Quinoline alkaloids isolated from Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans

Objective To study the quinoline alkaloids from the ethanol extract of Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans (SSM). Methods The chemical constituents were isolated and purified by macroporous resin column, medium pressure preparation chromatography, and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were elucidated by IR, MS, and NMR experiments. Results Three quinolone alkaloids were obtained and identified as 3-hydroxy-4-methoxyquinolin-8-yl hydrogen sulfate (1), jineol-8-sulfate (2), and jineol (3), respectively. Conclusion Compound 1 is a new compound from SSM.     

In vitro anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of aqueous extract from Persian Oak testa

Objective: Growing problem of antibiotic resistance in Helicobacter pylori, as a common cause of chronic gastritis and even stomach cancer, demands searching for novel candidates of herbal sources. This study is aimed at assessing the antimicrobial activity of aqueous extract obtained from Quercus brantii var. persica seed coat(Testa) on H. pylori isolated from gastric biopsy specimens.Methods: Such specimens were collected from 100 patients presenting with endoscopic gastroduodenal findings. Testa extracts were prepared from Persian Oak forests in the province of Kohgiluyeh and BoyerAhmad, IRAN. H. pylori isolates were obtained by a series of standard bacteriology tests and cell culture,then were confirmed by PCR. The activity of testa extracts towards 25 H. pylori isolates was assessed by well diffusion method, microdilution assay, and a disk diffusion assay in vitro. Results were analyzed statistically by one-way ANOVA analysis.Results: Aqueous extract of testa demonstrated an antimicrobial activity with zone diameters of inhibition ranged from 0 mm to 40 mm. Its inhibitory activity increased simultaneously with increasing extract concentration. The lowest MIC and MBC were both recorded as 2 μg/m L. Anti-H. pylori activity of testa extract was approximately close to tetracycline and metronidazole and less than amoxicillin. A potent extract of testa possessed significant inhibitory activity(P 0.05).Conclusion: Testa extract is suggested as a natural therapeutic source against the gastric H. pylori infection. However, evaluating the in vivo activity of this extract is necessary too.     

Monosaccharide analysis and fingerprinting identification of polysaccharides from Poria cocos and Polyporus umbellatus by HPLC combined with chemometrics methods

Objective: Poria cocos and Polyporus umbellatus are similar medicinal fungi in traditional Chinese medicines. A method for fingerprint analysis of monosaccharide composition of polysaccharides by HPLC combined with chemometrics methods has been developed for characterization and discrimination of them in this research. Methods: The polysaccharides were extracted by decocting in water, and then completely hydrolyzed with hydrochloride. Monosaccharides in the hydrolyzates were derivatized with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) for HPLC analysis. More than 20 batches of P. cocos and P. umbellatus from different regions were analyzed. Results: The fingerprints of P. cocos showed five common characteristic peaks, which were identified by comparing with the reference substances. The five peaks corresponded to the derivatives of mannose, ribose, glucose, galactose, and fucose. At the same time, the fingerprints of P. umbellatus showed eight common characteristic peaks, of which seven were identified as the derivatives of mannose, ribose, rhamnose, glucose, galactose, xylose, and fucose. Moreover, the similarity of their fingerprints was respectively calculated by the Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of TCM published by China Pharmacopoeia Committee (Version 2004A). And the data were further processed by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). The similarity evaluation and HCA indicated that there were no significant difference in P. cocos or P. umbellatus samples from different geographical regions, but PCA was performed to characterize the difference in monosaccharide constituents between P. cocos and P. umbellatus, and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) showed the overall correct classification rate was 100%. Conclusion: The fingerprint analysis method of monosaccharide composition of water-soluble polysaccharides can distinguish Poria cocos and Polyporus umbellatus, and can be applied for the authentication or quality control for Poria cocos and Polyporus umbellatus.     

Gynura procumbens aqueous extract alleviates nonalcoholic steatohepatitis through CFLAR-JNK pathway in vivo and in vitro

Objective: The present work was to investigate the protective effects of the aqueous extract of Gynura procumbens(GPAE) against nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH) in mice and NCTC-1469 cells.Methods: C57 BL/6 J mice were fed with methionine and choline-deficient(MCD) diet and administered simultaneously with GPAE(500 and 1000 mg/kg/d, respectively) by gavage for six weeks. The biomarkers of NASH in serum and liver were determined. NCTC-1469 cells were pretreated with 0.25 mmol/L palmitic acid(PA) plus 0.5 mmol/L oleic acid(OA) for 24 h or treated with adenovirus expressing short-hairpin RNA against CFLAR(Ad-sh CFLAR) for 24 h and then treated with GPAE(80 and 160 μg/m L, respectively)for 24 h, and the content of cellular biomarkers of NASH was detected.Results: In mice treated with MCD, GPAE could decrease the levels of serum ALT, AST, the content of hepatic TG, TC and MDA, repress the activities and protein expression of CYP2 E1 and CYP4 A and the phosphorylation of JNK, increase the activities of HO-1, CAT and GSH-Px, up-regulate the m RNA expression of PPARα, FABP5, CPT1α, ACOX, SCD-1, mGPAT, MTTP and the protein expression of CFLAR and NRF2.In NCTC-1469 cells treated with PA and OA, GPAE could decrease the content of cellular TG and ROS, promote the uptake of 2-NBDG, up-regulate the protein expression of CFLAR and NRF2. In NCTC-1469 cells treated with Ad-sh CFLAR, GPAE up-regulated the mRNA and protein expression of CFLAR, down-regulated the phosphorylation of JNK, and increased the protein expression of NRF2 and p IRS1.Conclusion: These results indicated that the activation on CFLAR-JNK pathway might be the main antiNASH mechanism of GPAE, which on the one hand promote the β-oxidation and efflux of fatty acids in liver, and finally reduce hepatic lipid accumulation, on the other hand increase the activities of antioxidant enzymes and inhibit the activities of ROS generation enzymes by activating NRF2, and therefore attenuates hepatic oxidative stress damage.