Selection of solvent for extraction of antioxidant components from Cynanchum auriculatum, Cynanchum bungei, and Cynanchum wilfordii roots

Abstract

In east Asia, “Baishouwu” has been used as an herbal drug and functional dietary supplement for hundreds of years. Actually, “Baishouwu” is the common name of the roots of Cynanchum auriculatum , Cynanchum bungei , and Cynanchum wilfordii . In the present study, roots of these three specie were extracted and then fractionated using petroleum ether (PE), dichloromethane (DCM), ethyl acetate (EA), and water. DPPH scavenging experiments revealed high antioxidant activity of DCM and EA fractions of C. bungei and the EA fraction of C. wilfordii . Treatments with these three fractions significantly reduced malondialdehyde content in heat‐stressed Daphnia magna , validating in vivo antioxidant activity. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometer (GC‐MS) analyses demonstrated that the chemical components of fractions extracted from C. bungei , C. bungei , and C. wilfordii were different. Further determination of total phenol and total flavonoids contents showed that DCM and EA fractions of C. bungei and EA fraction of C. wilfordii had much higher contents of total phenol and total flavonoids, which might be the reason to explain their strong antioxidant activity. Overall, the present study suggested that these three plants have different chemical components and biological activities. They could not be used as the same drug.

Pharmacological effects of Pugionium cornutum (L.) Gaertn. extracts on gastrointestinal motility are partially mediated by quercetin

“…The extraction method is one of the key aspects for the isolation of bioactive components from complex plant extracts. Although petroleum ether, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and water are commonly-used solvents for plant extraction, their extracts may contain different bioactive components and exert even opposite functions due to their distinct polarities, as reported by others [ 27 ]. In the case of PCG, ethyl acetate is the best solvent to retrieve the active substances for relaxing gastrointestinal smooth muscle.…”

Transcriptomic and physiological analysis reveal phytohormone and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis in root of Cynanchum auriculatum

“…The biosynthesis mechanism of avonoids in C. auriculatum tuberous root during development have been proved to be natural antioxidants with high content and strong activity in Cynanchum plants (Wu et al, 2019). The biosynthesis mechanism of avonoids has been well described in many plants (Liu et al, 2021), including critical intermediate metabolites and structural genes.…”

Three New Pregnanes Isolated from the Cynanchum auriculatum

“…The dried roots of Cynanchum auriculatum (Asclepiadaseae) were one of the main varieties of the famous traditional Chinese medicine ‘Baishouwu’, which have been employed for nourishing blood and liver, strengthening sinews and bones, preventing hair turns grey, reinforcing kidney; [1–3] consequently, it is mostly used for the treatment of dysentery, fullness of food, stomach pain gas, infantile malnutrition and malaria [4] . The application of C. auriculatum has been used as medicine for more than 1000 years, at now it is as a table food in China [5,6] …”

“…[5,6] The roots of C. auriculatum had plenty of C 21steroidal glycosides. [7] In our previous study on the C 21 -steroidal pregnane sapogenins were isolated from the hydrolytic extracts of the roots of Cynanchum wilfordii, which were also the main varieties of the famous traditional Chinese medicine 'Baishouwu', [1] some compounds with significant cytotoxic, antifungal activity and anti-inflammatory activity were discovered. [8][9][10] Therefore, we conducted to acquire sapogenins from the roots of C. auriculatum to discover lurking C 21 -steroidal pregnane sapogenins with antifungal activity.…”