Dehydrocorydaline Accounts the Majority of Anti‐Inflammatory Property of Corydalis Rhizoma in Cultured Macrophage

Abstract

Corydalis Rhizoma (CR) is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine for its potency in activating blood circulation and analgesia. In clinic, CR extracts or components are commonly used in the treatment of myocardial ischemia, rheumatism, and dysmenorrhea with different types of inflammation. However, due to different mechanism of pain and inflammation, the anti-inflammatory property of CR has not been fully revealed. Here, the major chromatographic peaks of CR extracts in different extracting solvents were identified, and the anti-inflammatory activities of CR extracts and its major alkaloids were evaluated in LPS-treated macrophages by determining expressions of proinflammatory cytokines, IκBα and NF-κB. The most abundant alkaloid in CR extract was dehydrocorydaline, having >50% of total alkaloids. Besides, the anti-inflammatory activities of dehydrocorydaline and its related analogues were demonstrated. The anti-inflammatory roles were revealed in LPS-treated cultured macrophages, including (i) inhibiting proinflammatory cytokines release, for example, TNF-α, IL-6; (ii) suppressing mRNA expressions of proinflammatory cytokines; (iii) promoting IκBα expression and suppressing activation of NF-κB transcriptional element; and (iv) reducing the nuclear translocation of NF-κB. The results supported that dehydrocorydaline was the major alkaloid in CR extract, which, together with its analogous, accounted the anti-inflammatory property of CR.

Inhibition of Glutamate Release from Rat Cortical Nerve Terminals by Dehydrocorydaline, an Alkaloid from Corydalis yanhusuo

“…Administering DHC (3-10 mg/kg) to animals results in an inhibition of the production of inflammatory mediators and produces antinociceptive effects in inflammatory pain models [9]. Furthermore, in vitro studies have shown that DHC, at 2.5-20 µM, exerts anti-inflammatory effects in cultured cells [44]. The present study is consistent with these reports, in which the inhibitory effects of DHC were observed in a concentration range of 5-50 µM.…”

Antiatherosclerotic effect of dehydrocorydaline on ApoE−/− mice: inhibition of macrophage inflammation

“…Second, DHC not only reduced basal inflammation but also inhibited LPS/IFNγinduced inflammation in BMDMs. Notably, DHC markedly reduced LPS/IFNγ-induced NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 protein levels in BMDMs, activation of the NF-κB transcriptional element and reducing the nuclear translocation of NF-κB [29]. The effects of DHC on p38 MAPK seem to vary among cell types.…”

The Analgesic Properties of Corydalis yanhusuo

“…Out of all the alkaloids, Dehydrocorydaline (DHC) is the most abundant alkaloid found in YHS and accounts for about 50% of the alkaloid content [21]. Next is corydaline (an analog of DHC), which is also present in high amounts [21]. The following sections will discuss various alkaloids and their relation to pain and inflammation.…”

“…Thus far, a total of 80 alkaloids have been isolated from the plant; YHS contains about 0.5 to 1% of total alkaloids. Out of all the alkaloids, Dehydrocorydaline (DHC) is the most abundant alkaloid found in YHS and accounts for about 50% of the alkaloid content [21]. Next is corydaline (an analog of DHC), which is also present in high amounts [21].…”