Dynamic changes in chemical compositions and anti-acetylcholinesterase activity associated with steaming process of stem-leaf saponins of Panax notoginseng

Panaxindole, a novel indole alkaloid N-glucoside from the leaves of Panax vietnamensis Ha et Grushv. (Vietnamese ginseng)

Vietnamese ginseng (Panax vietnamensis Ha and Grushv., Araliaceae) is indigenous in the central highlands of Vietnam and the southernmost distribution in the Panax genus. Like other ginseng, Vietnamese ginseng is well known has been used as a tonic and for management of certain diseases in the traditional medicine. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that in respect to the long history in use and systematic studied on Korean ginseng (P. ginseng), American ginseng (P. quinquefolius), Japanese ginseng (P. japonicus), and Chinese ginseng (P. notoginseng), the up-to-date published database on Vietnamese ginseng is relatively much less extensive. In our ongoing research on the promising Vietnamese medicinal plants, the present phytochemical investigation of the ethanol extract of the leaves of Panax vietnamensis led to the isolation of three compounds (1-3), including a new indole alkaloid N-glycoside (1) and two known compounds. Their structures were elucidated based on extensive physiochemical and chemical methods, especially the interpretation of NMR and MS spectra. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined based on the comparison of its experimental and theoretical ECD spectra along with NMR calculation. Compound 1 is naturally isolated N-glycoside, which is rarely found in natural products. The isolated compounds showed weak or no inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AChE).

Rapid characterization of the constituents in Jigucao capsule using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Jigucao capsule is a well-known Chinese patent medicine for the treatment of acute and chronic hepatitis and cholecystitis. The chemical components of Jigucao capsule were not clear resulting from the paucity of relevant studies, which hindered the research of the pharmacological mechanism, the comprehensive development, and utilization of Jigucao capsule in clinical studies. By establishing a high-throughput ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry in combination with intelligent UNIFI software data processing platform to automatically characterize and identify the chemical profile of Jigucao capsule, 144 compounds were determined rapidly, including 34 terpenoids, 25 flavonoids, 22 steroids, 21 phenylpropanoids, 10 glycosides, six alkaloids, 13 organic acids, and other 13 components. These compounds may be the active components of Jigucao capsule. In this study, a rapid and robust method for comprehensively analyzing the chemical composition of Jigucao capsule was described and established for the first time. The results will provide a reference for the quality control of Jigucao capsule and the establishment of a higher quality standard, as well as for the pharmacodynamic material basis research.