Mammalian Arginase Inhibitory Activity of Methanolic Extracts and Isolated Compounds from Cyperus Species

Polyphenolic enriched extracts from two species of Cyperus, Cyperus glomeratus and Cyperus thunbergii, possess mammalian arginase inhibitory capacities, with the percentage inhibition ranging from 80% to 95% at 100 µg/mL and 40% to 64% at 10 µg/mL. Phytochemical investigation of these species led to the isolation and identification of two new natural stilbene oligomers named thunbergin A-B (1–2), together with three other stilbenes, trans-resveratrol (3), trans-scirpusin A (4), trans-cyperusphenol A (6), and two flavonoids, aureusidin (5) and luteolin (7), which were isolated for the first time from C. thunbergii and C. glomeratus. Structures were established on the basis of the spectroscopic data from MS and NMR experiments. The arginase inhibitory activity of compounds 1–7 was evaluated through an in vitro arginase inhibitory assay using purified liver bovine arginase. As a result, five compounds (1, 4–7) showed significant inhibition of arginase, with IC₅₀ values between 17.6 and 60.6 µM, in the range of those of the natural arginase inhibitor piceatannol (12.6 µM). In addition, methanolic extract from Cyperus thunbergii exhibited an endothelium and NO-dependent vasorelaxant effect on thoracic aortic rings from rats and improved endothelial dysfunction in an adjuvant-induced arthritis rat model.     

Water Extract of Fritillariae thunbergii Bulbus Inhibits RANKL-Mediated Osteoclastogenesis and Ovariectomy-Induced Trabecular Bone Loss

Fritillariae thunbergii bulbus has been widely used to treat symptoms of coughs and airway congestion in the chest due to pathological colds and damp phlegm in traditional Chinese medicine. Despite its long history of traditional use, its pharmacological activities on osteoclastogenesis and osteoporosis have not been evaluated. This study investigated the effects of the water extract of Fritillariae thunbergii bulbus (WEFT) on osteoclast differentiation in bone marrow-derived macrophage cells and on ovariectomy (OVX)-induced osteoporosis in mice. We found that WEFT significantly inhibited osteoclastogenesis by downregulating the receptor activator of the NF-κB ligand (RANKL) signaling-induced nuclear factor of activated T-cells cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1) expression. In an OVX-induced osteoporosis model, WEFT significantly prevented the OVX-induced trabecular loss of femurs, accompanied by a reduction in fat accumulation in the bone marrow and liver. In addition, WEFT significantly prevented weight gain and gonadal fat gain without recovering uterine atrophy. Using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, seven alkaloids (peimisine glucoside, yibeissine, peiminoside, sipeimine-glucoside, peimisine, peimine, and peiminine) were identified in WEFT. The results of this study suggest that WEFT can be a potential pharmacological candidate to reduce menopausal osteoporosis and menopause-related symptoms, such as fat accumulation.     

微波消解-原子吸收法分析并比较四种贝母中的微量元素

利用火焰原子吸收分光光度法(FAAS)及石墨炉原子吸收分光光度法(GFAAS)测定了浙贝、象贝、东贝、川贝4种贝母中15种微量元素的含量。同时考察了不同微波消解条件对分析结果的影响, 确定了原子吸收分光光度法测定的最佳条件,并且以微量元素含量作为指标对其进行了主成分分析。实验结果表明, 微波消解法操作简便、快速、样品消解完全, 空白值低, 选择性好, 方法相对标准偏差小于3.96%,回收率在91.0%～108.7%。主成分分析法在反映不同样品微量元素含量的差异程度上具有应用价值。     

复方乌头汤配伍贝母化学成分变化研究

将超高效液相色谱-质谱联用(UPLC-MS) 及UPLC-MSⁿ技术与偏最小二乘法判别分析(PLS-DA)结合, 对乌头汤分别与川贝、 浙贝按照制川乌与贝母生药质量比1: 1配伍前后化学成分的变化情况进行了研究. 在PLS-DA模型中, 乌头汤与川贝、 浙贝配伍前后的煎煮液均可明显区分. 乌头汤与川贝共煎后获得8个化学标志物, 可鉴定出7个化合物, 其中尼奥灵、 附子灵及苯甲酰基新乌头原碱在共煎后含量上升, 塔拉定、 10-OH苯甲酰基乌头原碱、 10-OH苯甲酰基新乌头原碱和苯甲酰基去氧乌头原碱在配伍后含量下降. 乌头汤与浙贝共煎后获得7个化学标志物, 分别为Chuanfumine、 Songorine、 塔拉定、 尼奥灵、 附子灵、 苯甲酰基新乌头原碱和10-OH苯甲酰基新乌头原碱, 所有化学标志物的含量在共煎后均降低.     

Effects of Sargassum thunbergii Extract on Skin Whitening and Anti-Wrinkling through Inhibition of TRP-1 and MMPs

Sargassum thunbergii has been traditionally used as an edible and medicinal material in oriental countries. However, the skin-whitening and anti-wrinkling effects of S. thunbergii have not yet been investigated. This study was conducted to establish optimal extraction conditions for the production of bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity as well as skin-whitening and anti-wrinkle effects using ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) in S. thunbergii. The extraction time (5.30~18.7 min), extraction temperature (22.4~79.6 °C), and ethanol concentration (0.0~99.5%), which are the main variables of the UAE, were optimized using a central composite design. Quadratic regression equations were derived based on experimental data and showed a high coefficient of determination (R² > 0.85), demonstrating suitability for prediction. The optimal UAE condition for maximizing all dependent variables, including radical scavenging activity (RSA), tyrosinase inhibitory activity (TIA), and collagenase inhibitory activity (CIA), was identified as an extraction time of 12.0 min, an extraction temperature of 65.2 °C, and ethanol of 53.5%. Under these conditions, the RSA, TIA, and CIA of S. thunbergii extract were 86.5%, 88.3%, and 91.4%, respectively. We also confirmed S. thunbergii extract had inhibitory effects on the mRNA expression of tyrosinase-related protein-1, matrix metalloproteinase-1, and matrix metalloproteinase-9, which are the main genes of melanin synthesis and collagen hydrolysis. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to identify the main phenolic compounds in S. thunbergii extract, and caffeic acid was identified as a major peak, demonstrating that high value-added ingredients with skin-whitening and anti-wrinkling effects can be produced from S. thunbergii and used for developing cosmetic materials.     

近红外光谱结合偏最小二乘判别对硫熏浙贝母的无损鉴别

浙贝母(Fritillariae thunbergii Bulbus)是一种常用的化痰止咳中药,为浙江著名的“浙八味”之一。硫熏能够使浙贝母增白、防虫蛀以及延长保质期,然而过度的硫熏不仅会影响浙贝母的品质,还会危害人体健康。因此,进行硫熏浙贝母的无损鉴别分析有利于浙贝母的品质监测,保障中药质量。采用近红外光谱结合化学计量学方法进行六种不同硫熏程度浙贝母的鉴别分析,在近红外(900～1 700 nm)光谱条件下,采用“boxplot”统计分析1 000～1 100 nm内样本间的光谱反射值的差异。同时采用主成分分析(PCA)进行六种样本的聚类分析。应用连续投影法(SPA)进行数据挖掘获得10条特征波段,建立其偏最小二乘判别分析(PLS-DA)模型。结果表明,建立的PLS-DA模型可达到与全谱类似的判别结果。近红外光谱技术结合化学计量学方法能够实现不同硫熏程度浙贝母的无损鉴别分析,这为后续进行硫熏浙贝母品质分析以及研发相应贝母便携检测仪提供参考。     

Deep Learning Combined with Hyperspectral Imaging Technology for Variety Discrimination of Fritillaria thunbergii

Traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCHM) plays an essential role in the international pharmaceutical industry due to its rich resources and unique curative properties. The flowers, stems, and leaves of Fritillaria contain a wide range of phytochemical compounds, including flavonoids, essential oils, saponins, and alkaloids, which may be useful for medicinal purposes. Fritillaria thunbergii Miq. Bulbs are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine as expectorants and antitussives. In this paper, a feasibility study is presented that examines the use of hyperspectral imaging integrated with convolutional neural networks (CNN) to distinguish twelve (12) Fritillaria varieties (n = 360). The performance of support vector machines (SVM) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was compared with that of convolutional neural network (CNN). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to assess the presence of cluster trends in the spectral data. To optimize the performance of the models, cross-validation was used. Among all the discriminant models, CNN was the most accurate with 98.88%, 88.89% in training and test sets, followed by PLS-DA and SVM with 92.59%, 81.94% and 99.65%, 79.17%, respectively. The results obtained in the present study revealed that application of HSI in conjunction with the deep learning technique can be used for classification of Fritillaria thunbergii varieties rapidly and non-destructively.     

ICP—AES法测定温州地区鼠尾藻中的微量元素

采用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱仪（ICP—AES）对温州地区野生和人工养殖鼠尾藻中11种微量元素的含量进行了测定。结果表明,鼠尾藻中钙、镁、铁、锌、锰、铜的含量丰富,温州地区野生和人工养殖的鼠尾藻所含各种微量元素存在差异,为鼠尾藻的进一步的开发利用提供科学依据。     

离子注入对黑松花粉粒细胞核的损伤效应

利用激光扫描共聚焦显微技术和碱性单细胞凝胶电泳技术对经过离子注入后的黑松花粉粒内细胞核的直接损伤效应进行了观察鉴定。 研究结果表明, 离子注入后可以直接损伤细胞核结构, 导致细胞核裂解。 细胞核的损伤程度与注入离子的剂量密切相关, 即细胞核DNA分子的损伤程度随着注入离子剂量的增加而提高。 The damage of pollen nuclei of Pinus thunbergii induced directly by ion implantation were measured by the laser confocal microscopy technique and the single cell gel electrophoresis test. The results showed that ion implantation caused the nuclei structure to be damaged, leading to the nuclei degradation. The results of statistical analysis showed that the damage grade of nuclei was very correlative with the ion dosage. The damage degree of DNA in the nuclei at the level of single cells was increased with the increase of the ion implantation dose.