[Mechanism of protective effects of ouren-gedoku-to and san'ou-syashin-to on the gastric mucosa]

Development of simultaneous analysis for marker constituents in Hwangryunhaedok-tang () and its application in commercial herbal formulas

This study was performed to develop methods for the chromatographic determination of biomarkers in Hwangryunhaedok-tang (HHT) and the quantitative evaluation of commercial HHT. To develop an analytical method, an RP-amide column (2.7 μm, 4.6 × 100 mm, Halo: Supelco, Bellefonte, PA) was used with a gradient solvent system of mixed acetonitrile and 0.1 % phosphoric acid/water and an ultra performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector. The method was validated by specificity, linearity, accuracy (recovery) and precision tests (repeatability, intra and inter-day). The correlation coefficients (R (2)) of biomarkers were calculated as 0.9998-1.000 and their ranges were as follows: geniposide (62.5-1,000.0 μg/ml), berberine (31.3-500.0 mg/ml), palmatine (31.3-500.0 μg/ml), baicalin (125.0-1,500.0 μg/ml), baicalein (15.6-250.0 μg/ml) and wogonin (5.2-125.0 μg/ml), respectively. The limit of detection was 0.34-4.01 μg/ml, and the limit of quantification was 1.02-12.16 μg/ml. The intra-day and inter-day precision of six components were revealed as 0.02-2.48 % as a relative standard deviation (RSD). The repeatability value of biomarkers in three different concentrations of HHT was 0.29-2.98 % (RSD value) and recovery was 95.72-104.90 %. Among several extraction methods tested, biomarker content was higher with the 20 times extraction (20TE) and mixture of extract powder (MEP) methods than with any other method, and some differences among diverse pharmaceutical medicines were revealed. The validation data indicated that the method developed is suited to the determination of six marker compounds in HHT. The content of biomarkers by simultaneous analysis was evaluated in 20TE, MEP, USA formula and Taiwan formula.

Plasma pharmacochemistry based approach to screening potential bioactive components in Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Tang using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric detection

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Tang (HLJDT), a classic prescription of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been used in clinical over 1700 years for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular diseases and Alzheimer disease. But the active components of HLJDT were ambiguous, which seriously restricted its clinical application.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The methodology of plasma pharmacochemistry was applied to screen the bioactive components in HLJDT. A reliable LC/MS system was established for detecting the prototype compounds and metabolites in dosed plasma after oral administration of HLJDT. By comparative analysis of the chemical profiles of HLJDT extracts, blank plasma and dosed plasma, potential bioactive compounds in HLJDT may be discovered.

RESULTS

By comparing the retention time, MS and MS/MS spectra with those of reference standard and literature data, 30 components including 22 prototype compounds and 8 metabolites from HLJDT were discovered as potential bioactive components in rat plasma.

CONCLUSIONS

A reliable and effective method was established to screen the potential bioactive components in the formula of HLJDT, which provided useful information for the further study of action mechanism of HLJDT.

[Study of total alkaloids from Rhizoma Coptis Chinensis on experimental gastric ulcers]

OBJECTIVE

To study the effects of total alkaloids (TA) extracted from Rhizoma Coptis Chinensis on experimental gastric ulcer models.

METHODS

Four kinds of experimental ulcer models were established respectively by water-immersion stress, intragastric ethanol, acetic acid erosion, and pylorus ligation. The anti-ulcer effects of TA were evaluated, and compared with that of berberine (Ber) and cimetidine (Cim).

RESULTS

TA showed significant inhibitory effects on ulcerative formation induced by water-immersion stress, intragastric ethanol, and pylorus ligation in dose-dependent manner, and showed therapeutic effect on acetic acid erosion-inducing ulcer, in comparison with the control group. The anti-ulcer activity of Ber was less than TA containing equal content of Ber. TA significantly reduced the free acidity, total acidity and total acid output, but didn't affect the gastric juice volume, gastric pepsin activity, adherent mucus quantity of stomach wall and free mucus dissolving in gastric juice. The suppressive activities of TA on gastric acid secretion didn't occur when it was administered into dodecadactylon at a dose of 360 mg/kg wt. Moreover, when compared with Cim, the inhibitory effect of TA on gastric acid secretion isn't proportional to the inhibitory effects on the formation of the 4 kinds of experimental ulcers.

CONCLUSION

TA is a potent candidate in therapeutic drugs for treating gastric ulcer. Its anti-ulcer effective components and mechanism is not only related to Ber and inhibition of gastric acid, but also to other ingredients of TA and mechanism so far unknown.

Daio-Orengedokudo works as a cell-proliferating compound in endothelial cells

Daio-Orengedokuto is a combination drug that has inhibitory effects on HMG-CoA reductase and pancreatic lipase. Here we investigated whether Daio-Orengedokuto has effects on vascular endothelial cells. To determine its effects on blood vessels, we examined roles of Daio-Orengedokuto in cell migration, cell apoptosis and cell cycle progression over bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs). Interestingly, Daio-Orengedokuto was shown to work as an anti-apoptotic agent, a cell cycle progressive agent and a cell-migration inducing agent in BAECs, whereas it was known to act as a tumor suppressor in cancer cells (unpublished data). The inducing effect of Daio-Orengedokuto on cell-cycle progression and cell migration in endothelium suggests that Daio-Orengedokuto may be referred to as a drug, inducing angiogenesis, healing wounds, and (or) remodeling vascular tissue. Then we further investigated which signaling molecules were activated by Daio-Orengedokuto and found that extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation and IκB degradation were stimulated by the Daio-Orengedokuto treatment in BAECs. More interestingly, pretreatment with PD compound, an ERK inhibitor, blocked the anti-apoptosis induced by Daio-Orengedokuto. In conclusion, Daio-Orengedokuto plays a role in endothelial cell proliferation via activation of MAP kinase.Key words: Daio-Orengedokuto, endothelial cells, proliferation, anti-apoptosis, cell signaling.

Daio-Orengedokuto inhibits HMG-CoA reductase and pancreatic lipase

To evaluate the antihyperlipidemic activities of Orengedokuto (OT) and Daio-Orengedokuto (DOT), the inhibitory effects of these polyprescriptions on HMG-CoA reductase and pancreatic lipase and on the rat hyperlipidemic model induced by Triton WR-1339 were measured. OT potently inhibited HMG-CoA reductase but did not inhibit lipase. Among their ingredients, Coptidis Rhizoma was the most potent inhibitor, followed by Rhei Rhizoma. The HMG-CoA reductase-inhibitory activity of 80% EtOH extract was superior to that of water extract. However, DOT potently inhibited HMG CoA-reductase as well as pancreatic lipase. In the rat hyperlipidemic model induced by Triton WR-1339, OT and DOT decreased serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. DOT also decreased serum triglyceride levels, but OT did not decrease it. These results suggest that the antihyperlipidemic activity of DOT may originate from the inhibition of pancreatic lipase as well as HMG-CoA reductase.

Preventive effect of Oren-gedoku-to (Huanglian-Jie-Du-Tang) extract on the development of stress-induced acute gastric mucosal lesions in rats

The preventive effect of Oren-gedoku-to (Huanglian-Jie-Du-Tang) extract (TJ-15), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine for the therapies of gastric ulcers and gastritis, on the development of stress-induced acute gastric mucosal lesions was examined in rats with water immersion restraint (WIR) stress. Simultaneous p.o. administration of TJ-15 at a dose of 20, 100 or 250 mg/kg prevented dose-dependently gastric mucosal lesion development in rats subjected to WIR stress over a 6-h period. In the gastric mucosa of rats with WIR stress alone, lipid peroxide concentration and xanthine oxidase (XOD) and myeloperoxidase--an index of neutrophil infiltration--activities increased with lesion development, while nonprotein SH concentration decreased. The simultaneous administration of TJ-15 attenuated all these changes with gastric mucosal lesion development in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicate that simultaneously administered TJ-15 exerts a preventive effect on the development of WIR stress-induced acute gastric lesions in rats, and suggest that the preventive effect of TJ-15 could be due to its preventive actions on enhanced sulfhydryl oxidation and lipid peroxidation via oxygen free radicals generated by the xanthine-xanthine oxidase system and infiltrated neutrophils in the gastric mucosa and on neutrophil infiltration into the tissue.

Therapeutic effect of Oren-gedoku-to extract on stress-induced acute gastric mucosal lesions in rats

Oral administration of Oren-gedoku-to extract (TJ-15), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine for the therapy of gastric ulcers and gastritis, dose-dependently prevented the progression of acute gastric mucosal lesions in rats with water immersion restraint (WIR) stress. The preventive effect of TJ-15 on the lesion progression was stronger than that of Saiko-keishi-to extract (TJ-10) or Shigyaku-san extract (TJ-35), each of which is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine for the therapy of gastric ulcers and gastritis, when compared on the basis of a single dosage of each medicine for adults. This TJ-15 administration attenuated increases in gastric mucosal lipid peroxide concentration and xanthine oxidase and myeloperoxidase activities with the gastric mucosal lesion progression and recovered the decreased gastric mucosal non-protein SH concentration found at a progressed stage of the gastric mucosal lesions. These results indicate that TJ-15 exerts a therapeutic effect on WIR stress-induced acute gastric lesions in rats more strongly than TJ-10 or TJ-35, and suggest that the therapeutic effect of TJ-15 could be due to its preventive actions on lipid peroxidation and sulphydryl oxidation via oxygen free radicals generated by the xanthine-XO system and infiltrated neutrophils in the gastric mucosa and on neutrophil infiltration into the tissue.

The role of gastric muscle relaxation in cytoprotection induced by san-huang-xie-xin-tang in rats

We examined the mechanism of the protective effect of San-huang-xie-xin-tang (SHXT), a traditional oriental drug, on the gastric mucosa. SHXT, given intraduodenally, inhibited the gastric secretion in pylorus-ligated rats. SHXT, given orally 30 min before the administration of aspirin, HCl-aspirin and ethanol, protected the gastric mucosa from these agent-induced gastric lesions, although it had no effect on the gastric lesions induced by indomethacin and water immersion stress. Oral administration of SHXT increased gastric contents (muscle relaxation) when they were measured 30 min after SHXT administration. SHXT also inhibited carbachol-contracted gastric muscle in vitro. Neither increased gastric contents nor inhibited ethanol lesions of SHXT were observed when these were tested 4 h after SHXT administration. Pretreatment with indomethacin which is a prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor, and N-ethylmaleimide which is a sulfhydryl blocker did not influence either the increased gastric contents or inhibited ethanol lesions of SHXT. These results indicate that gastric muscle relaxation plays an important role in the gastric protective mechanisms of SHXT, and the endogenous prostaglandins and the sulfhydryl compounds are not necessary for the action of SHXT.