Potential antidepressant properties of Radix Polygalae (Yuan Zhi).

Radix Polygalae ("Yuan Zhi", the roots of Polygala tenuifolia Willd., YZ) is an important herb used in traditional Chinese medicine to mediate depression. The present study was designed to verify the antidepressant effects of the standardized YZ ethanol extract (YZE) and its four fractions YZ-30, YZ-50, YZ-70 and YZ-90 on the tail suspension (TST) and forced swimming test (FST). Furthermore, the standardization of the fractions obtained from the separation procedures was carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-fingerprint. The YZ-50 fraction (Oligosaccharide esters--enriched, oral (200 mg/kg) showed a significant anti-immobility like effects. The data of YZ-50 on the corticosterone-induced injure of SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cell indicated that YZ-50 may have biological effects on neuroprotection. Proliferation of cell lines was assessed by dimethylthiazoldiphenyltetrazoliumbromide (MTT) and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation assays. It was found that YZ-50 and its two bioactive compounds, 3,6'-di-o-sinapoyl-sucrose (DISS) and tenuifoliside A(TEA) showed protection activities in SY5Y cells from the lesion. By using bioassay-screening methods, our results indicate that the presence of oligosaccharide esters such as DISS and TEA in this herb may be responsible for the cytoprotective activity effects.

Colorectal perforation with barium enema in the elderly: case analysis with the POSSUM scoring system.

Colorectal perforation is a serious complication of barium-enema examination, as the resultant contamination of the intraperitoneal or extraperitoneal space may result in a severe septic course. Between 1 October 1993 and 30 September 1996, four patients had colorectal injuries after barium-enema examinations at the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Their mean age was 80 years and three of them died, despite the implementation of early and aggressive treatment. To examine the differences between this high crude mortality rate and reports of zero mortality, we retrospectively analyzed the data with the well established predictive surgical scoring system, the Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Morbidity and mortality (POSSUM), to estimate the potential risk of death in these four patients.