Bioactivities of major constituents isolated from Angelica sinensis (Danggui)

Danggui, also known as Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (Apiaceae), has been used in Chinese medicine to treat menstrual disorders. Over 70 compounds have been isolated and identified from Danggui. The main chemical constituents of Angelica roots include ferulic acid, Z-ligustilide, butylidenephthalide and various polysaccharides. Among these compounds, ferulic acid exhibits many bioactivities especially anti-inflammatory and immunostimulatory effects; Z-ligustilide exerts anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, neuroprotective and anti-hepatotoxic effects; n-butylidenephthalide exerts anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-cardiovascular effects

Isolation and identification of bioactive compounds in Andrographis paniculata (Chuanxinlian)

Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees (Acanthaceae) is a medicinal plant used in many countries. Its major constituents are diterpenoids, flavonoids and polyphenols. Among the single compounds extracted from A. paniculata, andrographolide is the major one in terms of bioactive properties and abundance. Among the andrographolide analogues, 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide is immunostimulatory, anti-infective and anti-atherosclerotic; neoandrographolide is anti-inflammatory, anti-infective and anti-hepatotoxic; 14-deoxyandrographolide is immunomodulatory and anti-atherosclerotic. Among the less abundant compounds from A. paniculata, andrograpanin is both anti-inflammatory and anti-infective; 14-deoxy-14,15-dehydroandrographolide is anti-inflammatory; isoandrographolide, 3,19-isopropylideneandrographolide and 14-acetylandrographolide are tumor suppressive; arabinogalactan proteins are anti-hepatotoxic. The four flavonoids from A. paniculata, namely 7-O-methylwogonin, apigenin, onysilin and 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid are anti-atherosclerotic

Inhibitory Effects of Ethyl Acetate Extract of Andrographis paniculata on NF-κB Trans-Activation Activity and LPS-Induced Acute Inflammation in Mice

This study was to investigate anti-inflammatory effect of Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees (Acanthaceae) (AP). The effects of ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extract from AP on the level of inflammatory mediators were examined first using nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) driven luciferase assay. The results showed that AP significantly inhibited NF-κB luciferase activity and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) and nitric oxide (NO) secretions from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/interferon-γ stimulated Raw264.7 cells. To further evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of AP in vivo, BALB/c mice were tube-fed with 0.78 (AP1), 1.56 (AP2), 3.12 (AP3) and 6.25 (AP4) mg kg−1 body weight (BW)/day in soybean oil, while the control and PDTC (pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, an anti-inflammatory agent) groups were tube-fed with soybean oil only. After 1 week of tube-feeding, the PDTC group was injected with 50 mg kg−1 BW PDTC and 1 h later, all of the mice were injected with 15 mg kg−1 BW LPS. The results showed that the AP1, AP2, AP3 and PDTC groups, but not AP4, had significantly higher survival rate than the control group. Thus, the control, AP1, AP2, AP3 and PDTC groups were repeated for in vivo parameters. The results showed that the AP and PDTC groups had significantly lower TNF-α, IL-12p40, MIP-2 or NO in serum or peritoneal macrophages and infiltration of inflammatory cells into the lung of mice. The AP1 group also had significantly lower MIP-2 mRNA expression in brain. This study suggests that AP can inhibit the production of inflammatory mediators and alleviate acute hazards at its optimal dosages

Role of hepatitis B surface antigen in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma: regulation of lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are around 350 million of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers worldwide, and among them, high risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been identified by epidemiological studies. To date, the molecular role of HBsAg in HCC development has not been fully studied. We have previously reported that in cell cultures, HBsAg up-regulated the expression of lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 (LEF-1), a key component of the <it>Wnt </it>pathway. In this study we aimed to study this effect of HBsAg on LEF-1 in the development of HCC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Expression of HBsAg, LEF-1 and its downstream effector genes were compared among 30 HCCs, their peritumor tissue counterparts and 9 normal control liver tissues by quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, immunohistochemical staining studies on HBsAg and LEF-1 expression were conducted among these samples.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The expression of LEF-1 was compared between 13 HBsAg positive HCC tissues and 17 HBsAg negative HCC tissues. Simultaneous detection of LEF-1 and HBsAg was observed in HBsAg positive HCC tissues and, additionally, the simultaneous detection of HBsAg and LEF-1 was more pronounced in peritumor tissues, compared to that in the tumor tissues. The distribution of cellular LEF-1 in peritumor tissues was predominantly in the cytoplasm; while LEF-1 in the tumor tissues was located either exclusively in the nucleus or both in the nucleus and cytoplasm. By real-time PCR, the expression levels of LEF-1 downstream effector genes <it>cyclin D1 </it>and <it>c-myc </it>were higher in peritumor cells compared to that of the tumor cells. However, a 38 kDa truncated isoform of LEF-1, rather than the 55 kDa wild-type LEF-1, was significantly elevated in the HBsAg positive tumor cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Data indicate that deregulation of the <it>Wnt </it>pathway by HBsAg occurred in HBV-associated HCCs, but was more pronounced in the peritumor cells. It is speculated that HBsAg could stimulate proliferation and functional modification of hepatocytes via LEF-1 through the <it>Wnt </it>pathway at the pre-malignant stage.</p