Evaluation of Marker Compounds and Biological Activity of In Vitro Regenerated and Commercial Rehmannia glutinosa (Gaertn.) DC. Roots Subjected to Steam Processing

Rehmannia glutinosa (Gaertn.) DC., belonging to the family Scrophulariaceae, has been known since immemorial times as a prominent oriental drug in East Asia that can treat various ailments, such as kidney disorders, anemia, and diabetes. In order to be applied for medical purposes, R. glutinosa is commonly processed using steam to increase its efficacy and biological activity. The increasing demand for R. glutinosa in the traditional medicine industry encouraged many researchers to develop a fast, efficient, and high-quality production system using biotechnological approaches. This study aimed to compare the chemical and biological activities of in vitro regenerated R. glutinosa (PKR) and commercial R. glutinosa (PCR) samples subjected to steam processing. We assessed the effects of steam processing and the differences in R. glutinosa material on 5-Hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (5-HMF) content, total flavonoid and phenolic content, antioxidant activity, nitric oxide (NO) levels, and anti-inflammatory activity. PKR samples showed a significantly higher content of 5-HMF (0.15%) as compared to PCR samples (0.05%). Compared to unprocessed R. glutinosa (UPR) and PCR samples, PKR again showed the highest total phenolic and flavonoid content of 41.578 mg GAE/g and 17.208 mg RUE/g, respectively. Meanwhile, both processed R. glutinosa samples (PKR and PCR) showed a significantly higher DPPH antioxidant activity ((67.095 + 1.005)% and (61.579 + 0.907)%, respectively) than unprocessed R. glutinosa ((31.452 + 1.371)%). In addition, both PKR and PCR samples showed good anti-inflammatory activity by showing similar effects such as the inhibition of NO production and the suppression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Based on these results, PKR fulfilled the Chinese pharmacopeia standards, in terms of the amount of the marker compounds and showed a high level of bioactivity. Therefore, these findings are expected to be useful in verifying the efficacy of herbal medicines and the availability of suitable materials for medicinal use.