A new comprehensive procedure for the quality control of Semen Cassiae and its application in evaluating commercially available material in China

Metabolomics of Aurantio-Obtusin-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats for Discovery of Potential Biomarkers

Aurantio-obtusin is an anthraquinone derived from Cassia obtusifolia (cassiae semen). It is also used as a tool and a detection index for the identification of cassiae semen, as stipulated by the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Anthraquinones, the main components in cassiae semen, have been reported to show hepatotoxicity. This study investigates the hepatotoxicity of aurantio-obtusin in male Sprague–Dawley rats. We randomly divided the animals into a blank control group and treated three test groups with different doses of aurantio-obtusin: Low dose (4 mg/kg), medium dose (40 mg/kg), and high dose (200 mg/kg). Each group was treated with aurantio-obtusin for 28 days, whereas the control group was administered an equal volume of 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt (CMC-Na) aqueous solution. Subsequently, we conducted biochemical, hematological, and pathological investigations and determined the weight of different organs. We used serum metabolomics to identify possible biomarkers related to hepatotoxicity. The low-dose group showed no significant liver injury, whereas the medium- and high-dose groups manifested obvious liver injury. Compared with the control group, the test groups showed an increase in alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, and alkaline phosphatase levels. The liver organ coefficient also significantly increased. Additionally, we found significant changes in the hematological indices. Metabolomics analysis showed that aurantio-obtusin induced 28 endogenous markers related to liver injury. Our data indicate that aurantio-obtusin induces hepatotoxicity in rat liver in a dose-dependent manner and is mediated by pathways involving bile acids, fatty acids, amino acids, and energy metabolism. In particular, changes in bile acid content during treatment with therapeutic agents containing aurantio-obtusin deserve increased attention.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Aurantio-Obtusin from Seed of Cassia obtusifolia L. through Modulation of the NF-κB Pathway

Aurantio-obtusin, an anthraquinone compound, isolated from dried seeds of Cassia obtusifolia L. (syn. Senna obtusifolia; Fabaceae) and Cassia tora L. (syn. Senna tora). Although the biological activities of Semen Cassiae have been reported, the anti-inflammatory mechanism of aurantio-obtusin, its main compound, on RAW264.7 cells, remained unknown. We investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of aurantio-obtusin on lipopolysaccharide- (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells in vitro and elucidated the possible underlying molecular mechanisms. Nitric oxide production (NO) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) were measured by the Griess colorimetric method and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Protein expression levels of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) were monitored by cell-based ELISA. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) synthesis were analyzed using ELISA. The mRNA expression of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), COX-2, and the critical pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) were detected by quantitative real-time PCR. Aurantio-obtusin significantly decreased the production of NO, PGE₂, and inhibited the protein expression of COX-2, TNF-α and IL-6, which were similar to those gene expression of iNOS, COX-2, TNF-α and IL-6 (p < 0.01). Consistent with the pro-inflammatory gene expression, the Aurantio-obtusin efficiently reduced the LPS-induced activation of nuclear factor-κB in RAW264.7 cells. These results suggested that aurantio-obtusin may function as a therapeutic agent and can be considered in the further development of treatments for a variety of inflammatory diseases. Further studies may provide scientific evidence for the use of aurantio-obstusin as a new therapeutic agent for inflammation-related diseases.

Safety assessment of freeze-dried powdered Cassiae Semen: evaluation of chronic toxicity (26-week) in Sprague-Dawley rats

There is a lack of safety assessment data regarding the long-term consumption of Cassiae Semen (Leguminosae, the seeds of Cassia obtusifolia L. and Cassia tora L.). Thus, we evaluated the toxicity of freeze-dried powdered Cassiae Semen in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were intragastrically administered freeze-dried powdered Cassiae Semen at a dose of 0.5, 2.2, or 10.0 g/kg body weight/day for 26 weeks; several variables were assessed after 13 and 26 weeks as well as after a 4-week recovery period. No mortality was observed in the treated animals, and body weight increased in a dose-dependent manner. The total bilirubin (TBIL) levels also displayed a dose-dependent relationship. In males, at 26 weeks, there were significant increases in relative kidney weights in the 2.2 and 10.0 g/kg groups compared with that in the negative control group (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). Pigment deposition in the epithelial cells of the renal proximal convoluted tubules and atrophy or regeneration of renal tubules were observed in the 10.0 g/kg group after 26 weeks, and these changes were not fully reversed after the 4-week recovery period. Under the studied conditions, the primary toxicity organs for freeze-dried powdered Cassiae Semen in the 10.0 g/kg group were the kidneys.

Investigation of six bioactive anthraquinones in slimming tea by accelerated solvent extraction and high performance capillary electrophoresis with diode-array detection

A rapid and effective method for effective separation and rapid simultaneous determination of six bioactive anthraquinones by capillary zone electrophoresis was developed. An accelerated solvent extraction procedure was used for the extraction of anthraquinones from slimming tea. Under the optimized conditions, the effective separation of six anthraquinones was achieved within 8 min. Good linearity was achieved, with a correlation coefficient (r) of ⩾ 0.999. The limit of detection ranged from 0.33 to 1.40 μg mL(-1). The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviation (RSD) of the six analytes was in the range of 2.3-3.9% and 3.2-4.9%, respectively. The average recovery of the six analytes from real tea samples was in the range of 86.15-98.30% with the RSD of 1.04-4.99%. The developed and validated method has speediness, high sensitivity, recovery and precision, and can be applied for the quality control of slimming tea.