What is Poria cocos extract
Poria cocos extract is derived from the dried sclerotia of the Polyporaceae fungus Poria cocos. Poria cocos is an annual or perennial fungus. The ancient names are Fu Ling and Fu Rabbit. Also known as pine potato, pine potato, pine potato, etc. The sclerotia are used as medicine. Poria cocos extract mainly contains triterpenes and polysaccharides, which have the effects of strengthening the spleen, calming the nerves, diuresis, and expelling dampness. It is used to treat spleen deficiency, lack of food, edema and oliguria. Modern pharmacological research shows that Poria cocos has many pharmacological effects, such as inhibiting the growth of spleen tumors and enhancing the body's immunity.
Pharmacological effects of Poria cocos extract
1. Immunomodulation
The immunomodulatory function of Poria cocos is currently the most recognized function, and there are many studies on this aspect. From the ingredients of Poria cocos extract, the T and B lymphocyte proliferation model was used as a screening platform, and lymphocytes were used as targets. The viable cell detection method was used to determine the cell survival rate, and the ingredients with immunomodulatory functions were screened, and the Poria cocos polysaccharide was determined. Degradation products, carboxymethylated derivatives and Poria cocos ethyl acetate extract are the main effective parts. Further component identification and immune function research results showed that four compounds including tuckahoe acid have immunosuppressive biological activity. How to improve the immune regulatory function of Poria is also an aspect of current research. The content of water-soluble polysaccharides in Poria cocos extract is low, which imposes certain restrictions on its biological functions. Therefore, the Poria cocos polysaccharides are subjected to certain structural modifications, such as carboxymethylation, sulfate esterification, hydroxypropylation, and hydroxyethyl. Through chemicalization, methylation, etc., various derivatives of Poria polysaccharide can be obtained, which improve its water solubility and biological activity to varying degrees.
2. Anti-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory
Poria cocos extract has good anti-inflammatory effects on various types of inflammation. Most studies have shown that the triterpenoids in Poria cocos are the main components of the anti-inflammatory effect. They achieve anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting phospholipase (PLA2). Effect. Some studies also believe that Poria cocos polysaccharide also has certain anti-inflammatory effects.
3. Antioxidant
The antioxidant effect of Poria has recently received more and more attention. Oxidation is related to many diseases, such as tumors, inflammation, decreased immunity, etc. Therefore, the antioxidant effect may be one of the mechanisms of other functions of Poria. The triterpenoids in Poria cocos extract can effectively scavenge superoxide anion radicals (O2-), hydroxyl radicals (·OH) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and the scavenging rate has a dose-dependent relationship with the mass concentration; further in vitro Antioxidant experiments show that Poria cocos triterpenoids can inhibit the hemolysis of chicken red blood cells and have a good scavenging effect on malondialdehyde (MDA) produced by mouse liver lipid peroxidation. In addition to triterpenoids, Poria cocos polysaccharides have also been shown to have antioxidant functions. Poria cocos is often used in combination with antidiabetic drugs in traditional Chinese medicine. The crude extract of Poria cocos and some of its purified components were orally administered to a mouse model of type 2 diabetes. The crude extract of Poria cocos and triterpenoids can lower blood sugar by enhancing the action of insulin.
4. Effect on urinary system
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that Poria cocos can diuretic and dampness, and can treat symptoms such as difficulty urinating and swelling and fullness. Modern research shows that this is mainly related to Poria cocos polysaccharide, and it has certain effects on nephritis, prostate disease, etc. As early as the 1990s, it was discovered that Poria polysaccharide has an inhibitory effect on glomerulonephritis in mice, mainly by inhibiting C3 deposition in the glomerulus. Pachymic acid (PA) was isolated from Poria cocos and its effect on human prostate tumor cells was studied. It was observed that PA can significantly slow down the proliferation of tumor cells and cause cell apoptosis. Further studies found that PA inhibits prostaglandins. The production and AKT activity are reduced, causing cell apoptosis. A recent study analyzed the inhibitory effect of Poria cocos on the expression of water channel AQP2 induced by high osmotic pressure in the kidney. The results found that Poria cocos can increase the transcription and expression of its mRNA and protein, indicating that Poria cocos can maintain the water balance of kidney cells under osmotic pressure. , and inhibit cell apoptosis under high osmotic pressure, which explains the effect of traditional medicine Poria on the urinary system from a molecular theory.
Extraction process of Poria cocos extract
Extraction of Poria polysaccharides: Poria polysaccharides include water-soluble and alkali-soluble polysaccharides. Traditionally, hot water extraction and dilute alkali extraction are used respectively. The process flow of the extraction method is generally: Poria cocos crushing, degreasing, extraction centrifugation, supernatant concentration, alcohol precipitation, impurity removal, and drying. However, the polysaccharide extraction rate of water extraction method is low, and the dilute alkali leaching method easily inhibits the biological activity of Poria cocos polysaccharide. At present, new technologies are often used to assist extraction, such as ultrasound, microwave, enzymatic methods, etc., or a combination of various technologies to improve the polysaccharide yield.
2. Extraction of triterpenoids: There are many types of triterpenoids in Poria cocos, but their content is relatively small. There is currently no record of the content of triterpenoids in Poria cocos, but there are reports on the extraction of triterpenoid extracts from the literature. Judging from the ratio, it should only account for about 1% to 2% of the dry weight of Poria cocos. Due to the characteristics of triterpenoids, organic solvents are often used for extraction. The main extraction process is: crushing-organic solvent reflux extraction-concentration. The most common method is to use methanol or 95% ethanol for reflux extraction, followed by rotary evaporation or water precipitation. The product obtained according to the above steps is the crude triterpene extract. The crude extract can also be further purified, such as repeated extraction with chloroform or extraction with ethyl acetate. Organic solvent extraction can generally extract most triterpenoids, with a yield of up to 95%. There are also some studies using other auxiliary methods such as supercritical CO2 extraction. Under the process conditions, the extraction rate of total triterpenoid compounds is 2.06%, while the extraction rate of total triterpene compounds by ordinary organic solvent extraction method is 1.39%, and the extraction rate is 48.2% higher.
If you would like to learn more, please contact sales@sxytbio.com,Click here to contact us online
