indigo-carmine and Cough

This study determined the extraction rates of indirubin in Indigo Naturalis by ethanol reflux extraction method and water extraction method. The pharmacodynamic study against cough induced by ammonia water in the mouse model and the cough induced by citric acid in the guinea pig model were performed to optimize the extraction process of the sovereign medicinal Indigo Naturalis and the whole prescription of Children's Qingfei Zhisou Syrup. The extraction rate of indirubin by the ethanol reflux method was 51.89%, and indirubin was not detected in the product of water extraction. Two samples of Children's Qingfei Zhisou Syrup prepared with different methods can prolong the incubation period of cough and suppress the frequency of coughs in pharmacodynamic experiments. In terms of prolonging the incubation period of cough, the two samples prepared with different methods had no significant difference. In terms of reducing the frequency of coughs, the high-dose Five kinds of ethanol extracts such as indigo naturalis and three kinds of water extracts such as gypsum had better effect against the citric acid-induced cough of guinea pigs than other samples(P<0.05). The extraction rate of indirubin in Children's Qingfei Zhisou Syrup sample prepared with ethanol was higher than that with water. The two samples of Children's Qingfei Zhisou Syrup prepared with the two methods showed good antitussive effects. The sample prepared with 5 ingredients(including Indigo Naturalis) extracted with ethanol and 3 ingredients(including Gypsum Fibrosum) extracted with water had better alleviation effect on the citric acid-induced cough of guinea pig than the whole water extract sample. In conclusion, the optimum extraction scheme is ethanol extraction for 5 ingredients including Indigo Naturalis in combination with water extraction for 3 ingredients including Gypsum Fibrosum, and the Children's Qingfei Zhisou Syrup produced in this manner has better antitussive efficacy.

Topics: Animals; Antitussive Agents; Calcium Sulfate; Citric Acid; Cough; Ethanol; Guinea Pigs; Humans; Indigo Carmine; Indigofera; Mice; Water

Flower bud of Tussilago farfara L. is widely used for the treatment of cough, bronchitis and asthmatic disorders in the Traditional Chinese Medicine. However, due to the increasing demands, adulteration with rachis is frequently encountered in the marketplace. No report demonstrated the chemical and pharmacological differences between flower bud and rachis before.. The water extracts were orally administrated to mice. Ammonia induced mice coughing model was used to evaluate the antitussive activity. The expectorant activity was evaluated by volume of phenol red in mice's tracheas. Metabolites were identified directly from the crude extracts through 1D- and 2D-NMR spectra. A metabolic profiling carried out by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis was applied to crude extracts from flower bud and rachis.. Flower bud significantly lengthened the latent period of cough, decreased cough frequency caused by ammonia and enhanced tracheal phenol red output in expectorant evaluation. Principal component analysis (PCA) yielded good separation between flower bud and rachis, and corresponding loading plot showed that the phenolic compounds, organic acid, sugar, amino acid, terpene and sterol contributed to the discrimination.. These findings provide pharmacological and chemical evidence that only flower bud can be used as the antitussive and expectorant herbal drug. The high concentration of chlorogenic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, rutin in flower buds may be related with the antitussive and expectorant effects of Flos Farfara. To guarantee the clinical effect, rachis should be picked out before use.

Topics: Ammonia; Animals; Antitussive Agents; Chlorogenic Acid; Cough; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Contamination; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Expectorants; Female; Flowers; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Metabolome; Metabolomics; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR; Multivariate Analysis; Phenolsulfonphthalein; Phytotherapy; Plant Stems; Principal Component Analysis; Rutin; Severity of Illness Index; Trachea; Tussilago