Simultaneous analysis of isoflavones and saponins in Pueraria flowers using HPLC coupled to an evaporative light scattering detector and isolation of a new isoflavone diglucoside.

The Pueraria flowers, Puerariae Flos [Puerariae Lobatae Flos (the flowers of P. lobata) and Puerariae Thomsonii Flos (the flowers of P. thomsonii)], have been used as crude drugs to counteract the overconsumption of alcohol in Japan and China.

Microbial transformation and bioactivation of isoflavones from Pueraria flowers by human intestinal bacterial strains.

The flowers from Pueraria, which are called Puerariae Flos, have been used since ancient times for recovery from alcohol intoxication. We elucidated the microbial transformation of the main isoflavones (1, 1a and 2) by using 29 commercially available human intestinal bacterial strains together with the bioactivation of the hepatoprotective activity of their metabolites. Tectoridin (1a), which contains only one glucosyl moiety, was metabolized to its aglycone 1b by various bacterial strains.

Effects of an aqueous extract of Puerariae flos (Thomsonide) on impairment of passive avoidance behavior in mice.

The effects of an aqueous extract of Puerariae flos (Thomsonide) on ethanol-induced learning and memory impairment and scopolamine-induced amnesia were investigated. Thomsonide exerted an ameliorating effect on the impairment of both memory registration and memory retrieval induced by ethanol. These results indicate that Thomsonide has an antiamnesic effect on the central nervous system in alcoholic intoxication and support the traditional use of Puerariae flos for the treatment of alcoholic intoxication.