The quality control processes for herbal medicines have been problematic. Flavonoids are the major active components of Huangqin Tang (HQT, a traditional Chinese medicine formula). In this study, we used a combinative method approach consisting of chromatographic fingerprinting (high performance liquid chromatography; HPLC), quantitative methods and a pharmacodynamic evaluation model to analyze the flavonoids of HQT obtained from different sources. Ten batches of HQT were analyzed by the HPLC fingerprinting method and 26 common peaks were detected, of which 23 peaks corresponded with the chemical profile of HQT. In addition, 11 major compounds were identified by LC-MS analysis (liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer; LC-MS (n) ) and quantified by the HPLC quantitative method approach. The studied 10 batches of HQT were found to be homogeneous in their composition with a similarity between 0.990 and 1.000. The distribution of the 11 identified compounds was found to be very similar among the batches. Only slight pharmacodynamic differences were detected between the different batches, confirming the homogeneity of HQT. The results of this study prove that the combination of chromatographic fingerprinting and quantitative analysis can be readily used for comprehensive quality control of herbal medicines.

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a diffuse nonspecific intestinal inflammation. Spleen-kidney Yang deficiency combined with liver stagnation is the most common symptom. Sishen Pills-Tongxie Yaofang (SSP-TXYF) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that is widely used in the treatment of this symptom. However, its pharmacological mechanism and active components remain unclear. Objective: This study elucidated the potential mechanism and active components of SSP-TXYF in the treatment of UC from the perspective of TCM syndrome. Methods: Metascape, STRING, and Cytoscape were used to explore the SSP-TXYF-compound-target-UC network and biological enrichment pathways, so as to screen the active compounds, key targets, and pathways of SSP-TXYF. Through the construction of a rat model with UC, the key targets and active components were verified after SSP-TXYF administration. Results: A total of 77 effective active chemical components, 208 potential targets, and 5 core target genes were screened out. Gene Ontology biological process items and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes signaling pathways showed that SSP-TXYF played a role in regulating nerve-endocrine, cell proliferation and apoptosis, and immune-related pathways. The main compounds and the target protein exhibited a good binding ability in molecular docking. The results of animal experiments showed that SSP-TXYF could improve UC through IL-6, AKT1, PTGS2, CASP3, and JUN, and nobiletin and wogonin were identified as the main active components. Conclusions: This study suggests that nobiletin and wogonin are the main components of SSP -TXYF in the treatment of UC, which provides effective therapeutic targets and drugs for future clinical treatment of UC.

The diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is chronic kidney disease caused by diabetes and one of the most common comorbidities. It is often more difficult to treat end-stage renal disease once it develops because of its complex metabolic disorders, so early prevention and treatment are important. However, currently available DKD therapies are not ideal, and novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. The potential of stem cell therapies partly depends on their ability to secrete exosomes. More and more studies have shown that stem cell-derived exosomes take part in the DKD pathophysiological process, which may offer an effective therapy for DKD treatment. Herein, we mainly review potential therapies of stem cell-derived exosomes mainly stem cell-derived exosomal microRNAs in DKD, including their protective effects on mesangial cells, podocytes and renal tubular epithelial cells. Using this secretome as possible therapeutic drugs without potential carcinogenicity should be the focus of further research.