The Difference of Chemical Components and Biological Activities of the Crude Products and the Salt-Processed Product from Semen Cuscutae

Semen Cuscutae is a well-known Chinese medicine which has been used to nourish kidney in China for thousands of years. The crude product of semen Cuscutae (CP) and its salt-processed product (SPP) are separately used in clinic for their different effects. The study was designed to investigate the influence of processing from semen Cuscutae on chemical components and biological effects. The principal component analysis and quantitative analysis were used to study the differences of the chemical components. The effects of nourishing kidney were detected to compare the differences between the CP and SPP. The PCA results showed that the obvious separation was achieved in the CP and SPP samples. The results of quantitative analysis showed that quercetin and total flavonoids had significantly increased after salt processing while hyperoside had decreased. The comparison of CP and SPP on biological activities showed that both of them could ameliorate the kidney-yang deficiency syndrome by restoring the level of sex hormone, improving the immune function and antioxidant effect. However, SPP was better in increasing the level of T and the viscera weight of testicle and epididymis, improving the antioxidant effect. The results suggested that salt processing changed its chemical profile, which in turn enhanced its biological activities

Remote substituent effects on gas-phase homolytic Fe-O and Fe-S bond energies of p-G-C6H4OFe(CO)2(5-C5H5) and p-G-C6H4SFe(CO)2(5-C5H5) studied using Hartree-Fock and density functional theory methods

Major State Basic Research Development Program [G2000078100]; Ministry of Science and Technology of China; State Key Laboratory of Elemento-organic Chemistry, Nankai University [201007]; Natural Science Foundation of China [51072093, 91022010]Metal-ligand bond enthalpy data can afford invaluable insights into important reaction patterns in organometallic chemistry and catalysis. In this paper, the Fe-O and Fe-S homolytic bond dissociation energies [Hhomo(Fe-O)'s and Hhomo(Fe-S)'s] of two series of para-substituted phenoxydicarbonyl(5-cyclopentadienyl) iron [p-G-C6H4OFp (1)] and (para-substituted benzenethiolato)dicarbonyl(5-cyclopentadienyl) iron [p-G-C6H4SFp (2)] were studied using Hartree-Fock and density functional theory (DFT) methods with large basis sets. In this study, Fp is (5-C5H5)Fe(CO)2, and G are NO2, CN, COMe, CO2Me, CF3, Br, Cl, F, H, Me, MeO, and NMe2. The results show that DFT methods can provide the best price/performance ratio and accurate predictions of Hhomo(Fe-O)'s and Hhomo(Fe-S)'s. The remote substituent effects on Hhomo(Fe-O)'s and Hhomo(Fe-S)'s [Hhomo(Fe-O)'s and Hhomo(Fe-S)'s] can also be satisfactorily predicted. The good correlations [r=0.98 (g, 1), 0.98 (g, 2)] of Hhomo(Fe-O)'s and Hhomo(Fe-S)'s in series 1 and 2 with the substituent sigma p+ constants imply that the para-substituent effects on Hhomo(Fe-O)'s and Hhomo(Fe-S)'s originate mainly from polar effects, but those on radical stability originate from both spin delocalization and polar effects. Hhomo(Fe-O)'s (1) and Hhomo(Fe-S)'s (2) conform to the captodative principle. Insight from this work may help the design of more effective catalytic processes. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

The Difference of Chemical Components and Biological Activities of the Raw Products slices and the Wine Steam-Processed Product from Cistanche deserticola

As a well-known Chinese herb medicine, the Cistanche deserticola has been used for the treatment of kidney deficiency syndrome in China for thousands of years. Both the raw product of Cistanche deserticola slices (RCD) and its Wine Steam-Processed Product (WSCD) are used clinically for different effects. In this study, the influences of steaming process with wine (SPW) from Cistanche deserticola on chemical compositions and biological effects were investigated. The principal component analysis (PCA) and quantitative analysis were used to study the differences of the chemical compositions. The effects of nourishing kidney were also investigated to compare the differences between the RCD and the WSCD. The PCA results indicated that the obvious separation was achieved in the RCD and WSCD. The results of quantitative analysis showed that the WSCD has higher amounts of total polysaccharides, total PhGs, isoacteoside, and osmanthuside B than RCD, while the content of 2′-acetylacteoside and acteoside decreased after the SPW. The comparison of RCD and WSCD on biological activities showed that both could restore the level of sex hormone in the model of kidney-yang deficiency and improve the antioxidant effect. The WSCD were much better in increasing the viscera weight of kidney and seminal vesicle. The results indicated that SPW changed its chemical components and enhanced its biological activities

Remote substituent effects on gas-phase homolytic Fe-O and Fe-S bond energies of p-G-C6H4OFe(CO)2(η5- C5H5) and p-G-C6H4SFe(CO) 2(η5-C5H5) studied using Hartree-Fock and density functional theory methods

Metal-ligand bond enthalpy data can afford invaluable insights into important reaction patterns in organometallic chemistry and catalysis. In this paper, the Fe-O and Fe-S homolytic bond dissociation energies [ΔH homo(Fe-O)'s and ΔHhomo(Fe-S)'s] of two series of para-substituted phenoxydicarbonyl(η5-cyclopentadienyl) iron [p-G-C6H4OFp (1)] and (para-substituted benzenethiolato)dicarbonyl(η5-cyclopentadienyl) iron [p-G-C 6H4SFp (2)] were studied using Hartree-Fock and density functional theory (DFT) methods with large basis sets. In this study, Fp is (η5-C5H5)Fe(CO)2, and G are NO2, CN, COMe, CO2Me, CF3, Br, Cl, F, H, Me, MeO, and NMe2. The results show that DFT methods can provide the best price/performance ratio and accurate predictions of ΔH homo(Fe-O)'s and ΔHhomo(Fe-S)'s. The remote substituent effects on ΔHhomo(Fe-O)'s and ΔH homo(Fe-S)'s [ΔΔHhomo(Fe-O)'s and ΔΔHhomo(Fe-S)'s] can also be satisfactorily predicted. The good correlations [r = 0.98 (g, 1), 0.98 (g, 2)] of ΔΔH homo(Fe-O)'s and ΔΔHhomo(Fe-S)'s in series 1 and 2 with the substituent σp+ constants imply that the para-substituent effects on ΔHhomo(Fe-O)'s and ΔHhomo(Fe-S)'s originate mainly from polar effects, but those on radical stability originate from both spin delocalization and polar effects. ΔΔHhomo(Fe-O)'s (1) and ΔΔH homo(Fe-S)'s (2) conform to the captodative principle. Insight from this work may help the design of more effective catalytic processes. Copyright ? 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Homotherapy for heteropathy of Alzheimer's disease and anemia through reducing the expression of toll-like receptor and TNF by steamed Panax notoginseng

Background: One of the effects of Steamed Panax notoginsen (SPN) is to replenish blood, which is mostly used to treat anemia in clinic. SPN has the effect of treating anemia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in clinical and basic research. In traditional Chinese medicine, anemia and AD have the same characteristics, and their symptoms are qi and blood deficiency. Methods: First, data analysis was carried out through network pharmacology to predict the action targets of SPN homotherapy in the treatment of AD and anemia. Specifically, TCMSP and relevant literature were used to screen the main active ingredients of Panax notoginseng, and SuperPred was used to predict the action targets of the active ingredients. Disease targets related to AD and anemia were collected through Genecards database, and STRING and protein interaction (PPI) was used for enrichment analysis, Analyze the characteristics of the active ingredient target network on the Cytascape 3.9.0 platform, and use Metascape to enrich the gene ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway Enrichment (KEGG pathway). Then Drosophila was used as the AD animal model, and the effects of SPN on the climbing ability, olfactory memory and brain Aβ, with rats as anemia animal models, the improvement effect of SPN on blood routine and organ index of rats with blood deficiency induced by CTX and APH was analyzed to further explain the therapeutic effect of SPN on these two diseases. Finally, the regulatory effect of SPN on the key active target of allotherapy for AD and anemia was verified by PCR. Results: After the screening, 17 active components and 92 action targets of SPN were obtained. The degree values of components and the first 15 targets are NFKB1, IL10, PIK3CA, PTGS2, SRC, ECFR, CASP3, MTOR, IL1B, ESR1, AKT1, HSP90AA1, IL6, TNF, and Toll-like receptor, it is mainly related to inflammatory response, immune regulation and antioxidation. SPN improved the climbing ability, olfactory memory ability, and Aβ42 content in the brain of Aβ flies, and significantly reduced the expression of TNF and Toll-like receptor in the brain after treatment. SPN can significantly improve the blood routine index and organ index of anemia rats, and also significantly reduce the expression of TNF and Toll-like receptor in the brain after treatment. Conclusion: SPN can regulate the expression of TNF and Toll-like receptor to achieve the same treatment of AD and anemia

Compounds Identification in Semen Cuscutae by Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLCs) Coupled to Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Semen Cuscutae is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine and contains a series of compounds such as flavonoids, chlorogenic acids and lignans. In this study, we identified different kinds of compositions by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (MS). A total of 45 compounds were observed, including 20 chlorogenic acids, 23 flavonoids and 2 lignans. 23 of them are reported for the first time including 6-O-caffeoyl-β-glucose, 3-O-(4′-O-Caffeoylglucosyl) quinic acid, etc. Their structures were established by retention behavior, extensive analyses of their MS spectra and further determined by comparison of their MS data with those reported in the literature. As chlorogenic acids and flavonoids are phenolic compounds that are predominant in Semen Cuscutae, in conclusion, phenolic compounds are the major constituents of Semen Cuscutae

Toxicity and Its Mechanism Study of Arecae semen Aqueous Extract in Wistar Rats by UPLC-HDMS-Based Serum Metabolomics

Background. Arecae semen (AS) is officially recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia and it is known for its multiple functions, including antidepressive, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cholesterol-lowering effects, which have been confirmed by modern pharmacological study. Previous study in our laboratory showed that long-term oral administration of Arecae semen aqueous extract (ASAE) at high dosage was toxic. However, the underlying toxicological mechanism of AS is not yet clear at the biochemistry level. Hypothesis. The aim of this work was to characterize the metabolome, evaluate the metabolic changes, and study the mechanisms of the toxicity induced by different treatment doses of ASAE via metabolomics. Methods. Wistar rats were administered orally two different doses of ASAE (1500 and 4500 mg/kg/d) for 30 days. The investigation was carried out to evaluate the safety of ASAE. And, the UPLC-HDMS-based serum metabolomics in conjunction with multivariate statistical techniques was applied to investigate the serum metabolite profile and potential markers of toxicity induced by different doses of ASAE. Results. Coupled with blood biochemistry and histopathology results, the significant difference in metabolic profiling was observed between 1500 and 4500 mg/kg/d dosages of ASAE-treated rats and normal rats by using pattern recognition analysis, indicating that changes in serum metabolites must have occurred. Some significant changed metabolites such as arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, stearic acid, and LPC (18 : 1) have been found and identified. These biochemical changes in serum metabolites are related to the perturbation of linoleic acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and purine metabolism, which may be helpful to further understand the cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity of ASAE. Conclusion. The study shows that the metabolomic method may be a valuable tool for studying the essence of toxicity induced by traditional Chinese medicine

Identification and Analysis of Amygdalin, Neoamygdalin and Amygdalin Amide in Different Processed Bitter Almonds by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS and HPLC-DAD

Processing is a traditional pharmacy technology based on traditional Chinese medicine theory. The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) ingredients should be processed before being used as a medicine. Processed bitter almonds are widely used in the clinic in TCM for the treatment of cough and asthma. In this work the amygdalin profile of three producing areas in China was determined, with respect to three differently processed bitter almond products: raw, stir-fried and scalded. Identification of the compounds was done by using high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). Results indicated that amygdalin, neoamygdalin and amygdalin amide were identified in the different processed bitter almonds. Meanwhile, amygdalin was used as a standard to calculate the quantification of amygdalin and the concentration ratio of neoamygdalin and total amygdalin by HPLC-DAD. The data suggested that composition of amygdalin isomers in bitter almonds was influenced by the processing method. It also gives a new understanding of the processing principle of bitter almonds. Moreover, the classification of different processed bitter almonds can be achieved on the basis of amygdalin isomers levels