Polydatin protects learning and memory impairments in a rat model of vascular dementia.

Polydatin is one of the most common encountered stilbenes of nature and a key component of the Chinese herb Polygonum cuspidatum. This study is to investigate the effects of polydatin on learning and memory impairments induced by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion in rats, as well as the potential mechanism. Both common carotid arteries and both vertebral arteries occlusion (four-vessel occlusion, 4-VO) induced severe cognitive deficits tested by water maze task, along with oxidative stress in hippocampus. Oral administration of polydatin for 30 days markedly attenuated cognitive deficits compared with the control (p < 0.05). Biochemical determination revealed that polydatin decreased the production of malondialdehyde (MDA) and significantly increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). Additionally, polydatin effectively alleviated the injuries of cultured neurons induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). These results suggest that polydatin exhibit therapeutic potential for vascular dementia, which is most likely related, at least in part, to its anti-oxidant activity and the direct protection of neurons.

In vivo and in vitro evaluation of essential oils from Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort on the transdermal delivery of flurbiprofen in rabbits.

The present study was designed to evaluate skin permeation enhancement effect of essential oils from Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort (chuanxiong oil) in rabbits and to compare the in vivo absorption and in vitro permeation using flurbiprofen as a model drug. In vivo results demonstrated that chuanxiong oil showed a rapid and marked permeation enhancement effect. The group with 10% oil exhibited the highest value of area under the curve (AUC) of 418+/-124 microg/ml x h, which was 2.43 times the high of control. The AUC value of 3% oil group (245+/-81.6 microg/ml x h) was similar to that of 5% oleic acid group (235+/-74.5 microg/ml x h). Whereas in vitro results indicated the enhancement of chuanxiong oil was relatively weak. The group with 3% oil appeared to the highest flurbiprofen flux (84.9+/-19.3 microg/cm2/h), to some extent lower than 5% oleic acid group (107+/-5.85 microg/cm2/h). At 10% and 15% concentrations, chuanxiong oil even decreased the flux of flurbiprofen compared with the control. Both in vitro results with pretreated skin and flurbiprofen content accumulated in skin indicated the potential mechanism for the in vitro enhancement of chuanxiong oil was the weakened barrier function by improving in the partitioning of flurbiprofen to the stratum corneum. The discrepancy was noted between the in vivo and in vitro results, indicating only about the weakened barrier function was not enough to explain the sharply increment of in vivo absorption of flurbiprofen by chuanxiong oil. The GS-MS results indicated phthalides identified from chuanxiong oil might mainly contribute to enhance in vivo absorption of flurbiprofen because of its large quantities (91.15%).

[Isolation and structural elucidation of a bioactive saponin from tubers of Bolbostemma paniculatum].

OBJECTIVE: To study the bioactive constituents from tubers of Bolbostemma paniculatum. METHOD: Compounds were isolated by extraction and partition as well as several-chromatographic techniques guided with Pyricularia oryzae bioassay method. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectral analysis and chemical evidence. RESULT: Bisdesmoside (I) was isolated as active compound causing morphological abnormality of Pyncularia oryzae mycelia and elucidated as 3-0-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl (1-->2)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-bayogenin-28-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl (1-->3)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1-->2)-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside. CONCLUSION: I is a new natural product and exhibited significant cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines K-562 and BEL-7402, but no hemolytic activity to rabbit erythrocytes.

[Resource and pharmacognostical study on Aralia echinocaulis].

OBJECTIVE: To provide fundamental information for its exploiting. Aralia echinocaulis by the resource and identification study on. METHOD: Resource survey and various identification were carried out. RESULT: The county level distribution and ecological environment of A. echinocaulis were initially observed. It mainly distributed in the mountainous areas of the Yangtze River basin and the south, and was usually used as folk drug. This study also displayed its morphological, microscopic and chemophysical identification features. CONCLUSION: The morphological features of original plant and crude drug, and the anatomical and chemophysical characteristics of A. echinocaulis are of identification value, and the species are also of greater development and utilization potentiality, but the resource does not support the sustainable utilization. Therefore, artificial propagation is apparently crucial to its exploitation.