Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Soils from Four Different Industrial Plants in a Medium-Sized City in North China.

Laboratory experiments were carried out to analyze 39 soil samples collected from four industrial areas in Xuzhou City using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The descriptive statistics of heavy metals (HMs) in the soil profiles showed that the HM content at three depths was highly variable, and most coefficients of variation (CVs) showed moderate variability. The enrichment of Cd at all depths exceeded the risk screening value, and Cd pollution occurred in four plants. The enrichment of the other HMs at three depths was mainly concentrated in the pharmaceutical plant A and chemical plant C. It was found that the different HMs had different vertical distribution characteristics. For the different industrial plants, the raw materials and products not only made the spatial distribution characteristics of the HMs different, but also caused the HM types and contents to differ. The average single pollution indices of Cd in plant A, iron-steel plant B, and plant C indicated a slight pollution level. The other seven HMs in A, B, and C and all HMs in chemical plant D belonged to the safe category. The mean values of the Nemerow pollution index in the four industrial plants belonged to the warning category. The analysis showed that none of the HMs posed potential noncarcinogenic health risks, and only the carcinogenic health risks of Cr in plants A and C were unacceptable. The carcinogenic effect of Cr through the inhalation intake of resuspended soil particulates and that of Cd, Ni, and As via direct oral ingestion were the main exposure pathways.

Market survey on the traditional medicine of the Lijiang area in Yunnan Province, China.

BACKGROUND: Traditional markets are important trading places for medicinal plants, and researchers performing market surveys often engage in ethnobotanical research to record the herbal plants used locally and any related traditional knowledge. However, information on market-traded medicinal plants from traditional markets in the Lijiang area of Yunnan is not well documented. This research is an ethnobotanical survey focusing on medicinal plants traded in the traditional markets of the Lijiang area and contributes to the understanding of medicinal plants and related information used by the Naxi people. METHODS: Ethnobotanical surveys were performed for two years (2019-2020). Three traditional markets in the Lijiang area were investigated. The methods we used included literature research, participatory surveys and group discussions. The collected voucher specimens were identified using the botanical taxonomy method and were deposited in the herbarium. The data were analysed through the informant consensus factor and use frequency (UF). These medicinal plants were compared with the Information System of Chinese Rare and Endangered Plants from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Those results were in turn compared with the Dongba Sutras and Yulong Ben Cao. RESULTS: A total of 277 species from 97 families were recorded, with Asteraceae providing the maximum numbers of medicinal plants. Among them, 248 species (89%) were wild plants and 266 species (92.39%) were from the local area. Root (40.43%) was the most common medicinal part. A total of 267 species (96.04%) had a UF value above 0.5. Eighty-three investigated human ailments were grouped into 16 categories. Diseases of the digestive system (166 mentions) were most frequently mentioned in this study. There were 19 species of nationally protected plants in China, including 2 species of first-level nationally protected plants and 17 species of second-level nationally protected plants. A total of 31 species of these medicinal plants can be found in the Dongba Sutra or Yulong Ben Cao. CONCLUSION: We surveyed the herbal medicine in the markets covering the Lijiang area, analysing and revealing the resource composition and current market situations. The medicinal plants used by the Naxi people are diverse and are used to treat a wide spectrum of body disorders. There are many wild medicinal plants, and to ensure sustainable development, their natural protection should be strengthened. Knowledge of the medicinal plants recorded in Naxi medical classics has ethnobotanical value and should be further developed.

Tetrandrine ameliorated Alzheimer's disease through suppressing microglial inflammatory activation and neurotoxicity in the 5XFAD mouse.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder prevalent in the aged population. Tetrandrine is a natural metabolite isolated from herbal medicine Stephania tetrandra with various activities. PURPOSE: In this study, we investigated the therapeutic role of tetrandrine in 5XFAD mouse, a transgenic model of AD. METHODS: 5XFAD mice were intraperitoneally injected with saline or different doses of tetrandrine (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg per 2 days) from the age of 5 months to 7 months followed by the determination of cognitive ability, amyloid plaque load, cell apoptosis, and inflammation in the brain. In vitro, the protective roles of tetrandrine against inflammatory activation of microglia and the resulting neurotoxicity were studied in BV2 cells and differentiated PC12 cells, respectively. RESULTS: Morris water maze test showed that two months of tetrandrine treatment dose-dependently improved the cognitive ability of 5XFAD mice. Immunostaining against Aß 1-42 demonstrated reduced amyloid plaque deposition in the brain of tetrandrine-treated 5XFAD mice. TUNEL assay revealed decreased cell apoptosis in the hippocampus after tetrandrine treatment. Further, RT-PCR showed that the ectopic transcription of inflammation-associated genes including TNFα, IL-1ß, IL-6, COX-2, iNOS, and p65 was reversed in 5XFAD mice treated with tetrandrine. In vitro, Aß 1-42 stimulated the secretion of inflammatory cytokines TNFα and IL-1ß in microglial BV2 cells as determined by ELISA, which was suppressed by tetrandrine pre-treatment. Tetrandrine pre-treatment also inhibited the expression of TLR4, p65, iNOS, and COX-2 in BV2 cells induced by Aß 1-42. Most importantly, treatment of PC12-derived neuron-like cells with conditional medium from Aß 1-42-stimulated BV2 cells remarkably impaired cell viability and promoted cell apoptosis, which was attenuated by the conditional medium from BV2 cells with tetrandrine pre-treatment. CONCLUSION: Collectively, findings in this study demonstrated that tetrandrine ameliorates AD by suppressing microglia-mediated inflammation and neurotoxicity.

Ethnobiological study on traditional medicinal plants and fungi recorded in the Naxi Dongba sutras.

BACKGROUND: The Naxi people, living in Southwest China, have a long history and rich characteristic culture. Their ancestors recorded their life practices by ancient hieroglyphs and gradually formed the Dongba Sutras, which, among other knowledge, included the traditional knowledge of Naxi medicine. In the past, most studies on the Dongba Sutras focused on the humanistic culture of Naxi people, whereas studies have rarely focused on Naxi herbal medicinal plants and fungi described in the Dongba Sutras. Studying this aspect is helpful for exploring the traditional culture of Naxi people from the perspective of traditional medicine. METHODS: From February to September 2019, we screened the medicinal plants and fungi from the Dongba Sutras with the help of Dongba. Then, we carried out field investigations and collected voucher specimens of traditional medicinal plants and fungi with the help of 104 Naxi folk healers. The specimens were identified and stored in the Herbarium of Yunnan Branch, Institute of Medicinal Plants, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (IMDY). Through semi-structured interviews, we obtained ethnobotanical information of medicinal plants and fungi. The obtained quantitative data were analyzed using the informant consensus factor (ICF) method and the number of citations. RESULTS: A total of 85 species of medicinal plants and fungi belonging to 51 families and 71 genera were recorded in the Dongba Sutras. Among them, 25 species were endemic to China, and eight species were only distributed in Naxi distribution areas. These medicinal plants and fungi were mainly obtained from the wild, and 22 species could be used as food. The most frequent method of taking medicinal materials was oral-taking after decoction, followed by topical and sometimes buccal. The methods of processing these medicinal materials included water decoction, warm water flushing, and drinking after soaking. The medicinal plants and fungi in the Dongba Sutras are used to treat 96 conditions classified into 13 disease groups according to the International Classification of Primary Care second edition. Further analysis indicated that most of these species were utilized for treating diseases from the digestive (D) group, followed by those from the respiratory (R) group, musculoskeletal (L) group, general, and unspecified (A) group. Moreover, the Naxi people have a high consensus on the treatments of diseases from these four pathological groups. CONCLUSIONS: The Naxi traditional medicine is characterized by simple materials, easy operation, and distinctive national characteristics. The ancient Naxi people recorded their highly developed medical culture in the Dongba Sutras. Natural plant resources found around them were their primary choices for both medicine and diet therapy. The ecological ethics of Naxi people have positive significance for the conservation of wild resources in their area.

[Usage of ethnomedicine on COVID-19 in China].

In December 2019, an outbreak of viral pneumonia began in Wuhan, Hubei Province, which caused the spread of infectious pneumonia to a certain extent in China and neighboring countries and regions, and triggered the epidemic crisis. The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) is an acute respiratory infectious disease listed as a B infectious disease, which is managed according to standards for A infectious disease. Traditional Chinese medicine and integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine have played an active role in the prevention and control of this epidemic. China's ethnomedicine has recognized infectious diseases since ancient times, and formed a medical system including theory, therapies, formula and herbal medicines for such diseases. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Chuxiong Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan, Qiandongnan Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou have issued the prevention and control programs for COVID-19 using Tibetan, Mongolian, Uygur, Yi and Miao medicines. These programs reflect the wisdom of ethnomedicine in preventing and treating diseases, which have successfully extracted prescriptions and preventive measures for the outbreak of the epidemic from their own medical theories and traditional experiences. In this paper, we summarized and explained the prescriptions and medicinal materials of ethnomedicine in these programs, and the origin of Tibetan medicine prescriptions and Mongolian medicine prescriptions in ancient books were studied. These become the common characteristics of medical prevention and treatment programs for ethnomedicine to formulate therapeutic programs under the guidance of traditional medicine theories, recommend prescriptions and prevention and treatment methods with characteristics of ethnomedicine, and focus on the conve-nience and standardization. However, strengthening the support of science and technology and the popularization to the public, and improving the participation of ethnomedicine in national public health services and the capacity-building to deal with sudden and critical diseases are key contents in the development of ethnomedicine in the future.