Identification of anti-inflammatory fractions of Geranium wilfordii using tumor necrosis factor-alpha as a drug target on Herbochip® - an array-based high throughput screening platform.[Pubmed: 25963543]

Geranium wilfordii is one of the major species used as Herba Geranii (lao-guan-cao) in China, it is commonly used solely or in polyherbal formulations for treatment of joint pain resulted from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and gout. This herb is used to validate a target-based drug screening platform called Herbochip® and evaluate anti-inflammatory effects of Geranium wilfordii ethanolic extract (GWE) using tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) as a drug target together with subsequent in vitro and in vivo assays.

Anti-Helicobacter pylori compounds from the ethanol extracts of Geranium wilfordii.[Pubmed: 23500884]

ETHNOPHARMOCOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Geranium wilfordii Maxim has been extensively used in Chinese Herbal Medicine for treating gastrointestinal disorders, diarrhea and dysentery. In the current study we aimed to investigate the anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of ethanol extracts of Geranium wilfordii Maxim and its main active compounds, corilagin and 1,2,3,6-tetra-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose.

Liquid-liquid/solid three-phase high-speed counter-current chromatography, a new technique for separation of polyphenols from Geranium wilfordii Maxim.[Pubmed: 22815257]

High-speed counter-current chromatography using a new liquid-liquid/solid three-phase system was used for the separation of the polyphenols corilagin and geraniin from a crude extract of Geranium wilfordii Maxim in one step. The optimized three-phase system was composed of n-hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/acetic acid/water and to which was added 10-μm average diameter microspheres of cross-linked 12% agarose at the ratio of 0.2:10:2:1:5 and 0.1 g/mL, respectively. The purities of geraniin and corilagin were 82 and 90%, which were determined by HPLC at 280 nm. A 14.5 and 7 mg of geraniin and corilagin were purified from 160 mg crude extract with the yields of 70 and 78%, respectively.

One-step separation and purification of hydrolysable tannins from Geranium wilfordii Maxim by adsorption chromatography on cross-linked 12% agarose gel.[Pubmed: 21442751]

The hydrolysable tannins corilagin and geraniin, the major active components of the traditional Chinese medicine Geranium wilfordii Maxim, have been separated and purified from crude extracts in one step by adsorption chromatography on cross-linked 12% agarose gel (Superose 12 10/300 GL). The separation was achieved by gradient elution using mobile phase A composed of 5% ethanol and 5% acetic acid and mobile phase B composed of 30% ethanol and 30% acetic acid. The gradients were composed as follows: 0-240 mL, 0-25% B; 240-480 mL, 25-40% B; after 480 mL, 100% B. The purities of the collected corilagin and geraniin were 92.4 and 87.2%, and the corresponding yields were 88.0 and 76.8%, respectively.

Screening of natural antioxidants from traditional Chinese medicinal plants associated with treatment of rheumatic disease.[Pubmed: 20877204]

In order to find new sources of natural antioxidants, the antioxidant capacities of 50 medicinal plants associated with treatment of rheumatic diseases were systemically evaluated using the ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays, and their total phenolic contents were measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Their antioxidant activities of some of these plants were analyzed for the first time. The FRAP and TEAC assay results suggested that the antioxidant compounds in these plants possessed free radicals scavenging activity and oxidant reducing power. A positive linear correlation between antioxidant capacities and total phenolic contents implied that phenolic compounds in these plants could be the main components contributing to the observed activities. The results showed that Geranium wilfordii, Loranthus parasiticus, Polygonum aviculare, Pyrrosia sheaeri, Sinomenium acutum and Tripterygium wilfordii possessed the highest antioxidant capacities and total phenolic content among 50 plants tested, and could be rich potential sources of natural antioxidants.

Separation and purification of hydrolyzable tannin from Geranium wilfordii Maxim by reversed-phase and normal-phase high-speed counter-current chromatography.[Pubmed: 20549664]

Three hydrolyzable tannins, geraniin, corilagin and gallic acid, main active components of Geranium wilfordii Maxim, have been separated and purified in one-step by both reversed-phase and normal-phase high-speed counter-current chromatography. Gallic acid, corilagin and geraniin were purified from 70% aqueous acetone extract of G. wilfordii Maxim with solvent system n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-acetic acid-water (1:10:0.2:0.2:20) by reversed-phase high-speed counter-current chromatography at purities of 94.2, 91.0 and 91.3%, at yields of 89.3, 82.9 and 91.7%, respectively. Gallic acid, corilagin and geraniin were purified with solvent system n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-acetic acid-water (0.2:10:2:1:5) by normal-phase high-speed counter-current chromatography at purities of 85.9, 92.2 and 87.6%, at yields of 87.4, 94.6 and 94.3%, respectively. It was successful for both reversed-phase and normal-phase high-speed counter-current chromatography to separate high-polarity of low-molecular-weight substances.

[Pharmcognostial study on the Geranium wilfordii var. glandulosum].[Pubmed: 12569843]

First time has done pharmcognostical research on the Geranium wilfordii Maxim var. glandulosum Z. M. Tan, including microscopic identification, chemical qualitative test and bacteriostatic test.

[Morphological and histological studies of the Chinese drug lao-guan-cao].[Pubmed: 7660787]

Lao-guan-cao has long been used in Chinese traditional medicine. It is used as an antirheumatic and circulation promoting drug for the treatment of acute and chronic rheumatalgia; also used as a detoxicant for enteritis and bacillary dysentery. The dried aerial parts of Erodium stephanianum Willd. and Geranium wilfordii Maxim. (family Geraniaceae) have been specified in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (1990 ed.) According to the literature and the authors' market investigations, the commercial drug Lao-guan-cao chiefly consists of the aerial parts of Erodium stephanianum Willd. Also those rather popularly used in several provinces are the aerial parts of Geranium nepalense Sweet and G. sibiricum L. In this paper, the morphological and histological characters of the crude drugs derived from E. stephanianum Willd., G.nepalense Sweet and G.sibiricum L. are described. It is found that the following characters are useful for distinguishing the drugs derived from the above mentioned three species. (1) The shape and size of leaf; (2) the number and arrangement of the vascular bundles of stem; (3) the number of the vascular bundles in midrib and layers of palisade cells of leaf; (4) the presence or absence of stomata in upper epidermis; (5) the characters of cells containing crystals in sepal; (6) the characters of epidermis cells, cells containing crystals and fibers of pericarp; (7) the types of hairs and glandular hairs on epidermis of stem, leaf, sepal and pericarp; (8) the characters of anticlinal walls of epidermal cells of seed coat.