Antitussive effects of Stemona tuberosa with different chemical profiles.
The root tubers of Stemona tuberosa, Stemona japonica and Stemona sessilifolia are recognized by the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China as authentic sources of the herb Radix Stemonae (Baibu). Careful anatomical analyses of these three species, whose identities were confirmed by flowering and fruiting samples, revealed that the root tubers of Stemona tuberosa could be distinguished from those of the other two species by the presence of scattered fibers in the cortex and pith and by the absence of thickened striations on the surface of velamen cells. HPLC analyses demonstrated that the total alkaloid profiles could be grouped into four types represented as the major component by stenine-type Stemona alkaloids such as tuberostemonine (4) and neotuberostemonine (3), or by non-stenine types such as croomine (1) and stemoninine (2). Nevertheless, all these samples demonstrated different degrees of antitussive properties in guinea pigs. These results suggested that non-stenine-type of Stemona alkaloids also contributed to the antitussive properties. The variations in chemical profiles among herb samples add difficulty in ensuring quality control in botanical products.
Xu
Yan-Tong
YT
Department of Biology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, PR China.
Hon
Po-Ming
PM
Jiang
Ren-Wang
RW
Cheng
Ling
L
Li
Sheng-Hong
SH
Chan
Yiu-Pong
YP
Xu
Hong-Xi
HX
Shaw
Pang-Chui
PC
But
Paul Pui-Hay
PP
D000470:Alkaloids / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D000996:Antitussive Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D035264:Flowers / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007783:Lactones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D015394:Molecular Structure; D008517:Phytotherapy; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D035281:Plant Tubers / Q000737:chemistry; D011759:Pyrrolidines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D013141:Spiro Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D041901:Stemonaceae / Q000737:chemistry*
D000470:Alkaloids; D000996:Antitussive Agents; D007783:Lactones; D028321:Plant Preparations; D011759:Pyrrolidines; D013141:Spiro Compounds; C468415:neotuberostemonine; C483261:stemonine; C034243:tuberostemonine; C082845:croomine