OBJECTIVETo investigate the sesquiterpene lactones of the aerial parts of Inula helianthus-aquatica.

METHODCompounds were isolated and purified by silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and preparative HPLC. On the basis of physicochemical properties and spectroscopic data, their structures were identified.

RESULTSeven sesquiterpene lactones and four other compounds were obtained and identified as 2-desoxy-4-epi-pulchellin (1), 6-acetoxy-4-hydroxy-1, 10H-pseudoguaia-11 (13)-en-12,8-olide (2), 4-acetoxy-6-hydroxy-1, 10H-pseudoguaia-11(13)-en-12,8-olide (3), 8-epi-inuviscolide (4), 2,3,11,13-tetrahydroaromaticin (5), 11,13-dihydro-ergolide (6), 4-epipulchellin-2-O-acetate (7), 7-epiloliolide (8), loliolide (9), beta-sitosterol (10) and daucosterol (11).

CONCLUSIONAll the compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time.

Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Inula ; chemistry ; Lactones ; analysis ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Sesquiterpenes ; chemistry

Column chromatographies over silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, reverse phase C18, and MCI, and semi-preparative HPLC were used for separation and purification of constituents from Inula cappa. The 22 compounds were obtained and their strutures were determined by NMR and MS spectra data as nine flavonoids: luteolin (1), apigenin (2), chrysoeriol (3), artemetin (4), 2', 5-di- hydroxy-3, 6, 7, 4', 5'-pentamethoxyflavone (5), chrysosplenol C (6), apigenin-5-0-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), luteolin-3-methyl, luteolin-3-methylether-4'-0-β-D-glucopyranoside (8), luteolin-4'-0-β-D-glucopyranoside (9); four triterpenes: darma-20, 24-dien- 3β-0-acetate (10), darma-20, 24-dien-3β-ol (11), epirfiedelanol (12), friedelin (13); three coumarins: scopoletin (14) , isosco- poletin (15) , scopolin(16) , and other types of compounds stigmasta-5, 22-dien-3β-0-7-one (17), stigmasterol (18), palmitic acid (19), linoleic acid (20), linoleic acid methyl ester (21), (E) -9, 12, 13-trihydroxyoetadee-10-enoie acid (22). Compound 5 is a new natural product. Compounds 3-9, 15, 17, 21, and 22 were isolated from this genus for the first time.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Inula ; chemistry ; Molecular Structure ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

OBJECTIVEThis study is to establish the fingerprint and find out the common chromatographic peaks of Inula cappa by HPLC.

METHODThe HPLC analysis was performed on an Agilent Eclipse Plus C18 column (2.1 mm x 150 mm, 1.8 μm) with 0.1% fomic acid aqueous solution-0.1% fomic acid acetonitrile solution as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.3 · mL(-1) · min(-1); The detective wavelength is 325 nm; The column temperature is 45 °C.

RESULTThe results indicated that 5 of 17 common peaks were identified . The similarity about 10 groups of Inulacappais is over 0.95.

CONCLUSIONThis method is able to be a scientific basis of quality assessment according to its convenient and reliable.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Inula ; chemistry

OBJECTIVEA RP-HPLC method was developed for simultaneous determination of bigelovin, ergolide and tomentosin in Inula hupehensis.

METHODAn Agilent C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) was used for separation at 40 degrees C. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-water, and the flow rate was 1.2 mL x min(-1). The detection wavelength was set at 210 nm.

RESULTThe method has good linearity in the ranges of 0.01792-0.1792 g x L(-1) (r =0.9999) for bigelovin, 0.0424-0.4240 g x L(-1) (r =0.9996) for ergolide, and 0.044 8-0.4480 g x L(-1) (r = 0.9996) for tomentosin. The average recoveries of bigelovin, ergolide, and tomentosin were 98.5%, 98.2%, 98.4%, with the RSD of 1. 3%, 1.3%, 1.7%, respectively. The results demonstrated that there was a significant difference in the contents of three sequterpene lactones among the tested Inulae Flos.

CONCLUSIONThe results indicated that the present RP-HPLC method is simple, quick and accurate, and can be used for the quality control of I. hupehensis, especially for the authentication of Inulae Flos.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Inula ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Lactones ; analysis ; Sesquiterpenes ; analysis

Inula japonica was used as the research object, "3414" fertilization experiment were conducted to study the effects of nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium formula fertilizer on the growth and chemical composition content of I. japonica. The characteristics of fertilizer requirement were preliminarily revealed and the study provided fertilization guidance for artificial cultivation of I. japonica. The results showed that different nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium formula fertilizers had significant effects on plant morphology,physiological and biochemical indexes,dry matter accumulation and chemical composition content. The growth indexes and chemical components of I. japonica showed an upward trend with the increase of fertilization amount,especially the nitrogen fertilizer was the most significant. The indicators were analyzed by membership function. After comprehensive evaluation,the optimal nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium formula fertilization level was N3 P2 K2,namely high level nitrogen fertilizer,medium level phosphorus fertilizer and potassium fertilizer. I. japonica is a high fertilizer demand plant,and the rational fertilization scheme is " applying nitrogen fertilizer again and applying phosphorus and potassium fertilizer properly".
Fertilizers ; Inula ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Nitrogen ; chemistry ; Phosphorus ; chemistry ; Potassium ; chemistry

The aim of this study was to determine whether britanin, isolated from the flowers of Inula japonica (Inulae Flos), modulates the generation of allergic inflammatory mediators in activated mast cells. To understand the biological activity of britanin, the authors investigated its effects on the generation of prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), leukotriene C4 (LTC4), and degranulation in IgE/Ag-induced bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs). Britanin dose dependently inhibited degranulation and the generations of PGD2 and LTC4 in BMMCs. Biochemical analyses of IgE/Ag-mediated signaling pathways demonstrated that britanin suppressed the phosphorylation of Syk kinase and multiple downstream signaling processes, including phospholipase Cgamma1 (PLCgamma1)-mediated calcium influx, the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs; extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase and p38), and the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) pathway. Taken together, the findings of this study suggest britanin suppresses degranulation and eicosanoid generation by inhibiting the Syk-dependent pathway and britanin might be useful for the treatment of allergic inflammatory diseases.
Calcium ; Family Characteristics ; Flowers ; Inula ; Leukotriene C4 ; Mast Cells* ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; Phospholipases ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases ; Prostaglandin D2

Inula helenium L. is rich source of eudesmane-type sesquiterpene lactones, mainly alantolactone and isoalantolactone, which have the various pharmacological functions. In this study, we examined the inhibitory effects of nitric oxide (NO) production of hexane, methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, butanol, and water fractions from I. helenium and investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of hexane fraction of I. helenium (HFIH) in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Quantification of alantolactone and isoalantolactone from HFIH was carried out for the standardization by multiple reaction monitoring using triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. HFIH significantly inhibited inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein as well as their downstream products NO and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Moreover, HFIH suppressed NF-κB transcriptional activity by decreasing the translocation of p65 to the nucleus. The in vivo study further confirmed that HFIH attenuated the paw edema induced by carrageenan in an acute inflammation model. These findings suggest that HFIH may be useful as a promising phytomedicine for inflammatory-associated diseases.
Carrageenan ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; Edema ; Inflammation ; Inula ; Lactones ; Methylene Chloride ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Staphylococcal Protein A ; Water

Chemical constituents of Inula japonica were isolated and purified by repeated column chromatographies, over silica gel, and Toyopearl HW-40, and preparative HPLC. On the basis of spectral data analysis, including NMR and MS data, the structures of the isolates were elucidated and their anti-inflammatory activities were assayed. Fifteen compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of I. japonica, and their structures were elucidated as dihydrosyringenin (1), (3S, 5R, 6S, 7E)-5,6-epoxy-3-hydroxy-7-megastigmen-9-one (2), (6R, 7E) -9-hydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-3-one (3), arnidiol (4), taraxasterol acetate (5), 8,9,10-trihydroxythymol (6), taxifolin (7), luteolin (8), napetin (9), eupatin (10), spinacetin (11), quercetin (12), p-hydroxycinnamic acid (13), caffeic acid (14), and caffeoyl acetate (15). Compounds 1, 2, 7, 13 and 15 were isolated from the genus Inula for the first time, and compounds 3, 4, 9-11 and 14 were isolated from this plant for the first time. The anti-inflammatory activity result showed that compounds 3, 6-12 and 14 exhibited inhibition effect against leukotriene C4 (LTC4) synthesis and degranulation definitely in c-Kit Ligand (KL) induced mast cells, and compound 8 and 12 also had the suppression effect against lipopolysacharide(LPS) induced nitric oxide (NO) activity in RAW264.7 macrophages. It is firstly reported that compounds 7 and 9-11 possessed potent inhibition activities against LTC4 generation and degranulation in mast cells.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Cell Line ; Inula ; chemistry ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; Mast Cells ; drug effects ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacology

Twelve populations of Inula lineariifolia were used as materials to measure morphological characteristics, photosynthetic parameters and chemical constituents. It aims to provide a theoretical basis for germplasm resources evaluation. The results showed that I. lineariifolia had relatively rich morphological diversity, there were significant differences of morphological characteristics, photosynthetic parameters and chemical constituents among populations. There was positive correlation on morphological characteristics and P(n). Twelve populations were divided into three-type. The three populations of Xuyi, Mingguang and Fengyang were of narrower-longer leaf, bigger biomass,better photosynthetic and higher chemical constituents. Then they were classified for a similar group. It proved that the three populations were more suitable for cultivation and promotion.
Biomass ; China ; Flowers ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Inula ; chemistry ; classification ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Photosynthesis ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism

To investigate the absorptive characteristics of Inula cappa extract based on the rat everted intestinal sac method . Nine representative ingredients in I. cappa extract were selected as the study objects. An UPLC-MS/MS method was established to determine and detect their cumulative absorption amount for expounding the absorptive characteristics of ingredients in different intestinal sections. According to the results， the transport mechanism of 8 compounds showed passive diffusion by the reverted gut sac method. And scopolin was actively transported in the intestine. The best absorption site of chlorogenic acid was duodenum. The best absorption site of cryptochlorogenic acid， 1，3--dicaffeoylquinic acid， luteolin-7-glucoside and 3，4--dicaffeoylquinic acid were jejunum. The best absorption site of neochlorogenic acid， scopolin， 4，5--dicaffeoylquinic acid and 3，5--dicaffeoylquinic acid was ileum. The absorption of all the compounds was affected by pH and bile. All of the nine ingredients in I. cappa extract could be absorbed in intestines， but with differences in the absorption rate， the best absorptive site and mechanism， indicating that the intestinal absorption of I. cappa extract was selective.
Animals ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Intestinal Absorption ; Intestines ; drug effects ; Inula ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry