Wuzi Yanzong prescription from Traditional Chinese Medicine for male infertility: a narrative review.

Wuzi Yanzong prescription (WYP), as a classical prescription for male infertility with kidney essence deficiency, is composed of Gouqizi (), Tusizi (), Wuweizi (), Fupenzi () and Cheqianzi (). It has been used for hundreds of years in the treatment of male infertility, known as "the first prescription of ancient and modern seeds", with convincing clinical evidence. At present, more than 100 chemical compounds have been isolated from WYP, including polysaccharide, fatty acids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, organic acids, alkaloids, terpenoids, etc. Pharmacological and clinical studies show that WYP has an obvious effect on reproductive system diseases, especially male infertility, which has a very wide application prospect. It also has effects on the nervous system, inhibiting liver injury, lowering blood sugar and blood lipid, anti-aging, improving immunity, resisting hypoxia and fatigue effects. This study reviewed the chemical constituents, quality control, pharmacology, and clinical application of WYP. There is no doubt about the clinical value of WYP, but its quality control system is not perfect, pharmacological mechanism is not fully explained, and clinical applications need to be reevaluated. Therefore, the follow-up researches should proceed from the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and clinical applications, further explain the theoretical connotation, reveal the mechanism of action, and provide the basis for the secondary development of classic famous prescriptions. In addition, WYP is mostly used in combination with western medicines besides being used alone. Whether it can improve the efficacy and reduce side effects will also be a meaningful research direction in the future.

Effect of thermal hydrolyzed sludge filtrate as an external carbon source on biological nutrient removal performance of A2/O system.

Thermal hydrolyzed sludge filtrate (THSF) rich in biodegradable organics could be a promising external carbon source for biological nutrient removal (BNR). The use of THSF can effectively reduce wastewater treatment plants operating costs and recover bioresources and bioenergy from the waste activated sludge. In this study, the effect of THSF on the BNR process was investigated using a lab-scale anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A2/O) system. Total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiencies of 74.26 ± 3.36% and 92.20 ± 3.13% at a 0.3% dosing ratio were achieved, respectively. Moreover, 20.42% of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) contained in THSF contributed to denitrification, enhancing nitrogen removal efficiency from 55.30 to 74.26%. However, the effluent COD increased by approximately 36.80%, due to 18.39% of the COD contained in THSF discharged with effluent. In addition, the maximum denitrification rate was approximately 16.01 mg N g VSS-1 h-1, while the nitrification rate was not significantly affected by THSF. Nitrosomonas, a common chemoautotrophic nitrifier, was not detected after the introduction of THSF. The aerobic denitrifier Rubellimicrobium was stimulated, and its relative abundance increased from 0.16 to 3.03%. Moreover, the relative abundance of Dechloromonas was 3.93%, indicating that the denitrifying phosphorus removal process was enhanced. This study proposes an engineering application route of THSF, and the chemical phosphate removal pretreatment might be a means to suppress the phosphate recirculation.

Anti-depression targets and mechanism study of Kaixin San / 中国中药杂志

This study identified the anti-depression targets of Kaixin San(KXS) in the brain tissue with "target fishing" strategy, and explored the target-associated pharmacological signaling pathways to reveal the anti-depression molecular mechanism of KXS. The Balb/c mouse model of depression was established by chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS) and the anti-depression effect of KXS was evaluated by forced swimming test and sucrose preference test. KXS active components were bonded to the benzophenone-modified magnetic nanoparticles by photocrosslinking reaction for capturing target proteins from cortex, thalamus and hippocampus of depressive mice. The target proteins were identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS). The enrichment analysis on signaling pathways was performed by Cytoscape. The potential biological functions of targets were verified by immunohistochemistry and Western blot assay. The results showed that KXS significantly improved the behavioral indexes. There were 64, 91, and 44 potential targets of KXS identified in cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus, respectively, according to the target identification experiment. The functions of these targets were mainly associated with vasopressin-regulated water reabsorption, salmonella infection, thyroid hormone synthesis, and other signaling pathways. Besides, the results of immunohistochemistry and Western blot showed that KXS up-regulated the expressions of argipressine(AVP) in the cortex, heat shock protein 60(HSP60), cytochrome C oxidase 4(COX4), and thyrotropin-releasing hormone(TRH) in the thalamus, and down-regulated the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB) p65 in the thalamus. Therefore, KXS may exert anti-depression effect through regulating vasopressin signaling pathway in the cortex and inflammation, energy metabolism, and thyroid hormone signaling pathways in the thalamus, and the effect of KXS on hippocampus is not significant.

Chamaejasmenin E from Stellera chamaejasme induces apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by targeting c-Met in vitro and in vivo.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most prevalent liver cancer, is considered one of the most lethal malignancies with a dismal outcome. There is an urgent need to find novel therapeutic approaches to treat HCC. At present, natural products have served as a valuable source for drug discovery. Here, we obtained five known biflavones from the root of Stellera chamaejasme and evaluated their activities against HCC Hep3B cells in vitro. Chamaejasmenin E (CE) exhibited the strongest inhibitory effect among these biflavones. Furthermore, we found that CE could suppress the cell proliferation and colony formation, as well as the migration ability of HCC cells, but there was no significant toxicity on normal liver cells. Additionally, CE induced mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, eventually leading to cellular apoptosis. Mechanistically, the potential target of CE was predicted by database screening, showing that the compound might exert an inhibitory effect by targeting at c-Met. Next, this result was confirmed by molecular docking, cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA), as well as RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Meanwhile, CE also reduced the downstream proteins of c-Met in HCC cells. In concordance with above results, CE is efficacious and non-toxic in tumor xenograft model. Taken together, our findings revealed an underlying tumor-suppressive mechanism of CE, which provided a foundation for identifying the target of biflavones.

Sesquiterpenoids from the herbs of Solanum lyratum and their cytotoxicity on human hepatoma cells.

Eleven sesquiterpenoids including four new eudesmane sesquiterpenoids, solanoids A-D (1-4), and seven known compounds (5-11) were isolated from the herbs of Solanum lyratum. By analyzing the UV, MS and NMR data, the gross structures of all isolates were established. The absolute configurations of these new compounds were determined by comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. The in vitro cytotoxicity of all isolates against the hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B and HepG2 cell lines was evaluated. Among them, compounds 7 and 11 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against two cell lines.

[Synergistic effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on expression of renal Fas and FasL mRNAs and proteins in contrast-induced nephropathy diabetic rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on renal Fas and Fas ligand (FasL) expression in contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) diabetic rats, so as to explore its protective mechanisms. METHODS: A total of 40 diabetic male SD rats were randomly divided into control, model, acupuncture, moxibustion and combined treatment (acupuncture combined with moxibustion) groups (n＝8 rats in each group). The diabetic model was established by i．p. injection of Streptozotocin (60 mg/kg), followed by regular raising for 9 weeks. Then, the manual acupuncture, moxibustion or acupuncture plus moxibustion at "Sanyinjiao"(SP6) "Shenshu"(BL23) and "Pishu"(BL20) was given to the diabetic rats, once daily for 7 days. On the 8th day, these diabetic rats received i．p. injection of compound Meglumine Diatrizoate Injection (10 mL/kg) for establishing CIN model. Then, the venous blood specimens were collected for detecting contents of serum urine nitrogen (BUN, with urease method) and creatinine (Scr, with picric acid method). The kindey tissues were exteriorized for detecting nitricoxide synthase (NOS, with oxidation-reduction method), malondialdehyde (MDA, with thiobarbituric acid method), superoxide dismutase (SOD, with xanthine oxidase technique) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC, with colorimetric technique). The expression levels of Fas and FasL in the kidney tissues were detected by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot separately. The histopathological and ultrastructural changes of the kidney were observed under microscope (after H．E. staining) and transmission electron microscope, respectively. RESULTS: Following modeling and compared with the control group, the BUN, Scr and renal MDA contents, and Fas and FasL mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly increased (P<0.01, P<0.05), and renal NOS, SOD and T-AOC levels considerably decreased in the model group (P<0.05). After the interventions and compared with the model group, serum BUN and Scr contents and renal Fas mRNA and protein expression levels in both acupuncture group and combined treatment group, BUN in the moxibustion group, and renal MDA content and FasL mRNA and protein expression levels in the 3 treatment groups were obviously down-regulated (P<0.05，P<0.01), while renal NOS in the 3 treatment groups, and SOD and T-AOC levels in the combined treatment group were considerably up-regulated (P<0.01，P<0.05). The effects of the combined treatment were significantly superior to those of simple acupuncure and simple moxibustion in down-regulating serum BUN contents, and Fas and FasL mRNA and protein expression levels, and in up-regulating renal NOS, SOD and T-AOC activity (P<0.05). No significant differences were found between the acupuncture and moxibustion groups in down-regulating serum BUN, Scr and renal MDA contents, and Fas and FasL mRNA and protein levels, as well as in up-regulating NOS content (P>0.05). H．E. staining showed lobular changes of glomeruli, many local necrosis and vascular degeneration in the model group, and transmission electron microscope displayed thickened basement membrane of the glomerular blood loop, many vacuoles in the cytoplasm of renal tubular epithelial cells, severely swollen mitochondria with disordered, broken or disappeared cristae, and some apoptotic cells in the model group, which were relatively milder in the combined treatment group. CONCLUSION: Joint application of acupuncture and moxibustion can reduce the oxidative stress and renal injury in CIN diabetic rats, which may be associated with its function in down-regulating the expression of renal Fas and FasL genes and proteins. Acupuncture and moxibustion has a synergistic effect.

Seven new neuroprotective sesquineolignans isolated from the seeds of Crataegus pinnatifida.

The investigation of the ethanol extract of the seeds of Crataegus pinnatifida led to the isolation of seven new 8-O-4' type sesquineolignans crasesquineolignan A-G (1-7), along with a reported analogue, leptolepisol B (8). The chemical structures of these compounds were elucidated based on complex analysis of their MS, 1D and 2D NMR data. All the isolated compounds were tested for their neuroprotective effects against the damage of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells induced by H2O2, and most of them showed significant neuroprotective activity. Among them, compound 4 (77.58%) showed the best protective effect, even better than the positive control (69.26%) at 25 µM.

Antibacterial Effects of Leaf Extract of Nandina domestica and the Underlined Mechanism.

AIM: The study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial and antiasthmatic effects of Nandina domestica leaf extract, to find out its active components, and to assess its safety issue. METHODS: (1) Solid-phase agar dilution method was used for antibacterial activity test of nandina leaf extract and the change of bacterial morphology after treatment was observed under the transmission microscope; (2) guinea pig model of asthma was used to test the asthma prevention effect of nandina leaf extract; (3) alkaloids and flavones were separated from nandina leaf extract and were further analyzed with HPLC-MS; (4) mice model was used to assessment of the safety issue of nandina leaf extract. RESULTS: (1) Nandina leaf extract inhibited the growth of bacteria and destroyed bacterial membrane; (2) nandina leaf extract alleviated animal allergy and asthma; (3) the components reextracted by ethyl acetate were active, in which alkaloids inhibited Gram-positive bacteria and prevented asthma and flavones inhibited Gram-negative bacteria; (4) nandina leaf extract had no toxic effect on mice. CONCLUSION: Nandina leaves inhibit bacterial growth and prevent asthma through alkaloids and flavones, which had integrated function against chronic bronchitis. This study provided theoretical basement for producing new Chinese medicine against chronic bronchitis.

Influence of thermal hydrolysis pretreatment on organic transformation characteristics of high solid anaerobic digestion.

The study evaluated the influence of thermal hydrolysis pretreatment (THP) on anaerobic digestion (AD) ability of high solid sludge. The transformation characteristics of organics during the THP+AD process of dewatering sludge from wastewater treatment plant was investigated using a lab-scale THP reactor and four anaerobic digesters. The reduction efficiency of volatile suspended solids using THP+AD exceeded 49%. The acceleration of biogas production during AD was due to the enhancement of protein hydrolysis and acidogenesis by THP. THP had only minimal influence on the improvement of carbohydrate acidogenesis. The hydrolysis of poly phosphates was likely the main reaction of phosphorus transformation. Biochemical generation of sulfide and ammonia nitrogen occurred during the acidogenesis.

Coumarins from the bark of Juglans mandshurica exhibited anti-hepatoma activities via inducing apoptosis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer, has high morbidity and mortality rates, and its prognosis is poor. The treatment options of HCC are limited by the lack of effective chemotherapy. Therefore, looking for effective drugs with little toxicity is very urgent. The aim of this study was to search for small molecule targeting on liver cancer from Juglans mandshurica, which has been used to treat cancers for a long time in China. Under the guide of anti-hepatoma activity, a new coumarin (1), together with eight reported analogs (2‒9), was isolated from the 75% EtOH extract. The structures of these compounds were determined by 1D and 2D NMR experiments. The absolute configuration of 1 was established by comparison of experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. The in vitro cytotoxicity experiments on two liver cancer cell lines (HepG2 and Hep3B) showed that compounds 2 and 5 had moderate antitumor activities on both cell lines. And further studies of antitumor mechanisms by the observation of morphological changes and Western blot analyses exhibited that induction of apoptosis might be a possible way that inhibited cell growth.

Phenylpropanoids from Juglans mandshurica exhibit cytotoxicities on liver cancer cell lines through apoptosis induction.

Three new phenylpropanoids (1-3) together with six known congeners (4-9) were isolated from the bark of Juglans mandshurica Maxim using anti-hepatoma activity as a guide. Their structures were determined by comprehensive NMR and HRESIMS spectroscopic data analyses. All the isolated compounds were evaluated for their growth inhibitory activities against two kinds of liver cancer cell lines (HepG2 and Hep3B). Among them, compound 4 showed moderate cytotoxic activities against HepG2 and Hep3B cell lines with IC50 values of 58.58 and 69.87µM. Compound 5 exhibited 50% cell death rate in HepG2 and Hep3B cell lines at 63.70 and 46.45µM, respectively. Further observation of morphological changes and Western blot demonstrated that compounds 4 and 5 exhibited their cytotoxic activities through the induction of apoptosis. A structure-activity relationship study suggested that an α, ß-unsaturated aldehyde might be the most important functional group.

[Transformation characteristics of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur during thermal hydrolysis pretreatment of sludge with high solid content].

The transformation characteristics of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur in dewatering sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) were investigated after thermal hydrolysis pretreatment at 165 degress C for 50 min. The results showed that the hydrolysis efficiency of VSS could reach as high as 43.35%, 54.36% of protein and 65.12% of carbohydrate were transferred to dissolved organics, respectively, and the main component of dissolved organic matter in hydrolysate was dissolved protein (52.18% ), 54.23% of insoluble organic nitrogen was turned into dissolved nitrogen and 22.13% of dissolved nitrogen in hydrolysate was converted to ammonia. The transformation rate of insoluble phosphorus was 30.52%. Dissolved phosphorus was mostly transformed to phosphate (79.84%) as phosphorus-accumulating bacteria cells were crushed. 50.03% of insoluble organic sulfur was hydrolyzed, and little change was detected in sulfide (0.50%). The analysis results of the organic compounds transformation are valuable for treatment of the thermal hydrolysis pretreated sludge with high solid content.

Anti-proliferative effects of Atractylis lancea (Thunb.) DC. via down-regulation of the c-myc/hTERT/telomerase pathway in Hep-G2 cells.

Atractylis lancea (Thunb.) DC. (AL), an important medicinal herb in Asia, has been shown to have anti-tumor effects on cancer cells, but the involved mechanisms are poorly understood. This study focused on potential effects and molecular mechanisms of AL on the proliferation of the Hep-G2 liver cancer cell line in vitro. Cell viability was assessed by MTT test in Hep-G2 cells incubated with an ethanol extract of AL. Then, the effects of AL on apoptosis and cell cycle progression were determined by flow cytometry. Telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assays was performed to investigate telomerase activity. The mRNA and protein expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and c-myc were determined by real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting. Our results show that AL effectively inhibits proliferation in Hep-G2 cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. When Hep-G2 cells were treated with AL after 48h,the IC50 was about 72.1 µg/ mL. Apoptosis was induced by AL via arresting the cells in the G1 phase. Furthermore, AL effectively reduced telomerase activity through inhibition of mRNA and protein expression of hTERT and c-myc. Hence, these data demonstrate that AL exerts anti-proliferative effects in Hep-G2 cells via down-regulation of the c-myc/hTERT/ telomerase pathway.

Effects of Changjishu soft elastic capsule in treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel patients with liver-qi stagnation and spleen deficiency syndrome: a randomized double-blinded controlled trial / 中西医结合学报

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Changjishu soft elastic capsule, a new Chinese herbal medicine for smoothing liver, invigorating spleen and regulating qi activity, on diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS) patients with liver-qi stagnation and spleen deficiency syndrome.

Study on relationship between the C-V curve of the source points of 12 channels and cold and heat syndromes of channels / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the relationship between C-V curve of the source points of 12 channels and cold Eighty patients with cold or heat syndrome were examined with Cowital Human Meor heat syndrome.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>ridian Diagnosing and Analyzing System, which can achieve quantitative analysis on C-V curve from the source points of 12 channels, and additional 40 healthy people were used as control group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The relationship is close between the curvature of the C-V curves of the source points of the meridians and cold-heat syndromes of meridians. The greater is curvature of the C-V curves, the heater is the meridian, the smaller is curvature of the C-V curves, the colder is the meridian. At the same time it is discovered that the curvature of C-V curve has obviouse relationship with cold-heat property of meridians.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The method can be used to set up and perfect the syndrome differentiation with cold-heat principle of meridian. Offer scientific basis for selecting acupoints, reducing-rein forcing methods and treatment means in clinical acupunction treatment.</p>

Feature of C-V Curve of Source Points of 12 Channels in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation / 中国康复理论与实践

@# Objective To observe the C-V curve of source point of 12 channels in patients with lumbar disc herniation. Methods 40 patients with lumbar disc herniation were examined with Cowital Human Meridian Diagnosing and Analyzing System, which can achieve quantitative analysis on C-V curve from the source points of 12 channels. The curves obtained before and after treatment were comparisd. Results The abnormal rates of source point on kidney and bladder meridians were more than those on the other meridians. The improving rates of source point on kidney and bladder meridians were better than those of the other meridians after treatment. Conclusion C-V curve observation can be used to diagnose, deduct and evaluate treatment for the lumbar disc herniation.

Study on correlation between bone mineral density and syndrome type of TCM in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the correlation between bone mineral density and Syndrome type of TCM in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for providing the base of clinical integrative traditional Chinese and western medical therapy for the disease through the Syndrome typing and determination of changes in bone metabolism and bone density.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Bone mineral density (BMD) of lumbar vertebrae 2-4, femoral neck, Ward's triangle and trochanter in 27 COPD male patients, 25 male control subjects and 25 healthy persons were determined using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, patient's Syndrome type, their blood levels of total protein, albumin, alkaline phosphatase, bone glaprotein, hydroxyproline, calcium, phosphate, urine levels of calcium/creatine and phosphorous/creatine as well as arterial blood gas were also determined.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The BMD in COPD patients accompanied with respiratory failure or with course > 10 years was higher than that in COPD patients without respiratory failure or with course < or = 10 years, BMD in COPD patients of Fei-Pi-Shen type was lower than that in those of Fei-Pi, but the urine hydroxyprdine in the former was higher than that in the latter (all P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>(1) COPD is a risk factor for osteoporosis; (2) Shen Deficiency is the key and nucleus of secondary osteoporosis to COPD; (3) It is inferred that early regulation of Shen may be facilitated to prevent osteoporosis in COPD patients.</p>