Sanguinarine-Chelerythrine Fraction of Coptis chinensis Exerts Anti-inflammatory Activity in Carrageenan Paw Oedema Test in Rats and Reveals Reduced Gastrotoxicity

Abstract

Inflammatory diseases are a common therapeutic problem and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are not deprived of side effects, of which ulcerogenic activity is one of the most frequent. The aim of the study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of the sanguinarine-chelerythrine (SC) fraction of Coptis chinensis and its influence on the integrity of gastric mucosa. The study was conducted on sixty male rats randomly divided into six experimental groups: two control groups (a negative control group CON and a positive control group CAR); three groups receiving an investigational fraction of C. chinensis (1, 5, 10 mg/kg i.g.) named SC1, SC5, and SC10, respectively; and a group receiving indomethacin (IND) (10 mg/kg i.g.) as a reference drug. In all animals, the carrageenan-induced paw oedema was measured; PGE2 release, TNFα production, and MMP-9 concentration in inflamed tissue were determined. Additionally, the macroscopic and microscopic damage of gastric mucosa was evaluated. Administration of SC dose-dependently inhibited the second phase of carrageenan rat paw oedema and PGE2 release, decreased the production of TNFα, and reduced the concentration of MMP-9, and the efficacy of the highest dose was comparable to the effect of IND. Contrary to IND, no gastrotoxic activity of SC was detected. The investigated sanguinarine-chelerythrine fraction of C. chinensis seems to be a promising candidate for further research on new anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs characterized with a safer gastric profile compared to existing NSAIDs.

Gut fungi differentially response to the antipyretic (heat-clearing) and diaphoretic (exterior-releasing) traditional Chinese medicines in Coptis chinensis-conditioned gut microbiota

“…Coptis chinensis, a representative heat-clearing TCM with cold properties, is widely applied to treat fever-related diseases including inflammation, cancer, diarrhea, etc (Danielewski et al, 2022;Gao and Lv, 2022). In clinical practice, Coptis chinensis is used alone or in formula to attenuate the symptoms of fever, bloated and painful abdomen, as well as dry stools caused by "internal heat" (Tseng et al, 2006).…”

Identification of sanguinarine metabolites in rats by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS

“…It was demonstrated that SAN possess multiple biological activities, in particular antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and regulate intestinal flora. [1][2] With the banning of the antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) in China, AGPs have been completely withdrawn from the market. 3 Meanwhile, traditional Chinese veterinary medicines have become the focus of replacing AGPs.…”

Preclinical safety evaluation of Macleaya Cordata extract: A re-assessment of general toxicity and genotoxicity properties in rodents

“…(Warowicka et al, 2019;Lu et al, 2020). They have a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory (Danielewski et al, 2022), anti-cancer (Zhu et al, 2020;Prabhu et al, 2021), antibacterial (Falchi et al, 2021;Lu et al, 2022), antifungal (Anjago et al, 2021), anthelmintic (Li et al, 2022), and immune enhancing (Liu et al, 2022a), etc. The biggest application of M. cordata is in livestock production, where studies have shown that MCE can provide a slight bitter taste in feed to increase animal intake (Chin, 2008;Wang et al, 2018).…”