Study On Chemical Constituents Of Cultivated Licorice In Gansu

Glycyrrhiza Radix et Rhizoma,known as licorice,is a famous medicinal material,and mainly derived from Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.,G.glabra L.and G.inflata Bat..G.uralensis is mainly distributed in Inner Mongolia,Gansu,Ningxia,Xinjiang provinces.G.inflata is mainly distributed in southern Xinjiang.G.glabra is mainly distributed along the western Xinjiang and Silk Road countries in Central Asia.At present,over 400 chemical constituents have been isolated and identified from licorice,including flavonoids,coumarins,triterpenoids and stilbenes.Modern pharmacological studies have shown that these compounds have many biological activities,such as liver protection,anti-inflammatory,anti-bacterial,anti-virus,anti-oxidation,anti-cancer,immune mediation,hypoglycemia,anti-obesity,detoxification and anti-ulcer.Due to the large-scale excavation of wild licorice for many years,not only the wild resources of licorice have been gradually depleted,but also serious ecological and environmental problems have been caused.In order to solve the problem of demand for licorice and prevent the deterioration of the ecological environment,artificial planting of licorice is imperative.However,the quality of cultivated licorice is greatly affected by germplasm resources,cultivation environment and other factors.The chemical composition of cultivated licorice has been deeply studied,which is of great significance for the quality control and clinical use of licorice.Gansu Province is one of the main producing areas of licorice in China.In the current study,the chemical constituents of cultivated licorice in Gansu Province were isolated and identified,and its biological activities including antimicrobial activity,PD-1/PD-L1 inhibition activity and anti-inflammatory activity were evaluated.Our results showed that,a new compound?1?and 27 known compounds?2²8?were isolated from the roots and rhizomes of cultivated licorice in Gansu Province by means of silica gel column chromatography,sephadex LH-20,crystallization and semipreparative HPLC,through spectral data analysis and literature.The purified compounds were identified as 4',3"-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-4",5"-dimethyl-[2,1-b]furano-coumestan?1?,isolicopyranocoumarin?2?,glycyrol?3?,hedysarimcoumestan B?4?,glycyrin?5?,glycycoumarin?6?,7,2',4'-trihydroxy-5-methoxy-3-arylcoumarin?7?,liquiritigenin?8?,semilicoisoflavone B?9?,licoisoflavone B?10?,7-O-methylluteone?11?,isoangustone A?12?,glicoricone?13?,calycosin?14?,licoisoflavone A?15?,isoliquiritigenin?16?,echinatin?17?,licochalcone B?18?,tetrahydroxymethoxychalcone?19?,6-prenylquercetin-3-methyl ether?20?,licoflavonol?21?,kaempferol?22?,glyasperin C?23?,?R?-?-?-vestitol?24?,glycyrrhisoflavanone?25?,licocoumarone?26?,gancaonin??27?,betulinic acid?28?.In addition,we screened the extracts and some compounds of licorice against agricultural pathogens.The root extracts as well as semilicoisoflavone B showed antibacterial activity against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum,Rhizoctonia solani,Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium graminearum Schwabe,and both had stronger antimicrobial activity against R.solani.Some compounds were investigated of PD-1/PD-L1inhibitory activity,with inhibition ratios from 30%to 65%.To our knowledge,it is the first time that these activities were reported.Several compounds were also tested on the nitric oxide inhibitory activity of macrophage RAW264.7 cell,The results showed that they had good anti-inflammatory activity,and their IC₅₀0 values were at the range of 4.7²0.1?M.In summary,the chemical constituents and biological activities of cultivated licorice in Gansu were studied and the pharmacodynamic substance basis of cultivated licorice was discussed,which provided theoretical basis for the developmentofplant-derivedfungicides,immunosuppressantsand anti-inflammatory drugs.Our results will promote the comprehensive development and utilization of cultivated licorice.