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
A new isobenzofuranone derivative was isolated from
Chaenomeles sinensis by using various chromatographic techniques, including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, MCI-gel resin and RP-HPLC. This compound was determined as 2,2-dimethyl-5-(2-oxopropyl)-2H-furo[3,4-h]chromen-7(9H)-one(1) by NMR, MS, IR and UV spectra, and was also evaluated for its antibacterial activity. The results showed that it showed prominent antibacterial activity with MIC
90 value of (53.7±4.5) mg·L
−1 for methicillin resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain. This value is close to that of levofloxacin [with MIC
90 value (50.2 ± 4.2) mg·L
−1].
The aim of this paper was to investigate the molecular mechanism of Calculus Bovis Sativus (CBS) in alleviating lipid accumulation
in vitro by serum pharmacology. The CBS-containing serum of mice was obtained with the serum pharmacology method to evaluate its effect on the proliferation of LO2 hepatocytes. The lipid reducing effect of CBS-containing serum through Nrf2 was evaluated by fructose-induced LO2 hepatocyte steatosis model, nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) agonist oltipraz combined intervention, cell oil red O staining and intracellular triglyceride (TG) content. The effect of CBS-containing serum on lipid peroxidation and hepatocyte apoptosis was evaluated based on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis assay, respectively. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the relative expression of lipid synthesis-related genes and apoptosis-related genes. Results showed that CBS-containing serum had no significant effect on LO2 hepatocyte proliferation. As compared with the model group, CBS-containing serum could effectively reduce the formation of lipid droplets in fructose-induced LO2 hepatocytes, significantly reduce intracellular TG and ROS levels, and significantly reduce hepatocyte apoptosis rate (
P < 0.05). As compared with the model group, CBS drug-containing serum treatment significantly reduced the carbohydrate responsive element binding protein (ChREBP), sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), fatty acid synthase (FAS), acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1), stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1), Bax and caspase-3 mRNA levels(
P < 0.05). All of the above effect could be reversed by oltipraz. In conclusion, CBS-containing serum can significantly inhibit the fructose-induced LO2 liver fat deposition, and the mechanism may be related to reducing intracellular ROS level through the Nrf2 pathway and improving intracellular peroxidation state to reduce apoptosis.
Seventeen compounds were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of the stems and leaves of
Sapium discolor by using various chromatographic techniques, including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, MCI, ODS, and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were elucidated as sapiumin F (
1), kadsulignan C (
2), ciwujiatone (
3), ethylbrevifolin carboxylate (
4), 7-hydroxy-8-methoxycoumarin (
5), fraxetin (
6), fraxidin (
7), isofraxidin (
8), 6,7,8-trimethoxycoumarin (
9), 5,6,7,8-tetramethoxycoumarin (
10), 8-hydroxy-5,6,7-trimethoxycoumarin (
11), 3,3′-di-
O-methylellagic acid (
12), 3,3′,4′-tri-
O-methylellagic acid (
13), 3′-methoxyellagic acid 4′-
O-α-rhamnopyranoside (
14), 4,5-didehydro-chebulic acid triethyl ester (
15),
ent-kaurane-3-oxo-16
α,17-diol (
16), and abscisic acid (
17) by spectroscopic data. Compound
1 is a new compound. Except for compounds
4,
11, and
13, the remaining compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time. All the isolates were evaluated for their in vitro antineuroinflammatory activities, and the results showed that compounds
6 and
15 significantly inhibited the nitric oxide (NO) production by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BV-2 microglial cells, with IC
50 values being 6.06 and 6.05 μmol·L
−1, respectively.
In order to provide scientific basics for exploitation and sufficient application of
Polyporus umbellatus resources and study the monosaccharide composition of
P. umbellatus polysaccharides, the anthrone-sulfuric acid method was applied to compare polysaccharide content of
P. umbellatus from 17 producing areas. The monosaccharides were derived by 1-pheny l-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) and the derivatives were identified by UPLC-MS/MS and the content of each monosaccharide component was determined simultaneously. The results demonstrated that there was a certain difference in total polysaccharide content of
P. umbellatus from different regions, and the content of total
P. umbellatus polysaccharide from Shaanxi Province and Sichuan Province (1.15% and 1.90%) was relatively higher than that of others areas. Polysaccharides from
P. umbellatus were mainly composed of eight monosaccharides, including glucose, glucuronic acid, galactose, ribose, xylose, arabinose, mannose and fucose. The contents of glucose (17.65 mg·g
−1) was higher than others. The ribose was the lowest (0.13 mg·g
−1). In addition, fructose, rhamnose and galacturonic acid were also detected in some samples. Furthermore, the results of cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that totally 17 batches of
P. umbellatus polysaccharide could be classified into three clusters, samples collected from Wuchang in Heilongjiang Province were clustered into one group separately. The study can provide a basis for rational utilization of
P. umbellatus resources, and also implies the sequence of monosaccharide linking and pharmacological activity of
P. umbellatus polysaccharides.
In this study, the fingerprint of different varieties of
Chrysanthemum were established with “Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Chinese Materia Medica” and the content of chlorogenic acid, galuteolin and 3,5-
O-dicaffeoylquinic acid in 29 batches of different varieties of
Chrysanthemum in Futianhe Town, Huangtugang Town and Wuhan City were compared. At the same time, similarity evaluation and common peak cluster analysis were carried out. There were 11 common peaks in the fingerprints of 29 batches of different varieties of
Chrysanthemum, and the similarity ranged from 0.802 to 0.975. Hangju and Gongju were divided into one group by cluster analysis, and Huangju into another category. The established fingerprint method provided a basis for the identification of
Chrysanthemum cultivars. The content of 29 batches of chlorogenic acid was between 4.092 and 11.723 mg·g
−1, luteolin was between 1.010 and 11.713 mg·g
−1, and 3,5-
O-dicaffeoylquinic acid was between 8.828 and 33.435 mg·g
−1, both reached the standard in
Chinese Pharmacopoeia, but the effective components of different varieties of
Chrysanthemum were quite different. Based on the contents of three active ingredients and the diversity of fingerprint peaks, the quality of the characteristic germplasm resource of local Fubaiju in Macheng was superior, and the protection of local characteristic germplasm resource should be strengthened in production.
Polyporus umbellatus, a traditional Chinese precious medicinal fungus that has long been used for promoting urination and draining dampness, is becoming more and more popular in China recently. The developmental metabolic process of
P. umbellatus has gotten increasing attention. We used
de novo transcriptome assembly technology for the first time to explore the three sclerotial growth stages: white sclerotium (initial phase), grey sclerotium (developmental phase), and black sclerotium (mature phase) of
P. umbellatus. Finally, we obtained 88.12 Gb sequence containing 85 235 unigenes (≥ 200 bp), 100% of which were annotated. We identified the genes differentially expressed among the three stages and screened out
MFSgst,
ERG4/
ERG24,
WD40,
RhoA,
CYP450,
PKS,
GSase, and
CHS1, which may contribute to the production of medicinal secondary metabolites and be involved in the defense against the environmental stress and pathogen invasion. We conducted the qRT-PCR to verify our results, which were in line with expectations. Our results are purposed to unearth the molecular mechanism of the accumulation of active ingredients at different growth stages of sclerotia, which can provide a foundation for the production and protection of
Polyporus.
The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about modified Sangbaipi Decoction in the treatment of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) were collected from seven databases (PubMed, CNKI, ect.) from their inception to December 5, 2018. All the obtained searched were strictly evaluated. The articles were independently screened by two researchers according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the methodological quality of included studies was evaluated. To systematically review the efficacy of modified Sangbaipi Decoction in treating AECOPD, the Meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis were conducted by using Stata/SE 14.0 and TSA 0.9.5.10 Beta, respectively. A total of 25 RCTs involving 1 784 patients were included. According to the results of Meta-analysis, compared with the control groups, the experimental group had a higher clinical efficacy in treating AECOPD (RR = 1.18, 95% CI [1.13, 1.22],
P = 0), improved pulmonary function indicators including forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV
1, WMD = 0.44, 95% CI [0.01, 0.87],
P = 0.046), forced vital capacity (FVC, WMD = 0.42, 95% CI [0.07, 0.22],
P = 0). However, there was no statistical significance in FEV
1 as a percentage of the predicted value (FEV
1%,
P = 0.067) or the ratio of forced expiratory volume in the first second to forced vital capacity (FEV
1/FVC,
P = 0.238). It improved the arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO
2, SMD = 0.85, 95% CI [0.41, 1.30],
P = 0) and decreased the arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO
2, SMD = −0.94, 95% CI [−1.70, −0.18],
P = 0.016). In terms of inflammatory indicators, it improved the white blood cell count (WBC, WMD = −0.94, 95% CI [−1.17, −0.70],
P = 0). The trial sequential analysis showed that the cumulative
Z-value crossed the traditional critical value and the TSA critical value, further confirming the evidence. According to the findings, in addition to conventional therapies in western medicine, modified Sangbaipi Decoction could improve the efficiency in treating AECOPD, increase PaO
2, and decrease PaCO
2. In addition, it had a high safety, but it was not effective for improving the pulmonary function. However, restricted by the low quality of studies included, this conclusion shall be further verified by more high-quality clinical trials.
It is reported that energy metabolism is the core feature of tumor cells. This study aimed to investigate the regulatory effectS of two flavonoids (glabridin and quercetin) on the energy supply and glycolysis of breast cancer cells and provide a reference for developing some anticancer herbal drugs with the function of regulating tumor energy metabolism. Based on the characteristics of each pathway during energy metabolism, the triple negative breast cancer tumor cells (MDA-MB-231) were selected to investigate the effect of glabridin and quercetin on the energy metabolism of breast cancer cells and discuss the possible mechanisms from the following five potential targets in this study: glucose uptake, protein expression of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, and lactic acid (LD) concentration. The results showed that both quercetin and glabridin could decrease the glucose uptake capacity of breast cancer cells by down-regulating the protein expression of GLUT1. Quercetin had no significant effects on the LDH activity and LD concentration; it did not affect the glycolysis process but increased the intracellular ATP level. Glabridin decreased the activity of LDH and reduced LD concentration, thereby inhibiting the glycolysis metabolism of breast cancer cells. Therefore, both quercetin and glabridin can regulate the energy metabolism of breast cancer cells and can be used as potential anticancer agents or anticancer adjuvants.
The type and frequency of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in the genomes was investigated using the DNA sequence data of
Pueraria lobata and
P. thomsonii. Based on these SSRs, 20 pairs of SSR primers were designed and 5 high polymorphism primer pairs were selected to analyze the genetic diversity of 9 cultivars of
P. thomsonii in Jiangxi Province. The results showed that the 5 pairs of primers could generate 16 polymorphic alleles bands. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) of each SSR primer pair was 0.600 7. According to the genetic similarity coefficients, the 9 cultivars of
P. thomsonii could be classified into 6 germplasms. This study established the DNA identity cards with 5 pairs of SSR primers for different germplasm resources of
P. thomsonii in Jiangxi province, which provided reference information for the selection of fine germplasms of
P. thomsonii and the theoretical basis for the study of Dao-di herbs.
