Nurse-led cancer palliative care compared to oncologist-led cancer palliative care: A retrospective analysis of Chinese patients suffering from cancer and receiving chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Cancer palliative care is recommended by guidelines for patients with early stage of cancer. Unlike the Western countries, in mainland China, cancer patients receive specialist-led cancer palliative care. Nurse-led cancer palliative care (NUC) is not well established yet. OBJECTIVES: To compare the clinical outcome measures, quality of life and symptom distress in patients suffering from cancer who received NUC with the same results in patient who received consulting oncologist-led cancer palliative care (ONC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was a chart review of a database of patients suffering from cancer. Data regarding clinical outcome measures, quality of life and symptom distress of patients suffering from cancer who were receiving chemotherapy and NUC (NUC cohort, n = 185) or ONC (ONC cohort, n = 170) were collected and analyzed. One oncologist or 1 nurse was involved in treating 1 patient during the patient's hospital visit. Each visit took 30 min. The Chinese version of the Symptom Distress Scale was used for the evaluation of the degree of symptom distress. The simplified Chinese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment Quality of Life Questionnaire (the EORTC QLQ-C30) v. 3.0 was used for evaluation of the quality of life. RESULTS: Female patients preferred NUC (p < 0.0001). The pain intensity (4.13 ±1.71 compared to 3.35 ±1.01, p < 0.0001), dyspnea (3.89 ±1.48 compared to 2.82 ±0.97, p < 0.0001), constipation (3.56 ±1.78 compared to 3.06 ±1.89, p = 0.0107), and degree of symptom distress (38.09 ±7.26 compared to 35.05 ±7.92, p = 0.0002) were reported higher among patients from the ONC cohort than among those from the NUC cohort. Patients from the NUC cohort reported a better quality of life than those from the ONC cohort (70.41 ±13.62 compared to 45.63 ±7.94, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The NUC results in better clinical outcome measures and higher quality of life than ONC for patients receiving chemotherapy.

[Kinetics and variation of volatile components of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma during hot-air drying].

The present study explored the kinetics and variation of volatile components of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma during the hot-air drying process to obtain the optimal process parameters under multiple goals such as drying efficiency and drying quality. The dry basis moisture content and drying rate curves along with the change of drying time of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma were investigated at five levels of drying air temperatures(30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 ℃). The relationship between moisture ratio and time in the drying process of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma was fitted and verified by Midilli model, Page model, Overhults model, Modified Page model, Logaritmic model, Two terms Exponential model, and Newton model. Meanwhile, the effective diffusion coefficient of moisture(D_(eff)) and activation energy(E_a) in Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma were calculated under different drying air temperatures. GC-MS was used to determine the volatile components and content changes of the fresh Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and dried products at different temperatures. The dry basis moisture content and drying rate of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma were closely related to the temperature of the drying medium, and the moisture of the Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma decreased with the prolonged drying time. As revealed by the drying rate curve, the drying rate increased with the increase in hot air temperature, and the migration of moisture was accelerated. The comparison of the correlation coefficient(R~2), chi-square(χ~2), and root mean standard error(RMSE) of each model indicated that the parameter average of the Midilli model had the highest degree of fit, with R~2=0.999 2, χ~2=8.78×10~(-5), and RMSE=8.20×10~(-3). Besides, the D_(eff) at 30-70 ℃ was in the range of 1.04×10~(-9)-6.28×10~(-9) m~2·s~(-1), and E_a was 37.47 kJ·mol~(-1). The volatile components of fresh Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and dried products at different temperatures were determined by GC-MS, and 18, 18, 18, 17, 17, and 18 compounds were identified respectively, which accounted for more than 84.76% of the volatile components. In conclusion, the hot-air drying of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma can be model-fitted and verified and the variation law of the moisture and volatile components of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma with temperature is obtained. This study is expected to provide new ideas for exploring the drying characteristics and quality of aromatic Chinese medicine.

Assessment of Drying Kinetics, Textural and Aroma Attributes of Mentha haplocalyx Leaves during the Hot Air Thin-Layer Drying Process.

Since Mentha haplocalyx leaves are rich in bioactive constitutes, particularly volatile compounds, there are higher demands for high-quality dried medicinal and aromatic peppermint products. This study aimed to assess the drying kinetics of hot air thin layer drying Mentha haplocalyx leaves and exploring the effects of hot air-drying temperatures on the textural properties and sensory quality. According to our results, the Midilli model is the best model representing the hot air-drying process. The effective moisture diffusivity (Deff) and activation energy (Ea) of the hot air-drying process were determined as 7.51 × 10-9-3.03 × 10-8 m2/s and 57.98 KJ/moL, respectively. The changes of textural and aromatic profiles of dried Mentha haplocalyx leaves were subsequently evaluated by the SEM, GC-MS and E-nose technology. Changes in leaf cellular membrane structures were observed in this study, indicating that the loss of moisture content induced the shrinkage of leaf cells during the hot air-drying process. Moreover, the altered profile of volatile compounds was identified at the different drying temperatures. As a result of the GC-MS analysis, increasing the content of D-carvone from 61.89%, 69.25% and 78.2% resulted in drying temperatures of 35 °C, 45 °C and 55 °C, respectively; while a decreasing trend of other volatile compounds, including D-Limonene, cineole and l-caryophyllene was detected as drying temperature elevated. Finally, the aromatic profile was evaluated by E-nose, and results of the flavor radar fingerprint and PCA showed that aromatic profiles were significantly altered by the drying process. The overall results elucidated that the hot air thin layer drying at 35 °C efficiently improved the final quality of dried Mentha haplocalyx leaves by maintaining flavor properties.

Exploration of a ternary deep eutectic solvent for the efficient extraction of plantamajoside, acteoside, quercetin and kaempferol from Plantago asiatica L.

INTRODUCTION: In the present study, ternary deep eutectic solvent-based ultrasound-assisted extraction was developed for the efficient extraction of plantamajoside, acteoside, quercetin and kaempferol from Plantago asiatica L. METHODOLOGY: Six kinds of choline chloride-based ternary deep eutectic solvents (TDESs) were prepared as potential extraction solutions. In order to obtain optimal extraction efficiency, a series of extraction conditions were investigated by single-factor test and orthogonal test. RESULTS: The extraction efficiency of choline chloride/lactic acid/ethylene glycol (ChCl-LA-EG) was much higher than that of other TDESs. ChCl-LA-EG-11 synthesised with choline chloride, lactic acid and ethylene glycol (1:4:2) was considered to have a higher extraction efficiency. The optimal ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions were as follows: water content in ChCl-LA-EG-11, 50%; extraction temperature, 70°C; ratio of solid/liquid, 20 mg/mL; ultrasonic power, 60 W; extraction time, 35 min; pH of the solution, 8. Under the optimal extraction conditions, the extraction efficiencies of plantamajoside, acteoside, quercetin and kaempferol were 3.83 ± 0.41, 4.23 ± 0.45, 0.56 ± 0.15 and 0.19 ± 0.08 mg/g, respectively. The extraction efficiency of the total target components was 9.21 ± 0.63 mg/g, which was much higher than that of conventional solvents (water, methanol, ethanol, 50% methanol, 50% ethanol). The target components were isolated efficiently from the TDES solution by an AB-8 macroporous resin column with a recovery rate of 95.6%. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that TDESs possessed excellent physical and chemical properties and had enormous potential for active component extraction of traditional Chinese medicinal materials.

Bioactive constituents of Mosla chinensis-cv. Jiangxiangru ameliorate inflammation through MAPK signaling pathways and modify intestinal microbiota in DSS-induced colitis mice.

BACKGROUND: Mosla chinensis Maxim. cv. Jiangxiangru (JXR), a traditional Chinese medicine, commonly used for the therapy of cold, fever, diarrhea, digestive disorders, and other diseases. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic disorder of the human gastrointestinal tract. Research about the effect of JXR on IBD and the active ingredient composition of JXR remains deficiency. PURPOSE: This study aims to determine the phytochemical composition and the anti-inflammatory property of JXR, as well as the possible anti-inflammatory mechanisms. METHODS: The bioactive profile of JXR extracts was determined by UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS. A DSS induced colitis mouse model was applied to explore the anti-inflammatory activity of JXR. The body weight, colon length and histopathological status of colon tissue were evaluated. The content of inflammatory mediators (nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)) and cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß)), corresponding mRNA and protein expression levels were analyzed. Oxidation pressure and gut microbial composition were also explored. RESULTS: Totally 63 constitutes were identified from JXR, among them, phenolic acids and flavonoids comprised a large part, and rosmarinic acid (RA) was the main compound. The results of DSS-induced colitis mice model indicated that JXR effectively ameliorated inflammation, restore the redox balance in the gut. JXR treatment significantly reduced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), increased the activity of antioxidative enzyme, suppressed the secretion of inflammatory mediators (NO, PGE2) and cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1ß). JXR also restrained the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) signaling pathway. Furthermore, JXR could restore the microbial diversity by suppressing Bacteroidaceae, increasing Bifidobacteriales and Melainabacteria in DSS colitis mouse model. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that JXR composed with various bioactive compounds, effectively ameliorated colitis, restored the redox balance and regulated gut microbiota. Results from the present study provide an insight of therapeutic potential of JXR in IBD based on its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, also provide a scientific basis for using JXR as a functional ingredient to promote colon health.