草苁蓉乙醇提取物对二甲基亚硝胺诱导大鼠肝纤维化的治疗作用

The genus Boschniakia in China: An ethnopharmacological and phytochemical review

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

As a group of important medicine plants, Boschniakia rossica (Cham. et Schltdl) Fedtsch. and B. himalaica Hook．f．et Thoms, which are the only two species in the genus Boschniakia (Orobanchaceae), have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine for their multiple therapeutic uses related to enhanced renal function, erectile dysfunction, defaecate and hepatoprotective. Additionally, the two species are also used as dietary supplements in wine, cosmetics, and other healthy food.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

By providing comprehensive information and data of genus Boschniakia on botany, traditional medicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological research and toxicology, this review aims to summary the group of natural compounds from Boschniakia discovered so far. The other aims are to reference research findings of their biological activities and functions in medicine, physiology, and cell biology to highlight the compound candidates which can be used for further drug discovery in several pharmaceutical areas including antioxidation, anticancer, anti-inflammation, anti-senile, and immunology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All of the available information on B. rossica and B. himalaica was collected from the electronic resources (such as PubMed, SciFinder Scholar, CNKI, TPL (www.theplantlist.org), Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, and Web of Science).

RESULTS

After a comprehensive analysis of the literatures from available online sources, the results show that both species of genus Boschniakia are valuable and popular herbal medicines with potentials to cure various ailments. The phytochemical studies revealed that the chemical compositions of this genus were mainly iridoid glycosides and phenylpropanoid glycosides. To date, 112 compounds have been isolated from the genus, while their crude extracts and purified compounds have been found to possess a wide range of biological activities including anti-senile, antitumor and anticancer, anti-inflammatory, protecting liver, boost memory, anti-oxidation, anti-lipid peroxidative, and antiviral activities.

CONCLUSIONS

The existing traditional uses of the genus Boschniakia have been evaluated, and the properties of the genus are summarized based on botany, phytochemistry, pharmacological research, and toxicology. This review aims to introduce the utilization and application of the genus Boschniakia to modern drug discovery, traditional medicinal plant utilization, herbal species conservation, and the development of medicinal and health-maintaining products.

Verbascoside exerts therapeutic effects against colorectal cancer xenografts in nude mice via HIPK2-P53 pathway

AIM: To investigate whether verbascoside exerts therapeutic effects against colorectal cancer xenografts in nude mice and the possible role of the HIPK2-P53 pathway in this process.

METHODS: An ectopic nude mice model of colorectal cancer was established by subcutaneously inoculating human colorectal carcinoma HCT-116 cells into the armpit of nude mice. The mice were then randomly divided into 5 groups: a model control group, low- [20 mg/(kg·d)], medium- [40 mg/(kg·d)], high-dose verbascoside groups [80 mg/(kg·d)], and a 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) group [1 mg/(kg·d)]. Drugs were injected intraperitoneally for two weeks. Two weeks later, the mice were sacrificed and the tumors were peeled off to measure tumor size and weight. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins HIPK2, P53, Bax, and Bcl-2 in tumor tissues was tested by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS: Compared with the model control group, tumor size decreased by 48.41%, 61.04%, 63.75%, and 75.14% in the low-, medium-, high-dose verbascoside groups and the 5-FU group, respectively, and tumor weight decreased by 42.79%, 53.90%, 60.99%, and 66.19%. The relative expression levels of HIPK2 in tumor tissues were 4.83 ± 0.62, 8.46 ± 0.99, 11.90 ± 1.21 and 13.50 ± 0.94, in the low-, medium-, high-dose verbascoside groups and the 5-FU group, respectively. The corresponding values were 14.59 ± 0.90, 17.60 ± 1.40, 23.10 ± 2.10 and 22.44 ± 2.05 for P53, 14.41 ± 0.38, 15.84 ± 0.54, 26.28 ± 0.55 and 26.34 ± 2.33 for Bax, and 14.08 ± 1.04, 11.93 ± 0.93, 7.48 ± 0.86 and 5.46 ± 0.67 for Bcl-2.

CONCLUSION: Verbascoside can inhibit the growth of human colorectal cancer xenografts in mice, up-regulate the expression of HIPK2, P53 and Bax, and down-regulate Bcl-2 expression. The inhibition of colorectal cancer by verbascoside was closely with the promotion of tumor cell apoptosis.

Protective effect of boschniakia rossica ethanol extract on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in rats and mechanisms involved

AIM: To assess the protective effect of boschniakia rossica ethanol extract (BREE) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in rats and explore the possible mechanisms involved.

METHODS: Fifty SD rats were randomly and equally divided into five groups: normal group, model group, and three BREE groups. The normal group was fed a normal diet, and the model group and BREE groups were fed a diet with choline-deficient amino acid-defined (CDAA) for 8 wk to induce NAFLD. From the second week, the three BREE groups were intragastrically administered with high- (500 mg/kg), medium- (250 mg/kg) and low-dose (125 mg/kg) BREE daily. At the end of the 8th week, portal vein blood and liver tissue samples were taken from all the rats. Serum biological parameters were determined routinely, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was determined by ELISA. Expression of CYP 2E1, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) in liver tissue were determined by immunohistochemistry, and pathological changes in liver tissues were detected by HE staining.

RESULTS: The levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transaminase, total bile acids, TNF-α in serum and CYP 2E1 expression in liver tissue were lower significantly in the high-dose BREE group than in the model group (41.31 ± 12.32 vs 67.92 ± 1.28, 42.12 ± 6.32 vs 74.12 ± 5.20, 68.20 ± 32.62 vs 129.56 ± 23.12, all P < 0.01; 31.20 ± 2.44 vs 70.04 ± 12.62, P < 0.05; 1.20 ± 0.44 vs 5.30 ± 2.62, P < 0.01), and in the high-dose BREE group than in the low-dose BREE group (all P < 0.05). Expression of α-SMA, TGF-β1 and TIMP-1 was detectable in liver tissue in the model group, but not in the three BREE groups and normal group. Rats of the model group showed severe fatty liver degeneration and necrosis, infiltration of a large number of inflammatory cells in portal area, and varying degrees of improvement of these hepatic pathologic lesions were observed in the BREE groups.

CONCLUSION: BREE has a significant protective effect on CDAA-induced NAFLD in rats possibly via mechanisms related to decreasing expression of liver CYP-2E1 and serum TNF-α levels. The observation that BREE inhibited the expression of α-SMA, TGF-β1 and TIMP-1 in liver tissue in rats with NAFLD suggests that BREE may have anti-non alcoholic liver fibrosis effect.