Various column chromatography, such as silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, ODS, and semi-preparative HPLC was used to isolate and purify the chemical constituents from Cinnamomum cassia. The structures were determined on the basis of NMR and MS spectral data analysis, together with the comparison with literature data. Fifteen compounds were isolated from the 85% aqueous ethanol extract of C. cassia, and their structures were identified as (2R, 3R)-5,7,3',4'-tetramethoxyflavan-3-ol( 1), (2R, 3R)-5,7-dimethoxy-3',4'-methylenedioxyflavan-3-ol (2), coumarin (3), cinnamic acid (4), (E)-2-hydroxy-phenylpropionic acid cinnamoyl ester (5), 3, 3', 4, 4'-tetrahydroxy biphenyl (6), methylstictic acid (7), epi-boscialin (8), (1R,2S,3S,4S)-2,3-epoxy-1, 4-dihydroxy-5-methyl-5-cyelohexene (9), 4,5-dihydroxy-3-methyl cyclohex-2-enone (10), cis-4-hydroxymellein (11), and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxyl-cinnamaldehyde (12). Compounds 5-11 were obtained from this genus plants for the first time.
Cinnamomum aromaticum ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Mass Spectrometry ; Molecular Structure

Hydrophidae, one of the precious traditional Chinese medicines, is generally drily preserved to prevent corruption, but it is hard to identify the species of Hydrophidae through the appearance because of the change due to the drying process. The identification through analysis on gene barcode, a new technique in species identification, can avoid the problem. The gene barcodes of the 6 species of Hydrophidae like Lapemis hardwickii were aquired through DNA extraction and gene sequencing. These barcodes were then in sequence alignment and test the identification efficency by BLAST. Our results revealed that the barcode sequences performed high identification efficiency, and had obvious difference between intra- and inter-species. These all indicated that Cyt b DNA barcoding can confirm the Hydrophidae identification.
Animals ; Base Sequence ; China ; Cytochromes b ; genetics ; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic ; Elapidae ; classification ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Reptilian Proteins ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

With polyethylene glycol vitamin E succinate (TPGS) as the carrier materials, and berberine hydrochloride ( BER) as model drug, we formed berberine hydrochloride (BER) -loaded TPGS nanomicells (BER-PMs) using filming-rehydration method to improve its solubility and in vitro anti-tumor effect. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) was used to observe the particle appearance; particle detector was used to detect the diameter and Zeta potential; and ultracentrifugation was utilized to determine the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and drug-loading (DD); dynamic dialysis method was used to study the in vitro release behavior of BER-PMs, and the anti-tumor activity against MCF-7 cells was determined by MTT method. Results showed that the average particle size of BER-PMs was (12.45 ± 1.46) nm; particle size was uniform and spherical; drug loading and encapsulation efficiency were (5.7 ± 0.22)% and (95.67 ± 5.35)%, respectively. Zeta potential was (-1.12 ± 0.23) mV; release rate within 24 h was 37.20% and 41.14% respectively in pH 7.4 and pH 6.5 phosphate buffer in vitro; compared with BER, BER-PMs can significantly inhibit MCF-7 cell proliferation (P < 0.05), promote cell apoptosis and improve the anti-tumor activity of BER in vitro. Therefore, the formed berberine hydrochloride micelle can more effectively promote the apoptosis of MCF-7 cell, and improve the drug's in vitro anti-tumor effect.
Antineoplastic Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Berberine ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Cell Death ; drug effects ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; MCF-7 Cells ; Particle Size ; Polymers ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Solubility

Huaier (Trametes robiniophila) has been widely used as an adjuvant drug for cancer treatment in China. The anti-cancer effect of Huaier extract has been confirmed in liver cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, gastric cancer, and so on. The main mechanisms by which Huaier exerts an anti-neoplastic effect include inhibition of the growth and proliferation of cancer cells, induction of apoptosis of cancer cells, suppression of angiogenesis, inhibition of the invasion and migration of cancer cells, regulation of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes expression, improving immunity, and reversal of drug resistance in cancer cells. In order to provide references for further study and clinical application on anti-tumor effect of Huaier, the latest research progress on anti-tumor effect of Huaier in recent years is summarized in this paper.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Trametes

Referring to the rapid developed life science and the higher requirements for the approval of innovative Chinese drugs in recent years, this paper described systematically the discovery, research and development (R&D) approaches for the innovative Chinese drugs under the new situation from the following five aspects, i. e., active components discovered from TCMs, the discovery of effective fractions of TCMs and their formulae, the R&D of TCM innovative drugs based on famous classic prescriptions and famous Chinese patent drugs, and the transformation of clinical effective prescriptions, on the basis of analysing the advantages of innovative drugs derived from natural products based on TCM theories and the problems existed in current R&D of new TCM drugs. Moreover, five suggestions are also given for the rapid development of TCM innovative drugs in China. All these will provide reference for the R&D of TCM innovative drugs.
China ; Drug Discovery ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; trends ; Research

Compounds were isolated through various chromatographic techniques and their structures were identified by spectroscopic data analysis and comparison with those reported in the literatures. Thirteen compounds were obtained from the petroleum ether and ethyl acetate extracts. Their structures were identified as 4,4'-dimethoxy-9,9', 10,10'-tetrahydro-(1, 1'-biphenanthrene) -2, 2', 7, 7'-tetrol (1), 4, 4', 7, 7'-tetrahydroxy -2,2'-dimethoxy-1, 1'-biphenanthrene (2), 3, 5-dihydroxy-2, 4-dimethoxyphenanthrene (3), physcion (4), chrysophanol (5), emodin (6), genkwanin (7), quercetin (8), quercetin 3'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (9), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy phenylethanol (10), syringic acid (11), vanillin (12), and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (13), respectively. Compounds 1-3 and 5-12 are reported from this genus for the first time.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Orchidaceae ; chemistry ; Plant Tubers ; chemistry

This study is to develop a sensitive method by using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography coupled with UV detector (HPLC-UV) to simultaneously determine four bioactive compounds, iriflophenone 3-C-beta-D-glucoside, iriflophenone 3,5-C-beta-D-diglucoside, mangiferin, and iriflophenone 2-O-alpha-L-rhamnoside in the leaves of Aquilaria sinensis. An Agilent Zorbax SB-C, column (4, 6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) was used, and the gradient elution was performed with mobile phase of 0.1% aqueous phosphoric acid and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 1 mL x min(-1). The detection wavelength was 280 nm, and the column temperature was 25 degrees C. The four marker compounds were well separated with good linearity (R2 > 0.9990), precision, stability and repeatabili y. The-recovery rates were in the range of 98.80%-101.39%. For 15 branch of the leaves, the contents of iriflophenone 3-C-beta-D-gluoside, iriflophenone 3,5-C-beta-D-diglucoside, mangiferin, and iriflophenone 2-O-alpha-L-rhamnoside were between 0.41-14.48, 0.72-3.85, 4.30-29.07, 0.24-5.06 mg, respectivley. This method is precise, accurate and reliable, which provides an efficient way for the quality control of the leaves of A. sinensis. This will promote the comprehensive usage of this plant.
Benzophenones ; analysis ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet ; methods ; Thymelaeaceae ; chemistry ; Xanthones ; analysis

In this study, the flow injection (FI) technology combined with the unique step wise multiple ions monitoring scanning (step-wise MIM) mode of Qtrap-MS was first established for the identification and discrimination of eight Murraya species. It only takes 5 min for each sample to detect approximate 600 compounds. The characteristic MS chromatograms of eight Murraya plants were analyzed by Analyst and SIMCA-P. The results of PCA showed that sect. Murraya and sect. Bergera were clearly divided into two categories, suggesting that there is difference in the chemical compositions between these two groups. Further detail analysis of the MS data could realize the preliminary structure elucidation of the component types contained in different plants. The main components in M. exotica and M. alata are coumarins, and polymethoxyflavones are rich in M. paniculata, while carbazole alkaloids are the major ones in sect. Bergera plants. The results are consistent with our previous comprehensive analysis of the chemical components of Murraya species. In conclusion, our research confirmed that FI-Qtrap-MS technology can be used for rapid identification and differentiation of similar plant species, providing reference for chemical taxonomy and a new method for the quality evaluation of medicinal materials.

A quantitative analysis method of multi-components with a single marker (QAMS) for simultaneous determination of six marker compounds (one from phenolic acids and five from phthalides) in Chuanxiong Rhizoma was established by applying HPLC and using butylidenephthalide as the internal reference substance. And also the feasibility and accuracy of the established method for quality evaluation and application of Chuanxiong Rhizoma were investigated and validated. The analysis was performed with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile - 0.2% aqueous formic acid. The flow rate was 1.0 mL . min-1 and the column temperature was maintained at 30 °C. The detection wavelengths were set at 252 nm (for ferulic acid, Z-ligustilide, and butylidenephthalide) and 266 nm (for senkyunolide I, senkyunolide A, and coniferyl ferulate), separately, and 20 µL was injected for analysis with gradient elution. The results showed that there were no significant differences observed between the HPLC-QAMS method and the external standard method (RSD <5%). The relative correction factors were credible (RSD < 5%) in changed chromatographic conditions. The established HPLC-QAMS method can be accurately used for simultaneously evaluating and controlling the quality of Chuanxiong Rhizoma with multi-components.
4-Butyrolactone ; analogs & derivatives ; Acetonitriles ; Benzofurans ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Coumaric Acids ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; standards ; Hydroxybenzoates ; Quality Control ; Rhizome ; chemistry

Quantitative NMR (qNMR) is a technology based on the principle of NMR. This technology does not need the references of the determined components, which supplies a solution for the problem of reference scarcity in the quantitative analysis of traditional Chinese medicines. Moreover, this technology has the advantages of easy operation, non-destructiveness for the determined sample, high accuracy and repeatability, in comparison with HPLC, LC-MS and GC-MS. NMR technology has achieved quantum leap in sensitivity and accuracy with the development of NMR hardware. In addition, the choice of appropriate experimental parameters of the pre-treatment and measurement procedure as well as the post-acquisition processing is also important for obtaining high-quality and reproducible NMR spectra. This review summarizes the principle of qHNMR, the various experimental parameters affecting the accuracy and the precision of qHNMR, such as signal to noise ratio, relaxation delay, pulse width, acquisition time, window function, phase correction and baseline correction, and their corresponding optimized methods. Moreover, the application of qHNMR in the fields of quantitation of single or multi-components of traditional Chinese medicines, the purity detection of references, and the quality analysis of foods has been discussed. In addition, the existing questions and the future application prospects of qNMR in natural product areas are also presented.
Biological Products ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; methods ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Reproducibility of Results