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Zanthoxylum nitidum (Roxb.) DC. (Z. nitidum) is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant that is indigenous to the southern regions of China. Previous research has provided evidence of the significant anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anticancer properties exhibited by Z. nitidum. The potential therapeutic effects and cardiac toxicity of Z. nitidum remain uncertain. The aim of this research was to investigate the potential therapeutic properties of the four main compounds of Z. nitidum in cardiovascular diseases, their impact on the electrical activity of cardiomyocytes, and the underlying mechanism of their anti-inflammatory effects. We selected the four compounds from Z. nitidum with a high concentration and specific biological activity: nitidine chloride (NC), chelerythrine chloride (CHE), magnoflorine chloride (MAG), and hesperidin (HE). A proteomic analysis was conducted on the myocardial tissues of beagle dogs following the administration of NC to investigate the role of NC in vivo and the associated biological processes. A bioinformatic analysis was used to predict the in vivo biological processes that MAG, CHE, and HE were involved in. Molecular docking was used to simulate the binding between compounds and their targets. The effect of the compounds on ion channels in cardiomyocytes was evaluated through a patch clamp experiment. Organ-on-a-chip (OOC) technology was developed to mimic the physiological conditions of the heart in vivo. Proteomic and bioinformatic analyses demonstrated that the four compounds of Z. nitidum are extensively involved in various cardiovascular-related biological pathways. The findings from the patch clamp experiments indicate that NC, CHE, MAG, and HE elicit a distinct activation or inhibition of the IK1 and ICa-L in cardiomyocytes. Finally, the anti-inflammatory effects of the compounds on cardiomyocytes were verified using OOC technology. NC, CHE, MAG, and HE demonstrate anti-inflammatory effects through their specific interactions with prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) and significantly influence ion channels in cardiomyocytes. Our study provides a foundation for utilizing NC, CHE, MAG, and HE in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid identification of the structure and active components of traditional Chinese medicine is still limited due to low extraction efficiency, long time requirements and imprecision. To overcome these limitations, we developed a novel surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) base, Ag@Cs nanoparticles, which enhanced the effectiveness of Raman spectroscopy and enabled trace analysis of drugs. Cesium ions have remarkable chemical activity and photoelectric effects. Here, the novel approach involved using cesium ions as focusing agents and thiosulfate ions as cleaning agents. Its distinctive feature lies in the introduction of cesium ions as focusing agents, which facilitates the surface modification of silver nanoparticles, leading to the formation of hotspots and consequently achieving highly repetitive and high signal-to-noise ratio Raman spectra. The results demonstrated that Ag@Cs, compared with the original method, greatly enhanced the spectral signal magnitude of glycogens and glycosides in twenty kinds of Potentilla discolor Bge. Additionally, Ag@Cs SERS enabled the analysis of glycogens and glycosides in twenty samples, which showed obvious and different corresponding characteristic peaks to distinguish them. Furthermore, by analyzing the peak spectrum information and principal component analysis of glycogen and glycoside components from ten different origins, the quality of the different origins can be determined. Compared with the original method, it was proved that Ag@Cs base could overcome the influence of citrate ions and was effectively applied in the SERS detection of flavonoids containing fluorescent components. Therefore, this method has potential applications in Chinese medicine quality control and testing technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]