The anti-rheumatoid arthritis property of the folk medicine Dianbaizhu (Gaultheria leucocarpa var. yunnanensis, Ericaceae).[Pubmed: 25632482]

The Chinese folk medicine Dianbaizhu, consisting of Gaultheria species, is widely used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis by several minority nationalities. The species and plant parts of this genus used as Dianbaizhu in clinical application are confused. In order to elucidate the species and the medicinal parts, as well as to ascertain the effective components and the probable optimal source of Dianbaizhu, the different plant parts and polarity fractions of its mainstream species, G. leucocarpa var. yunnanensis were investigated. The inhibition of nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor produced in macrophage J774 were used to assess the anti-inflammatory effect of those samples. G. leucocarpa var. yunnanensis may be the preferred species for anti-RA effect. The underground parts of this taxon showed the best anti-inflammatory and anti-RA activities; the n-butanol and water fractions of the underground parts may be the most anti-RA active.

A rapid new approach for the quality evaluation of the folk medicine Dianbaizhu based on chemometrics.[Pubmed: 25366312]

Dianbaizhu, a folk medicine from Gaultheria leucocarpa BLUME var. yunnanensis (FRANCH.) T. Z. HSU & R. C. FANG (Ericaceae) used as an antirheumatic, has multiple plant origins and officinal parts. A rapid high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) method was established for the simultaneous determination of the characteristic ingredient methyl benzoate-2-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl(1 → 2) [O-β-D-xylopyranosyl(1 → 6)]-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and seven bioactive constituents in eight Gaultheria species. This chromatographic method is precise, accurate, and stable. Kruskal-Wallis analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis, and factor analysis were used to analyze the content of reference compounds in different Gaultheria species and officinal parts. The analyses showed significant differences (p<0.05) in Gaultheria species but few differences (p>0.05) in their medicinal parts. G. leucocarpa var. yunnanensis appeared to the best among the Gaultheria species tested for the treatment of rheumatic diseases. Taken together, the results show that this simultaneous quantification of multiple active constituents using HPLC-DAD combined with chemometrics can be reliably applied to evaluate the quality of Dianbaizhu.

Simultaneous determination of active ingredients in ethnomedicine Gaultheria leucocarpa var. yunnanensis and its medicinal preparation by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection.[Pubmed: 17988450]

A simple and rapid capillary electrophoresis (CE) with electrcochemical detection (ED) method has been established for the simultaneous determination of seven active ingredients in the stems and roots of Gaultheria leucocarpa var. yunnanensis and its medicinal preparation, including (+)-catechin, rutin, gentisic acid, vallinic acid, salicylic acid, quercetin, and protocatechuic acid. The effects of working potential, pH, and concentration of running buffer, separation voltage, and injection time on CE-ED are systematically investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the seven analytes could be completely separated within 23 min in a borax running buffer (pH 8.7). A good linear relationship is obtained over three orders of magnitude with detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio=3) ranging from 5x10(-8) g/mL to 3x10(-7) g/mL for the analytes. The proposed method is successfully used in the analysis of real samples after a relatively simple extraction procedure, and the assay results are satisfactory.

[Studies on chemical constituents of Gaultheria leucocarpa var. Yunnanensis (Franch.) T. Z. Hsu & R. C. Fang].[Pubmed: 12776334]

To separate and identify the chemical constituents of the aerial part of Gaultheria leucocarpa var. yunnanensis.

[Determination of lignan glycosides in Gaultheria leucocarpa var. yunnanensis by RP-HPLC].[Pubmed: 12774349]

To control the quality of Gaultheria leucocarpa var. yunnanensis the contents of lignans in these plants from different provinces were detected.

[Studies on resources of ethnomedicine Gaultheria leucocarpa var. yunnanensis].[Pubmed: 12525102]

To study the resources of G. leucocarpa var. yunnanensis for further development of this drug.

[Screening of anti-bacteria activity of extracts of Gaultheria leucocarpa var. yunnanensis].[Pubmed: 12525043]

To further develop Gaultheria leucocarpa var. yunnanensis, anti-bacteria constituents in it were screened.