Cui Yueli, Zhao Xin, Tang Yuqiu, Zhang Yanxue, Sun Le, Zhang Xuelan
School of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355, China.
Jinan Central Hospital of Shandong Province, Jinan 250013, Shandong, China.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021 Jan 7;2021:8855536. doi: 10.1155/2021/8855536. eCollection 2021.
The root of Willd. (Polygalaceae) (PT) has been listed as a nootropic, anti-inflammatory, and antipsychotic medicine that can cure insomnia. Raw PT (RPT) is toxic and must be processed before clinical use. Licorice-simmered PT (LPT) is one of the most common processed products. We conducted this study in order to investigate the differences in chemical components and gastrointestinal function between RPT and LPT. We used principal component analysis (PCA) and quantitative analysis to study the differences in the chemical components. Animal experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of PT on the gastrointestinal function of rats before and after simmering. Pathological sections of gastrointestinal tissues, serum hormone levels, and inflammatory cytokines were observed. The PCA results demonstrated that obvious separation was achieved between the RPT and LPT samples. Tenuifoliside B (TFSB), 3,6'-disinapoyl sucrose (DSS), tenuifoliose A (TFOA), tenuifoliose H (TFOH), onjisaponin B (OJB), onjisaponin Z (OJZ), and total saponins levels were decreased after licorice processing, while glomeratose A (GA) and 3,4,5-trimethoxycinnamic acid (TMCA) levels were markedly increased. Compared to the control group, the RPT groups exhibited dramatically lower levels of gastrin (GAS), motilin (MTL), and substance P (SP) and markedly higher levels of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and somatostatin (SS), but the LPT groups exhibited no significant differences in the above indexes. The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) in gastrointestinal tissue were markedly increased in the low RPT (L-RPT), high RPT (H-RPT), and H-LPT groups, showing a certain inflammatory effect, but the inflammatory effect in the L-LPT group was relatively weak. Licorice simmering can effectively reduce the inhibitory effect of RPT on gastrointestinal function in rats and reduce damage to gastrointestinal tissue. This study provides a scientific basis for research on the processing mechanism and clinical application of PT.
远志（远志科）的根（PT）已被列为一种益智、抗炎和抗精神病药物，可治疗失眠。生远志（RPT）有毒，临床使用前必须进行炮制。甘草制远志（LPT）是最常见的炮制产品之一。我们开展本研究以调查RPT和LPT在化学成分和胃肠功能方面的差异。我们采用主成分分析（PCA）和定量分析来研究化学成分的差异。进行动物实验以评估炮制前后PT对大鼠胃肠功能的影响。观察胃肠组织病理切片、血清激素水平和炎性细胞因子。PCA结果表明，RPT和LPT样品之间实现了明显分离。甘草炮制后，细叶远志皂苷B（TFSB）、3,6'-二芥子酰蔗糖（DSS）、细叶远志糖A（TFOA）、细叶远志糖H（TFOH）、远志皂苷B（OJB）、远志皂苷Z（OJZ）和总皂苷水平降低，而球腺糖苷A（GA）和3,4,5-三甲氧基肉桂酸（TMCA）水平显著升高。与对照组相比，RPT组胃泌素（GAS）、胃动素（MTL）和P物质（SP）水平显著降低，血管活性肠肽（VIP）和生长抑素（SS）水平显著升高，但LPT组上述指标无显著差异。低剂量RPT（L-RPT）、高剂量RPT（H-RPT）和高剂量LPT组胃肠组织中白细胞介素-6（IL-6）、白细胞介素-8（IL-8）和肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）水平显著升高，呈现一定的炎症效应，但低剂量LPT组的炎症效应相对较弱。甘草炮制可有效降低RPT对大鼠胃肠功能的抑制作用，并减少对胃肠组织的损伤。本研究为PT的炮制机制及临床应用研究提供了科学依据。
