Effects of Puerarin on the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases

Puerarin, an isoflavone glycoside derived from Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi, has been identified as a pharmacologically active component with diverse benefits. A large number of experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated that puerarin is widely used in the treatment of a variety of diseases. Among them, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death in the world, and therefore remain one of the most prominent global public health concerns. In this review, we systematically analyze the preclinical investigations of puerarin in CVDs, such as atherosclerosis, cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, diabetic cardiovascular complications, myocardial infarction, stroke and hypertension. In addition, the potential molecular targets of puerarin are also discussed. Furthermore, we summarize the clinical trails of puerarin in the treatment of CVDs. Finally, the therapeutic effects of puerarin derivatives and its drug delivery systems are overviewed.

Bioactive Flavonoid Glycosides and HPLC and UPLC Quantification of Commercial Astragali Complanati Semen

Eleven compounds, including nine known flavonoid glycosides (1–4, 6–8, and 10–11), one isoflavone glycoside (5), and a glansreginic acid (9), were isolated from the 80% ethanol extract of commercial Astragali Complanati Semen (ACS). All chemical structures were determined by spectroscopic analyses, including 1D and 2D NMR. Compounds 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10 were isolated and identified from the title plant for the first time. Biological evaluation revealed that all the isolates showed promising anti-NO production, and 1, 2, 3, and 8 were more potent in antioxidant activity than vitamin E. The major peaks in the UPLC and HPLC profiles identified their chemical structures by comparing their retention time and UV spectra with those of the reference substances. Furthermore, nine of the eleven samples collected from North, Middle, and South regions of Taiwan possessed similar HPLC fingerprints and were identified as Astragali Complanati Semen, whereas the other two samples from southern Taiwan would be the adulterants due to the different fingerprinting patterns. In addition, an HPLC-UV method was employed to determine the content of target compound complanatuside (11) with good linear regression (R2 = 0.9998) for ACS in the Taiwanese market. Of the isolates, flavonol glycosides 1 and 3 were the major peaks in HPLC/UPLC, and showed more potent antioxidant and anti-NO production activities than that of 11, revealing that these compounds can be the available agents for the quality control of ACS.

Phytochemistry, Traditional Uses and Pharmacological properties of Enhydra fluctuans Lour: A Comprehensive Review.

Background: Enhydra fluctuans Lour, a tropical herb, commonly known as helencha or harkuch, belonging to family Asteraceae, and is an edible semi-aquatic herbaceous vegetable plant with serrate leaves, grows commonly in different parts of the world. Enhydra fluctuans possesses potential pharmacological role against inflammation, cancer, diarrhea, microbial infection, diabetes, and so on. Aim of the review: This review aims to provide the most current information on the botanical characterization, distribution, traditional uses, chemical constituents, as well as the pharmacological activities of Enhydra fluctuans Lour. Materials and methods: The recently updated information on Enhydra fluctuans was gathered from scientific journals, books, and worldwide accepted scientific databases via a library and electronic search (PubMed, Elsevier, Google Scholar, Springer, Scopus, Web of Science, Wiley online library. All of the full-text articles and abstracts related to Enhydra were screened. The most important and relevant articles were carefully chosen for study in this review. Results: Crude extracts and isolated compounds of Enhydra fluctuans Lour has been reported pharmacologically active against cytoprotective, analgesic and anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-diarrhoeal, antihelmintic, CNS depressant, hepatoprotective, thrombolytic, antidiabetic, anti-oxidant, phagocytic and cytotoxic, and neuroprotective potential activities. Discussion: Phytochemical analysis from different studies has reported Germacranolide, Sesquiterpene lactone, Flavonoid, Essential oil, Steroid, Diterpenoid, Melampolide, Sesquiterpene lactone, Isoflavone glycoside as major compounds of Enhydra fluctuans Lour. Conclusions: However, more research is important to explore the mode of action of bioactive components of the plant and its therapeutic capabilities.

Sophoricoside: Bioactive compounds from Sophora japonica, the role in disease prevention and treatment.

: Herbal drugs and their derived products play an important role in the human life due to their defensive nature against various diseases. Demand of herbal based products is continuously increasing in the society due to their less toxicity and more health value. Pure phytochemicals of plants have been placed in the modern medicine due to their health promoting aspects as we know that some of the important modern medicines contain pure active chemicals obtained from plants, minerals and organic matter. A large number of drugs prescribed in the modern medicine are derived from plants. Phytochemicals are present in various herbs, fruits, vegetables, oil, and seeds. Sophora japonica is a tree native to China and Korea also called Japanese pagoda tree or Chinese scholar tree. Sophoricoside is an isoflavone glycoside present in the Sophora japonica plant. Sophoricoside has been known for its estrogenic activity, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic and immunomodulatory activity. In the present review paper, we have collected all the information of sophoricoside and summarized their pharmacological activities, pharmacokinetic, analytical techniques and biotransformation method in very concise manner. This article aims is to provide an overview of the pharmacological effects of sophoricoside and their mechanisms of actions in various diseases. Databases namely Medline, PubMed, Google and Science direct were searched to collect the data for this review. The present review will be helpful to the scientists of Botanical, Medicinal and Pharmaceutical field for discovery and development of new novel medicines from sophoricoside.

Comparative Evaluation of Six Traditional Fermented Soybean Products in East Asia: A Metabolomics Approach

Many ethnic fermented soybean products (FSPs) have long been consumed as seasoning and protein sources in East Asia. To evaluate the quality of various FSPs in East Asia, non-targeted metabolite profiling with multivariate analysis of six traditional FSPs (Natto; NT, Cheonggukjang; CG, Doenjang; DJ, Miso; MS, Doubanjiang; DB, Tianmianjiang; TM) was performed. Six FSPs could be clearly distinguished by principle component analysis (PCA) and partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Amino acid contents were relatively higher in NT and CG, sugar and sugar alcohol contents were relatively higher in MS and TM, isoflavone glycoside contents were relatively highest in CG, isoflavone aglycon contents were the highest in DJ, and soyasaponin contents were the highest in CG. Antioxidant activity and physicochemical properties were determined to examine the relationships between the FSPs and their antioxidant activities. We observed a negative correlation between isoflavone aglycon contents and 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) activity. Furthermore, the order of ABTS activity of FSPs has a positive correlation with the order of soybean content in the six FSPs. Herein it was found that primary metabolites were affected by the main ingredients and secondary metabolites were most influenced by the fermentation time, and that soybean content contributed more to antioxidant activity than fermentation time.