Joint Effects of Prenatal Folic Acid Supplement with Prenatal Multivitamin and Iron Supplement on Obesity in Preschoolers Born SGA: Sex Specific Difference.

Prenatal maternal nutrient supplementation has been reported to be associated with offspring obesity, but the reports are inconsistent and have mainly ignored the differences between the total children population and children born small for gestational age (SGA). This study aimed to examine the joint effects of folic acid, iron, and multivitamin supplementation during pregnancy on the risk of obesity in preschoolers born SGA. A total of 8918 children aged 3-6.5 years born SGA were recruited from Longhua District in Shenzhen of China in 2021. Their mothers completed a structured questionnaire about the child's and parents' socio-demographic characteristics, maternal prepregnant obesity, and mothers' prenatal supplementation of folic acid, iron, and multivitamin. In addition, the children's current weight and height were measured by trained nurses. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the associations between prenatal supplementations and the current presence of childhood obesity. After controlling for potential confounders, the results of the logistic regression analysis showed that prenatal supplement of folic acid (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.55~0.93) was associated with a lower likelihood of being an obese preschooler born SGA. In contrast, the ingestion of multivitamin or iron supplements during pregnancy did not seem to be related to the likelihood of childhood obesity in preschoolers born SGA. Moreover, cross-over analysis of prenatal folic acid and multivitamin obtained significant negative associations of prenatal folic acid supplement only (OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.55~0.97) and combination supplement of folic acid and multivitamin (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.50~0.90) with obesity of preschoolers born SGA; while the cross-over analysis of prenatal folic acid and iron observed significant negative associations between obesity of preschoolers born SGA and a combination supplement of folic acid and iron (OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.52~0.96). Furthermore, the aforementioned significant associations were only found in girls and not in boys when the analyses were stratified by sex. Our findings suggest that the prenatal folic acid supplementation may decrease the risk of obesity in preschool girls born SGA, and that this effect may be modified by prenatal multivitamin or iron supplementation.

Research progress of exosome delivery vehicles in tumor phototherapy / 药学学报

Exosome is a self-secreted phospholipid bilayer nanovesicles, and has shown great potential in drug delivery field due to the important advantages of low immunogenicity and homologous targeting. Phototherapy, mainly includes photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), utilize light to activate photoactive drug for tumor cell killing. The advanced therapeutic strategy shows low toxic side-effect and non-invasion precise advantages, and thus has made great progress in tumor treatment over the past few years. Therefore, using exosomes as a drug delivery system to deliver phototherapeutic agents can improve therapeutic performances with a reduced side-effect, and further enhance their application potential for clinical tumor therapy. This review focus on the rising cross-subjects field involving exosomes and phototherapy, and mainly introduce the research progress and relative case of exosomes-based delivery system for cancer phototherapy. Additionally, the advantages and challenges of exosome-based phototherapy are also discussed and proposed.

Effects of astragaloside Ⅳ on inflammatory response and percentage of peripheral blood Th17 cells in mice with ulcerative colitis / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of astragaloside Ⅳ in mice with ulcerative colitis(UC) and its effect on the percentage of peripheral blood T helper(Th17) cells. Following the establishment of UC mouse model with 2% sodium dextran sulfate(DSS), mice in the positive control group and low-and high-dose astragaloside Ⅳ groups were treated with corresponding drugs by gavage. Disease activity index(DAI) was calculated, and serum interleukin-17(IL-17), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), and transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β) levels were assayed by ELISA. The pathological changes in colon tissue were observed by HE staining, and Th17/regulatory T cells(Treg) ratio in the peripheral blood was determined by flow cytometry. Western blot was conducted for detecting the relative protein expression levels of forkhead box protein P3(Foxp3) and retinoic acid-related orphan nuclear receptor γT(ROR-γt). The findings demonstrated that in normal mice, the colonic structure was intact. The goblet cells were not reduced and the glands were neatly arranged, with no mucosal erosion, bleeding, or positive cell infiltration. In the model group, the colonic mucosal structure was seriously damaged, manifested as disordered arrangement or missing of glands, vascular dilatation, congestion, and massive inflammatory cell infiltration. The pathological injury of colon tissue was alleviated to varying degrees in drug treatment groups. Compared with the normal group, the model group exhibited elevated percentage of Th17 cells, increased IL-17 and TNF-α content, up-regulated relative ROR-γt protein expression, lowered TGF-β, reduced percentage of Treg cells, and down-regulated relative Foxp3 protein expression. The comparison with the model group showed that DAI score, pathological score, percentage of Th17 cells, IL-17 and TNF-α content, and relative ROR-γt protein expression in the positive control group, low-dose astragaloside Ⅳ group, and high-dose astragaloside Ⅳ group were decreased, while TGF-β content, percentage of Treg cells, and relative Foxp3 protein expression were increased. The DAI score, pathological score, percentage of Th17 cells, IL-17 and TNF-α content, and relative ROR-γt protein expression in the low-dose astragaloside Ⅳ group were higher than those in the positive control group, whereas the content of TGF-β, percentage of Treg cells, and relative Foxp3 protein expression were lower. DAI score, pathological score, percentage of Th17 cells, IL-17 and TNF-α content, relative ROR-γt protein expression in the high-dose astragaloside Ⅳ group declined in contrast to those in the low-dose astragaloside Ⅳ group, while the TGF-β content, percentage of Treg cells, and relative Foxp3 protein expression rose. There was no significant difference between the positive control group and the high-dose astragaloside Ⅳ group. Astragaloside Ⅳ is able to inhibit inflammatory response and diminish the percentage of Th17 cells in mice with UC.

HPLC Fingerprint Analysis of Substance Benchmark of Xiao Chengqitang / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To establish a high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） fingerprint of the substance benchmark of Xiao Chengqitang and evaluate its quality with chemical pattern recognition method. Method:Diamonsil C₁₈ column （4.6 mm×150 mm， 5 μm） was used， mobile phase was consisted of methanol （A）-0.1% phosphoric acid solution （B） for gradient elution （0-60 min， 20%-90%A； 60-70 min， 90%-100%A）， the flow rate was 1 mL·min^-1， the column temperature was 25 ℃， and the detection wavelength was 254 nm. The similarity evaluation system of chromatographic fingerprint of traditional Chinese medicine （2012 edition） was used to evaluate the similarity of HPLC fingerprint of 15 batches of substance benchmark of Xiao Chengqitang， and the chromatographic data were analyzed by cluster analysis， principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis， in order to evaluate the quality difference between different batches of substance benchmarks of Xiao Chengqitang and find out the main chemical components that caused the quality difference. Result:The HPLC fingerprint of Xiao Chengqitang substance benchmarks was established， 31 common peaks were identified， and 18 components were identified by comparing with the reference substances. The similarities of 15 batches of HPLC fingerprint of Xiao Chengqitang substance benchmarks were >0.92. The samples could be divided into two categories by three chemical pattern recognition methods. Nine main components leading to the quality discrepancy of samples between batches were screened out， including rhein， chrysophanol-8-<italic>O</italic>-<italic>β</italic>-<italic>D</italic>-glucoside， aloe-emodin-8-<italic>O</italic>-<italic>β</italic>-<italic>D</italic>-glucoside， sennoside A， chrysophanol-1-<italic>O</italic>-<italic>β</italic>-<italic>D</italic>-glucoside， rhein-8-<italic>O</italic>-glucoside and others. Conclusion:The established fingerprint analysis method is accurate， stable and reproducible， which basically reflects the overall chemical composition characteristics of Xiao Chengqitang， and can be used for the quality control of Xiao Chengqitang preparations.

[Traditional Chinese Medicine data management policy in big data environment].

As traditional data management model cannot effectively manage the massive data in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) due to the uncertainty of data object attributes as well as the diversity and abstraction of data representation, a management strategy for TCM data based on big data technology is proposed. Based on true characteristics of TCM data, this strategy could solve the problems of the uncertainty of data object attributes in TCM information and the non-uniformity of the data representation by using modeless properties of stored objects in big data technology. Hybrid indexing mode was also used to solve the conflicts brought by different storage modes in indexing process, with powerful capabilities in query processing of massive data through efficient parallel MapReduce process. The theoretical analysis provided the management framework and its key technology, while its performance was tested on Hadoop by using several common traditional Chinese medicines and prescriptions from practical TCM data source. Result showed that this strategy can effectively solve the storage problem of TCM information, with good performance in query efficiency, completeness and robustness.

Effect of six components in Polygoni Multiflori Radix on regulation of CYP3A4 mediated by human pregnane X receptor / 中国中药杂志

This paper aimed to study the six chemical components of Polygoni Multiflori Radix (gallic acid, quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, resveratrol, apigenin). By the established pregnane X receptor (human pregnant X receptor, PXR) CYP3A4 mediated drug induced rapid screening technique, the effect of chemical components on the cell activity was detected by MTS cell method, and the value of IC₅₀ was calculated. The dual luciferase reporter system was used to co-transfect PXR reporter gene expression vector containing transcriptional regulation and CYP3A4 with HepG2 cells, with 10 μmol·L⁻¹ rifampicin (RIF) as a positive control, and 10 μmol·L⁻¹ of ketoconazole (TKZ) as negative control. Gallic acid, quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, apigenin, resveratrol(5, 10, 20 μmol·L⁻¹) were used to incubate for 24 h, and the luciferase activity was detected. The results showed that when plasmid pcDNA3.1 was co-transfected with pGL4.17-CYP3A4, gallic acid and resveratrol had an inhibitory effect on the regulation of CYP3A4, and quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol had an inductive effect on CYP3A4; when pcDNA3.14-PXR was co-transfected with pGL4.17-CYP3A4, quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, apigenin, resveratrol had an inductive effect. To sum up, the 6 reported liver injury components had inhibitory or activating effects on CYP3A4. After PXR plasmid was involved, 5 components had an inductive effect on CYP3A4, and the inductive effects of 2 components were significantly different. In this experiment, we found that 2 kinds of potential liver injury components in Polygoni Multiflori Radix had been induced by CYP3A4, which was achieved through PXR regulation. It suggested that attention shall be paid to potential drug interactions when combined with Polygoni Multiflori Radix, so as to improve the safety and efficacy.

[Effect of Electroacupuncture on the Expression of Hippocampal eNSCs in MCAO Model Rats].

Objective To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on hippocampal en- dogenous neural stem cells (eNSCs) expression of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model rats after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) at different time points, and to observe possible mechanisms of EA for keeping away from damage in acute cerebral infarction (ACI). Methods MCAO model was pre- pared in male SPF grade SD rats by suture method. Totally 90 rats were divided into the sham-operated group, the model group, and the EA group according to random number table, 30 in each group. Rats in the sham-operated group only received surgical trauma. Rats in the model group only received MCAO I/R injury. Rats in the EA group received EA at Baihui (DU20) and Dazhui (DU14) , once per day, 30 min each time. Nerve defects of rats were tested by neural function defect scale at day 1 , 7, 14 of treatment, respectively. Meanwhile, 6 rats were executed randomly from each group. Their hippocampus tissues were isolated. Then the proliferation and differentiation expression of eNSCs in the hippocampus area were detected by immunofluorescence method. Results (1) The scores of nerve function defect scale: The scores of the model group increased at day 1, 7, 14 of treatment, being higher as compared with those of the sham-operated group (P <0. 05). The scores of the EA group were lower than those of the model group at day 1, 7, 14 of treatment (P <0. 05). (2) The expression of BrdU positive cells: Com- pared with the sham-operated group, the expression of BrdU positive cells in the model group were in- creased at day 1, 7, 14 of treatment (P <0. 05). Compared with the model group at each time points, the expression of BrdU positive cells in the EA group were increased more at day 1, 7, 14 of treatment (P < 0. 05). (3) The expression of Nestin positive cells: The expression of Nestin positive cells were in- creased more in the model group than in the sham-operated group at day 1 , 7, 14 of treatment (P < 0. 05). Compared with the model group, the expression of Nestin positive cells increased more in the EA group, but only with statistical difference at day 7 of treatment (P <0. 05). (4) the expression of DCX positive cells: the expression of DCX positive cells were increased more in the model group than in the sham-operated group at day 1 and 7 of treatment (P <0. 05). Compared with the model group, the ex- pression of DCX positive cells were increased more in the EA group at day 7 and 14 of treatment (P < 0. 05). (5) the expression of NeuN positive cells: The expression NeuN of positive cells were increased more in the model group than in the sham-operated group at day 1, 7, and 14 of treatment, but only with statistical difference at day 14 of treatment (P <0. 05). Compared with the model group, the expression of NeuN positive cells were increased more obviously, but only with statistical difference at day 1 and 14 of treatment (P <0.05). (6) the expression of GFAP positive cells: The expression of GFAP positive cells increased more obviously in the model group than in the sham-operated group at day 1 , 7, and 14 of treatment (P <0. 05). Compared with the model group, the expression of GFAP positive cells were not obviously increased in the EA group, but only with statistical difference at day 14 of treatment (P <0. 05). Conclusions The proliferation and differentiation of eNSCs exist in the hippocampus area after cerebral I/R in MCAO model rats. EA could improve the recovery of damaged nerve function. Its possible mecha- nism might lie in that EA could promote the proliferation and differentiation of eNSCs in hippocampus area, inhibit excessive differentiation of eNSCs into astrocytes , promote differentiation of eNSCs into neu- rons, and improve regeneration of nerve cells.

Correlation between Signs of Living Body in Abdominal and Pelvic Cavities and Syndrome Typing of Chinese Medicine in Colorectal Cancer Patients / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the correlation between signs of living body in abdominal and pelvic cavities and syndrome typing of Chinese medicine (CM) in colorectal cancer patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 112 colorectal cancer patients undergoing open abdominal surgery or laporoscopic surgery were syndrome typed as five types, i.e., inner-accumulation of damp and heat, blockage of stasis and toxin, Pi-Shen yang deficiency, blood-qi deficiency, Gan-Shen yin deficiency. Signs of living body in abdominal and pelvic cavities were collected. The correlation between signs of living body in abdominal and pelvic cavities and syndrome typing of CM were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Red colorectal canals or mass were dominated in colorectal cancer patients with inner-accumulation of damp and heat syndrome. Dark purple colorectal canals or mass were dominated in colorectal cancer patients with blockage of stasis and toxin syndrome. Reddish colorectal canals or mass were dominated in colorectal cancer patients with blood-qi deficiency syndrome. Pale colorectal canals or mass were dominated in colorectal cancer patients with Pi-Shen yang deficiency syndrome. Whitish or red-white stripes were dominated in colorectal cancer patients with Gan-Shen yin deficiency syndrome. Dropsy colorectal canal was associated with Pi-Shen yang deficiency syndrome. Intracavitary effusion was often seen in colorectal cancer patients with inner-accumulation of damp and heat syndrome. The effusion was yellowish in less amount. Intracavitary adhesion was often seen in colorectal cancer patients with blockage of stasis and toxin syndrome. There was no correlation between the maximum diameter of mass or each syndrome type of CM.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>There existed correlation between signs of living body in abdominal and pelvic cavities and syndrome typing of CM, which could be taken as one of references for syndrome typing of colorectal cancer patients.</p>

China's growing contribution to military Chinese medicine (2005-2014): a ten-year literature survey / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>In China, people have relied on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for thousands of years to keep healthy and treat diseases. TCM also plays an important role in military health services and now forms a new discipline called military Chinese medicine (MCM). However, the type, quality and focus of research articles about MCM have not been reported. The present study was performed to analyze the growing trends of MCM and investigate China's contribution to military health services.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>China's MCM publications were retrieved from the PubMed database, as well as China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data and Chongqing VIP database from 2005 to 2014.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The study found that the number of published articles increased markedly from 2005 to 2014. Basic research studies comprised a small percentage of the literature. Among these studies, military training injury and special military environmental medicine were the most common research subjects in MCM. Military hospitals were the main institutions generating MCM literature.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The quality of MCM research is generally low, as indicated by the proportion of publications in core journals. Studies on MCM still lack high-quality publications and international cooperation.</p>

The application status of Chinese herbal medicine in military health service in China / 中国结合医学杂志

Military medicine has had a long history in China since the emergence of the war. Chinese medicine, especially Chinese herbs, was widely used in China as well as other Asian countries for the prevention and treatment of diseases in the military for hundreds of years. However, the use of Chinese medicine in military health service has never been well studied. In this article, we briefly summarize the application status of Chinese herbal medicine in military health service in China, putting particular emphasis on special military environment, in an attempt to build a bridge between Chinese medicine and military health service and promote the quality of health service for the military and maintain world peace.

Selenium deficiency inhibits the conversion of thyroidal thyroxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3) in chicken thyroids.

Selenium (Se) influences the metabolism of thyroid hormones in mammals. However, the role of Se deficiency in the regulation of thyroid hormones in chickens is not well known. In the present study, we examined the levels of thyroidal triiodothyronine (T3), thyroidal thyroxine (T4), free triiodothyronine, free thyroxine (FT4), and thyroid-stimulating hormone in the serum and the mRNA expression levels of 25 selenoproteins in chicken thyroids. Then, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to analyze the relationships between the selenoproteins. The results indicated that Se deficiency influenced the conversion of T4 to T3 and induced the accumulation of T4 and FT4. In addition, the mRNA expression levels of the selenoproteins were generally decreased by Se deficiency. The PCA showed that eight selenoproteins (deiodinase 1 (Dio1), Dio2, Dio3, thioredoxin reductase 2 (Txnrd2), selenoprotein i (Seli), selenoprotein u (Selu), glutathione peroxidase 1 (Gpx1), and Gpx2) have similar trends, which indicated that they may play similar roles in the metabolism of thyroid hormones. The results showed that Se deficiency inhibited the conversion of T4 to T3 and decreased the levels of the crucial metabolic enzymes of the thyroid hormones, Dio1, Dio2, and Dio3, in chickens. In addition, the decreased selenoproteins (Dio1, Dio2, Dio3, Txnrd2, Seli, Selu, Gpx1, and Gpx2) induced by Se deficiency may indirectly limit the conversion of T4 to T3 in chicken thyroids. The information presented in this study is helpful to understand the role of Se in the thyroid function of chickens.

Effect of selenium on selenoprotein expression in the adipose tissue of chickens.

This study describes the effects of selenium (Se) deficiency on the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression of 25 selenoproteins (Sels) (including glutathione peroxidases (GPx1-GPx4), thioredoxin reductases (TrxR1-TrxR3), iodothyronine deiodinases (ID1-ID3), selenophosphate synthetase 2 (SPS2), 15-kDa Sel (Sel15), SelH, SelI, SelK, SelM, Sepn1, SelO, Sepx, Selpb, SelS, SelT, SelW, Sepp1, and SelU in the adipose tissues (subcutaneous adipose, visceral adipose, and articular adipose) of chickens. One hundred and fifty 1-day-old chickens were randomly assigned to two groups of 75 each and were fed a low-Se diet (0.032 mg/kg Se) or a control diet (0.282 mg/kg Se). The expression levels of 25 Sel mRNAs were determined on days 35, 45, and 55 from three parts (subcutaneous adipose, visceral adipose, and articular adipose) of the chicken adipose tissues. The results showed that the expression levels of the 25 Sel mRNAs were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the low-selenium group than in the control group. In addition, the Sel mRNA expression levels in the three adipose tissues were observed to decrease in a time-dependent manner with increasing feeding time.

Clinical observation on the neurotransmitters regulation in patients of insomnia differentiated as yang deficiency pattern treated with warm acupuncture and auricular point sticking therapy / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the effect mechanism of warm acupuncture combined with auricular point sticking therapy and its efficacy on insomnia by monitoring the level of brain neurotransmitters in the insomnia patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and thirty patients with insomnia were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 65 cases in each one. In the observation group, based on the treating principle of warming yang and benefiting qi, acupuncture was applied to Xinshu (BL 15), Pishu (BL 20), Shenshu (BL 23), Yaoyangguan (GV 3), Baihui (GV 20), Neiguan (PC 6) and Shenmen (HT 7). Warm acupuncture was supplemented at Xinshu (BL 15), Pishu (BL 20), Shenshu (BL 23) and Yaoyangguan (GV 3). The treatment was given once every day. In the control group, estazolam tablets, 0. 5 to 1 mg were prescribed for oral administration, 30 min before sleep at night. The treatment of 14 days was taken as one session and 2 sessions were required in the two groups. The encephal of luctuograph technology was used to observe the sleep quality and brain neurotransmitters before and after treatment in the two groups and the efficacy was compared between the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total effective rate was 83.1% (54/65) in the observation group and 87.7% (57/65) in the control group. The efficacy was similar between the two groups (P > 0.05). In the observation group, after treatment, 5-HT and GABA/Glu were all increased compared with those before treatment (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) and norepinephrine (NE) was reduced compared with that before treatment (P < 0.05). The level of each index did not change significantly before and after treatment in the control group (all P > 0.05). The regulations of 5-HT, GABA/Glu in the observation group were superior to those in the control group (all P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The combined therapy of warm acupuncture and auricular point sticking method for warming yang and benefiting qi effectively improves brain neurotransmitters and essentially improves sleep quality of the patients with insomnia differentiated as yang deficiency pattern.</p>

[LUTS in BPH patients with histological prostatitis before and after transurethral resection of the prostate].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) on lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) complicated by histological prostatitis. METHODS: This study included 432 cases of BPH pathologically confirmed after TURP. Excluding those with LUTS-related factors before and after surgery and based on the international prostatitis histological classification of diagnostic criteria, the remaining 144 cases were divided into groups A (pure BPH, n = 30), B (mild inflammation, n = 55), C (moderate inflammation, n = 31), and D (severe inflammation, n = 28). Each group was evaluated for LUTS by IPSS before and a month after surgery. RESULTS: A total of 399 cases (92.4%) were diagnosed as BPH with histological prostatitis, 269 (67.4%) mild, 86 (21.6%) moderate and 44 (11.0%) severe. The preoperative IPSS was 21.43 +/- 6.09 in group A, 21.75 +/- 5.97 in B, 27.84 +/- 4.18 in C and 31.00 +/- 2.92 in D, with statistically significant differences among different groups (P < 0.001) except between A and B (P = 1.000); the postoperative IPSS was 5.60 +/- 2.16 in A, 7.36 +/- 2.77 in B, 11.55 +/- 3.39 in C and 16.89 +/- 3.37 in D, with statistically significant differences among different groups (P < 0.01), and remarkably lower than the preoperative one (P < 0.001). Almost all the infiltrating inflammatory cells in BPH with histological prostatitis were lymphocytes. CONCLUSION: BPH is mostly complicated with histological chronic prostatitis. The severity of LUTS is higher in BPH patients with histological prostatitis than in those without before and after TURP, and positively correlated with the grade of inflammation. Those complicated with moderate or severe histological prostatitis should take medication for the management of LUTS.

Research on the incompatibility of Radix adenophora, Radix glehniae combined with Veratrum nigrum L. by uniform designed toxicity assay / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the toxicity changes of different proportions of Radix Adenophora, Radix Glehniae combined with Veratrum nigrum L., thus providing acute toxicity data and investigating whether decoction factors were correlated with toxicity.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The uniform design method was used by two factors and seven levels to investigate the toxicity changes in different proportions of Radix Adenophora, Radix Glehniae combined with Veratrum nigrum L. The decoction factors were also investigated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The compatibility toxicity was affected mainly by Veratrum nigrum L. and the toxicity increased along with increased doses of Veratrum nigrum L. The toxicity of co-decoction was higher than mixed decoction in the same dosage of Radix Glehniae and Veratrum nigrum L. The promotion of the dissolution of the toxic component of Veratrum nigrum L. in co-decoction may be the cause of the higher toxicity.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Radix Adenophora and Radix Glehniae combined with Veratrum nigrum L. resulted in higher toxicity, which indicated that the incompatibility between Radix Adenophora, Radix Glehniae, and Veratrum nigrum L. In clinic practice, a prescription contained these drugs should be avoided.</p>

New dammarane-type glycosides from the roots of Gynostemma pentaphyllum.

Twelve new dammarane-type glycosides ( 1- 12) were isolated from the ethanol extract from the roots of a wild-type of Gynostemma pentaphyllum. The structures of the compounds were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis as well as by chemical degradation. The compounds contained six structurally diverse aglycons similar to those of the reported ginseng saponins with differences in the oligosaccharide moieties.

Advance of studies on metabolic fingerprinting analytical techniques and data processing methods / 中国中药杂志

Metabolomics is an emerging discipline subsequent to genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics, aiming for systematically studying the regularity of changes in metabolite to revealing organism's nature of movement and metabolism. It is especially important in modern pharmacological studies. Metabolic fingerprinting analysis is a method for metabolic analysis on high throughput of all metabolites, studying changes in drugs, organisms and endogenic metabolites caused by drugs and finding out related biomarkers to reflect dynamic changes inside organisms more directly and explain the mechanism of drugs and their effects on diseases. This essay summarizes some new metabolic fingerprint analytical methods and data processing methods used for metabolic fingerprint, elaborates their advantages and disadvantages and looks ahead to their combination with studies on traditional Chinese medicines, providing room for the development of new methods and new approaches for studies on complexity theory system of traditional Chinese medicines.

Construction of a promoter reporter array for antibiotic screening / 生物工程学报

We designed and constructed an antibiotic screening system by using antibiotic responsive genes as reporters. Plasmid pCS26 carrying a promoterless luminescence reporter, luxCDABE, was used as the vector and the promoter regions of antibiotic responsive genes/operons from Escherichia coli were cloned upstream of the lux reporter to form the first part of the screening reporter array. Random promoter library of Salmonella enterica and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were screened for antibiotic responsive clones which consist of the second part of the screening array. The selected final reporter array responded to different antibiotics in distinct patterns and enabled in vivo high-throughput screening for antibiotics. Unknown antibiotics could, in general, be classified by analyzing the response patterns. This screening system is both sensitive and efficient and should prove to be a useful tool for screening new antibiotic compounds.

Dissection of mechanisms of Chinese medicinal formula Realgar-Indigo naturalis as an effective treatment for promyelocytic leukemia.

To enhance therapeutic efficacy and reduce adverse effects, practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescribe a combination of plant species/minerals, called formulae, based on clinical experience. Nearly 100,000 formulae have been recorded, but the working mechanisms of most remain unknown. In trying to address the possible beneficial effects of formulae with current biomedical approaches, we use Realgar-Indigo naturalis formula (RIF), which has been proven to be very effective in treating human acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) as a model. The main components of RIF are realgar, Indigo naturalis, and Salvia miltiorrhiza, with tetraarsenic tetrasulfide (A), indirubin (I), and tanshinone IIA (T) as major active ingredients, respectively. Here, we report that the ATI combination yields synergy in the treatment of a murine APL model in vivo and in the induction of APL cell differentiation in vitro. ATI causes intensified ubiquitination/degradation of promyelocytic leukemia (PML)-retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARalpha) oncoprotein, stronger reprogramming of myeloid differentiation regulators, and enhanced G(1)/G(0) arrest in APL cells through hitting multiple targets compared with the effects of mono- or biagents. Furthermore, ATI intensifies the expression of Aquaglyceroporin 9 and facilitates the transportation of A into APL cells, which in turn enhances A-mediated PML-RARalpha degradation and therapeutic efficacy. Our data also indicate A as the principal component of the formula, whereas T and I serve as adjuvant ingredients. We therefore suggest that dissecting the mode of action of clinically effective formulae at the molecular, cellular, and organism levels may be a good strategy in exploring the value of traditional medicine.

Studies on chemical constituents from leaves of Lysidice brevicalyx / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the chemical constituents of Lysidice brevicalyx.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Various chromatographic techniques were used to isolate and purify the constituents such as column chromatography on silica gel, Rp-silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and HPLC. The structures were elucidated by chemical evidence and spectroscopic methods.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Seven compounds were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of the leaves of L. brevicalyx and these compounds were elucidated as 2-0-[1-(3-methylbutyryl)phloroglucin-ol]-beta-D-glucopynanoside (1), 3-beta-D-glucopyranosyloxy-4, 5-dimethoxy-benzoic acid (2), benzyl alcohol O-beta-D-glucopyra noside (3), polydatin (4), quercetin-3-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (5), ethyl gallate (6), benzyl 6-O-alpha-L-arabinofurano syl-beta-D-glucopynanoside (7).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>All Compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time. Compounds 2, 3, 5-7 were obtained from this genus for the first time.</p>