Extraction and isolation of potential anti-stroke compounds from flowers of Pueraria lobata guided by in vitro PC12 cell model

Biological Potential of Kakkalide in Medicine for the Treatment of Human Disorders: An Overview of Pharmacological Aspects

BACKGROUND

Pueraria lobata is an important herbal medicine of Fabaceae family that has been clinically used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to counteract human disorders and associated secondary complications. Kakkalide also called irisolidone 7-xylosylglucoside is an isoflavonoid of Puerariae flos, Pueraria lobata and Flos Puerariae. Moreover, Kakkalide has a wide range of bioactivities in medicine.

METHODS

Biological potential of kakkalide was investigated in the present work through scientific data analysis of different scientific research work on kakkalide in order to know its therapeutic potential in medicine. Scientific data on Pueraria lobata were collected and analyzed in the present work. All the scientific data were collected from Google, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Science Direct in the present work.

RESULTS

Scientific data analysis of kakkalide revealed its biological importance and therapeutic potential in medicine. The present investigation signified kakkalide's effectiveness in inflammatory diseases, prostaglandin E2 production, liver complication, gastric injury, alcoholism, insulinresistant endothelial dysfunction, aldose reductase enzyme, hyperlipidemia, estrogenic activity, and stroke. In addition, the bioavailability of kakkalide was also discussed in the present paper. Present work also revealed the significance of analytical techniques for the separation, isolation and identification of kakkalide in different biological and non-biological samples.

CONCLUSION

Present paper signified the health-beneficial aspects of kakkalide in medicine.

Screening and verification of antiviral compounds against HSV-1 using a method based on a plaque inhibition assay

BACKGROUND

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection is a common viral disease that mainly causes oral lesions, but can also cause genital lesions in some instances. Current treatments with nucleoside analogs are limited by the emergence of drug resistance. Therefore, novel anti-HSV-1 drugs are urgently needed.

METHODS

In this study, we screened a library of 2080 compounds for anti-HSV-1 activity using a plaque formation assay. We selected 11 potential inhibitors of HSV-1 and further evaluated their antiviral effects by plaque reduction assay and real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

RESULTS

Five compounds, namely ginsenoside Rd, brassinolide, rosamultin, 3'-hydroxy puerarin, and clinafloxacin HCl, showed potent anti-HSV-1 activity and completely suppressed plaque formation at a concentration of 10 µM. Among them, clinafloxacin HCl, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, exhibited a high selectivity index for HSV-1.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that these five compounds have potential antiviral properties against HSV-1 and may have different mechanisms of action. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the antiviral mechanisms of these compounds and to explore their therapeutic potential for HSV-1 infection.

Oriental traditional herbal Medicine--Puerariae Flos: A systematic review

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Pueraria Flos (PF), a traditional herbal medicine, is botanically from the dried flowers of Pueraria lobate (Willd.) Ohwi. (Chinese: ) or Pueraria thomsonii Benth. (Chinese: ). It has a long history of thousands of years in China for awakening the spleen, clearing the lungs, relieving alcohol.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

This review aims to report the up-to-date research progress in ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology, metabolism and therapeutic application of PF, so as to provide a strong basis for future clinical treatment and scientific research.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Relevant information on PF was collected from scientific literature databases including PubMed, CNKI and other literature sources (Ph.D. and M.Sc. dissertations and Chinese herbal classic books) by using the keyword "Puerariae".

RESULTS

Briefly, phytochemical research report has isolated 39 flavonoids, 19 saponins and 25 volatile oils from PF. Flavonoids and saponins are the most important bioactive compounds, and most of the quality control studies focus on these two types of compounds. Modern pharmacological studies have revealed their significant biological activities in relieving alcoholism, hepatoprotective, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidation, which provides theoretical support for the traditional use.

CONCLUSIONS

Comprehensive analysis showed that pharmacological activity of most purified compounds from PF had not been reported. Kakkalide, tectoridin and their deglycosylated metabolites (irisolidone and tectorigenin) has been focused on excessively due to their higher content and better activities. This leads to low development and resources waste. Interestingly, PF made a breakthrough in the field of food. Many kinds of fat-lowering foods such as PILLBOX Onaka have been popular in Japan market, which received extensive attention. Therefore, we suggest that future research can be paid attention on the development of the plant's function in the field of food and medicine, as well as the transformation from experimental to clinical.

Medicinal Importance, Pharmacological Activities and Analytical Aspects of an Isoflavone Glycoside Tectoridin

Background:

Polyphenols are a group of plant secondary metabolites that are produced in plants as a protective system against oxidative stress, UV radiation, pathogens and predator’s attack. Flavonoids are major class of plant phenolics found to be present in fruits, vegetables, tea and red wine. Tectoridin also called 40,5,7-thrihydroxy-6-methoxyisoflavone-7-Ob-D-glucopyranoside is an isoflavone glycoside found to be present in the flower of Porites lobata.

Methods:

Present work focused on the biological importance, therapeutic potential and pharmacological activities of tectoridin in medicine. Numerous scientific data has been collected from different literature databases such as Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed and Scopus in order to know the health beneficial potential of tectoridin. Pharmacological data have been analyzed in the present work to know the biological effectiveness of tectoridin against human disorders. Analytical data of tectoridin have been collected and analyzed in the present work in order to know the importance of modern analytical method in the isolation, separation and identification of tectoridin.

Results:

Scientific data analysis revealed the biological importance and therapeutic benefit of tectoridin in medicine, signifying the therapeutic potential of tectoridin in the healthcare systems. Biological activities of tectoridin are mainly due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet, anti-angiogenic, hepatoprotective, anti-tumor, estrogenic, antioxidant and hypoglycemic activity. However effectiveness of tectoridin against rat lens aldose reductase, nitric oxide, skeletal and cardiac muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum and enzymes have been also presented in this work. Analytical data signified the importance of modern analytical techniques for the separation, identification and isolation of tectoridin.

Conclusion:

Present work signified the biological importance and therapeutic benefit of tectoridin in the medicine and other allied health sectors.

Absolute Quantification of Isoflavones in the Flowers of Pueraria lobata by qHNMR

Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi. is a widely used medicinal plant in Korea, China, and Japan. The flower of P. lobata (Puerariae Flos) contains various bioactive substances such as triterpenoidal saponins and isoflavonoids. In this study, we developed a quantitative analysis of the isoflavones of Puerariae Flos by quantitative proton nuclear magnetic resonance (qHNMR) spectroscopy using the internal calibrant (IC). From the qHNMR results, the isoflavone content was found to be 7.99% and 10.57% for the MeOH sonication extract (PLs) and the MeOH reflux extract (PLr) of Puerariae Flos, respectively. The quantified isoflavone content was validated using the conventional analytical method, high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV). The present study shows that validated qHNMR spectroscopy is a reliable method for quantifying and standardizing the isoflavone content in Puerariae Flos.

Screening of lactate dehydrogenase inhibitor from bioactive compounds in natural products by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis

Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is a key enzyme in the glycolysis, which has been reported that the expression of LDH is elevated in a variety of cancer types and can promote tumor invasion and metastasis. Therefore, LDH has come to be an emerging therapeutic target for cancer. In this work, we described a new strategy for rapid screening of LDH inhibitors from natural products by integrating electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA), transverse diffusion of laminar flow profiles (TDLFP) and rapid pressure direction switching. LDH activity could be assayed by the quantification of the peak area of the produced β-Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrate (NAD⁺) and the inhibitory effect on LDH was reflected by the reduction of NAD⁺ peak area. Parameters affecting CE separation and enzymatic reaction were evaluated, including the pH of background electrolyte, incubation time, methanol percentage and enzyme concentration. The Michaelis-Menten constant (K_m) determined on-line by EMMA method were 226.9 μM and 31.8 μM for substrates sodium pyruvate and NADH, respectively and the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) for the known positive inhibitor gossypol was determined to be 9.269 μM, which was comparable with the previous literature. Then the inhibitory activity of 12 bioactive compounds from natural products on LDH was investigated by employing the developed method. Three compounds including quercetin, luteolin, ursolic acid had potential inhibitory effect on LDH. Molecular docking study was implemented and well supported the experimental results. This study provides a potential tool for the preliminary screening of LDH inhibitors from bioactive compounds in natural products by capillary electrophoresis.

Rapid screening of neuroprotective components from Huang-Lian-Jie-Du Decoction by living cell biospecific extraction coupled with HPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS/MS analysis

Huang-Lian-Jie-Du Decoction (HLJDD), a well-known traditional Chinese formulation, has been proved to exert neuroprotective effects, however, the bioactive components in HLJDD still remain to be elucidated. In the present study, a rapid and effective method involving live cell biospecific extraction and HPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS/MS was utilized to rapidly screen and identify the neuroprotective compounds from the HLJDD crude extract directly. Firstly, sixteen principal components in HLJDD crude extract were identified by HPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS/MS analysis. After co-incubation with PC12 cells, which have been validated as the key target cells for neurodegenerative diseases, seven compounds of them were demonstrated to exhibit binding affinity to the target cells. Furthermore, three representative compounds named baicalin, wogonoside, and berberine were subsequently verified to exert cytoprotective effects on PC12 cells injured by hydrogen peroxide via inhibiting oxidative stress and cell apoptosis, indicating that these screened compounds may possess a potential for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and were responsible, in part at least, for the neuroprotective beneficial effects of HLJDD. Taken together, our study provides evidence that live cell biospecific extraction coupled with LC-HRMS/MS technique is an efficient method for rapid screening potential bioactive components in traditional Chinese medicines.

Tectorigenin attenuates the OGD/R-induced HT-22 cell damage through regulation of the PI3K/AKT and the PPARγ/NF-κB pathways

Tectorigenin (TEC) is an effective compound that derived from many plants, such as Iris unguicularis, Belamcanda chinensis and Pueraria thunbergiana Benth. Evidence suggested that TEC has anti-tumor, anti-oxidant activity, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, there has some evidence indicated that TEC is a potential anti-stroke compound; however, its specific roles and associated mechanism have not yet been elucidated. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant activity and anti-apoptosis effects of TEC on oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R)-induced HT-22 cells, and clarified the relevant mechanisms. Here, we observed that TEC significantly promoted cell survival, impeded cell apoptosis, inhibited ROS and inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α production in OGD/R-induced HT-22 cells. Moreover, TEC activated PI3K/AKT signal pathway, increased PPARγ expression and inhibited NF-κB pathway activation in OGD/R-induced HT-22 cells. Further studies indicated that PPARγ inhibitor GW9662 activated NF-κB pathway after TEC treatment in OGD/R-induced HT-22 cells. Also, PI3K/AKT inhibitor LY294002, PPARγ inhibitor GW9662 and NF-κB activator LPS both reversed the effects of TEC on OGD/R-induced HT-22 cell biology. Taken together, this research confirmed that TEC benefit to HT-22 cell survival and against OGD/R damage through the PI3K/AKT and PPARγ/NF-κB pathways. These results indicated that TEC might be an effective compound in the treatment for ischemic brain injury.

A new isoflavone glycoside from flowers of Pueraria Montana var. lobata (Willd.) Sanjappa & Pradeep

A new isoflavone glycoside, named 3'-hydroxytectorigenin-7-O-β-D-xylosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside (1) was isolated from the flowers of Pueraria montana var. lobata (Willd.) Sanjappa & Pradeep. The structure of compound 1 was characterised by HR-ESI-MS and NMR spectroscopic methods. In radical scavenging activity test using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), compound 1 showed moderate activity with IC₅₀ value of 42 ± 4.2 μg/mL.

Simultaneous Characterization and Quantification of Varied Ingredients from Sojae semen praeparatum in Fermentation Using UFLC⁻TripleTOF MS

Systematic comparison of active ingredients in Sojae semen praeparatum (SSP) during fermentation was performed using ultra-fast liquid chromatography (UFLC)-TripleTOF MS and principal component analysis (PCA). By using this strategy, a total of 25 varied compounds from various biosynthetic groups were assigned and relatively quantified in the positive or negative ion mode, including two oligosaccharides, twelve isoflavones, eight fatty acids, N-(3-Indolylacetyl)-dl-aspartic acid, methylarginine, and sorbitol. Additionally, as the representative constituents, six targeted isoflavones were sought in a targeted manner and accurately quantified using extracted ion chromatograms (XIC) manager (AB SCIEX, Los Angeles, CA, USA) combined with MultiQuant software (AB SCIEX, Los Angeles, CA, USA). During the fermentation process, the relative contents of oligoses decreased gradually, while the fatty acids increased. Furthermore, the accurate contents of isoflavone glycosides decreased, while aglycones increased and reached a maximum in eight days, which indicated that the ingredients converted obviously and regularly throughout the SSP fermentation. In combination with the morphological changes, which meet the requirements of China Pharmacopoeia, this work suggested that eight days is the optimal time for fermentation of SSP from the aspects of morphology and content.

Isolation of naturally occurring novel isoflavonoids: an update

This review covers the literature concerning the isolation and identification of new naturally occurring isoflavonoids from Leguminosae and non-Leguminous species between 2012–2017.

Improvement of 2-Vessel Occlusion Cerebral Ischaemia/Reperfusion-Induced Corticostriatal Electrolyte and Redox Imbalance, Lactic Acidosis and Modified Acetylcholinesterase Activity by Kolaviron Correlates with Reduction in Neurobehavioural Deficits

Background

Disruption of electrolyte, redox and neurochemical homeostasis alongside cellular energy crisis is a hallmark of cerebral ischaemia and reperfusion injury.

Purpose

This study investigated the effect of kolaviron (KV) on cortical and striatal cation imbalance, oxidative stress and neurochemical disturbances as well as neurobehavioural deficits in animals subjected to bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO)-induced ischaemia/reperfusion injury.

Methods

KV was administered at a dose of 100 or 200 mg/kg to male Wistar rats 1 h before a 30 min BCCAO/4 h reperfusion (I/R). This was followed by neurobehavioral assessment and biochemical evaluations of cation levels, oxidative stress indicators, lactate dehydrogenase activity and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in the brain of animals.

Conclusion

KV significantly restored altered cortical and striatal Ca²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺ and Mg²⁺ levels, ameliorated redox imbalance, lactic acidosis and modified AChE activity caused by I/R injury. The favourable neurobehavioural effects of KV correlated with biochemical outcomes. The pharmacological potential of KV in the treatment and management of ischemic stroke and allied pathological conditions via multiple targets (neurotransmitter metabolism, bioenergetic failure and ionic homeostasis) is highlighted by the study.

Brain Pharmacokinetics and the Pharmacological Effects on Striatal Neurotransmitter Levels of Pueraria lobata Isoflavonoids in Rat

Isoflavonoids are putatively active components of Pueraria lobata and has been demonstrated prominent neuro-protection effect against cerebrovascular disorders, hypertension or Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the molecular basis for the beneficial effect of Pueraria lobata on nervous systems has not been well revealed. The present study aims to assess striatum exposure to main active isoflavonoids and changes of striatal extracellular neurotransmitters levels in rat brain after intravenous administration of Pueraria lobata isoflavonoids extracts (PLF), to further elucidate its' substantial bases for neuro activities. Fifteen rats were divided into 3 groups (five rats in each group) to receive a dose of PLF at 80 or 160 mg/kg or normal saline (vehicle), respectively. An LC-MS/MS method was employed to determine the concentrations of five main isoflavonoids and multiple neurotransmitters in microdialysate from striatal extracellular fluid (ECF) of the rats. The exposed quantities of puerarin (PU), 3′-methoxypuerarin (MPU), daidzein-8-C-apiosyl-(1-6)-glucoside (DAC), and 3′-hydroxypuerarin (HPU) in striatum were dose-dependent. The content of daidzein (DAZ) was too low to be detected in all dialysate samples through the experiment. Optimal dose PLF (80 mg/kg) promoted DA metabolism and inhibited 5-HT metabolism. No obvious change in the level of GLu was determined. The concentration of GABA presented a temporary decline firstly and then a gradual uptrend followed by a further downtrend. Higher dose (160 mg/kg) PLF could enhance the metabolism of both DA and 5-HT, and lower the extracellular level of GLu, without changing GABA concentrations, which might result in alleviation on excitatory toxicity under conditions, such as ischemia. The results infer that different dose of PLF should be chosen to achieve appropriate neurochemical modulation effects under conditions, such as hypertension or ischemia/stroke. These findings may significantly contribute to a better understanding of the neuroprotective effect of Pueraria lobata and provide new insights into its application toward neuro-degenerative diseases in the future.