The hepatoprotective activity of the EtOH–water extract of Ziziphus jujuba leaves was evaluated against CCl4-induced hepatic damage in mice. The EtOH–water extract significantly alleviated liver damage as indicated by the decreased levels of serum ALT and AST and the decreased MDA content, the increased levels of SOD, GSH and GSH-Px, and the reduced pathological tissue injury induced by CCl4. A quantitative analysis of fifteen major constituents (1–15) of the EtOH–water extract of the leaves of Z. jujuba was conducted by HPLC-DAD. Based on our research results, it can be concluded that the EtOH–water extract of the leaves of Z. jujuba is efficacious for prevention and treatment of CCl4-induced hepatic injury in mice. Flavonoids might be the active ingredients responsible for the biological and pharmacological activities towards hepatoprotection.

•Fifteen compounds were isolated and identified.•Six compounds were isolated from A. fruticosa L. for the first time.•Cytotoxicity of eight compounds and 90% ethanol extract against human cancer cell lines HCT116 and HepG2 was reported.•A valid HPLC-DAD method was established to quantitatively analyze 12 compounds in the leaves of A. fruticosa L.Amorpha fruticosa L. is a Chinese folk medicine and rich in polyphenols. Fifteen known compounds were isolated and identified from the leaves of A. fruticosa L. They are tephrosin (1), 6a,12a-dehydrodeguelin (2), vitexin (3), afrormosin-7-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (4), 2″-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl isovitexin (5), rutin (6), chrysoeriol (7), 7-O-methylluteolin (8), trans-p-coumaric acid (9), 2-benzyl-4,6-dihydroxybenzoic acid-4-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (10), formononetin (11), quercetin (12), apigenin (13), β-sitosterol (14), and β-daucosterol (15). Compounds 3, 4, 5, and 7–9 were isolated from A. fruticosa L. for the first time. Cytotoxicity of individual compounds 3–10 and 90% ethanol extract against human cancer cell lines HCT116 and HepG2 were reported. The results suggested that compounds 7 and 8, and the crude extract exhibited inhibitory effects on human cancer cell line HCT116, at concentrations of 100 μg/mL, 5 μg/mL, and 25 μg/mL at <60% of cell viability rate, respectively. In addition, a valid high-performance liquid chromatography diode array detector method was established to quantitatively analyze compounds 1–12 in the leaves of A. fruticosa L., which was harvested at three different stages of maturity from May 20 to August 10, 2014. The results demonstrated that contents were greatly influenced by the maturity. Total amounts of the analytical constituents gradually increased from May 20 to August 10, with the values ranging from 10.86 mg/g to 18.84 mg/g, whereas bioactive compounds 7 and 8 presented the opposite variation trend. The results of this study may provide data for further study and comprehensive utilization of A. fruticosa L. resource.Download high-res image (225KB)Download full-size image

Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hance (Oleaceae), its stem barks are known as Cortex fraxini (秦皮 qín pí) listed in Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Phytochemical study has indicated that methanol extracts from Qinpi has protective effect on acute liver injury. The present study investigates the hepatoprotective activity of EtOH–water extract from the seeds of F. rhynchophylla Hance against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in mice. The EtOH–water extract significantly alleviated liver damage as indicated by the decreased levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and increased the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and reduced the pathological tissue injury induced by CCl4. Quantitative analysis of seven major constituents (1–7) in EtOH–water extract (EWE) was developed by high performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD). The current research indicates that the EWE from the seeds of F. rhynchophylla Hance decreased liver index, inhibited the increase of serum aminotransferase induced by CCl4, and decreased hepatic MDA content, SOD and GSH-Px activities. These results suggested that the pretreatment with EWE protected mice against CCl4-induced liver injuries. Based on the results, the EtOH–water extract from the seeds of F. rhynchophylla Hance is efficacious for prevention and treatment of CCl4-induced hepatic injury in mice. Secoiridoid and tyrosol glucosides might be the active ingredients responsible for the biological and pharmacological activities of hepatoprotection.Download high-res image (541KB)Download full-size image

Rabdosia rubescens is a healthy herbal tea and well-known Chinese medicinal herb. To evaluate the quality of R. rubescens from China, a high performance liquid chromatography method with dual-wavelength detection was developed and validated. The method was successfully applied for the simultaneous characterization and quantification of 17 main constituents from four different cultivation regions in China. Under optimal conditions, analysis was performed on a Luna C-18 column and gradient elution with a solvent system of acetonitrile and 0.5% (v/v) acetic acid–water at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and wavelength of 220 nm and 280 nm. All standard calibration curves exhibited good linearity (r2 > 0.9992) within the test ranges. The precision was evaluated by intraday and interday tests, which revealed relative standard deviation values within the ranges of 0.57–2.35% and 0.52–3.40%, respectively. The recoveries were in the range of 96.37–101.66%. The relative standard deviation values for stability and repeatability were < 5%. The contents of some compounds were low and varied with different cultivars. The proposed method could serve as a prerequisite for quality control of R. rubescens materials and products.Download high-res image (296KB)Download full-size imageA novel rapid high-performance liquid chromatography method was established for the simultaneous quantification of 17 compounds from four kinds of Rabdosia rubescens cultivated from different regions in China.

The fruit of Ziziphus jujuba Mill., also called hongzao in Chinese, has a long history of cultivation in China. From the fruit of Z. jujuba, twenty-seven known compounds were isolated and identified as the main constituents of these fruits. They were 3-O-(trans-p-coumaroyl)-alphitolic acid (1), 3-O-(cis-p-coumaroyl)-alphitolic acid (2), 3β-O-(trans-p-coumaroyl)-maslinic acid (3), pomonic acid (4), 2-oxo-pomolic acid (5), benthamic acid (6), terminic acid (7), oleanic acid (8), betulinic acid (9), quercetin 3-O-rutinoside (10), quercetin 3-O-robinobioside (11), apigenin (12), traumatic acid (13), (Z)-4-oxotetradec-5-enoic acid (14), 7(E)-9-keto-hexadec-7-enoic acid (15), 9(E)-11-oxo-octadecenoic acid (9CI) (16), and magnoflorine (27), etc. The HPLC fingerprint of Z. jujuba fruits was established at the same time. Compounds 4, 5, 7, 11, 14, 15 and 16 were isolated from Z. jujuba for the first time. Compound 14 was isolated from the nature for the first time. Furthermore, cytotoxicity against four human tumor cell lines (MCF-7, A549, HepG2 and HT-29) of the isolated compounds (1–17 and 27) was evaluated. Among these compounds, compounds 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9 and 12 had strong growth inhibitory effects on cancer cell lines. These results indicated that jujube extracts exhibited cytotoxicity on these cancer cell lines.

Sesquiterpene lactones and flavonoids are the most bioactive substances in Chinese herbal medicine Inula salsoloides. To explore the profiles of seven known constituents extracted from this plant, a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was established and validated. This validated method was successfully applied to the simultaneous characterization and quantification of seven known constituents in the whole life stage of Inula salsoloides collected in Yulin, Shaan'xi province at different times. The results show that the contents of 7 different constituents in the plant varied significantly during the growing stage. The sample collected on August 16th contained the highest amount of the 7 constituents. The total content of the 7 constituents gradually increased from 2.252 mg g−1 to 25.740 mg g−1 from May 26th to August 16th and then dropped slightly to 12.221 mg g−1 on October 15th. This developed HPLC method could be used in quality control and standardization as well as developing a fingerprint of I. salsoloides. It may also allow for differentiation among Inula plants.

From the roots of Lepidium meyenii Walpers (Brassicaceae) have been isolated and identified 2 flavonolignans, tricin 4′-O-[threo-β-guaiacyl-(7″-O-methyl)-glyceryl] ether (1) and tricin 4′-O-(erythro-β-guaiacyl-glyceryl) ether (2), along with 11 other known compounds, tricin (3), pinoresinol (4), 4-hydroxycinnamic acid (5), guanosine (6), glucotropaeolin (7), desulfoglucotropaeolin (8), 3-hydroxybenzylisothiocyanate (9), malic acid benzoate (10), 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural (11), d-phenylalanine (12), and vanillic acid 4-O-β-d-glucoside (13). Structures were elucidated on the basis of NMR and MS data. Some isolates and previously isolated lepidiline B (14) were tested for cytotoxicity in a small panel of human cancer cell lines (Hep G2, COLO 205, and HL-60) and for anti-inflammatory activities in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophage. Among them, compounds 1 and 14 were modestly active for inhibiting nitrite production in macrophage. Compounds 1, 14, and 3 were demonstrated to be selectively active against HL-60 cells with IC50 values of 40.4, 52.0, and 52.1 μM, respectively.

Polyphenols are important bioactive substances in apple. To explore the profiles of the nine representative polyphenols in this fruit, a high-performance liquid chromatography method has been established and validated. The validated method was successfully applied for the simultaneous characterization and quantification of these nine apple polyphenols in 11 apple extracts, which were obtained from six cultivars from Shaanxi Province, China. The results showed that only abscission of the Fuji apple sample was rich in the nine apple polyphenols, and the polyphenol contents of other samples varied. Although all the samples were collected in the same region, the contents of nine polyphenols were different. The proposed method could serve as a prerequisite for quality control of Malus products.Download high-res image (170KB)Download full-size image