Preparation of a novel molecularly imprinted polymer for the highly selective extraction of baicalin

The selective extraction of baicalin is important to its quality control especially when the matrices are complicated. In this work, a novel molecularly imprinted polymer was prepared for the selective extraction of baicalin in herbs. The molecularly imprinted polymer was synthesized by the copolymerization of 4‐vinyl pyridine and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate in the presence of baicalin by a precipitation polymerization method. After the optimization of parameters for molecularly imprinted polymer preparation, including the functional monomer, porogen, sampling solvent, and washing solvent, good selectivity was obtained, with an imprinting factor of about 4, which is much better than that achieved by the bulk‐polymerization method. The performances of the prepared molecularly imprinted polymers were systematically investigated, including adsorption kinetics, isotherm experiment, and Scatchard analysis. On the basis of the good adsorptive capability of the prepared molecularly imprinted polymer, it was also applied for the pretreatment of baicalin in Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. The result showed that most of the matrices were removed and baicalin was selectively enriched.     

Multi‐constituent determination and fingerprint analysis of Scutellaria indica L. using ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

An ultra‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry method integrating multi‐constituent determination and fingerprint analysis has been established for quality assessment and control of Scutellaria indica L. The optimized method possesses the advantages of speediness, efficiency, and allows multi‐constituents determination and fingerprint analysis in one chromatographic run within 11 min. 36 compounds were detected, and 23 of them were unequivocally identified or tentatively assigned. The established fingerprint method was applied to the analysis of ten S. indica samples from different geographic locations. The quality assessment was achieved by using principal component analysis. The proposed method is useful and reliable for the characterization of multi‐constituents in a complex chemical system and the overall quality assessment of S. indica.     

An efficient strategy based on two-stage chromatography and in vitro evaluation for rapid screening and isolation of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi

The extraction of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi was investigated using the response surface methodology-genetic algorithm mathematical regression model, and the extraction variables were optimized to maximize the flavonoid yield. Furthermore, a simple and efficient ultrafiltration–liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and molecular docking methods were developed for the rapid screening and identification of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors present in Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. Subsequently, four major chemical constituents, namely baicalein, norwogonin, wogonin, and oroxylin A, were identified as potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. This novel approach, involving the use of ultrafiltration–liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and molecular docking methods combined with stepwise flow rate counter-current chromatography and semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography, could potentially provide a powerful tool for the screening and extraction of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from complex matrices and be a useful platform for the production of bioactive and nutraceutical ingredients.     

UPLC fingerprint analysis and identification of flavonoids in Scutellaria indica by UFLC-triple-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The aim of this study was to raise the quality control level of Scutellaria indica. A quick and stable ultra performance liquid chromatography method was established for the fingerprint analysis of S. indica. A total of 32 common peaks were marked with 10 batches S. indica detected in 30?min using similarity evaluation system for chromatographic fingerprint of traditional Chinese medicine (2004A version). Besides, a high-resolution mass spectrometer was used to identify flavonoids in S. indica. A total of 27 flavonoids in S. indica were identified. And a series of fragmentation regularities were obtained, which could be used for the identification of other flavonoids. Therefore, the established liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometer method could be successfully utilized for the quality control of S. indica.     

Biomedical Applications of Scutellaria edelbergii Rech. f.: In Vitro and In Vivo Approach

In the current study, in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities and in vivo anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of Scutellaria edelbergii Rech. f. (crude extract and subfractions, i.e., n-hexane, ethyl acetate (EtOAc), chloroform, n-butanol (n-BuOH) and aqueous) were explored. Initially, extraction and fractionation of the selected medicinal plant were carried out, followed by phytochemical qualitative tests, which were mostly positive for all the extracts. EtOAc fraction possessed a significant amount of phenolic (79.2 ± 0.30 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (84.0 ± 0.39 mg QE/g) content. The EtOAc fraction of S. edelbergii exhibited appreciable antibacterial activity against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) strains and significant zones of inhibition were observed against Gram-positive bacterial strains (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus). However, it was found inactive against Candida Albicans and Fusarium oxysporum fungal strains. The chloroform fraction was the most effective with an IC₅₀ value of 172 and 74 µg/mL against DPPH (1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl) and ABTS assays, in comparison with standard ascorbic acid 59 and 63 µg/mL, respectively. Moreover, the EtOAc fraction displayed significant in vivo anti-inflammatory activity (54%) using carrageenan-induced assay and significant (55%) in vivo analgesic activity using acetic acid-induced writing assay. In addition, nine known compounds, ursolic acid (UA), ovaul (OV), oleanolic acid (OA), β-sitosterol (BS), micromeric acid (MA), taraxasterol acetate (TA), 5,3′,4′-trihydroxy-7-methoxy flavone (FL-1), 5,7,4′-trihydroxy-6,3′-dimiethoxyflavone (FL-2) and 7-methoxy catechin (FL-3), were isolated from methanolic extract of S. edelbergii. These constituents have never been obtained from this source. The structures of all the isolated constituents were elucidated by spectroscopic means. In conclusion, the EtOAc fraction and all other fractions of S. edelbergii, in general, displayed a significant role as antibacterial, free radical scavenger, anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents which may be due to the presence of these constituents and other flavonoids.     

neo‐Clerodane Diterpenoids from the Aerial Part of Scutellaria barbata

Three new neo‐clerodane diterpenoids, barbatellarines C–E ( 1 – 3 ), were isolated from the CHCl₃‐soluble fraction of the aerial part of Scutellaria barbata. Their chemical structures were elucidated by detailed analysis of NMR and MS data. Compounds 1 and 2 were C(13) epimers, which was confirmed by an NOE difference experiment and the NOESY spectrum. The relative configuration was determined on the basis of the ¹H‐NMR J‐value and NOE data, while the absolute configuration of the previously isolated analogue, barbatellarine B ( 4 ), as a representative member of the group, was assigned by CD analysis.     

A New Flavanone and a New Flavanone Glycoside from ScuteUaria baicalensis

A new flavanone （2S）-5, 7, 2＇, 5＇-tetrahydroxy-flavanone 1 together with a new flavanone glycoside （2S）-5, 7, 2＇, 5＇-tetrahydroxy-flavanone 7-O-13-D-glucopyranoside 2, were isolated from the dry roots of Scutellaria baicalensis. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data.     

半枝莲多糖脱色及清除羟基自由基作用的研究

研究了半枝莲多糖的脱色的最佳条件及多糖体外清除羟基自由基的作用,结果表明,从活性炭、中性氧化铝、大孔吸附树脂AB-8、LSA-21和NKA-9等5种脱色剂中筛选出的最佳脱色剂为AB-8,AB-8脱色的最佳条件是pH7,温度40℃,溶液中多糖含量1046.5mg/L,此时多糖保留率为88.446%,脱色率为90.65%;体外清除羟基自由基作用结果表明,半枝莲粗多糖、SBP、SBP1随浓度的升高,其清除作用逐渐增强,SPB2几乎没有清除羟基自由基的能力.     

Determination of Metabolites from Scutellaria baicalensis by GC/MS and 1H NMR

The quality of medicinal herbs and their products is steadily becoming important in tandem with growing interest in complementary alternative medicine for treatment of diseases. Chemical assays with bioactive secondary compounds are usually used for chemical standardization in herbs for quality control purpose. In this study, an analytical platform comprising of a GC-MS technique with an unsupervised multivariate analysis and a complementary one-dimensional ¹H NMR technique was used to obtain the primary metabolite profiling of Scutellaria baicalensis obtained from different medical halls in Singapore. The key primary metabolites such as sucrose, proline, phenylalanine, fructose, and butanedioic acid for the biosynthesis of bioactive secondary metabolites in this medicinal herb were successfully characterized by the combination of the chromatography and spectroscopy techniques. Their results suggested that these compounds could serve as markers for quality control of the herb. The principal component analyses of the GC-MS data reliably discriminated between the various Scutellaria samples indicating that the developed platform was comprehensive and was applicable to assess the quality of other medicinal herbs.     

人工种植黄芩根、茎、叶、花、种子中营养元素的光谱分析

使用火焰原子吸收光谱法对人工种植黄芩的根、茎、叶、花、种子5个部位中的Ca,Cu,Fe,Mn,Zn,K六种矿物元素的含量进行了测定分析.结果表明,黄芩各部位均含有丰富的矿物元素,根中营养元素由高到低的顺序是为Ca＞Fe＞Cu＞Mn＞Zn＞K,茎中的为Fe＞Mn＞Zn=Cu＞K＞Ca,叶中的为Fe＞Mn ＞Zn＞Cu＞K＞Ca,花中的为Ca＞Fe＞Mn＞Zn＞Cu＞K,种子中的为Ca＞Fe＞Zn＞Mn＞Cu＞K.研究认为人工种植黄芩茎、叶、花、种子中Fe,Mn,Zn含量皆较高,花和种子中还富含Ca,根中富含Ca和Fe元素.