Search Results (6)

Despite extensive studies to identify effective curative drugs for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), only riluzole and edaravone have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. However, these drugs only delay disease progression and exhibit adverse effects, necessitating the development of more effective drugs. Herbal medicines are effective against incurable diseases with various pathogenic factors owing to their low toxicity and presence of multiple components, which target multiple organs. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether a combined herbal medicine (CHM), comprising Gastrodia elata, Cnidium officinale Makino, and Ostericum koreanum, affects muscle function and motor neuron death in an animal model of ALS. We treated 8-week-old hSOD1G93A mice with 1 mg/g CHM, administered orally once daily for 6 weeks. Muscle function was measured via a footprint test. Biochemical analyses, including immunoblotting, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry, of the muscles (tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius) and spinal cord of hSOD1G93A mice were performed. The CHM treatment improved movement and reduced motor neuron loss in the mouse spinal cord. It also enhanced anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities and regulated autophagy in the mouse muscles and spinal cord. These findings suggest that CHM has multi-active components that effectively target muscles and the spinal cord, delaying disease progression. Full article

“Ganghwal” is a widely used herbal medicine in Republic of Korea, but it has not been reported as a treatment strategy for obesity and diabetes within adipocytes. In this study, we determined that Ostericum koreanum extract (OKE) exerts an anti-obesity effect by inhibiting adipogenesis and an anti-diabetic effect by increasing the expression of genes related to glucose uptake in adipocytes and inhibiting α-glucosidase activity. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were differentiated for 8 days in methylisobutylxanthine, dexamethasone, and insulin medium, and the effect of OKE was confirmed by the addition of 50 and 100 µg/mL of OKE during the differentiation process. This resulted in a reduction in lipid accumulation and the expression of PPARγ (Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ) and C/EBPα (CCAAT enhancer binding protein α). Significant activation of AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase), increased expression of GLUT4 (Glucose Transporter Type 4), and inhibition of α-glucosidase activity were also observed. These findings provide the basis for the anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects of OKE. In addition, OKE has a significant antioxidant effect. This study presents OKE as a potential natural product-derived material for the treatment of patients with metabolic diseases such as obesity- and obesity-induced diabetes. Full article

The aim of this study was to discover bioactive constituents of Angelica reflexa that improve glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in pancreatic β-cells. Herein, three new compounds, namely, koseonolin A (1), koseonolin B (2), and isohydroxylomatin (3), along with 28 compounds (4–31) were isolated from the roots of A. reflexa by chromatographic methods. The chemical structures of new compounds (1–3) were elucidated through spectroscopic/spectrometric methods such as NMR and HRESIMS. In particular, the absolute configuration of the new compounds (1 and 3) was performed by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) studies. The effects of the root extract of A. reflexa (KH2E) and isolated compounds (1–31) on GSIS were detected by GSIS assay, ADP/ATP ratio assay, and Western blot assay. We observed that KH2E enhanced GSIS. Among the compounds 1–31, isohydroxylomatin (3), (−)-marmesin (17), and marmesinin (19) increased GSIS. In particular, marmesinin (19) was the most effective; this effect was superior to treatment with gliclazide. GSI values were: 13.21 ± 0.12 and 7.02 ± 0.32 for marmesinin (19) and gliclazide at a same concentration of 10 μM, respectively. Gliclazide is often performed in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). KH2E and marmesinin (19) enhanced the protein expressions associated with pancreatic β-cell metabolism such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1, and insulin receptor substrate-2. The effect of marmesinin (19) on GSIS was improved by an L-type Ca²⁺ channel agonist and K+ channel blocker and was inhibited by an L-type Ca²⁺ channel blocker and K⁺ channel activator. Marmesinin (19) may improve hyperglycemia by enhancing GSIS in pancreatic β-cells. Thus, marmesinin (19) may have potential use in developing novel anti-T2D therapy. These findings promote the potential application of marmesinin (19) toward the management of hyperglycemia in T2D. Full article

Traditional classification based on morphological characters suggests that the genus Ostericum is closely related to Angelica, but molecular phylogenetic studies suggest that the genus Ostericum is related to Pternopetalum rather than Angelica. In this study, the plastomes of nine Ostericum species and five Angelica species were used to conduct bioinformatic and comparative analyses. The plastomes of Ostericum and Angelica exhibited significant differences in genome size, gene numbers, IR junctions, nucleotide diversity, divergent regions, and the repeat units of SSR types. In contrast, Ostericum is more similar to Pternopetalum rather than Angelica in comparative genomics analyses. In total, 80 protein-coding genes from 97 complete plastomes and 112 ITS sequences were used to reconstruct phylogenetic trees. Phylogenies showed that Angelica was mainly located in Selineae tribe while Ostericum was a sister to Pternopetalum and occurred in the Acronema clade. However, morphological analysis was inconsistent with molecular phylogenetic analysis: Angelica and Ostericum have similar fruit morphological characteristics while the fruits of Ostericum are quite different from the genus Pternopetalum. The phylogenetic relationship between Angelica and Ostericum is consistent with the results of plastome comparisons but discordant with morphological characters. The cause of this phenomenon may be convergent morphology and incomplete lineage sorting (ILS). Full article

Ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted significant interest because of their desirable properties. These characteristics have improved their application to overcome the shortcomings of conventional separation techniques for phytochemicals. In this study, several ILs were investigated for their capacity to extract isoimperatorin, a bioactive furanocoumarin, from the roots of Ostericum koreanum. Herein, 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Bmim][BF₄]) was selected as a promising IL for separating isoimperatorin. A central composite design was applied to optimize the extraction conditions. Under the optimal conditions, the yield of isoimperatorin reached 97.17 ± 1.84%. Additionally, the recovery of isoimperatorin from the [Bmim][BF₄] solution was successfully achieved (87.73 ± 2.37%) by crystallization using water as an antisolvent. The purity of the isoimperatorin was greatly enhanced, from 0.26 ± 0.28% in the raw material to 26.94 ± 1.26% in the product, in a one-step crystallization process. Namely, an enhancement of approximately 103-folds was reached. The developed approach overcomes the shortcomings of conventional separation methods applied for gaining isoimperatorin by significantly reducing the laboriousness of the process and the consumption of volatile organic solvents. Moreover, the simplicity and effectiveness of the method are assumed to be valuable for producing isoimperatorin-enriched products and for promoting its purification. This work also confirms the efficiency of ILs as a promising material for the separation of phytochemicals. Full article

Ostericum citriodorum is a plant with a native range in China used in herbal medicine for treating angina pectoris. In this study, we investigated the vasodilatory effects of isodillapiolglycol (IDG), which is one of the main ingredients isolated from O. citriodorum ethyl acetate extract, in Sprague–Dawley rat aortic rings, and measured intracellular Ca²⁺ ([Ca²⁺]_in) using a molecular fluo-3/AM probe. The results show that IDG dose-dependently relaxed endothelium-intact or -denuded aortic rings pre-contracted with noradrenaline (NE) or potassium chloride (KCl), and inhibited CaCl₂-induced contraction in high K⁺ depolarized aortic rings. Tetraethyl ammonium chloride (a Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channel blocker) or verapamil (an L-type Ca²⁺ channel blocker) significantly reduced the relaxation of IDG in aortic rings pre-contracted with NE. In vascular smooth muscle cells, IDG inhibited the increase in [Ca²⁺]_in stimulated by KCl in Krebs solution; likewise, IDG also attenuated the increase in [Ca²⁺]_in induced by NE or subsequent supplementation of CaCl₂. These findings demonstrate that IDG relaxes aortic rings in an endothelium-independent manner by reducing [Ca²⁺]_in, likely through inhibition of the receptor-gated Ca²⁺ channel and the voltage-dependent Ca²⁺ channel, and through opening of the Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channel. Full article