Analysis of chemical constituents and antioxidant activity of different ratios of ginseng and Astragalus
Objective:To compare the differences at index components in different ratios of ginseng-Astragalus membranaceus pairs and to investigate their antioxidant activities.Methods:Extracts of ginseng and astragalus and extracts of ginseng-astragalus pairs with different pairing ratios(1∶1,1∶2,1∶4,m/m)were prepared,and the scavenging ability of ginseng-astragalus pairs was detected by chemical methods such as 1,1-diphenyl-2-trinitrophe-nylhydrazine(DPPH)and 2,2'-biazobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid+(ABTS+);a model of H2O2-induced oxidative damage in HepG2 cells was established.H2O2-induced oxidative damage model of HepG2 cells,and analyzed the effect of ginseng-Astragalus medicine on the secretion level of oxidative factors in the HepG2 cell model by fluorescent probe method and ELISA;established D-Galactose-induced mouse aging model to analyze the in vivo antioxidant activity of ginseng-Astragalus medicine on different ratios;and analyzed and compared the active ingredients(total and total)of the extracts by using the UV spectrophotometric method and HPLC-ELSD method.The differences in the contents of active ingredients(total phenolic acids,total saponins,total polysaccharides,total flavonoids,total proteins)and seven major chemical components in the extracts were analyzed and compared using UV spectrophotometry and HPLC-ELSD.Results:The ginseng-Astragalus medicinal pairs with different ratios of extracts showed better antioxidant activities,and the ginseng-Astragalus(1∶2)medicinal pairs possessed stronger scavenging ability of free radicals.In the in vitro cell modeling assay,the ginseng-Astragalus drug pair administration significantly increased the cell viability,superoxide dismutase(SOD)and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px)contents,and decreased the malondialdehyde(MDA)concentration,of which the highest cell viability of ginseng-Astragalus(1∶2)could be reached at the administration concentration of 400 μg·mL-1(92.88±2.81)%.In vivo experiments showed that ginseng-Astragalus membranaceus(1∶2)enhanced superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels and decreased malondialdehyde concentration in blood and liver of model mice.The results of Ginseng-Astragalus drug-pair active ingredient analysis showed that the highest total flavonoids and total saponins were found in the Ginseng-Astragalus(1∶2)ratio.Conclusion:Compared with single herb extracts,the different ratios of ginseng-Astragalus medicinal pairs had good free radical scavenging ability and antioxidant effects in vivo and in vitro,with the best antioxidant activity of ginseng-Astragalus(1∶2)medicinal pairs.