China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica, the 1st in the field of TCM, is supervised by China Association for Science and Technology and sponsored by Institute of Chinese Pharmaceutical Association. The journal is China's earliest comprehensive core journal of traditional Chinese medicine, and always maintains the circulation top in the professional areas. The journal publishes the latest research and progress of traditional Chinese medicine and takes a leading position in numbers of articles published, downloads and citations among all journals in this discipline.
Its scope covers new achievements, technologies, methods, experiences and concepts resulting from the research on Chinese materia medica pursuant to Chinese medical and pharmaceutical theories, traditional experiences, and modern science and technology, including medicinal resources and identification, cultivation, processing, preparation, chemistry, pharmacology, theory of Chinese pharmacy and clinical practice, bencaological study.
The journal is included in CA, JST and CSCD.
Honorary Editor-in-Chief Xiao Peigen Editor-in-Chief Wang Yongyan
Associate Editors Zhang Boli, Hu Zhibi, Yao Xinsheng, Li Lianda, Li Dapeng, Yang Baofeng, Zhou Chaofan, Huang Luqi, Chen Shilin, Li He.
Executive Editorial Board Cai Shaoqing, Chen Shilin
This project is to investigate lignans from the seed of
Hydnocarpus anthelminthica. Thirteen lignans were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of the seed of
H.
anthelminthica, by polyamide resin, Sephadex LH-20, ODS column chromatography and preparative HPLC. Their structures were elucidated as (+)-syringaresinol (
1), lirioresinol A (
2), (+)-medioresinol (
3), (7
R,8
R,8′
R)-4′-guaiacylglyceryl-evofolin B (
4), leptolepisol C (
5), (-)-(7
R,7′
R,7″
R,8
S,8′
S,8″
S)-4′,4″-dihydroxy-3,3′,3″,5,5′,5″-hexamethoxy-7,9′: 7′,9-diepoxy-4,8″-oxy-8,8′-sesquineolignan-7″,9″-diol (
6), (-)-(7
R,7′
R,7″
R,8
S,8′
S,8″
S)-4′,4″-dihydroxy-3,3′,3″,5,5′-pentamethoxy-7,9′: 7′,9-diepoxy-4,8″-oxy-8,8′ses-quineolignan-7″,9″-diol (
7), ceplignan (
8), hydnocarpusol (
9), isohydnocarpin (
10), (-)-hydnocarpin (
11), hydnocarpin (
12), and hydnocarpin-D (
13) by spectroscopic data analysis. Compounds 1–8 were obtained from the genus
Hydnocarpus for the first time.
This research aims to develop a UHPLC method, based on core-shell column (i.e., superficially porous particles), for simultaneous determination of eight isoflavonoids including formononetin, (6
αR,11
αR)-3-hydroxy-9,10-dimethoxypterocarpan, calycosin-7-
O-β-D-glucopyranoside, (3
R)-7,2-dihydroxy-3,4-dimethoxyisoflavone, calycosin, ononin, (6
αR,11
αR)-9,10-dimethoxypterocarpan-3-
O-β-D-glucopyranoside, and (3
R)-7,2-dihydroxy-3,4-dimethoxyisoflavan-7-
O-β-D-glucopyranoside in Astragali Radix. The analysis was performed on an Agilent Poroshell EC-C
18 column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 2.7 μm) with 0.2% formic acid solution (A)-acetonitrile (B) as mobile phase for gradient elution. The flow rate was 0.5 mL·min
−1, with column temperature of 40 °C and the wavelengths were set at 260 and 280 nm. According to the results, all calibration curves showed good linearity (
R2 > 0.999 8) within the tested concentration ranges. Both the intra- and inter-day precisions for eight isoflavonoids were less than 0.80%, with the mean recovery at the range of 94.71%–104.6%. Thus, the newly developed UHPLC method using core-shell column owned the advantages in terms of rapid analysis, low column pressure and less solvent consumption, thus enabling the usage of conventional HPLC systems. Meanwhile, the quantitative evaluation was carried out for 22 batches of commercial Astragali Radix. It has been found that great variations occurred for the content of the individual isoflavonoids among different batches; in contrast, the total content of total eight isoflavonoids (> 0.1%) was stable in most samples, indicating that it was reasonable to involve all isoflavonoids as the chemical markers for the quality control of Astragali Radix.
To determine the plasma protein binding rate of the nine compounds in
Inula cappa extract by the method of equilibrium dialysis. The proteins in plasma samples were precipitated by methanol, and the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed for determination of the concentrations of the nine active compounds, namely chlorogenic acid, scopolin, neochlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, 1,3-
O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, galuteolin, 3,4-
O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-
O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 4,5-
O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, with the internal standard of puerarin. We found that all components have a good linearity (
r ≥ 0.999), and accuracy, precision, extraction recovery and stability conformed to the requirements of determination, without endogenous compounds disturbing within the range of optimum concentration. This suggested that the method was stable and reliable, and could be used for the determination of the plasma protein binding rates of the nine active compounds in rat and human plasma of
I.
cappa. The plasma protein binding rates of the nine active compounds in rat and human plasma respectively were (41.07 ± 0.046)%–(94.95 ± 0.008)%, and (37.66 ± 0.043)%–(97.46 ± 0.013)%. According to the results, there were differences in the plasma protein binding rates of the nine compounds in
I.
cappa extraction between rat and human.
In this study, the synthetic pathway of
β-amyrin was constructed in the pre-constructed
Saccharomyces cerevisiae chassis strain Y0 by introducing
β-amyrin synthase from
Glycyrrhiza uralensis, resulting strain
Y1-
C20-6, leading to a yield of
β-amyrin up to 5.97 mg·L
−1. Subsequently, the mevalonate pyrophosphate decarboxylase gene (
ERG19), mevalonate kinase gene (
ERG12), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase gene (
ERG13), phosphomevalonate kinase gene (
ERG8) and IPP isomerase gene (
IDI1) were overexpressed to promote the metabolic flux toward the synthesis of
β-amyrin synthesis to further improve
β-amyrin production, resulting the strain Y2-C2-4 with a yield of
β-amyrin of 10.3 mg·L
−1 in shake flask fermentation. This is 1-fold higher than that of strain Y1-C20-6, suggesting the advantage of the metabolic engineering strategy applied in this study. The titer of
β-amyrin was further improved to 157.4 mg·L
−1 in fed-batch fermentation, which was almost 26-fold of that produced by strain Y1-C20-6. This study not only laid foundation for the biosynthesis of
β-amyrin but also provided a favorable chassis strain for elucidation of cytochrome oxidases and glycosyltransferases of
β-amyrin-based triterpenoids.
To predict the targets of active ingredients of Kuihua Hugan Tablets by network pharmacology, and explore the “multi-component-multi-target-multi-pathway” hepatoprotective mechanism of action, first, through traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology (TCMSP) and TCM Database@Taiwan Database, main active ingredients of Kuihua Hugan Tablets were screened out based on oral bioavailability (OB), drug-likeness (DL) and effective half-lives (HL). The targets of active ingredients of Kuihua Hugan Tablets were predicted based on the PharmMapper method. Then, the prediction was conducted by screening the target genes associated with chronic hepatitis and early cirrhosis through CooLGeN and GeneCards databases. Target gene functions and signal pathways were analyzed by bioinformatics annotation database Metascape. Cytoscape software was used to construct the Kuihua Hugan Tablets ingredient-target and ingredient-target-pathway network. String database combined with Cytoscape software was used to construct the networks of component-target and component-target-pathway. STRING database was combined with Cytoscape software to draw protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and conduct network topology analysis. Finally, SystemsDock Web Site software was applied in verifying the molecular docking between active ingredients and potential protein targets. A total of 26 compounds and 509 potential targets were screened out from Kuihua Hugan Tablets in the experiment. The results of PPI network analysis indicated that albumin (ALB), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2), non-receptor tyrosine kinase proto-oncogene (SRC), estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) and cancer-signal transduction-inflammation-drugs metabolism-related biological processes and metabolic pathways were closely associated with the active ingredients in Kuihua Hugan Tablets. The effects of Kuihua Hugan Tablets in alleviating chronic hepatitis and early cirrhosis indicated the multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway characteristics of traditional Chinese medicines, providing new ideas for further research and development of Kuihua Hugan Tablets.
HPLC specific chromatograms of Poria were established, and the concentrations of 10 triterpenoids (16
α-hydroxydehydrotrametenolic acid, poricoic acid B, dehydrotumulosic acid, poricoic acid A, polyporenic acid C, poricoic acid AM, 3-
O-acetyl-16α-hydroxydehydrotrametenolic acid, dehydropachymic acid, pachymic acid, and dehydrotrametenolic acid) were simultaneously determined. Chromatographic analysis was conducted on a Welch Ultimate XB C
18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm). Acetonitrile solution (contain 3% tetrahydrofuran) (A) and 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution (B) were used as the mobile phase with gradient elution at a flow rate of 1.0 mL·min
−1. The column temperature was 30 ℃ and the injection volume was 20 μL. The experimental data were analyzed by the SPSS 22.0 and GraphPad Prism 7.0. The established triterpenoids fingerprints were specific, and the 10 components were well separated and showed good linearity (
r ≥ 0.999 6) within the concentration ranges tested. The mean recoveries were between 98.53%–103.8% (RSD 1.7%–2.7%). The method was specific and repeatable, and could be used for identification and quality evaluation of Poria. The results showed that the contents of 10 triterpenoids were positively correlated with each other. The contents of 10 triterpenoids of samples collected from producing areas were higher than that collected from markets. The total contents of 10 triterpenoids of samples collected from Hubei and Yunnan Province were slightly higher than that from Anhui Province, but the contents of samples from Anhui Province were varied in smaller ranges.
In this study, solid dispersion technology was used to develop volatile oil from
Acorus tatarinowii self-nanoemulsion dropping pills (VOA-SNEDDS-DP) and its protective effect on acute myocardial ischemia injury was evaluated. Taking exterior quality, weight variation and the resolving time as comprehendsive evaluation indexes, we optimized the preparation process and formulation of the dropping pills based on orthogonal design, and the dissolution rate in vitro of the optimized VOA-SNEDDS-DP was investigated. The rat model of acute myocardial ischemia was induced by intraperitoneal injection of isoproterenol (ISO) hydrochloride and the serum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), and creatine kinase (CK), as well as the pathological changes of myocardial tissue were determined to evaluate the therapeutic effect of the dropping pills on acute myocardial ischemia. The results showed that the optimal formulation and preparation process of VOA-SNEDDS-DP were confirmed as follows: PEG6000-PEG8000: 1:1, ratio of VOA-SNEDDS to matrix: l:2.5, the temperature of drug solution: 75 °C, dripping speed: 35 drops/min, dripping distance: 5 cm, and the condensing agent temperature: 2–10 °C. The content of
β-asarone in the dropping pills was 42.46 mg·g
−1. The accumulated dissolution rate of the dropping pills reached 93.85% in 10 min. The results of pharmacodynamic experiments showed that VOA-SNEDDS-DP could significantly increase the SOD content (
P < 0.05), reduce the levels of MDA and CK (
P < 0.05) in serum, and effectively improve the pathological changes in myocardial tissue. These results revealed that the preparation of VOA-SNEDDS-DP by solid dispersion technology was stable and feasible, and VOA-SNEDDS-DP had a protective effect against acute myocardial ischemia injury.
Five compounds were isolated from the fibrous roots of
Anemarrhena asphodeloides by silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and semi-HPLC column chromatography. On the basis of physic-chemical properties and spectroscopic data analysis, these compounds were identified as methyl 2-[2, 4-dihydroxy-3- (4-hydroxybenzoyl) -6-methoxyphenyl]acetate (
1), 4-[formyl-5- (methoxymethyl) -1
H-pyrrol-1-yl]butanoate (
2), perlolyrine (
3), syringaresinol-4′-
O-β-
D-glucoside (
4) and 4′, 6-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone-2-
O- (2″), 3-C-(1″)-1″-desoxy-
α-L-fructofuranoside (
5). Among them, compound
1 was a new benzophenone. Compounds 2–5 were isolated from this plant for the first time. The neuroprotective effect of compound
1 against H
2O
2-induced damage in SH-SY5 Y cells was examined.
Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was used to establish the chromatography fingerprint for aerial parts of
Angelica sinensis (AAS) from 10 different places. Acetyl-phenyl-hydrazine (APH) was used to duplicate the mouse model of blood deficiency. Then partial least squares regression was used to investigate the spectrum-effect relationship between the relative contents and the data of enriching blood pharmacodynamics efficacy. The results showed that the three groups of high, medium and low doses of AAS had certain enriching blood activities (
P < 0.05), and the high dose group had the best effect (
P < 0.01). The contribution degree of the AAS to enriching blood activities of each common peaks was determined by PLS regression coefficient. Among them, seven common peaks, including P17 (unknown), P18 (unknown), P19 (unknown), P28 (alisol B 23-acetate or its isomer), N5 (luteolin), N11 (1-caffeoylquinicacid, 1-
O-caffeoylquinic acid) and N14 (unknown), contributed significantly to the effect of enriching blood activities. This paper dealt with the investigation on the spectrum-effect relationship between enriching blood activities and LC-MS chromatography fingerprint of AAS, and determination of the effective compositions of AAS with enriching blood activities. It provided a theoretical foundation for the comprehensive development and utilization of AAS.
