[Effects of electroacupuncture on sexual development and ovarian estrogen receptor ß expression in female adolescent obese rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture on sexual development and ovarian estrogen receptor ß(ER-ß) expression in female adolescent obese rats induced by high-fat diet, so as to explore its underlying mechanisms of improving adolescent obesity. METHODS: Female SD rats (age of 21 days) were randomly divided into control, model and acupuncture groups, with 6 rats in each group. The obese model was established by feeding high-fat diet for 6 weeks. Rats of the acupuncture group received electroacupuncture(2 Hz, 0.5-1.2 mA)stimulation at bilateral "Sanyinjiao"(SP6), "Fenglong"(ST40) and "Zusanli"(ST36) for 30 min, once a day for 14 days. The body mass and abdominal circumference of rats were measured before and after treatment. The contents of serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol (E2) were detected by ELISA. The number of corpus luteum and follicle were observed by HE staining. The expression levels of ER-ß mRNA and protein in ovary were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blot, respectively. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the body mass and abdominal circumference, the contents of serum FSH and E2, and the expression levels of ER-ß mRNA and protein in ovary were significantly increased (P<0.05)in the model group, while the number of mature follicles and corpus luteum increased significantly. Compared with the model group, the body mass and abdominal circumference, the contents of serum FSH and E2, and the expression levels of ER-ß mRNA and protein in ovary were significantly decreased (P<0.05) in the acupuncture group, while the number of mature follicles and corpus luteum decreased significantly. CONCLUSION: Electroacupuncture can effectively improve the levels of sex hormone and the development of ovary, down-regulate the expression levels of ER-ß mRNA and protein in ovary, so as to regulate the process of sexual development of female adolescent obese rats induced by high-fat diet.

[Quality evaluation of Saposhnikoviae Radix based on QAMS combined with information entropy-response surface method].

This research was used with high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC), combined with information entropy-response surface method(RSM) to investigate the ethanol concentration, extraction time, liquid-to-material ratio. Taking the content of four chromogens as evaluation indexes, the weight coefficients of each index were given, and the comprehensive score was calculated to optimize the extraction process. Then, prim-O-glucosylcimifugin was used as the reference, the relative calibration factors(RCFs) of cimifugin, 4'-O-ß-D-glucosyl-5-O-methylvisamminol and sec-O-glucosylhamaudo to prim-O-glucosylcimifugin were calculated respectively. The contents of four components in Saposhnikoviae Radix were determined by both external standard method(ESM)and quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker(QAMS) method, and the results were compared. At last, combined with principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) to evaluate the quality of the Saposhnikoviae Radix in different production areas. The optimal extraction process parameter of the Saposhnikoviae Radix was as follows: liquid-to-material ratio is 60∶1(mL·g~(-1)), extraction time is 35 min, and ethanol concentration is 70%. The repeatability of the RCFs was perfect, and the results calculated by the QAMS were consistent with the results from the ESM. The stoichiometric results indicate that there are obvious differences in the distribution of Saposhnikoviae Radix in different production areas, and cimifugin and prim-O-glucosylcimifugin are the characteristic compounds that cause this difference. In this study, the optimal extraction process is stable and feasible, and the method of QAMS is accurate and reliable. From the perspective of four chromogens, there are differences in the quality of the Saposhnikoviae Radix in different production areas. Therefore, the established extraction process combined with the method of QAMS can be used to evaluate the quality of Saposhnikoviae Radix and provide a scientific basis for the quality control of Saposhnikoviae Radix.