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OBJECTIVE：To study “Qi-invigorating”effect and its possible mechanism of total saponins of Astragalus membranaceus on rats with Qi-deficiency ，and to provide reference for elucidating the material basis of “Qi-invigorating”effect of A. membranaceus . METHODS ：Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal group ，model group ，positive control group [Buzhong yiqi pills ，4.5 g/（kg·d）]，A. membranaceus total saponins high-dose and low-dose groups [ 252，28 g/（kg·d），by the amount of total saponins] according to body weight ，with 8 rats in each group. Except for normal group ，the model of Qi-deficiency was made in other groups by the method of “diet disorder+fatigue ”. At the same time ，administration groups were given relevant medicine intragastrically ，and normal group and model group were given constant volume of water，once a day ，for consecutive 21 days. After last administration ，the general situation of rats was observed ；the body weight ，spleen index and thymus index of rats were detected ；weight-bearing swimming time was recorded ；the levels of spleen T lymphocyte subsets CD 3 and CD 4，the levels of ATP and ADP in liver tissue ，serum levels of ALB ，RBC and HBG in blood as well as the serum levels of SOD，MDA，lactate，LDH，CK，IL-2，IL-12 and TNF-α were all detected. RESULTS：Compared with normal group ，body weight，thymus index ，spleen index ，weight-bearing swimming time ，the level of spleen T lymphocyte subsets CD 3，ATP，ADP， ALB，IL-2 and IL- 12 were decreased or shortened significantly in model group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The levels of MDA ， lactate，CK and TNF-α were increased significantly （P＜ 0.05）. Compared with model group ，body weight ，spleen index，weight-bearing swimming time ，the level of spleen T lymphocyte subsets CD 3 and the levels of ATP ，ADP，ALB， RBC and IL- 2 were increased significantly or prolonged（P＜0.05）；while the levels of MDA ，lactate，CK and TNF-α were decreased significantly in A. membranaceus total saponins high-dose group（P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）.Weight-bearing swimming time ，the levels of ATP ，ADP and IL- 2 in A. membranaceus total saponins low-dose group were increased significantly or prolonged （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01），while the levels of MDA ，lactate，CK and TNF-α were decreased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with positive control group ，spleen index ，spleen T lymphocyte subsets CD 3，weight-bearing swimming time and ATP level of A. membranaceus total saponins high-dose group were increased significantly or prolonged （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01），while MDA levels of A. membranaceus total saponins high-dose and low-dose groups were decreased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS ：A. membranaceus total saponins can reduce the body ’s accumulation of blood lactic acid ，the activity of CK ，the level of lipid peroxide and regulate immunity to tonify Qi ，delay fatigue and improve exercise ability.
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Testacean traditional Chinese medicine (TTCM), derived from the outer shell of sea or freshwater mollusks, is a special and important category of Chinese medicinal materials. To ensure the effective use of TTCM, a comparative identification study was performed on five commonly-used testacean drugs, including Haliotidis Concha, Arcae Concha, Meretricis Concha, Ostreae Concha and Margaritifera Concha (Shijueming, Walengzi, Geqiao, Muli and Zhenzhumu in Chinese, respectively). Typical morphological photographs of the crude drugs were acquired, and the key microscopic characteristics of the derived powders under normal light microscope and polarized light microscope were summarized. The major results can be concluded as follows: (1) the original species involved in the five TTCMs could be distinguished by their respective interspecies morphological characteristics; (2) the key identification characteristics of the five powdered crude drugs were mainly crystal fragments, with the fragment features under both normal light and polarized light microscope providing powerful points for differentiating the five commonly-used testacean drugs. This study demonstrated that it is feasible to provide authentication for these five kinds of TTCMs by the combination of morphology with microscopy.
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Quality control and standardization of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) is the key to its globalization. Generally, there is a common practice to select one or more compounds as chemical markers for the purpose of qual-ity assessment. However, how to select chemical markers and how to set the range of effective concentrations are still the bottleneck. The authors proposed a bioactive equivalent combinatorial components (BECCs) as defined labeled amount of active constituents oriented quality control strategy of TCMs based on years of research work. Focusing on the relationship between chemical components efficacy and quality of TCMs, this strategy provides a new perspective and methods to improve quality control of TCMs.
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The microscopic identification technique plays an important role in quality standard of Chinese herbal medicines. It has been adopted as a routine identification method in the major pharmacopoeias due to its accurate, simple, speedy, inexpensive, feasible as well as environmentally friendly properties. In this article, the theoretical principles of microscopic identification, the stability and specificity of microscopic characters, are firstly discussed. The applications of microscopic identification in ChP, USP, Ph. Eur. and JP are listed and typically compared. A protocol for microscopic identification is thus proposed based on our previous investigations. Finally, some challenges facing modernizaiton of Chinese herbal medicines are also outlined.
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Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is gaining popularity across the world. The identification of Chinese materia medica (CMM) is vital for assuring safety and efficacy of the products. In this article, new technologies and methods, such as electronic nose, electronic tongue, histochemical localization, fluorescence microscopy, X-ray microscopy in phase contrast, computer image technology, and their application in the morphological identification or microscopic identification of CMM were reviewed.