Comparison of protocatechuic aldchyde in Radix Salvia miitiorrhiza and corresponding pharmacological sera from normal and fibrotic rats by high performance liquid chromatography

AIM： To observe the effect of protocatechuic aldchyde on the proliferation of hepatic stellate cells （HSCs）. METHODS： Liver fibrosis was induced in rats by carbon tetrachloride （CCh）. Then normal and fibrotic drug sera were extracted from rats. The effects of protocatechuic aldchyde, raw Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza and drug sera of Salvia miltiorrhiza on HSC growth were determined by CCKoS. The protocatechuic aldchyde was separated by high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） in a AIItima C18 column （250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm） with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-4% glacial acetic acid solution （gradient elution） at the wavelength of 281 nm. RESULTS： Protocatechuic aldchyde, raw Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza and drug sera of Salvia miltiorrhiza were found to have inhibitory effects on proliferation of rat HSCs. Raw Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza had a stronger inhibitory effect than the drug sera. The fibrotic drug sera showed a higher suppressive effect than the normal drug sera （P 〈 0.05）. Protocatechuic aldchyde was found in crude materials of both Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza and its corresponding drug sera. The average recovery （n = 6） was 110.5% for raw Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge, 102% for normal drug sera and 105.2% for fibrotic drug sera. The relative standard devitation （RSD） was 0.37%, 1.96% and 1.51%, respectively （n=6）. The contents of protocatechuic aldchyde were 0.22%, 0.15% and 0.19%, respectively （n = 6） （P〈 0.05）. The RSD was 0.33%, 0.75% and 1.24% （n=6） for raw material of Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza, normal drug sera and fibrotic drug sera, respectively. The samples were stable for 6 d. CONCLUSION： Protocatechuic aldchyde can inhibit the growth of HSCs. HPLC is suitable for the determination of virtual bioactive components of Chinese herbal medicines in vitro.

Seropharmacological Study on Osteogenic Effects of Post-Absorption Ingredients of An Osteoprotective Herbal Formula

Objective： To further investigate the in vitro effects of an osteoprotective herbal formula ＂ELP＂ （Herba Epimedii, Fructus Ligustri Lucidi and Fructus Psora/eae） using seropharmacological approach. Methods： Rats were fed with ELP or its individual component herbs for 2 days. The serum containing the post-absorbed ingredients of the herbal items were collected for cell culture using UMR106 cell, RAW264.7 cell and mesenchymal stem cell （MSC） isolated from the bone marrow of the rats. The effects of the herbal-containing serum on cell toxicity were detected by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay; bromodeoxyuridine assay was conducted to measure the cell proliferation of UMR106 cell and MSC; cell activity was measured using colorimetric method, and mRNA expression of runt-related transcription factor 2 （Runx2）, alkaline phosphatase （ALP） and osteopontin （OPN） of UMR106 and MSC as well as matrix metalloproteinase 9 （MMP-9）, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase （TRAP） and cathepsin K of RAW264.7 were analyzed using real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results： ELP and its component serum exhibited no cytotoxic effects on the cells. The ELP-containing serum increased the proliferation of UMR106 cell and MSC by 25.7% and 14.4%, respectively and the alkaline phosphatase activity of MSC was increased by 42.6%. On the contrary, it inhibited the RAW264.7 cell differentiation by 29.2%. ELP serum upregulated the Runx2 expression of UMR and MSC by 1.18 fold and 1.27 fold, respectively. It also upregulated ALP and OPN expression in MSC by 1.69- and 2.12-fold, respectively. On the other hand, ELP serum down-regulated MMP-9 and cathepsin K expression of RAW264.7 cell by 0.46- and 0.36-fold, respectively. Conclusions： The serum of the animals fed with ELP contains active ingredients which are effective in promoting osteogenesis and inhibiting osteoclastogenesis.