Protective effect and mechanism of total anthraquinone extract of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury / 中成药

AIM To investigate the effect and mechanism of total anthraquinone extract of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and to provide relevant data references for its promising use in the management of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.METHODS SD rats randomly assigned to model group,sham operation group,nimodipine group,total anthraquinone extract groups (high,medium and low dose),8 in each group,were orally administered with corresponding drugs daily for a week,with rats of the model group and sham operation group given the same volume of normal saline before the models established by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).MCAO started thirty minutes after final oral administration,and the induced ischemia went on for 1.5 h for a further reperfusion,24 h after which the neurological function score,brain index,brain water content and cerebral infarct volume were measured.Elisa kits were used to detect superoxide dismutase (SOD),Malondialdehyde (MDA),Nitric oxide (NO),interleukin-1 β (IL-1β),tumor necrosis factor (TNF),interleukin-6 (IL-6).RESULTS The total anthraquinone extract of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma significantly improved the neurological function score,decreased the brain index,brain water content,reduced the cerebral infarct volume (P ＜ 0.05),increased the activity of SOD in brain tissue (P ＜ 0.01),and reduced the levels of MDA and NO in brain tissue (P ＜0.01),and the levels of IL-6,TNF and IL-1β in serum (P ＜0.01) as well.CONCLUSION The obviously protective effect on rats' cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury by total anthraquinone extract of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma may contribute to its inhibition of inflammatory response,and its existence as an antioxidant as well.

Preparation of Guizhi Fuling transdermal patch / 中成药

AIM To prepare Guizhi Fuling transdermal patch.METHODS With kinds of pressure-sensitive adhesive and penetration enhancer,kind and consumption of solvent,drug loading as influencing factors,appearance,formability and viscidity of patch,extract dispersion as evaluation indices,single factor test was applied to optimizing the preparation.And subsequent in vitro transdermal absorption test was performed to investigate the steady-state permeation rates of paeoniflorin,cinnamic acid and paeonol onto rat skins.RESULTS The optimal conditions were determined to be Duro-Tak 87-2677 polyacrylate pressure-sensitive adhesive (matrix),1 ∶ 0.5 for ratio of extract to propanediol (solvent),3％ azone as a penetration enhancer,and 20％ for drug loading,the obtained transdermal patch demonstrated both ideal initial adhesion force and holding adhesion force.These three constituents' average transdermal rates were 34.32,1.684,72.90 μg/(cm2 · h) with the average release rates of 26.81,1.523,111.8 μg/(cm2 · h),respectively,whose in vitro transdermal permeation curves conformed to Higuchi equation.CONCLUSION Guizhi Fuling transdermal patch processed with simple and stable preparation technique exhibits good in vitro transdermal permeation performance.

Preparation of gastrodin starch microsphere and its nasal mucoadhesion and in vitro release characteristics / 中草药

Objective: To determine the prescription technology of gastrodin starch microsphere and investigate its nasal mucoadhesion and in vitro release characteristics. Methods: Gastrodin starch microspheres were prepared by compound emulsion crosslinking method. According to the particle diameter, drug loading efficiency (DLE), and entrapment efficiency (EE), the best prescription technology was selected by using single-factor investigation and uniform design. Using toad palate mucosa as model and average residence time as indicator, mucoadhesion of gastrodin starch microsphere was evaluated. Using gastrodin API as a control, paddle method was applied to in vitro release test of gastrodin starch microspheres. The content of gastrodin was determined to calculate the cumulative release percentage. In addition, the curve of drug release in vitro was fitted with different release model to analyze the in vitro release characteristics of gastrodin starch microsphere in nasal cavity, synthetically. Results: The optimum prescription and preparation technology of gastrodin starch microsphere were as follows: gastrodin 2.0 g, starch 4.5 g, liquid paraffin 100.0 mL, Span80 3.5 g, ECH 5.1 mL, preparation temperature 40℃, and rotational speed 1000 r/min. The particle diameter of gastrodin starch microsphere was (47.69±1.92) μm, the DLE and EE of microsphere were (9.78±0.70)% and (35.72±3.28)%, respectively. It was about (176.92±23.25) s that in adhesive powder resided in nasal cavity, which translated into human nasal residence time was just 20-30 min, while the average residence time of gastrodin starch microspheres was extended to (944.33±68.29) s, translated into human nasal residence time was about 3 h. The cumulated release percent of gastrodin starch microspheres was more than 90% in 3 h. Compared with other in vitro release models, Weibull model was the fittest model to gastrodin starch microspheres, the t50 of gastrodin starch microspheres was 40.08 min, and t90 was 245.73 min. Conclusion: Gastrodin starch microspheres prepared with optimum prescription technology have uniform particle diameter, high DLE and EE. Microspheres have good mucoadhesion and sustained release, ensure that gastrodin release gently and completely during the nasal retention period.

Percutaneous permeability of rhein at shenque acupoint in vitro / 中国中药杂志

To study rhein's permeative properties of acupoint and non-acupoint and different species' transdermal administration in vitro. Cumulative permeation amount and steady-state infiltration rate were taken as evaluative indexes to assess the permeability difference. The Valia-Chien diffusion cell method was used to conduct the permeability test, with fresh acupoint and non-acupoint skin of rat, rabbit and swine in vitro as permeation barriers, and blank 20% EtOH saline as absorption liquid. HPLC was used to determine the rhein. The absorption difference was observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The 24-hour cumulative permeation amount through acupoint skin in rats was (102.63±9.60) μg•cm⁻², the steady-state infiltration rate was 4.307 μg•cm⁻²•h⁻¹, both were higher than that through non-acupoint skin. The thickness of acupoint skin in rat was thinner than that in rabbit and swine. The cumulative permeation amount and steady-state infiltration rate of rhein in acupoint of rat were signally higher than those in rabbit and swine. The absorption difference can be clearly observed through an accumulation of fluorescence. In conclusion, species and acupoint all affect the permeability of rhein in vitro. The permeation amount and rate of rhein on Shenque acupoint were better than that on non-acupoint skin, which could verify that treatment through Shenque acupoint is superior to that through non-acupoint. The preliminary mechanism may be the drug delivery through Shenque acupoint as a channel and carrier, which is a visual verification the specificity and superiority of clinical application through Shenque acupoint in treating diseases.

Synergetic taste masking of lipid coating and beta-cyclodextrin inclusion / 药学学报

Paracetamol was used as a model drug in this study to investigate the synergetic effects of lipid coating and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) inclusion for masking the bitter taste of poorly soluble drugs. To control the concentration as low as possible of the free drug which produced a bitter taste, a kinetic model was established to calculate the drug distribution theoretically among the free drug in medium, lipid coated particles and molecular inclusion on the basis of the preparation and characterization of the lipid microspheres, so as to select the proper amount of beta-CD. Finally, the synergetic drug delivery systems were prepared and characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), molecular simulation and the electronic tongue. As a result, the drug release rate constant (k) of the lipid microspheres coated with octadecanol was determined as 0.001 270 s(-1). Then, the synergetic drug delivery systems were prepared with the ratio of 6.74 : 1 (w/w) for beta-CD and paracetamol. The chemical shift values for the fingerprint peaks of paracetamol all increased and hydrogen bonds were formed between the oxygen on the phenolic hydroxyl group, the nitrogen on the imino in paracetamol and the hydrogens on the hydroxyl groups in beta-CD. The results tested by the electronic tongue indicated that the paracetamol, lipid microspheres, beta-CD inclusion and their mixture showed different taste characteristics, with the bitterness order of the synergetic drug delivery systems approximately lipid microspheres < beta-CD inclusion < paracetamol, which confirmed the synergetic taste masking effects of lipid coating and beta-CD molecular inclusion. In summary, the synergetic taste masking was jointly achieved through the retard of the drug release by the lipid coating and the inclusion of the free paracetamol by beta-CD through hydrogen bonds.

Preparation and characterization of dihydroartemisinin/ hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin inclusion complex / 药学学报

To optimize the preparation method of the complex of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) included by hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD), the molar ratio of DHA and HP-beta-CD, inclusion temperature and inclusion time were optimized by the orthogonal design method with the inclusion drug yield and drug loading as the evaluation indexes. The IR spectrum, DSC and PXRD analyses were employed to characterize the complex and the molecular simulation was processed to investigate the tendency of complex formation. The optimized molar ratio of DHA and HP-beta-CD was 1 : 5, and the optimized preparation was performed under 50 degrees C for 1 h. The IR spectrum, DSC and PXRD analyses indicated the formation of the complex. The low binding free energy and the high solvent accessible surface obtained by molecular simulation showed that DHA could be included by HP-beta-CD and its solubility could be improved significantly. In conclusion, the optimized conditions for the preparation of DHA-HP-beta-CD complex provide a theoretical and experimental basis for further scale-up research.

Multidimensional spatial triangular area as an index for the evaluation of the release-absorption correlation of multiple component traditional Chinese medicines / 药学学报

The paper is aimed to provide a novel index, named as multidimensional spatial triangular area, for the evaluation of the release-absorption correlation of multiple component traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). The applicability of the method was demonstrated by the example data. The method and standard practice for evaluation of the release-absorption correlation for western medicines with single compound could not be applied to TCMs with multiple components. The release percentage or absorption percentage of the multiple components for TCMs at the sampling time was a point in the multidimensional space. The area of the triangle formed byt the sequential three points represented the changing characteristics of the components' release and absorption kinetics. The side lengths of the triangle could be calculated from the spatial distances between each two of the sequential three points. Then the triangle area could be obtained by the side lengths. The in vitro release-in vivo absorption correlation of the multiple components could be represented by the correlation between the integrating values of the release triangle areas and that of the absorption triangle areas. The results of the examples indicated that the multidimensional spatial triangular area method could treat the multiple components in a holistic way, in line with the holism the hi he TCMs. Therefore, the multidimensional spatial triangular area method provided new methodology for the release-absorption correlation of the TCMs with multiple components.

Comparison of the distribution of breviscapine in the brain by different administration routes / 药学学报

By comparing the drug distribution of breviscapine administered intranasally, orally and intrgvenous injected in rats' brain. After 0.4 mg x kg(-1) breviscapine was given by tail vein, intranasal and gastric perfusion administration to SD rats, cerebrospinal fluid was obtained by erebellomedllery cisternal puncture at different times. 125I labeling was used to determine the drug content of cerebrospinal fluid, cerebrum, cerebellum, medulla oblongata, olfactory region, olfactory bulb and blood in rats. AUCs were calculated by trapezoidal rule. The results showed that AUCs(0-240 min) (microg x min x g(-1)) of brain tissues were 11.686 +/- 1.919, 5.676 +/- 1.025, 7.989 +/- 0.925, 7.956 +/- 1.159, 17.465 +/- 2.136, 24.2 +/- 2.906 and 78.51 +/- 12.05, respectively, in the intranasal administration group; while those in the tail vein administration groups were 6.79 +/- 0.661, 6.251 +/- 0.40, 10.805 +/- 1.161, 9.146 +/- 1.04, 9.892 +/- 1.532, 7.871 +/- 0.842 and 173.91 +/- 10.02; and oral administration group were 0.868 +/- 0.167, 1.708 +/- 0.266, 2.867 +/- 0.725, 2.067 +/- 0.313, 1.361 +/- 0.308, 1.206 +/- 0.255 and 45.2 +/- 7.52, respectively. AUCs(0-240 min) of the brain tissues after oral, tail vein and intranasal administration were 22.29%, 29.18%, 95.49% of that of blood, respectively, it means that the absorption rate and drug distribution in the brain tissues after intranasal administration were higher than those of oral and tail vein administration. It is worth to investigate further the pharmacodynamic relationship.

Progress in the study of stability of Chinese medicine liposomes / 药学学报

The stability of pharmaceutical preparations prepared Chinese medicine liposomes by liposome novel technology combined with traditional Chinese herbs is the main contents of quality study, not only affects preparations molding, but also relates to the efficiency and safety of traditional Chinese medicine. From the view of main influencing factors of stability about the Chinese medicine liposomes and combining with literatures published in home and abroad in recent years, the article analyzes, arranges and sums up measures of improving the stability of Chinese medicine liposomes, to provide reference for the study on the preparation of Chinese medicine liposomes.

Effects of volatie oil of Schizonepeta tenuifolia Briq herb and Saposhnikovia divaricata Schischke root on proinflammatory cytokine expression and regulation / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effects of volatie oil of Schizonepeta tenuifolia Briq herb and Saposhnikovia divaricata Schischke root (OSS) on proinflammatory cytokine expression and regulation in rats.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>OA and LPS were injected intravenously to rats to develop acute lung injury (ALI). The rats were treated with OSS (45.19 microL kg(-1)). The pathological sections of lung tissue were prepared and observed in acute lung injury rats. The expression of nuclear factor-kappa B p65 (NF-kappaB p65), intercellar adhesion molecule CD54, and NF-kappaB p65 mRNA were determined in lung cells.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>volatie oil of Schizonepeta tenuifolia Briq herb and Saposhnikovia divaricata Schischke root significantly inhibited the expression of CD54, the activation of NF-kappaB p65, and the transcription of NF-kappaB p65 mRNA.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>OSS can reduce the expression of CD54 and NF-kappaB p65 protein synthesis, which may be its anti-inflammatory molecular mechanisms.</p>