In vivo pro-angiogenic effects of dracorhodin perchlorate in zebrafish embryos: A novel bioactivity evaluation platform for commercial dragon blood samples

Abstract

Dragon blood has been used in wound treatment for many years and can be obtained from several distinct plant species. Dracorhodin, the active substituent of dragon blood, is a characteristic compound of the palm tree, Daemonorops draco . At present, the only method to evaluate the quality of commercial dragon blood samples is a HPLC method which determines the amount of dracorhodin in a dragon blood sample. In this study, we used zebrafish embryos as a platform to demonstrate the in vivo pro-angiogenic activity of dracorhodin perchlorate, the chemically synthesized analog of dracorhodin. By using this platform, three different commercial dragon blood samples were also examined. Our results clearly show that even though the commercial dragon blood samples had similar amounts of dracorhodin, they showed highly variable biological activity, such as pro-angiogenic effects and toxicity. In short, an in vivo activity assay platform for rapidly examining the biological activity of commercial dragon blood samples was successfully established here, which complements the current HPLC-based assay method.

Rapid identification of dragon blood samples from Daemonorops draco, Dracaena cinnabari and Dracaena cochinchinensis by MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry

“…As shown in Table and Figure , the samples are classified into two different categories: (1) plant resin raw materials, samples A–D and (2) commercial brand name dragon blood products, samples E–I. As reported previously, the content of dracorhodin in samples A, B, C, F, G, and H were 1.2%, 1.3%, 2.4%, 0.96%,0.02%, and 0.02%, respectively . The dracorhodin content of sample I (1.3%) was determined by the manufacturer.…”

“…Dracorhodin perchlorate is an artificial synthetic analogue of dracorhodin, which is widely used as a high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) standard and for investigating the biological activities of dracorhodin. Its in vitro angiogenic activity on HUVEC cells, in vivo angiogenic activity on zebrafish embryos, and wound healing activity on rats have been reported previously . Thin‐layer chromatography (TLC)‐ and HPLC‐based methods are well established to examine commercial dragon blood samples .…”

“…Its in vitro angiogenic activity on HUVEC cells, in vivo angiogenic activity on zebrafish embryos, and wound healing activity on rats have been reported previously. [7][8][9] Thin-layer chromatography (TLC)-and HPLC-based methods are well established to examine commercial dragon blood samples. 6,10 However, HPLC analysis is time-consuming and TLC-based methods are not ideal for routine examination of large amounts of commercial product samples.…”

Dracorhodin perchlorate inhibits osteoclastogenesis through repressing RANKL‐stimulated NFATc1 activity

“…D.P has multiple applications in medicine, for example, D.P is found to enhance cutaneous wound healing by promoting fibroblasts proliferation in rats . D.P also exerts strong angiogenic effects, which can be beneficial for wound healing . D.P is found to have an anti‐cancer function by inducing apoptosis in human cancer cells .…”

“…4,5 D.P also exerts strong angiogenic effects, which can be beneficial for wound healing. 6,7 D.P is found to have an anti-cancer function by inducing apoptosis in human cancer cells. [8][9][10][11][12] Reported in some other literatures, D.P has anti-microbial effects by reducing the production of α-toxin by Staphylococcus aureus 13 and inhibiting the formation of biofilm and virulence factors of Candida albicans.…”