Application of Short-wave Near-infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy in Controlling Extract of Fructus Cnidii Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Fructus cnidii （Chinese name shechuangzi） is the fruit produced by Cnidium monnieri （L.） Cusson （Umbelliferae）. It is a perennial herb that is used to treat skin-related diseases and gynecopathyell. Recent pharmacological studies have revealed crude extracts or components isolated from fructus cnidii possess antiallergic, antipruritic, antidermatophytic, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiosteoporotic activities. Osthole and imperatorin are the major compounds present in shechuangzi. They are often used as standards for the evaluation of the quality of shechuangzi products.

Research on the possible molecular mechanism of Fructus cnidii to improve sleep based on network pharmacology

Objective:To study the mechanism of cnidium cnidium improving sleep by network pharmacology.Methods:The active components of Fructus cnidii and the targets of active components were obtained by systematic pharmacology database and analysis platform(TCMSP).With the help of Uniprot database;the corresponding target genes of active components were searched,and the targets related to insomnia were retrieved in drugbank and GeneCards databases.Cytoscape 3.7.2 was used to construct the hypnotic active component-insomnia-target network.String database to build PPI network;On the basis of Metascape database,GO enrichment analysis and KEGG enrichment analysis were carried out to predict the mechanism of action.Results:A total of 19 active compounds such as geranyl lignin,osthole,and omellae were screened from Osthole,55 effective targets were predicted,962 insomnia related targets were screened,and 27 intersection targets for drug insomnia were made.Among them,PTGS1,PIK3CG,GABRA1,CHRM1,CHRM3,ESR1,etc.,may be the key targets of cnidii to improve insomnia.Biological function and pathway enrichment analysis showed that the main active components of Cnidium were involved in chemical synaptic transmission,G-protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway,membrane potential regulation,neurotransmitter transport,monoamine transport,ion transport regulation and other biological processes.Sleep regulation was most likely by regulating Neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction,signaling pathway,Cholinergic synapse,gMP-PKG signaling pathway,it addiction,Serotonergic synapse,and Dopaminergic synapse.Conclusion:The network pharmacology analysis shows that fructus cnidii can improve the characteristics of sleep multi-component,multi-target and multi-pathway,which provides a certain theoretical basis for the research of mechanism of fructus cnidii regulating sleep.

Advances in Research of Identification of Cnidii Fructus and Its Adulterants

In this paper,the traditional identification and modern identification technology of Cnidii Fructus and its adulterant were reviewed,and their advantages,disadvantages and practicability were summarized,to provide a reference for the rapid and accurate identification and quality evaluation of Cnidii Fructus.