Optimization of extraction process for total flavonoids of Sophorae Flos for the treatment of hyperlipidemia based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of action of Sophora Flos(SF)in the treatment of hyperlipidemia(HLP)using network pharmacology and molecular docking methods,and to optimize the extraction process of the predicted active components.The STRING database was used for protein interaction analysis and PPI network construction via Cytoscape 3.9.1.Pymol was employed for docking and visualization.An extensive review of SF identifi ed 6 active ingredients,297 related objectives,84 disease objectives,and 57 total objectives.After protein interaction and topology analysis,18 core targets were identified.These included 146 gene function entries(P<0.05).Active compounds,mainly flavonoids,can modulate the expression of various proteins such as TNF,IL-6,IL-1β,PPARG,and TGFB1 to achieve therapeutic effects on HLP.The network pharmacology and molecular docking results suggested that the active fl avonoids component in SF may be related to the treatment of hyperlipidemia.Therefore,the orthogonal experiment method was used to optimize the extraction process of total fl avonoid from SF using ethanol refl ux extraction,based on a single factor experiment.The effects of refl ux time,solid-liquid ratio,ethanol concentration,and other factors on the extraction of total fl avonoid from SF were investigated.The optimum process conditions were refl ux time of 1.25 h,solid-liquid ratio of 1:15 g/mL and ethanol concentration of 60%.Using these conditions,the purity of total fl avonoid extracted from SF was 70.33±0.22%.

Microwave-assisted Extraction of Rutin and Quercetin from Flos Sophorae

Three microwave-assisted extraction(MAE) procedures were studied. The first procedure was household microwave oven dynamic extraction(HMODE). The second procedure was special microwave oven bath extraction(SMOBE). The third procedure was microwave resonant cavity dynamic extraction(MRCDE). The results obtained by the three microwave-assisted extraction procedures were compared with those obtained by using traditional Soxhlet extraction. The results indicate that the MAE not only took a shorter time, but also simplified the procedure, and made the extraction a higher yield. At the same time the results obtained by the three MAE procedures were also compared with each other.

Optimization of Extraction Process of Quercetin from Flos Sophorae Immaturus Using Orthogonal Design

[Objectives]This study aimed to optimize the ultrasonic-assisted extraction process of quercetin from Flos Sophorae Immaturus.[Methods]The natural product quercetin in Flos Sophorae Immaturus was extracted by ultrasonic-assisted method,and the content of quercetin in the extract was determined by ultraviolet spectrophotometry.The effect of ethanol concentration,solid/liquid ratio,temperature,time and ultrasonic power on the yield of quercetin in Flos Sophorae Immaturus was investigated by using single-factor experiments.Based on the results of single-factor experiments,an orthogonal experiment was designed to optimize the extraction process.The experimental data obtained were subjected to range analysis,analysis of variance and SSR test using SPSS 20.0 software to obtain the optimal extraction process.The results concluded were verified.[Results]The optimal ultrasonic-assisted extraction process for quercetin in Flos Sophorae Immaturus was as follows:temperature of 85℃,time of 30 min,solid/liquid ratio of 1∶20 g/mL,ethanol concentration of 50%.Under the optimal extraction conditions,the yield of quercetin in Flos Sophorae Immaturus was the highest.[Conclusions]This study provides a theoretical basis for the application of quercetin in Flos Sophorae Immaturus.

Optimization of the Extraction Process of Rutin from Flos Sophorae by Orthogonal Experiments

[Objectives]This study was conducted to optimize the extraction process of rutin in Flos Sophorae.[Methods]With the percentage content of rutin extracted from Flos Sophorae as the evaluation index and rutin as the reference substance,the content of rutin in Flos Sophorae extracted ultrasonically was determined by high performance liquid chromatography.L_(9)(3^(4))orthogonal experiments were carried out to optimize the three factors(solvent concentration,material-to-liquid ratio,extraction time)that affect the effect of ultrasonic extraction of rutin from Flos Sophorae.[Results]The extraction effect of the crude medicinal powder was best with the methanol concentration of 80%,the ratio of material to liquid at 0.1∶30,and the extraction time of 40 min.[Conclusions]This study provides a reference for optimizing the extraction process of rutin in Flos Sophorae.

Chemical composition and pharmacological properties of Flos sophorae immaturus, Flos sophorae and Fructus sophorae: a review

The flower buds and fruits of Sophora japonica are known as Flos sophorae immaturus(Chinese Huaimi,FSI),Flos sophorae(Chinese Huaihua,FLS)and Fructus sophorae(Chinese Huaijiao,FRS)due to their different physiological forms.FSI and FLS are precious resources of homology of medicine and food,while FRS is a valuable Chinese herb,and all of which have been used for thousands of years.There are great differences in the active ingredients,functions and toxicological properties of FSI,FLS and FRS.However,they are often confused and assumed to have fairly similar validity,which is detrimental to their precision development of resources of homology of medicine and food.This review summarized the active constituents,analytical techniques and pharmacological properties of FSI,FLS and FRS,then systematically compared their differences.The article will help people better understand and distinguish the differences and characteristics of FSI,FLS and FRS in bioactive constituents,content of functional components and pharmacological properties,which can contribute to their highly efficient targeted applications in the future food and medical fields.

Comparative study on rare earth elements from Flos Sophorae and Fructus Sophorae

Flos Sophorae and Fructus Sophorae are two kinds of traditional Chinese medicines. In this work, the two kinds of traditional Chinese medicines collected from eleven areas of Dezhou, were analyzed by inductively couple plasma-mass spectrometry （ICP-MS） to compare the content and distribution of 14 kinds of rare earth elements （REEs）. The method was verified by analyzing GBW07605 certified reference material. The results showed that ICP-MS is an accurate, sensitive and reliable technique for determining REEs in traditional Chinese medicine. There were big differences in contents for REEs in Flos Sophorae and Fmctus Sophorae from different areas. The contents of total REEs in Flos Sophorae samples from different areas ranged from 1.0785 to 2.2659 μg/g, while those in Fmctus Sophorae from 0.6826 to 1.0527 ktg/g. The contents of total REEs in Flos Sophorae samples from different areas were obviously higher than those in Fmctus Sophorae of the same area and there was big difference between various Flos Sophorae samples. Interestingly, the higher the content of total REEs in Flos Sophorae samples, the lower the content of total REEs in Fmctus Sophorae samples of the same area. The plots of normalized element concentration versus atomic number showed some characteristic distribution trends. The distribution trend of light REEs （La-Gd） was relatively fiat except a positive Eu anomaly, however, that was steep and discrepant for heavy REEs （Tb-Lu）. The results could provide a valuable reference for understanding the relationship between the curative mechanism, pharmacology characteristics and their geological condition for the two traditional Chinese medicines investigated.

In vitro xanthine oxidase inhibitory properties of Flos Sophorae Immaturus and potential mechanisms

Flos Sophorae Immaturus (FSI) possessed potential xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitory activity as a uric acid-lowing natural product.The present work identified and quantified the free and bound polyphenols of FSI by UPLC-QTOF-MS.Then determined the primary polyphenols with XO inhibitory effect and clarified their potential mechanisms by omission experiment,interaction assay,inhibition type,and fluorescence measurements.The results revealed that nine polyphenols were detected in the free polyphenol extract and ten polyphenols were detected in the bound polyphenol extract.Meanwhile,seven polyphenols were identified as XO inhibitors,including quercetin,kaempferol,isorhamnetin,rutin,hyperoside,protocatechuic acid,and quercitrin with the IC50 values of 0.03,0.11,0.07,5.62,11.48,22.13,and 367.82 mg/mL,but their inhibition stability was lower than 24 h.Although the content of quercetin (18.87 mg/g) was not the highest,it played a crucial role to the XO inhibitory effect of FSI.Furthermore,kaempferol and isorhamnetin alone revealed the sub-additive effect with quercetin,while the combination of other polyphenols with quercetin generated the interference or antagonism effects.Quercetin,isorhamnetin,and kaempferol were mixed-type and competitive inhibitors,which significantly quenched the fluorescence intensity of XO.Moreover,the binding processes of quercetin-XO,kaempferol-XO,and isorhamnetin-XO were spontaneous and endothermic,and the hydrophobic interaction was the key driving force.In general,quercetin,kaempferol,and isorhamnetin in FSI can be used as potential XO inhibitors.