Effect of Desmodium styracifolium-triterpenoid on calcium oxalate renal stones

Elucidation of active components and target mechanism in Jinqiancao granules for the treatment of prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) are inflammations of the prostate gland, which surrounds the urethra in males. Jinqiancao granules are a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat kidney stones and this medicine consists of four herbs: Desmodium styracifolium (Osbeck) Merr., Pyrrosia calvata (Baker) Ching, Plantago asiatica L. and stigma of Zea mays L.

AIM OF THE STUDY

We hypothesized that Jinqiancao granules could be a potential therapy for prostatitis and BPH, and this work aimed to elucidate active compounds in Jinqiancao granules and their target mechanisms for the potential treatment of the two diseases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Jinqiancao granules were commercially available and purchased. Database-driven data mining and networking were utilized to establish a general correlation between Jinqiancao granules and the two diseases above. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used for compound separation and characterization. The characterized compounds were evaluated on four G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs: GPR35, muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M3, alpha-1A adrenergic receptor α1A and cannabinoid receptor CB2). A dynamic mass redistribution technique was applied to evaluate compounds on four GPCRs. Nitric acid (NO) inhibition was tested on the macrophage cell line RAW264.7. Molecular docking was conducted on GPR35-active compounds and GPR35 crystal structure. Statistical analysis using GEO datasets was conducted.

RESULTS

Seventy compounds were isolated and twelve showed GPCR activity. Three compounds showed potent GPR35 agonistic activity (EC50 < 10 μM) and the GPR35 agonism action of PAL-21 (Scutellarein) was reported for the first time. Docking results revealed that the GPR35-targeting compounds interacted at the key residues for the agonist-initiated activation of GPR35. Five compounds showed weak antagonistic activity on M3, which was confirmed to be a disease target by statistical analysis. Seventeen compounds showed NO inhibitory activity. Several compounds showed multi-target properties. An experiment-based network reflected a pharmacological relationship between Jinqiancao granules and the two diseases.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified active compounds in Jinqiancao granules that have synergistic mechanisms, contributing to anti-inflammatory effects. The findings provide scientific evidence for the potential use of Jinqiancao granules as a treatment for prostatitis and BPH.

Therapeutic effects of Chinese herbal medicines for treatment of urolithiasis: A review

Urolithiasis is a common and complex disease of the urinary system, which can cause urinary tract blockage, urinary tract infection, and even damage to urinary system-related tissues. Although urolithiasis can be cured, its high recurrence rate and the development of chronic kidney disease in some patients have drawn the attention of nephrologists. Although the application of extracorporeal lithotripsy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy and other minimally invasive techniques have made the treatment of urolithiasis more efficient, pharmacotherapy plays an indispensable role in reducing their morbidity and recurrence rates. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used for treatment and prevention of urolithiasis in developing countries for centuries, known for its unquestionable efficacy and safety. This article reviews the progress of clinical trials and pharmacological studies on the treatment of urolithiasis with Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs). The mechanism of CHMs in the treatment of urolithiasis mainly involve preventing further growth and aggregation of urolithiasis, reducing the PH of urine, promoting calculus dissolution. Furthermore, some CHMs can increase urine output, relax smooth muscles, and promote the removal of calculus. These findings provide new treatment strategies and options for urolithiasis and secondary kidney damage.

Chemical Profiling and In Vitro Antiurolithiatic Activity of Pleurolobus gangeticus (L.) J. St.- Hil. ex H. Ohashi & K. Ohashi Along with Its Antioxidant and Antibacterial Properties

Pleurolobus gangeticus (L.) J. St.- Hil. ex H. Ohashi & K. Ohashi (Fabaceae) is an important medicinal plant used to treat various ailments. In this study, we report the antiurolithiatic, antioxidant, and antibacterial potential of chloroform fraction (CF) from P. gangeticus roots. For the chemical profiling, HPTLC, FT-IR, and GC-MS techniques of the CF were carried out, and phytochemical investigation was revealed that stigmasterol (45.06%) is one of the major components present in the fraction. The nucleation and aggregation assays were used to evaluate the in vitro antiurolithiatic activity at various concentration (2-10 mg/mL) of the CF. The results showed that the chloroform fraction had dose-dependent effects on Calcium Oxalate (CaOx) crystal formation. In both the assays, the maximum concentration of 10 mg/mL has shown better results. This concentration resulted significant increase in CaOx crystal nucleation along with the reduction of crystal size and the inhibition of crystal aggregation. Further, the CF showed stronger antioxidant (DPPH, NO, SOD, TRC) potential with an IC₅₀ values of 415.9327, 391.729, 275.971, and 419.14 µg/mL, respectively. The antibacterial evaluation displayed effective results in the Agar well diffusion assay against selective urinary tract infection (UTI) pathogens (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Staphylococcus aureus). A maximum zone of inhibition (ZOI) 12.33 ± 1.05 mm for K pneumonia and minimum ZOI of 8.46 ± 0.27 mm for S. aureus were obtained. Further, the ADME-PK property of the stigmasterol was investigated, and it was found to pass the Lipinski and Ghose rules, supporting the drug-likeliness. This is the first record of the antiurolithiatic potential of P. gangeticus along with antioxidant and antibacterial activities. These findings give an insight into the effective drug development and treatment for kidney stones in future.

Comparative pharmacokinetic studies of five C-glycosylflavones in normal and urolithiasis model rats following administration of total flavonoids from Desmodium styracifolium by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

The total flavonoids of Desmodium styracifolium are the flavonoid extracts purified from Desmodii Styracifolii Herba, which has conventionally been used for treating urolithiasis in China. In this study, a sensitive and simple liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed to simultaneously determine five active components of the extracts in rat plasma. Chromatographic separation of the analytes (schaftoside, vicenin-1, vicenin-2, vicenin-3 and isovitexin) was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC HSS T3 Column under gradient elution conditions. The calibration curves were linear over ranges from 0.5 to 100 ng·mL^-1 for schaftoside, vicenin-1, vicenin-2, and vicenin-3, and 0.2 to 20 ng·mL^-1 for isovitexin. The RSD of intra- and inter-day precisions were ≤ 6.8% and ≤ 8.3%, respectively, and the accuracies (relative error) were within ±7.6%. The recoveries of the analytes ranged between 97.3 and 100.3%, and the matrix effects ranged from 98.6 to 113.8%. The method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic studies of the five active ingredients of Desmodium styracifolium, for the first time, in both normal and urolithiasis model rats. Results revealed that the plasma levels of these components were significantly increased under the pathological state. This study provided valuable information facilitating the clinical investigation of this medicine. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The complete chloroplast genome of Desmodium styracifolium

The complete chloroplast genome (cpDNA) of Desmodium styracifolium, an important medicinal herb for urolithiasis treatment, was sequenced and assembled from the whole genome data. The cpDNA of D. styracifolium is 149,155 bp in length with GC content of 35.2%. The genome has a quadripartite structure that is composed of a large single-copy (LCS, 82,476 bp) and small single-copy (SSC, 18,439 bp) separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRa and IRb, 24,120 bp each). There are 128 genes in the chloroplast genome, including 83 protein-coding genes, 8 rRNA genes and 37 tRNA genes.

Antiurolithic effects of medicinal plants: results of in vivo studies in rat models of calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis-a systematic review

Urolithiasis is one of the oldest diseases affecting humans, while plants are one of our oldest companions providing food, shelter, and medicine. In spite of substantial progress in understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms, treatment options are still limited, often expensive for common people in most parts of the world. As a result, there is a great interest in herbal remedies for the treatment of urinary stone disease as an alternative or adjunct therapy. Numerous in vivo and in vitro studies have been carried out to understand the efficacy of herbs in reducing stone formation. We adopted PRISMA guidelines and systematically reviewed PubMed/Medline for the literature, reporting results of various herbal products on in vivo models of nephrolithiasis/urolithiasis. The Medical Subject Heading Terms (Mesh term) "Urolithiasis" was used with Boolean operator "AND" and other related Mesh Unique terms to search all the available records (July 2019). A total of 163 original articles on in vivo experiments were retrieved from PubMed indexed with the (MeshTerm) "Urolithiasis" AND "Complementary Therapies/Alternative Medicine, "Urolithiasis" AND "Plant Extracts" and "Urolithiasis" AND "Traditional Medicine". Most of the studies used ethylene glycol (EG) to induce hyperoxaluria and nephrolithiasis in rats. A variety of extraction methods including aqueous, alcoholic, hydro-alcoholic of various plant parts ranging from root bark to fruits and seeds, or a combination thereof, were utilized. All the investigations did not study all aspects of nephrolithiasis making it difficult to compare the efficacy of various treatments. Changes in the lithogenic factors and a reduction in calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystal deposition in the kidneys were, however, considered favorable outcomes of the various treatments. Less than 10% of the studies examined antioxidant and diuretic activities of the herbal treatments and concluded that their antiurolithic activities were a result of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and/or diuretic effects of the treatments.

The protective effects of an herbal agent tutukon on ethylene glycol and zinc disk induced urolithiasis model in a rat model

To evaluate protective effects of Tutukon®, a plant derived herbal product, on the development of rat urolithiasis model. A total of 45 rats were divided into three groups namely; Group 1 (control group; drinking water + zinc disk), Group 2 (0.5 % ethylene glycol [EG] to drinking water + zinc disk) and Group 3 (study group-0.5 % EG + Tutukon + zinc disk). Moreover, zinc disks were placed into bladder of rats to serve as a nidus for stone development. Five rats from each group were killed at the end of the 1st, 2nd and 4th week. The level of bladder inflammation, the disk weights and the urine oxalate, calcium and pH values and were evaluated and compared. The inflammation scores of the pathological evaluation were not significantly different among three groups. At the end of the 28th day, weights of the zinc disks were significantly higher in Group 2 (394.4 ± 41.2) when compared to Group 1 (1517.5 ± 367.3) and Group 3 (386.2 ± 26.9) (p = 0.016). The disk weights increased gradually at 7th, 14th and 28th days in Group 1 (p = 0.018) and Group 2 (p = 0.009) while remained stable in Group 3 (p = 0.275). Urine calcium levels were not affected among three groups throughout the study period. At the end of the 28th day, while the urine oxalate levels of rats in Group 1 was lower than that of both Group 2 (p = 0.046) and Group 3 (p = 0.008); Group 2 and Group 3 had similar oxalate excretion levels (p = 0.701). However, the difference was not significant. Tutukon seems to decrease stone deposition on zinc disks implanted in the bladder of rats. The exact mechanism of this preventive effect is, however, not well understood.

The genus Desmodium (Fabaceae)-traditional uses in Chinese medicine, phytochemistry and pharmacology

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Plants of the genus Desmodium (Fabaceae), such as Desmodium styracifolium (Osbeck) Merr. and Desmodium gyrans (L. f.) DC., have a long history of medical use in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat various ailments including rheumatism, pyrexia, dysentery, wounds, cough, malaria, hepatitis, hemoptysis, etc. In the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine, most species have the effect of relieving internal heat or fever, neutralizing toxins, inhibiting pain, invigorating blood circulation, suppressing cough and alleviating dyspnea.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A bibliographic investigation was accomplished by analyzing secondary sources including Chinese Herbal Classics, and worldwide accepted scientific databases (Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science, SciFinder) were scrutinized for the available information on the ethnopharmacological uses in Chinese medicine, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of Desmodium species.

RESULTS

The genus Desmodium is a large member of the Papilionaceae (Fabaceae) family. It contains about 350 plant species used for both feeding stuffs and herbal medicines, of which only about 30 species have been phytochemically or pharmacologically investigated. Desmodium plant extracts, as well as the active principles, have been experimentally studied for their anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, antidiabetic, antinephrolithic, antibacterial, and nootropic activities in vitro or in vivo. And so far, a total of 212 compounds have been isolated from 15 Desmodium species and characterized mainly as flavonoids and alkaloids, followed by terpenoids, steroids, phenols, phenylpropanoids, glycosides and a number of volatile oils. The remaining unrevealed species are recorded chiefly in Asia and Africa being used in empirical treatment for various diseases.

CONCLUSIONS

Desmodium species have long been used in TCM to treat various ailments. Available scientific references revealed that the traditional medical uses of some important Desmodium species in TCM have been evaluated by modern pharmacological studies. As literature demonstrated, flavonoids and alkaloids are perhaps responsible for most of the activities shown by the plants of this genus. Further studies are still required to reveal the structure-activity relationship of these active constituents.

Chinese herbal medicines and their efficacy in treating renal stones

In herbal treatment of kidney stones, antilithics are used to "dissolve" the stones or aid their passing to guard against further retention. Diuretic action is also needed to increase the amount of fluid going through the kidneys and flush out the deposits. Previous clinical studies have shown that herbal medicines and their concoctions could be used to inhibit calcium oxalate crystallization. However, the pharmacodynamics and in-vitro effects of such medicines have not been established. Five Chinese herbal medicines were selected based on their usefulness in treating stone disease. A 96-well plate oxalate-induced turbidity in artificial urine was used to evaluate the efficacies of the different herbal medicines on calcium oxalate crystallization. The metastable limit was determined and the nucleation rate was derived from 12-min time-course measurement of turbidity at 405 nm. Phase-contrast microscopy was used to visualize the crystals. The results showed that with increasing concentrations of herbal extracts, smaller calcium oxalate crystal sizes were observed. Overall, the five herbal medicinal extracts tested were able to promote nucleation of calcium oxalate crystals while at the same time decreasing the size. This in-vitro crystallization confirms that prophylaxis of renal stones could be achieved by reducing overall supersaturation through promotion of small crystal nucleates and concomitant pharmacological diuretic action of herbal medicines. Clinical studies will provide more definitive conclusions.

Isoflavanones and their O-glycosides from Desmodium styracifolium

Two isoflavanones (5,7-dihydroxy-2',3',4'-trimethoxy-isoflavanone and 5,7-dihydroxy-2'-methoxy-3',4'-methylenedioxy-isoflavanone), four isoflavanone O-glycosides (5,7-dihydroxy-2',3',4'-trimethoxy-isoflavanone 7-O-beta-glucopyranoside, 5,7-dihydroxy-2'-methoxy-3',4'-methylenedioxy-isoflavanone 7-O-beta-glucopyranoside, 5,7-dihydroxy-2',4'-dimethoxy-isoflavanone 7-O-beta-glucopyranoside, and 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-2',3'-dimethoxy-isoflavanone 7-O-beta-glucopyranoside), and a coumaronochromone (3,5,7,4'-tetrahydroxy-coumaronochromone), along with 25 known compounds, were isolated from the aerial parts of Desmodium styracifolium. This is for the first time isoflavanone O-glycosides were isolated from a natural source.

[Search for functions of natural oligoglycosides--Solanaceae and Leguminosae origin glycosides]

Our extensive investigation of the isoprenoidal glycosides in Solanaceae and Leguminosae folk medicines to verify their effectiveness, antiherpes and anti-HSV-1 activities, and hepatoprotective action has resulted in the elucidation of their structure-activity relationships. We present the respective optimum models here.

Effects of oleanane-type triterpenoids from fabaceous plants on the expression of ICAM-1

We examined the inhibitory effects of oleanane-type triterpenoids from fabaceous plants on the TNF-alpha-induced expression of cell adhesion molecules on THP-1 human monocytic leukemia cells and compared them with a glucocorticoid dexamethasone. In a cell-based ELISA, abrisapogenol E, soyasapogenols B and C, soyasapogenol B, kuzusapogenol B-methyl ester, and oleanolic acid significantly inhibited intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) expression. Moreover, these triterpenoids showed the same activity as dexamethasone. On the other hand, the absence of hydroxyl group at C-24 position of sapogenin rather to increase ICAM-1 expression compared with the untreated control. We concluded that the activity of oleanane saponins and sapogenins against ICAM-1 expression are dependent upon the position of the hydroxyl group, and in particular upon the status of the C-21 and C-24 positions and of the glycosyl group at C-3 position.

HPLC profile analysis of oleanene-glucuronides in several edible beans

HPLC analysis and yield of oleanene-glucuronide (OG) was done on some commercially available edible beans: seeds of Glycine max, Glycine max cv. Kuromame, Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Torosuku, Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Toramame, Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Taishokintoki, Phaseolus coccineus cv. Ooshirobana, Phaseolus coccineus cv. Murasakihanamame, Vigna unguiculata cv. Chuguro, Vigna angularis cv. Dainagon, Arachis hypogaea, Pisum sativum, and Vicia faba. All the beans listed above have OG, though in varying the amounts. Furthermore the HPLC profiles of beans belonging to the same genus were very similar except for that of the Vigna genus. There was no great difference of the HPLC profiles with respect to the cultivated varieties. The structures of the major OGs in each type of beans were identified as soyasaponins I (1) and V (2), and phaseoside I (3) (Phaseolus vulgaris and P. coccineus); 1 and soyasaponin II (4) (Glycine max); 1 and 2 (Vigna unguiculata); 1 (Pisum sativum, Arachis hypogaea and Vicia faba). In contrast, those in Dainagon (Vigna angularis cv. Dainagon) were identified as azukisaponins II (5) and VI (6).