• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.137-144
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• 2009

In this study, quantitative and pattern recognition analyses for the quality evaluation of Herba Epimedii using HPLC was developed. For quantitative analysis, five major bioactive constituents, hyperin, epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C, and icariin were determined. Analysis was carried out on Capcell pak $C_{18}$ column ($250{\time}4.6$ mm, 5 ${\mu}m$) with a mobile phase of mixture of acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid, using UV detection at 270 nm. The linear behavior was observed over the investigated concentration range (2-50 ${\mu}g/mL;\;r_2\;>$ 0.99) for all analytes. The intraand inter-day precisions were lower than 4.3% (as a relative standard deviation, RSD) and accuracies between 95.1% and 104.4%. The HPLC analytical method for pattern recognition analysis was validated by repeated analysis of one reference sample. The RSD of intra- and inter-day variation of relative retention time (RRT) and relative peak area (RPA) of the 12 selected common peaks were below 0.8% and 4.7%, respectively. The developed methods were applied to analysis of twenty Herba Epimedii extract samples. Contents of hyperin, epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C, and icariin were calculated to be 0$\sim$0.79, 0.69$\sim$1.91, 0.93$\sim$9.58, 0.65$\sim$3.05, and 2.43$\sim$11.8 mg/g dried plant. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that most samples were clustered together with the reference samples but several apart from the main cluster in the PC score plot, indicating differences in overall chemical composition between two clusters. The present study suggests that quantitative determination of marker compounds combined with pattern-recognition method can provide a comprehensive approach for the quality assessment of herbal medicines.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.437-446
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• 2022

In this study, to obtain icaritin with high pharmacological activities from icariin, which has a content ratio of over 58% in the total flavonoids of Epimedium herb, a special Epimedium flavonoid-glycosidase was produced, purified and characterized from Aspergillus sp.y848 strain. The optimal enzyme production was gained in a medium containing 5% (w/v) wheat bran extract and 0.7% (w/v) Epimedium leaf powder as the enzyme inducer, and strain culture at 30℃ for 6-7 days. The molecular weight of the enzyme was approximately 73.2 kDa; the optimal pH and temperature were 5.0 and 40℃. The enzyme Km and Vmax values for icariin were 15.63 mM and 55.56 mM/h. Moreover, the enzyme hydrolyzed the 7-O-glucosides of icariin into icariside II, and finally hydrolyzed 3-Orhamnoside of icariside II into icaritin. The enzyme also hydrolyzed 7-O-glucosides of epimedin B to sagittatoside B, and then further hydrolyzed terminal 3-O-xyloside of sagittatoside B to icarisiede II, before finally hydrolyzing 3-O-rhamnoside of icarisiede II into icaritin. The enzyme only hydrolyzed 7-O-glucoside of epimedin A or epimedin C into sagittatoside A or sagittatoside C. It is possible to prepare icaritin from the high-content icariin in Epimedium herb using this enzyme. When 2.5% icariin was reacted at 40℃ for 18-20 h by the low-cost crude enzyme, 5.04 g icaritin with 98% purity was obtained from 10 g icariin. Also, the icaritin molar yield was 92.5%. Our results showed icaritin was successfully produced via cost-effective and relatively simple methods from icariin by crude enzyme. Our results should be very useful for the development of medicines from Epimedium herb.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.233-238
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• 2008

The aerial parts of Epimedium koreanum Nakai have been used to stimulate hormone secretion in treating impotence. Ten flavonol glycosides, 3,4,5-trihydroxy-8-prenylflavone 7-O-[${\beta}$-D-glucopyranosyl($1{\rightarrow}2$)-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranoside] (1), hyperoside (2), icarisid II (3), 2"-O-Rhamnosylicarisid II (4), epimedin A (5), epimedin B (6), epimedin C (7), icariin (8), hexandraside E (9), and epimedoside A (10) were isolated from the an ethylacetate soluble extracts of the aerial parts of Epimedium koreanum Nakai through activity-monitord fractionation and isolation method. The structures of compounds 1 - 10 were elucidated by high resolution fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry and two dimentional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis. Compounds 1 and 4 showed potent antioxidant activity, with $IC_{50}$ values of 19.7 and 11.5 ${\mu}g$/mL and 88.2 and 90.5 ${\mu}M$, respectively.