Structural characterisation of a water-soluble polysaccharide from tissue-cultured Dendrobium huoshanense C.Z. Tang et S.J. Cheng

A water-soluble polysaccharide TC-DHPA4 with a molecular weight of 8.0 × 10⁵ Da was isolated from tissue-cultured Dendrobium huoshanense by anion exchange and gel permeation chromatography. Monosaccharide analysis revealed that the homogeneous polysaccharide was made up of rhamnose, arabinose, mannose, glucose, galactose and glucuronic acid with a molar ratio of 1.28:1:1.67:4.71:10.43:1.42. The sugar residue sequence analysis based on the GC-MS files and NMR spectra indicated that the backbone of TC-DHPA4 consisted of the repeated units:→6)-β-Galp-(1→6)-β-Galp-(1→4)-β-GlcpA-(1→6)-β-Glcp-(1→6)-β-Glcp-(→. The sugar residue sequences β-Glcp-(1→)-α-Rhap-(1→3)-β-Galp-(1→, β-Glcp-(1→4)-α-Rhap-(1→3)-β-Galp-(1→, β-Galp-(1→6)-β-Manp-(1→3)-β-Galp-(1→, and α-l-Araf-(1→2)-β-Manp-(1→3)-β-Galp-(1→ were identified as the branches attached to the C-3 position of (1→6)-linked galactose in the backbone.     

A novel ultra high‐performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination of xanthones and steroidal saponins in crude and salt‐processed Anemarrhenae Rhizoma aqueous extracts

We established a rapid and sensitive ultra high‐performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous quantification of xanthones and steroidal saponins in rat plasma. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a C₁₈ column with a mobile phase comprising acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid. The detection was performed by negative electrospray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The validated method showed good linearity within the tested range (r > 0.9945). The intra‐ and interday precision at high, medium, and low concentrations was less than 7.96%. The bias of accuracies ranged from −1.92 to 9.62%. The extraction recoveries of the compounds ranged from 84.78 to 88.69%, and the matrix effects ranged from 96.76 to 108.59%. This method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic comparison of crude and salt‐processed Anemarrhenae Rhizoma aqueous extracts after oral administration in rats. The maximum plasma concentration and area under concentration–time curve of timosaponin BIII and timosaponin AIII increased significantly (P < 0.05 or 0.01) and those of timosaponin BII decreased significantly (P < 0.05) after processing. These results could contribute to the clinical application of crude and salt‐processed Anemarrhenae Rhizoma and reveal the processing mechanism.     

Chemical composition and nutritional properties of Terminalia catappa L. oil and kernels from Benin

This work focuses on the physico-chemical characterization of kernels and oil of Terminalia catappa L. from Benin. The detailed physico-chemical properties are given including the nutritional composition and fatty acid profile, but also the phenolic content, phytochemical screening and antioxidant capacity which were determined for the first time. The kernel (100 g) contained 5.5 g of moisture, a high level of lipids (64.7–140.4 of Recommended Daily Intake (RDI)), proteins (36.0% RDI), sugars (6.0% RDI), and tannins (0.6%). The defatted kernels (100 g) contained high levels of manganese (184.8–236.1% RDI), magnesium (173.6–235.2% RDI), iron (89.7–201.9% RDI), zinc (87.9–120.9% RDI) and calcium (41.5% RDI), and contributed for 98.6% of RDI proteins. The kernel oil showed a high level of unsaturated fatty acids including oleic (27.1%) and linoleic acids (26.6%) and saturated fatty acids such as palmitic acid (40.0%) as well as several phytosterols and triterpenes. These kernels and their unsaturated oil are of interesting nutritional value but could also be used as a biofuel or lubricant. The presence of phenolic and terpenic derivatives may also explain at least in part their use in traditional medicine.     

树脂法分离纯化倒提壶生物碱的研究

采用阳离子交换树脂和大孔吸附树脂联用的方法,将倒提壶生物碱提取液依次经过阳离子交换树脂和两次大孔吸附树脂,对其中的天芥菜碱和毛果天芥菜碱进行分离纯化。结果表明,倒提壶生物碱溶液采用阳离子交换树脂经过水洗和NaCl洗脱与大孔吸附树脂两次经乙醚和50%乙醇洗脱后,毛果天芥菜碱与天芥菜碱的纯度分别从0.73%和2.2%提高至81.6%和79.2%,提取量分别由4.6 mg/g和10.7 mg/g提高至50.6mg/g和92.7 mg/g。该文所建立的分离纯化方法具有成本低、污染小、周期短、操作简便和分离纯化效率高等特点,适合工业化生产。     

Simultaneous determination of 15 marker constituents in various radix Astragali preparations by solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography

An improved quality control method was developed to simultaneously determine 15 major constituents (eight flavonoids and seven saponins) in various radix Astragali preparations, using SPE for pretreatment of samples, HPLC with diode-array and evaporative light scattering detectors (DAD-ELSD) for quantification in one run, and HPLC-ESI-TOF/MS for definite identification of compounds in preparations. Optimum separations were obtained with a ZORBAX C(18) column, using a gradient elution with 0.3% aqueous formic acid and ACN. This established method was fully validated with respect to linearity, precision, repeatability, and accuracy, and was successfully applied to quantify the 15 compounds in 19 commercial samples, including 3 dosage forms, i. e., oral solution, injection, concentrated granule, and its processed products of radix Astragali. The results demonstrated that many factors might result in significant differences in quality of the final preparations, including crude drugs, pretreatment processes, manufacturing procedure, storage conditions, etc. Then the developed method provided a reasonable and powerful manner to ensure the efficacy, safety, and batch-to-batch uniformity of radix Astragali products by standardizing each procedure, and thus should be proposed as quality control for the clinical use and modernization of herbal preparations.     

中药黄芩中神经氨酸酶抑制剂的超滤质谱筛选研究

采用超滤质谱分析技术, 结合体外酶活性实验方法, 从传统中药黄芩提取物中筛选神经氨酸酶抑制剂. 研究结果表明, 中药黄芩提取物具有较强的神经氨酸酶抑制活性, 利用超滤质谱方法从中筛选并鉴定出了六种具有潜在神经氨酸酶抑制活性的化合物, 为开发神经氨酸酶抑制剂提供了实验依据.     

五种郁金无机元素比较及样品元素间相关性分析

中药含有丰富的无机元素,特别是人体必需的无机元素含量较高。在样品中加入混酸,再用微波消解技术消化样品,采用火焰原子吸收光谱法对五种不同品种郁金（温郁金、姜黄、广西莪术、蓬莪术和川郁金）所含有的八种具有重要生理功能的无机元素——钾、钙、钠、镁、锌、铁、铜和锰的含量进行了测定。结果显示郁金类中药材含有相近的元素成分,不同来源的品种在个别元素含量上存在差异。基于各样品所含无机元素采用聚类分析进行相关性分析,药典所收载四种郁金（温郁金、姜黄、广西莪术和蓬莪术）聚为一类,与非正品川郁金有所区别,该聚类结果与依据形态特征的传统分类学结果一致。测定结果可为郁金中无机元素与其药效的相关性提供科学依据。     

离子液体分散液相微萃取对苯丙烯酸类化合物的浓缩及作用机制

研究了离子液体分散液相微萃取(ILDLPME)机理, 建立了简单、快速、灵敏的ILDLPME-HPLC(高效液相色谱)同时测定中药白附子中5种低丰度苯丙烯酸类化合物含量的方法, 对不同产地白附子的质量进行了比较和评价. 在最佳的ILDLPME-HPLC条件下, 测得咖啡酸的线性范围为1.28×10^-3~2.60 μg/mL, 对羟基桂皮酸及阿魏酸的线性范围为1.28×10^-4~2.60 μg/mL, 桂皮酸及对甲氧基桂皮酸的线性范围为1.28×10^-3~4.00 μg/mL, 检出限分别为0.13, 0.01, 0.01, 0.13和0.13 ng/mL, 日内精密度RSD<7.9%, 日间精密度RSD<9.7%, 药材中分析物的回收率在86.9%~112.6%之间, ILDLPME 对5种分析物的富集倍数分别在56.0~159.3倍之间. 结合5种苯丙烯酸类化合物ILDLPME萃取前后紫外光谱的变化, 提出了ILDLPME萃取苯丙烯酸羧基-离子液体电荷转移超分子(CTSMCIL)机理. 本研究为建立中药白附子的质量控制方法提供了理论依据和实验基础.