Water Extract of Fritillariae thunbergii Bulbus Inhibits RANKL-Mediated Osteoclastogenesis and Ovariectomy-Induced Trabecular Bone Loss

Water Extract of Angelica dahurica Inhibits Osteoclast Differentiation and Bone Loss

Angelica dahurica radix has a long history of traditional use in China and Korea for treating headaches, cold-damp pain and skin diseases. Despite various pharmacological studies on A. dahurica, its impact on bones remains unclear. Hence, this study investigated the inhibitory effect of A. dahurica's radix water extract (WEAD) on osteoclast differentiation. In vitro experiments showed that WEAD effectively suppresses osteoclast differentiation. Treatment of an osteoclast precursor with WEAD significantly suppressed the expression of nuclear factor of activated T-cells 1 (NFATc1), essential transcription factor for osteoclastogenesis, while increasing the expression of negative regulators, interferon regulatory factor 8 (Irf8) and v-maf musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog B (MafB). Consistent with the in vitro findings, the oral administration of WEAD (100 and 300 mg/kg/day) to mice subjected to surgical ovariectomy for a duration of six weeks alleviated bone loss, while also mitigating weight gain and liver fat accumulation. In addition, we also identified phytochemicals present in WEAD, known to regulate osteoclastogenesis and/or bone loss. These results suggest the potential use of WEAD for treating various bone disorders caused by excessive bone resorption.

Hydroethanolic Extract of Fritillariae thunbergii Bulbus Alleviates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Ulcerative Colitis by Enhancing Intestinal Barrier Integrity

The incidence of ulcerative colitis (UC), an inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, has rapidly increased in Asian countries over several decades. To overcome the limitations of conventional drug therapies, including biologics for UC management, the development of herbal medicine-derived products has received continuous attention. In this study, we evaluated the beneficial effects of a hydroethanolic extract of Fritillariae thunbergii Bulbus (FTB) in a mouse model of DSS-induced UC. The DSS treatment successfully induced severe colonic inflammation and ulceration. However, the severity of colitis was reduced by the oral administration of FTB. Histopathological examination showed that FTB alleviated the infiltration of inflammatory cells (e.g., neutrophils and macrophages), damage to epithelial and goblet cells in the colonic mucosal layer, and fibrotic lesions. Additionally, FTB markedly reduced the gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines and extracellular matrix remodeling. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that FTB alleviated the decrease in occludin and zonula occludens-1 expression induced by DSS. In a Caco-2 monolayer system, FTB treatment improved intestinal barrier permeability in a dose-dependent manner and increased tight junction expression. Overall, FTB has potential as a therapeutic agent through the improvement of tissue damage and inflammation severity through the modulation of intestinal barrier integrity.

Peiminine regulates bone-fat balance by canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway in an ovariectomized rat model

Peiminine is a major biologically active component of Fritillaria thunbergii Miq that exhibits good anticancer, antiinflammatory, and anti-osteoclast effects. However, its effects on osteoporosis (OP) remain unknown. This study aimed to explore whether Peiminine was able to regulate osteogenesis and adipogenesis in ovariectomized (OVX) rat. The effects on the differentiation of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs), function of Wnt/β-catenin pathway, ALP activity, calcium nodule deposition, as well as adipocyte formation in vitro by Peiminine at different concentrations, were detected. The curative effects of Peiminine on the ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis model by micro-CT and bone histomorphology assays were analyzed. The promotion of osteogenic differentiation and inhibition of adipogenic differentiation by Peiminine (5-40 μg/mL) was detected and the optimum concentration was 20 μg/mL. Mechanistically, Peiminine regulated the fate of BMSCs in vitro, and activated Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by restraining phosphorylation of β-catenin and promoting the nuclear translocation of β-catenin. Moreover, Peiminine prevented ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis by alleviating trabecular bone loss and inhibiting adipose formation. Our data suggested that Peiminine could attenuate ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis by alleviating trabecular bone loss and inhibiting adipose formation. These encouraging discoveries could lay the foundation for Peiminine to be a promising preventive treatment strategy for skeletal diseases, such as osteoporosis.

UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS/MS-Based Untargeted Metabolomics and Molecular Networking Reveal the Differential Chemical Constituents of the Bulbs and Flowers of Fritillaria thunbergii

Both the bulbs and flowers of Fritillaria thunbergii Miq. (BFT and FFT) are widely applied as expectorants and antitussives in traditional Chinese medicine, but few studies have been conducted to compare the chemical compositions of these plant parts. In this study, 50% methanol extracts of BFT and FFT were analyzed via UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS/MS, and the feasibility of using non-targeted UHPLC-HRMS metabolomics and molecular networking to address the authentication of bulb and flower samples was evaluated. Principal component analysis (PCA), Orthogonal Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA), and heat map analysis showed there were dissimilar metabolites in BFT and FFT. As a result, 252 and 107 peaks in positive ion mode and negative mode, respectively, were considered to represent significant difference variables between BFT and FFT. Then, MS/MS-based molecular networking of BFT and FFT was constructed to perform an in-depth characterization of the peaks using different variables. A total of 31 alkaloids with significant differences were annotated in this paper, including seven cis-D/E-vevanine without C20-OH and one trans-D/E-cevanine with C20-OH, thirteen trans-D/E-cevanine without C20-OH, five cevanine N-oxide, and five veratramine. Among the 31 alkaloids, eight alkaloids had higher FFT than BFT contents, while all the flavonoids identified in our work had greater FFT than BFT contents. The influence of different ingredients on the pharmacological activities of BFT and FFT should be investigated in future studies.