Studies On Extracting Technology Of TFG And Biological Activity Of Geranium Wilfordii Maxim.

Geranium wilfordii Maxim.,as a common Chinese herbal medicine, was first described during Ming Dynasty by Lan Mao in ,then was indexed in by Zhao Xuemin in Qing Dynasty. Its flavour is has acrid, bitter and smooth, and enters liver, kidney and spleen channels. Its traditional functions include clearing channels meridians, strengthening the bones and muscles, anti-diarrheal, and pain relieving effect on arthritis. According to modern pharmacological research, the four main components in Geranium are flavonoid, tannins, volatile oils, and organic acid respectively. Flavonoids are thought to be the main active ingredient. The reported pharmacological effects of Geranium include regulation of blood Sugar level, antiviral, anti-oxidant, anti-diarrheal, anti-inflammatory and analgesics, and hepato- protective effect. Geranium has been used in the treatment of liver and viral diseases with a high efficacy, but reports of its use in clinical veterinary are very few.The present study was to establish the fingerprint of this herbal medicine through spectroscopy analysis and determination of active ingredients, and to determine medicinal parts of the plant and the most appropriate harvest period. A study of hepatorenal protective effect and antiviral and immune enhancing effects of Geranium was then carried out.In order to establish the initial fingerprint of the drug, we determined solvent-extract components at different collection times by ultraviolet and infrared spectral analysis. The results showed that after using water and methanol as solvent, ultraviolet spectral analysis revealed that the obtained extracts had characteristic fingerprints. The ultraviolet and infrared scan also revealed characteristic fingerprint of the plant at different harvest time. These results can serve as a basis for the identification of Geranium at different collection times.In order to extract more effectively Geranium active ingredients TFG, we carried out an orthogonal test to determine the content of TFG and various trace elements in different parts of Geranium at different collection times. The results showed that the best extraction method included the use of ethanol-water solvent with a concentration of 50%, the ratio of solvent to crude drug is 15:1, extraction is 90℃, and extraction times is 6 h; the highest TFG levels were found in the roots of Geranium; and the content of TFG in the whole plant was higher in May than in June . These results suggest that TFG is the main active ingredient of Geranium, and therefore the best time to collect the whole plant is from May. The determination of trace elements, we found that the Geranium contains various trace elements, which provides more evidence of its a good pharmacological role and nutritional value.To further investigate hepato-protective effect of Geranium and its mechanism, its protective effect on CCl4-induced hepatitis in mice was studied through examination of histological sections and monitoring the level of AST, ALT, LDH, SOD, MDA in mice before and after the administration of Geranium. The results showed that high doses of Geranium (1 g/mL,0.5 mL/d /every) had a significant protective effect against CCl4-induced hepatitis, which confirmed that this effect is closely linked to its antioxidant function and its ability to remove free radicals.Finally, in order to explore Geranium antiviral effect, the preventive effect of Geranium on the chick embryo infected with NDV, AIV, and IBDV, and on humoral immunity and cellular immunity of infected chickens was tested. The results showed that Geranium had a certain preventive effect against NDV and AIV, a certain curative effect of NDV infection in the chicken embryo by inhibiting, and in vitro inhibiting effect on viruses; No significant preventive or curative effect against IBD was observed. A certain immune enhancing effect on both humoral immunity and cellular immunity may be the mechanism of the role of Geranium in disease prevention .