Drinking culture has high significance in both China and the world, whether in the entertainment sector or in social occasions; according to the World Health Organization's 2018 Global Alcohol and Health Report, about 3 million people died from excessive drinking in 2016, accounting for 5.3% of the total global deaths that year. Oxidative stress and inflammation are the most common pathological phenomena caused by alcohol abuse (Snyder et al., 2017). Scutellarin, a kind of flavonoid, is one of the main active ingredients extracted from breviscapine. It exerts anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and vasodilation effects, and has been used to treat cardiovascular diseases and alcoholic liver injury. Although scutellarin can effectively alleviate multi-target organ injury induced by different forms of stimulation, its protective effect on alcoholic brain injury has not been well-defined. Therefore, the present study established an acute alcohol mice brain injury model to explore the effect of scutellarin on acute alcoholic brain injury. The study was carried out based on the targets of oxidative stress and inflammation, which is of great significance for the targeted therapy of clinical alcohol diseases.
Animals ; Apigenin/therapeutic use* ; Brain Injuries/drug therapy* ; Glucuronates/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Mice ; Oxidative Stress

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of water stress on the content of scutellarin and caffeate in Erigeron breviscaps.

METHODFv/Fm, N content, as well as the content of scutellarin and caffeate under three water grads were measured.

RESULT AND CONCLUSIONFv/Fm of the plant decreased significantly in 8% and 23% water treatment, that proved drought and waterlogging occurred. Under the two conditions, the contents of N were lower but the contents of active constituents were higher than those under 15% treatment. The results support the carbon-nutrient balance hypothesis and the "stress effect hypothesis" for the formation of geo-herbs.

Apigenin ; metabolism ; therapeutic use ; Caffeine ; pharmacology ; Dehydration ; drug therapy ; therapy ; Droughts ; Erigeron ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Glucuronates ; metabolism ; therapeutic use ; Plant Preparations ; therapeutic use ; Plant Transpiration ; drug effects ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Temperature ; Water ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the inhibitory effects and mechanism of apigenin (APG) on dominant response of Th2 cells in asthma model of mice.

METHODSThirty-two 6-week-old healthy BALB/c mice, SPF grade, were randomly divided into four groups equally, the normal control group (A), the asthma model group (B), and the two APG groups (C and D) consisted of asthma model mice treated respectively with high-dose (20 mg/kg per day) and low-dose (2 mg/kg per day) APG given by dissolving in 1% dimethyl sulphoxide via intraperitoneal injection. The murine asthma model was established by ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization and provocation. Twenty-four hours after the last airway provocation, acetylcholine (Ach) was administered via caudalis vein for measuring airway resistance by pulmonary function detector; levels of IL- 4 and IL-13 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and total IgE in serum were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); total and differential cell counts in BALF were measured by light microscopy; the airway inflammatory infiltration was detected by haematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining; and the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (GATA-3) in the lung tissue was determined by Western blot analysis.

RESULTSAs compared with Group A, the airway hyper-reactivity, airway inflammation, cell count and eosinophil percentage in BALF, levels of total serum IgE and BALF IL-4 and IL-13, and GATA-3 protein expression in the lung tissue were significantly increased in Group B (P < 0.05). As compared with Group B, all the above-mentioned indices in Group C and D were lower, showing respective significant difference (P < 0.05), and significant difference was also shown between the two APG treated groups (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAPG could reduce the airway inflammation and hyper-reactivity by down-regulating the expressions of pulmonary GATA-3 and Th, cytokines, which is a potential drug for asthma therapy.

Animals ; Apigenin ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; GATA3 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; Immunoglobulin E ; blood ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-13 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-4 ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Th2 Cells ; metabolism

OBJECTIVEIxeris chinesis (Thunb.) Ankai has been used as a Chinese folk medicine, but only scanty information is available on the physiological and biochemical functions of the compounds extracted from I. chinesis. In the present study the effects of apigenin-7-glucoside (APIG) isolated from I. chinesis against liver injury caused by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) were investigated.

METHODSThe contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), and reduced glutathione (GSH) were evaluated by spectrophotography. The content of 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was measured with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with electrochemical and UV detection methods. The antioxidant activity of APIG was evaluated using chemiluminescence single photon counting technology.

RESULTSCCl4 significantly increased the enzyme activities of GPT and GOT in blood serum, as well as the level of MDA and 8-OHdG in liver tissue, and decreased the levels of GSH. Pretreatment with APIG was able not only to suppress the elevation of GPT, GOT, MDA and 8-OHdG, and inhibit the reduction of GSH in a dose-dependent manner in vivo, but also to reduce the damage of hepatocytes in vitro. On the other hand, we also found that APIG had strong antioxidant activity against reactive oxygen species (ROS) in vitro in a concentration-dependent manner.

CONCLUSIONThe hepatoprotective activity of APIG is possibly due to its antioxidant properties, acting as scavengers of ROS. These results obtained in vivo and in vitro suggest that APIG has protective effects against hepatic oxidative injury induced by chemicals. Further studies on the pharmaceutical functions and immunological responses of APIG may help its clinical application.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; metabolism ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; therapeutic use ; Apigenin ; isolation & purification ; therapeutic use ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; metabolism ; Asteraceae ; chemistry ; Carbon Tetrachloride ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; etiology ; prevention & control ; DNA Damage ; Deoxyguanosine ; analogs & derivatives ; analysis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Glutathione ; metabolism ; Hepatocytes ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Liver ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Protective Agents ; therapeutic use ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Scutellarin (Scu) on expressions of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit protein and mRNA in dementia rats, and to study its possible mechanism on dementia.

METHODSForty-two Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups, i.e., the normal control group (n=6), the sham-operative group (n=6), the memory deficit model group, the Scu treatment group (n=10), and the positive drug (piracetam) control group (n=10). The dementia rat model was established by bilateral ventricle injection with beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta)(25-35) and abdominal cavity injection with D-galactose. Rats in the Scu treatment group or the piracetam control group were treated with Scu or piracetam by gastrogavage. The learning and memory ability of rats were detected by Morris water maze test, nAChR alpha4, alpha7, and beta2 subunits at protein and mRNA levels were detected by Western blot and Real-time PCR respectively.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group and the sham-operative group, the learning and memory ability decreased in rats of the model group (P<0.05). nAChR alpha4 and alpha7 subunit protein expressions were obviously lowered (P<0.05), but changes of beta2 were not obvious. No obvious change of mRNA expressions in all three nAChR subunits was seen (P>0.05). After treatment of Scu, the learning and memory ability was greatly improved, nAChRs alpha4 and alpha7 subunit protein expressions increased in rats with dementia (all P<0.05). No obvious change of mRNA expressions in all three nAChR subunits was seen (P>0.05). No obvious difference of each index was shown between the Scu treatment group and the positive drug (piracetam) control group.

CONCLUSIONSScutellarin could improve the learning and memory ability of dementia rats. Its mechanism might be associated with its up-regulation of nAChR expressions.

Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Amyloid beta-Peptides ; metabolism ; Animals ; Apigenin ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Glucuronates ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Learning ; drug effects ; Male ; Memory ; drug effects ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptors, Nicotinic ; genetics ; metabolism ; Up-Regulation