Development and characteristics of auricular fumigation moxibustion combined with heat-sensitive moxibustion device. / è€³ç†ç¸è”åˆçƒ­æ•ç¸è£ ç½®çš„ç ”åˆ¶ä¸Žç‰¹ç‚¹.

A moxibustion device with the functions of auricular fumigation moxibustion and heat-sensitive moxibustion is designed. The smoke of the ignited moxa stick is used for the fumigation moxibustion at the external auditory canal, while the heat generated works on Dazhui (GV 14) for heat-sensitive moxibustion. The device consists of five parts, i.e. combustion chamber, smoke pipe, smoke processing chamber, power module and connector. It solves the limitations such as unpleasant experience in treatment, unfavorable temperature control, easy scalding and excessive manual dependence induced by usual fumigation moxibustion and during heat-sensitive moxibustion. This moxibustion device may improve the safety and convenience when delivering the treatment with fumigation moxibustion and heat-sensitive moxibustion, as well as the work efficiency of medical staff.

Asperosaponin VI protects alcohol-induced hepatic steatosis and injury via regulating lipid metabolism and ER stress.

BACKGROUND: Asperosaponin VI (AVI) is a natural triterpenoid saponin isolated from Dipsacus asper Wall with documented anti-inflammatory and bone protective effects. Our previous work reported that AVI protects the liver of septic mice from acute inflammatory damage. In this paper, we further explored the protective effect and the potential mechanisms of AVI in alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD). METHODS: The Lieber-Decarli model was constructed to evaluate the effect of AVI on AFLD in C57BL/6 J mice. Additional in vitro work was performed to investigate HepG2 cells exposed to alcohol, then analyzed the degree of liver injury by detecting the ALT and AST levels both in the liver and serum. H&E staining and Sirius red staining were used to evaluate the histopathology variations in the liver. Further, observe lipid droplets in the cytoplasm by Oil Red O staining. We detected the expression of inflammatory cytokines with qualitative PCR; ROS, MDA, SOD, and GSH-px levels were analyzed to observe oxidative stress. Finally, exploring the activation of AMPK signaling pathway by real-time PCR and Western blotting. RESULTS: Histological examination of liver tissue combined with serum ALT and AST levels showed a significant protective effect of AVI against alcoholic liver injury in AFLD mice. Compared with the model group, AVI evidently improved antioxidant capacity, reduced inflammatory response and lipid accumulation both in vitro and in vivo. For mechanically, it was found that AVI up-regulated phosphorylation level of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and inhibited the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER) pathway in AFLD. CONCLUSION: AVI protects mice from alcohol-induced hepatic steatosis and liver injury through activating AMPK signaling and repress ER stress, suggesting that it might be a potential therapeutic agent for AFLD.

Removal effect of typical pollutants from stormwater runoff in ecological ditches.

Ecological ditches are a typical ecological facility for controlling road stormwater runoff pollution; they mainly remove harmful pollutants from runoff through plant absorption, retention and sedimentation, ecological adsorption, and microbial action. In this paper, according to the transport form of rainwater in the ditches, the removal effects of two different types of ditches on nitrogen, phosphorus, heavy metals, and other pollutants were simulated under three conditions of rainfall, slow flow, and still water, respectively, and their operating characteristics were analyzed. The results showed that the removal rate of TN in the two ecological ditches under slow flow conditions showed a downward trend as a whole with the increase of hydraulic load, and the suitable hydraulic load for TN removal should be selected as 0.3 m3/(m2 day). Under the simulated rainfall conditions, the TN removal rates of no. 1 and no. 2 ditches were 26.1-37.2% and 24.9 ~ 52.5%, respectively, and the TP removal rates were 44.6 ~ 63.3% and 36.1 ~ 62.1%. After 19.4 h and 22.1 h in the static state, the TP concentration in no. 1 ditch and no. 2 ditch reached the surface V water standard, and the average removal rate of TP was 74.7% and 53.7%, respectively. This paper provides a reference for selecting suitable parameters and optimizing the operational performance of ecological ditches to reduce runoff pollutants more effectively.

Photoacoustic Spectroscopy Combined with Integrated Learning to Identify Soybean Oil with Different Frying Durations.

Soybean oil produces harmful substances after long durations of frying. A rapid and nondestructive identification approach for soybean oil was proposed based on photoacoustic spectroscopy and stacking integrated learning. Firstly, a self-designed photoacoustic spectrometer was built for spectral data collection of soybean oil with various frying times. At the same time, the actual free fatty acid content and acid value in soybean oil were measured by the traditional titration experiment, which were the basis for soybean oil quality detection. Next, to eliminate the influence of noise, the spectrum from 1150 cm-1 to 3450 cm-1 was selected to remove noise by ensemble empirical mode decomposition. Then three dimensionality reduction methods of principal component analysis, successive projection algorithm, and competitive adaptive reweighting algorithm were used to reduce the dimension of spectral information to extract the characteristic wavelength. Finally, an integrated model with three weak classifications was used for soybean oil detection by stacking integrated learning. The results showed that three obvious absorption peaks existed at 1747 cm-1, 2858 cm-1, and 2927 cm-1 for soluble sugars and unsaturated oils, and the model based on stacking integrated learning could improve the classification accuracy from 0.9499 to 0.9846. The results prove that photoacoustic spectroscopy has a good detection ability for edible oil quality detection.

[Development and characteristics of automatic ash-removal heat-sensitive moxibustion device].

An automatic ash-removal heat-sensitive moxibustion device was developed, which could keep relatively constant temperature of heat-sensitive moxibustion, and realize the automatic ignition and automatic ash removal of moxa sticks during heat-sensitive moxibustion. The automatic ash-removal heat-sensitive moxibustion device comprises a bracket and a moxibustion box fixed on the top of the bracket; the bracket is composed of a base and a movable telescopic arm. This device can solve the problems of temperature instability, moxa ash blocking heat transfer and moxa ash falling during heat-sensitive moxibustion, avoiding the scalding caused by moxa ash falling, and reduce the workload of medical staff.

Alleviation of Alcoholic Fatty Liver by Dendrobium officinale Flower Extracts due to Regulation of Gut Microbiota and Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Mice Exposed to Chronic Alcohol.

Alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) is caused by long-term heavy alcohol consumption; therefore, useful and practical methods for the prevention of AFLD are urgently needed. The edible flower of Dendrobium officinale contains diverse flavonoids, and has shown antioxidant activity as well as antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, an AFLD model was established, the protective effect of D. officinale flower (DOF) ethanol extract on AFLD was evaluated, and its mechanisms were investigated by analyzing gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). DOF extract (DOFE) supplementation promoted alcohol metabolism, restored hepatic antioxidant capacity, alleviated oxidative stress, reduced inflammatory factor levels, and inhibited dyslipidemia induced by alcohol intake in chronic alcohol-exposed mice, especially in the high DOFE group. Moreover, DOFE supplementation increased the diversity, structure, and composition of the gut microbiota in mice, restored some of the abnormal SCFA levels caused by AFLD, and helped restore intestinal function. DOFE supplementation significantly increased the relative abundance of Akkermansia, suggesting that Akkermansia may be a potential target of the protective effect of DOFE. Therefore, DOFE supplementation to improve the composition of the gut microbiota may be an effective therapeutic strategy for the prevention of AFLD.

Spirituality and Attitudes Toward Death Among Older Adults in Rural and Urban China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate spirituality and attitudes toward death among rural and urban elderly. We asked 134 older adults from rural areas and 128 from urban areas to complete a self-administrated questionnaire including the Spiritual Self-assessment Scale and Death Attitude Scale. The fear and anxiety of death, escape acceptance, natural acceptance, approach acceptance, and death avoidance scores of older adults living in rural areas were higher than those living in urban areas. The construction of social infrastructure and medical care should be strengthened in rural areas so as to improve older adults' attitudes toward death.

Effect of maca (Lepidium meyenii) extract on non-obstructive azoospermia in male mice.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a medicinal and edible plant that has a long history attention because of its potential to improve fertility and sexual function. AIM OF STUDY: In this study, effects of maca on azoospermia were investigated. The effective components of maca were screened. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The therapeutic action of maca were evaluated in a busulfan-induced azoospermic model. RESULTS: It was found that maca could alleviate the vacuolation of spermatogenic tubules and testicular lesions, promote the recovery of spermatogenic epithelium, inhibit the proliferation of stromal cells, significantly increase the serum testosterone content, and improve the number and quality of sperm. Maca extract was then divided into polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and small molecules fractions for preliminary screening of efficacy. These results showed that there was no significant difference between the maca polysaccharide fraction and maca extract. CONCLUSIONS: The results were shown that maca can improve non-obstructive azoospermia, the polysaccharide fraction was the active components.

An In Vitro Catalysis of Tea Polyphenols by Polyphenol Oxidase.

Tea polyphenol (TPs) oxidation caused by polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in manufacturing is responsible for the sensory characteristics and health function of fermented tea, therefore, this subject is rich in scientific and commercial interests. In this work, an in vitro catalysis of TPs in liquid nitrogen grinding of sun-dried green tea leaves by PPO was developed, and the changes in metabolites were analyzed by metabolomics. A total of 441 metabolites were identified in the catalyzed tea powder and control check samples, which were classified into 11 classes, including flavonoids (125 metabolites), phenolic acids (67 metabolites), and lipids (55 metabolites). The relative levels of 28 metabolites after catalysis were decreased significantly (variable importance in projection (VIP) > 1.0, p < 0.05, and fold change (FC) < 0.5)), while the relative levels of 45 metabolites, including theaflavin, theaflavin-3'-gallate, theaflavin-3-gallate, and theaflavin 3,3'-digallate were increased significantly (VIP > 1.0, p < 0.05, and FC > 2). The increase in theaflavins was associated with the polymerization of catechins catalyzed by PPO. This work provided an in vitro method for the study of the catalysis of enzymes in tea leaves.

Multi-omics analysis of the metabolism of phenolic compounds in tea leaves by Aspergillus luchuensis during fermentation of pu-erh tea.

Aspergillus fungi are extensively used in traditional food fermentation, so their functions, mechanisms, and safety risks are worth exploring. In this study, a dominant fungal strain (P1) was isolated from a fermented pu-erh tea and identified as A. luchuensis by phylogenetic analysis of fungal internally-transcribed spacer sequencing, partial ß-tubulin and calmodulin genes. A pure-strain fermentation of tea leaves was developed, and tea compounds were analyzed by widely-targeted metabolomics, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The mycotoxins, aflatoxin (B1, B2, M1 and M2), fumonisin B1 and B2, ochratoxin A, citrinin, were not detected in fermented tea leaves using methods in the National Standard of the Peoples' Republic of China. The genome of 36.60 Mb with 11,836 protein-coding genes was sequenced by PacBio sequencing and annotated. Expression of fungal genes during fermentation was analyzed by Illumina HiSeq 2500; genes encoding enzymes including glycoside hydrolases, phenolic acid esterases, laccases, tyrosinases, dehydrogenases, peroxidases, dioxygenases, monooxygenases, decarboxylases and O-methyltransferases were identified. These enzymes catalyze hydrolysis, oxidation, ring cleavage, hydroxylation, decarboxylation and O-methylation of phenolic compounds , significantly (p < 0.05) changing the phenolic compound composition. While, phenolic compounds were degraded through degradation of aromatic compounds pathways and xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism pathways. These findings advance knowledge of the functions and mechanisms of action of Aspergillus in traditional food fermentation.

A Randomized, Open-Label, Multicenter, Phase 3 Study of High-Dose Vitamin C Plus FOLFOX ± Bevacizumab versus FOLFOX ± Bevacizumab in Unresectable Untreated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (VITALITY Study).

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy and safety of high-dose vitamin C plus FOLFOX ± bevacizumab versus FOLFOX ± bevacizumab as first-line treatment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 2017 and 2019, histologically confirmed patients with mCRC (n = 442) with normal glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase status and no prior treatment for metastatic disease were randomized (1:1) into a control (FOLFOX ± bevacizumab) and an experimental [high-dose vitamin C (1.5 g/kg/d, intravenously for 3 hours from D1 to D3) plus FOLFOX ± bevacizumab] group. Randomization was based on the primary tumor location and bevacizumab prescription. RESULTS: The progression-free survival (PFS) of the experimental group was not superior to the control group [median PFS, 8.6 vs. 8.3 months; HR, 0.86; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.70-1.05; P = 0.1]. The objective response rate (ORR) and overall survival (OS) of the experimental and control groups were similar (ORR, 44.3% vs. 42.1%; P = 0.9; median OS, 20.7 vs. 19.7 months; P = 0.7). Grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events occurred in 33.5% and 30.3% of patients in the experimental and control groups, respectively. In prespecified subgroup analyses, patients with RAS mutation had significantly longer PFS (median PFS, 9.2 vs. 7.8 months; HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.50-0.91; P = 0.01) with vitamin C added to chemotherapy than with chemotherapy only. CONCLUSIONS: High-dose vitamin C plus chemotherapy failed to show superior PFS compared with chemotherapy in patients with mCRC as first-line treatment but may be beneficial in patients with mCRC harboring RAS mutation.

[Clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine based on EVIDEM].

The clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine is an important direction in the evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), which positively promotes the development of TCM industry. The evaluation system of Chinese patent medicine is helpful to comprehensively evaluate the clinical value of different Chinese patent medicine in the same category, different dosage forms, and specifications, from different manufacturers on the basis of evidence and value. The establishment of a scientific and reasonable comprehensive evaluation index system for Chinese patent medicine is an important prerequisite to ensure clinical value. However, there has been neither a recognized systematic review on the clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine nor a methodological system used for reference. The evidence and value: impact on decision-making(EVIDEM), developed by the international research team, is used to evaluate the comprehensive value of medical interventions. EVIDEM provides a methodological tool for scientific decision-making to evaluate evidence and value for health technologies on the basis of the multi-criteria decision analysis(MCDA) model and health technology assessment(HTA). Based on the ongoing EVIDEM research, the present study put forward that EVIDEM-based clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine consisted of four aspects, seven modules, and ten steps, which is expected to references and practical experience for the follow-up comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine in the TCM field.

Anti-melanogenesis effect from Wampee fruit pectin via α-MSH/TRY pathway in A375 cells.

BACKGROUND: Polysaccharides from wampee have been reported to process various biological activities, while the relationship between structure and bioactivities has been barely addressed. Pectin, an abundant water-soluble polysaccharide in wampee, showed significant antioxidant activity, which was associated with the anti-melanogenic activity. Therefore, this study investigated the physicochemical characteristics and the anti-melanogenesis effect of pectin extracted from wampee fruit in A375 cells. METHODS: The physicochemical characterization of pectin from wampee fruit was investigated by gel chromatography (GCP), FT-IR spectroscopy, and NMR spectroscopy methods. The anti-melanogenesis effects and mechanism were evaluated by mushroom tyrosine enzyme and human melanin cell model in vitro. RESULTS: The results showed that a molecular weight of 5.271 × 105 Da wampee fruit pectin (WFP) were mainly composed of mannose (Man), ribose (Rib), rhamnose (Rha), glucuronic acid (Glc A), glucose (Glc), galacturonic acid (Gal A), galactose (Gal), and arabinose (Ara), which linked with →4)-ß-D-Galp-(1 → units. The current study revealed that WFP could significantly suppress mushroom TRY activity in vitro. Furtherly, WFP significantly reduced intracellular and extracellular melanin formation in A375 melanoma cells depending on the presence of alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH). TRY activity was only inhibited in α-MSH treated A375 cells. Western blot analysis demonstrated that WFP reverse α-MSH induced melanogenesis in A375 melanoma cells, including in down-regulated TRY, TYRP-1, TYRP-2, MITF and CREB expressions. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that WFP could inhibit α-MSH induced melanogenesis in A375 melanoma cells via α-MSH/TRY pathway. In conclusion, these data provided a new perspective to annotate WFP anti-melanogenesis activity mechanism.

Asperosaponin VI protects mice from sepsis by regulating Hippo and Rho signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the novel protective effect of Asperosaponin VI (AVI) on sepsis and its potential mechanism. METHODS: In in vitro experiments, bone marrow mononuclear cells and THP-1-derived cells were used to evaluate the viability of AVI treatment. Besides, the quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot were adopted to explore the protective effect of AVI on LPS-induced inflammation. For in vivo work, the effect of AVI on mice was evaluated by using both CLP-induced and the LPS-induced sepsis mice model. The fluctuation of anal temperature and the behavior of mice were recorded after surgery. Further, the content of bacteria in peritoneal lavage fluid was detected, as well as the levels of ALT, AST, LD and LDH in serum with ELISA. H&E staining and real-time PCR were used to evaluate the histopathology of liver, spleen and lung. Finally, relevant signaling pathways were detected by Western blot, real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: AVI inhibited the expression of inflammatory factors in both CLP-induced and LPS-induced sepsis mice models, and reduced the number of bacteria in abdominal lavage fluid. The preventive treatment with AVI alleviated sepsis-induced organ injuries, reduced inflammatory responses, which was through inhibiting Hippo and Rho signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that AVI effectively protected mice from sepsis by down-regulating the activation of Hippo signaling and Rho family, and reducing inflammation and organ damage. However, conventional treatment was using antibiotics, and its mechanism was different with AVI.

NMR-based metabolomics approach to evaluate the toxicological risks of Tibetan medicine 'Ershiwuwei Shanhu' pill in rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: 'Ershiwuwei Shanhu' Pill (ESP) is a classic Tibetan medicine to treat neurological disorders in nervous system, especially for neurological pains and epilepsy. It contains many Tibet-specific mineral medicines, among which Halloysite (Halloysitum rubrum, HR) was regarded as the main active one. As mineral medicines contain heavy metals with poor solubility, the doubts about its safety restricted its clinical application and further development. AIM OF THE STUDY: A 7-day acute toxicity of ESP and its main active mineral medicine HR was systematically studied for investigating the safety of ESP and exploring the role of HR in ESP's potential toxicity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, the acute oral toxicity assessment of formula-ESP and HR were performed on rats for 7 days at doses equivalent to 10 (1 g/kg) and 40 times (4 g/kg) the typical clinical dose (0.1 g/kg). 1H NMR based metabolomics profiling, aided with biochemical analysis and histopathology, was conducted to explore the global metabolic changes in the livers and kidneys of the administrated rats. RESULTS: High-dose HR caused oxidative stress, energy metabolism disorders, purine metabolism impairments and amino acid metabolism imbalance in rats, resulting in hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity, which in accordance with the increased biochemical index in blood (ALT, AST, BUN and CRE). ESP (low-dose) induced metabolites changes were far more less than HR in livers, showcasing the distinct advantage of formula in reducing toxicity. Furthermore, low-dose ESP disturbed renal metabolism in a way similar to high-dose HR, which implies that HR might be the major source of the potential nephrotoxicity of ESP. CONCLUSION: HR exhibited potential hepatoxicity and nephrotoxicity, but the formula- 'Ershiwuwei Shanhu' Pill which contains HR is considered relatively safe.

Screening and Identification of Anti-Inflammatory Compounds from Erdong Gao via Multiple-Target-Cell Extraction Coupled with HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and Their Structure-Activity Relationship.

Erdong Gao (EDG), consisting equally of roots of Asparagi Radix and Ophiopogonis Radix, is a well-known traditional Chinese formulation that has been used to treat cough and throat pain for centuries. However, the bioactive components in EDG remain to be elucidated. In this study, a rapid and effective method involving live cell bio-specific extraction and HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was established to rapidly screen and identify the anti-inflammatory compounds of an EDG extract. One hundred and twenty-four components were identified in EDG extract using HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS analysis. After co-incubation with 16HBE, HPAEpiCs and HUVECs, which have been validated as the key target cells for pulmonary diseases, sixteen components were demonstrated to exhibit an affinity for binding to them. Furthermore, fifteen components were subsequently verified to exert anti-inflammatory effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced 16HBE, HPAEpiCs and HUVECs via inhibiting the release of TNF-α and IL-6, indicating that nine steroidal saponins may possess potential for the treatment of lung-related diseases. Taken together, our study provides evidence that live cell biospecific extraction combined with the HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS technique was an efficient method for rapid screening potential bioactive components in traditional Chinese medicines and the structure activity relationship of steroidal saponins in EDG was summarized for the first time.

Effect of Jiuwei Zhuhuang Powder on Cough Resolution in Children with Upper Respiratory Tract Infections: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of Jiuwei Zhuhuang Powder (JWZH), a Tibetan patent medicine in treating upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) associated cough in children. METHODS: The study was a multicenter, randomized, open-label, controlled trial. A total of 142 children aged 2 to 14 years old, with URTI-associated cough within 48 h of onset, were randomly assigned to two groups at a 1:1 ratio by computer-generated randomization sequence. Children were treated with JWZH (1 to 1.5 g, twice to thrice daily) in the treatment group or conventional treatment (Pediatric Paracetamol, Artificial Cow-bezoar and Chlorphenamine Maleate Granules, 0.25 to 1 g, thrice daily) in the control group for 5 days. The primary endpoints were the time to cough resolution and 4-day cough resolution rate. The secondary endpoints were the daily improvement in symptom scores and cough resolution rate during the study period. RESULTS: A total of 138 children were included in the intention-to-treat analysis, with 71 cases in the treatment group and 67 cases in the control group. Compared with the conventional treatment, the children receiving JWZH had a shorter time to cough resolution [hazard ratio, 2.10; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.29-3.40; P=0.003]. The median time to cough resolution for children receiving JWZH was shorter than that of the conventional treatment (2 days vs. 3 days; P<0.001). The 4-day cough resolution rate in the JWZH group was higher than that of the control group (94.4% vs. 74.6%; risk difference: 19.8%, 95% CI: 8.1%-31.5%; relative risk: 1.265, 95% CI: 1.088-1.470; P=0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in the improvement of other symptoms caused by URTI (P>0.05). Adverse events was reported in 5.6% (4/71) and 4.5% (3/67) in participants of JWZH and PPACCM groups (P>0.05), respectively, which were all mild and resolved without treatment. CONCLUSION: JWZH seemed to be a safe and effective therapy for URTI-associated cough in children. (Trial registration No. ChiCTR2000039421).

Chemical profiling and quality evaluation of Pogostemon cablin Benth by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry combined with multivariate statistical analysis.

Pogostemon cablin Benth (PCB) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine that has been used for treatment of many ailments for several centuries. In presently, the chemical profiling and quality control study of PCB has mainly concentrated on the volatile fractions. However, the non-volatile chemical profile of PCB was still unclear. In this study, 73 non-volatile constituents (i.e., 33 flavonoids, 21 organic acids, 9 phenylpropanoids, 4 sesquiterpenes, 3 alkaloids, and 3 other types of compounds) were identified and characterized in PCB using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadruple time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Meanwhile, to assess PCB samples, an established HPLC-Q-TOF-MS fingerprint was combined with multivariate statistical analysis that included similarity analysis (SA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The PCB samples could be classified into two groups (herbal decoction pieces and processed medicinal materials), and acteoside, isoacteoside, 4',6-Dihydroxy-5,7-dimethoxyflavone, pachypodol and pogostone were screened as the potential chemical markers that attributed classification. In addition, nine representative components (pachypodol, vicenin-2, apigenin, rhamnocitrin, acteoside, isoacteoside, chlorogenic acid, azelaic acid and pogostone) in PCB were simultaneously determined by using an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS). This study is the first to describe the chemical profile of PCB using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, which would improve our understanding of the substance basis of PCB and is helpful to the PCB further quality evaluation.

Phytochemical profiles of edible flowers of medicinal plants of Dendrobium officinale and Dendrobium devonianum.

The discovery of new edible flowers that are nontoxic, innocuous flowers having human health benefits, surveys of their phytochemicals and utilization are of great scientific and commercial interest. Dendrobium officinale and Dendrobium devonianum are precious Traditional Chinese Medicine. During the massive commercial cultivation, a lot of flowers were produced and certified as edible flowers, and the phytochemical profiles and bioactivities warrant evaluate. The present study aimed to investigate the phytochemicals and antioxidative activities in flowers of D. officinale (DOF) and D. devonianum (DDF). In total, 474 metabolites were identified using a widely targeted metabonomics method, 16 amino acids and 6 flavonoids were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and 8 fatty acids were detected using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Both flowers contained various amino acids, including 7 essential amino acids, diverse flavonoids, especially quercetin, kaempferol and their derivatives, and high levels of methyl linoleate and methyl linolenate. The relative levels of quercetin, kaempferol and their glycosides were higher in DDF than in DOF, whereas the relative levels of several flavonoids C-glycosides were high in DOF. Ethanol extracts of both DOF and DDF showed antioxidative capacities including the scavenging of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and hydroxyl radicals. Both edible flowers contained flavonoids, amino acids, and fatty acids and have antioxidative activities, which should be explored for use in functional foods and pharmaceuticals.