Phytochemistry, data mining, pharmacology, toxicology and the analytical methods of Cyperus rotundus L. (Cyperaceae): a comprehensive review

Cyperus rotundus L. has been widely used in the treatment and prevention of numerous diseases in traditional systems of medicine around the world, such as nervous, gastrointestinal systems diseases and inflammation. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), its rhizomes are frequently used to treat liver disease, stomach pain, breast tenderness, dysmenorrheal and menstrual irregularities. The review is conducted to summarize comprehensively the plant's vernacular names, distribution, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and analytical methods, along with the data mining for TCM prescriptions containing C. rotundus. Herein, 552 compounds isolated or identified from C. rotundus were systematically collated and classified, concerning monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, phenolics and phenolic glycosides, triterpenoids and steroids, diterpenoids, quinonoids, alkaloids, saccharides and others. Their pharmacological effects on the digestive system, nervous system, gynecological diseases, and other bioactivities like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, insect repellent, anti-microbial activity, etc. were summarized accordingly. Moreover, except for the data mining on the compatibility of C. rotundus in TCM, the separation, identification and analytical methods of C. rotundus compositions were also systematically summarized, and constituents of the essential oils from different regions were re-analyzed using multivariate statistical analysis. In addition, the toxicological study progresses on C. rotundus revealed the safety property of this herb. This review is designed to serve as a scientific basis and theoretical reference for further exploration into the clinical use and scientific research of C. rotundus.

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Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary materials available at 10.1007/s11101-023-09870-3.

Isolation and purification of acidic polysaccharides from Agaricus blazei Murill and evaluation of their lipid-lowering mechanism

Polysaccharides are important active constituents of Agaricus blazei Morrill. In the present study, WABM-A was isolated from WABM using DEAE-cellulose, and subsequently purified using sepharose CL-6B to obtain the acidic polysaccharide WABM-A-b. WABM-A-b is mainly composed of Glc dextran, with a molecular weight of 10 KDa and β-1,6-D-Glcp as its main chain. The results of in vivo experiments show that in comparison with the MG, WABM-A significantly reduced the serum levels of TC, TG, and LDL-C, increased the serum levels of HDL-C (P < 0.01), and upregulated the liver expression of PPARγ, LXRα, ABCA1, and ABCG1 in rats with hyperlipidemia (P < 0.05). The results of in vitro experiments show that in comparison with the MG group, WABM-A-b-H significantly reduced the levels of TC and TG in HepG2 cells induced by oleic acid (P < 0.01), and significantly upregulated the protein expression of PPARγ, LXRα, ABCA1, and ABCG1 (P < 0.05). The present study demonstrates that WABM-A-b is an acidic glucan with lipid-lowering activity. The lipid-lowering mechanism of WABM-A-b is via the activation of the PPARγ/LXRα/ABCA1/ABCG1 cholesterol metabolism pathway. This is the first time that the hypolipidemic effect of Agaricus blazei Morrill acidic polysaccharides has been reported.

Sesquiterpenes from Cyperus rotundus and 4α,5α-oxidoeudesm-11-en-3-one as a potential selective estrogen receptor modulator

Estrogenic activity-oriented fractionation and purification of methanol extract from the rhizome of Cyperus rotundus, a well-known traditional herbal medicine, led to the isolation of six sesquiterpenes. 4α,5α-Oxidoeudesm-11-en-3-one (2) and cyper-11-ene-3,4-dione (3) together with four known sesquiterpenes, cyperotundone (1), caryophyllene α-oxide (4), α-cyperone (5), and isocyperol (6) were obtained from the hexane and dichloromethane fractions. Compounds 2 and 3 were newly isolated from natural resources in particular. To identify the possible use of isolated compounds as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT), estrogenic activity was evaluated by E-screen assay on MCF-7 BUS cells. Among the all isolated compounds from the rhizome of Cyperus rotundus, newly isolated from natural resource, 2 exhibited the most potent estrogenic activity. In an estrogen sensitive reporter gene assay, 2 significantly increased transcriptional activities. As a phytoestrogen, 2 was assessed by investigating dual action on ER-α and ER-β in competitive binding assay. It was found that 2 exerted higher binding affinity to ER-β than ER-α and it also showed both estrogenic and antiestrogenic effects depending on the E₂ concentration. Our results indicate that newly isolated from Cyperus rotundus, 2 has biphasic activities on estrogen receptors which could be useful as an alternative HRT.

Natural products as modulators of the nuclear receptors and metabolic sensors LXR, FXR and RXR

Nuclear receptors (NRs) represent attractive targets for the treatment of metabolic syndrome-related diseases. In addition, natural products are an interesting pool of potential ligands since they have been refined under evolutionary pressure to interact with proteins or other biological targets. This review aims to briefly summarize current basic knowledge regarding the liver X (LXR) and farnesoid X receptors (FXR) that form permissive heterodimers with retinoid X receptors (RXR). Natural product-based ligands for these receptors are summarized and the potential of LXR, FXR and RXR as targets in precision medicine is discussed.