Yuan Wenjuan, Liu Xinlan, Wang Xinting, Nian Zejin, Wu Xiaoyun, Zi Chengting, Xu Sha, Shen Xiaojing, Wang Xuanjun
College of Science, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China.
Key Laboratory of Puer Tea Science, Ministry of Education, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China.
Nutrients. 2025 Mar 6;17(5):925. doi: 10.3390/nu17050925.
Benth is commonly utilized in China to take advantage of its purported health benefits.
Here, the chemical composition, nutritional value, and bioactivity of Benth extract (CGE) are characterized, and the mechanisms through which it functions were explored.
CGE was found to exhibit a favorable nutritional and biosafety profile, especially due to its high amino acid and mineral contents. A UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF/MS approach identified 20 compounds. Through network pharmacology analyses, the antioxidant activity of CGE was found to be mediated through the PI3K/Akt pathway, with molecular docking results providing support for mussaenoside and azafrin as important bioactive compounds. At the cellular level, antioxidant activity of key protective antioxidants including GSH-Px and SOD while suppressing ROS accumulation, levels of damage-related factors (MDA, NO, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6), and iNOS and COX-2 in RAW264.7 cells treated with LPS. These findings offer potential evidence for using CGE to lower oxidative stress and inflammation. Further analyses demonstrated the ability of CGE to promote Nrf2 and HO-1 upregulation, whereas Keap1 levels were suppressed, as were PI3K/Akt/NF-κB proteins. In light of these results, CGE appears to be able to act via simultaneously enhancing Nrf2/HO-1 activity and reducing that of PI3K/Akt/NF-κB.
CGE, as a rich source of iridoid glycosides and other nutrients, may thus be a valuable dietary supplement for use in food applications.
在中国，Benth因其所谓的健康益处而被广泛使用。
在此，对Benth提取物（CGE）的化学成分、营养价值和生物活性进行了表征，并探讨了其发挥作用的机制。
发现CGE具有良好的营养和生物安全性，特别是由于其高氨基酸和矿物质含量。采用超高效液相色谱-电喷雾电离-四极杆飞行时间质谱（UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF/MS）方法鉴定出20种化合物。通过网络药理学分析，发现CGE的抗氧化活性是通过PI3K/Akt途径介导的，分子对接结果支持乌索酸苷和吖黄素作为重要的生物活性化合物。在细胞水平上，关键保护性抗氧化剂（包括谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GSH-Px）和超氧化物歧化酶（SOD））的抗氧化活性在抑制脂多糖（LPS）处理的RAW264.7细胞中活性氧（ROS）积累、损伤相关因子（丙二醛（MDA）、一氧化氮（NO）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）和白细胞介素-6（IL-6））水平以及诱导型一氧化氮合酶（iNOS）和环氧化酶-2（COX-2）方面发挥作用。这些发现为使用CGE降低氧化应激和炎症提供了潜在证据。进一步分析表明，CGE能够促进核因子E2相关因子2（Nrf2）和血红素加氧酶-1（HO-1）上调，而Keap1水平以及PI3K/Akt/核因子κB（NF-κB）蛋白受到抑制。鉴于这些结果，CGE似乎能够通过同时增强Nrf2/HO-1活性和降低PI3K/Akt/NF-κB活性来发挥作用。
因此，作为丰富的环烯醚萜苷和其他营养物质来源，CGE可能是一种有价值的用于食品应用的膳食补充剂。
