Zhi-Ling Yu, Tao Su, Hui Guo, Chi-Yan Cheng, Xiu-Qiong Fu and Ting Li
Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Posters-Accepted Abstracts: Nat Prod Chem Res
Although toxic, the Chinese medicinal herb Xanthii Fructus (XF, the fruit of Xanthium sibiricum) is commonly used to treat traditional Chinese medicine symptoms that resemble cold, sinusitis and arthritis. According to TCM theory, stir-baking (a processing method) can reduce the toxicity and enhance the efficacy of XF. We aim to examine if stir-baking can reduce the cytotoxicity and enhance the anti-inflammatory property of XF and to explore the chemical basis behind the potential changes of medicinal properties of XF caused by the processing. MTT assays showed that stir-baked XF (SBXF) was less toxic than XF in MIHA cells. Both XF and SBXF had anti-inflammatory effects as demonstrated by their abilities to reduce nitric oxide (NO) production as well as Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (iNOS) mRNA expression in Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The anti-inflammatory effects of SBXF were more potent than that of XF. By comparing the chemical profiles, we found that 7 peaks were lower while 9 other peaks were higher in SBXF than in XF. Eleven compounds corresponding to 11 individual changed peaks were tentatively identified. These data showed that stir-baking significantly reduced the cytotoxicity and enhanced the antiinflammatory effect of XF. With a developed UPLC/Q-TOF-MS we differentiated XF and SBXF by their chemical profiles. Further study is warranted to establish the relationship between the alteration of chemical profiles and the changes of medicinal properties of this herb caused by stir-baking.
Email: zhyu@hkbu.edu.hk
