Pharmacodynamic study on insomnia-curing effects of Shuangxia Decoction in Drosophila melanogaster / 中国天然药物

The present study aimed to establish a pharmacodynamic method using the pySolo software to explore the influence of freeze-dried powders of Shuangxia Decoction (SXD) on the sleep of normal Drosophila melanogaster and the Drosophila melanogaster whose sleep was divested by light. The dose-effect and the time-effect relationships of SXD on sleep were examined. The effect-onset concentration of SXD was 0.25%, the plateau appeared at the concentration of 2.5% and the total sleep time showed a downtrend when the concentration was greater than 2.5%. The sleep time was the longest on the fourth day after SXD was given. The fruit fly sleep deprivation model was repeated by light stimulation at night. The middle dosage group (2.5%) had the best insomnia-curing effect. In conclusion, using the pySolo software, an approach for the pharmacodynamics study was established with Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism to determine the insomnia-curing effects of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Our results demonstrated the reliability of this method. The freeze-dried powders of SXD could effectively improve the sleep quality of Drosophila melanogaster.

Comparative study on quality of Tongrentang red ginseng and Korean red ginseng--determination of ginsenosides and polysaccharides / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish methods for quantitative determination of ginseng saponins, ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rb1 and polysaccarides and compare the qualities of Tongrentang Red Ginseng and Korean Red Ginseng.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Macroreticular resin-colorimetric method was developed to determine ginseng saponins and a new HPLC method with gradient eluents was established for determination of ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rb1. For ginseng polysaccharides, phenol-oil of vitriol colorimetric method was developed and some factors were also optimized.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The content of ginseng saponins in Tongrentang Red Ginseng was not lower than that of Korean Red Ginseng. Ginsenoside Rg1 and Rb1 in Tongrentang Red Ginseng were higher than those in Korean Red Ginseng, while Ginsenoside Re was slightly lower than that of Korean Red Ginseng. However, the amount of Ginseng Polysaccharides in Tongrentang Red Ginseng was greater than those in Korean Red Ginseng.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The contents of ginseng saponins and ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rb1 in Tongrentang Red Ginseng were not lower than that in Korean Red Ginseng. The methods for determination of ginsenosides and ginseng polysaccharides were quite accurate and reliable to the quality control of Ginseng.</p>