NatPro Centre, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Department of Microbiology, Moyne Institute of Preventive Medicine, School of Genetics and Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Phytomedicine. 2022 Oct;105:154353. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2022.154353. Epub 2022 Jul 27.
A traditionally prepared aqueous extract (= decoction) of Houttuynia cordata Thunb (Yu xing cao) (HC) is widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat inflammatory disease. Previous chemical and biological studies on HC have mainly focused on organic extracts rather than the aqueous decoction, which is the traditional formulation.
The study aimed to investigate whether the chemical composition of HC aqueous decoction (HCD) varies with geographical sourcing, to investigate the mechanism of action of HCD, and to determine if chemical variation impacts on HCDs anti-inflammatory activity.
Sixteen samples of HC were purchased from Sichuan, Hubei and Anhui provinces in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and were prepared by the traditional decoction method to yield their corresponding HCDs. A Quality Control (QC) sample was prepared by combining individual HCD extracts. HCDs were analysed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS). The anti-inflammatory activities associated with intestinal barrier function of HCD were studied by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) activated Caco-2 monolayers in vitro and in vivo using Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS)-induced murine colitis. Proteins involved in inflammation, mRNA levels, disease severity scores, and histology involved in intestinal inflammation were analysed.
HCD samples exhibited different chemical fingerprints and three regional outliers were identified by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Fifteen phytochemical metabolites were identified and quantified. HCD showed in vitro anti-inflammatory activity, enhancing zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), occludin, interleukin (IL)-10 and decreasing IL-1β, IL-6 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) via an EGFR-dependent mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2) signaling pathway. This beneficial effect on intestinal inflammation was also seen in the in vivo colitis model at a molecular level in colonic tissues.
This study shows that the test HCDs were chemically different, resulting in different levels of activity on intestinal barrier function and inflammation. Moreover, a "Daodi" product showed the greatest biological activity in this study, thus validating the importance of the "Daodi" quality material in TCM and supporting the traditional used of HCD for the treatment of inflammation.
鱼腥草（HC）的传统水提物（即汤剂）在中医药中被广泛用于治疗炎症性疾病。先前对 HC 的化学和生物研究主要集中在有机提取物上，而不是传统配方的水汤剂。
本研究旨在探讨 HC 水汤剂（HCD）的化学成分是否随地理来源而变化，探讨 HCD 的作用机制，以及确定化学变化是否会影响 HCD 的抗炎活性。
从中华人民共和国（PRC）的四川、湖北和安徽三省购买了 16 份 HC 样本，并采用传统的煎煮法制备相应的 HCD。通过合并个体 HCD 提取物制备 QC 样品。采用核磁共振（NMR）和高效液相色谱-质谱联用（HPLC-MS）对 HCD 进行分析。通过肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）激活体外 Caco-2 单层和体内葡聚糖硫酸钠（DSS）诱导的小鼠结肠炎研究 HCD 与肠道屏障功能相关的抗炎活性。分析了涉及炎症的蛋白质、mRNA 水平、疾病严重程度评分和肠道炎症的组织学。
HCD 样品表现出不同的化学指纹图谱，通过主成分分析（PCA）鉴定出三个区域异常值。鉴定并定量了 15 种植物化学代谢物。HCD 显示出体外抗炎活性，通过表皮生长因子受体（EGFR）依赖性丝裂原激活蛋白激酶（MAPK）细胞外信号调节激酶 1/2（ERK 1/2）信号通路增强紧密连接蛋白-1（ZO-1）、闭合蛋白、白细胞介素（IL）-10，降低 IL-1β、IL-6 和 EGFR。在体内结肠炎模型中，这种对肠道炎症的有益作用也在结肠组织的分子水平上观察到。
本研究表明，测试的 HCD 在化学成分上存在差异，导致对肠道屏障功能和炎症的活性水平不同。此外，本研究中一种“道地”产品表现出最大的生物活性，从而验证了“道地”质量材料在中医药中的重要性，并支持 HC 传统用于治疗炎症。
