Exploring the mechanism of Buxue Yimu Pill on hemorrhagic anemia through molecular docking, network pharmacology and experimental validation / 中国天然药物

Buxue Yimu Pill (BYP) is a classic gynecological medicine in China, which is composed of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, Leonurus japonicus Houtt, Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge, Colla corii asini and Citrus reticulata Blanco. It has been widely used in clinical therapy with the function of enriching Blood, nourishing Qi, and removing blood stasis. The current study was designed to determine the bioactive molecules and therapeutic mechanism of BYP against hemorrhagic anemia. Herein, GC-MS and UPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS were employed to identify the chemical compounds from BYP. The genecards database (https: //www.genecards.org/) was used to obtain the potential target proteins related to hemorrhagic anemia. Autodock/Vina was adopted to evaluate the binding ability of protein receptors and chemical ligands. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were conducted using the ClusterProfiler. As a result, a total of 62 candidate molecules were identified and 152 targets related to hemorrhagic anemia were obtained. Furthermore, 34 active molecules and 140 targets were obtained through the virtual screening experiment. The data of molecular-target (M-T), target-pathway (T-P), and molecular-target-pathway (M-T-P) network suggested that 32 active molecules enhanced hematopoiesis and activated the immune system by regulating 57 important targets. Pharmacological experiments showed that BYP significantly increased the counts of RBC, HGB, and HCT, and significantly down-regulated the expression of EPO, IL-6, CSF3, NOS2, VEGFA, PDGFRB, and TGFB1. The results also showed that leonurine, leonuriside B, leosibiricin, ononin, rutin, astragaloside I, riligustilide and levistolide A, were the active molecules closely related to enriching Blood. In conclusion, based on molecular docking, network pharmacology and validation experiment results, the enriching blood effect of BYP on hemorrhagic anemia may be associated with hematopoiesis, anti-inflammation, and immunity enhancement.

Identification of rhein as the metabolite responsible for toxicity of rhubarb anthraquinones.

Rhubarb is a popular food in Europe with laxative properties attributed to anthraquinones. Long term usage of rhubarb anthraquinones has been linked to colonic toxicity, including the formation of melanosis coli, which is associated with increased risk of colon cancer. The major purgative anthraquinone in rhubarb is thought to be sennoside A, which is metabolised by colonic microflora. Here, we sought to identify the toxic metabolite responsible for melanosis coli in rats dosed with rhubarb anthraquinones for up to 90 days. Three metabolites were detected in rat faeces using HPLC. Of these, rhein was identified as the metabolite that accumulated most over time. Fecal flora from treated rats were capable of greater biotransformation of sennoside A to rhein compared to that from control rats. Cell culture experiments suggested that apoptosis and autophagy induced by rhein is the likely mechanism of chronic toxicity of rhubarb anthraquinones.

Research Strategies and Key Problems Analysis over Substance Benchmark of Famous Classical Formulas / 中国实验方剂学杂志

With continuous introduction of relevant national policies on famous classical formulas, the research of famous classical formulas is popular all over the country. Different from other new drugs, in the research and development process of famous classical formulas, substance benchmark is earlier than the product, suggesting that the research and development of substance benchmark is of great significance. Based on previous work of the authors, content of substance benchmark of famous classical formulas was analyzed, which was included in the document <italic>The Management Regulation of Simplified Registration and Approval over Chinese Herbal Medicine Compound Preparations of Ancient Famous Classical Formulas</italic> released by the National Medical Products Administration in May 2018. In this paper, the significance of substance benchmark development was described, a five-stage of research strategy was proposed, covering the prescription textual research and historical evolution, the collection and quality evaluation of medicinal materials, the processing method and quality evaluation of decoction pieces, the preparation and quality research of substance benchmark, the drafting and formulating of quality standard over substance benchmark. At the same time, some suggestions were put forward to the feasibility of compound preparations development over famous classical formulas, the implementation difficulty of resource evaluation over Chinese medicinal materials, and the irrationality on the quality correlation of Chinese medicinal materials. All of these are expected to provide reference and enlightenment for the development and policy officially landed over ancient famous classical formulas.

Characteristic fingerprint and multi-components quantitative determination for Fuke Qianjin Capsules by HPLC / 中国中药杂志

To establish an HPLC characteristic fingerprint method of Fuke Qianjin Capsules,and determine the contents of its main components. The analysis was carried out on a Kromasil 100-5-C18 analytical column(4. 6 mm ×250 mm,5 μm) with gradient elution by acetonitrile(A)-0. 1% phosphoric acid aqueous solution(B),a flow rate at 1. 0 m L·min-1 and the detection wavelength of 254 nm.The column temperature was 30 ℃,and the injection volume was 10 μL. The determination method of genistin,jatrorrhizine,andrographolide and 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide index components were studied methodologically. The common mode of the characteristic fingerprint of Fuke Qianjin Capsules was set up with 8 common peaks,which were identified as genistin,jatrorrhizine,palmatine,berberine,andrographolide,14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide,Z-ligustilide,and Z-3-butylidenephthalide,respectively,in comparison with the references. The similarities of 20 batches of Fuke Qianjin Capsules samples were above 0. 95. All of the above-mentioned 4 analytes could be well separated under the optimized chromatographic conditions. RSD of precision and repeatability experiment were both less than 1. 5%,and the sample solution was stable during 72 h. All of the compounds had a good linearity and linear range. The contents of genistin,jatrorrhizine,andrographolide,and 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide in 20 batches of Fuke Qianjin Capsules samples were 28. 66-56. 04,94. 77-197. 92,1 705. 33-4 148. 93 and 462. 16-1 225. 96 μg in each capsule,respectively. The developed HPLC characteristic fingerprint and quantitative analysis methods were reliable,accurate and sensitive,and could be used effectively evaluate the quality of Fuke Qianjin Capsules samples.

Chemical constituents from Fukeqianjin formula / 中国中药杂志

Fukeqianjin formula, a traditional Chinese medicine compound, consists of eight Chinese medicinal materials including roots of Moghania macrophylla, roots of Rosa laevigata, aerial parts of Andrographis paniculata, caulis of Mahonia fortunei, roots of Zanthoxylum dissitum, roots of Angelica sinensis, caulis of Spatholobus suberectus, and roots of Codonopsis pilosula. The chemical constituents from Fukeqianjin formula were studied in this paper. The compounds were separated and purified by repeated column chromatographic methods including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, macroporous adsorptive resin, and reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. And their chemical structures were determined by spectral data analyses. Thirty-eight compounds were obtained and identified as Z-3-butylidenephthalide (1), Z-ligustilide (2), senkyunolide I (3), senkyunolide H (4), vanillin (5), 7-O-methylwogonin (6), wogonin (7), panicolin (8), 19-hydroxy-8(17),13-labdadien-15,16-olide (9), andrograpanin (3,14-dideoxyandrographolide; 10), andrographolide (11), 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide (12), isoandrographolide (13), andrographin (2'-O-methylskullcapflavone, 14), biochanin A (15), 5-hydroxy-7,8,2',5'-tetramethoxyflavone (16), formononetin (17), daidzein (18), genistein (19), benzoic acid (20), vanillic acid (21), trans-ferulic acid (22), salicylic acid (23), daidzin (24), genistein-7-O-β-D-apiofuranosyl-(1→6)-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (25), apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucuronide (26), andrographidin C (27), apigenin-7-O-β-D-(6"-methyl)glucuronide (28), neoandrographolide (29), genistin (30), andrographiside (31), 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographiside (32), lobetyolin (33), epicatechin (34), catechin (35), palmatine (36), berberine (37), and jatrorrhizine (38), respectively. From the results of an individual medicinal material studies, it can be judged that compounds 17, 19, 24 and 30 as flavonoids came from the roots of M. macrophylla, compounds 36-38 as alkaloids came from the caulis of M. fortunei, compounds 6-8, 14, 16, and 27 as flavonoids as well as 9-13, 29, 31, and 32 as diterpenes came from the aerial parts of A. paniculata, compound 5 as phenols came from the roots of Z. dissitum, compounds 1-4 as phthalides as well as compound 22 as phenylpropanoids came from the roots of A. sinensis, compound 33 as alkynes came from the roots of C. pilosula, compounds 15, 17-19 as flavonoids as well as compound 21 as phenolic acids came from the caulis of S. suberectus. While compounds 34 and 35 as flavanoids could come from both the caulis of S. suberectus and roots of R. laevigata. The chemical composition of traditional Chinese medicine compound can be tracked from the original sources. This work provides a demonstration for the material basis study of traditional Chinese medicine compound. Compounds 25, 26 and 28 have not so far been isolated and identified from the above-mentioned single herb.

Value of anti-phosphatidylserine/prothrombin antibody in diagnosis of seronegative antiphospholipid syndrome / 上海交通大学学报（医学版）

Objective • To investigate diagnostic value of anti-phosphatidylserine/prothrombin antibody (aPS/PT), IgA anti-cardiolipin antibody (aCL), and IgA anti-β2-glycoprotein antibody (aβ2-GPI) in seronegative antiphospholipid (SNAPS). Methods • Serum samples were collected from 86 patients with antiphospholipid (APS) (APS group), 48 patients with SNAPS (SNAPS group), 79 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (SLE group), and 85 healthy donors (healthy control group, HC group) for aPS/PT (IgG and IgM), aCL (IgA) and aβ2-GPI (IgA) detected by ELISA. The sensitivity and specificity of the four antibodies for the diagnosis of SNAPS were calculated, and the ROC curves were analyzed. The correlation between the four antibodies and the clinical manifestations of SNAPS was also analyzed.Results • A total of 25 (52.1%) SNAPS patients were positive in aPS/PT (IgG/IgM), including 29.2% patients positive in aPS/PT (IgG) and 35.4% positive in aPS/PT (IgM). There were 16.7% SNAPS patients positive in aβ2-GPI (IgA), but none was aCL (IgA) positive. The positive rates of aPS/PT (IgG and IgM) and aβ2-GPI (IgA) were statistically higher in SNAPS group than those in HC group (P=0.000). The area under curve (AUC) of aPS/PT (IgG) (AUC=0.753) for SNAPS diagnosis was the biggest among the four antibodies, and the second was aβ2-GPI (IgA) (AUC=0.725). A positive correlation was found in SNAPS group between presence of venous thrombosis and aPS/PT (IgG) (OR=5.54, 95% CI 1.67-17.33, P=0.003) or aβ2-GPI (IgA) (OR=3.43, 95% CI 0.86-11.53, P=0.041), and also found between pregnancy loss and aPS/PT (IgM) (OR=5.11, 95% CI 1.31-21.29, P=0.004). Conclusion • aPS/PT (IgG/IgM) and aβ2-GPI (IgA) can be used as potential complementary indicators for laboratory diagnosis of SNAPS, and aPS/PT (IgG/IgM) is also valuable for clinical evaluation of the risk of thrombosis and pregnancy loss in SNAPS patients.

EST-SSR identification, markers development of Ligusticum chuanxiong based on Ligusticum chuanxiong transcriptome sequences / 中国中药杂志

Ligusticum chuanxiong is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine plant. The study on its molecular markers development and germplasm resources is very important. In this study, we obtained 24 422 unigenes by assembling transcriptome sequencing reads of L. chuanxiong root. EST-SSR was detected and 4 073 SSR loci were identified. EST-SSR distribution and characteristic analysis results showed that the mono-nucleotide repeats were the main repeat types, accounting for 41.0%. In addition, the sequences containing SSR were functionally annotated in Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway and were assigned to 49 GO categories, 242 KEGG pathways, among them 2 201 sequences were annotated against Nr database. By validating 235 EST-SSRs,74 primer pairs were ultimately proved to have high quality amplification. Subsequently, genetic diversity analysis, UPGMA cluster analysis, PCoA analysis and population structure analysis of 34 L. chuanxiong germplasm resources were carried out with 74 primer pairs. In both UPGMA tree and PCoA results, L. chuanxiong resources were clustered into two groups, which are believed to be partial related to their geographical distribution. In this study, EST-SSRs in L. chuanxiong was firstly identified, and newly developed molecular markers would contribute significantly to further genetic diversity study, the purity detection, gene mapping, and molecular breeding.

Intestinal absorption characteristics of gastrodigenin in rats / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the intestinal absorption characteristics of gastrodigenin.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>In vitro everted gut sac model and in situ rat single-pass intestinal perfusion model were used to evaluate the absorption characteristics of gastrodigenin in the different intestinal segments. The concentrations of gastrodigenin in the samples were determined by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) method, and the relevant absorption parameters were calculated.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>In the everted gut sac tests, no significant difference of absorption among the four segments was observed. A positive correlation was found between drug concentration and the accumulated absorption amount (Q). At the concentration of 400 mg x L(-1), the Q of gastrodigenin in the duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon were 224.33, 225.81, 233.18 and 189.25 microg, respectively. The in situ rat single-pass intestinal perfusion tests showed that there was also no significant difference of absorption among the four segments. The absorption rates (A) of gastrodigenin in the duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon were 45.8%, 48.39%, 47.00%, 54.35%, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Gastrodigenin can be well absorbed via passive diffusion in the intestine. The absorption rates of gastrodigenin in the different intestinal segments show no regioselectivity.</p>

Therapeutic effect of whole body hyperthermia combined with chemotherapy in patients with advanced cancer / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To determine the short-term efficacy and security of whole body hyperthermia (WBH) combined with chemotherapy for advanced cancer.@*METHODS@#Different chemotherapy regimens were applied in 138 patients with advanced cancer. Among them, 68 patients (Group A) didn't receive any other therapies. The other 70 patients (Group B) received WBH together with chemotherapy. WBH was maintained at 40 degrees C approximately 42 degrees C for 50 approximately 60 min (once or twice every week and 4 times a cycle).@*RESULTS@#In Group A, the rate of complete remission (CR) was 2.9%, partial remission (PR) was 36.8%, stable disease was 35.3%, progressive disease was 25.0%, the overall response rate (CR + PR) was 39.7%; while in Group B, the corresponding figures were 5.7%, 52.9%, 25.7%, 25.0%, and 58.6%, respectively. There was significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). The rates of III + IV gastrointestinal tract andmyelosuppression toxicities were 26.5% and 16.2% in Group A, while 27.1% and 18.6% in Group B. No significant difference was found.@*CONCLUSION@#WBH combined with chemotherapy is efficient and safe for advanced cancer, and is worth generalizing extensively.