[Role of macrophage polarization in hypertension and traditional Chinese medicine intervention: a review].

Hypertension is known to be a chronic inflammatory state and a key risk factor for heart failure, coronary heart disease, and atherosclerosis. Macrophages in the circulatory system are the main cell group that constitutes the immune system and participates in the inflammatory response. Depending on the local microenvironment, macrophages can be polarized into pro-inflammatory(M1) and anti-inflammatory(M2) phenotypes. When blood pressure is elevated, M1 macrophages can release pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines to generate an immune response. However, an excessive immune response can lead to tissue damage, and M2 macrophages release anti-inflammatory cytokines to promote the repair of wounds and tissue damage. It is clear that the dynamic balance between M1 and M2 macrophages resembles the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) theory of Yin and Yang. That is, when Yin and Yang are imbalanced, the human body will exhibit pathological states, e.g., altered blood pressure rhythms. Studies have confirmed that TCM can produce positive therapeutic effects on hypertension by regulating macrophage polarization. Therefore, this study reviews the studies about the TCM regulation of macrophage polarization and summarized the mechanisms of TCM intervention in hypertension, with the aim of providing evidence for clinical treatment and ideas for scientific research design.

[Effect of traditional Chinese medicine in inhibiting obesity and inflammatory diseases by regulating gut microbiota].

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) has been increasingly used in the prevention and treatment of obesity and obesity-related diseases. However, its mechanism of action is not yet clear. In recent years, with the development of high-throughput sequencing technology, scientific researches have found that the disorder of gut microbiota is associated with obesity and other diseases. Furthermore, it has been found that TCM can improve the structure of gut microbiota by increasing probiotics and reducing pathogens, which play an importent role in preventing the development and progression of obesity and other diseases. This article first explores the possible association between intestinal microbiota and obesity. Then, it reviews the traditional Chinese medicine and its role in regulating intestinal microbiota for the prevention and treatment of diseases, including obesity and inflammation, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease and other diseases, in theexpectation of new strategies and research direction for treating obesity and relevant diseases, and providing important guidance for further studies in this field in the future.

[Clinical study on compound prescription with Valerianae Jatamansi Rhizoma et Radix in treatment of generalized anxiety disorder].

This study was aimed to observe the clinical efficacy of anxiolytic compound prescription with Valerianae Jatamansi Rhizoma et Radix (ACPV) in treating liver Qi stagnation and feel ill at ease type generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Sixty-seven patients diagnosed as GAD with stagnation of liver Qi and feel ill at ease were randomly divided into treatment group and control group. Patients in treatment group (n=34) was treated with ACPV decoction, and patients in control group (n=33) were treated with deanxit. Both groups were treated with respective drugs for 4 weeks. HAMA scale, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptom scale (liver Qi stagnation and feel ill at ease type) and salivary cortisol levels were measured before and 2 weeks and 4 weeks after drug treatment. The life events scale (LES) and drug safety evaluation were performed before and after 4 weeks treatment. Two patients were excluded according to LES, and 5 patients were discontinued. Sixty patients were enrolled in the study finally (30 cases in each group). As compared with baseline, HAMA scores in both groups were significantly decreased at 2 weeks and 4 weeks (P<0.05, P<0.01). After 2 weeks and 4 weeks treatment, the TCM syndrome score in both group was also significantly improved (P<0.01). Moreover, the salivary cortisol levels in both groups were also decreased at 2 weeks and 4 weeks (P<0.05, P<0.01). The total efficiency between two groups had no statistically significant difference after 2 weeks treatment and 4 weeks treatment; moreover, no statistically significant differences were observed between two groups in HAMA scores, TCM syndrome scale scores and salivary cortisol levels between two groups. The incidence of adverse reactions in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.01), and there were no obvious side effects in general physical examination during the period of treatment. Thus, anxiolytic compound prescription with Valerianae Jatamansi Rhizoma et Radix is effective for GAD (stagnation of liver Qi and feel ill at ease type).

Identification of reference genes for gene expression normalization in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius)

ABSTRACT Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L., Asteraceae) is an important oil crop and medicinal plant. Gene expression analysis is gaining importance in the research of safflower. Quantitative PCR has become a powerful method for gene study. Reference genes are one of the major qualification requirements of qPCR because they can reduce the variability. To identify the reference genes in safflower, nine candidate genes of the housekeeping genes were selected from the EST library of safflower constructed by our lab: CtACT (actin), CtGAPDH (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase), CtE1F4A (elongation factor 1 alpha), CtTUA (alpha-tubulin), CtTUB (beta-tubulin), CtPP2A (serine/threonine-protein phosphatase), CtE1F4A (eukaryotic initiation factor 4A), CtUBI (Ubiquitin), and Ct60S (60S acidic ribosomal protein). Expression stability was examined by qPCR across 54 samples, representing tissues at different flowering stages and two chemotype of safflower lines. We assessed the expression stability of these candidate genes by employing four different algorithms (geNorm, NormFinder, ΔCt approach, and BestKeeper) and found that CtUBI and Ct60S were the highly ranked candidate genes. CtUBI and Ct60S were used as reference genes to evaluate the expression of CtFAD2-10 and CtKASII. Our data suggest CtUBI and Ct60S could be used as internal controls to normalize gene expression in safflower.

Expression Patterns of Three UGT Genes in Different Chemotype Safflower Lines and under MeJA Stimulus Revealed Their Potential Role in Flavonoid Biosynthesis.

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) has received a significant amount of attention as a medicinal plant in China. Flavonoids are the dominant active medical compounds. UDP-glycosyltransferase plays an essential role in the biosynthesis and storage of flavonoids in safflower. In this study, 45 UGT unigenes were screened from our transcriptomic database of safflower. Among them, 27 UGT unigenes were predicted to own a complete open reading frame with various pI and Mw. The phylogenetic tree showed that CtUGT3 and CtUGT16 were classified under the UGT71 subfamily involved in metabolite process, whereas CtUGT25 has high identities with PoUGT both catalyzing the glycosylation of flavonoids and belonging to the UGT90 subfamily. cDNA microarray exhibited that the three UGT genes displayed temporal difference in two chemotype safflower lines. To functionally characterize UGT in safflower, CtUGT3, CtUGT16 and CtUGT25 were cloned and analyzed. Subcellular localization suggested that the three UGTs might be located in the cell cytoplasm and chloroplast. The expression pattern showed that the three UGTs were all suppressed in two lines responsive to methyl jasmonate induction. The co-expression relation of expression pattern and metabolite accumulation demonstrated that CtUGT3 and CtUGT25 were positively related to kaempferol-3-O-ß-D-glucoside and CtUGT16 was positively related to quercetin-3-O-ß-D-glucoside in yellow line, whereas CtUGT3 and CtUGT25 were positively related to quercetin-3-O-ß-D-glucoside in white line. This study indicates that the three CtUGTs play a significant and multiple role in flavonoids biosynthesis with presenting different functional characterization in two safflower lines.

Structural characterization and anti-aging activity of a novel extracellular polysaccharide from fungus Phellinus sp. in a mammalian system.

Little is known about the chemical structure of purified extracellular polysaccharides from Phellinus sp., a fungal species with known medicinal properties. A combination of IR spectroscopy, methylation analysis and NMR were performed for the structural analysis of a purified extracellular polysaccharide derived from Phellinus sp. culture, denoted as SHP-1, along with an evaluation of the anti-aging effect in vivo of the polysaccharide supplementation. The structure of SHP-1 was established, with a backbone composed of →2,4)-α-d-glucopyranose-(1→ and →2)-ß-d-mannopyranose-(1→ and two terminal glucopyranose branches. Biochemical analysis from mammalian animal experiments demonstrated that SHP-1 possesses the ability to enhance antioxidant enzyme activities, such as catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) in serum of d-galactose-aged mice, while reducing lipofuscin levels, another indicator of cell aging, indicating a potential association with anti-aging activities in a dose dependent manner. This compound had a favourable influence on immune organ indices, and a marked amelioration ability of histopathological hepatic lesions such as necrosis, karyolysis and reduced inflammation and apoptosis in mouse hepatocytes. These results suggest that SHP-1 has strong antioxidant activities and a significant protective effect against oxidative stress or hepatotoxicity induced by d-galactose in mice and it could be developed as a food ingredient or a pharmaceutical to prevent many age-associated diseases such as major depressive disorder and hepatotoxicity. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the antioxidant effects of a novel purified exopolysaccharide derived from Phellinus sp.

Expression of ATP synthase CF1 alpha subunit gene (CTL-spn) as screened by the cDNA-SRAP approach is correlated with spininess in Carthamus tinctorius L.

The safflower floret is a traditional Chinese medicine used to promote blood circulation and remove obstruction in the channels. The spines on its bracts are considered a handicap when manual harvest is involved. In this study, cDNA-SRAP was used to systematically investigate which genes are associated with the spines. Sixty pairs of possible primer combinations were used on two cDNA pools representing spininess and spinelessness. Six transcript-derived fragments were identified, of which two with low recombination were sequenced successfully and named as GPY-1 and GPY-2. By using the RACE method, the full-length cDNA of GPY-2 is cloned and named as CTL-spn. The full-length cDNA of CTL-spn was 1 679 bp long with a 1 524 bp ORF encoding a 508 aminoacid protein. The deduced amino acid sequence of the CTL-spn gene shared a high homology (97%) with other known ATP synthase CF1 alpha subunits. Semiquantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the mRNA of GPY-1 and GPY-2 accumulated in only spiny lines. Considering the important role of ATP synthase CF1 alpha subunit in plants, it may directly take part in the formation process of spininess and enhancing resistance reaction of spiny safflower. Also, our results provide the important insights for breeding spineless cultivars of safflower.

[Effect of several penetration enharcers on transdermal permeation and skin accumulation of artemether].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate penetration characteristics of artemether and the effect of different permeation enhancer on transdermal permeation of artemether through rat skin. METHOD: The permeation experiments were performed using rat skin on modified Franz diffusion cells in vitro. The concentrations of artemether in receptor compartment at specified time points were determined by HPLC. RESULT: The permeating ratio through human skin of artemether solution was Js (2.78 +/- 0.78) microg x cm(-2) x h(-1), the quantity of drug penetrated through and accumulated in the skin by the end of the experiment were (69.07 +/- 3.01) microg x cm(-2), (58.93 +/- 3.56) microg x cm(-2) respectively. Four different permeation enhancers can improve the transdermal permeation of artemether. CONCLUSION: Artemether have the potential to be developed to new transdermal preparation.

[Comparison of kinetic behavior in both plasma and tissue after intravenous administration of alpha-asarone in lipid emulsion and aqueous solution in rats and mice].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of alpha-asarone in lipid emulsion and aqueous solution for injection and study the feasibility of lipid emulsion of alpha-asarone as the parenteral drug delivery system. METHOD: HPLC was used to determine the drug concentration in rat plasma and mice tissues after intravenous (i.v.) administration of lipid emulsion and aqueous solution of alpha-asarone at a single dose (40 mg x kg(-1)), respectively. RESULT: The plasma concentration-time profiles of lipid emulsion and aqueous solution of alpha-asarone after intravenous administration of them are similar and the drug concentration-time data were fitted to a two-compartment open model. The results of tissues distribution showed that distribution contents of alpha-asarone from lipid emulsion and aqueous solution in vivo are similar in lungs but lipid emulsion increased the uptake in livers and spleens, and decreased the uptake in hearts and kidneys for alpha-asarone. CONCLUSION: The plasma concentration-time profiles of alpha-asarone in lipid emulsion and aqueous solution are similar, but lipid emulsion significantly altered the tissue distribution of alpha-asarone, which may be beneficial to decrease its potential toxicity to heart and kidney.