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ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Erigeron multiradiatus (Lindl.) Benth., an herb that grows in the alpine and subalpine meadow of Qinghai-Tibet plateau, has been widely used as a folk remedy by the native people for treatment of various inflammatory ailments.AIM OF THE STUDY: In order to isolate and identify the active components of Erigeron multiradiatus for anti-inflammatory activity, a preliminary phytochemical study and a bioassay-guided fractionation and purification process was performed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The dry whole plant Erigeron multiradiatus was extracted with 50% ethanol and then separated into CHCl(3), n-BuOH, and aqueous fractions. The anti-inflammatory activities of each fraction were investigated using two in vivo inflammation models. RESULTS: These results exhibited varying degrees of anti-inflammatory activities and the n-BuOH fraction showed the strongest anti-inflammatory activities. The n-BuOH fraction was then subjected to separation and purification using macroporous resins column chromatography and Sephadex LH-20 leading to two flavonoids glucuronides identified as scutellarein-7-O-beta-glucuronide and apigenin-7-O-beta-glucuronide. Furthermore, LC-MS/MS identification and quantification of isolated compounds were also performed. CONCLUSION: Scutellarein-7-O-beta-glucuronide and apigenin-7-O-beta-glucuronide were considered as major components and principally responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity of Erigeron multiradiatus. Thus the results of our study provide a scientific basis for the utilization of Erigeron multiradiatus in traditional Tibetan medicine.

Erigeron breviscapus (Vant.) Hand-mazz (EB), Erigeron multiradiatus (Lindl.) Benth (EM), and Aster brachytrichus Franch (AB), confused under the vernacular name "meiduoluomi" by native people and traditional healers, have been used for the treatment of meningitis, polyneuritis, hepatitis, adenolymphitis, and enteronitis in traditional Tibetan medicine. In this study, the antiinflammatory activity of methanol extracts of all three plants was investigated in the xylene-induced ear edema model, carrageenan-induced paw edema model, and cotton pellet-induced granuloma model. It was found that the methanolic extracts of both EB and EM had strong inhibitory effects on the acute phase of inflammation in carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats. On the other hand, the methanolic extract of EM showed stronger effects than those of EB in xylene-induced ear edema. In the chronic test, the methanolic extracts of EB and EM resulted in a significant reduction in granuloma weight in rats. In addition, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity was strongly reduced in the EB-treated and EM-treated groups, which indicated that EB and EM can inhibit certain inflammatory modulator factors that cause neutrophil aggregation in inflamed tissue, e.g., nuclear factor-kappaB. However, the methanolic extracts of AB had no antiinflammatory effects in the tested models and MPO assay. The similar effects of EM and EB in tested models provided some scientific basis for the traditional usage of meiduoluomi in inflammatory disease. However, the results also suggest that further study is needed to investigate the antiinflammatory profile of AB and provide a scientific basis for the use of AB in inflammatory diseases.

Erigeron multiradiatus (Lindl.) Benth is a traditional Tibetan medicine herb long used to treat various diseases related to inflammation. Our previous phytochemical studies on E. multiradiatus resulted in the isolation of scutellarin, which is a known flavone glucuronide with comprehensive pharmacological actions. In present study, we investigated the inhibition action of scutellarin on high glucose-induced vascular inflammation in human endothelial cells (ECV304 cells). Consistent with previous reports, exposure of ECV304 cells to high glucose for 24 h caused an increase of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), and promoted cell adhesion between monocyte and ECV304 cells. However, pretreatment with scutellarin (0.1 and 1 microM) reversed these effects in a concentration-dependent manner. Scutellarin was able to inhibit the activation of NF-kappaB induced by high glucose in ECV304 cells. Furthermore, although oral administration of scutellarin (10 and 50 mg/kg) did not produce significant antihyperglycemic action, it lowered the serum MCP-1 levels significantly in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. Therefore, our results suggest that scutellarin has anti-inflammation effect that may afford some protection against hyperglycemia-induced vascular inflammatory both in vitro and in vivo.

Objective: To establish an HPLC-ELSD fingerprint of the whole herbs of Morina nepalensis and perform the correlation analysis of chemical components of the herb and nitric oxide (NO) production inhibition.; Method: HPLC-ELSD assay was performed to evaluate 10 batches of M. nepalensis herbs. The chromatographic conditions were as following: Eclipse XDB C18 column (4.6 mm x 150 mm, 5 microm), water (A) and acetonitrile (B) as a gradient mobile phases, flow rate 1.0 mL x min(-1), and column temperature at 35 degress C. Evaporative light-detection conditions: atomization temperature at 104 degrees C, the flow rate of N2 2.8 L x min(-1) and 10 microL sample injection. Chromatographic fingerprint was developed, and the inhibition activity of production of NO in lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophages was also analyzed. The similarity and correlation analysis between the HPLC-ELSD fingerprints and NO production inhibition were carried out by PLS method.; Result: The common mode for M. nepalensis herb fingerprint was established, including 15 common characteristic peaks. Among them, 7 peaks were positively correlated with the NO production inhibition. According to the assessment on the similarity of 10 batches of samples, a similarity of over 0.90 were shown in HPLC-ELSD fingerprint and all samples were separated into two groups.; Conclusion: This method can be used to assess the quality of M. nepalensis, which provides a reliable method for scientific assessment and quality control.;