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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.

The seeds of Herpetospermum pedunculosun (Ser.) C.B.Clarke. (HPD), Mormodica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng. (MCC) and Mormodica charantia L. (MCR) share the same common name ("Bolengguazi") in the Tibetan medicine. The anti-inflammatory activities of the three "Bolengguazi" were evaluated using egg album-induced paw edema and cotton-pellet granuloma tests. Among them, HPD is the most active one in both models. Results showed that oral administration of ethanol extract of HPD seed (200 and 400mg/kg) significantly suppressed the development of egg albumin-induced paw edema (P<0.01). In the chronic test, the ethanol extract of HPD seed (200 and 400mg/kg) showed significant reduction in granuloma weight of rats (P<0.05). The anti-inflammatory effect of the ethanol HPD seed was similar to that of indomethacin (10mg/kg). Moreover, the free radical scavenging activities of "Bolengguazi" were investigated using the DPPH test. Only the ethanol extract of HPD seed showed a moderate free radical scavenging effect on DPPH (IC50, 198.69 microg/ml) when compared with the positive control, V(E), (IC50, 44.91 microg/ml). The HPD seeds showed more significant anti-inflammatory activities in additional to higher free radical scavenging activities than that of the MCC and MCR seeds. The results of the present study provide a scientific basis to explain, in part, the popular use of HPD seed in Tibetan folk medicine as "Bolengguazi". The present study also supports the claims by the traditional Tibetan medicine practitioners about the use of HPD seeds in inflammatory diseases, such as "Chiba".

The seeds of <ce:italic>Herpetospermum pedunculosun</ce:italic> (Ser.) C.B.Clarke. (HPD), <ce:italic>Mormodica cochinchinensis</ce:italic> (Lour.) Spreng. (MCC) and <ce:italic>Mormodica charantia</ce:italic> L. (MCR) share the same common name (“Bolengguazi”) in the Tibetan medicine. The anti-inflammatory activities of the three “Bolengguazi” were evaluated using egg album-induced paw edema and cotton-pellet granuloma tests. Among them, HPD is the most active one in both models. Results showed that oral administration of ethanol extract of HPD seed (200 and 400 <ce:hsp sp="0.25"/>mg/kg) significantly suppressed the development of egg albumin-induced paw edema ( <ce:italic>P</ce:italic>

A comparative analysis was undertaken to conduct an anatomical and micromorphological study of five species of Rhodiola—<i>R. kirilowii, R. yunnanensis, R. crenulata, R. fastigata</i>, and <i>R. quadrifida</i>—collected from the western Sichuan province plateau of China. Rhodiola plants are a popularly used ethnodrug from the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau of China. Modern studies have shown that the plants of Rhodiola possess different pharmacological activities, chemical constituents, and efficiencies in clinical application. To distinguish five main species of Rhodiola and ensure their safety and efficacy, microscopic characteristics of roots, rhizomes, and stems, including transverse sections, stem and foliar epidermis, as well as the crude drug powder, were observed. The fixed, sectioned, and stained plant materials, as well as the crude powder, were studied using a light microscope according to the usual microscopic techniques. The results of the microscopic features were systematically and comparatively described and illustrated. The five species have distinct microscopic characteristic differences, thus allowing us to distinguish between the species. Also, semi-quantitative and quantitative micrographic parameter tables were simultaneously presented. Further, a key to the five species and a comparative chart of the key authentication parameters based on these anatomic characteristics analyzed was drawn up and is presented for the Rhodiola species studied. The study indicated that light microscopy and related techniques provide a method that is convenient, feasible, and can be unambiguously applied to the authentication of species of Rhodiola. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Because of the morphological and macroscopic similarity, many species of Erigeron and Aster (Asteraceae) are confusable and usually used under the same name "Meiduoluomi" in traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM). To find an easy, quick, and reliable method to authenticate and distinguish the eight main medicinal plants of these species, the light microscope was used to reveal the morphoanatomic details. The fixed, sectioned, and stained plant materials and epidermis materials were studied by microscopic techniques. The results of the microscopic features are systematically described and illustrated, and comparison parameters are presented. Furthermore, a key to the eight species of "Meiduoluomi" was constructed. Microscopy can be unambiguously used to authenticate and distinguish the eight main species of TTM "Meiduoluomi.";

Because of the morphological and macroscopic similarity, many species of <i>Erigeron</i> and <i>Aster</i> (Asteraceae) are confusable and usually used under the same name “Meiduoluomi” in traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM). To find an easy, quick, and reliable method to authenticate and distinguish the eight main medicinal plants of these species, the light microscope was used to reveal the morphoanatomic details. The fixed, sectioned, and stained plant materials and epidermis materials were studied by microscopic techniques. The results of the microscopic features are systematically described and illustrated, and comparison parameters are presented. Furthermore, a key to the eight species of “Meiduoluomi” was constructed. Microscopy can be unambiguously used to authenticate and distinguish the eight main species of TTM “Meiduoluomi.” Microsc. Res. Tech., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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 breviscapus and erigeron multiradiatus, belonging to compositae, have been widely used as "meiduoluomi" in traditional Tibetan medicine for treatment of heat-clearing and detoxicating. However, it is difficult to distinguish them because of similarity of morphology. Therefore, the chemotaxonomy method was established. FTIR fingerprint spectra of E. breviscapus and E. multiradiatus samples from 13 geographical origins were studied. The results demonstrated that they could be divided into 2 classes with principal component analysis (PCA). The classification was well correlated to their gene, geographical origins and weather. In the same class, the chemical components are similar to each other, which can be considered as the criterion for evaluating their quality. The results showed that their infrared spectra characteristic of the same species was similar in the range of 4 000-450 cm(-1), but varied significantly for different species. The method is rapid and simple, and could be applied to evaluate the quality of this traditional medicine.

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.