Cydonia oblonga miller (quince) plant serves as a potential folk medicine for treating hypertension and cardiovascular diseases in China. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has been conducted on the polyphenolic profile and anti-adipogenic effect of quince fruit grown in China. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the quince fruit extract’s major phenolic compounds, evaluate their antioxidant activity, and examine their effect on adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells. A rapid and sensitive analytical method was established for the simultaneous determination of major polyphenolic compounds by using ultra-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS). Among the 10 compounds, the cryptochlorgenic acid was noticed as the most abundant compound of both purified (242.44 ± 0.73 µg/mg dw) and unpurified extract (3.37 ± 0.01 µg/mg dw) followed by quercetin 3-rutinoside and chlorogenic acid. Alternatively, both extracts possessed a high quantity of phenolic acids (purified extract = 483.10 ± 5.16 µg/mg dw and unpurified extract = 7.89 ± 0.02 µg/mg dw). The purified extract exhibited a strong antioxidant capacity (DPPH: EC50 = 3.316 µg/mL, ABTS: EC50 = 36.38 µg/mL) as compared to the unpurified extract. Additionally, our results also showed that the extract at 100 µg/mL significantly suppressed the preadipocyte differentiation and decreased the lipid droplets up to 69% in mature adipocytes. The present study highlights an accurate and fast detection method for quince fruit extract polyphenolic compounds with its antioxidant and antiadipogenic effects. The study also provides the necessary information for the rational development and utilization of quince fruit extract as a source of phytochemicals.

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Cydonia oblonga Mill. (COM), mature fruit of genus Rosaceae, is consumed as a kind of traditional Chinese medicinal herb. Previous studies have shown that the components in COM extract have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, blood pressure-lowering, blood lipid-lowering, antithrombotic, and other biological activities. However, the quality markers (Q-markers) of atherosclerosis (AS) have not been elucidated. The Q-marker is based on the five core principles of traceability, transferability, specificity, measurability, validity, and prescription dispensing. In this study, the quality markers of quince were investigated by applying the ultraperformance liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS) method and network pharmacology method to highlight the three core elements which are, respectively, traceability transmission, measurability, and validity. At the first step, 72 components were identified by applying the ultraperformance liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS) method. In the next step, 46 candidate components of COM anti-AS were obtained by network pharmacology, and then, 27 active components were filtered with the molecular docking assay. Finally, the 27 active components were intersected with 10 active components obtained by mass transfer and traceable quality markers. Four anti-AS Q-markers of COM were identified, including caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, ellagic acid, and vanillic acid, which provided a reference for the quality control of quince. The methods and strategies can also be applied to other traditional Chinese medicines and their compound preparations, providing new ideas on the quantitative evaluation and identification of quality markers.

Background: Compound Xiao-ai-fei honey ointment (CXHO) is an anticancer preparation with a long history in Uyghur folk medicine in China and has been used for the treatment of gastric cancer (GC) in Xinjiang, China. Nevertheless, the mechanism of its anticancer effect remains to be investigated. Methods: Bioactive ingredients of CXHO were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform database. Target genes of ingredients were acquired via the PubChem and Swiss target prediction database. Gene expression profiling of GC was obtained from GSE54129 in the GEO database and analyzed using the limma package in R. The hub genes associated with CXHO in GC were validated using the TIMER2.0 database, GEPIA2 database and Auto Dock tools. The effect of CXHO on migration of GC cells was detected by Transwell chamber assay and Wound healing assay. The effect of CXHO on expression levels of MMP2/MMP9 and NF-κb, PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was detected by Western blot assay. Results: Forty-five bioactive ingredients and their 819 related genes were found. A total of 462 differentially expressed genes were identified between GC patients and healthy controls. Seventeen common target genes were identified as hub genes CXHO against GC. Among them, MMP2 and MMP9 were significantly associated with tumor immune infiltrates and had good binding affinity with effective ingredients. Moreover, we validated the mRNA and protein expression levels and prognostic value of MMP2 and MMP9 by different databases. In addition, Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes and gene ontology analyses showed that the 17 common target genes were mainly involved in steroid hormone biosynthesis and cancer-related pathways. Experimental results showed that CXHO inhibited migration of GC cells and down regulated the expression levels of MMP2/MMP9, NF-κb. In addition, CXHO can inhibited PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Conclusion: We identified and experimental validated 2 pivotal target genes of CXHO against GC and preliminarily analyzed the potential mechanisms by which CXHO inhibits the development of GC. All these findings support CXHO as a promising drug for the treatment of GC.