中科院研究人员从马齿苋中筛选潜在的抗氧化、降血糖和降血脂成分

诸平

马齿苋（Portulaca oleracea）

Experimental process of screening potential bioactive ingredients from P. oleracea with antioxidant, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activities. Credit: ZHANG Hui

据中国科学院（Chinese Academy of Sciences）2021年11月3日提供的消息，中科院研究人员从马齿苋（Portulaca oleracea）中筛选潜在的抗氧化、降血糖和降血脂成分（Researchers screen potential antioxidant, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic components from Portulaca oleracea）。

马齿苋是一种广泛分布于世界各地的一年生草本植物，是一种营养丰富、药理活性多样的传统中草药，也是一种广受欢迎的蔬菜。然而，马齿苋的主要活性成分及其作用机制尚不清楚。

博士研究生张辉在中国科学院武汉植物园（Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences）郭明全研究员（Prof. Guo Mingquan）指导下，通过2,2-二苯基-1-苦基肼（2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl）、2,2' -偶氮二(3-乙基-苯并噻唑啉-6-磺酸)（2,2' -azinobis-(3-ethyl-benzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid）自由基清除和铁离子还原抗氧化能力的测定。用比色法测定了相应的总酚含量(total phenol content简称TPC)和总黄酮含量(total flavonoid content简称TFC)。结果表明，马齿苋乙酸乙酯(ethyl acetate简称EA)提取物具有最高的抗氧化活性，TPC和TFC含量也最高。

为了揭示其主要活性化合物，研究人员建立了一种多目标亲和超滤耦合LC/MS方法(ultrafiltration coupled to LC/MS method简称UF-LC/MS)，用于快速筛选马齿苋中超氧化物歧化酶(superoxide dismutase简称SOD)、α-葡萄糖苷酶（α-glucosidase）和胰脂酶配体（pancreatic lipase ligands）。

结果，EA提取物中的四种配体很快被提取出来，分别是潜在的SOD、α-葡萄糖苷酶和胰脂酶配体。此外，分子对接显示这些潜在配体对上述三种酶具有较强的结合能力和抑制活性。相关研究结果于2021年9月1日已经在《植物化学分析》（Phytochemical Analysis）杂志网站发表——Hui Zhang, Guilin Chen, Jinpeng Yang, Chunlei Yang, Mingquan Guo. Screening and characterisation of potential antioxidant, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic components revealed in Portulaca oleracea via multi‐target affinity ultrafiltration LC–MS and molecular docking. Phytochemical Analysis (2021). DOI: 10.1002/pca.3086. First published: 01 September 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/pca.3086

这项研究表明，马齿苋可以作为食物来源的抗氧化剂和降糖剂的天然来源。同时，基于多靶点UV - LC /MS和分子对接（molecular docking）的整合策略为马齿苋生物活性成分的研究提供了一种便捷的方法。

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Abstract

Introduction

Portulaca oleracea is a commonly used nutritional vegetable and traditional herbal medicine with plenty of nutrients and manifold pharmacological activities. However, the potential active ingredients for its remarkable antioxidant, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activities remain unexplored.

Objectives

The present study aims to systematically evaluate the antioxidant activities of different extracts of P. oleracea and screen bioactive ligands that can interact with α-glucosidase, pancreatic lipase, and superoxide dismutase (SOD).

Methods

In this research, the antioxidant activities of different parts of P. oleracea and their corresponding total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were systematically determined. Subsequently, a multi-target affinity ultrafiltration method was developed using affinity ultrafiltration with SOD, α-glucosidase, and pancreatic lipase coupled to liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UF-LC–MS). Later, molecular docking was used to further investigate the possible interaction mechanism between these ligands and target enzymes.

Results

Among them, the ethyl acetate (EA) fraction showed the highest antioxidant activity along with the highest TPC and TFC, and four compounds in the EA fraction were quickly retrieved as potential SOD, α-glucosidase, and pancreatic lipase ligands, respectively. Molecular docking revealed that these potential ligands exhibited strong binding ability and inhibitory activities on SOD, α-glucosidase, and pancreatic lipase.

Conclusion

The present study revealed that P. oleracea can be used as a functional food with excellent antioxidant, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects. Meanwhile, the integrated strategy based on multi-target UF-LC–MS and molecular docking also provided a powerful tool and a multidimensional perspective for further exploration of active ingredients in P. oleracea responsible for the antioxidant, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activities.