Effect of Dandelion Extracts on the Proliferation of Ovarian Granulosa Cells and Expression of Hormone Receptors

Background： In the current society, infertility related to age has become a social problem. The in vitro fertilization （IVF） success rate in women with poor ovarian response （POR） is very low. Dandelion extract T-1 （DE-T1） is an effective component of the extract from the leaves and stems of Traxacum officinale, which is one of the medicines used in some patients with POR, but its molecular mechanism remains unclear. Methods： Following IVF, ovarian granulosa cells （GCs） of sixty patients were extracted and divided into normal ovarian response （NOR） and POR groups. GCs were cultured in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner with DE-TI, proliferation of GCs was determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, and mRNA levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor （IGF-1R）, luteotropic hormone receptor （LHR）, follicle-stimulating hormone receptor （FSHR）, LHR, and CYP19A1 （aromatase） were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Progesterone and estradiol （E2） concentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results： The cell viability gradually increased with the progressive increase in the DE-T1 concentration. Compared with the control group （without DE-T1）, the mRNA expressions of FSHR, LHR, IGF-IR, and CYPIgAI were upregulated after the addition of DE-T l, especially in the 2.5% DE-T 1 group （P 〈 0.01 ）. The expression of IGF- 1R was upregulated approximately 25 times （24.97 ± 4.02 times） in the POR group with 2.5% DE-T1. E2 and progesterone levels increased with the increasing DE-T1 concentration. There were highly significant differences in the E2 and progesterone secretion between the NOR and POR groups （P 〈 0.01）. Conclusion： DE-TI may promote steroid hormone synthesis by promoting GC proliferation and upregulating GC receptor expression, thereby improving ovarian endocrine function.

Effective anti-inflammatory phenolic compounds from dandelion:identification and mechanistic insights using UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS,fluorescence quenching and anisotropy,molecular docking and dynamics simulation

This novel study identifi es the effective anti-inflammatory phenolic compounds in dandelion and provides mechanistic insights into their interactions with receptor proteins(toll-like receptor 4,TLR4;co-receptor myeloid differentiation protein-2,MD-2)using UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS,lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-stimulated THP-1 cell line,fluorescence quenching and anisotropy,molecular docking(single ligand and multi-ligand docking)and molecular dynamics simulation.A 50%aqueous methanol extract had a greater anti-inflammatory effect and higher chicoric acid content,compared with the 100%water and 100%methanol extracts.Chicoric acid,chlorogenic acid,methylophiopogonone A,caffeic acid,gallic acid monohydrate and 4’-O-demethylbroussonin A had relatively high binding energies and contents in all extracts.Chicoric acid competed with chlorogenic acid,4’-O-demethylbroussonin A and quercetin for MD-2.Among dandelion’s phenolics,chicoric acid most effectively hindered TLR4-MD-2 complex formation,with a quenching constant of 0.62×10^(6) L/mol for MD-2 or TLR4 at 320 K,and binding energies of-6.87 and-5.97 kcal/mol,respectively,for MD-2 and TLR4.

Effects of Dandelion Extract on the Proliferation of Rat Skeletal Muscle Cells and the Inhibition of a Lipopolysaccharide-lnduced Inflammatory Reaction

Background： Dandelion is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine with several active compounds found in extracts. It has a variety of pharmacological effects, such as a reduction in swelling and inflammation, and detoxification. The mechanism by which dandelion extract inhibits the inflammatory response in skeletal muscle cells remains unknown; therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dandelion extract root on the proliferation of skeletal muscle cells and the alleviation of lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-induced inflammatory response in vitro. Methods： Rat skeletal muscle cells were isolated from Sprague-Dawley rat and cultured in vitro which were cultured in basal medium, or medium containing LPS or dandelion extract. Cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） was employed to measure cell proliferation; meanwhile, the optimal concentration of dandelion extract and treatment time were selected. Crystal violet staining was used to detect the proliferation of muscle cells. Western blotting analysis was used to detect the levels of inflammatory factors, myogenic factor, and p-AKT protein expression. Results： The optimal concentration and treatment time of dandelion extract for the following study were 5 mg/ml and 4 days, respectively. Dandelion extract was found to increase proliferation of rat skeletal muscle cells （t = 3.145, P 〈 0.05）, with the highest effect observed at 5 mg/ml. LPS was found to decrease proliferation of skeletal muscle cells （t = -131.959, P 〈 0.001）, and dandelion extract could against this affection （t = 19.466, P 〈 0.01）. LPS could induce expression of inflammatory factors, including interleukin （IL）-16, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α （IL-16： t = 9.118, P 〈 0.01; IL-6： t = 4.346, P 〈 0.05; TNF-α： t = 15.806, P 〈 0.05）, and dandelion extract was shown to reduce LPS-induced expression of IL- 16, IL-6 and TNF-α （IL-I 6： t = -2.823, P 〈 0.05; IL-6： t = -3.348, P 〈 0.01; and TNF-α： t = -3.710, P 〈 0.01）. Furthermore, LPS was also shown to decrease expression of myogenic factor, including myod 1 and myogenin （MyoDl： t = 4.039, P 〈 0：05 and myogenin： t = 3.300, P 〈 0.01）, but dandelion extract was shown to against this effect of LPS （MyoD 1： t = -3.160, P 〈 0.05 and myogenin： t = -3.207, P 〈 0.01 ）. And then, LPS was found to increase expression of p-AKT protein （p-AKT/AKT： t = 4.432, P 〈 0.05）. Moreover, expression of p-AKT protein was found to decrease, with 5 mg/ml of dandelion extract （p-AKT/AKT： t = -3.618, P 〈 0.05）. Conclusions： The findings indicate that dandelion extract plays an important role in skeletal muscle cells viability regulation, promote cells proliferation by increasing level of p-AKT protein expression, and reduce LPS-induced expression of inflammatory factors, inhibiting the inflammatory response of rat skeletal muscle cells.

Ethanolic extract of dandelion(Taraxacum mongolicum) induces estrogenic activity in MCF-7 cells and immature rats

Plants of the genus Taraxacum, commonly known as dandelions, are used to treat breast cancer in traditional folk medicine. However, their use has mainly been based on empirical findings without sufficient scientific evidence. Therefore, we hypothesized that dandelions would behave as a Selective estrogen receptor modulator （SERM） and be effective as hormone replacement therapy （HRT） in the postmenopausal women. In the present study, in vitro assay systems, including cell proliferation assay, reporter gene assay, and RT-PCR to evaluate the mRNA expression of estrogen-related genes （pS2 and progesterone receptor, PR）, were performed in human breast cancer cells. Dandelion ethanol extract （DEE） significantly increased cell proliferation and estrogen response element （ERE）-driven luciferase activity. DEE significantly induced the expression of estrogen related genes such as pS2 and PR, which was inhibited by tamoxifen at 1 gmol L-1. These results indicated that DEE could induce estrogenic activities mediated by a classical estrogen receptor pathway. In addition, immature rat uterotrophic assay was carried out to identify estrogenic activity of DEE in vivo. The lowest concentration of DEE slightly increased the uterine wet weight, but there was no significant effect with the highest concentration of DEE. The results demonstrate the potential estrogenic activities of DEE, providing scientific evidence supporting their use in traditional medicine.