Liangmian Chen

Prunella vulgaris L. (PV) is a versatile plant with medicinal and culinary applications globally. Its mature fruit-spikes (red-brown) are the primary source of traditional medicine and herbal tea. However, large-scale cultivation and harvesting inevitably leads to the unintended inclusion of immature green fruit-spikes, which are considered substandard medicinal parts. To explore the medicinal and nutraceutical potential of green fruit-spikes, our study systematically compared green and red-brown samples. The distinctions between the two fruit-spikes were characterized by determination of total water-soluble extract content, comprehensive chemical difference analysis, and quantitation of six phenolic acids, including Danshensu, caffeic acid, protocatechuic acid, protocatechualdehyde, salviaflaside, and rosmarinic acid. Additionally, variations in antioxidant activity were evaluated by DPPH and ABTS assays. As a result, 106 compounds were identified from the PV samples. Green spikes exhibited higher total water extract yield and contents of the six phenolic acids than the red-brown ones. Moreover, green samples showed greater accumulations of phenolic acids, flavonoids, and triterpenes. Concomitantly, stronger antioxidant activity was displayed in green spikes in both assay models. Caffeic acid, danshensu, rosmarinic acid, and protocatechualdehyde were identified as major contributors by Pearson correlation analysis. Our findings reveal that green fruit-spikes possess advantages in accumulating specific chemical profiles and exhibiting antioxidant activity, highlighting their untapped pharmaceutical and nutraceutical potential.

Background/Objectives: Medical leech (Hirudo in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia) is renowned in traditional medicine for its significant antithrombin activity. As an animal-derived medicine with complex and incompletely understood composition, its insufficient quality control measures are met with widespread counterfeiting caused by limited animal resources and rising demand. Methods: In this study, an integrated quality evaluation strategy guided by “Totality of the Evidence” (TOE) method is proposed. This strategy combines chemical characterization of small and macromolecular components with bioassays relevant to its clinical functions. A total of 28 batches of samples were analyzed, comprising 23 genuine and 5 counterfeit batches. Species origins were identified by morphology and DNA barcoding. Chemical characterization included TLC, HPLC and UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS for small molecules, and SDS-PAGE with HPLC-Orbitrap Fusion Lumos Tribrid-MS for macromolecules. Antithrombotic activity was assessed by thrombin titration and platelet aggregation assays. Results: Several characteristic components were discovered and identified as key quality control markers, including eight small molecules such as an unreported compound SZ-1, plus seven major differential proteins across species. Based on these markers, accurate and rapid authentication methods were established using SDS-PAGE for macromolecules, and both HPLC and TLC for small molecules. Furthermore, using bioassay methods we established for quality evaluation, Hirudo nipponica exhibits potent anti-thrombin activity and inhibits platelet aggregation, while Whitmania pigra shows weak anti-thrombin activity and promotes platelet aggregation. Conclusions: This quality evaluation strategy is not only applicable for the quality assessment of genuine Hirudo products of different origins, but also for distinguishing medical leeches from their counterfeits.

Toad Venom (TV) is the dried product of toxic secretions from Bufo bufo gargarizans Cantor (BgC) or B. melanostictus Schneider (BmS). Given the increasing medical demand and the severe depletion of wild toads, a number of counterfeit TVs appeared on the market, posing challenges to its quality control. In order to develop an efficient, feasible, and comprehensive approach to evaluate TV quality, a thorough analysis and comparison of chemical compounds among legal species BgC and BmS, as well as the main confusion species B. andrewsi Schmidt (BaS) and B. raddei Strauch (BrS), were conducted by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and Nano LC-MS/MS analyses. We identified 126 compounds, including free or conjugated bufadienolides, indole alkaloids and amino acids, among the four Bufo species. The content of main bufadienolides, such as gamabufotalin, bufotalin, bufalin, cinobufagin, and resibufogenin, and the total protein contents varied widely among 28 batches of TV due to their origin species. The sum of the five bufadienolides within the BgC, BmS, BaS, and BrS samples were 8.15–15.93%, 2.45–4.14%, 11.15–13.50%, and 13.21–14.68%, respectively. The total protein content of BgC (6.9–24.4%) and BaS (19.1–20.6%) samples were higher than that of BmS (4.8–20.4%) and BrS (10.1–13.7%) samples. Additionally, a total of 1357 proteins were identified. There were differences between the protein compositions among the samples of the four Bufo species. The results indicated that BgC TV is of the highest quality; BaS and BrS TV could serve as alternative resources, whereas BmS TV performed poorly overall. This research provides evidence for developing approaches to evaluate TV quality and selecting the proper Bufo species as the origin source of TV listed in the Chinese pharmacopoeia.

Sanghuangporus vaninii (Ljub.) L.W. Zhou & Y.C. Dai (SV) is a major cultivar of Sanghuang, which is well known as an excellent anti-tumour drug and reaches the mainstream market in China. Water, 60% ethanol and 95% ethanol were used to extract the drug, and three kinds of polar extracts were obtained separately. Compared with water extracts and 95% ethanol extracts, the 60% ethanol extract had the highest flavonoid content, and its polysaccharide content was greater than that in the 95% ethanol extract and lower than that in the water extract. Its essential components were phenolics whose majority were phenolic acids, flavonoids and phenylpropanoids. This extract has better inhibition effects on the proliferation of SW480 human colon cancer cells, inducing cell apoptosis and blocking G2/M period cells. It can significantly inhibit gene expression and reduce the activation of the AKT/mTOR signalling pathway. The anti-cancer activity of the 60% ethanol extract is satisfactory and may be a result of the combined effects of polysaccharides and flavonoids. The data suggest that the 60% ethanol extract can be used as an adjuvant for chemotherapy and as a potential anti-cancer agent with broad development prospects.