Violet ketone compounds in nine steamed and nine sun dried Rehmannia glutinosa
Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch., a fresh or dried root of the Rehmannia glutinosa genus in the family Scrophulariaceae, has a medicinal history of thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine. The production areas are mainly concentrated in Henan, Shanxi, Shandong and other places, with Jiaozuo in Henan as its authentic production area. Currently, it is also widely cultivated in various regions. In clinical medication, there are three forms of Radix Rehmanniae: fresh Radix Rehmanniae, raw Radix Rehmanniae, and Radix Rehmanniae Rehmanniae. There are significant differences in their clinical applications and pharmacological effects. Fresh Rehmannia has a sweet taste, a bitter and cold nature. Heart, liver, and kidney meridians. It has the effects of clearing heat, generating fluids, cooling blood, and stopping bleeding. Native yellow, sweet and cold in nature. Heart, liver, and kidney meridians. It has the effects of clearing heat, cooling blood, nourishing yin, and generating fluids. Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata is a processed product of raw Rehmanniae, with a sweet and slightly warm taste, and is regulated by the liver and kidney meridians. Nourish blood and yin, nourish essence and fill marrow. The preliminary research group conducted systematic chemical composition studies on fresh Rehmannia glutinosa, Rehmannia leaves, and raw Rehmannia glutinosa, and also isolated six alkaloid compounds from nine steamed and nine sun dried Rehmannia glutinosa. At present, research reports indicate that Rehmannia glutinosa mainly contains polysaccharides, phenylethanoid glycosides, nucleosides, cyclohexene ether terpenes, ionones, and various trace elements. The modern pharmacological activities of Rehmannia glutinosa mainly manifest as anti-tumor, antioxidant stress, antidepressant, and anti mutation effects.

Violet ketone compounds are widely present in plants of the Rehmannia genus, with cyclic isoprene structural units and strong anti-tumor activity. Studies have shown that ionone compounds have inhibitory effects on mouse melanoma (B16) cells. Therefore, this experiment conducted a screening study on the cytotoxic activity of ionone compounds isolated from nine steamed and nine sun dried Rehmannia glutinosa in human melanoma A375 cells. Enriched and improved the research on the relevant chemical components of “nine steaming and nine sun drying” Rehmannia glutinosa, and provided certain reference value for further anti-tumor research.

Rehmannia glutinosa is a fresh or dried root tuber of the plant Rehmannia in the family Scrophulariaceae. It is processed and used in clinical practice in three forms: fresh Rehmannia glutinosa, raw Rehmannia glutinosa, and cooked Rehmannia glutinosa. During the processing of Rehmannia glutinosa, its medicinal and pharmacological properties have changed, which may be closely related to changes in its internal chemical composition. Studies have shown that the content of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in Rehmannia glutinosa during processing is significantly higher than that in raw Rehmannia glutinosa. Zou et al. used a one test multiple evaluation method to simultaneously determine four phenylethanolic glycosides in Rehmannia glutinosa, and the results showed that the content of all four phenylethanolic glycosides in Rehmannia glutinosa decreased after processing. Li et al.’s research has shown that the content of digoxin A and digoxin D in raw Rehmannia glutinosa is higher than that in cooked Rehmannia glutinosa. Jia et al. studied the changes in raffinose content during the processing of fresh, raw, and cooked Rehmannia glutinosa. The results showed that fresh Rehmannia glutinosa had the highest raffinose content, followed by raw Rehmannia glutinosa, and cooked Rehmannia glutinosa had the lowest content. Zhang et al. established a method for simultaneously determining the content of five glycosides in raw Rehmannia glutinosa and Rehmannia glutinosa using HPLC, providing a reference for the study of the pharmacological substance basis of raw Rehmannia glutinosa and different processing methods for preparing Rehmannia glutinosa. It is necessary to conduct research on the chemical components of Rehmannia glutinosa in order to supplement and improve the chemical composition of Rehmannia glutinosa, and to identify the differential components during the processing of Rehmannia glutinosa. This experiment is based on previous research and further studies the chemical composition separation and purification of nine steamed and nine sun dried Rehmannia glutinosa, resulting in the isolation of three violet ketone compounds. And preliminary screening and evaluation studies were conducted on its A375 cytotoxic activity. The research results indicate that compounds 1-3 can significantly inhibit the viability of A375 cells and have potential anti human melanoma cell effects. This experiment provides reference value for the study of the mechanism of the cytotoxic activity of violet ketone compounds in Rehmannia glutinosa on human melanoma cells, and also provides scientific basis for the further development and utilization of Rehmannia glutinosa medicinal materials.