Resolvin and lipoxin metabolism network regulated by Hyssopus Cuspidatus Boriss extract in asthmatic mice.

Resolvin (Rv) and lipoxin (Lx) play important regulative roles in the development of several inflammation-related diseases. The dysregulation of their metabolic network is believed to be closely related to the occurrence and development of asthma. The Hyssopus Cuspidatus Boriss extract (SXCF) has long been used as a treatment for asthma, while the mechanism of anti-inflammatory and anti-asthma action targeting Rv and Lx has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of SXCF on Rv, Lx in ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized asthmatic mice. The changes of Rv, Lx before and after drug administration were analyzed based on high sensitivity chromatography-multiple response monitoring (UHPLC-MRM) analysis and multivariate statistics. The pathology exploration included behavioral changes of mice, IgE in serum, cytokines in BALF, and lung tissue sections stained with H&E. It was found that SXCF significantly modulated the metabolic disturbance of Rv, Lx due to asthma. Its modulation effect was significantly better than that of dexamethasone and rosmarinic acid which is the first-line clinical medicine and the main component of Hyssopus Cuspidatus Boriss, respectively. SXCF is demonstrated to be a potential anti-asthmatic drug with significant disease-modifying effects on OVA-induced asthma. The modulation of Rv and Lx is a possible underlying mechanism of the SXCF effects.

"Component-target-efficacy" network analysis and experimental verification of Qingkailing Oral Preparation / 中国中药杂志

This study aims to explore the mechanism of Qingkailing(QKL) Oral Preparation's heat-clearing, detoxifying, mind-tranquilizing effects based on "component-target-efficacy" network. To be specific, the potential targets of the 23 major components in QKL Oral Preparation were predicted by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP) and SwissTargetPrediction. The target genes were obtained based on UniProt. OmicsBean and STRING 10 were used for Gene Ontology(GO) term enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment of the targets. Cytoscape 3.8.2 was employed for visualization and construction of "component-target-pathway-pharmacological effect-efficacy" network, followed by molecular docking between the 23 main active components and 15 key targets. Finally, the lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells were adopted to verify the anti-inflammatory effect of six monomer components in QKL Oral Preparation. It was found that the 23 compounds affected 33 key signaling pathways through 236 related targets, such as arachidonic acid metabolism, tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α) signaling pathway, inflammatory mediator regulation of TRP channels, cAMP signaling pathway, cGMP-PKG signaling pathway, Th17 cell differentiation, interleukin-17(IL-17) signaling pathway, neuroactive ligand-receptor intera-ction, calcium signaling pathway, and GABAergic synapse. They were involved in the anti-inflammation, immune regulation, antipyretic effect, and anti-convulsion of the prescription. The "component-target-pathway-pharmacological effect-efficacy" network of QKL Oral Preparation was constructed. Molecular docking showed that the main active components had high binding affinity to the key targets. In vitro cell experiment indicated that the six components in the prescription(hyodeoxycholic acid, baicalin, chlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic acid C, epigoitrin, geniposide) can reduce the expression of nitric oxide(NO), TNF-α, and interleukin-6(IL-6) in cell supernatant(P<0.05). Thus, the above six components may be the key pharmacodynamic substances of QKL Oral Preparation. The major components in QKL Oral Prescription, including hyodeoxycholic acid, baicalin, chlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic acid C, epigoitrin, geniposide, cholic acid, isochlorogenic acid A, and γ-aminobutyric acid, may interfere with multiple biological processes related to inflammation, immune regulation, fever, and convulsion by acting on the key protein targets such as IL-6, TNF, prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2(PTGS2), arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase(ALOX5), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1(VCAM1), nitric oxide synthase 2(NOS2), prostaglandin E2 receptor EP2 subtype(PTGER2), gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor subunit alpha(GABRA), gamma-aminobutyric acid type B receptor subunit 1(GABBR1), and 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase(ABAT). This study reveals the effective components and mechanism of QKL Oral Prescription.

In Vitro Inhibitory Effects of Agarwood Tea (Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk) Aqueous Extract on Human Cytochrome P450 (CYP) Enzyme Activities.

BACKGROUND: Agarwood tea derived from Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk is becoming an increasingly popular herbal drink that is said to have multiple health benefits. Co-administration of this tea and clinical used drugs is possible, but it increases the risk of drug-herb interactions. OBJECTIVE: This in vitro study investigated the inhibitory effects of agarwood tea aqueous extract on the eight major human drug-metabolising cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme activities. METHODS: High-throughput fluorescence-based Vivid® CYP450 screening kits were employed to obtain the enzyme activities before and after incubation with agarwood tea aqueous extract. RESULTS: Agarwood aqueous extract potently inhibited CYP2C9, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4 activities with Ki values of 5.1, 34.5, and 20.3µg/ml, respectively. The most likely inhibition mode responsible for these inhibitions was non-competitive inhibition. On the other hand, at 1000µg/ml, agarwood tea aqueous extract negligibly inhibited CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C19, CYP2E1, and CYP3A5 activities. CONCLUSION: These findings can be used to design additional in vitro investigations using clinical relevant drug substrates for CYP2C9, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4. Subsequently, future studies can be conducted to determine potential interactions between agarwood tea aqueous extract and CYP using in vivo models.

Network pharmacology combined with metabolomics and lipidomics to reveal the hypolipidemic mechanism of Alismatis rhizoma in hyperlipidemic mice.

Alismatis rhizoma (AR), the dried rhizome of Alisma orientale (Sam) Juzep, is effective in treating hyperlipidemia, but the mechanisms involved require further exploration. This study evaluated the hypolipidemic properties of AR using an integrated strategy combining network pharmacology with metabolomics and lipidomics. Firstly, a hyperlipidemia mouse model induced by a high-fat diet was established to evaluate the therapeutic effects of AR. Secondly, plasma metabolomics and lipidomics were used to identify differential metabolites and lipids, and metabolic pathway analysis was performed using MetaboAnalyst. Thirdly, network pharmacology, based on the metabolic profile of AR in vivo, was used to discover potential therapeutic targets. Finally, key targets were obtained through a compound-target-metabolite network, which was verified by molecular docking and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Biochemistry analysis and histological examinations showed that AR exerted hypolipidemic effects on hyperlipidemic mice. Seventy potential biomarkers for the AR treatment of hyperlipidemia were identified by metabolomics and lipidomics, which were mainly involved in lipid metabolism, energy metabolism and amino acid metabolism. Eighteen potentially active compounds were identified in the plasma of mice after oral administration of AR, which were associated with 83 potential therapeutic targets. The PPAR signaling pathway was considered a crucial signaling pathway of AR against hyperlipidemia by KEGG analysis. The joint analysis showed that 6 upstream key targets were regulated by AR, including ALB, TNF, IL1B, MMP9, PPARA and PPARG. Molecular docking showed that active compounds of AR had high binding affinity with these key targets. qPCR further demonstrated that AR could reverse the mRNA expression of these key targets in hyperlipidemic mice. This study integrates network pharmacology with metabolomics and lipidomics to reveal the regulatory effects of AR on endogenous metabolites and validates key therapeutic targets, and represents the most systematic and in-depth study on the hypolipidemic activity of AR.

Improved structural annotation of triterpene metabolites of traditional Chinese medicine in vivo based on quantitative structure-retention relationships combined with characteristic ions: Alismatis Rhizoma as an example.

As a fast, sensitive and selective method, liquid chromatography-tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) has been used for studying the in vivo metabolism of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, the rapid discovery and characterization of metabolites, especially isomers, remain challenging due to their complexity and low concentration in vivo. This study proposed a strategy to improve the structural annotation of prototypes and metabolites through characteristic ions and a quantitative structure-retention relationship (QSRR) model, and Alismatis Rhizoma (AR) triterpenes were used as an example. This strategy consists of four steps. First, based on an in-house database reported previously, prototypes and metabolites in biosamples were preliminarily identified. Second, the candidate structures of prototype compounds and metabolites were determined by characteristic ions, databases or potential metabolic pathways. Then, a QSRR model was established to predict the retention times of the proposed structure. Finally, the structures of unknown prototypes and metabolites were determined by matching experimental retention times with the predicted values. The QSRR model built by the genetic algorithm-multiple linear regression (GA-MLR) has excellent regression correlation (R2 = 0.9966). Based on this strategy, a total of 118 compounds were identified, including 47 prototypes and 71 metabolites, among which 61 unknown compounds were reasonably characterized. The typical compound identified by this strategy was successfully validated using a triterpene standard. This strategy can improve the annotation confidence of in vivo metabolites of TCM and facilitate further pharmacological research.

Interaction of Natural Compounds in Licorice and Turmeric with HIV-NCp7 Zinc Finger Domain: Potential Relevance to the Mechanism of Antiviral Activity.

Nucleocapsid proteins (NCp) are zinc finger (ZF) proteins, and they play a central role in HIV virus replication, mainly by interacting with nucleic acids. Therefore, they are potential targets for anti-HIV therapy. Natural products have been shown to be able to inhibit HIV, such as turmeric and licorice, which is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. Liquiritin (LQ), isoliquiritin (ILQ), glycyrrhizic acid (GL), glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) and curcumin (CUR), which were the major active components, were herein chosen to study their interactions with HIV-NCp7 C-terminal zinc finger, aiming to find the potential active compounds and reveal the mechanism involved. The stacking interaction between NCp7 tryptophan and natural compounds was evaluated by fluorescence. To elucidate the binding mode, mass spectrometry was used to characterize the reaction mixture between zinc finger proteins and active compounds. Subsequently, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and molecular docking were used to validate and reveal the binding mode from a structural perspective. The results showed that ILQ has the strongest binding ability among the tested compounds, followed by curcumin, and the interaction between ILQ and the NCp7 zinc finger peptide was mediated by a noncovalent interaction. This study provided a scientific basis for the antiviral activity of turmeric and licorice.

Muscle regions of meridians warm needling method plus pricking Jing-Well points for blood-letting in the treatment of shoulder-hand syndrome after stroke / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Objective: To observe the effect of muscle regions of meridians warm needling method plus pricking Jing-Well points for blood-letting in improving nail fold microcirculation in the patients with shoulder-hand syndrome (SHS) after stroke, and the effects on hemorrheology, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and serum substance P (SP). Methods: A total of 72 patients were randomized into an observation group and a control group by the random number table method, with 36 cases in each group. The control group was treated with physical rehabilitation training, and the observation group was treated with additional muscle regions of meridians warm needling method plus pricking Jing-Well points for blood-letting treatment. The treatment course lasted for 4 weeks. After treatment, the clinical efficacy of the two groups was compared. The changes in shoulder-hand syndrome scale (SHSS), simplified Fugl-Meyer assessment-upper extremity (FMA-UE), visual analog scale (VAS), activities of daily living (ADL), traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome score, nail fold microcirculation hemorheology indictors [whole blood viscosity (high-shear, low-shear), hematocrit, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)], CGRP and SP levels were observed. Results: The total effective rate in the observation group was 86.1％, higher than 63.9％ in the control group (P<0.05). The overall curative effect in the observation group was better than that in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the scores of pain sensation, edema, external turn and rotation of the arm in SHSS, and the total score were significantly decreased in both groups (all P<0.05), and each score in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (all P<0.05). After treatment, the scores of VAS and TCM syndrome in both groups decreased significantly (all P<0.05), and the scores of FMA-UE and ADL increased significantly (all P<0.05). The scores of VAS and TCM syndrome in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (both P<0.05), and the scores of FMA-UE and ADL were higher than those in the control group (both P<0.05). After treatment, the whole blood viscosity (high-shear and low-shear) and hematocrit in both groups decreased obviously (all P<0.05), and ESR increased obviously (both P<0.05), and the whole blood viscosity (high-shear and low-shear) and hematocrit in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05), and ESR was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the peritubular state, loop shape, blood flow and total score of nail fold microcirculation in both groups decreased significantly (all P<0.05), and each score in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (all P<0.05). After treatment, SP in both groups decreased obviously (both P<0.05), CGRP increased obviously (both P<0.05), and SP in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05), CGRP was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Compared with conventional physical rehabilitation training, muscle regions of meridians warm needling method plus pricking Jing-Well points for blood-letting treatment can significantly reduce the clinical symptoms of SHS, promote the recovery of physical functions, improve the nail fold microcirculation and hemorrheology indictors, and regulate the serum cytokine levels such as CGRP and SP.

Synergistic control of internal phosphorus loading from eutrophic lake sediment using MMF coupled with submerged macrophytes.

Sediment phosphorus (P) is the main source of endogenous P for lake eutrophication. An in-situ combined technology for determination the removal effect of sediment P in all fractions was first developed using the novel modified maifanite (MMF) and submerged macrophytes in this study. MMF was synthesized using an acidification process (2.5 mol/L H2SO4) and then a calcination (400 °C) method. The morphology and structure of MMF were characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS, and BET. We tested the removal effects of sediment P by MMF and submerged macrophytes in combination and separately. The results demonstrated that the synergistic removal capacity of sediment P using MMF coupled with submerged macrophytes was higher than the sum of them applied separately. MMF could promote the submerged macrophytes growth and enhance the adsorption of extra P on MMF through root oxygenation and nutrient allocation. The microcosm experiment results showed that sediment from fMMF+V. spiralis exhibited the most microbial diversity and abundance among the sediment. The combination of MMF and submerged macrophytes increased the Firmicutes abundance and decreased the Bacteroidetes. These results indicated that adsorption-biological technology can be regarded as a novel and competitive technology to the endogenous pollution control in eutrophic shallow lakes.

Evaluation of Khat (Catha edulis) Use as a Risk Factor of Cancer: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Conducting systematic review to evaluate plant use as a risk factor to cancer could be challenging. A systematic and well-balanced method should be applied to accommodate in vivo and in vitro studies to make a final decision. In this article, khat, a recreational plant used in some Arabic and African regions, was employed as an example to systematically determine its relationships to the premalignant and cancerous conditions. METHODS: Systematic database search was performed to recruit original human, animal or in vitro studies on khat and cancer. Sixteen studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and subjected to assessment using Risk of Bias (RoB). Office of Health and Translation (OHAT) approach was used to rate the confidence level in the body of evidence. The evidence was integrated to establish the relationships between khat, premalignant conditions and cancer. RESULTS: Seven out of eight studies showed that khat causes premalignant oral lesions with moderate evidence level. Four studies showed that khat causes cancer with low evidence level and another three studies showed that khat has anti-cancer effect with moderate to high evidence level. Only one study suggested that khat is unrelated to cancer. CONCLUSION: RoB and OHAT approach are reliable systematic tools to evaluate plant risk to cancer and provide objective and uniform summary regardless of the study type. In conclusion, our pooled analysis did not find a direct relationship between khat and cancer but anti-cancer effect would require to be proofed on human studies.

Spectrum-effect relationship for anti-tumor activity of shikonins and shikonofurans in medicinal Zicao by UHPLC-MS/MS and chemometric approaches.

Shikonin, shikonofuran and their derivatives are the main bioactive components of Zicao, a traditional Chinese medicine prepared with the dried roots of Lithospermum erythrorhizon, Arnebia euchroma or Arnebia guttata. To establish an efficient and sensitive method for studying material basis of Zicao, different scan modes of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) and UHPLC triple quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry (QTRAP-MS/MS) were incorporated to make full use of the sensitivity of multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) and overcome its disadvantages. A total of 73 shikonins and shikonofurans compounds were detected in Zicao utilizing various scanning modes. Thereafter the characteristic chemical profile for shikonins and shikonofurans was established based on UHPLC-QTRAP-MS/MS, which was subsequently used to study the spectrum-effect relationship by correlating the relative quantity of compounds and the anti-tumor activity. As a result, 27 compounds were screened as the main active components inhibiting HeLa cells by othogonal partial least square (OPLS). Among them, shikonin, acetylshikonin have been reported to inhibit HeLa cells previously, and ß, ß-dimethylacrylshikonin has been reported to be active component by other method. Those results showed that chemical characteristic profile combined with chemometric methods was efficient and reliable for discovery of material basis in TCM, especially trace active compounds.

Hyphenated chromatography detection and compound-target-disease investigation on herb-pair Chuanxiong Rhizoma - Xiangfu Rhizoma.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY RELEVANCE: The combination of Chuanxiong Rhizoma (Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort., umbelliferae) with Xiangfu Rhizoma (the rhizoma of Cyperus rotundus L., Cyperaceae), is deemed as CR-XR herb-pair (Yaodui) in China. Their compatible mechanism needs a further research using modern analytical techniques and bioinformatic tool. METHODS: Head Space- Solid Phase Micro Extraction coupled with Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer detection (HS-SPME-GC/MS) and Liquid Chromatography coupled to quadrupole Time of Flight - Mass Spectrometry (LC-qTOF-MS) were applied in an accurate identification of the absorbed phytochemicals in mice serum; Their potential targets were available after compound-protein interaction (CPI) prediction and molecular docking verification; Then the corresponding disease types, as well as the relevant Traditional Chinese Medicine (Zhongyi) syndromes (Zheng), were matched from databases and references. RESULTS: Resolution from hyphenated chromatographic datasets, thirty-eight phytochemicals were detected in serum samples from mice. Seventy potential target proteins were thereby found through a bioinformatic calculation, which mainly focused on circulatory, endocrine and nervous diseases in Western medicine, also related with Qizhi and Xueyu Zheng from the perspective of Zhongyi. Part of the relationships among compound-Target-Disease have been confirmed by literatures. These virtual data were sketched out as 'The active Compound - potential Target' network, 'Target - Disease' network and 'Target - Zhongyi Disease' network, in which the network topology was used to analyze them. CONCLUSIONS: Our work successfully explained the compatible mechanism of CR-XR Yaodui, which exert 'multi-components, multi targets' in treating Qizhi and Xueyu Zheng.

A modified multiscale peak alignment method combined with trilinear decomposition to study the volatile/heat-labile components in Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort - Cyperus rotundus rhizomes by HS-SPME-GC/MS.

Head Space/Solid Phase Micro-Extraction (HS-SPME) coupled with Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS) was used to determine the volatile/heat-labile components in Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort - Cyperus rotundus rhizomes. Facing co-eluting peaks in k samples, a trilinear structure was reconstructed to obtain the second-order advantage. The retention time (RT) shift with multi-channel detection signals for different samples has been vital in maintaining the trilinear structure, thus a modified multiscale peak alignment (mMSPA) method was proposed in this paper. The peak position and peak width of representative ion profile were firstly detected by mMSPA using Continuous Wavelet Transform with Haar wavelet as the mother wavelet (Haar CWT). Then, the raw shift was confirmed by Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) cross correlation calculation. To obtain the optimal shift, Haar CWT was again used to detect the subtle deviations and be amalgamated in calculation. Here, to ensure there is no peaks shape alternation, the alignment was performed in local domains of data matrices, and all data points in the peak zone were moved via linear interpolation in non-peak parts. Finally, chemical components of interest in Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort - Cyperus rotundus rhizomes were analyzed by HS-SPME-GCMS and mMSPA-alternating trilinear decomposition (ATLD) resolution. As a result, the concentration variation between herbs and their pharmaceutical products can provide a scientific basic for the quality standard establishment of traditional Chinese medicines.

Accurate recognition and feature qualify for flavonoid extracts from Liang-wai Gan Cao by liquid chromatography-high resolution-mass spectrometry and computational MS/MS fragmentation.

In this study, Liquid Chromatography (LC) separation combined with quadrupole-Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (qTOF-MS) detection was used to analyze the characteristic ions of the flavonoids from Liang-wai Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae uralensis). First, accurate mass measurement and isotope curve optimization could provide reliable molecular prediction after noise deduction, baseline calibration and "ghost peak recognition". Thus, some spectral features in the LC-MS data could be clearly explained. Secondly, the chemical structure of flavonoids was deduced by MS/MS fragment ions, and the in-silico spectra by MS-FINDER program provided strong support for overcoming the bottleneck of phytochemical identification. For a predicted formula and experimental MS/MS spectrum, the MS-FINDER program could sort the candidate compounds in the public database based on a comprehensive weighted score, and we took the first 20 reliable compounds to seek the target compound in an in-house database. Certainly, those fragmentation pathways could also be deduced and described as Retro-Diels-Alder (RDA) fragmentation reaction, losses of C4H8, C5H8, CH3, CO, CO2 and others. Accordingly, 63 flavonoids were identified, and their in-silico bioactivity were clearly disclosed by some bioinformatics tools. In this experiment, the flavonoids obtained by the four extraction processes were tested by LC-qTOF-MS. We looked for possible Q-markers from these data matrices and then quantified them; their similarities/differences were also described. The results also indicated that the Macroporous Adsorption Resins (MARs) purification is a low cost, environmentally friendly and effective approach.

Chemometrics-enhanced one-dimensional/comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatographic analysis for bioactive terpenoids and phthalides in Chaihu Shugan San essential oils.

Chemometrics-enhanced one-dimensional/comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatographic (GC/GC×GC) technologies, were used to explore the compositions of Chaihu Shugan San essential oils, that were extracted from the herbal formulae by different schemes. We have shown that chemometric resolution using gas chromatographic- mass spectrometry (GC-MS) could be used for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the majority of Terpenoids or Phthalides from herb formulae and single herbs. A GC×GC system was further optimized to achieve the increased peak capacity and the enhanced signal of the hydro-distillation sample (CSSh). When hardware bottleneck resulted from very complex sample, chemometric tools were once again applied to recover the stained information in the second dimension (2D) matrix data. Heuristic evolving latent projections (HELP) could be used for two dimensional (2D) sub-matrixes Xi at n spectral detection channels, after three dimensional (3D) data splitting. For a real 3D data matrix, alternating trilinear decomposition (ATLD) algorithm could conduct regularization for an iterative trilinear decomposition procedure, by Moore-Penrose pseudoinverse computations based on singular value decomposition. After retention indices (RI) confirmation, 216 target analytes (terpenoids or phthalides) could be elucidated both in CSSh and in supercritical fluid extract (CSSs). Based on the obtained data, some potential quality markers (Q-markers) were identified which may affect the quality of the products. Finally, a "connectivity map" was plotted to describe the unique mechanisms of tradition Chinese medicine (TCM).

[Effect of various ambient temperatures on activities of mitochondrial complex II in patients of deficiency-cold syndrome and deficiency-heat syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To explore activity laws of mitochondrial complex II in patients of deficiency-cold syndrome (DCS) and deficiency-heat syndrome (DHS) under various ambient temperatures. METHODS: Subjects were recruited by questionnaire and expert diagnosis from grade 1 - 3 undergraduates at Henan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in November 2012, and assigned to a normal control group, the DCS group, and the DHS group, 20 in each group. Their venous blood samples were collected at two different temperature conditions. Activities of mitochondrial complex II were measured by spectrophotometry. RESULTS: (1) Comparison of mitochondrial complex It under various ambient temperatures: Compared with room temperature in the same group, activity values were all increased in the normal control group at cold temperature with significant difference (P <0.05), but there was no significant difference in the DCS group and the DHS group (P >0. 05). Compared with the normal control group, activity values of complex H were reduced in the DCS group at cold and room temperatures with significant difference (P <0.05). Compared with the DCS group, activity values of complex It were increased in the DHS group with significant difference (P <0. 05). (2) Changes of adjustment rates: Compared with room temperature, the adjustment rate all rose at cold temperature in the normal control group and the DHS group with significant difference (P <0.05), but with no significant difference found in the DCS group (P >0. 05). Compared with the normal control group at the same temperature, the adjustment rate in the DHS group and the DCS group was all reduced at cold and room temperatures with significant difference (P <0. 05). There were no significant difference in the adjustment rate between the DHS group and the DCS group (P > 0. 05). CONCLUSIONS: Environment temperature can affect the activity of mitochondrial complex II with different influence degrees on different syndrome types of people, but its change trend are basically identical.

[Therapeutic effect and mechanisms study of Bawei Xilei Powder on ulcerative colitis patients].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy and mechanisms of Bawei Xilei Powder (BXP) in treating ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS: Totally 103 patients with left hemicolon mild to moderate UC in the active phase at the outpatient clinics of West China Hospital from June 2009 to October 2010 were randomly assigned to the treatment group (55 cases) and the control group (48 cases). Patients in the treatment group were treated with BXP (adding 1 g in 60 mL worm boiled water) and those in the control group received by 50 mg/60 mL hydrocortisone edema solution (once every evening before sleep). The therapeutic course for all was 4 weeks. The disease activity degree (Mayo scoring), endoscopic, and histologic manifestations were compared between post-and pre-treatment in the two groups. The expression of toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4), nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), and Occludin were detected. RESULTS: The clinical remission rate and the response rate in the treatment group were 78.2% and 89.1% respectively, higher than those of the control group (58.3% and 72.9%, P < 0.05).The endoscopically mucosal healing rate was 50.9% in the treatment group and 31.3% in the control group (P < 0.05). The histological remission rate and the effective rate in the treatment group were 32.7% and 65.5% respectively, but higher than those of the control group (27.1% and 58.3%, P > 0.05). The rate of adverse events was 3.8% in the treatment (occurred in 2 cases) and 4.3% in the control group (occurred in 2 cases, P > 0.05). Compared with pre-treatment, the expression of TLR4 and NF-kappaB p65 significantly decreased (P < 0.05), while the expression of Occludin significantly increased (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: BXP was effective and safe in patients with active mild to moderate UC. Its effects might be involved in regulating the expression of inflammatory factors and enhancing mucosa barrier functions. ulcerative colitis; Bawei Xilei Powder; enema therapy

Antioxidant and antigenotoxic activity of bioactive extracts from corn tassel / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

This study is designed to evaluate antioxidant and antigenotoxic activities of corn tassel extracts (CTTs). The major bioactive components of CTTs include flavonoid, saponin and polysaccharide. The antioxidant properties of the three bioactive components of CTTs were investigated by Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Property (FRAP) and 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays. The activities of the extracts were determined by assessing the inhibition of mutagenicity of the direct-acting mutagen fenaminosulf, sodium azide, and indirect-acting mutagen 2-aminofluorene using the Ames test (strains TA98 and TA100). The results showed that the extraction rates of flavonoid, saponin, and polysaccharide from the dried corn tassels were 1.67%, 2.41% and 4.76% respectively. DPPH and FRAP assay strongly demonstrated that CTTs had antioxidant properties. CTTs at doses of 625, 1250 and 2500 μg per plate reduced 2-aminofluorene mutagenicity by 12.52%, 28.76% and 36.49% in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 strain assay respectively and by 10.98%, 25.27% and 37.83%, at the same doses in Salmonella typhimurium TA100 assay system, respectively. 3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay showed that the different concentrations of CTTs inhibited the proliferation of MGC80-3 cells in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.01). It is concluded that these integrated approaches to antioxidant and antigenotoxicity assessment may be useful to study corn tassel as a natural herbal material.

Effects of dexamethasone and Salvia miltiorrhizae on the small intestine and immune organs of rats with severe acute pancreatitis.

To observe the protecting effects and mechanisms of Dexamethasone and Salviae miltiorrhizae on intestinal mucosa and immune organs (spleen, thymus and lymph node) in rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). The rats were randomly divided into sham-operated, model control, Dexamethasone treated group and Salviae miltiorrhizae treated group. At 3, 6 and 12 h after operation, the mortality rate, pathological changes of intestinal mucosa and immune organs as well as the contents of serum PAF, IL-1 beta and sIL-2R were observed, respectively. The mortality rate and the contents of PAF (at 3 and 6 h), IL-1 beta (at all time points) and sIL-2R (at 3 and 6 h) as well as the pathological scores of thymus (at all time points) and spleen (at 3 h) in Dexamethasone treated group were significantly lower than those in model control groups (P < 0.05). The contents of PAF (at 3 and 12 h), IL-1 beta (at 6 and 12 h) and sIL-2R (at 3 and 6 h) as well as the pathological scores of thymus (at all time points) and spleen (at 3 and 12 h) in Salviae miltiorrhizae treated group were markedly lower than those in model control groups (P < 0.05). Since both Dexamethasone and Salvia miltiorrhizae can reduce the contents of serum PAF, sIL-2R and IL-1 beta, mitigate the pathological changes in the small intestine, spleen and thymus and reduce the mortality rate of SAP rats, they show good therapeutic effects on SAP rats.

Effects of Bawei Xilei San on mice with oxazolone-induced colitis and the mechanisms / 中西医结合学报

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effects of Bawei Xilei San (BWXLS), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on mice with oxazolone-induced colitis and to explore the mechanisms. Methods: Thirty-two BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 4 groups (8 for each): normal control group, untreated group, hydrocortisone group and BWXLS group. Except for the mice in the normal control group, all mice were intrarectally administered with 3.0% oxazolone to induce colitis. Then the mice in the normal control group and untreated group were administered with 0.9% carboxymethyl cellulose sodium solution. Mice in the BWXLS group were intrarectally administered with 0.2 mg/g BWXLS and hydrocortisone group with 0.02 mg/g respectively for 5 days. The body weight and stool consistency and occult or gross blood were recorded to calculate the disease activity index (DAI). The mice were sacrificed at the 6th day. The macroscopic and histological changes of the colon were evaluated. The expressions of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), and epithelial tight junction protein occludin were assessed by immunohistochemical method. The level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in colonic mucosa was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The DAI, and macroscopic and histological changes in the BWXLS group were improved as compared with those in the untreated group (P0.05). Conclusion: Up-regulating the expression of occludin and down-regulating the expressions of TLR4 and NF-kappaB, and hence inhibiting TNF-alpha expression and improving the mucosa barrier function may be part of the mechanisms of BWXLS in treating oxazolone-induced colitis in mice.

Influence of Salvia miltiorrhizae on the mesenteric lymph node of rats with severe acute pancreatitis or obstructive jaundice.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of salvia miltiorrhizae injection on inflammatory mediator levels and mesenteric lymph nodes in severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and obstructive jaundice (OJ) rats and explore the protective mechanism of salvia miltiorrhizae on the lymph nodes of these rats. METHODS: A total of 288 rats were used in SAP-associated and OJ-associated experiments. The rats were randomly divided into sham-operated group, model control group, and treated group. At various time points after operation, the pathological changes in mesenteric lymph nodes of rats in each group were observed, respectively. RESULTS: The pathological severity scores in lymph nodes of SAP rats in treated group were significantly lower than those in model control group (P < .05) while the pathological changes in lymph nodes of OJ rats in treated group also showed varying degrees of mitigation. CONCLUSION: Salvia miltiorrhizae can exert protective effects on the lymph nodes of SAP or OJ rats via a mechanism that is associated with reducing the contents of inflammatory mediators in blood.