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Dihydromyricetin (DHM)-rich herbal mixture extracts, also called APF complex, comprised of Ampelopsis grossedentata, Pericarpium citri reticulatae, and Fructus crataegi. The content of DHM in APF complex was 362.7 ± 12.5 mg/g. The aims of this study were to investigate the therapeutic effects of APF complex on metabolic syndrome in rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD) and evaluate the subacute toxicity of APF complex in rats. HFD significantly increased body weight gain, fat tissue (epididymal fat, mesenteric fat, and perirenal fat) deposition, body fat index, and hepatic triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) accumulation as well as caused abnormal blood biochemical parameters, including TC, TG, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), free fatty acid (FFA), and glucose. APF complex has a tendency but not significance to limit HFD-induced body weight gain. APF complex also significantly improved HFD-induced body fat accumulation, as evidenced by decreasing fat tissue deposition and body fat index. In addition, APF complex significantly ameliorated HFD-induced hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia, as evidenced by reducing levels of blood TG and TC as well as blood glucose and FFA, respectively. Furthermore, APF complex significantly decreased HFD-induced hepatic TG and TC accumulation. In subacute toxicity assessment, APF complex exhibited no toxicological signs, as evidenced by without affecting mortality, food and water consumption, body weight changes, absolute organ weights, hematological system, blood lipids and nutritional status, and electrolyte balance as well as non-toxic to liver and renal function. Overall, APF complex was considered as a non-toxic herbal prescription and could act as adjuvant therapy for metabolic syndrome. Keywords: Dihydromyricetin, Herbal mixture extracts, High-fat diet, Metabolic syndrome, Subacute toxicity

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the physical properties (diameter size, powder particle size, composition of bark- and wood-tissue, and turnover rate) and processing methods on the content of active ingredients in Astragali radix (AR), a popular Chinese herbal medicine. The astragaloside IV and flavonoid contents increased with decreasing diameter size. Bark-tissue had significantly higher astragaloside IV and formononetin content than that in the wood-tissue. As a higher proportion of bark-tissue is associated with decreasing diameter, a strong correlation was also shown between bark- to wood-tissue ratio and active ingredients’ content. Furthermore, an increase in astragaloside IV content was observed in thin powder as compared to coarse powder ground from the whole root. However, this association between active ingredients’ content and powder particle size was abolished when isolating bark- and wood-tissue individually. Moreover, AR stir-frying with refined honey, a typical processing method of AR, increased formononetin content. The turnover rate of active constituents upon decoction ranged from 61.9–81.4%. Assessing the active constituent contents using its physical properties and processing methods allows for a more comprehensive understanding of optimizing and strengthening the therapeutic potentials of AR used in food and herbal supplements.

Cistanche species, the ginseng of the desert, has been recorded to possess many biological activities in traditional Chinese pharmacopoeia and has been used as an anti-aging medicine. Three phenylethanoid glycosides—echinacoside, tubuloside A, and acteoside—were detected in the water extract of Cistanche tubulosa (Schenk) R. Wight and the major constituent, echinacoside, was further purified. Echinacoside of a concentration higher than 10−6 M displayed significant activity to stimulate growth hormone secretion of rat pituitary cells. Similar to growth hormone-releasing hormone-6, a synthetic analog of ghrelin, the stimulation of growth hormone secretion by echinacoside was inhibited by [D-Arg1, D-Phe5, D-Trp7,9, Leu11]-substance P, an inverse agonist of the ghrelin receptor. Molecular modeling showed that all the three phenylethanoid glycosides adequately interacted with the binding pocket of the ghrelin receptor, and echinacoside displayed a slightly better interaction with the receptor than tubuloside A and acteoside. The results suggest that phenylethanoid glycosides, particularly echinacoside, are active constituents putatively responsible for the anti-aging effects of C. tubulosa and may be considered to develop as non-peptidyl analogues of ghrelin.

A mycelial mattress of Rhizopus stolonifer obtained from a liquid static culture was utilized for wound dressing and biomedical use. Following screening of mutants induced by UV radiation, F6, exhibiting delayed sporangium formation was selected because its sporangium maturation exhibited a 5-day delay without significant loss of mycelial weight compared to the wild type. The sporangium-free mycelial mattress from the sporangiospore culture of F6 was treated with 1N sodium hydroxide NaOH at 85°C for 2 h to produce a sponge-like membrane named Rhizochitin. The trifluoroacetic acid hydrolysate of Rhizochitin contained 36% N-acetylglucosamine and 53% hexose respectively detected by the Elson-Morgen and phenol-sulfuric acid methods. Results indicated the wound area in rats covered with Rhizochitin was 40% less than that of the uncovered group. Rhizochitin decreased the expression of PDGF in the proliferation stage, increased the expression of TGF-β in the inflammation and proliferation stages, and increased the expression of VEGF in the inflammation and proliferation stages. Rhizochitin inhibited secretion of matrix metalloproteinase-9 on days 1, 7, 9, and 12 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 on days 3, 7, 9, and 12. It was concluded that Rhizochitin has beneficial properties of biocompatible, biodegradable, and wound healing.