ChondroT, a new herbal medication, consists of the water extracts of Osterici Radix, Lonicerae Folium, Angelicae Gigantis Radix, Clematidis Radix, and Phellodendri Cortex (6:4:4:4:3). We previously reported that ChondroT showed significant anti-arthritis and anti-inflammatory effects. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of ChondroT on hyperuricemia. First, the effect of ChondroT was evaluated on xanthine oxidase (XOD) activity in vitro. The anti-hyperuricemic effect of ChondroT was also studied in potassium oxonate (PO)-induced hyperuricemic model mice. Uric acid (UA) and XOD were evaluated in the serum, urine, and liver of the mice. In addition, we measured serum creatinine (Cr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels as well as mRNA expression of the mouse urate transporter 1 (mURAT1) to evaluate kidney function and urate excretion in hyperuricemic mice. ChondroT showed in vitro XOD inhibitory activity in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). We demonstrated that ChondroT (37.5, 75 and 150 mg/kg) significantly reduced serum UA (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively), and upregulated urinary UA (P < 0.001, respectively) in PO-induced hyperuricemic mice. In addition, ChondroT (75 and 150 mg/kg) significantly reduced Cr (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively), BUN (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively), GOT (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively), and GPT (P > 0.05 and P < 0.05, respectively) levels in PO-induced hyperuricemic mice. ChondroT (75 and 150 mg/kg) also significantly downregulated serum (P < 0.05) and liver (P < 0.05) XOD activity. Compared to the hyperuricemic mice, the ChondroT (37.5, 75, and 150 mg/kg)-treated mice showed decreased mURAT1 protein expression level. ChondroT displayed anti-hyperuricemic effects by regulating XOD activity and kidney mURAT1.

Corticosterone (CORT)-induced oxidative stress and neurotoxicity can cause neuronal dysfunction and mental disorders. In the present study, we investigated the effects and mechanism of the HP-20 resin fraction of the water extract of Vaccinium bracteatum leaves (NET-D1602) and its bioactive compound p-coumaric acid on neuronal cell damage in SH-SY5Y cells and primary culture of rat cortical cells. NET-D1602 and p-coumaric acid significantly improved cell viability in CORT-induced neurotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells and primary cultures of rat cortical cells, and increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and catalase) against CORT-induced neurotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells. NET-D1602 and p-coumaric acid increased the phosphorylation levels of ERK1/2 and cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) in cortical neurons. In addition, CREB phosphorylation by NET-D1602 and p-coumaric acid was dramatically reversed by PKA, c-Raf/ERK, PI3K, and mTOR inhibitors. Lastly, we demonstrated the neuroprotective effects of NET-D1602 (3 and 10 μg/mL) and p-coumaric acid (3 and 10 μM) via increased CREB phosphorylation in CORT-induced neurotoxicity mediated via the ERK1/2, Akt, and mTOR pathways. These results suggest that p-coumaric acid is a potential neuroprotective component of NET-D1602, with the ability to protect against CORT-induced neurotoxicity by regulating ERK1/2, Akt, and mTOR-mediated CREB phosphorylation.

We report the identification of interspecific barcoding InDel regions in Vaccinium species. We compared five complete Vaccinium chloroplast (cp) genomes (V. bracteatum, V. vitis-idaea, V. uliginosum, V. macrocarpon, and V. oldhamii) to identify regions that can be used to distinguish them. Comparative analysis of nucleotide diversity from five cp genomes revealed 25 hotspot coding and noncoding regions, occurring in 65 of a total of 505 sliding windows, that exhibited nucleotide diversity (Pi) > 0.02. PCR validation of 12 hypervariable InDel regions identified seven candidate barcodes with high discriminatory powers: accD-trnT-GGU, rpoB-rpoA, ycf2-trnL-GAA, rps12-ycf15, trnV-GAC, and ndhE-ndhF. Among them, the rpoB-rpoA(2) and ycf2-trnL-CAA sequences clearly showed the intraspecific and interspecific distance among five Vaccinium species by using a K2P technique. In phylogenetic analysis, included five Vaccinium species (n = 19) in the Bayesian and Neighbor-Joining (NJ) analysis revered all species in two major clades and resolved taxonomic position within species groups. These two locus provide comprehensive information that aids the phylogenetics of this genus and increased discriminatory capacity during species authentication.

The leaves of Perilla frutescens var. acuta (PFA) are commonly used as a traditional medicine in Korea, Japan, and China. We previously showed that PFA attenuates eye fatigue by improving visual accommodation through a clinical study. However, detailed mechanisms and chemical compounds have not been studied. In this study, we analyzed the active compounds in an aqueous extract of PFA involved in ciliary muscle relaxation in vitro and in vivo. NMR and MS analyses showed that the PFA extract contained mainly luteolin-7-O-diglucuronide and apigenin-7-O-diglucuronide. The composition after freeze-drying and spray-drying was similar. Freeze-dried PFA (50 µg/mL, 100 µg/mL, and 200 µg/mL) increased nitric oxide and cGMP levels in ciliary muscle cells isolated from the eyes of rats. [Ca²⁺]i decreased in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, Sprague-Dawley rats treated with freeze-dried PFA (200 mg/kg, orally) showed significantly increased cGMP levels compared with the control group and irradiated with white light. Our results suggest that PFA extract has the potential to reduce eye fatigue by relaxing ciliary muscles.

In this study, major phytochemical compounds of Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. (VB) aqueous leaf extract were isolated and analyzed using a HPLC-based method, followed by method validation in accordance with the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines for drug development. Five major compounds were isolated in VB extract. Apart from vaccinoside, which had been the only compound isolated in VB extract to date, vanillic acid and protocatechuic acid were isolated for the first time. Isolation of orientin and isoorientin in the VB extract helped validate the reverse-phase analytical method. A new simple and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-based method was developed for the validation of orientin and isoorientin in VB extract and was determinated according to the ICH guidelines. The analytical method was validated through a Waters Alliance HPLC System containing an e2695 separation module and a 2998 photodiode array (PDA) detector. The VB extract and solutions of orientin and isoorientin were analyzed using a reverse-phase Eclipse XDB-C18 column (4.6 × 250 mm ID, 5 µm, Waters), which was maintained at 30 °C. A mobile phase of methanol and 0.01% formic acid in water was used at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min to achieve gradient elution. The linearity of the orientin and isoorientin was excellent results (R² ≥ 0.9999) in the concentration range of 1.0–50.0 μg/mL. Precision values ranged 98.55–101.70% and 98.70–101.18%, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviation (RSD) values of the orientin and isoorientin were all <2.0%. The average recoveries of orientin ranged 98.30–101.57%, whereas isoorientin ranged 97.81–102.14% with RSD values <2.0%. Quantitative analysis found that VB extract contained 2.90 mg/g of orientin and 3.45 mg/g of isoorientin.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a common gastrointestinal disorder worldwide, is characterized by chronic abdominal pain, bloating, and disordered defecation. IBS is associated with several factors, including visceral hypersensitivity, gut motility, and gut–brain interaction disorders. Because currently available pharmacological treatments cannot adequately improve symptoms and may cause adverse effects, the use of herbal therapies for managing IBS is increasing. Lysimachia vulgaris var. davurica (LV) is a medicinal plant used in traditional medicine to treat diarrhea. However, information on whether LV can effectively improve diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) remains limited. In this study, using an experimental mouse model of IBS-D, we elucidated the effects of the LV extract. The methanol extract of LV decreased fecal pellet output in the restraint stress- or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)-induced IBS mouse model and inhibited 5-HT-mediated [Ca²⁺]_i increase in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we developed and validated a high-performance liquid chromatography method using two marker compounds, namely, chlorogenic acid and rutin, for quality control analysis. Our study results suggest the feasibility of the methanol extract of LV for developing therapeutic agents to treat IBS-D by acting as a 5-HT₃ receptor antagonist.