[Chemical Constituents from Semiliquidambar cathayensis Roots].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents from the roots of Semiliquidambar cathayensis. METHODS: The roots of Semiliquidambar cathayensis were extracted with 80% ethanol for reflux. Chemical constituents were isolated by silica gel chromatography and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography from petrol ether part and ethyl acetate part of extracts. Their structures were identified on the basis of physico-chemical characters and spectroscopic analysis. RESULTS: Eleven compounds were obtained from the roots of Semiliquidambar cathayensis, and identified as 3-acetyl-12-ene-oleanolic acid methyl ester (1), ß-sitosterol (2), 3-acetyl-12-ene-oleanol-ic acid (3), 2α,3ß-dihydroxy-lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (4), (24R)-5α-stignast-3,6-dione (5), betulonic acid (6), stearic acid (7), hexadecanoic acid (8), 3-oxo-olean-12-en-28-oic acid (9), arjunolic acid (10) and daucosterol (11). CONCLUSION: Compounds 1,3 - 6 and 8 are isolated from this genus for the first time.

[Effect of liquorice decoction on rat intestinal P-glycoprotein].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of liquorice in functional modulation of intestinal P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in rats. METHODS: An in vitro diffusion chamber system (Ussing chamber) was used to examine the direct effect of liquorice decoction on rhodamine 123 (a subtrate of P-gp) transport and evaluate the permeability of rhodamine 123 or fluorescein sodium through rat jejunum membranes after oral administration of liquorice decoction. RESULTS: Direct application of liquorice decoction did not obviously affect rhodamine 123 transport across the intestinal mucosa. Oral administration of liquorice decoction (10 g/kg, twice daily for a week) significantly increased the absorption of rhodamine 123 and also enhanced rhodamine 123 secretion across the jejunum mucosa. Liquorice had no obvious effect on the transport of CF across the jejunum mucosa. CONCLUSION: Liquorice may slightly inhibit P-gp function in the intestinal mucosa to increase the intestinal absorption of rhodamine 123.

Inhibitory effect of traditional Chinese medicine Zi-Shen Pill on benign prostatic hyperplasia in rats.

In the present study, we investigate the effects of an extract isolated from traditional Chinese medicine Zi-Shen Pill (ZSPE) on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in rats induced by testosterone after castration. A total of 50 rats were equally divided into five groups: Group 1 served as control (sham-operated group); Group 2 was model group; Group 3 and Group 4 animals were administered with ZSPE at dose levels of 300 mg/kg and 600 mg/kg; Group 5 was served as positive control group and treated with finasteride at a dose of 1 mg/kg. The drugs were administered orally once a day for 28 days consecutively. The prostate weight, prostatic index, and serum dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels were significantly reduced and the pathological changes in BPH were also by ameliorated ZSPE. Immunohistochemical examination revealed that the expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in prostate were inhibited by ZSPE treatment, whereas the levels of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) were increased. These results suggest that ZSPE has a definite inhibitory effect on BPH and might be an alternative medicine for treatment of human BPH.

[Effect of Glycyrrhiza inflata and Daphne genkwa on permeabilities of rhodamine 123, a P-glycoprotein substrate across rat jejunum membranes in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the modulation of Glycyrrhiza inflata and Daphne genkwa on the permeability characteristics of rhodamine 123 (R123), one P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrate, across the jejunum membranes. And then approach the possible permeability mechanism of the drugs after co-administration of G. inflata and D. genkwa in gastrointestinal tract. METHOD: The permeability of R123 or fluorescein sodium (CF) via Wistar rat jejunum membranes was evaluated by in vitro diffusion chamber system after oral administration of four different decoctions and 0.9% sodium chloride (20 mL x kg(-1)) for 1 week. And the concentration of R123 or CF was determined by the fluorospectrophotometry. The apparent permeability coefficient (P(app)) was calculated by the equation P(app) = dQ/d(t) x (1/A x C0), where P(app) was expressed in cm/s, dQ/dT was the slope of the linear portion of the permeation curves, A was the diffusion area, and C0 was the initial concentration of rebamipide in the donor side, and then compare their differences were compared with control group. RESULT: After oral administration of G. inflata decoction, D. genkwa decoction and decoction of the combination of the previous decoctions, the absorptive directed transport of R123 was significantly increased (P < 0.05, compared with control group). On the other hand, D. genkwa could also decrease the permeability of secretory directed transport (P(app) = 2.98 +/- 0.59), while no action of G. inflata was found on the secretory transport of R123 ( P(app) = 5.24 +/- 3.98) across the jejunum tissues, while P(app) of control group was 4.38 +/- 1.18. Meanwhile, G. inflata had no effect on transport of CF across the jejunum tissues, though the other three groups could decrease the permeability of CF, as compared with control group. CONCLUSION: G. inflata may slightly inhibit P-glycoprotein function in the intestinal membrane, while D. genkwa may be a relatively strong inhibitor of P-gp. For another, some compositions in D. genkwa inhibit P-gp function, and some others strengthen the tight junction between cells in the intestinal membrane to decrease permeability of CF. As the inhibitory action to P-gp was enhanced by combination of G. inflata and D. genkwa, based on the results, it may be one of the mechanisms of creating toxicity once co-administration of G. inflata and D. genkwa.

Analysis of intraspecific variation of Chinese Carthamus tinctorius L. using AFLP markers.

AIM: To investigate the intraspecific variation of Carthamus tinctorius L. (safflower) and establish foundation for further breeding of safflower germplasm resource and screening the quality correlation genes. METHODS: Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was carried out to analyze genetic variation of 28 safflower populations collected in China. Unweighed pair-group method of with arithmetical averages (UPGMA) cluster analysis was used to construct a dendrogram and to estimate the genetic distances among the populations. RESULTS: All populations could be uniquely distinguished using 12 selected primer combinations. Similarity coefficients ranged from 0.48 to 0.96 among the populations. Dendrogram revealed distinct segregation of all the cultivars into three main groups and one midst group. CONCLUSION: Limited genetic diversity exists within the tested 28 collections at intra specific level and AFLP-based phyiogeny was not absolutely consistent with that based on morphological characters may be due to the interaction effect between genotype and environment.