Evaluation and Interpretation of 9 Body Constitution Scores of CCMQ-J by Seven Independent Questionnaires / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

In this study, we proposed an approach to interpret the classification of body constitution based on the Japanese Version of Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire (CCMQ-J) in terms of an augmented questionnaire combining seven independent questionnaires. The augmented questionnaire consists of 254 questions in terms of seven categories of attributes, which are the (i) basic information (BI), (ii) disease (DI), (iii) social factors (SO), (iv) mental factors (ME), (v) dietary habits (DH), (vi) sleeping state (SL), and (vii) sub-health (SH). The partial least square (PLS) regression has been adopted to model the correlations between the scores of body constitutions and the questions, and their results show that the body constitution can be represented by the linear combination of the questions substantially (correlation coefficients between the true and predicted constitutions are all above 0.7). Moreover, by using the crowdsourcing technique in data collection, a total of 851 samples (350 males and 501 females between 20 and 85 years old) samples with diverse geographical backgrounds in Japan have been collected, from which new medical implications have been extracted through the discussion in a Traditional Chinese Medicine standpoint. This study serves as a crucial step for validating the philosophy of ancient Chinese medicine by the state-of-the-art information science techniques and facilitating the use of the CCMQ-J in public healthcare.

Study on on-line near-infrared spectroscopic for moisture monitoring in a fluidized bed drying process of Guzhi Fuling Capsules / 中草药

Objective: To establish a real-time moisture monitoring model for the fluidized bed drying process of Guizhi Fuling Capsules (GFC) by using online near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Methods: A total of 176 samples from 16 production batches were collected by NIRS diffuse reflection probe for modeling. The moving window average smoothing method was used for spectral preprocessing. The characteristic variables were 4 759.45—5 338.00 cm−1, 5 503.84—6 101.67 cm−1, and 8 512.25—8 809.24 cm−1, which were screened by the interval partial least squares method (siPLS) combined with the moving window partial least squares (mwPLS). The partial variable least squares (PLS) method was used to build a multivariate correction model for moisture. Results: The root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSECV) of predicted moisture was 0.243%, the ratio of predicton to deviation (RPD) was 13.384, and the relative standard error of prediction (RSEP ) was 0.270%. The reliability of the online monitoring method was continuously verified by eight production batches. The relative error of 40 samples was less than 4.7%, indicating that the PLS quantitative model prediction performance was robust and accurate. The real-time monitoring trend chart of the moisture in the drying process can accurately determine the drying end point, and the moisture content of the end sample was within the control limit. Conclusion: The quantitative model established by online NIRS combined with PLS can be applied to the on-line monitoring of moisture content in the fluidized bed drying process of production scale GFC and the prediction performance was robust and accurate.

Relationship Between Volatile Components in Angelicae Sinensis Radix from Different Regions in Gansu Province and Its Growing Environment with GC-MS-based Metabolomics / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To explore the relationship between the volatile components in Angelicae Sinensis Radix from different regions of Gansu Province and its growing environment with metabolomics based on GC-MS. Methods The GC-MS method was used for detecting the volatile components in Angelicae Sinensis Radix from 31 different regions in Gansu province, and principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) methods were used for analyzing and evaluating its relationship with the growing environment. Results The results of PCA showed that the volatile components in Angelicae Sinensis Radix from different regions in Gansu province were related to the altitude and the soil types. The PLS method could divide 31 samples of Angelicae Sinensis Radix from different regions in Gansu Province into three groups according to the difference of altitude. There were significant differences in the volatile components in the samples taken at different altitude regions. After analyzing linear loading plots from PCA and PLS, 11 charateristic components were screened out, including 7 compounds were identified by the retrieval of NIST11 database. Conclusion The volatile components in Angelicae Sinensis Radix from different regions in Gansu Province are closely related to the altitude and the soil type.

Exploration on feasibility of introducing bioassay method into quality evaluation of Chinese herbal medicines by studying on the correlation between antioxidant activity of Prunella vulgaris and its total phenolic acids content for example / 中国中药杂志

This paper aims to investigate the correlation between the antioxidant activity of Prunella vulgaris and its total phenolic acids content by measuring the antioxidant activity of different sources and different organs of P. vulgaris and the total contents of protocatechuic acid, protocatechuic aldehyde, caffeic acid, salviaflaside and rosmarinic acid in these samples. Using the 50% methanol extract of P. vulgaris samples as the research object, DPPH method and HPLC method were used respectively to determine the antioxidant activities and the total contents of the above-mentioned five analytes in P. vulgaris samples. 0.5 mL of 50% methanol extract of P. vulgaris reacts with 0.1 mmol•L⁻¹ DPPH ethanol solution for 60 min, then the absorbance of the reaction solution was measured at 517 nm, scavenging rate and IC₅₀ values were calculated by the absorbance and the sample concentration for evaluating the antioxidant activity. HPLC analysis was made on a C₁₈ Epic column, with acetonitrile-0.1% formic acid aqueous solution as mobile phase (gradient elution), and the detection wavelength was set at 280 nm. The correlation between the antioxidant capacity of different habitats and different organs of P. vulgaris and the total contents of five kinds of phenolic acids was analyzed by partial least squares method. The reaction dose-response range of 50% methanol extract of P. vulgaris with 0.1 mmol•L⁻¹ DPPH ethanol solution was 0.300-1.65 g•L⁻¹. When the quantities of potocatechuic acid, protocatechuic aldehyde, caffeic acid, salviaflaside and rosmarinic acid were respectively in 0.007 84-0.980, 0.011 5-1.44, 0.008 64-1.08, 0.080 0-1.00 and 0.079 8-0.998 μg range, their quantities were in good linear relationship with the corresponding peak areas. The average recovery of 5 components were 97.76%, 96.88%, 100.3%, 102.1%, 104.5%, with RSD of 1.8%, 1.6%, 1.7%, 1.6% and 1.7%, respectively. In a certain range of crude drug quantity, the antioxidant activity of each organ of P. vulgaris and total phenolic acids content inside has a good linear correlation. Therefore, in certain quality range of crude drug, DPPH bioassay combined with HPLC content determination can be used for the quality control of P. vulgaris, as is a new method for the quality control of P. vulgaris.

Spectrum-effect relationships on uric acid lowering effect of Cichorium intybus / 中草药

Objective: To study the relationships between HPLC fingerprint of Cichorium intybus extract and the uric acid lowering efficacy and to reveal the material basis of C. intybus. Methods: Quail were used in the experiment and high purine diet was used to induce hyperuricemia; In addition, the quail were administered with C. intybus water extract. The partial least squares (PLS) method was used to study the spectrum-effect relationships and to find out the material basis of uric acid lowering efficacy. Results: The aerial part of C. intybus has good uric acid lowering effect, and the contribution of various components in C. intybus with uric acid lowering effect was determined according to the variable importance in projection value. Among them, chlorogenic acid, chicory acid, and peaks of 3,6,7, and 8 have lager contribution degree than others. Conclusion: The PLS analysis on the spectrum-effect relationships indicates that uric acid lowering effect of C. intybus is related to the various components in C. intybus.