• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.259-264
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• 2010

The essential oil fraction was obtained from the underground parts o of Ligusticum chuanxiong (Umbelliferae) by steam distillation, and its main components, Z-ligustilide and butylidene phthalide, were isolated by column chromatography. Its essential oil fraction and the isolated main components were examined for effects on their anti-inflammatory properties in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells to develop a new natural anti-inflammatory drug. The results showed that the L. chuanxiong essential oil fraction and its main components, Z-ligustilide and butylidene phthalide, inhibited the production of nitric oxide significantly in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 cells. LPS-induced interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (IL-$1{\beta}$), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-$\alpha$) production was also decreased in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, western blot analysis revealed that the L. chuanxiong essential oil fraction and also its main components, Z-ligustilide, and butylidene phthalide reduced the expression levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS).

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.168-172
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• 2008

The root of Angelica tenuissima Nakai (Umbelliferae) has been used in traditional medicines of Korea as a headache, common cold and a fever remedy. A. tenuissima contains ferulic acid and various compounds of essential oil group such as limonene, 3-butylidenephthalide, ${\gamma}$-terpinene, neocnidilide, ligustilide, senkyunolide and neocnidilide. This study carried out to compare the contents of ferulic acid, z-ligustilide and n-butylidenephthalide between native and cultivated species of A. tenuissima by HPLC. The average contents of ferulic acid, z-ligustilide and n-butylidenephthalide indicated that native species (9 samples) were 0.060%, 0.616%, 0.025% and cultivated species (15 samples) were 0.037%, 0.141%, 0.029%, respectively. All samples were collected from different places in Korea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.1061-1067
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• 2018

The anti-melanogenic effects of the extract of Angelica tenuissima (AT) root and the extract of AT root fermented by Aspergillus oryzae (FAT) were investigated. These effects were determined by measuring the inhibitory activity of AT and FAT on melanin production in B16F10 melanocytes and with in vitro tyrosinase activity assays. The AT extract inhibited melanin production at concentrations above $250{\mu}g/ml$, and this inhibitory effect was significantly enhanced by the fermentation process with A. oryzae. HPLC analysis resulted in the isolation of two active compounds from both the AT and FAT extracts. Their chemical structures were identified as decursin and Z-ligustilide through comparison with previously reported NMR data. The decursin and Z-ligustilide contents were increased in the FAT extract and could be responsible for its enhanced inhibitory effects on melanin production and tyrosinase activity compared with that of the AT extract.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.189-193
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• 1997

Major separation for the active ingredients and structural identification were performed in order for qualitative and quantitative analysis on Ligustici rhizoma or Angelicae tenuissimae Radix as an oriental herbal medicine for anodyne. The structure, composition and contents of ingredients for essential oil were determined by means of GC/MS. Several Angelicae tenuissimae Radix harvested in Korea were extracted, which has shown the higher crude content compared to that from China. The major component in Angelcae tenuissimae Radix extract was found to be Z-ligustilide (70-80%), which is very different from that in Ligustici rhizoma of which major component is proven to be senkyunolide (39%) with GC/MS.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.175-179
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• 2010

The present study aimed to assess the antifungal properties of the essential oil fraction from Ligusticum chuanxiong (Umbelliferae) and its components against five clinically important Aspergillus species. The essential oil fraction was extracted from the underground parts of the plant by steam distillation, and its main components, namely, Z-ligustilide, butylidene phthalide, and p-cresol were isolated by column chromatography. The antifungal activities of the essential oils were evaluated by the broth dilution method. Both the total essential oil fraction of L. chuanxiong and its components showed significant anti-Aspergillus activity against all five tested strains with MICs between 62.5 and 250 ${\mu}g$/ml, respectively. In a checkerboard microtiter assay, the combination of antibiotics, itraconazole with the essential oil fraction of L. chuanxiong or its main components exhibited synergistic or additive, and in some cases indifferent, effects against the tested Aspergillus species, resulting in FICIs (fractional inhibiting concentration indices) ranging from 0.12 to 2, while the combination of antibiotics, amphothericin B with L. chuanxiong essential oils mostly showed antagonistic effects.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 1989

In continuation of our studies on essential oils of Angelica genus(Umbelliferae), We report on the components of essential oils obtained from the root of Angelica tenuissima Nakai(藁子). Oils were obtained from the dried roots by steam distillation and fractionated by column chromatography. Each isolate or fraction was identified by GC, GC-MS and spectral analysis. Essential oils of the root of A. tenuissima(Gaoben) were found to contain $\alpha-pinene,\;camphene,\;\beta-pinene,\;myrcene,\;\alpha-phellandrene,\;\Delta-3-carene,\;p-cymene,\;limonene,\;\gamma-terpinene,\;terpinolene,\;4-vinylguauacol,\;\gamma-elemene$, one aromatic compound, three unidentified sesquiterpene alcohols, butylidenephthalide, senkyunolide and Z-ligustilide which was the most abundant compound comprising 75% of the whole oil. Also butylphthalide and hydroxybutylidenephalide were tentatively identified.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.1-7
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• 2007

Objectives : This research was observed by examining the external and internal parts and the quantity of the surface components of the wild type and cultivar of Angelica tenuissima in korea. Methods : The slice of the tested material made by paraffin section technique was colored with Safranine Malachite Green contrast methods, and then observed and photographed by the microscope and examined the quantity of the surface components. Results : 1. The cultivar has comparatively many thick roots while the wild type has many radicles, with its root and stem constituting the major part, and the size of its root is small. 2. In case of ferulic acid, the wild type contains 0.066% of it, while the cultivar, 0.031%, The wild type contains 4.258% of z-ligustilide and the cultivar, 1.956%. Conclusions : It was thought that there might be also some differences in their genetic characteristics, etc. On this, however, further in-depth study is needed.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.398-403
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• 2011

Ligusticum chuanxiong (Umbelliferae) is a perennial herb that has been used for invigoration of blood in Korean traditional medicine. It is especially important in gynecological therapy of amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea. In this study, the essential oil of L. chuanxiong was obtained by steam distillation and its main components of L. chuanxiong, Z-ligustilide and butylidene phthalide, were isolated by silica gel column chromatography. We investigated the cytotoxic effects of the essential oil fraction of L. chuanxiong and its main components on MCF-7, HeLa and SK-Hep-1 cell lines by measuring the number of surviving cancer cells after treatment through direct cell counting and MTT analysis, and by examining the morphological changes under the microscope. The essential oil from the rhizomes of L. chuanxiong and its main components showed significant cytotoxic activities for all three tested cell lines. We also observed morphological changes of shrinking and blebbing in the membranes of the three cell lines, depending on the concentration of L. chaunxiong oil or its main components.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.876-886
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• 2023

In some cases of head and neck cancers (HNC), surgical interventions may result in the loss of organs and/or changes to their functions, thereby significantly affecting the patient's quality of life. As a result, the surgical treatment of HNC patients is often limited to specific cases, and alternative treatment modalities, such as chemotherapy, are considered. However, serious adverse effects caused by chemotherapy, such as severe nausea and vomiting, necessitate the need for the development of adjunctive methods to minimize patient suffering. Chuanxiong, Ligusticum chuanxiong (L. chuanxiong), is a natural herb used in Eastern medicine to treat cerebrovascular disorders and headaches. This study aimed to predict the effect and potential of L. chuanxiong as an auxiliary anticancer drug through network-based pharmacology and molecular docking analysis. The study results showed that 40 out of 41 genes of L. chuanxiong shared common targets of HNC and their proteins could be used to target HNC cells to prevent cancer progression. The results of the functional enrichment analysis confirmed that L. chuanxiong is associated with the neuroactive-ligand metabolism and neurotransmitter pathways, indicating its potential medicinal value as an adjuvant in HNC treatment. Lastly, our findings demonstrated that the active ingredient of L. chuanxiong, (Z)-Ligustilide, has the ATP binding site of heat shock protein 90, a protein known to promote the activation of cancer cells. These results suggest that L. chuanxiong is a promising candidate for developing auxiliary anticancer drugs, and further research could potentially lead to the discovery of newer and safer anti-cancer agents.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.187-197
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• 1997

Major separation for the active ingredients and characterization of chemical properties in conjunction with screening test on animal were performed in order to analyze and standardize Ligustici Rhizoma or Angelicae Tenuissimae Radix as an important oriental herbal medicine for antiphlogistic or an important oriental herbal medicine for antiphlogistic or an anodyne. Furthermore the structure, composition and contents of ingredients for essential oil in Angelicae Tenuissimae Radix(Suckpo, Korea) were determined by means of Ge/MS followed by screening test on Z-ligustilide(82%) known as major ingredient as well as butylidenephthalide collected by HPLC with normal phase semiprep-column. The total active ingredient in Ligustici Rhizoma from China or Angelicae Tenuissimae harvested at Choonyang(Kyungnam, Korea), Jungsun(Kangwon, Korea), Suckpo(Kyungnam Korea), Youngchun(Kyungnam, Korea) have been determined showing higher abundant for three times on the product in Korea compared to that in China. In addition, the major component in Ahgelicae Tebyussunae Radux extract was found to be Z-ligustilide(70-80%) which is very different from that in Ligustici Rhizoma senkyunolide(39%) as major species. For screening test of Ligustici Rhizoma or Angelicae Tenuissimae Radix extracts toward the target animal, the efficiency has been shown the similarity on both extracts. Taking into account the level of ingredient, the total efficiency may be three times higher on Angelicae Tenuissimae Radix in Korea compared to Ligustici Rhizoma in China. As a result of present study, it is preferable to distinguish between Ligustici Rhizoma and Angelicae Tenuissimae Radix for better usage of oriental herbal medicine because of very different composition and abundant in spite of their similar screening effect.