Thoughts on Current Quality Standard of Atractylodis Rhizoma Based on Genuine Advantages of Traditional Chinese Medicine / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Atractylodis Rhizoma is a kind of commonly used clinical Chinese medicine （TCM）， which was first recorded in Shennong Bencaojing （《神农本草经》）. At that time， it was called "Zhu"， which is the general name of Atractylodis Rhizoma and Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma. After Song dynasty， Atractylodis Rhizoma and Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma were separated. Atractylodis Rhizoma can be divided into Atractylodes lancea and A. chinensis. In history， A. lancea as authentic， that its quality is better than A. chinensis. However， the quality of Atractylodis Rhizoma was evaluated by the index component atractylodin in the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The general results showed that the content of atractylodin in A. lancea was low， even failed to meet the specified standard， and its content in A. chinensis was significantly higher than that in A. lancea. The results were inconsistent with the records of ancient books and documents， and the quality theory of "genuine medicine is the best". It could not reflect the quality advantage of genuine Atractylodis Rhizoma， and may even affect the clinical application and development momentum of genuine medicine. In short， the quality standard of TCM should not only conform to the historical experience， but also have the connotation of modern science and technology， which can stand the test of practice. Based on this， the author intends to sort out relevant laws and regulations， sort out the literature related to the authenticity， composition and efficacy of Atractylodis Rhizoma， and analyze the rationality of the current standard of Atractylodis Rhizoma by integrating the relevant records of historical classics and modern research results， so as to provide a basis for the improvement of the quality standard of Atractylodis Rhizoma.

A review of clinical specifications of Scutellariae Radix pieces in ancient and modern literature / 中国中药杂志

Scutellariae Radix is a commonly used Chinese medicinal first recorded in the Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica. In the ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), Scutellariae Radix is used in two specifications, solid one(Ziqin) and hollow one(Kuqin). In the current rules and regulations of Chinese medicine, Scutellariae Radix is used without the specific requirements for the specifications applied. To clarify the evolution of Scutellariae Radix specifications and analyze the current specifications of Scutellariae Radix pieces, the present study reviews the Scutellariae Radix from ancient literature, modern rules and regulations, and differences between Ziqin and Kuqin in composition, efficacy, and transformation mechanism. According to the research on ancient books, Kuqin is effective in clearing the fire of the upper energizer, and Ziqin in purging the heat of the lower energizer. Modern studies have revealed that Kuqin and Ziqin are significantly different in chemical components, and Ziqin and Kuqin target the colon and lung, respectively, which are consistent with the relevant records in ancient books. The review study suggests that the two specifications of Scutellariae Radix are reasonable since they can facilitate the precise treatment of Scutellariae Radix.

ITS2 barcoding DNA region combined with high resolution melting (HRM) analysis of Hyoscyami Semen, the mature seed of Hyoscyamus niger / 中国天然药物

Hyoscyami Semen, the mature dried seed of Hyoscyamus niger L., has long been used as a traditional Chinese medicine to treat human diseases. Hyoscyami Semen is found in local markets in China. In markets, sellers and buyers commonly inadvertently mix the seeds of H. niger with the seeds of related species such as Hygrophila salicifolia (Vahl) Nees, Astragalus complanatus R. Br., Cuscuta australis R. Br., Cuscuta chinensis Lam., and Impatiens balsamina L. because of their similar morphologies or similar names. Thus, developing a reliable method for discriminating H. niger seeds from its adulterants is necessary to reduce confusion and ensure the safe use of Hyoscyami Semen. The present study was designed to evaluate the efficiency of high-resolution melting analysis combined with DNA barcoding (Bar-HRM) with internal transcribed spacer 2 to discriminate H. niger. Our results show that Bar-HRM successfully identified the adulterants and detected the proportion of H. niger DNA extract within an admixture. In particular, HRM detected H. niger DNA extract in A. complanatus DNA extract at concentrations as low as 1%. In conclusion, the Bar-HRM method developed in the present study for authenticating H. niger is rapid and cost-effective. It can be used in the future to guarantee the purity of Hyoscyami Semen for the clinical use.

Identification of moutan cortex and its adulterants by ITS2 sequence / 中国中药杂志

To explore a new method to identify Moutan Cortex to guarantee its safe use, internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequence was used to identify Moutan Cortex and its adulterants. DNA was extracted and target fragments were amplified. Sequences were analyzed and assembled by CodonCode Aligner V3.7.1. Genetic distances were computed and phylogenetic tree was constructed based on kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model by MEGA 5.0. The length of the 20 ITS2 sequences of Moutan Cortex from nine different places is 227 bp, and no variation site was detected. The maximum inter-specificK2P distance of Moutan Cortex is 0, the minimum intra-specific K2P distance is 0.041, the average intra-specific K2P distance is 0.222. According to NJ analysis, Moutan Cortex from different places can get together as one branch with bootstrap support values 99%, which indicates Moutan Cortex can be easily distinguished from its adulterants. Using ITS2 sequence can accurately identify Moutan Cortex and its adulterants, it is an effective supplementary to traditional identification methods.

Identification of plantaginis semen based on ITS2 and psbA-trnH sequences / 中国中药杂志

In order to evaluate the efficiency of ITS2 and psbA-trnH sequences used as DNA barcodes to distinguish Plantaginis Semen from its adulterants, we collected 71 samples of Plantaginis Semen and its adulterants. The ITS2 and psbA-trnH sequences were aligned through Clustal W, and the genetic distances were calculated by kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model and the Neighbor-Joining (NJ) phylogenetic trees were constructed using MEGA 5.1. The results indicated that the ITS2 sequence lengths of Plantago asiatica and P. depressa were 199 bp and 200 bp, respectively; the maximum intra-specific K2P distance were lower than the minimum inter-specific K2P distance; the NJ tree based on ITS2 sequence indicated that Plantaginis Semen and its adulterants could be distinguished clearly. The sequence lengths of psbA-trnH of both P. asiatica and P. depressa were 340 bp; the maximum intra-specific K2P distances were lower than the minimum inter-specific K2P distance; the NJ tree based on psbA-trnH sequence showed that Plantaginis Semen can be distinguished clearly from its adulterants except for P. major. Therefore, ITS2 sequences can be used as an ideal DNA barcode to distinguish Plantaginis Semen from its adulterants.

Effects of tanshinone II A on the myocardial hypertrophy signal transduction system protein kinase B in rats / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of tanshinone II A on the cell signal transduction system protein kinase B (Akt) in rats with hypertrophy of the myocardium induced by partial constriction of the thoracic aorta.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Rat models of myocardial hypertrophy were established by the thoracic aorta partial constriction method. Forty-eight rats were randomly divided into the sham-operative group, the model group, the valsartan treatment group, and the low-, medium-, and high-dose tanshinone treatment groups. The heart mass index (HMI), left ventricular mass index (LVMI), ejection fraction (EF), left ventricular posterior wall (LVPW), and interventricular septal thickness (IVS) were detected by high-frequency ultrasonography. The myocardial fiber diameter (MFD) was detected by HE staining, and the contents of p-Akt and p-Gsk3beta in the myocardium were detected by Western blot.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the sham-operative group, the levels of HMI, LVMI, LVPW, IVS, and MFD were increased respectively in the other groups (P<0.05); the contents of p-Akt and p-Gsk3beta were also increased in the other groups. Compared with the model group, the levels of HMI, LVMI, LVPW, IVS, and MFD were decreased respectively in all treatment groups (P<0.05); the contents of p-Akt and p-Gsk3beta were decreased in all treatment groups as well. There was no significant difference, however, among the low-, medium-, and high-dose tanshinone treatment groups and the valsartan treatment group (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Tanshinone II A can prevent myocardial hypertrophy by its action on the protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway.</p>