Advantage effect of Dalbergia pinnata on wound healing and scar formation of burns.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Dalbergia pinnata, as a natural and ethnic medicine in China, has been used for burns and wounds with a long history, which has the effect of invigorating blood and astringent sores. However, there were no reports on the advantage activity of burns. AIM OF STUDY: The purpose of this study was to screen out the best active extract part of Dalbergia pinnata and investigate its therapeutic effect on wound healing and scar resolution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rat burn model was established and the healing effects of extracts from Dalbergia pinnata on burn wounds were evaluated by the percentage of wound contraction and period of epithelialization. Histological observation, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and ELISA were used for the examination of inflammatory factors, TGF-ß1, neovascularization and collagen fibers through the period of epithelialization. In addition, the effect of the optimal extraction site on fibroblast cells was evaluated by cell proliferation and cell migration assays. The extracts of Dalbergia pinnata were analyzed by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS or GC-MS technique. RESULTS: Compared to the model group, there were better wound healing, suppressed inflammatory factors, more neovascularization as well as newly formed collagen in the ethyl acetate extract (EAE) and petroleum ether extract (PEE) treatment groups. The ratio of Collagen I and Collagen III was lower in the EAE and PEE treatment groups, suggesting a potential for reduced scarring. Furthermore, EAE and PEE could repair wounds by up-regulating TGF-ß1 in the early stage of wound repair and down-regulating TGF-ß1 in the late stage. In vitro studies showed that both EAE and PEE were able to promote NIH/3T3 cells proliferation and migration compared with the control group. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, EAE and PEE were found to significantly accelerate wound repair and might have an inhibitory effect on the generation of scars. It was also hypothesized that the mechanism might be related to the regulation of TGF-ß1 secretion. This study provided an experimental basis for the development of topical drugs for the treatment of burns with Dalbergia pinnata.

Methods of extraction, separation, purification, structural characterization for polysaccharides from aquatic animals and their major pharmacological activities.

The further development of fishery resources is a hotspot in the development of the fishery industry. However, how to develop aquatic animal resources deeply is a key point to be solved in the fishery industry. Over the past decades, numerous aquatic animals have gained great attention in the development and utilization of their bioactive molecules which are of therapeutic applications as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. Recent research revealed that aquatic animals are composed of many vital moieties, such as polysaccharides and proteins, which provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition. In particular, aquatic animal polysaccharides are gaining worldwide popularity owing to their high content, ease of extraction, specific structure, few side effects, prominent therapeutic potential and incorporation in functional foods and dietary supplements. Thus, tremendous research on the isolation, identification and bioactivities of polysaccharides has been carried out. This review presents comprehensive viewpoints on extraction, separation, purification, structural characterization and bioactivity of various polysaccharides from aquatic animals, such as sea cucumber, abalone, oyster and mussels. In addition, this review profiled a brief knowledge on both current challenges and future scope in aquatic animal polysaccharides field. The review will be a direction of deep processing in fishery resources, which is a hotspot, but technical bottleneck. Furthermore, the review could be served as a useful reference material for further investigation, production and application of polysaccharides from aquatic animals in functional foods and therapeutic agents.

Extraction, characterization and bioactivities of novel purified polysaccharides from Baphicacanthis Cusiae Rhizoma et Radix.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extraction, characterization and bioactivities of purified water-soluble polysaccharides (BCP) from Baphicacanthis Cusiae Rhizoma et Radix. Based on the response surface methodology, the optimal extraction parameters were obtained as follows: extraction temperature of 60.0°C, extraction time of 35.0min, and ratio of water to raw material of 24.5ml/g. Then, BCP was separated and purified by chromatography of DEAE-52 and Sephadex G-100, and obtained two purified fractions, named as BCP-1 and BCP-2. Their molecular weights were respectively 11.6 and 26.7 KDa with mainly composed of glucose, arabinose and galactose. BCP-2 had higher contents of sulfuric radical and uronic acid than BCP-1. Finally, their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated. Both of BCP-1 and BCP-2 exhibited strong antioxidant activity in vitro, and the antioxidant of BCP-2 was better. Besides, they showed ideal anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and in vivo.

A comparison study on polysaccharides from novel hybrids of Amomum villosum and its female parent.

The present study is a comparative study on preliminary characterizations and immunostimulatory activities of water-soluble polysaccharides (WSP) from newly hybrid Amomum villosum and its female parent. First, two kinds of WSP were extracted, respectively from the newly hybrid A. villosum called Spring No.1 (WSPH) and its female parent-Longfruit No.2 (WSPP). Then, the differences of preliminary characterizations and immunostimulatory activities in vivo for these two WSP samples were compared. Experimental results showed that WSPH and WSPP had the same monosaccharide composition, and similar ultraviolet and infrared spectra characteristics of polysaccharides, while their immunostimulatory activities, in terms of the weights of spleen and thymus, pinocytic activity and the level of serum hemolysin, showed no significant differences between the groups treated with WSPH and WSPP, respectively. Combined with the findings from other studies in our research group, these results suggested that this novel hybrid could be an acceptable alternative for cultivation of A. villosum.

Purification, preliminary characterization and bioactivities of polysaccharides from Ostrea rivularis Gould.

In this study, purification, preliminary characterization and biological activities of water-soluble polysaccharides from Ostrea rivularis Gould (ORP) were investigated. Firstly, crude ORP was extracted by enzyme-assisted extraction and then sequentially purified by chromatography of DEAE-52 and Sephadex G-100, producing one main purified fractions of ORPp. Furthermore, the preliminary characterization of ORPp was studied, and its antioxidant and spermatogenesis activities were evaluated. Experimental results showed that ORPp was mainly composed of glucose (76.3%) and galactose (23.7%). The average molecular weight of ORPp was 118 kDa. Besides, ORPp showed strong antioxidant activities in vitro. For the experiments of antioxidant activities in vivo, ORPp can significantly inhibited the formation of MDA in rats' serums, and raised the activities of antioxidant enzymes and the level of total antioxidant capacity (TAOC). Furthermore, ORPp could significantly increase the weights of male rats' sexual organs, promote sperm motility and raise epididymal sperm counts. These results suggest that ORPp could be a new source of natural antioxidants and spermatogenic agent with its potential usage in developing novel supplements and medicines.

Preliminary separation and purification of resveratrol from extract of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) sprouts by macroporous adsorption resins.

In the present study, the separation and purification characteristics of resveratrol from extract of peanut sprouts (PSE) on 11 macroporous adsorption resins were investigated. The results showed that ADS-5 offered better adsorption and desorption capacity for resveratrol than other tested resins. From the static experiments with ADS-5 resin, we found that the experimental data fitted best to the pseudo-second-order kinetics model and Langmuir isotherm model, and the adsorption was a spontaneous and endothermic process. The separation and purification parameters of resveratrol from PSE were optimised by dynamic adsorption/desorption experiments with the column packed with ADS-5 resin. Under the optimal conditions, after one run treatment with ADS-5 resin, the content of resveratrol in the product was increased 17.9-fold from 1.32% to 23.60%, with a recovery yield of 88.33%. The results demonstrated that ADS-5 resin was a promising basis for large-scale preliminary separation and purification of resveratrol from PSE.

Extraction, characterization and biological activities of polysaccharides from Amomum villosum.

In the present study, the extraction, purification, characterization and biological activities of polysaccharides from the seeds of Amomum villosum (ASP) were investigated. Firstly, the optimal parameters for the extraction of ASP were obtained by using a Box-Behnken Design as follows: extraction temperature 78.8 °C, extraction time 71.3 min and ratio of water to raw material 39.3 ml/g. Then, the crude ASP was sequentially purified by chromatography of DEAE-52 and Sephadex G-100, resulting in three purified fractions of ASP-1, ASP-2 and ASP-3. The results showed that ASP-3 had a larger molecular weight and higher contents of protein, sulfuric radical and uronic acid than the other polysaccharide fractions. Furthermore, ASP-3 showed relative stronger inhibitory activity on the growth of HepG2 cells. Finally, ASP had strong free radical scavenging activities in vitro and significantly prevented the formation of malondialdehyde and enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes in CCl4-induced liver injury mice.

[Preparation of alpha-hydrocycholic-beta-cyclodextrin inclusion compound].

OBJECTIVE: To study the preparation of alpha-Hydrocycholic-beta-Cyclodextrin inclusion compound. METHODS: It was studied with orthogonal design to analysis three factors of inclusion rate such as the weight ratio between HDCA and beta-Cyclodextrin, the temperature and the reaction time. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, taste and solubility test were used to identify the inclusion compound. RESULTS: Stable inclusion compound was made by HDCA and beta-Cyclodextrin. The weight ratio between HDCA and beta-Cyclodextrin was the most important factor. The alpha-Hydrocycholic-beta-Cyclodextrin inclusion compound taste and the solubility were improved. CONCLUSION: The optimum preparation condition is alpha-Hydrocycholic : beta-Cyclodextrin = 8.67 : 1, the inclusion temperature is 60 degrees C and the inclusion time is 30 minutes.

[The application of palynology in forensic medicine].

Palynology, one science of plant's pollen and spores, has been proven to be a new frontier discipline. Because of the characteristics of pollen and spores, such as small size, light weight, large amount, and difficult to be found, they can leave physical evidence and provide new clues to solve a case. Therefore palynology has a good prospect for practical application in forensic medicine. The paper intends to analyze the advantage and limitation of palynology in forensic medicine by reviewing its general characteristics, classification, morphology, and disseminating circadian rhythm. We hope to provide some reference to apply palynology in forensic medicine.