Protective Effects Of Forsythia And Forsythoside On D - Galactose - Induced Senescence In Mice

This paper reviews the morphological characteristics, resource distribution, growth environment, effective components and pharmacological functions of Forsythia Suspens. In this paper, the medicinal value and development prospect of forsythiaside and phillyrin are discussed, and the anti-aging effects of forsythiaside and phillyrin on D-galactose induced senile model mice are investigated.Forsythia Suspens is one of the traditional Chinese herbal medicines in our country, which is mainly distributed in Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Yunnan, Sichuan and some other provinces. Forsythia Suspens has a large variety of active ingredients, such as terpenoids, lignans and flavonoids, as well as some chemicals like aldehyde, alcohol and ether. Besides, it contains some common microelements including iron, copper, zine, manganese and so on. Forsythia Suspens is a common Chinese medicine which is used to prevent colds and viral infection and it is also a natural antioxidant. Studies about its overall drug use and main effective components have found that Forsythia Suspens has many pharmacological functions such as preventing influenza, lowering blood lipid and blood pressure, anti-bacterial, anti-virus, and it is often used in treating urinary frequency, cancer, diabetes and so on. In addition, Forsythia Suspens can be used to preserve food, eliminate unusual smell. Planting Forsythia Suspens is good for environmental protection by helping conserve water and soil. In recent years, technologies of extracting monomer compositions with high purity have been continuously optimized. More and more researches have been done about the preparation and pharmacentical functions of forsythiaside and phillyrin as the main active components in Forsythia Suspens, especially.In this paper, D-galactose induced senile mice model is adopted to investigate the anti-aging effects of forsythiaside and phillyrin prepared from forsythia leaves so that it will provide an experimental foundation for the comprehensive development and effective utilization of Forsythia Suspens resources.In the present study, fifty mice were randomly divided into control group, senile model group, forsythiaside and phillyrin groups of high, middle and low dose (45,15and5mg·kg-1·d-1). Except for control group, the mice of other groups were subcutaneous injected with D-galactose (150mg·kg-1·d-1) for42days, and meantime mice of forsythiaside and phillyrin treated groups were injected through mouth with different doses of forsythiaside and phillyrin, while control group was given the same amount of normal saline. After treatment, spleen index and the rate of weight gain were detected. Blood samples were drawn from eyeball. Then the mice were dissected to get brain, liver, heart and kidney tissues. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), content of malondialdehyde (MDA), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in serum, liver and brain were determined. In brain tissue, the activity of monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) was also detected.The results show that:1. After subcutaneous injection with D-galactose for42days, the indexes of heart, kidney and liver in mice have no significant change, but the spleen index, rate of weight gain, activity of SOD and GSH-PX, as well as T-AOC in serum, liver and brain are markedly decreased, and the content of MDA and activity of MAO are increased. These results accord with the former research, suggesting that the aging model is successfully established.2. Compared with aging model group, the middle and high dose of phillyrin can evidently relieve the reduction of spleen index and rate of weight gain, improve SOD, GSH-PX activity and T-AOC, and reduce the content of MDA and activity of MAO in serum and viscera. The results show that middle and high dose of phillyrin have a better anti-aging effect.3. Compared with the model group, middle and high dose forsythiaside results in milder spleen atrophy, improved SOD, GSH-PX activity and T-AOC, lower MDA content and MAO activity in mice, so they have a better anti-aging effect.In conclusion, forsythiaside and phillyrin have good effects of anti-oxidant and anti-aging. These results are of importance for promoting the clinical application research on anti-aging effects of forsythiaside and phillyrin.