Processing of Chinese medicinal materials (CMMs) is a unique technique for preparing decoction pieces. According to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, processing can reduce the toxicity, alter the indications and enhance the efficacy of the herbs. Pinelliae Rhizoma (PR), the dried tuber of Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Breit., is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. Although toxic, it is commonly used for treating cancer, cough and phlegm. TCM doctors usually prescribe raw PR to manage cancer and Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum cum Zingibere et Alumine (PRZA), the product of raw PR processed with ginger juice and alumen, for treating cough and phlegm. To guarantee the quality of a processed herb, standardized processing procedure is critical. However, the current manufacturing protocol of PRZA varies greatly among different places in China. In addition, the mechanisms involved in raw PR's toxicities, the toxicity-reducing effect of processing, and the anticancer effects of raw PR are still not fully understood. In this study, we standardized the manufacturing procedure for PRZA, and explored the mechanisms involved in raw PR-induced cardiotoxicity, the toxicity-reducing effect of processing, and the anti-liver cancer effects of raw PR.;Our results showed that the standardized manufacturing procedure for PRZA is as follows: soak raw PR in water until the center of the cut surface is devoid of a dry core, boil for 6 h after adding 12.5 kg alumen and 25 L freshly squeezed ginger juice for each 100 kg of raw PR, then take out and dry. The toxicity and bioactivity assays demonstrated that PRZA produced using our optimized protocol could reduce the cardiotoxicity, and enhance the antitussive and expectorant efficacies of raw PR, supporting the traditional processing theory; and raw PR exhibited more potent anti-liver cancer efficacy than PRZA, supporting the common clinical practice. Moreover, as expected raw PR and PRZA showed different chemical profiles. These results suggest that our optimized protocol for producing PRZA is appropriate. The optimized protocol, shown to be applicable for PRZA industrial production, will be included in the upcoming "National Standards for Processing CMMs" (全國中藥炮製規範) to update the 1998 edition of this China national standard handbook.;Using a comprehensive metabolomics approach, we explored the underlying mechanisms of raw PR-induced cardiotoxicity and the toxicity-reducing effect of processing. Results showed that inhibition of mTOR signaling and activation of the TGF-b pathway may contribute to raw PR-induced cardiotoxicity, and free radical scavenging may be responsible for the toxicity-reducing effect of processing.;In Summary, in this study we achieved the follows: 1) standardized the manufacturing procedure for PRZA; 2) found that processing with ginger juice and alumen reduced the toxicity of raw PR, and discovered the potential mechanisms for raw PR-induced cardiotoxicity and the toxicity-reducing effect of processing; 3) demonstrated the anti-liver cancer activities and some underlying mechanisms of action of raw PR. Our findings provide a standardized manufacturing procedure for PRZA, help in the understanding of the mechanisms involved in raw PR-caused cardiotoxicity and the toxicity-reducing effect of processing, and provide a pharmacological basis for the clinical application of raw PR in liver cancer treatment. The outcome of this study should guarantee the safety and efficacy of PRZA, and provide scientific justifications for the traditional processing theory of PR.

Orientadores: Silmara Marques Allegretti, Vera Lúcia Garcia Rehder / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-23T02:12:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Oliveira_ClaudineideNascimentoFernandesde_D.pdf: 6645819 bytes, checksum: c09a778f460110b77585bd22b8da5344 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: A propagação da esquistossomose e a ameaça de tolerância e resistência ao fármaco de escolha, o praziquantel, têm intensificado as pesquisas utilizando plantas medicinais com o intuito de promover o desenvolvimento de novos fármacos esquistossomicidas. A planta Phyllanthus amarus (quebra-pedra) possui atividades antiinflamatória e hepatoprotetora já comprovadas cientificamente, o que fez com que a mesma fosse selecionada para este estudo, uma vez que a principal patologia da esquistossomose é a formação de granulomas (processo inflamatório) no fígado. Esse trabalho teve como objetivo fazer um fracionamento biomonitorado do extrato etanólico de P. amarus por meio de ensaios in vitro e in vivo com o intuito de verificar a ação esquistossomicida dessa planta contra o S. mansoni linhagem BH. Para a realização dos testes in vitro, os vermes adultos coletados foram incubados em placas contendo meio de cultura RPMI 1640, um casal de verme e amostras de extrato etanólico bruto, frações de diferentes polaridades ou lignanas isoladas nas concentrações 200, 100, 50 e 25 ?g/mL. Os vermes foram observados por um período de 72 horas, sendo avaliados a taxa de mortalidade, a oviposição, o acasalamento e as alterações tegumentares. A melhor atividade in vitro foi observada com a fração 2 butanólica, pois foi letal para 100% dos vermes em 48 h de observação, sendo assim selecionada para os testes in vivo. A fração 2 butanólica é composta majoritariamente por lignanas, por isso algumas delas (nirantina, filantina + nirantina e filantina + filtetralina + nirtetralina), mesmo não sendo efetivas nos testes in vitro, foram selecionadas para avaliação in vivo. Nos testes in vivo camundongos Balb/c foram tratados oralmente, 45 ou 60 dias após a infecção. No 45° dia de infecção os animais foram tratados com 100 e 200 mg/kg da fração 2 butanólica, 100 mg/kg das lignanas nirantina, filantina + nirantina e filantina + filtetralina + nirtetralina em dose única e 100 mg/kg da fração 2 butanólica distribuídos em 3 dias consecutivos. Já no 60° dia de infecção o tratamento foi feito em dose única com a fração 2 butanólica, nirantina, filantina + nirantina e filantina + filtetralina + nirtetralina (100mg/kg). A atividade in vivo foi avaliada com base nos seguintes parâmetros: ação sobre os vermes adultos, ovos eliminados nas fezes, oograma, formação das reações granulomatosas, e ação sobre o tegumento (feita por microscopia eletrônica de varredura - MEV). Os tratamentos mais efetivos no 45° dia de infecção foram apresentados pelos grupos tratados com filantina + nirantina e nirantina (100mg/kg). A lignana nirantina apresentou taxa de redução do número de ovos de 90,3% e a associação da filantina + nirantina, 63,8%. Os resultados referentes aos demais parâmetros (redução do total de vermes, de vermes fêmeas e do número de granulomas) foram semelhantes, apresentando taxas de redução em torno de 58%. Além dessas alterações, as imagens obtidas por MEV mostraram extensas lesões no tegumento dos vermes machos. No 60° dia de infecção, a associação de lignanas filantina + nirantina e a fração 2 butanólica (100mg/kg) apresentaram as taxas de redução mais significativas: 50,8% e 46,7% para o número total de vermes, 47,2% e 42,7% para o número de vermes fêmeas, 87,5% e 98,3% para o número de ovos e 44% e 18% para o número de granulomas, respectivamente. Assim sendo, de acordo com os parâmetros biológicos avaliados neste trabalho, a associação das lignanas filantina: nirantina na concentração de 100 mg/kg revelou um efeito esquistossomicida promissor, uma vez que foi efetiva nos dois períodos estudados / Abstract: The dissemination of schistosomiasis and the threat of its causing agents becoming resistant to the drug of choice, i.e., praziquantel, have intensified the research with medicinal plants to promote the development of new schistosomicidal drugs. Phyllanthus amarus (stone-breaker) is a plant whose anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities have already been attested, which is the reason why it was chosen for this study, as the main pathology of schistosomiasis is the formation of granulomas (inflammatory process) in the liver. The aim of this work was to carry out a bioguided fractionation of the ethanol extract of P. amarus by means of in vitro and in vivo assays in order to verify the schistosomicidal potential of that plant against S. mansoni, BH strain. To carry out the in vitro assays, the collected adult worms were incubated in plates containing RPMI 1640 medium, a pair of mating worms, and samples of crude ethanol extract, fractions of different polarities or isolated lignans at the concentrations of 200, 100, 50 and 25 ?g/mL. The worms were observed over a period of 72 hours, in which mortality rate, egg laying, mating, and tegumentary changes were evaluated. The best in vitro activity was provided by butanol fraction 2, as it proved lethal for 100% of the worms over 48 hours of observation, and so it was used in the in vivo assays. Butanol fraction 2 is mainly composed of lignans, and some of them (nirantin, filantin: nirantin, and filantin + filtetralin + nirtetralin), albeit not effective in the in vitro assays, were selected for in vivo evaluation. In the in vivo assays, Balb/c mice were treated orally 45 or 60 days following infection. On the 45th day following infection, the animals were treated with 100 and 200 mg/kg of butanol fraction 2, 100 mg/kg of filantina:nirantin and filantin + filtetralin + nirtetralin in a single dose, and 100 mg/kg of butanol fraction 2 distributed over 3 consecutive days. On the 60th day following infection, the treatment was carried out in a single dose with 100 mg/kg of butanol fraction 2, nirantin, filantina:nirantin, and filantin + filtetralin + nirtetralin. The in vivo activity was evaluated based on the following parameters: action on adult worms, eggs eliminated in the stool, egg counting, granulomatous reactions, and action on the tegument of the worms (using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The most effective treatments on the 45th day were those carried out with 100 mg/kg of filantina:nirantin, and nirantin. The association of filantina:nirantin provided a reduction of 63.8% in the number of eggs, whereas nirantin achieved a reduction rate of 90.3%. The results for the other parameters (reduction in the total number of worms, number of females, and number of granulomas) were similar with reduction rates around 58%. In addition to such changes, images obtained by SEM showed extensive lesions on the tegument of male worms. On the 60th day following infection, the filantin + nirantin association and butanol fraction 2 at 100 mg/kg achieved the most significant xxiii reduction rates: 50.8% and 46.7% in the total number of worms, respectively; 47.2% and 42.7% in the number of females, respectively; 87.5% and 98.3% in the number of eggs, respectively; and 44% and 18% in the number of granulomas, respectively. Therefore, according to the biological parameters evaluated in this work, the association of the lignans filantina:nirantin at 100 mg/kg has a promising schistosomicidal activity, as it was effective over two periods of treatment / Doutorado / Parasitologia / Doutora em Parasitologia