An activity-directed fractionation and purification process was used to isolate 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH*) scavenging components from fruits of Capparis spinosa L. (Capparaeae). Ethyl acetate and aqueous fractions showed greater DPPH* scavenging activities compared to the petroleum ether fractions. The ethyl acetate fraction was subjected to purification using column chromatography. A new antioxidant cappariside (4-hydroxy-5-methylfuran-3-carboxylic acid, 1), together with seven known organic acids (2-8) for the first time from plants of genus Capparis and four known organic acids (9-12) were isolated from C. spinosa. The structures were elucidated by extensive analysis of 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopic. In addition, compounds 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10 and 12 indicated strong scavenging capacity for 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals with a SC(50) value of 0.204 +/- 0.002, 0.007 +/- 0.0, 0.011 +/- 0.0, 0.044 +/- 0.0016, 0.032 +/- 0.0, 0.090 +/- 0.001, and 0.350 +/- 0.017 mM, respectively.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a high performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of kirenol in Herba Siegesbeckiae Praeparata. METHOD: The analysis was carried out on a Boston Crest ODS column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) with gradient elution using acetonitrile-water as mobile phases. The flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1) and the detection wavelength was at 215 nm. RESULT: The calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.0202-20.02 microg for kirenol. The correlation coefficient of the calibration curve was 0.99975. The average recovery was 99.62% with relative standard derivation (RSD) of 2.0%. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the method is simple, accurate and repeatable and it is suitable for the determination of kirenol in Herba Siegesbeckiae Praeparata.

The alkaloid fraction of Radix Linderae, the main active component of this herb drug, has been proven to exhibit anti-inflammatory, analgestic and antimicrobial activities. The present study was undertaken to investigate the therapeutic potential of norisoboldine, the major isoquinoline alkaloid present in Radix Linderae, in collagen II -induced arthritis (CIA) of mice as well as the possible mechanisms. CIA was induced in mice by immunization with chicken type II collagen (II). After boosted on day 21, mice were treated with norisoboldine (10, 20, 40mg/kg) for twenty consecutive days. The clinical scores, body weight changes and joint histopathology were evaluated. Norisoboldine treatment significantly alleviated the severity of the disease, based on the reduced clinical scores and elevated the lowered body weights of model mice. Meanwhile, this alkaloid dose-dependently reduced the infiltration of inflammatory cells, synovial hyperplasia and protected joint from destruction. Additionally, the serum level of anti-CII IgG and the CII-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation were remarkably decreased in the groups administered with norisoboldine. An assessment of Th1 function using the delayed-type hypersensitivity model confirmed that norisoboldine also significantly suppressed the enhanced T cell responses in vivo. These findings suggest that norisoboldine might be a potential therapeutic agent for rheumatoid arthritis, and it functions through protecting joint destruction as well as regulating the abnormal immune responses.

Norisoboldine is the main isoquinoline alkaloid occurring in Radix Linderae, the dry roots of Lindera aggregata (Lauraceae family). It has been previously implicated to be able to ameliorate the synovial inflammation and abnormal immune conditions in collagen-induced arthritis of mice. To get insight to the potential anti-inflammatory mechanisms of this alkaloid compound, the present study was undertaken to explore the effects of norisoboldine on the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines from macrophages stimulated by lipopolysaccharide. In vitro, norisoboldine substantially reduced the production of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha as well as interleukin (IL)-1beta from RAW264.7 macrophage cells in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas it only slightly reduced the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) at both protein and transcription levels. Of note, the preventive effects of norisoboldine on the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines were correlated with the inhibitory action on the phosphorylations of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases including p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK), but not on the activation and translocation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB). It can be therefore concluded that norisoboldine inhibits the macrophage activation and the resultant production of pro-inflammatory cytokines via down-regulating the activation of MAPKs signaling pathways rather than NF-kappaB.

The chemical constituents from the fruit of Psidium guajava were investigated. Nine triterpenoids, ursolic acid (1), 1beta, 3beta-dihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (2), 2alpha,3beta-dihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (3), 3beta,19alpha-dihydroxyurs-12en-28-oic acid (4), 19a-hydroxylurs-12-en-28-oic acid-3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (5), 3beta, 23-dihydroxy urs-12-en-28-oic acid (6), 3beta, 19alpha, 23beta-tri-hydroxylurs-12-en-28-oic acid (7), 2alpha, 3beta,19alpha, 23beta-tetrahydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (8), 3alpha,19alpha,23,24-tetrahydroxyurs -12-en-28-oic acid (9) were isolated by means of chromatography, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of MS, H NMR, 13C-NMR spectra. Compounds 2, 5-9 were isolated from this plant for the first time.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a RP-HPLC method for quantitative determination of norisoboldine in Radix Linderae and to provide valuable data for quality control of Radix Linderae. METHOD: The separation was performed on a Phenomenex Gemini C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) at 25 degrees C using a gradient elution of mobile phase A (0.5% formic acid, adjusted pH 2.25 with triethylamine) and mobile phase B (acetonitrile). The detection wavelength was 280 nm. RESULT: The calibration curve showed a good linearity (r = 0.999 9) within test ranges of 0.015-1.509 microg. The average recovery was 99.58% with RSD 1.4%. CONCLUSION: The developed method is simple, accurate and reliable with good repeatability. It is suitable for quality evaluation of Radix Linderae.

The ripe edible fruits of Psidium guajava L. was phytochemically investigated, three benzophenone glycosides, 2, 6-dihydroxy-3, 5-dimethyl-4-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-benzophenone (1), 2, 6-dihydroxy-3-methyl-4-O-(6''-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-benzophenone (2), 2, 6-dihydroxy-3, 5-dimethyl-4-O-(6''-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-benzophenone (3) were isolated by means of chromatography, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of mass spectrometry, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, HSQC and HMBC data. Compounds 1 and 2 were new benzophenone glycosides, and here we report the complete spectroscopic assignments for 3.

OBJECTIVE: To study the non-alkaloid chemical constituents of Gelsemium elegans. METHOD: Compounds were isolated and purified by repeated column chromatography, and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. RESULT: Ten compounds were isolated and their structures were identified as tamarixin (1), tamarixetin 3-O-beta-D-galactopyranoside (2), scopolin (3), scopoletin (4), uradine (5), caffeic acid (6), caffeic acid ethyl ester (7), ferulic acid ethyl ester (8), ethyl-alpha-D-fructofuranoside (9), and ethyl-beta-D-fructopyranoside (10). CONCLUSION: Compounds 1-3,5-10 are firstly isolated from this plant and compounds 1, 2, and 5-10 are isolated from the genus Gelsemium for the first time.

Ethanolic extract of the seeds of Plantago asiatica L. showed significant inhibitory activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) determined by monitoring the transformation from a substrate hippuryl-histidyl-leucine (HHL) to the product hippuric acid (HA) in vitro using an UPLC-MS method. The bioguided fractionation of the extract resulted in the isolation of four ACE inhibitory active phenylpropanoid glycosides acteoside, isoacteoside, plantainoside D, and plantamajoside with IC(50) values of 2.69 mM, 2.46 mM, 2.17 mM, and 2.47 mM, respectively. Their structures were elucidated through the analysis of NMR, UV, IR and MS data. Our study is the first demonstration that Plantago asiatica L. and its major constituents have ACE inhibitory activity in vitro. It is assumed that the identified compounds contribute to the angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibitory activity of the extract. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The aqueous extraction process of the leaves of Rubus suavissimus often brings in a large amount of nonactive polysaccharides as part of the constituents. To purify this water extract for potential elevated bioactivity, an alcohol precipitation (AP) consisting of gradient regimens was applied, and its resultants were examined through colorimetric and HPLC analyses. AP was effective in partitioning the aqueous crude extract into a soluble supernatant and an insoluble precipitant, and its effect varied significantly with alcohol regimens. Generally, the higher the alcohol concentration, the purer was the resultant extract. At its maximum, approximately 36% (w/w) of the crude extract, of which 23% was polysaccharides, was precipitated and removed, resulting in a purified extract consisting of over 20% bioactive marker compounds (gallic acid, ellagic acid, rutin, rubusoside, and steviol monoside). The removal of 11% polysaccharides from the crude water extract by using alcohol precipitation was complete at 70% alcohol regimen. Higher alcohol levels resulted in even purer extracts, possibly by removing some compounds of uncertain bioactivity. Alcohol precipitation is an effective way of removing polysaccharides from the water extract of the sweet tea plant and could be used as an initial simple purification tool for many water plant extracts that contain large amounts of polysaccharides.

Radix Linderae, the dry roots of Lindera aggregata (Sims) Kosterm (L. strychnifolia Vill), has been long-term used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating various diseases, and alkaloids are believed to be the main active components. Previously, we reported that the total alkaloids from Radix Linderae (TARL) could effectively alleviate inflammation and protect joints from destruction in mouse collagen-induced arthritis, an animal model of human rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To get insight into the underlying mechanisms of TARL, the present study was performed to investigate the effects of TARL on the activation of macrophages and resultant production of inflammatory mediators. In vitro, TARL concentration-dependently prevented the production of nitric oxide, interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), as well as the expressions of iNOS, IL-1beta and TNF-alpha mRNA in RAW 264.7 cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, it showed little effect on the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the expression of IL-6 mRNA. Signal transduction studies showed that TARL significantly down-regulated the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 MAP kinase rather than c-jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK). Additionally, TARL prominently decreased LPS-induced activation of IKKalpha and phosphorylation of p65 on serine 276, but had little impact on the phosphorylation and degradation of IkappaBalpha. In summary, our results demonstrate that TARL exhibits inhibitory effects on the production of inflammatory mediators from macrophages via blocking NF-kappaB and MAPKs signaling pathways. The findings provide a plausible explanation for the therapeutic efficiency of TARL on the inflammation and joint destruction in RA.

The quality of botanical food is increasingly assessed by the content of multiple bioactive compounds. This study reports, for the first time, an HPLC fingerprinting method for the quality evaluation of Rubus suavissimus leaves possessing multiple bioactivities. Five constituents, gallic acid, rutin, ellagic acid, rubusoside, and steviol monoside, were quantified and used in developing qualitative chromatographic fingerprints. The limits of detection and quantification ranged from 0.29 to 37.86 mug/mL. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of intra- and interday precisions were no more than 3.14 and 3.01%, respectively. The average recoveries were between 93.1 and 97.5%. The developed method was validated in the analysis 14 leaf samples with satisfactory results. The contents of the five marker compounds accounted for an average of about 6% w/w with a variability of 16% among the 14 samples collected from a single site and year. Gallic acid was the least, whereas steviol monoside the most, variable compound among the 14 leaf samples. The characteristic compound rubusoside that is responsible for the sweet taste accounted for 5% of leaf weight. The validated method can now be used to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the quality of R. suavissimus leaves as traditional beverage or potential medicines.

Primary splenic lymphoma (PSL) is a rare disease with ambiguous definition, comprising less than 1% of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Even rarer is PSL combined with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), which has presentations of fever, cytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly, hyperferritinemia, and phagocytosis of hematopoietic cells in the reticuloendothelial system. We report the case of a 77-year-old man who presented with HLH initially. Refusing diagnostic splenectomy, he received chemotherapy. Spontaneous splenic rupture occurred after chemotherapy. In the following emergency operation, PSL was diagnosed. He received another 5 courses of chemotherapy with the R-CNOP regimen (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, mitoxantrone, vincristine, prednisolone). Now he has no residual or relapsed disease. Diagnostic splenectomy for adult HLH patients without definite etiologies may play an important role.

Castleman's disease is an uncommon benign disease of unknown etiology that induces reactive lymph node hyperplasia. There are 2 histologic subtypes of Castleman's disease: hyaline vascular type and plasma cell type. Tissue biopsy is necessary for a definitive diagnosis. Castleman's disease of the neck occurs rarely. On reviewing the literature, most Castleman's disease of the neck presented with a single mass. We report here an 80-year-old man with 2 neck masses of 1 year's duration. A 4-cm firm movable mass in the left submandibular area and another 2-cm firm movable mass in the left level IV area were noted. The patient was diagnosed with Castleman's disease of the neck after resection of 1 of the masses. There was no evidence of progression or recurrence of the disease after 21 months of follow-up. We suggest that this was a rare case of multicentric cervical Castleman's disease.

Lindera aggregata (Sims) Kosterm. belongs to Lauraceae family and is distributed in the southern parts of China, Japan and southeastern Asia. The leaves of this plant are frequently used in folk medicine, as antioxidant, antiinflammatory and antibacterial. In previous reports, eleven flavones were isolated from this plant. The study on the flavone constituents of the leaves of this plant led to the isolation of five flavone compounds, as quercetin-3-O-beta-D-glucoside (1), quercetin-5-O-beta-D-glucoside (2), quercetin-3-O-beta-D-arabinfuranoside (3), quercetin-3-O-rhamnopyranoside (4) and kaempferol-7-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (5), by means of high speed counter-current chromatographic (HSCCC) procedures. A two-phase solvent system composed of hexane-ethyl acetate-n-butanol-acetic acid-water (2: 4: 2: 1.5: 6, v/v) was used at a flow rate of 2.0 mL/min, while the apparatus rotated at 800 r/min and the effluent was detected at 280 nm. Compounds 1, 2, 3 and 5 were for the first time obtained from Lindera aggregata (Sims) Kosterm.

A comprehensive two-dimensional biochromatography method using a silica-bonded human serum albumin (HSA) column and a RP-HPLC column was developed for the biological fingerprinting analysis of bioactive components in a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, Longdan Xiegan Decoction (LXD). The biochromatography with HSA-immobilized stationary phase was applied to study the interaction of multiple components in LXD with HSA in the first dimension, and fractions of HSA column were further separated by a silica monolithic ODS column (on-line)/an ODS column (off-line) coupled with a diode array detector and an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometer (APCI-MS). More than 100 compounds in LXD that interacted with the immobilized HSA were separated and analyzed. Among them 19 compounds were identified based on their retention values, UV spectra, molecular weights and mass spectra. The results show that the developed comprehensive two-dimensional biochromatography system reported here is capable of being used for biological fingerprinting analysis of natural products in complex matrices such as extracts of TCMs and their prescriptions.

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method has been developed and validated for the quality evaluation of a Chinese herb Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (Danshen root) by chemical fingerprinting analysis. Meanwhile a novel sample preparation procedure has been designed which can simultaneously extract both the hydrophilic and lipophilic components for a single run LC system. Comparing to the conventional HPLC method, UPLC showed many advantages including reduced run time, less solvent consumption and increased peak capacities. Using the established method, 20 target components were detected based on the retention times and on-line UV spectra by referencing to the available standards and reported data. Eleven crude drug samples from different sources were evaluated using the UPLC fingerprints. The developed method proved practicable and reliable for quality control of herbal products with multivalent components in a complicated matrix.

Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) with thyroid involvement is extremely rare; we herein present the sixth known case with a review of the previously reported five cases and discuss the clinicopathological characteristics of this entity. RDD with thyroid involvement has occurred only in females with a mean age of 56.3 years, which is significantly different from nodal RDD predominantly seen in young males. Besides this, autoimmune thyroiditis is frequently associated in RDD with thyroid involvement, which raises a suspicion of a common pathogenesis of both entities. RDD with thyroid involvement is commonly misdiagnosed preoperatively as thyroid malignancy with lymph node metastasis, which may lead to overtreatment and postoperative complication. Clinical presentations might be helpful for a preoperative differential diagnosis; while thyroid function, sonography, thyroid isotope scan, and fine needle aspiration have been less useful. All six cases were treated by surgery and complete remission was seen. However, two patients with a preoperative diagnosis of benign disease suffered from hypothyroidism due to total thyroidectomy.

Hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) may be primary or secondary to malignancies, infections, autoimmune diseases, or drugs. In most cases, HPS occurs at the same time as the diagnosis of underlying malignancy or when it relapses. In rare situations, the neoplastic disease can be occult, even for more than a decade. Were port the case of a 28-year-old woman admitted because of HPS. Treatment with etoposide for fulminant HPS was effective. Four months later, she was admitted again because of newly developed subcutaneous nodules and cellulitis-like skin lesions over her legs. Excisional biopsy of subcutaneous nodule showed subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma. After etoposide, solumedrol, cytosine arabinoside, and cisplatin regimen chemotherapy, both skin lesions and subcutaneous nodules disappeared. In conclusion, for patients presenting with HPS and cellulitis-like skin lesions, occult lymphoma should be considered, which might not be diagnosed for months, even years. Adequate treatment, including steroid and chemotherapy against malignant lymphoma, should be started as soon as possible for patients with fulminant HPS because of its fatal course.