Demulsification of amphiphilic gemini ionic liquids and its demulsification mechanism.

This work aims to prepare two new amphiphilic and interfacial active gemini ionic liquids to treat crude oil and investigates its demulsification mechanism. Tetraethylene glycol was pretreated with thionyl chloride and used as a linker to connect succinimide or phthalimide, and then reacted with dodecyl benzene sulphonic acid to obtain the corresponding amphiphilic and interfacial active gemini ionic liquid STA or PTA, respectively. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1HNMR) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to determine the chemical structures. The demulsification tests showed the demulsification efficiency with 150 mg/L of STA or PTA at 60 °C for 30 min was 99.89% and 99.79%, respectively. Furthermore, the demulsification mechanism of STA and PTA were studied and the prominent demulsification ability of STA and PTA were attributed to the better interfacial activity and amphipathy which could destroy the asphaltenes interfacial film. These results showed that STA and PTA had excellent demulsification efficiency, which promised application in petroleum industry.

Steamed Panax notoginseng attenuates renal anemia in an adenine-induced mouse model of chronic kidney disease.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Panax notoginseng (PN) (Burk.) F. H. Chen is a medicinal herb used to treat blood disorders since ancient times, of which the steamed form exhibits the anti-anemia effect and acts with a "blood-tonifying" function according to the traditional use. However, its pharmacological effect and mechanism on alleviating renal anemia (RA) are still unclear. AIMS OF THE STUDY: The study aims to investigate the effect of steamed Panax notoginseng (SPN) to attenuate RA and its underlying mechanism based on the model of adenine-induced RA mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy mice were randomly divided into seven groups of ten: the control group, model group, the erythropoietin (EPO) group, the Fufang E'jiao Jiang (FEJ) group, the high-dose steamed PN (H-SPN) group, the middle-dose steamed PN (M-SPN) group, and the low-dose steamed PN (L-SPN) group. The adenine induction RA model was applied to assess the "blood enriching" function of SPN. The blood routine indexes, erythrocyte fragility, pathologic morphology of kidney tissue and the expression levels of related cytokines and proteins in the mice were detected after 3-week administration with SPN and positive drugs. RESULTS: Our study provided evidences that SPN could ameliorate RA. Compared with the control group, SPN could attenuate RA by significantly increasing the numbers of peripheral blood cells (p < 0.01), improving the erythrocyte fragility (p < 0.01), and restoring the expression of EPO mRNA in the kidneys and EPO receptor mRNA in bone marrow nucleated cells. The expression of TGF-ß1 mRNA was declined and the expression of HGF mRNA was significantly increased in a dose-dependent way after the treatment of SPN. Additionally, the expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-2/Bax ratio in the kidneys were significantly increased. In contrast, there was a highly significant decrease in the expression of Bax (p < 0.01), following SPN treatment. CONCLUSION: SPN could alleviate RA by promoting the overall hematopoiesis and inhibiting the progress of renal injury in mice.

Assessing the geographical distribution of 76 Dendrobium species and impacts of climate change on their potential suitable distribution area in China.

The geographical distribution of plant resources is of great significance for studying the origin, distribution, and evolution of species. Climate and geographical factors help shape the distribution of plant species. Dendrobium is a commonly used traditional medicine and a precious economic crop in China. Owing to the over-exploitation and increasing medicinal demand of Dendrobium species plants, systematic investigation of the geographical distribution of the plants and analysis of their potential distribution under climate change are important for protecting Dendrobium plants. We adopted DIVA-GIS to analyze the georeferenced records of 76 species of the Dendrobium species collected from 2166 herbarium records. We analyzed the eco-geographical distribution and species richness of the genus Dendrobium to simulate the distribution of current and future scenarios using MaxEnt. The results revealed the distribution of Dendrobium in 30 provinces of China, with species abundance in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hainan. Our model identified the following bioclimatic variables: precipitation in the driest months and the warmest seasons, isothermality, and range of annual temperature. Among them, annual precipitation is the most crucial bioclimatic variable affecting the distribution of 16 selected Dendrobium species. The change of climate in the future will lead to an increase in habitat suitability for some Dendrobium species as follows: D. officinal 2.12%, D. hancockii by 6.00%, D. hercoglossum by 8.25%, D. devonianum by 7.71%, D. henryi by 9.40%, and D. hainanense by 13.70%. By contrast, habitat suitability will dramatically decrease for other Dendrobium species: D. chrysotoxum by 0.89%, D. chrysanthum by 12.68%, D. fimbriatum by 5.07%, D. aduncum by 11.44%, D. densiflorum by 18.47%, D. aphyllum by 8.05%, D. loddigesii by 16.45%, D. nobile by 5.41%, D. falconeri by 8.73%, and D. moniliforme by 10.61%. The reduction of these species will be detrimental to the medicinal and economic value of the genus Dendrobium. Therefore, targeted development and reasonable management strategies should be adopted to conserve these valuable resources.

Demulsification of water-in-crude oil emulsion driven by a carbonaceous demulsifier from natural rice husks.

Removing emulsified water from a water-in-crude oil (W/O) emulsion is critically required prior to downstream processing in the petroleum industry. In this work, environmentally friendly and amphipathic rice husk carbon (RHC) demulsifier was prepared by a simple carbonization process in a muffle furnace using rice husks as starting materials. RHC was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, ultraviolet-visible spectrometer, powder X-ray diffraction, zeta potential and synchronal thermal analyzer. The factors such as dosage, temperature, settling time, pH value and salinity were systematically investigated. The results indicated that the dehydration efficiency (DE) reached as high as 96.99% with 600 mg/L of RHC for 80 min at 70 °C. RHC exhibited an optimal DE under neutral condition, but it was also effective under acidic and alkaline conditions. Also, it had an excellent salt tolerance. The possible demulsification mechanism was explored by interfacial properties, different treatment methods for RHC and microexamination. The demulsification of RHC is attributed to its high interfacial activity, oxygen-containing groups and content of silica. It indicates that RHC is an effective demulsifier for the treatment of the W/O emulsion.

Quality Evaluation of Gastrodia Elata Tubers Based on HPLC Fingerprint Analyses and Quantitative Analysis of Multi-Components by Single Marker.

Gastrodia elata (G. elata) tuber is a valuable herbal medicine used to treat many diseases. The procedure of establishing a reasonable and feasible quality assessment method for G. elata tuber is important to ensure its clinical safety and efficacy. In this research, an effective and comprehensive evaluation method for assessing the quality of G. elata has been developed, based on the analysis of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint, combined with the quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS) method. The contents of the seven components, including gastrodin, p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, p-hydroxy benzaldehyde, parishin A, parishin B, parishin C, and parishin E were determined, simultaneously, using gastrodin as the reference standard. The results demonstrated that there was no significant difference between the QAMS method and the traditional external standard method (ESM) (p > 0.05, RSD < 4.79%), suggesting that QAMS was a reliable and convenient method for the content determination of multiple components, especially when there is a shortage of reference substances. In conclusion, this strategy could be beneficial for simplifying the processes in the quality control of G. elata tuber and giving references to promote the quality standards of herbal medicines.

Steamed Panax notoginseng Attenuates Anemia in Mice With Blood Deficiency Syndrome via Regulating Hematopoietic Factors and JAK-STAT Pathway.

Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F. H. Chen is a medicinal herb used to treat blood disorders since ancient times, of which the steamed form exhibits the anti-anemia effect and acts with a "blood-tonifying" function according to traditional use. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-anemia effect and underlying mechanism of steamed P. notoginseng (SPN) on mice with blood deficiency syndrome induced by chemotherapy. Blood deficiency syndrome was induced in mice by cyclophosphamide and acetylphenylhydrazine. A number of peripheral blood cells and organs (liver, kidney, and spleen) coefficients were measured. The mRNA expression of hematopoietic function-related cytokines in the bone marrow of mice was detected by RT-qPCR. The janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) signaling pathway was screened based on our previous analysis by network pharmacology. The expression of related proteins and cell cycle factors predicted in the pathway was determined by Western blot and RT-qPCR. SPN could significantly increase the numbers of peripheral blood cells and reverse the enlargement of spleen in a dose-dependent manner. The quantities of related hematopoietic factors in bone marrow were also increased significantly after SPN administration. SPN was involved in the cell cycle reaction and activation of immune cells through the JAK-STAT pathway, which could promote the hematopoiesis.

Optimisation of Ethanol-Reflux Extraction of Saponins from Steamed Panax notoginseng by Response Surface Methodology and Evaluation of Hematopoiesis Effect.

The present study aims to optimize the ethanol-reflux extraction conditions for extracting saponins from steamed Panax notoginseng (SPN). Four variables including the extraction time (0.5⁻2.5 h), ethanol concentration (50⁻90%), water to solid ratio (W/S, 8⁻16), and times of extraction (1⁻5) were investigated by using the Box-Behnken design response surface methodology (BBD-RSM). For each response, a second-order polynomial model with high R² values (>0.9690) was developed using multiple linear regression analysis and the optimum conditions to maximize the yield (31.96%), content (70.49 mg/g), and antioxidant activity (EC50 value of 0.0421 mg/mL) for saponins extracted from SPN were obtained with a extraction time of 1.51 h, ethanol concentration of 60%, extraction done 3 times, and a W/S of 10. The experimental values were in good consistency with the predicted ones. In addition, the extracted SPN saponins could significantly increase the levels of blood routine parameters compared with the model group (p < 0.01) and there was no significant difference in the hematopoiesis effect between the SPN group and the SPN saponins group, of which the dose was 15 times lower than the former one. It is suggested that the SPN saponins extracted by the optimized method had similar functions of "blood tonifying" at a much lower dose.

Unveiling Active Constituents and Potential Targets Related to the Hematinic Effect of Steamed Panax notoginseng Using Network Pharmacology Coupled With Multivariate Data Analyses.

Steamed Panax notoginseng (SPN) has been used as a tonic to improve the blood deficiency syndrome (BDS) in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine. Here, we aim to unveil active constituents and potential targets related to the hematinic effect of SPN, which has not been answered before. In the study a constituent-target-disease network was constructed by combining the SPN-specific and anemia-specific target proteins with protein-protein interactions. And the network pharmacology was used to screen out the underlying targets and mechanisms of SPN treating anemia. Also, the multivariate data analyses were performed for the double screening. According to the results, 11 targets related to chemical constituents of SPN were found to be closely associated with the hematinic effect of SPN. Among them, the direct target protein of mitochondrial ferrochelatase (FECH) had the major role through the metabolic pathway. Meanwhile, Rk3 and 20(S)-Rg3 were predicted to be major constituents related to the hematinic effect of SPN by both multivariate data analyses and network pharmacology. And it was been validated by the pharmacologic tests that Rk3 and 20(S)-Rg3 could significantly increase the levels of blood routine parameters, FECH and its downstream protein of heme in mice with BDS. The study provides evidences for the mechanism understanding and drug development of SPN for the treatment of anemia.