Opioid Activity / Standardization of Vitex agnus-castus

描述(申请人提供)：本研究的重点是研究用于治疗经前综合征的黄荆提取物中阿片类药物活性的分子机制。查尔斯莓提取物已被临床证明可以改善经前综合症的症状，可能是通过与阿片受体结合来实现的。因此，研究荆条通过阿片类药物活性来缓解经前综合征症状似乎是谨慎的。这项培训补助金的目的是教育申请者各种鉴定和表征技术，这些技术在植物补充剂领域具有特别有用的作用。这些技术将被用于确定黄荆的阿片活性机制，并将其与相关种类的黄荆进行比较，后者经常被发现为柴胡的制剂中的常见掺假物，并将包括以下内容：1)使用基于细胞的阿片分析，通过生物测定指导分离，鉴定与阿片受体结合的化合物(S)。2)确定该化合物是激活还是抑制阿片受体。3)将黄荆与其他三种最常被发现为污染物的黄荆进行植物学、化学和生物学比较的正式文件。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The focus of this research is the investigation of molecular mechanisms of opioid activity in an extract of Vitex agnus-castus L. (Chasteberry), used to treat premenstrual syndrome. Chasteberry extract has been shown clinically to improve symptoms of PMS, possibly through binding to opioid receptors. Therefore, it seems prudent to investigate Vitex agnus-castus for relief of PMS symptoms through opioid activity. The purpose of this training grant is to educate the applicant in various identification and characterization techniques, which have particular usefulness in the field of botanical supplements. These techniques will be applied to determine the mechanism of opioid activity for Vitex agnus-castus and compare it to related Vitex species that are often found as common adulterants in a preparation of Chasteberry and will include the following: 1) Identification of the compound(s) that bind to opioid receptors through bioassay-guided fractionation using a cell-based opioid assay. 2) Determination if this compound activates or inhibits opioid receptors. 3) Formal documentation of a botanical, chemical, and biological comparison of Vitex agnus castus to three other species of Vitex that are most commonly found as contaminants.