Xu Xia, Lv Huiying, Xia Zian, Fan Rong, Zhang Chunhu, Wang Yang, Wang Dongsheng
Laboratory of Ethnopharmacology, Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, People's Republic of China.
Hunan Agricultural Product Processing Institute, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Hunan Food Test and Analysis Center, Changsha, 410125, People's Republic of China.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2017 Mar 7;17(1):140. doi: 10.1186/s12906-017-1655-x.
The brain is secondarily harmed by pathological, physiological, and biological reactions that are caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI). Rhein, a significant composition of Rhubarb, is a well-known traditional Chinese treatment method and has a strong oxidation-resisting characteristic, but Rhein's mechanism remains unclear.
This study aimed to identify Rhein in the brain tissues of TBI model of rats, and confirm whether Rhein induced an antioxidative effect similar to its parent medicine, Rhubarb. First, the ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was applied to identify Rhein in the brain tissue of the controlled cortical impact (CCI) rats after intra-gastric administration of Rhubarb. Further, for the purpose of calculating the oxidant stress of the CCI rats, the malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione disulfide (GSSG), as well as the proportion of glutathione (GSH)/GSSG were measured in the brain tissues.
The results showed that Rhein was absorbed in the brain tissues of CCI rats. Rhubarb and rhein elevated the SOD, CAT activities, GSH level, and GSH/GSSG ratio, and diminished the MDA and GSSG levels.
The data demonstrated that Rhubarb and Rhein had the potential to be used as a neuroprotective drug for TBI, and that Rhein induced an antioxidative effect similar to its parent medicine, Rhubarb.
创伤性脑损伤（TBI）所引发的病理、生理及生物学反应会对大脑造成继发性损害。大黄的重要成分大黄酸是一种著名的中医疗法，具有很强的抗氧化特性，但大黄酸的作用机制尚不清楚。
本研究旨在鉴定大鼠TBI模型脑组织中的大黄酸，并确认大黄酸是否能诱导出与其母体药物大黄相似的抗氧化作用。首先，采用超高效液相色谱-串联质谱（UPLC-MS/MS）法鉴定灌胃给予大黄后，控制皮质撞击（CCI）大鼠脑组织中的大黄酸。此外，为计算CCI大鼠的氧化应激，测定了其脑组织中的丙二醛（MDA）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、谷胱甘肽二硫化物（GSSG）以及谷胱甘肽（GSH）/GSSG的比例。
结果显示，大黄酸在CCI大鼠的脑组织中被吸收。大黄和大黄酸提高了SOD、CAT活性、GSH水平以及GSH/GSSG比值，并降低了MDA和GSSG水平。
数据表明，大黄和大黄酸有潜力用作TBI的神经保护药物，且大黄酸能诱导出与其母体药物大黄相似的抗氧化作用。
