Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China; School of Pharmacy, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory for Research and Development of Natural Drugs, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2019 Jan 10;228:200-209. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2018.09.023. Epub 2018 Sep 18.
Siegesbeckiae Herba (SH) is a traditional anti-rheumatic herbal medicine in China. The SH-derived product is the first licensed traditional herbal medicinal product for the management of rheumatism-induced joint and muscle pain in United Kingdom. The authenticated plant origins listed in the official Chinese Pharmacopeia for SH include Siegesbeckia orientalis L. (SO), S. pubescens Markino (SP) and S. glabrescens Markino (SG). Although the therapeutic effects of these SH species in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are similar, their difference in chemical profiles suggested their anti-rheumatisms mechanisms and effects may be different.
This study was designed to comparatively comprehend the chemical and biological similarity and difference of SO, SP and SG for treating rheumatoid arthritis based on the combination of computational predictions and biological experiment investigations.
The reported compounds for SO, SP and SG were obtained from four chemical databases (SciFinder, Combined Chemical Dictionary v2009, Dictionary of Natural Products and Chinese academy of sciences Chemistry Database). The RA-relevant proteins involved in nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), oxidative stress and autophagy signaling pathways were collected from the databases of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Biocarta. The comparative comprehension of SH plants was performed using similarity analysis, molecular docking and compounds-protein network analysis. The chemical characterization of different SH extracts were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed, and their effects on specific RA-relevant protein expressions were investigated using Western blotting analysis.
Chemical analysis revealed that SO contains mainly sequiterpenes and pimarenoids; SP contains mainly pimarenoids, sequiterpenes, and kaurenoids; and SG contains mainly pimarenoids, flavonoids and alkaloids. Moreover, coincided with the predicted results from computational analysis, different SH species were observed to present different chemical constituents, and diverse effects on RA-relevant proteins at the biological level.
The chemical and biological properties of SO, SP and SG were different and distinctive. The systematic comparison between these three confusing Chinese herbs provides reliable characterization profiles to clarify the pharmacological substances in SH for the precise management of rheumatism/-related diseases in clinics.
夏枯草（SH）是中国传统的抗风湿草药。SH 的衍生产品是英国首个获得许可的传统草药药物，用于治疗风湿引起的关节和肌肉疼痛。官方《中国药典》中列出的 SH 的认证植物来源包括飞扬草（SO）、毛夏枯草（SP）和无毛夏枯草（SG）。虽然这些 SH 物种在治疗类风湿关节炎（RA）方面的疗效相似，但它们在化学成分上的差异表明其抗风湿机制和作用可能不同。
本研究旨在通过计算预测和生物实验研究相结合，比较理解 SO、SP 和 SG 治疗类风湿关节炎的化学和生物学相似性和差异性。
从四个化学数据库（SciFinder、Combined Chemical Dictionary v2009、Dictionary of Natural Products 和中国科学院化学数据库）中获取 SO、SP 和 SG 的报道化合物。从京都基因与基因组百科全书和 Biocarta 数据库中收集涉及核因子-κB（NF-κB）、氧化应激和自噬信号通路的 RA 相关蛋白。使用相似性分析、分子对接和化合物-蛋白网络分析对 SH 植物进行比较理解。定性和定量分析不同 SH 提取物的化学成分，并使用 Western blot 分析研究其对特定 RA 相关蛋白表达的影响。
化学分析表明，SO 主要含有倍半萜和贝壳杉烯；SP 主要含有贝壳杉烯、倍半萜和贝壳杉烷；SG 主要含有贝壳杉烯、黄酮类和生物碱。此外，与计算分析的预测结果一致，不同的 SH 物种表现出不同的化学成分，并且在生物水平上对 RA 相关蛋白表现出不同的作用。
SO、SP 和 SG 的化学和生物学性质不同且具有特征性。这三种混淆的中药之间的系统比较为 SH 中的药理物质提供了可靠的特征描述，以便在临床中精确管理风湿病/相关疾病。
