Qingrong Han,Fei Liu,Chengjiu Wang,Zhentao Tang,Cheng Peng,Yuzhu Tan
In recent years, the quality and safety issues of Chinese medicinal herbs have received great attention worldwide. Thereinto, heavy metal contamination has been one of the most serious concerns. Compared to the wide research in the analysis of heavy metals in medicinal herbs, the studies on the removal of heavy metals are relatively limited. In this study, polyethylene glycol functionalized Fe 3 O 4 @MIL-101(Cr) (Fe 3 O 4 @MIL-101(Cr)@PEG) was designed and synthesized to remove heavy metals from the decoction of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. The in-house fabricated Fe 3 O 4 @MIL-101(Cr)@PEG was characterized by a porous structure and a large specific surface area. Then, the efficiency of the material for the removal of five heavy metals was tested under optimal adsorption conditions. Meanwhile, the content of Senkyunolide A, Senkyunolide I, and Ferulic acid, the solid content, and the HPLC fingerprints similarity were used as the quality monitoring indicators of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort decoction before and after the heavy metal removal. Results showed that the magnetic nanomaterial had excellent removal efficiency for As 5+ (81.4 %), Cd 2+ (88.19 %), and Pb 2+ (83.79 %) and certain removal efficiency for Ni 2+ (51.59 %) and Zn 2+ (55.4 %) under the spiked concentration of 50 μg/mL. The content of Senkyunolide A, Senkyunolide I, and Ferulic acid were decreased by less than 8.00 % after the removal of heavy metals. Besides, the loss rate of solid content was only 0.18 %, and the fingerprints similarity was over 99.9 %. The results indicated that Fe 3 O 4 @MIL-101(Cr)@PEG could efficiently and selectively remove heavy metals from Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort without affecting its effective components. Due to the advantages of low-cost, simple manipulation, and good efficiency, the material can be recommended for heavy metals removal from the aqueous solutions of medicinal herbs, providing a new and promising application for the removal of exogenous contaminants in medicinal herbs.
Ethnopharmacological relevance Modified Danzhi Xiaoyao San (MDXS) is an effective clinical prescription for depression in China, which was deprived of Danzhi Xiaoyao San in the Ming Dynasty. MDSX has significant implications for the development of new antidepressants, but its pharmacological mechanism has been rarely studied. Aim of the study To reveal the active components and molecular mechanism of MDXS in treating depression through network pharmacology and experimental verification in vivo and in vitro . Materials and methods UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was used to identify the chemical components in the MDXS freeze-dried powder, drug-containing serum, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Based on the analysis of prototype components in the CSF, the major constituents, potential therapeutic targets and possible pharmacological mechanisms of MDXS in treating depression were investigated using network pharmacological and molecular docking. Then corticosterone (CORT)-induced mice model of depression was established to investigate the antidepressant effects of MDXS. HT22 cells were cultured to verify the neuroprotective effects and core targets of the active components. Results There were 81 compounds in MDXS freeze-dried powder, 36 prototype components in serum, and 13 prototype components in CSF were identified, respectively. Network pharmacology analysis showed that these 13 prototype components in the CSF shared 190 common targets with depression, which were mainly enriched in MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. PPI analysis suggested that AKT1 and MAPK1 (ERK1/2) were the core targets. Molecular docking revealed that azelaic acid (AA), senkyunolide A (SA), atractylenolide III (ATIII), and tokinolide B (TB) had the highest binding energy with AKT1 and MAPK1. Animal experiments verified that MDXS could reverse CORT-induced depression-like behaviors, improve synaptic plasticity, alleviate neuronal injury in hippocampal CA3 regions, and up-regulate the protein expression of p-ERK1/2 and p-AKT. In HT22 cells, azelaic acid, senkyunolide A, and atractylenolide III significantly protected the cell injury caused by CORT, and up-regulated the protein levels of p-ERK1/2 and p-AKT. Conclusions These results suggested that MDXS may exert antidepressant effects partially through azelaic acid, senkyunolide A, and atractylenolide III targeting ERK1/2 and AKT.
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）