The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of phenolic compounds isolated from the root of Rhodiola sachalinensis A. BOR

The chemotaxonomic classification of Rhodiola plants and its correlation with morphological characteristics and genetic taxonomy

Background

Rhodiola plants are used as a natural remedy in the western world and as a traditional herbal medicine in China, and are valued for their ability to enhance human resistance to stress or fatigue and to promote longevity. Due to the morphological similarities among different species, the identification of the genus remains somewhat controversial, which may affect their safety and effectiveness in clinical use.

Results

In this paper, 47 Rhodiola samples of seven species were collected from thirteen local provinces of China. They were identified by their morphological characteristics and genetic and phytochemical taxonomies. Eight bioactive chemotaxonomic markers from four chemical classes (phenylpropanoids, phenylethanol derivatives, flavonoids and phenolic acids) were determined to evaluate and distinguish the chemotaxonomy of Rhodiola samples using an HPLC-DAD/UV method. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to compare the two classification methods between genetic and phytochemical taxonomy.

Conclusions

The established chemotaxonomic classification could be effectively used for Rhodiola species identification.

The chemotaxonomic classification of Rhodiola plants and its correlation with morphological characteristics and genetic taxonomy

BACKGROUND

Rhodiola plants are used as a natural remedy in the western world and as a traditional herbal medicine in China, and are valued for their ability to enhance human resistance to stress or fatigue and to promote longevity. Due to the morphological similarities among different species, the identification of the genus remains somewhat controversial, which may affect their safety and effectiveness in clinical use.

RESULTS

In this paper, 47 Rhodiola samples of seven species were collected from thirteen local provinces of China. They were identified by their morphological characteristics and genetic and phytochemical taxonomies. Eight bioactive chemotaxonomic markers from four chemical classes (phenylpropanoids, phenylethanol derivatives, flavonoids and phenolic acids) were determined to evaluate and distinguish the chemotaxonomy of Rhodiola samples using an HPLC-DAD/UV method. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to compare the two classification methods between genetic and phytochemical taxonomy.

CONCLUSIONS

The established chemotaxonomic classification could be effectively used for Rhodiola species identification.

Natural products as a source of anti-inflammatory agents associated with inflammatory bowel disease

Accumulating epidemiological and clinical study indicates that inflammation is a significant risk factor to develop various human diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and psoriasis. Suppressing inflammation is therefore important to control or prevent various diseases. Among them, IBD is one of the major problems affecting people worldwide. IBD affects at least one in a thousand persons in many Western countries. Various natural products have been shown to safely suppress pro-inflammatory pathway and control IBD. In vivo and/or in vitro studies indicate that anti-IBD effects of natural products occur by inhibition of the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (for example, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), intercellular adhesion molecule expression and pro-inflammatory mediators (such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), master transcription factors (such as nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and by improving the antioxidant activity. In this review, we summarize recent research focused on IBD and the effects that natural products have on IBD factors.