A network pharmacology-based analysis to distinguish the differences between Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos

Multiple basal plants are commonly used as materia medica in the traditional medicine of various nationalities and ethnicities worldwide. We call this practice “multibasal-plant materia medica” (MBPMM). So we proposed the application of network pharmacological method that it can provide a new way of distinguishing the differences among the different basal plants used in traditional medicines. We apply the method in investigating the differences and similarities in the material bases and mechanisms of anti-inflammatory activities of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos. Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos share plenty of similarities in terms of anti-inflammatory mechanisms and material bases. Both of them mainly act on airway inflammation and tumour inflammation via the NF-κB signalling pathway and immune response, oxidation and signal transduction. However, Lonicerae Flos acts on inflammation with greater intensity than Lonicerae Japonicae Flos. We argue that they can be used interchangeably for the prevention and treatment of tumours and airway inflammation at a proper dosage. Otherwise, Lonicerae Flos may be more appropriate for treating neurological and metabolism-related inflammation, whereas Lonicerae Japonicae Flos is more suitable for the treatment of inflammation of systemic organs, such as intestines.

Protective Effects of Aqueous Extracts of Flos lonicerae Japonicae against Hydroquinone-Induced Toxicity in Hepatic L02 Cells

Hydroquinone (HQ) is widely used in food stuffs and is an occupational and environmental pollutant. Although the hepatotoxicity of HQ has been demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo, the prevention of HQ-induced hepatotoxicity has yet to be elucidated. In this study, we focused on the intervention effect of aqueous extracts of Flos lonicerae Japonicae (FLJ) on HQ-induced cytotoxicity. We demonstrated that HQ reduced cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner by administering 160 μmol/L HQ for 12 h as the positive control of cytotoxicity. The aqueous FLJ extracts significantly increased cell viability and decreased LDH release, ALT, and AST in a concentration-dependent manner compared with the corresponding HQ-treated groups in hepatic L02 cells. This result indicated that aqueous FLJ extracts could protect the cytotoxicity induced by HQ. HQ increased intracellular MDA and LPO and decreased the activities of GSH, GSH-Px, and SOD in hepatic L02 cells. In addition, aqueous FLJ extracts significantly suppressed HQ-stimulated oxidative damage. Moreover, HQ promoted DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and the level of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine and apoptosis. However, aqueous FLJ extracts reversed HQ-induced DNA damage and apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. Overall, our results demonstrated that the toxicity of HQ was mediated by intracellular oxidative stress, which activated DNA damage and apoptosis. The findings also proved that aqueous FLJ extracts exerted protective effects against HQ-induced cytotoxicity in hepatic L02 cells.

Development of a new and environmentally-friendly method to evaluate phenolic compounds from Flos Lonicerae Japonicae with ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography (UHPSFC) combined with chemometrics

The chemical variation of 10 batches of Flos Lonicerae Japonicae from different geographical origins was investigated by quantitation of phenolic acids..