Progress on antioxidant activity of single or compound traditional Chinese medicine

Teng-Fei Liu,Dan-Dan Xie,Li-Qin Jiang＊

1College of Pharmaceutical Sciences,Zhejiang Chinese Medical University,Hangzhou 310053,China.

Abstract Oxidative stress plays a key role in the pathogenesis of various diseases.Nature antioxidants derived from traditional Chinese medicine protect the cells and tissues from oxidative stress by scavenging free radicals and reactive oxygen species,therefore have a great potential in delaying ageing process and preventing oxidative stress-related disease.In this article,the antioxidant benefits of common single and compound traditional Chinese medicine in protecting tissues from injury are reviewed,along with identification of the various constituents that possess antioxidant activity and its mechanism were reviewed.

Keywords:Free radical,Oxidative stress,Traditional Chinese medicine,Antioxidant activity

Background

There are free radical reactive oxygen species(reactive oxygen species,ROS)and active nitrogen(reactive nitrogen species,RNS)with high oxidative activity in organisms,such as superoxide,hydroxyl,nitric oxide radicals,etc.Usually the antioxidant system existing in human body can scavenge excess free radicals in time and maintain the balance between oxidation and antioxidation to maintain human health[1-3].Nevertheless,factors such as smoking,excessive drinking,stress,and radiation or environmental toxins can induce excessive ROS and RNS,damage to oxygen balance between chemical and antioxidant,leading to DNA structural changes,lipid and protein oxidation,and cell damage in the body,leading to the occurrence of chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis,diabetes,rheumatoid arthritis,cancer,or degenerative diseases of aging[4,5].

The intake of exogenous antioxidants increase will alleviate the damage caused by oxidative stress by inhibiting the initiation or delivery of the oxidative chain reaction.In many traditional Chinese medicine,there are one or more natural antioxidant active components such as saponins,flavonoids,phenolic acids,alkaloids,polysaccharides,active peptides and vitamins[6,7],which play antioxidant role in the form of free radical absorption,metal ion chelation,peroxide decomposition,ultraviolet absorption and so on.In addition,research shows that traditional Chinese medicine of monomer active components or whole can also scavenge free radical production by regulating and enhancing the specific and non-specific immune function of the body,or directly counteract the damage effect of free radicals on cells and tissues[8-9].Understanding the antioxidant activity of these single-flavor Chinese medicines and compound compounds is of great significance for the better application of traditional Chinese medicine to prevent and treat diseases caused by oxidative stress and to develop new,low-toxic and efficient natural antioxidants.

Antioxidant Mono-flavor Chinese Medicine

Ginseng

Ginseng(Panax ginseng C.A.Mey)is a perennial herb of the genus Ginseng of the five families of the Umbelliferae family,distributed in East Asia,Central Asia and North America.It is known as "the king of 100 herbs and the king of tonic medicine ",and it is also the most widely studied and paid tonic longevity medicine.Ginseng into the spleen,lung meridian,tonifying vital energy,re-pulse solid off,spleen tonifying lung,Shengjin,tranquilizing the mind.The root contains ginsenosides,β-salamene,ginsynyl alcohol,monosaccharides,polysaccharides,and a variety of amino acids,choline,enzymes,spermidine and cholamine components[10].It is tht studies shown that ginsenosides Rg1 up-regulate Nrf2 and HO-1 protein expression,increase SOD、decrease the content of MDA,enhance antioxidant effect to improve the behavior of SD rats after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury,play a protective role.Meanwhile,there is a lot of evidence that ginsenoside can increase the expression of downstream genes,especially HO-1,by activating Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway,thus exerting its role of antioxidant stress[11-14].

Pseudo-ginseng

Panax notoginseng is a perennial erect herb of Panax quinquefolium(Burkill F.H.Chen).The root of Panax quinquefolium is also called "gold does not change ".It has the effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis,reducing swelling and fixing pain.The main components are ginsenoside,Panax notoginseng saponins and aescinate,as well as volatile oil and trace elements.The effective components of Panax notoginseng are similar in chemical structure to ginseng,and have the nourishing effect of ginseng-like.The components of panax notoginseng polysaccharides,total flavonoids,total saponins(PNS),ginsenosides,panax ginseng triol and panax notoginseng leaves γ-tocopherol、picrionoside B、quercetin have the ability to scavenge DPPH radicals,hydroxyl radicals,ABTS radicals and superoxide radicals,all of which have strong antioxidant effects and protect DNA from free radical oxidative damage[15-17].The pharmacological experiments showed that panax notoginseng saponins could protect cells from antioxidant damage and ginsenoside could Rg2 enhance the antioxidant effect of EVC-304 cells,The Rg1 has the anti-lipid peroxidation effection,which can significantly reduce the content of malondialdehyde,the end product of peroxidation in blood lipids and lipids,and has certain antioxidant and anti-aging medicinal value[18-20].

Astragalus

Astragalus is the leguminous plant Mongolian Astragalus(Astragalus membranaceus(Fisch.)Bge.Var.Mongholicus(Bge.)Hsiao).Its dry root is used as a medicine and is one of the commonly used bulk Chinese herbal medicines.It is sweet,warm,and returns to the spleen and lung channels.It has the functions of invigorating qi and nourishing yang,solidifying surface and antiperspirant,expelling pus and reducing edema.It mainly contains several types of functional ingredients,such as saponins,flavonoids,polysaccharides,alkaloids,organic acids and amino acids,and various microelements.Astragaloside can regulate blood sugar in the body,enhance the body's immunity,promote growth,and improve the body's antioxidant capacity.Astragaloside IV has an antioxidant effect,an inhibitory effect on aldose reductase,and can inhibit the proliferation of mesangial cells and reduce renal hypertrophy[21].Astragalus polysaccharides can improve the damage caused by oxidative stress in myocardial microvascular endothelial cells by mediating the Nrf1 signaling pathway[22].Farag MR et al.[23]found that astragalus polysaccharides can increase the expression of shock protein 70(HSP70)and nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB)-related mRNA in poisoned rats,thereby blocking Nrf2/HO-1 mediated stress response to achieve the purpose of reducing oxidative damage.

Ganoderma

It is the dried fruit body of the fungus of the fungus family Ganoderma lucidum(Leyss.exFr.)Karst.Or Zizhi(Ganoderma sinese Zhao,Xu et Zhang).Invigorating qi and calming the nerves,relieving cough and asthma.The main active ingredients are polysaccharides,peptides and proteins.It also contains fungal lysozyme,ergosterol,triterpenes,organic acids,alkaloids and vitamins B2 and C.Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides gLA,gLB,gLC can inhibit the generation of superoxide anion(O)radicals and erythrocyte lipid peroxidation,and have a scavenging effect on hydroxyl radicals(·OH),with superoxide dismutase-like activity,Is an important factor for Lingzhi to delay aging.The effect of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides on DNA synthesis and cell division generation of human embryo lung diploid cells shows that BN3B and BN3C can promote DNA synthesis and delay aging.Studies have found that Ganoderma lucidum mycelium polysaccharides can significantly increase the levels of SOD,CAT and GSH-Px in cells,reduce the levels of ROS and MDA,and simultaneously activate the key regulatory factor Nrf2 of Keap1-Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway,inhibit the negative regulatory factor Keap1,It promotes the expression of downstream antioxidant enzyme genes(NQO1 and HO-1),indicating that the protective effect of Ganoderma lucidum mycelium polysaccharide is closely related to its antioxidant enzyme level and Keap1-Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway[24].Another related experimental study shows that by enhancing the enzyme's vitality,Ganoderma can improve the body's ability to scavenge free radicals,thereby reducing the degeneration and death of cells,and achieving the goal of anti-aging[25].

Wolfberry

It is a dried and ripe fruit of Lycium barbarum L.in the nightshade plant Ningxia.It is calm,sweet,and returns to the liver and kidney meridian.Special nutrients such as zeaxanthin and sour berry red pigment.Clinical studies have confirmed that wolfberry has a certain effect on liver yin deficiency and kidney yin deficiency[26].The natural amino acid wolfberry polysaccharide can resist oxidative stress and other harmful factors related to aging.Lycium barbarum polysaccharides can scavenge oxygen free radicals and reduce oxidative stress response,enhance antioxidant enzyme activity,help immune regulation,and can also regulate the function of dendritic cells and inhibit apoptosis[27].

Rhodiola

Rhodiola rosea is the dry root and rhizome of Rhodiola rosea(Prain ex Hamet)Fu.Sweet,bitter,and flat.Return to the lungs and heart channels.Yiqi Huoxue,Tongmai Pingchuan.Rhodiola mainly contains phenylpropyl esters and flavonoids,and its unique active chemical components are phenylpropyl esters,salidroside and its aglycone.Studies have found that Rhodiola is rich in phenolic acids with strong antioxidant activity and bacteriostasis in vitro,and the extraction solvent has a greater influence on the composition of the extract phenolic compounds[28].Song Xiaoyong et al.[29]placed Wistar rats in the prepared poisoning box and passively smoked them,and then gave Rhodiola rosea polysaccharide by gavage or inhalation.As a result,it was found that the rats were given Rhodiola rosea polysaccharide by gavage to prevent the body Oxidative damage,inhalation of Rhodiola rosea polysaccharides has anti-oxidant protective effect on the lungs of rats,suggesting that Rhodiola rosea polysaccharides can improve the body's antioxidant capacity by enhancing the activity of antioxidant enzymes,remove excessive free radicals,and reduce cell damage.Thereby resisting the oxidative damage caused by smoking in rats.

Cordyceps sinensis

Cordyceps sinensis is a complex of the pedicles of larvae of Cordyceps sinensis[Cordyceps sinensis(BerK.)Sacc.]Parasitic on larvae of bat moth insects and corpses of larvae.Lungs and kidneys,hemostasis and phlegm.Cordyceps contains a variety of essential amino acids,as well as peptides and proteins,as well as sugar,vitamins and various trace elements.Cordyceps extract has the ability to scavenge light free radicals,superoxide anion free radicals,lipid peroxy free radicals and hydrogen peroxide,thereby producing antioxidant effects.Luo Shengyong et al.[30]showed that compared with the model group,Cordyceps sinensis can significantly reduce the content of MDA and protein carbonyl in the serum of mice,increase the content of GSH and the activities of SOD,GSH-Px,T-AOC in the serum;significantly reduce the liver And the content of MDA in brain tissue increased the activity of SOD and GSH-Px;significantly increased the expression level of SOD and GSH-Px mRNA in mouse liver tissue.Cordyceps sinensis can significantly improve the antioxidant capacity of mice with oxidative damage,and its mechanism may be related to the regulation of gene expression of antioxidant enzymes[31].

Ejiao

Colla Corii Asini(CCA)is a solid gel made by boiling or condensing dry skin or fresh skin of equine donkey.Dryness,hemostasis and other effects.Ejiao,as a health medicine in China,has always been considered to have anti-aging effects.Ejiao contains collagen and its partial hydrolysates,which contains 16.43～16.54% nitrogen,more lysine,contains cystine,polysaccharides are glycosaminoglycans,and volatile substances include esters,ketones,Fe,Cu,Trace elements such as Zn and fatty acids decomposed the compound gelatin slurry into fragments.The results showed that the components such as caffeoylquinic acid and peach glucoside in gelatin can alleviate H2〇2-induced oxidative damage[32].The study found that there are 19 characteristic ingredients in Ejiao,these ingredients have strong antioxidant activity in vitro,and their content has typical regional characteristics,so it can be used as a sign of authenticity identification[33].

Chinese medicine compound with antioxidant effect

Four gentlemen soup

Sijunzi decoction is the basic prescription for replenishing spleen and is composed of ginseng,Atractylodes macrocephala,Poria,and licorice,which has the effect of strengthening spleen and qi.An experiment to study the mechanism of action of Sijunzi Decoction through GO function enrichment analysis showed that the gene function of Sijunzi Decoction in treating various diseases is mainly reflected in the regulation of cell proliferation,intracellular signaling cascade,receptor activity and so on.The KEGG pathway involves neural active receptor-ligand interaction signaling pathways and calcium ion signaling pathways.Perhaps the active ingredients of Sijunzi decoction may act on these signaling pathways to treat diseases caused by peroxidation[34].

In Sijunzi Decoction,the main component of ginseng is ginsenoside;the main components of Atractylodes macrocephala and licorice are total flavonoids and total polyphenols;Poria cocos contain more polysaccharides from Poria cocos,the main component is(1→3)-β-D-Dextran.It has the effects of regulating the body's immunity,anti-inflammatory,promoting body healing,wound healing,and anti-aging.The four phases complement each other and have the effect of increasing efficiency and reducing toxicity.Related studies have found that Sijunzi decoction can play a role in delaying animal aging by improving the relevant indexes of SOD,GSH-Px and MDA in aging model animal tissues,enhancing antioxidant function[35,36].

Liuweidihuang Pill

Liuweidihuang Pill is a classic Chinese herbal medicine for nourishing kidney and yin.It is composed of rehmanniae,dogwood,Chinese yam,Alisma,peony bark,and Poria.In the six-position Dihuang pills,the main component of yam is yam polysaccharide,and the main component of peony skin is paeonol;Dogwood mainly contains iridoids and their glycosides,triterpenes,flavonoids,tannins,organic acids and other chemical components.Among them,iridoid glycosides are the main components[37].In addition to nooside and arbutin,there are other compounds with better activity,such as 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid methyl ester,(7R,9R,10R)-3,9-dihidroxicalameneno,spuritol.The water extract of Alisma orientalis can be used to alleviate H2O2-induced oxidative damage to HEK293T cells and increase its survival rate.In addition,it can significantly promote the transcription of Sirt1 gene and significantly increase the expression of SRIT1 protein.Upregulation of oxidase inhibits the process of oxidative stress,thereby reducing cell damage[38].These substances can enhance the body's antioxidant capacity through a combined mechanism.

Experimental studies have shown that Liuweidihuang Pill can enhance the antioxidant function and play a role in delaying animal aging by improving SOD,MDA and blood nitric oxide(NO)and nitric oxide synthase(NOS)in kidney tissue of aging model rats[39].

Other compound

Compound Gancao Xixin Decoction,Zuogui Pill,Yougui Pill,Siwu Decoction,Mahuang Decoction,Liuyi Powder,Guifu Dihuang Pill,Shenfu Decoction,Sini Decoction,Fuzi Lizhong Pill,etc.all have varying degrees of antioxidant effects.

Conclusion

A variety of Chinese herbal medicines or compounds can regulate the level of oxidative stress,regulate the disorder of lipid metabolism,adjust the hormones in the body,enhance the body's antioxidant activity,improve the nerve humoral immune function,improve the energy metabolism level,etc.,to effectively delay aging and prolong life It is expected to improve cancer,cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases,aging and many other diseases caused by the oxidation reaction in the body.Traditional Chinese medicine is a natural treasure house.The development of natural antioxidant resources can not only promote the development of antioxidants such as foods,health products,and cosmetics,but also have great significance for the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine.However,because antioxidant evaluation methods have their own principles and lack uniform standards,and the composition of traditional Chinese medicine is complex,any single in vitro antioxidant method is insufficient to reflect the overall antioxidant capacity of traditional Chinese medicine.It is closely related,so in the future’s work,we should also strengthen the research on the mechanism and clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine anti-oxidative stress and treatment.