title: The Sophora flavescens flavonoid compound trifolirhizin inhibits acetylcholine induced airway smooth muscle contraction.
abstract: Asthma is a serious health problem worldwide, particularly in industrialized countries. Despite a better understanding of the pathophysiology of asthma, there are still considerable gaps in knowledge as well as a need for classes of drugs. ASHMI™ (Anti-asthma Herbal Medicine Intervention) is an aqueous extract of Ganoderma lucidum (Fr.) P. Karst (Ling Zhi), Sophora flavescens Aiton (Ku Shen) and Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. ex DC (Gan Cao). It prevents allergic asthma airway hyper-reactivity in mice and inhibits acetylcholine (ACh) induced airway smooth muscle (ASM) contraction in tracheal rings from allergic asthmatic mice. The purpose of this research was to identify individual herb(s) and their active compound(s) that inhibit ASM contraction. It was found that S. flavescens, but not G. lucidum or G. uralensis aqueous extracts, inhibited ASM contraction in tracheal rings from asthmatic mice. Bioassay-guided isolation and identification of flavonoid fractions/compound(s) via methylene chloride extraction, preparative HPLC fractionation, and LC-MS and NMR spectroscopic analyses showed that trifolirhizin is an active constituent that inhibits acetylcholine mediated ASM contraction or directly relaxes pre-contracted ASM independent of β2-adrenoceptors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Center for Chinese Herbal Therapy for Asthma and Allergy, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, 4105 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Center for Chinese Herbal Therapy for Asthma and Allergy, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, 4105 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322.
authors.forename: Banghao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Center for Chinese Herbal Therapy for Asthma and Allergy, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, 4105 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322.
authors.forename: Kamal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Engineering, Utah State University, 4105 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Engineering, Utah State University, 4105 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322.
authors.forename: Jixun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Center for Chinese Herbal Therapy for Asthma and Allergy, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, 4105 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322.
authors.forename: LaVerne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Center for Chinese Herbal Therapy for Asthma and Allergy, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, 4105 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322.
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sampson
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goldfarb
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Emala
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Center for Chinese Herbal Therapy for Asthma and Allergy, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, 4105 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322.
authors.forename: Xiu-Min
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D032902:Ganoderma; D005960:Glucosides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006035:Glycyrrhiza; D006576:Heterocyclic Compounds, 4 or More Rings / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects*; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000187:drug effects*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D029909:Sophora / Q000737:chemistry*; D014132:Trachea / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; D005960:Glucosides; D006576:Heterocyclic Compounds, 4 or More Rings; D010936:Plant Extracts; C526230:trifolirhizin; D000109:Acetylcholine
keywords: ASHMI; Airway smooth muscle contraction; Asthma; Ku Shen; Leguminosae; Sophora flavescens; Traditional Chinese herbal medicine; Trifolirhizin