OBJECTIVETo compare 39 root samples of Angelica sinensis and A. acutiloba from China and Japan for the quality control of Chinese Angelica.

METHODAn HP-5 (0.32 mm x 30 m, 0.25 microm) column was used for the GC-MS analysis. The oven temperature was programmed from 120 degrees C to 280 degrees C at a rate of 5 degrees C x min(-1). Using principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis on the sample fingerprints for chemical pattern recognition research.

RESULTZ-Ligustilide was the key principle distinguishing Chin samples from Japan. Moreover, using discriminant analysis, seven samples (four of A. sinensis, three of A. acutiloba) were validated. All samples tested were successfully classified according to their species origin.

4-Butyrolactone ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; Angelica sinensis ; chemistry ; Cluster Analysis ; Discriminant Analysis ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; methods ; Principal Component Analysis

With retrieval of articles on extraordinary acupoint that were published in domesticin recent five years, one hundred and eight articles of clinical application are screened out and one hundred and twenty-three extraordinary acupoints that are extensively recognized are collected. Of those acupoints, 23 acupoints are included in the latest national standard. Of the rest 100 extraordinary acupoints, 48 acupoints are located on the running courses of fourteen meridians, 4 acupoints are shared with the meridian points and the other 52 acupoints have not been clarified to be located on the running courses of meridians based on the literature data. It is found in the collection of these acupoints that there are many extraordinary acupoints that are extensively used in clinical practice. But the nomenclatures and locations of acupoints have not been unified. Hence, a further standardization on these aspects is anticipated.
Acupuncture ; history ; standards ; Acupuncture Points ; China ; History, Ancient ; Humans ; Medicine in Literature ; Meridians ; Terminology as Topic

To determine the optimum extraction conditions that give the highest yield of isoquercitrin and caffeic acid from Aster scaber, the effects of four extraction variables (solvent concentrations, extraction time, number of repeated extraction, and solvent volumes) on isoquercitrin and caffeic acid yield was examined via HPLC-UV. Our results showed that the highest extract and isoquercitrin yield were observed when A. scaber was extracted with 450 mL distilled water for 8 hr repeatedly for three times. In case of caffeic acid, the content was higher in the two repeated extracts. Also, content analysis of isoquercitrin in Aster species was performed in which A. fastigiatus, A. ageratoides, and A. scaber exhibited the highest isoquercitrin content at 6.39, 5.68, and 2.79 mg/g extract, respectively. In case of caffeic acid, the highest content of A. scaber and A. glehni was 0.64 and 0.56 mg/g extract, respectively. This study reports an optimized method for extraction of isoquercitrin and caffeic acid from A. scaber and evaluates potential sources of the compounds.
Methods ; Water

The purpose of this study was to explore the clinical efficacy and safety of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (G. pentaphyllum) in the treatment of hyperlipidemia, and to provide systematic evaluation basis for clinical application. CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, Web of science, PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about G. pentaphyllum in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Review Manager 5.4 were used for statistical analysis. Through reading topics, abstracts, and full texts, 27 papers with 2311 cases involved that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were finally included for the analysis. In terms of curative effect, the effect of G. pentaphyllum alone in increasing high density lipoprotein (HDL) index was better than that of conventional treatment, and the effect of reducing total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) was similar to that of conventional treatment. There was a synergistic effect between G. pentaphyllum and conventional drugs, and the combination of G. pentaphyllum and conventional drugs was superior to conventional treatment in reducing TG and increasing HDL. G. pentaphyllum can also decrease the levels of serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase in the treatment of hyperlipidemia, indicating a certain protective function of the liver. In terms of safety, there were fewer cases of adverse reactions in the G. pentaphyllum treatment group, and the adverse reaction events reported in the literature was mild. According to the results of meta-analysis, G. pentaphyllum was effective in the treatment of hyperlipidemia, and it has the potential to be combined with traditional drugs, has a certain liver protection function, and was superior to traditional drugs in the treatment of hyperlipidemia.

This study focuses on the therapeutical effect of flavonoids from Gynostemma pentaphyllum on human lung carcinoma A549 cells induced by H₂O₂ oxidative stress and its possible mechanisms. The oxidative damage model was established using different concentrations H₂O₂ to induce A549 cell for different hours, and then treated with the flavonoids for 10 hours. The effects of flavonoids from G. pentaphyllum on cell viability of A549 cell damaged by H₂O₂ were detected by MTT assay. The contents of ROS were detected by DCFH-DA fluorescent probe method via flow cytometer. The contents of MDA, SOD and GSH were detected by TBA，NBT and DTNB-linked colorimetry assay, respectively. Expressions levels of Nrf2, NQO1 and HO-1 in A549 cells were evaluated by Western blot. The results showed that the cell activity was decreasing with the rise of H₂O₂ concentration within the range of 200-700 μmol·L⁻¹. The cell viability was 60.4% after treated with 500 μmol·L⁻¹H₂O₂ for 10 h, so it was chosen to be as an oxidant stress model. Compared with normal group，the contents of SOD, GSH and HO-1 expressions were lower after damaged with H₂O₂. On the contrary, the contents of ROS and MDA expressions were increased. Compared with model group, the contents of SOD, GSH and the expressions of Nrf2, NQO1 and HO-1 were increased after treated with flavonoids from G. pentaphyllum. The above results demonstrate that flavonoids from G. pentaphyllum may attenuate the effect of H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress on A549 cell by resisting oxidation. The finding may provide a biological evidence for the application of the G. pentaphyllum to fight the oxidative stress related diseases.

Four flavonoids were isolated from Gynostemma pentaphyllum by chromatography methods and their structures were identified by MS and NMR spectra data as quercetin-3-O-( 2″,6″-di-α-L-rhamnosyl)-β-D-galactopyranoside( 1),quercetin-3-O-( 2″,6″-di-α-L-rhamnosyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside( 2),quercetin-3-O-( 2″-α-L-rhamnosyl)-β-D-galactopyranoside( 3),and quercetin-3-O-( 2″-α-L-rhamnosyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside( 4). Among them,compounds 1-3 were obtained from the Cucurbitaceae family for the first time.The four flavonoids showed potent antioxidant effects against the DPPH,·OH and ■radicals in vitro,especially for DPPH radical scavenging activity with the IC50 values of 71. 4,29. 5,48. 3 and 79. 2 μmol·L~(-1),respectively. Moreover,the four flavonoids displayed strong cytoprotection against AAPH-induced oxidative damage in LLC-PK1 cells by suppressing the increase of malondialdehyde( MDA) and the decrease of the superoxide dismutase( SOD) and glutathione( GSH). Since further research is needed to prove its efficacy in vivo and clinical trial,the study may provide four potential antioxidants from G. pentaphyllum.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; Flavonoids ; Gynostemma ; LLC-PK1 Cells ; Oxidative Stress ; Plant Extracts ; Quercetin ; Swine

One new and two known dammarane-type saponins were isolated from the leaves of Gynostemma pentaphyllum using various chromatographic methods. Their structures were identified by HR-ESI-MS,~( 1)H-NMR, ~(13)C-NMR, 2 D-NMR spectra as 2α,3β,12β,20,24(S)-tetrahdroxydammar-25-en-3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-20-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside(1, a new compound, namely gypenoside J5) and 2α,3β,12β,20,24(R)-tetrahdroxydammar-25-en-3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-20-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside(2) and 2α,3β,12β,20-tetrahydroxy-25-hydroperoxy-dammar-23-en-3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→2)][β-D-glucopyranosyl]-20-O-[β-D-xylopyranosyl(1→6)]-β-D-glucopy-ranoside(3), respectively. Compounds 1 and 2 were a pair of C-24 epimers. All compounds showed weak cytotoxicity agxinst H1299, HepG2, PC-3, SH-SY5 Y cancer cell lines. However, they exerted protective effect against SH-SY5 Y cellular damage induced by H_2O_2 dose-dependently, of which compound 1 displayed the strongest antioxidant effect. The present study suggested that G. pentaphyllum has antioxidative potential and the saponins from G. pentaphyllum are considered as the active compounds with neuroprotecitve effect.
Gynostemma ; Molecular Structure ; Neuroprotective Agents/pharmacology* ; Saponins/pharmacology* ; Triterpenes/pharmacology*

Heat-processed Gynostemma pentaphyllum has strong biological activity, and saponins are the main components. To investigate the changes of saponins in G. pentaphyllum before and after heat processing, the present study determined and analyzed the content of nine saponins in G. pentaphyllum from Zhangzhou of Fujian and Jinxiu of Guangxi by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole ion-trap mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-Trap-MS). The separation of the analytes was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C_(18) column(2.1 mm×50 mm, 1.7 μm) at 30 ℃, with acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid in water as the mobile phase by gradient elution, and the flow rate was 0.3 mL·min~(-1). Quantitative analysis was performed using electrospray ionization source(ESI) in the multiple reaction-monitoring(MRM) mode. The results showed that the content of saponins with biological activities increased after heat processing. Specifically, gypenoside L, gypenoside LI, damulin A, damulin B, ginsenoside Rg_3(S), and ginsenoside Rg_3(R) in G. pentaphyllum produced in Zhangzhou of Fujian increased by 7.369, 8.289, 12.155, 7.587, 0.929, and 1.068 μg·g~(-1), respectively, while the content of ginsenoside Rd, gypenoside LVI, and gypenoside XLVI, which were abundant in the raw materials, decreased by 0.779, 19.37, and 9.19 μg·g~(-1), respectively. The content of gypenoside L, gypenoside LI, damulin A, damulin B, ginsenoside Rg_3(S), and ginsenoside Rg_3(R) in G. pentaphyllum produced in Jinxiu of Guangxi increased by 0.100, 0.161, 0.317, 0.228, 3.280, and 3.395 μg·g~(-1), respectively, while the content of ginsenoside Rd, gypenoside LVI, and gypenoside XLVI in the raw materials was reduced by 1.661, 0.014, and 0.010 μg·g~(-1), respectively. The results suggest that heat processing is an effective way to transform rare gypenosides. Furthermore, it is found that there are great differences in the content of gypenosides in different regions.
China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Gynostemma ; Hot Temperature ; Saponins

The efficacy of gastrodin as a Chinese herbal medicine extract in the treatment of tension-type headache has been confirmed. This paper systematically reviewed the efficacy and safety of gastrodin in the treatment of tension-type headache, aiming to provide a new choice for the treatment of this disease. In this study, four Chinese databases, four English databases and two trial registries were searched from the date of establishment to September 2020. The related randomized controlled trials(RCTs) were screened out according to the predetermined criteria. The bias risk assessment tool developed by Cochrane collaboration was used to evaluate the quality of the reports. RevMan 5.4.1 was used for Meta-analysis, and GRADE system for the evidence-based evaluation on the quality of outcome indicators. A total of 177 articles were retrieved and 8 articles were finally included for analysis, with a total sample size of 1 091 cases, which included 565 cases in the treatment group and 526 cases in the control group. The overall quality of included stu-dies was not high. The results of Meta-analysis are as follows:(1)In terms of headache frequency, gastrodin group was better than wes-tern medicine group(MD=-2.90, 95%CI[-3.76,-2.03], P<0.000 01).(2)In terms of number of abnormal blood vessels in TCD, gastrodin group was better than western medicine group(MD=-88.96, 95%CI[-102.36,-75.55], P<0.000 01).(3)In terms of effective rate, gastrodin group was better than western medicine group(RR=1.47, 95%CI[1.29, 1.68], P<0.000 01). The results of subgroup analysis are as follows:(1)Effective rate based on age, for the patients upper age limit 40-46 years old, gastro-din group was better than western medicine group(RR=1.69, 95%CI[1.50, 1.90], P<0.000 01); for the patients upper age limit 55-60 years old, gastrodin group was better than western medicine group(RR=1.27, 95%CI[1.16, 1.38], P<0.000 01).(2)Effective rate based on dosage form, both the gastrodin capsules and injection groups were better than western medicine group(RR_(capsules)=1.42, 95%CI[1.08, 1.88], P=0.01; RR_(injection)=1.50, 95%CI[1.26, 1.77], P<0.000 01). GRADE evaluation showed that the above outcomes had low quality of evidence. Only one article detailed the occurrence of adverse reactions and thus the present study cannot make a positive conclusion on the safety of gastrodin in the treatment of tension-type headache. The small number and low quality of the included reports affected the reliability of the results. In the future, more high-quality randomized controlled trails are needed to improve the evaluation on the efficacy and safety of gastrodin in the treatment of tension-type headache.
Adult ; Benzyl Alcohols/therapeutic use* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Glucosides ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Reproducibility of Results ; Tension-Type Headache