphogenetic protein 2(BMP-2), p-Smad 1/5/8, β-catenin and Runx2, all of which are regulators of the BMP- or wingless-type MMTV integration site family(WNT)/β-catenin-signaling pathways. Moreover, the osteogenic effects of CG were inhibited by Noggin and DKK-1 which are classical inhibitors of the BMP and WNT/β-catenin-signaling pathways, respectively. Taken together, the results indicate that CG promotes the osteoblastic differentiation of ST2 cells through regulating the BMP/WNT signaling pathways. On this basis, CG may be a useful lead compound for improving the treatment of bone-decreasing diseases and enhancing bone regeneration.

Research on the quality control technology for the Astragalus membranaceus extraction solution in cosmetics

Calycosin-7-glucoside,which is the target ingredient of the Astragalus membranaceus extraction solution,was studied by the high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector method(HPLC-DAD),and a high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization detector method(HPLC-CAD)was also established for fingerprint chromatogram analysis.Meanwhile,the heavy metal content was tested to build a quality control standard for Astragalus membranaceus extraction solution.Result shows a good linearity in 4-80μg/mL mass concentration range with the correlation coefficient r=0.999,RSD=2.4%,and the recovery rate is between 99.2%-102.7%.The fingerprint chromatogram analysis features with 14 specific peaks,including 5 identified components.The similarity is between 0.485 to 0.995.Content of heavy metals such as lead,mercury,and cadmium are below the detection limit,and the content of arsenic is less than 2 mg/kg.This research results can serve as process optimization basis and quality control standards for Astragalus membranaceus extraction solution,and provide reference to quality control and research guideline for other cosmetics using herbal extracts as raw materials.

HPLC-DAD-MS研究黄芪的化学成分

目的建立HPLC-DAD-MS快速分离分析黄芪Astragali Radix化学成分的方法。方法色谱柱为Thermo Hypersil-Hypurity C18(150 mm×2.1 mm,5μm)分析柱,柱温40℃,流动相水-甲醇(梯度洗脱),体积流量0.25 mL/min。二极管阵列扫描范围200～370 nm。质谱采用大气压化学电离(APCI+)离子源,扫描范围m/z 100～650。结果通过与已有文献报道的质谱、紫外光谱和保留行为比较可以初步定性5个化合物,分别为calycosin-7-O-β-D-glycoside、ononin、calycosin、formononetin、(3R)-7,2′-dihydroxy-3′,4′-dimethoxyisoflavan。结论因为能够同时提供相对分子质量、紫外光谱和保留行为,所以HPLC-DAD-MS是一种分析中药化学成分的有力方法。