Research progress on influencing factors affecting the efficacy of moxibustion in treating knee osteoarthritis. / è‰¾ç¸æ²»ç–—è†å ³èŠ‚éª¨å ³èŠ‚ç‚Žçš„ç–—æ•ˆå½±å“å› ç´ ç ”ç©¶è¿›å±•.

The article summarizes the relevant factors to the therapeutic effect of moxibustion on knee osteoarthritis, including the origin and storage time of moxa leaves, the time of moxibustion, the numbers of moxa cone, and the temperature when moxibustion is operated. Artemisia mugwort in Qichun county stored for over 3 years is the best regarding its property； and it is recommended for about 40 min in suspended moxibustion； and the heat-sensitive moxibustion is determined when the sensation of moxibustion disappears； and in terms of moxibustion techniques and the numbers of moxa cone, two moxa cones are optimal in warm needling, but the highly applicable duration of moxibustion needs to be confirmed through more high-quality studies. There are few studies on the other influencing factors, such as the specific operation of suspended moxibustion, the angle of knee flexion, treatment sequence, light and smoking factors, moxibustion method and disease staging and type； and the studies are limited in the comparison in terms of the middle-term and long-term efficacy, the comparison of the efficacy among different syndromes of traditional Chinese medicine in patients and the comparison among various frequencies and sessions of treatment. In future, more high-quality clinical trials should be designed to complete the evidence-based regimens and optimize clinical operations.

Quality consistency evaluation of commercial Prunellae Spica by integrating determination of secondary metabolites and saccharides.

INTRODUCTION: Prunellae Spica (PS) is a commonly used medicinal herb in China. Secondary metabolites and saccharides are major bioactive components of PS. However, holistic quality consistency of commercial PS is ambiguous due to lack of comprehensive evaluation methods and reliable quality control markers. OBJECTIVES: Integrating multiple chromatographic and chemometric methods to comprehensively evaluate the holistic quality of PS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-TQ-MS/MS) was applied to quantify 12 secondary metabolites of PS. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array/evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-PDA/ELSD) and high-performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC) methods were used to characterise the saccharides. Multivariate statistical analysis was adopted to evaluate the quality consistency of commercial PS and explore the potential quality control markers. RESULTS: The contents of secondary metabolites and saccharides were significantly different among commercial PS. All samples could be classified into three groups with ferulic acid, protocatechualdehyde, gallic acid, ursolic acid/oleanolic acid, sucrose, p-coumaric acid, chlorogenic acid as the major contributing components responsible for the difference. The content of rosmarinic acid was correlated with that of betulinic acid, hyperposide, chlorogenic acid, rutin, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid and glucose, whereas polysaccharides, ferulic acid, protocatechualdehyde and ursolic acid/oleanolic acid, quercetin, sucrose and majority monosaccharides were not. CONCLUSION: The holistic quality of commercial PS was inconsistent. Together with rosmarinic acid, ferulic acid, protocatechualdehyde, ursolic acid/oleanolic acid, polysaccharides and sucrose might be recommended as potential quality control markers for the holistic quality control of PS.