[Clinical observation on wheat grain moxibustion for chronic superficial gastritis of spleen-stomach deficiency and cold].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical effect of wheat grain moxibustion and warming acupuncture on chronic superficial gastritis of spleen-stomach deficiency and cold. METHODS: A total of 200 patients with chronic superficial gastritis of spleen-stomach deficiency and cold were randomly divided into a wheat grain moxibustion group (100 cases, 13 cases dropped off ) and a warming acupuncture group (100 cases, 16 cases dropped off ). The acupoints of Zhongwan (CV 12), Tianshu (ST 25), Qihai (CV 6), Liangqiu (ST 34) and Zusanli (ST 36) were selected in both groups. The patients in the wheat grain moxibustion group were treated with wheat grain moxibustion, and 5 cone were given on every acupoint each time. Moxibustion was performed after acupuncture in the warming acupuncture group, and 3 cone each acupoint. Both groups were treated every other day for 15 times. The scores of clinical symptoms and signs, scores of physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) of quality of life in the two groups were recorded before and after treatment and during follow-up 1 month after treatment, and the clinical effects of the two groups were evaluated after treatment and during follow-up. RESULTS: After treatment and during follow-up, the scores of clinical symptoms and signs of the two groups were lower than before treatment (P<0.05), and the scores of PCS and MCS of quality of life were higher than before treatment (P<0.05). At follow-up, the score of clinical symptoms and signs in the wheat grain moxibustion group was lower than that in the warming acupuncture group (P<0.01), and the scores of PCS and MCS of quality of life were higher than those in the warming acupuncture group (P<0.001). The total effective rate of the wheat grain moxibustion group was 93.1% (81/87), which was higher than 82.1% (69/84) of the warming acupuncture group at follow-up (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The wheat grain moxibustion can effectively improve the clinical symptoms, signs and quality of life in patients with chronic superficial gastritis of spleen-stomach deficiency and cold, and its long-term effect is better than warming acupuncture.

A new indole-type alkaloid from the roots of Clematis florida var. plena.

One new indole-type alkaloid, α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-ß-D- glucopyranosyl 6-methoxy-3-indolecarbonate (1), together with three known alkaloids (2-4), one aromatic acid (5) and five known saponins (6-10), was isolated from the roots of Clematis florida var. plena. Their structures were established by NMR spectroscopic analysis and acid hydrolysis. In in vivo anti-inflammatory activity, n-butanol extract was found to be potent against ear edema in mice, with inhibition rate of 48.7% at a dose of 800 mg/kg. Furthermore, compounds 8 and 9 obtained from the n-butanol extract exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activities with inhibition rates of 50.9% and 54.7% at a dose of 200 mg/kg.

Identification of Herb Pairs in Esophageal Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is used widely to treat various diseases, including cancer. However, effective herb pairs for treating specific cancer types have so far not been identified. Here, we aimed to calculate the survival benefits of herb pairs by cluster analysis, association rules, and survival evaluation in patients with esophageal cancer (EC) treated with CHM. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 59 patients with EC who received 176 prescriptions including 178 types of herbs were enrolled into the study. The herb pairs were identified by both cluster analysis and association rules. Overall survival (OS) was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Eight groups of herb pairs were identified by cluster analysis, and 4 groups of herb pairs were identified by association rules. Of these, 3 groups of herb pairs were identified by both methods. OS estimation showed that the pair of chicken gizzard-membrane/Astragalus was associated with improved survival in patients with EC treated with CHM. CONCLUSION: Patients who received prescriptions containing the pair of chicken gizzard-membrane and Astragalus had improved OS compared with patients who received prescriptions lacking this pair.