• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.68-72
• /
• 2008

A simple reversed phase HPLC method was developed for extracting pharmacologically active compounds coptisine, palmatine, berberine, and epiberberine from the roots of Coptis chinensis using a binary gradient of acetonitrile : 10 mM hexanesulfonic acid-Na monohydrate with UV detection at 254 nm. The coptisine (1), palmatine (2), berberine (3), and epiberberine (4) contents of the roots of C. chinensis collected from sixteen district markets in Korea and China were $6.79\;{\sim}\;24.63\;{\mu}g/g$, $5.40\;{\sim}\;20.75\;{\mu}g/g$, $21.40\;{\sim}\;81.21\;{\mu}g/g$, and $3.45\;{\sim}\;12.04\;{\mu}g/g$, respectively.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.29 no.9
• /
• pp.757-761
• /
• 2006

Six protoberberine alkaloids were isolated from the chloroform layer of the rhizome of Coptis japonica Makino (Ranunculaceae). The structures of the isolated compounds were determined to be 6-([1,3]dioxolo[4,5-g]isoquinoline-5-carbonyl)-2,3-dimethoxy-benzoic acid methyl ester (1), oxyberberine (2), 8-oxo-epiberberine (3), 8-oxocoptisine (4), berberine (5) and palmatine (6) by physicochemical and spectroscopic methods. The compound 3 (8-oxo-epiberberine) was first isolated from natural sources. The compounds were tested for cytotoxicity against five tumor cell lines in vitro by SRB method, and also tested for the MDR reversal activities. Compound 4 was of significant P-gp MDR inhibition activity with ED50 value $0.018\;{\mu}g/mL$ in MES-SA/DX5 cell and $0.0005\;{\mu}g/mL$ in HCT15 cell, respectively.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.39-47
• /
• 2010

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophic factor involved in neuronal differentiation, plasticity, survival and regeneration. BDNF draws massive attention mainly due to the potential as a therapeutic target in neurological diseases such as depression and Alzheimer's disease. In a primary screening for the natural compounds enhancing BDNF release from cultured rat primary cortical neuron, we found that compounds such as baicalein, tanshinone IIa, cinnamic acid, epiberberine, genistein and wogonin among many others increased BDNF release. All the compounds at $0.1{\mu}M$ of concentration barely showed stimulatory effect on BDNF induction, however, their combination (mixture 1; baicalein, tanshinone IIa and cinnamic acid, mixture 2; epiberberine, genistein and wogonin) showed synergistic increase in BDNF release as well as mRNA and protein expression. The level of BDNF expression was comparable to the maximum BDNF stimulation attainable by a positive control oroxylin A ($20{\mu}M$) without cell toxicity as determined by MTT analysis. Both mixtures synergistically increased the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) as well as cAMP response element binding protein (CREB), an immediate and essential regulator of BDNF expression. Similar to these results, mixture of these compounds synergistically inhibited the up-regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induced by lipopolysaccharide treatments in rat primary astrocytes. These results suggest that the combinatorial treatment of natural compounds in lower concentration might be a useful strategy to obtain sufficient BDNF stimulation in neurological disease condition such as depression, while minimizing potential side effects and toxicity of higher concentration of a single compound.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.693-698
• /
• 2017

The quality control of natural products is principal key to guarantee the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Clinical Practices (GCP) for the functional food, pharmaceuticals and cosmeceuticals in the industry. In this study, we examined the quantitative analysis of berberine as marker substance of Coptidis Rhizoma by high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detector (HPLC-DAD). The HPLC method was validated and met all the requirements for the quality control analysis recommended by FDA and ICH. The berberine was separated on a Xterra $C_{18}$ column ($5{\mu}m$, $4.6{\times}250mm$) using mobile phase consisting of distilled water and acetonitrile with $KH_2PO_4$ (3.4 g) and $Na_2SO_4$ (1.7 g). Calibration curve of berberine has been estimated (y = 42293.47x-41589 with the correlation coefficient 0.9999). The amount of berberine was calculated as 4.25%. And berberastine, palmatine, columbamine, jatrorrhizine, epiberberine, berberine and coptisine in the Coptidis Rhizoma were identified by high performance liquid chromatography - electrospray ionization-mass spectrometer (HPLC-ESI-MS) method.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.160-183
• /
• 2012

Objectives: Coptidis Rhizoma is one of the most popular and multi-purpose herbs in traditional medicine. The purpose of this study was to contribute to research and applications of Coptidis Rhizoma in clinic, by analyzing and reviewing international studies on its chemical compositions and pharmacological effects. Methods: This study analyzed 344 articles published from 2000 to 2010 in PubMed, Refworks, Riss, and KTKP. The search keywords were "Coptis chinensis", "Coptis japonica", "Coptidis Rhizoma", "huanglian" and "huanglian in Chinese". From them, we selected 114 articles which met our inclusion criteria. Results: This study reviewed 114 articles on Coptidis Rhizoma and its active components in terms of 'Active components', 'Experimental studies', 'Clinical studies', 'Industrial use' and 'Side Effects/Toxicity'. Conclusions: The active components of Coptidis Rhizoma are berberine, coptisine, epiberberine, palmatine, jateorrhizine, magnoflorine, worenine, etc. It is reported that Coptidis Rhizoma and its active components have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antitumor, and antioxidant activity, and cardiovascular, hepatoprotective, antidiabetic, neuroprotective, gastrointestinal, pain relieving, discharge phlegm and metrocyte proliferation effects. Moreover, we found that Coptidis Rhizoma can be used for bath preparation, cosmetic products and as a natural antimicrobial substance.