Rapid identification of chemical compositions from three species of Siegesbeckiae Herba by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry in combination with deoxyribonucleic acid barcoding.

Siegesbeckiae Herba, a traditional Chinese medicine, originates from Siegesbeckia orientalis, S. glabrescens, and S. pubescens in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. However, accurate identification of decoction pieces from the three plants remains a challenge. In this study, 26 batches of Siegesbeckiae Herba were identified by deoxyribonucleic acid barcoding, and their chemical compositions were determined using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry. The results showed that the internal transcribed spacer 2 and internal transcribed spacer 1-5.8 S- internal transcribed spacer 2 sequences could distinguish three species. In total, 48 compounds were identified including 12 marker compounds screened for three species using the partial least square discriminant analysis. Among these, two diterpenoids 16-O-malonylkirenol and 15-O-malonylkirenol, and a novel diterpenoid 15,16-di-O-malonylkirenol were isolated and identified. A convenient method for the identification of Siegesbeckiae Herba was established using kirenol and 16-O-acetlydarutoside as control standards by thin-layer chromatography. Unexpectedly, none of the batches of S. orientalis contained kirenol, which did not meet the quality standards of Siegesbeckiae Herba, suggesting that the rationality of kirenol as a quality marker for S. orientalis should be further investigated. The results of this study will contribute to the quality control of Siegesbeckiae Herba.

Electroacupuncture attenuates cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in diabetic mice through adiponectin receptor 1-mediated phosphorylation of GSK-3ß.

Diabetes mellitus substantially increases the risk of stroke and enhances brain's vulnerability to ischemia insult. Electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment was proved to induce cerebral ischemic tolerance in normal stroke models. Whether EA could attenuate cerebral ischemia injury in diabetic mice and the possible underlying mechanism are still unrevealed. Male C57BL/6 mice were subjected to streptozotocin (STZ) for diabetic models. After inducing focal cerebral ischemia model, the levels of plasma and cerebral adiponectin (APN) were measured as well as the expression of cerebral adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1) and 2 (AdipoR2). The neurobehavioral score, infarction volume, and cellular apoptosis were evaluated with or without AdipoR1 short interfering RNA (siRNA). The role of phosphorylation of glycogen synthesis kinase 3 beta (GSK-3ß) at Ser-9 in the EA pretreatment was also assessed. EA pretreatment increased both plasma and cerebral APN levels and enhanced neuronal AdipoR1 in diabetic mice. In addition, EA reduced infarct size, improved neurological outcomes, and inhibited cell apoptosis after reperfusion. These beneficial effects were reversed by AdipoR1 knockdown. Furthermore, EA increased GSK-3ß phosphorylation (p-GSK-3ß) in the ipsilateral penumbra. Augmented p-GSK-3ß induced neuroprotective effects similar to those of EA pretreatment. In contrast, dampened p-GSK-3ß could reverse the neuroprotective effects of EA. In addition, the increase in p-GSK-3ß by EA was abolished by AdipoR1 knockdown. We conclude that EA pretreatment increases the production of APN, which induce protective effects against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury through neuronal AdipoR1-mediated phosphorylation of GSK-3ß in diabetic mice.

Electroacupuncture pretreatment inhibits NADPH oxidase-mediated oxidative stress in diabetic mice with cerebral ischemia.

We investigated the protective effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on cerebral ischemic injury in diabetic mice, and explored the role of NADPH oxidase-mediated oxidative stress. Male C57BL/6 mice were injected streptozotocin to induce diabetes. The mice were pretreated with EA at acupoint "Baihui" for 30 min. Two hours after the end of EA pretreatment, focal cerebral ischemia was induced following 24h reperfusion. The neurobehavioral scores and infarction volumes, malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and activation of NADPH oxidase were determined in the presence or absence of the NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin or activator tetrabromocinnamic acid (TBCA). EA pretreatment reduced infarct size and improved neurological outcomes 24h after reperfusion in the diabetic mice. EA also decreased cerebral MDA and ROS levels compared with the control group, and inhibited the NADPH oxidase activation. The beneficial effects were abolished by TBCA while pretreatment with apocynin mimicked the neuroprotective and anti-oxidative effects of EA. Our results demonstrated that EA attenuated cerebral ischemic injury by inhibiting NAPDH oxidase-mediated oxidative damage in diabetic mice. These results suggest a novel mechanism of EA pretreatment-induced tolerance in diabetic cerebral ischemia.

[Effect of Actinidia chinensis planch polysaccharide on the growth and apoptosis, and p-p38 expression in human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Actinidia chinensis Planch polysaccharide (ACPS) on the growth and apoptosis of human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells, and to explore the effect of SGC-7901 cells on p-p38 expression. METHODS: The inhibition rates at different concentrations of ACPS on SGC-7901 cells at 24, 48, and 72 h were detected using CCK-8 method. Apoptosis ratios in SGC-7901 were determined by flow cytometry after 48-h treatment of different concentrations of ACPS. The expression of pro-caspase-9, PARP, and p-p38 in SGC-7901 cells after treated by different concentrations of ACPS was detected using Western blot. The expression of pro-caspase-9, PARP, and p-p38 was detected after SGC-7901 cells were pre-treated by p38 specific inhibitor. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the optical density of SGC-7901 cells decreased after treated by 1, 2.5, 5, and 10 mg/mL ACPS (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the longer the acting time, the lower the optic density (P < 0.01). IC50 was 7.43 mg/mL at 24 h; 3.88 mg/mL at 48 h, and 1.32 mg/mL at 72 h respectively. ACPS suppressed the protein expression of pro-caspase-9 (P < 0.01) and up-regulated the expression of PARP (89KD) (both P < 0.01). Further study showed that the protein expression of p-p38 was up-regulated in SGC-7901 cells treated by ACPS of different concentrations at 24 h (P < 0.05). The expression of phosphorylation p38 and the ACPS induced apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells could be inhibited after treated by specific inhibitor for 2 h. CONCLUSIONS: ACPS could inhibit the growth of SGC-7901 cells and induce apoptosis. The underlying mechanism of inducing apoptosis was partially due to activating the p38MAPK path and further activating Caspase9 and PARP, finally leading to cell death.