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Juncus effusus L. (J. effusus) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that has long been used for dealing with gynaecological disorders, such as relieving insomnia, preventing tinnitus, reducing edema with diuretic effect. In our course of evidence-based medical research focused on this herb, one new phenanthrene, Junfusol B (2), together with seventeen known compounds were isolated and identified. All the structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The absolute stereochemistry of compounds 1 and 2 was further determined by comparing their calculated and experimental Electronic Circular Dichroism (ECD) spectra and optical rotation (OR) values. The isolates were evaluated for their estrogenic and anti-inflammatory activities which were considered as relevant etiological factors of insomnia, tinnitus and edema in the ancient TCM theory. The results revealed that most of the obtained phenanthrenes in this work were found exerting agonistic effects on estrogen receptor. This is the first report to declare the exact estrogen-regulating potential among this type of compounds from J. effusus. Moreover, phenanthrenes 3 - 7 exhibited significant inhibitions on superoxide anion generation and elastase release in fMLP/CB-induced human neutrophilic inflammation model. J. effusus may be developed as a complementary agent utilized in menopausal multiple syndromes.

Fuzi (lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii) has been used for millennia in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda to treat cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Fuzi must be processed before use to decrease the concentration of its toxic alkaloids. Detoxification during processing occurs through the transformation of diester-diterpenoid alkaloids (DDAs) to monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids (MDAs). However, traditional detoxification methods are time-consuming and expensive on large-scale production. To develop efficient detoxification protocols to reduce unnecessary processing procedure and keep the maximum functional contents from raw Fuzi, we replicated the traditional procedure and quantified the DDAs and MDAs by UPLC-MS/MS and UPLC-PDA during different steps and conditions of processing. With due consideration of obtained data, we concluded that soaking in Danba solution and the washing steps were inefficient traditional processing methods. The detoxification effect of steaming (56.3 ± 0.27 μg/g DDAs, lowest after steaming) was weaker and slower than boiling (5.8 ± 0.33 μg/g DDAs, lowest after boiling). Moreover, roasting at 105℃ showed better effect in lowering the DDAs (5.8 ± 0.33 μg/g DDAs) and increasing the MDAs (729.1 ± 1.22 μg/g MDAs, highest) than roasting at 60℃ (17.3 ± 0.65 μg/g DDAs; 504.0 ± 0.99 μg/g MDAs). With these highly reliable analytic data, we established an efficient and referenceable detoxification protocol for Fuzi TCM products, in which DDAs and MDAs should legitimately follow the safe and specific ranges stipulated in pharmacopeias.