Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, 100850, China.
Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2024 Jan 30;319(Pt 2):117215. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2023.117215. Epub 2023 Sep 27.
Epimedii Folium (Yin-yang-huo in Chinese), a traditional and commonly used herbal medicine (HM), is a representative of multi-plant sources. To date, little is known about the reasons for similar therapeutic effects of this HM from multi-plant sources.
To investigate the underlying reasons for the similar pharmacological effects of Epimedii Folium from two botanical sources (Epimedium koreanum Nakai and Epimedium wushanense T. S. Ying).
Firstly, the phytochemicals of the extracts of E. koreanum and E. wushanense were systematically analyzed. Meanwhile, their pharmacological effects on kidney-yang deficiency (KYD) syndrome were evaluated in rats induced by hydrocortisone. Subsequently, we proposed a combined effect index (CEI) to assess the effects of two plants on the secretion of testosterone by combing the system exposure of twelve active components in vivo with their regulation activities of testosterone production in vitro. Moreover, the label-free proteomics and Western blot analysis were conducted to evaluate the possible mechanism of Epimedii Folium from two botanical sources.
E. koreanum and E. wushanense exhibited similar pharmacological effects on KYD syndrome with promoting the mating behaviors and testosterone levels of rats, although there is a certain difference in the main components between two plants. The CEI analysis showed that there was no difference (P > 0.05) in the sum of CEIs of two Epimedium, indicating that their similar therapeutic effects are attributed to bioactive metabolites in vivo. Furthermore, Epimedii Folium can regulate testosterone production in rat Leydig cell via reversing expressions of key steroidogenic enzymes, such as steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD).
Our results supply critical evidence for the similar pharmacological effects of two Epimedium species, acting by consistent bioactive components directly exposing in vivo, not chemical compositions presenting in herbs. It provides a reasonable scientific basis for understanding of the HMs originated from multi-plant sources for the same clinical application.
淫羊藿（中文音译为“阴阳藿”）是一种传统的、常用的草药，是多植物来源的代表。迄今为止，对于这种多植物来源的草药具有相似治疗效果的原因知之甚少。
研究两种植物来源的淫羊藿（朝鲜淫羊藿和巫山淫羊藿）在药理学上具有相似作用的潜在原因。
首先，系统分析了朝鲜淫羊藿和巫山淫羊藿提取物中的化学成分。同时，在氢化可的松诱导的肾阳虚（KYD）综合征大鼠模型中评价它们的药理作用。随后，我们提出了一个综合效应指数（CEI），通过将十二种体内活性成分的系统暴露与体外对睾酮生成的调节活性相结合，来评估两种植物对睾酮分泌的影响。此外，还进行了无标记蛋白质组学和 Western blot 分析，以评估两种植物来源的淫羊藿可能的作用机制。
尽管两种植物的主要成分存在一定差异，但朝鲜淫羊藿和巫山淫羊藿对 KYD 综合征的药理作用相似，均能促进大鼠的交配行为和睾酮水平。CEI 分析表明，两种淫羊藿的 CEI 总和没有差异（P>0.05），这表明它们的相似治疗效果归因于体内的生物活性代谢物。此外，淫羊藿可以通过逆转关键类固醇生成酶（如类固醇生成急性调节蛋白（StAR）和 3β-羟甾脱氢酶（3β-HSD））的表达来调节大鼠睾丸间质细胞中的睾酮生成。
本研究结果为两种淫羊藿具有相似的药理作用提供了重要证据，其作用机制是通过体内直接暴露的一致生物活性成分，而不是草药中存在的化学成分。这为理解多植物来源的同种草药用于相同的临床应用提供了合理的科学依据。
