Constituents promoting osteogenesis from the fruits of Psoralea corylifolia and their structure-activity relationship study

Review on the protective activity of osthole against the pathogenesis of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis (OP), characterized by continuous bone loss and increased fracture risk, has posed a challenge to patients and society. Long-term administration of current pharmacological agents may cause severe side effects. Traditional medicines, acting as alternative agents, show promise in treating OP. Osthole, a natural coumarin derivative separated from Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson and Angelica pubescens Maxim. f., exhibits protective effects against the pathological development of OP. Osthole increases osteoblast-related bone formation and decreases osteoclast-related bone resorption, suppressing OP-related fragility fracture. In addition, the metabolites of osthole may exhibit pharmacological effectiveness against OP development. Mechanically, osthole promotes osteogenic differentiation by activating the Wnt/β-catenin and BMP-2/Smad1/5/8 signaling pathways and suppresses RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast activity. Thus, osthole may become a promising agent to protect against OP development. However, more studies should be performed due to, at least in part, the uncertainty of drug targets. Further pharmacological investigation of osthole in OP treatment might lead to the development of potential drug candidates.

A practical method for rapid discrimination of constituents in Psoraleae Fructus by UPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS

Psoraleae Fructus (PF) is one of the most frequently used traditional Chinese medicine, which has good efficacy in warming kidney to activate yang, promoting inspiration to relieve asthma and warming spleen to stop diarrhea. However, the chemical composition of PF is complex, which makes it difficult to determine its active and toxic components. In order to rapidly classify and identify the chemical components of the extracts from PF, this research was processed with CNKI, PubMed, and PubChem databases and data post-processing technique basing on ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography quadrupole orbitrap mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS) technique. Finally, 73 chemical components were discriminated, including 44 flavonoids, 18 coumarins, and 11 terpenoids, with the cleavage rules of each chemical component summarized. This study established a UPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS method for the separation and discrimination of the chemical constituents of PF, which can lay a foundation for the further study of its medicinal substances and quality control.

Corylin ameliorates chronic ulcerative colitis via regulating the gut-brain axis and promoting 5-hydroxytryptophan production in the colon

BACKGROUND

Chronic ulcerative colitis (UC) is a lifelong disease, patients with chronic UC have a high prevalence of common mental disorders. The increasing interest in the role of gut-brain axis is seen in inflammatory bowel diseases.

PURPOSE

Corylin is a representative flavonoid compound isolated from the Psoraleae Fructus. This study aimed to identify the effects and mechanism of corylin on the inflammation interactions and 5-HT synthesis between the gut and brain in chronic UC.

METHODS

Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) induced chronic UC mouse model was established to assess the therapeutic effect of corylin on chronic UC symptoms. The expression of inflammatory cytokines was detected in the colon and brain. The expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins of intestinal mucosal barrier and blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) in the hippocampus were determined by western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. In addition, several tryptophan (Trp) metabolites and related neurotransmitters in faeces, colon, serum, and brain were detected by UPLC-MS/MS. The interaction between corylin and 5-hydroxytryptophan decarboxylase (5-HTPDC) was performed by molecular docking and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Finally, the changes of gut microbiota composition were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing.

RESULTS

Corylin significantly alleviated colitis symptoms and inhibited inflammatory response in the colon and brain of DSS-induced chronic UC mice. The TJ proteins of intestinal mucosal barrier and BBB were improved and the expression of Iba1 in the hippocampus was normalized after corylin treatment. In addition, corylin treatment increased the expression of neurotransmitters in the brain, especially 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), but the expression of 5-HT in the colon was inhibited. Further study firstly proved that corylin could bind to the 5-HTDPC, and then inhibit the expression of 5-HTDPC and VB₆, resulting in the 5-HT reduction and 5-HTP accumulation in the colon. Moreover, the intake of corylin transformed the diversity and composition of intestinal microbiota, Bacteroides, Escherichia-Shigella, and Turicibacter were decreased but Dubosiella, Enterorhabdus, and Candidatus_Stoquefichus were increased.

CONCLUSION

Corylin administration ameliorated DSS-induced colitis and inhibited intestinal inflammation and neuroinflammation via regulating the inflammation interactions across gut-brain axis and increasing 5-HTP generation in the colon.

A Review of The Application of Spectroscopy to Flavonoids from Medicine and Food Homology Materials

Medicinal and food homology materials are a group of drugs in herbal medicine that have nutritional value and can be used as functional food, with great potential for development and application. Flavonoids are one of the major groups of components in pharmaceutical and food materials that have been found to possess a variety of biological activities and pharmacological effects. More and more analytical techniques are being used in the study of flavonoid components of medicinal and food homology materials. Compared to traditional analytical methods, spectroscopic analysis has the advantages of being rapid, economical and free of chemical waste. It is therefore widely used for the identification and analysis of herbal components. This paper reviews the application of spectroscopic techniques in the study of flavonoid components in medicinal and food homology materials, including structure determination, content determination, quality identification, interaction studies, and the corresponding chemometrics. This review may provide some reference and assistance for future studies on the flavonoid composition of other medicinal and food homology materials.

Advances in Our Understanding of the Mechanism of Action of Drugs (including Traditional Chinese Medicines) for the Intervention and Treatment of Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis (OP) is known as a silent disease in which the loss of bone mass and bone density does not cause obvious symptoms, resulting in insufficient treatment and preventive measures. The losses of bone mass and bone density become more severe over time and an only small percentage of patients are diagnosed when OP-related fractures occur. The high disability and mortality rates of OP-related fractures cause great psychological and physical damage and impose a heavy economic burden on individuals and society. Therefore, early intervention and treatment must be emphasized to achieve the overall goal of reducing the fracture risk. Anti-OP drugs are currently divided into three classes: antiresorptive agents, anabolic agents, and drugs with other mechanisms. In this review, research progress related to common anti-OP drugs in these three classes as well as targeted therapies is summarized to help researchers and clinicians understand their mechanisms of action and to promote pharmacological research and novel drug development.