Research on the Chemical Components and Antifungal Activity of Chrysanthemum like Senecio
Senecio laetus Edgew., a perennial herb of Senecio laetus Edgew., Compositae, is mainly distributed in Chongqing, Xizang, Hubei, Yungui and other places at an altitude of 1100~3750 m. Due to its functions of promoting blood circulation, reducing swelling, dispelling wind, and removing dampness, chrysanthemum shaped Qianli Guang has long been commonly used in folk medicine to treat diseases such as hepatitis, traumatic injuries, swelling and pain caused by blood stasis, breast abscess, and abscesses. In recent years, pharmacological studies have also shown that the chrysanthemum shaped Qianguang has various biological activities such as antibacterial, antiviral, anti-tumor, and antioxidant properties. The plants of the Senecio genus have abundant secondary metabolites, including alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, phenolic acids, and coumarins. Its main components are pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and sesquiterpenes, among which most sesquiterpenes have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti tuberculosis, and anti fungal infection activities, while pyrrolizidine alkaloids often have hepatotoxicity. A chemical composition study was conducted on the entire plant of Senecio chrysanthemums, and 27 compounds were isolated, including 3 alkaloids, 4 sterols, 5 phenolic acids, 9 flavonoids, and 4 organic acid compounds. At present, there are few reports on the chemical composition of this type of plant. The research on the activity of Chrysanthemum morifolium mainly focuses on the volatile oil components and functional evaluation, and there is relatively little research on the alkaloids and other active ingredients that may have hepatotoxicity. In order to further elucidate the chemical composition of the chrysanthemum shaped Senecio, clarify its active and toxic components, we conducted a chemical composition study on chrysanthemum shaped Senecio plants collected from Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province. In addition, we also evaluated the antifungal activity and hepatotoxicity of some compounds, in order to provide scientific basis for the rational and safe development and utilization of medicinal resources of the chrysanthemum like plant.

In recent years, due to the increase of incidence rate of cancer, the increase of tumor patients, and the application of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunosuppressive drugs and other treatment methods, the number of serious fungal infections in clinical practice has continued to increase. Among the global cases of candida infection, Candida albicans is one of the most important pathogens of infection. Fluconazole, as a first-line antifungal drug, has a significant effect on the treatment of sensitive bacteria of Candida albicans. However, with the widespread emergence of fungal resistance, treatment has become increasingly difficult. Therefore, finding drugs that can be used in combination with existing antifungal drugs to exert synergistic antifungal effects is one of the effective methods for combating drug-resistant fungal infections. We conducted antifungal activity testing and GC-MS chemical composition analysis on the essential oil of authentic Yunnan medicinal herb, Senecio chrysanthemums, and found that it has excellent synergistic antibacterial activity. Further systematic studies were conducted on some compounds and their antifungal activities obtained from the ethanol extract of the whole plant of Chrysanthemum morifolium. The results showed that two alkaloids and two steroids exhibited excellent synergistic antibacterial effects when combined with fluconazole.
There are more than 160 species of Chinese herbal medicine in the genus Seneca in China, including more than 10 medicinal varieties. As early as over a thousand years ago, the “Compendium of Materia Medica” recorded that Seneca is “bitter, mild, and slightly toxic”. So far, some domestic and foreign literature has recorded that Seneca may contain varying degrees of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), which are believed to have certain toxic effects on human and animal organs, especially on liver tissue, and may cause hemorrhagic necrosis of liver cells, giant cell disease, and venous occlusion. Our study isolated two pyrrolizidine alkaloids from the entire plant of Quercus chrysanthemums, but these two compounds did not show toxicity to normal liver cells, and there have been no reports on the hepatotoxicity of this pyrrolizidine alkaloid. However, as a commonly used medicinal herb in Yunnan, the safety of Quercus chrysanthemums still needs further toxicity evaluation for its fresh, dry, different medicinal parts, and different administration methods.