Characterization of Hepatoprotective Compounds from Chinese Medicinal Herbs with Anti-alcoholic Activity

许多中草药对酒精中毒具有预防和治疗作用，但其有效成分尚未被鉴定。在我们筛选中草药中含有的抗酒精活性成分的过程中，发现几种草药的甲醇提取物对D-氨基半乳糖和脂多糖诱导的大鼠肝损伤显示出有效的保护活性。通过监测肝脏保护作用，我们对新的活性成分进行了表征;即，1）倍半萜（curcarabranols），来自Zedoary莪术（Zedoariae rhizoma），2）柴胡（Bupleurosides）中的三萜苷（tripepene glyces（狭叶柴胡），3）达玛烷型皂苷（notoquinosides，quinquenosides）来自诺维茨基（来自诺维信的达玛烷型皂苷（三七皂苷，quinquenosides）（三七）和西洋参（西洋参），4）香豆素类（hyuganins）来自当归，5）二芳基庚烷类6）来自七叶树和茶的齐墩果烯型皂苷（七叶皂苷，assamsaponins）。这些具有保肝活性的化合物表现出抑制脂多糖激活的巨噬细胞中NO生成的活性、胃保护性超氧化物清除和抗氧化活性。

Many Chinese medicinal herb have been known to have preventive and therapeutic effects for ethanol intoxication, but their active components have not been identified so far. In the course of our screening to find anti-alcoholic active principles contained in Chinese medicinal herbs, the methanolic extracts of several herbs were found to show potent protective activity on liver injury induced by D-galactosamine and lipopolysaccharide in rats. By monitoring the hepatoprotective effects, we have characterized new active principles ; that is, 1) sesquiterpenes (curcarabranols) from Zedoary (Zedoariae rhizoma), 2) tritepene glycosides bupleurosides, scorzonerosides) from Bupleuri Radix (Bupleurum scorzonerifolium), 3) dammarane-type saponins (notoginsenosides, quinquenosides) from Notoginseng (Panax dammarane-type saponins (notoginsenosides, quinquenosides) from Notoginseng (Panax notoginseng) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium), 4) coumarins (hyuganins) from angelica funcijuga, 5) diarylheptanoids (betulaplatosides) from Betula platyphylla, 6) oleanene-type saponins (escins, assamsaponins) from Aesculus hippocastanum and Thea sinensis. These compounds with hepatoprotective activity exhibited NO production inhibitory activity in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages, gastroprotective superoxide scavenging, and antioxidative activities.