Phenolic Profile and Fingerprint Analysis of Akebia quinata Leaves Extract with Endothelial Protective Activity

Abstract

In contrast to the stem and fruit of Akebia quinata, A. quinata leaves as a source rich in phenolic compounds with potentially beneficial pharmacological activities have been largely overlooked. To develop and use A. quinata leaves as a resource, we evaluated its potential as a cardiovascular-protective agent. Herein, we investigated the effects and potential mechanisms of A. quinata leaves extract on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. We found that A. quinata leaves extract pretreatment of 10 μg/mL significantly attenuated LPS-induced protein expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. Furthermore, this extract also suppressed LPS-induced phosphorylation of nuclear factor-κB p65. In order to elucidate the chemical profiles of the samples, the HPLC fingerprint was established, and prominent peaks were identified via HPLC–electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry. Multivariate statistical analyses, including hierarchical cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and partial least-squares discriminant analysis, were performed to evaluate the clustering of the samples. It was found that isochlorogenic acid C was a key marker for the classification of A. quinata leaves from the Gongju and Muju city in Korea. Collectively, this study not only suggested the potential of A. quinata leaves as a novel therapeutic candidate for inflammatory cardiovascular disease but also developed a quality control method for A. quinata leaves, which could help to expand the application of A. quinata.

Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1: More than a Leukocyte Adhesion Molecule

“…Some of the more recent pharmacological advances hold promise for forward movement in this area. Another area of therapeutics is based around using ICAM-1 as a biomarker in drug screening: for example, Gao et al explored the cardioprotective potential for five-leaf Akebia plant extract by investigating its effect on lipopolysaccharide-induced upregulation of ICAM-1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells [274].…”

Identification and Quantitation of the Bioactive Components in Wasted Aralia elata Leaves Extract with Endothelial Protective Activity

“…A Q 2 threshold of more than 0.5 was considered good predictability, while R 2 Y and Q 2 values close to 1 indicated satisfactory model performance [77,78]. The PLS-DA model was validated using default SIMCA 7fold cross-validation (CV) and permutation tests (200 permutations) upon obtaining a CV-ANOVA p-value threshold for significance less than 0.05 [45].…”

“…Thirdly, to understand the phenolic acid and flavonoid changes from different regions, HPLC-PDA analysis was performed (Figure 4). The structures of these phenolic acids and flavonoids were determined through a comparison with standards according to the previous literature [45]. The results indicate that the content of chlorogenic acid in Gyeryoung and Hongcheon is much greater than that in Muju and Samcheonpo.…”

“…It is known that there are large differences in the chemical constitutions of natural products depending on the harvest seasons and growth environments, and these differences could cause different or even opposite efficacy [44,45]. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the appropriate harvest season and cultivated city by comparing the content differences between chemical components.…”