Integrative Approach to Analyze Biodiversity and Anti-Inflammatory Bioactivity of Wedelia Medicinal Plants

Abstract

For the development of “medical foods” and/or botanical drugs as defined USA FDA, clear and systemic characterizations of the taxonomy, index phytochemical components, and the functional or medicinal bioactivities of the reputed or candidate medicinal plant are needed. In this study, we used an integrative approach, including macroscopic and microscopic examination, marker gene analysis, and chemical fingerprinting, to authenticate and validate various species/varieties of Wedelia, a reputed medicinal plant that grows naturally and commonly used in Asian countries. The anti-inflammatory bioactivities of Wedelia extracts were then evaluated in a DSS-induced murine colitis model. Different species/varieties of Wedelia exhibited distinguishable morphology and histological structures. Analysis of the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region revealed significant differences among these plants. Chemical profiling of test Wedelia species demonstrated candidate index compounds and distinguishable secondary metabolites, such as caffeic acid derivatives, which may serve as phytochemical markers or index for quality control and identification of specific Wedelia species. In assessing their effect on treating DSS induced-murine colitis, we observed that only the phytoextract from W. chinensis species exhibited significant anti-inflammatory bioactivity on DSS-induced murine colitis among the various Wedelia species commonly found in Taiwan. Our results provide a translational research approach that may serve as a useful reference platform for biotechnological applications of traditional phytomedicines. Our findings indicate that specific Wedelia species warrant further investigation for potential treatment of human inflammatory bowel disease.

Transcriptomic analysis reveals a controlling mechanism for NLRP3 and IL-17A in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis

“…chinensis was routinely collected from a Chinese medicinal herb store/farmer in Taipei City, Taiwan. The morphology, anatomy and genome sequence features of experimental plant materials were validated macroscopically, as previously reported 18 , 22 , 23 . Briefly, fresh WC plant material was air-dried and cut to 1 cm in size, then the material was subjected to 2 types of extraction methods, namely 95% ethanol extraction (WCE) and hot water extraction (WCH), and then concentrated by rotary evaporator.…”

“…Our studies during the last few years found that medicinal plant extracts and the derived phytochemical components from Wedelia chinensis ( W . chinensis , WC) can have strong anti-inflammatory activities and exhibit potent anti-colitis activities in mouse models 17 , 18 , indicating their potential application for treatment of human IBD. Therefore, in this study, we further investigated specific phytochemical fractions (WCHA) and derived single compounds, including luteolin, apigenin and wedelolactone, in WC plants with anti-inflammatory and anti-colitis activities.…”

α-Amylase and α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activities of Chemical Constituents from Wedelia chinensis (Osbeck.) Merr. Leaves

“…Besides, several other compounds including common saponins and phytosterol derivatives were also reported in the species, but they appear to have a more limited distribution. Recently, several studies have demonstrated the exploration of pharmacological potential, such as analgesic [10], androgen-suppressing [11], anticancer [12, 13], antibacterial, anticonvulsant, antifungal [14], antioxidant [13], anti-inflammatory [10, 15], antiosteoprotic [16], antiulcerogenic, antistress [17], hepatoprotective [18], and sedative activities [19]. However, the investigation about the chemical constituents of W. chinensis is not sufficient compared to the other plants in the genus Wedelia .…”

Prediction of Medicinal Properties Using Mathematical Models and Computation, and Selection of Plant Materials

“…This approach is also called knowledge or information-driven approach and takes into consideration ethnobotanical, random, and chemotaxonomic approach for selecting the medicinal plants (Katiyar et al, 2012;Lin et al, 2015). Computational and mathematical tools are extensively applied in this approach.…”