It has both "appearance" and "value", and is one of the first medicinal and food homologous substances in China

July 08, 2024

Gardenia is a shrub of the Rubiaceae family. It is distributed in temperate regions around the world, including China, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Pacific islands, and northern America, with China having the largest cultivation area. Zhizi is the first batch of medicinal and edible homologous substances issued by the former Ministry of Health in 2002. The phytochemical components found in the fruit of Gardenia jasminoides mainly include iridoid compounds, monoterpenoid glycosides, diterpenoid compounds, triterpenoid compounds, organic acids, and flavonoids. Among them, geniposide and saffron are the two most important bioactive compounds.

20240708140106

01
Geniposide, a characteristic component for quality control of gardenia fruit

Geniposide (C17H24O10) is the main component of iridoid glycosides isolated from gardenia fruit. It exists in nearly 40 different family species, especially in the Rubiaceae family. The 2000-2015 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia listed geniposide as a characteristic component for quality control of gardenia fruit. According to national standards, plant medicines with a content of geniposide above 1.8% can be considered as qualified in quality. In terms of biological activity, gardenoside has a variety of pharmacological effects, including anti-inflammatory, anti diabetes, antioxidant, neuroprotective, liver protective and cholagogic effects. The well-known gardenia red and gardenia blue are produced by the hydrolysis of geniposide and the reaction with amino groups.

02
The role of geniposide

20240708140415

1) Anti inflammatory
In an anti-inflammatory study, researchers used a mouse mastitis model and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced primary mouse mammary epithelial cells to investigate the anti mastitis effect of geniposide. The results indicate that geniposide can alleviate breast cell apoptosis by regulating Toll like receptors and apoptosis related factors. In addition, geniposide also exhibits good protective effects against acute lung injury (ALI). In LPS induced ALI in mice, geniposide inhibited pathological changes in lung tissue, including changes in alveolar wall, alveolar bleeding, and neutrophil infiltration; Reduced the concentration of inflammatory cells and total protein in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; Ultimately regulate inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), IL-6, and IL-10.
2) Anti diabetes As early as the Tang Dynasty, gardenia fruit was used for clinical treatment of "diabetes" (type 2 diabetes), which was recorded in the famous Compendium of Materia Medica "On Pharmaceutical Properties". In the early 1980s, Japanese researchers first discovered that geniposide extracted from gardenia fruit exhibited hypoglycemic effects in rats fed a high sugar diet at doses of 100 mg and 300 mg/kg. Since then, many studies on the mechanism of diabetes have been carried out. In vitro HepG2 cell experiments have found that geniposide can inhibit liver glycogen production by activating AMPK, acetyl CoA synthase (ACC), and forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1) phosphorylation, as well as inhibiting the activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxyl kinase (PEPCK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase).
3) Neuroprotective synaptic and mitochondrial dysfunction is a common symptom in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). β - amyloid protein can induce axonal mitochondrial abnormalities and synaptic damage in cultured hippocampal neurons and AD model mice. Studies have shown that taking geniposide has a protective effect on the aforementioned functional impairments. It reduces axonal mitochondrial fragmentation, transport disorders, and elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS), preventing synaptic loss, abnormal spinal density and morphology, and improving the reduction of synaptic related proteins. These research results indicate that geniposide can prevent and prevent early progression of AD.
4) Protecting the liver
In an animal experiment, after receiving CCl4 stimulation in vivo, the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) significantly increased in mice, while the levels of glutathione (GSH) and antioxidant enzyme (SOD and CAT) activity in liver homogenate significantly decreased. In addition, deformation, irregular arrangement, and rupture of liver cells were observed in the liver. These biochemical parameters and histopathological examination results indicate that oral administration of 400 mg/kg · bw geniposide can improve liver damage.

03
Safranin, the main component of gardenia yellow

20240708140156

The well-known gardenia yellow pigment is mainly composed of saffron and saffron acid. Saffron belongs to the family of diterpenoid compounds and is the only water-soluble carotenoid. Its natural content is the highest in saffron and gardenia.
Gardenia yellow has been used as a natural dye for over two thousand years. Zhizi Huang is a typical plant carotenoid and a rare water-soluble carotene. Compared with other coloring agents, it has a wider range of uses and excellent coloring ability, which can give starch and protein based products a bright yellow hue.
China is the world's largest producer of gardenia yellow, accounting for over 80% of the total production. It is expected that the production will exceed 3000 tons by 2025.

04
The role of saffron

One of the important mechanisms by which saffron exerts its biological effects is that it can regulate the redox state of organisms. Saffron is also a free radical scavenger, especially for its effect on superoxide anion dissociation. In addition, the naturally occurring carotenoid molecule saffron has been shown to have the potential to improve neurological diseases. Related studies have shown that saffron can also increase dopamine in the brain during Parkinson's disease. Research has found that saffron can reduce the aggregation of beta amyloid protein, which is a key step in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. In addition, saffron can help improve the symptoms of depression in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lipopolysaccharide. Saffron has been proven to be a promising treatment option for neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, saffron also has anti-inflammatory effects.

The gardenia, which has both beauty and value, looks forward to receiving more attention and comprehensive research.

Shaanxi Huike Botanical Development Co., Ltd. a integrated enterprise which is focus on natural products, Plant extract related products and services.We mainly focus on pharmaceutical, functional food, Freeze-dried powder,Natural Pigment,Homology of medicine and food,beverages and other business services.
For more information about inulin, please contact us!

Email:marketing@huikes.com

2024-07-08

Shaanxi Huike Botanical Development Co., Ltd.

Author:

Ms. Anne

E-mail:

sales13@huikes.com

Phone/WhatsApp:

+8618591889792