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The current study evaluated antioxidant activity of <i>Dracocephalum rupestre</i> Hance, characterized by the polyphenolic compounds in the ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) from <i>D. rupestre</i> and investigated the protective mechanisms of EAF in carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced hepatic injury. EAF showed the largest antioxidant capacity as demonstrated by DPPH, ABTS, OH, and FRAP assays (<i>p</i> ≤ .05). Using LC-MS, two polyphenolics, for example, rosmarinic acid, and eriodictyol were identified in EAF. Total phenol content of <i>D. rupestre</i> was correlated significantly with FRAP value (<i>r</i> = .999, <i>p</i> ≤ .001). The results also showed that EAF decreased serum ALT and AST activities compared with model group, as well as the histological findings. In addition, EAF remarkably decreased MDA and LDH levels in liver. This is the first time to reveal the hepatoprotective effect of EAF from <i>D. rupestre</i>, which may be developed as a new drug for treatment of liver injury in future.<br>Practical applications: <i>Dracocephalum rupestre</i> Hance is known as Chinese herbal medicine with pharmacological functions of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and has been mainly used in the treatment of damp-heat, headache, fever, jaundice, hepatitis, liver toxicity, and other diseases. In order to detect the potential application of this plant, the antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities of <i>D. rupestre</i> were investigated. It was found that the ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) from <i>D. rupestre</i> displayed strong antioxidant activity. We also demonstrate that EAF could lessen CCl₄-induced acute liver injury in mice. Also, rosmarinic acid may play an important role in the antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective effect for EAF.
The content of bioactive phytochemicals, antioxidant activity and tyrosinase inhibitory activity of the hydroalcoholic extracts of <i>Rosa roxburghii</i> were determined. Yellow fruits of cultivated <i>R. roxburghii</i> showed the highest phenolic content (154.81 mg gallic acid g<sup>−1</sup>), and the green fruits of wild <i>R. roxburghii</i> showed higher content of flavonoid and triterpenoid. <i>Rosa roxburghii</i> fruits from different cultivars and maturity stages all demonstrated as good antioxidant agents and tyrosinase inhibitors, with IC50 value about twice of the positive standard in the DPPH assay and triple of the standard in the tyrosinase inhibitory activity assay. Nineteen compounds, mainly ellagic acids and its derivatives, flavonoids and their glycosides were identified by UPLC-Triple-TOF/MS analysis. As the first study of bioactive phytochemicals of <i>R. roxburghii</i> by UPLC-MS, the present research may provide valuable information for fulfilling the potential of <i>R. roxburghii</i> in the functional food area.<br>Antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitory activity of <i>Rosa roxburghii</i> fruit and identification of main bioactive phytochemicals by UPLC-Triple-TOF/MS.
To differentiate three medicinal Hippopahe species of seabuckthorn, a combined genetic and chemical identification method was established in this study. ITS2 and psbA-trnH were tested for identification of 3 species of seabuckthorn. Detection of the kimura 2-parameter (K2P) distance, the neighbor-joining (NJ) tree and the barcoding gap were used to assess the identification efficiency. ¹H-NMR based metabolic method was applied to acquire the profile of metabolites. PCA was used to analysis the metabolite data. The results indicated that DNA barcode combined ¹H-NMR based metabolic method is a powerful tool for the identification of 3 medicinal Hippopahe species of seabuckthorn. The finding demonstrated that different genetic variation and chemical constituents existed among 3 medicinal Hippopahe species of seabuckthorn. The combined identification method will improve the reliability of species discrimination and could be applicable to much other ethnic medicine which has various origins in China.
Zuotais regarded as the king of Tibetan medicine. However, the major starting material ofZuotais mercury, which is one very toxic heavy metal. This has aroused serious doubts on the biosafety ofZuotacontaining drugs. In this study, we quantified the Hg contents in fourZuotasamples, monitored the release of Hg in simulated gastric/intestinal juice and evaluated their cytotoxicity to Caco-2 cells. Our results showed that the Hg contents inZuotasamples were in the range of 566–676 mg/g. Fortunately, the release of Hg fromZuotasamples was very low in simulated gastric juice, and much lower in simulated intestinal juice. Direct contact ofZuotawith Caco-2 cells led to dose-dependent cytotoxicity, including activity loss and membrane leakage. The toxicity was closely related to apoptosis, because the caspase 3/7 levels of Caco-2 cells increased after the exposure toZuota. Interestingly,Zuotasamples inhibited the oxidative stress at low concentrations, but the toxicity could be relived by antioxidants. The possible toxicity should be attributed to the cellular uptake ofZuotaparticulates. Beyond the cytotoxicity, significant differences amongZuotasamples from different institutions were observed, suggesting that the preparation process ofZuotahad meaningful influence of its biosafety. The implications to the safety and clinical applications ofZuotaare discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]