Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Raw Pinelliae Rhizoma: examination of sedative and hypnotic effects in mice and chemical analysis

  • Psychiatrics • Original Article
  • Published:
Sleep and Breathing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Raw “Pinelliae Rhizoma” (RPR) is widely used in Chinese clinics to treat insomnia. This study investigated its underlying sedative and hypnotic mechanisms and main active components.

Methods

A locomotor activity test was used to evaluate the sedative effects of RPR at three dosages (0.2 g/mL, 0.4 g/mL, and 0.8 g/mL) in mice. Polysomnography was used to assess its ability to improve sleep. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography/time of flight/mass spectrometry (UPLC-TOF–MS) analysis was used to identify the potential active components of RPR.

Results

Mice in the RPR groups were less active than mice in the vehicle group; this difference was greatest in the 0.8 g/mL RPR group. Compared with the vehicle, 0.8 g/mL RPR increased the duration of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in the dark phase. In addition, the duration of wakefulness in the 0.8 g/mL RPR group decreased with increasing durations of nonrapid eye movement (NREM) and REM sleep. Compared with diazepam, 0.8 g/mL RPR increased REM sleep duration in both the light and dark phases and increased the number of transitions both from NREM sleep to REM sleep and from REM sleep to wakefulness. A total of 33 RPR constituents, including 15 alkaloids, were identified.

Conclusion

The results preliminarily indicated that RPR exerts sedative and hypnotic effects in mice, mainly leading to improvements in REM sleep. These effects are possibly due to the alkaloid constituents of RPR.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  1. Kay-Stacey M, Attarian H (2016) Advances in the management of chronic insomnia. BMJ 354:i2123. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i2123

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Yang Y (2018) Experience of treating insomnia with pinellia ternata. Cardiovasc Dis J Integr Tradit Chin West Med (Electronici) 6(25):166. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.2095-6681.2018.25.123

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Wu XY, Zhao JL, Zhang M et al (2011) Sedative, hypnotic and anticonvulsant activities of the ethanol fraction from Rhizoma Pinelliae Praeparatum. J Ethnopharmaco 135:325–329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2011.03.016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Lin SS, Nie B, Yao GH et al (2019) Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Makino preparation promotes sleep by increasing REM sleep. Nat Prod Res 33:3326–3329. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2018.1474466

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Lin SS, Nie B, Song K et al (2019) Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum alumine extract: sedative and hypnotic effects in mice and component compounds. Biomed Res Int 2019:6198067. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/6198067

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Sun LM, Zhang B, Wang Y et al (2019) Metabolomic analysis of raw Pinelliae Rhizoma and its alum-processed products via UPLC-MS and their cytotoxicity. Biomed Chromatogr 33(2):e4411. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmc.4411

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Fang MM, Lin SS, Yuan ZZ (2016) The comparison among different prepared Pinellia ternata on the sedation effect in mice. Med Res 45:71–75. https://doi.org/10.11969/j.issn.1673-548X.2016.02.019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Ryuichi N, Satoko H, Teppei F (2020) Decreased nesting behavior, selective increases in locomotor activity in a novel environment, and paradoxically increased open arm exploration in Neurogranin knockout mice. Neuropsychopharmacol Rep preprint. https://doi.org/10.1002/npr2.12150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Franklin KBJ, Paxinos G (2019) The mouse brain in stereotaxic coordinates, 5th edn. Elsevier Academic Press, San Diego, USA

    Google Scholar 

  10. Sun HX, Wang DR, Ye CB et al (2017) Activation of the ventral tegmental area increased wakefulness in mice. Sleep Biol Rhythms 15:107–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41105-017-0094-x

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Wang YQ, Takata Y, Li R et al (2015) Doxepin and diphenhydramine increased non-rapid eye movement sleep through blockade of histamine H1 receptors. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 129:56–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2014.12.002

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Liu T, Hong Z (2010) Effects of irrigation and intraperito-nealinjection on locomotor activity in mice. Editorial Board of Acta Academiae Medicinea Wannan 29(04):241–243. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1002-0217.2010.04.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Mai W, Liu H, Liu X et al (2011) Influence of irrigation stimulability and IP on independent activity of mice. J Liaoning Univ Tradit Chin Med 13(09):201–202. https://doi.org/10.13194/j.jlunivtcm.2011.09.203.maiwl.084c

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Wei F, Mo Z, Wang Y (2004) The influence of irrigation stimulability on the independent activity of the mice. Chin Pharmacol Bull 03:356–357

    Google Scholar 

  15. Joshi N, Leslie R, Perrot TJP, et al (2017) Analyzing the experiences of adolescent control rats: effects of the absence of physical or social stimulation on anxiety-like behaviour are dependent on the test 179:30-41 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.05.019c

  16. Padua-Reis M, Noga DA, Tort ABL et al (2021) Diazepam causes sedative rather than anxiolytic effects in C57BL/6J mice. Sci Rep 11(1):9335. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88599-5c

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Chen Q, Xiao S, Li Z et al (2015) Chemical and metabolic profiling of Si-Ni decoction analogous formulae by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Sci Rep 5:11638. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep11638

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Wu W, Jiao CX, Li H et al (2018) LC-MS based metabolic and metabonomic studies of Panax ginseng. Phytochem Anal 29(4):331–340. https://doi.org/10.1002/pca.2752

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Lee JY, Park NH, Lee W et al (2016) Comprehensive chemical profiling of Pinellia species tuber and processed Pinellia tuber by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr A 1471:164–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2016.10.033

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Ding T, Yan RY, Sun Y et al (2020) Material basis, effect, and mechanism of ethanol extract of Pinellia ternata tubers on oxidative stress-induced cell senescence. Phytomedicine 77:153275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2020.153275

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Mao RJ, He ZG (2020) Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Breit: a review of its germplasm resources, genetic diversity and active components. J Ethnopharmacol 263:113252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2020.113252

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Hess S, Baker G, Gyenes G et al (2017) Decreased serum L-arginine and L-citrulline levels in major depression. Psychopharmacology 234(21):3241–3247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-017-4712-8

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Tran PV, Nguyen LTN, Yang H et al (2020) Intracerebroventricular injection of L-arginine and D-arginine induces different effects under an acute stressful condition. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 533(4):965–970. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.09.111

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Lazarus M, Chen JF, Huang ZL et al (2019) Adenosine and sleep. Handb Exp Pharmacol 253:359–381. https://doi.org/10.1007/164_2017_36

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Deng CX, Wu ZB, Chen Y et al (2019) Pinellia total alkaloids modulate the GABAergic system in hippocampal formation on pilocarpine-induced epileptic rats. Chin J Integr Med 26(2):138–145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-019-2944-7

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Yao JH, Li J, Lin YD et al (2013) Research on toxicity of Rhizoma Pinelliae. Shanghai J Tradit Chin Med 47:90–93. https://doi.org/10.16305/j.1007-1334.2013.09.030

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Xu JY, Xie HH, San JJ et al (2013) Different effects of Rhizoma Pinelliae processed by ginger or decocting on gestation and embryonic development of mice. J Nangjing Univ Tradit Chin Med 29:255–258. https://doi.org/10.14148/j.issn.1672-0482.2013.03.018

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We appreciate the support from the Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Funding

This work was supported by the Outstanding Youth Fund Project for Chinese Medicine of Zhejiang Province, China (Grant No. 2011zq014), and the 2019 incubation project of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University (Grant No. FHY2019041).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Sisi Lin, Haipeng Chen, and Bo Nie contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China

    Sisi Lin & Zhengzhong Yuan

  2. Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China

    Sisi Lin & Haipeng Chen

  3. Key Laboratory of Chinese Internal Medicine of Ministry of Education and Beijing, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China

    Bo Nie

  4. Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China

    Chengrou Jiang

  5. School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China

    Hui Yang

  6. Wenzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Wenzhou, China

    Qinglai Wang

Authors
  1. Sisi Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Haipeng Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bo Nie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Chengrou Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hui Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Qinglai Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Zhengzhong Yuan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization: Zhengzhong Yuan; methodology: Zhengzhong Yuan; formal analysis and investigation: Sisi Lin, Haipeng Chen, and Chengrou Jiang; data curation: Sisi Lin, Haipeng Chen, and Hui Yang; writing—original draft preparation: Sisi Lin, Haipeng Chen, and Bo Nie; writing—review and editing: Bo Nie and Qinglai Wang; Funding acquisition: Zhengzhong Yuan and Sisi Lin; Resources: Zhengzhong Yuan and Qinglai Wang; and supervision: Zhengzhong Yuan and Qinglai Wang. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Qinglai Wang or Zhengzhong Yuan.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

The present study was approved by the experimental laboratory animal Ethics Committee of the Laboratory Animal Center at Whenzhou Medical University (wydw 2016–026) and was performed in accordance with the ethical standards provided in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (7Z 312 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lin, S., Chen, H., Nie, B. et al. Raw Pinelliae Rhizoma: examination of sedative and hypnotic effects in mice and chemical analysis. Sleep Breath 27, 1143–1153 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-022-02714-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-022-02714-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation