title: In vitro synergistic antioxidant activity and identification of antioxidant components from Astragalus membranaceus and Paeonia lactiflora.
abstract: Many traditionally used herbs demonstrate significantly better pharmacological effects when used in combination than when used alone. However, the mechanism underlying this synergism is still poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the synergistic antioxidant activity of Astragalus membranaceus (AME) and Paeonia Lactiflora (PL), and identify the potential antioxidant components by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazine (DPPH) radical spiking test followed by a high performance liquid chromatography separation combined with diode array detection and tandem mass spectrometry analysis (DPPH-HPLC-DAD-MS/MS). Eight AME-PL combined extracts (E1-E8) were prepared based on bioactivity-guided fractionation. Among them, E1 exhibited the strongest synergistic effect in scavenging DPPH radicals and reducing ferric ions (P<0.05). Moreover, E1 presented strong cytoprotection against H2O2-induced oxidative damage in MRC-5 cells by suppressing the decrease of the superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) activities. A strong correlation between the increment of total phenolic/flavonoid and synergistic antioxidant activity, especially between the increment of total flavonoid and the increase in ferric reducing power was observed. Finally, seven antioxidant substances were identified in E1 as oxypaeoniflora, catechin, calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, fomononetin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, 9,10-dimethoxy-pterocarpan-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, quercetin and 2'-dihydroxy-3',4'-dimethyl-isoflavan-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China.
authors.forename: Pengcheng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China.
authors.forename: Zhaoxi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China; National Research Center for Apple Engineering and Technology, Taian, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Dapeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D027885:Astragalus propinquus / Q000737:chemistry*; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000032:analysis; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D029596:Paeonia / Q000737:chemistry*; D019800:Phenol / Q000032:analysis; D010851:Picrates / Q000737:chemistry; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D005419:Flavonoids; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D010851:Picrates; D010936:Plant Extracts; D019800:Phenol; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; C004931:1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl