动物药水蛭高温炮制的科学合理性

动物药主要含蛋白质,蛋白质是具有四级结构的有机大分子,具有热变性的属性,在高温条件下持续作用时,蛋白易变性而致其生物活性丧失、某些理化性质和生物化学性质改变。水蛭是经典的破血逐瘀类动物药。炮制入药历史悠久,其传统的炮制方法,无论是《中国药典》收载的滑石粉烫炒法还是北京地区的特色炮制工艺酒炙法,基本都需要高温处理,其炮制目的多局限于当时技术条件。该文从水蛭现有炮制工艺及其特点出发,对高温炮制前后水蛭的主要活性成分与药理活性的变化进行总结,分析结果表明高温炮制会使水蛭中的蛋白质变性;活性多肽水蛭素会被部分或完全破坏;炮制过程会使水蛭中铅(Pb)、汞(Hg)、镉(Cd)等有毒无机元素含量下降;加热也会促使水蛭中某些物质转化为具有降压、平喘、镇痛作用的次黄嘌呤,进而实现减毒和缓和药性的目的。高温对水蛭药理活性的影响主要表现在抗凝活性、抗血栓活性等方面。该文在了解动物药水蛭炮制研究现状的同时,对水蛭高温炮制科学合理性未来的研究手段和研究方向提出思考。

Review on scientific connotation of leech processed under high temperature

Animal medicines mainly contain protein which was organic molecule with quaternary structure and had the property of thermal denaturation. When suffering from heat for a consistent time, the native conformation of protein would be destroyed. After denaturation the biological activity of protein will lose and some physicochemical and biochemical properties will be changed. Leech was a classical animal medicine in the views of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) which had the functions of breaking stagnant and eliminating blood stasis. In the usage history, it was processed for a long time. No matter stir-frying leech with talc powder embodied in Chinese Pharmacopoeia or stir-baking with wine as a distinctive method in Beijing district, the process procedure was basically performed under high temperature. The purposes and intentions of process are mostly limited to technology conditions at specific historical period. In this article, based on existing processing procedure and its character of Leech, the changes of active components and pharmacological activities before and after processing under high temperature were summarized. The results demonstrate that the protein of leech would be denaturated; some active peptide such as hirudin were partly or totally destroyed; some toxic mineral elements, such as Pb, Hg, Cd, were decreased; at the same time, heating can promote some chemical components transforming into hypoxanthine which had the function of antihypertensive, antiasthmatic and antalgic. Consequently, after processed under high temperature, the purpose of decreasing toxicity and alleviating the strong property was achieved. Pharmacological changes of leech processed under high temperature were mainly manifested in the anticoagulant and antithrombotic activity, etc. Based on current processing research status about animal medicine leech, future research methods and directions on scientific connotation of leech processed under high temperature were put forward in this article.