Progress on germplasm enhancement and breeding of Rehmannia glutinosa / 中国中药杂志

The history of Rehmannia glutinosa breeding has already beyond 100 years. There are rich cultivated varieties and wild germplasm resources in R. glutinosa. However, there also exist a lot of problems, such as, the pedigree of the existing varieties is not clear, the genetic basis is narrow, backward method of germplasm enhancement and breeding. Breeding of new varieties has been unable to meet the demand of R. glutinosa production in the new era. This paper summarizes the species of Rehmannia and their distribution, the diversity of plant morphology and the quality of R. glutinosa germplasm resources, as well as the progress of R. glutinosa breeding in recent 100 years. For ensuring the orderly, effective and safe production of R. glutinosa, the authors suggest to establish the wild resources protection area and germplasm resources garden, deeply study the genetic base of quality, strengthen application of new breeding method such as mutation breeding, haploid breeding and gene editing.

Study on herbal textual evolution and flavonoids and their pharmacological of Spatholobi Caulis / 中国中药杂志

Spatholobi Caulis, the vine stem of Spatholobus suberectus and widely used in China and Southeast Asian nations, has the effects on nourishing the blood and promoting blood flow, regulating menstruation and relieving pain, and invigorating the nerves. Through consulting the herbal textual and local chronicles, we summarized the original textual research and medicinal evolution on Spatholobi Caulis to analyze the changes of varieties in different historical periods. Further, the major active ingredient in Spatholobi Caulis was discussed. According to the literature to date, 60 flavonoids compounds have been isolated and could be divided into isoflavones, dihydroflavones, flavanols, dihydroflavonols, procyaninides, chalcones, pterocarpans, isoflavanols, isoflavanones and aurone according to their molecular structures. These indicative ingredients in Spatholobi Caulis showed pharmacological activities on regulation of the blood system, anti-tumor, anti-oxidation, anti-virus, anti-bacteria and inhibition of melanin deposition. This review will provide reference and basis for the sustainable use of resources and industry development on Spatholobi Caulis.

Qingkailing Injection () for Treatment of Children Pneumonia Induced by Respiratory Syncytial Virus: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Qingkailing Injection (, QKL) for treatment of children pneumonia caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing QKL with ribavirin injection in the treatment of children pneumonia induced by RSV were searched in PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, Chinese VIP database, CNKI and Wanfang databases from their inception to March 2014. Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan 5.2 software. The methodological quality of the selected RCTs was evaluated by the Modified Jadad Score. The primary outcome measures were effective rate and the secondary outcomes were relief time of fever and cough.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Seven RCTs with 992 cases published from 2008 to 2013 were identified. The meta-analysis results indicated that QKL was more effective in cure rate [risk ratios (RR)=1.32, 95% CI (1.17, 1.50), P<0.01], total effective rate [RR=1.07, 95% CI (1.02, 1.13), P=0.009] and less fever clearance time [mean difference=-0.73, 95% CI (-1.22,-0.23), P=0.004], compared with ribavirin injection in the treatment of RSV-induced children pneumonia. No dead case was reported in all trials. There were 3 trials mentioned adverse events, 2 reported no obvious adverse event occurred while 1 reported adverse events described as skin hypersensitivity, elevation of ALT, a mild abnormal of hepatic and renal function in both QKL and ribavirin group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>QKL was an effective and relatively safe option for the treatment of RSV-induced children pneumonia. These therapeutic effects were promising but need to be interpreted with caution due to variations in the treatment and methodological weakness in the studies.</p>

Research progress of relationship between continuous cropping obstacles and microRNAs in Rehmannia glutinosa / 中国中药杂志

The efficacy of Rehmannia glutinosa which as a large quantity of traditional Chinese medicine is significant. However, the land must be given up after one season of R. glutinosa cultivation or replanted after a period of 8-10 years because of the severe continuous cropping obstacles. MicroRNAs is a class of endogenous non-coding small RNAs, which participate in regulation of physiological activities by target mRNA cleavage or translational repression in plants. In recent years,studies on the role of miRNAs in plants have made significant progresses,especially in medicinal plants．MiRNAs from some different medicinal plant species have been identified with regulatory effects．When plants are exposed to environmental stress, miRNAs act on stress-related genes and initiate stress-resistance mechanisms in the body against adverse factors. R. glutinosa is also a kind of environmental stress. It is conducive to deciphering the molecular mechanism of continuous cropping obstacles for us by researching miRNAs. This article reviews the production of miRNAs, mechanism, research approaches and characteristics of resisting the environmental stresses in plants, the development trends and future prospect of R. glutinosa miRNAs research.

Advances on molecular mechanisms of Rehmannia glutinosa consecutive monoculture problem formation in multi-omics era / 中国中药杂志

Although consecutive monoculture problems have been studied for many years, no effective treatments are currently available. The complexity of systems triggered the formation of consecutive monoculture problems was one major cause. This paper elaborated the physiological and ecological mechanisms of consecutive monoculture problem formation based on the interaction relationship among multiple factors presented in the rhizosphere soil of consecutive monoculture plants. At same time, in this paper the multiple interactions among cultivated medicinal plants, autotoxic allelochemicals and rhizosphere microbial were proposed to be most important causes that derived the formation of consecutive monoculture problem. The paper also highlighted the advantage of 'omics' technologies integrating plant functional genomics and metabolomics as well as microbial macro-omics in understanding the multiple factor interaction under a particular ecological environment. Additionally, taking R. glutinosa as an example, the paper reviewed the molecular mechanism for the formation of R. glutinosa consecutive monoculture problem from the perspective of the accumulation of allelopathic autotoxins, the rhizosphere microecology catastrophe and theresponding of consecutive monoculture plants. Simultaneously, the roles of mutilple 'omics' technologies in comprehending these formation mechanism were described in detail. This paper provides finally a new insight to solve systematically the mechanism of consecutive monoculture problem formation on molecular level.

Resource situation investigation and analysis about endangered Chinese herbal medicine Daphnes Cortex / 中国中药杂志

In order to figure out the status and distribution of the wild and cultivated resources of traditional Chinese medicine Daphnes Cortex, its suitable habitat and endangering factors were analyzed to provide the basis for its rational use, protection and cultivation.Our research group tooka resources survey in Shanxi, Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai provinces, which include 23 counties. Investigation and sampling investigation combined with interview were carried out. The total reserve of resources was estimated through route-quadrat method in combination with the vegetation and soil-type map area method. The results indicated that there was no obvious change between the present distribution ranges of the wild Daphnes Cortex and its historical records, but the density of the population has undergone major changes. The wild reserves resources has declined seriously, even on the verge of exhaustion in some regions. According to the survey results, the current total reserve of the wild Daphnes Cortex in the four provinces was no more than 600 tons. Simultaneously, we only found the cultivated resource in a mountain at an altitude of about 2 800 m in Kang county of Gansu province, which cropping scope was about 33 000 m². The cultivated resource can't provide medicinal products at present, because their growing period is too short to have curative effect. Destructive excavation and the longer growth cycle result in a sharp decline of the wild resources reserves, even to the point of extinction. Artificial cultivation of product will become the main source of medicinal resources in the future. Therefore, we must protect its suitable habitat, formulate rational harvesting policy, strengthen the supervision of government departments, collect and establish the germplasm nursery and seed bank. On the basis, we must carry out studies into seed-selecting and breeding as well as rapid propagation and growth technology at once.

Index components contents in honeysuckle change trend at different time in a day and different stubbles in a year / 中国中药杂志

The index components contents of different time and different stubbles in honeysuckle were measured by HPLC, and were analysis by using the method of SPSS. Results showed that the content of index ingredients of different time had differences, and firstly decreased, then increased with time. The content of index ingredients of different stubbles had significantly differences, and firstly decreased, then increased with time. The chlorogenic acid contents were 2.059%-3.593%. The luteolosid contents were 0.110%-0.171%. Results indicated that the best picking buds time is before seven o'clock in the morning and evening at before and after seven o'clock, the index component content is higher. Picking buds in spring and at autumn index component content is higher; Picking buds in summer index component content is low. The experiment provides theoretical support for quality control in the whole process of the honeysuckle harvested and comprehensive utilization of honeysuckle.

Micronization of magnolia bark extract by RESS as well as dissolution and pharmacokinetics evaluation / 药学学报

The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility and superiority of using rapid expansion of supercritical solution (RESS) technology in the field of traditional Chinese medicine. The extract of magnolia bark (EMB) was obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide (SCF-CO2) extraction technology. Microparticles of EMB were manufactured by RESS technology. The effects of operating temperature and pressure on the contents of the active ingredient in the particles were evaluated by HPLC. The effect of expansion conditions on the particle size distribution of EMB particles was investigated. The smallest sample (mean size: 4.7 microm) was obtained under the RESS condition: pressure of 25 MPa, temperature of 50 degrees C and a nozzle size of 100 microm. The characteristics of microparticles were also studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and image analysis. The dissolution rate study showed that microparticles had a significantly faster dissolution rate than normal material particles. After oral raw EMB suspension, the mean areas under the plasma concentration-time curves (AUC(0-t)) of honokiol and magnolol were found to be (4.23 +/- 0.36) and (5.46 +/- 0.57) mg x h x L(-1), respectively, which were increased significantly, i.e. (5.41 +/- 0.63) and (7.24 +/- 0.83) mg x h x L(-1) when micronized EMB suspension was administered orally in SD rats (P < 0.05). Similarly, the mean maximum plasma concentrations of honokiol and magnolol increased from (1.55 +/- 0.22) and (2.35 +/- 0.14) mg x L(-1) (raw EMB) to (2.31 +/- 0.17) and (2.84 +/- 0.21) mg x L(-1) (micronized EMB), respectively. The results of t-test demonstrated that AUC(0-t) and Cmax value for honokiol and magnolol was significantly increased with the micronization compared to raw EBM (P < 0.05). This study demonstrated that the RESS was applicable for preparing microparticles of EMB at low operating temperature. The process was simple, free of environment pollution and without residual solvent.

Primary study on absorption, translocation and accumulation of N, P and K of Achyranthes bidentata / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the absorption, translocation and accumulation of N, P and K on Achyranthes bidentata.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The contents of N, P and K were determined by mean of sulfuric acid-hydrogen peroxide assimilating method, vanadium-ammonium molybdate colorimetric method and flame photometric method, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The contents of N, P and K in the plant were decreasing during the growth period. The absorption rates of the three nutrients by A. Bidentata showed double-peak curves in the whole growth period, maximum absorption rate appeared in the middle ten days of October. About 8.59 kg of N, 1.36 kg of P and 7.40 kg of K were needed to produce each 100 kg root.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The key nutrients absorption period is in the first ten days of September and in the middle ten days of October.</p>

Preparation of microparticles of SCF-CO2 extraction of Salvia miltiorrhiza by RESS / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Application of rapid expansion of supercritical solution (RESS) in preparing micropaticles of SCF-CO2 extraction of Salvia miltiorrhiza.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The mixture which was composed of beta-cyclodextrin and SCF-CO2 extraction of S. miltiorrhiza with proportion 8:1 by weight, was granulated by RESS. The characteristics of the resululting particles were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the assay of salviol IIA in particles which was determinated by HPLC.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The resulting particles were jacinth and photomicrograph produced by SEM showed that the morphology were silkiness and rugosity globular, the size distribution between 2 and 80 microm, and the contents of salviol IIA was 0.54%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The RESS method is applicable for preparing microparticles of SCF-CO2 extraction of S. miltiorrhiza and low operating temperature, simple processing, and no environmental pollution, and no residual solvent.</p>

Preparation of tanshinone microemulsion and its absorption in rat intestine in situ / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To prepare tanshinone microemulsion (Tan-ME) and investigate its properities and the absorption character in rat intestine in situ.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The microemulsions were prepared and characterized using Zetapals Zeta potential/particle size analysis and atomic force microscope. A HPLC method for determination of tanshinone IIA in the intestinal flux was established. RESUILT: The Tan-ME was fine droplet with an average droplet size of (32.25 +/- 6.59) nm. The results of Tan-ME absorption in small intestinal indicated that Tan-ME could improve the absorption of tanshinone IIA in rat small intestine, but the absorption coefficient of Tan-ME, Ka was influenced by the ratio of water-phase in Tan-ME.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Tan-ME could improve the absorption of tanshinone IIA in rat small intestine. Thus bioavailability of tanshinone was improved.</p>

Comparative study on quality of Flos Lonicerae between geo-authentic and non-authentic producing areas / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the quality of Flos Lonicerae between different producing areas.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>ICP-AES, UV and HPLC were used to determine the contents of trace elements, chlorogenic acid, total flavonoids, five iridoid glucosides, hederagenin, and oleanolic acid. SAS software system was used to perform data and cluster analyses.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The results showed that the geo-authentic crude drug was lower in the contents of Cr and Pb but higher in the contents of chlorogenic acid, total flavonoids, five iridoid glucosides, hederagenin, and oleanolic acid than the non-authentic crude drug.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The geo-authentic crude drug of Flos Lonicerae is better in quality than the non-authentic crude drug based on the modern chemical analyses, which confirms the validity of traditional geo-based classification.</p>

Effects of fertilizer application on contents of 2-undecanone and soluble carbonhydrate in Houttuynia cordata with different fertilizers / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of five kinds of fertilizers at three application levels on the content of 2-undecanone and carbohydrate in Houttuynia cordata.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>A single factor randomized block design was used to investigate the content of 2-undecanone and carbohydrate in the plant.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The results showed that the content of 2-undecanone was the highest both in aerial and underground parts of H. cordata, which was fertilized with complex fertilizers served in conventional way, having the content 18.6 microg g(-1) and 26.0 microg g(-1) respectively. In addition, 2-undecanone contents in aerial parts of H. cordata (14.9 microg g(-1)) fertilized with manure of human were also higher than that with chemical fertilizer, pig and duck manures, but no significant difference were found among the other treatments in aerial or underground parts of the plants, respectively. The results also demonstrated that fertilized with organic fertilizer might be beneficial to enhance the quality of sugar in H. cordata, mainly including the contents of total sugar, solutable sugar, fructose and reduced sugar in the plants, especially with manure of human and pig.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>As the result of this study and the related previous research on yield of H. cordata were considered, the fertilizing ways for increasing quality of H. cordata should take the manure of human as a main fertilizer and mix with the other organic fertilizers, complex fertilizers and chemical ones may be needed to balance the plant nutrient. In the field practice, the amount of organic fertilizer including 108,000 kg hm(-2) human mature, together with some high-efficient complex fertilizer and a small amount of quick-acting chemical fertilizer is recommended.</p>

Study on dynamic accumulation of secondary metabolites content and isoenzyme activity during blossoming stages in Chrysanthemum morifolium originating from Wenxian county / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the anabolic rule of secondary metabolites and dynamic activity of isoenzyme in Chrysanthemum morifolium originating from Wenxian county during blossoming stages.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The flavonoid, chlorogenic acid and anthocyanin content as well as the PAL, PPO and POD activity were determined in C. morifolium originating from Wenxian county during blossoming stages.</p><p><b>RESULT AND CONCLUSION</b>The content of flavonoid and chlorogenic acid was the highest at 70% of full blossom, the anthocyanin at 50% and PPO activity at 30% with the same trend of two cultivars. Between the two cultivars, the trend of PAL and POD was different. The highest of "huaidabaiju" appeared at 70% and 30%, but that of "huaixiaobaiju" appeared at 50% and 50%.</p>

Effects of climate factors on quality of Chrysanthemum morifolium originated from Wenxian county / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effects of climate factors on the Chrysanthemum morifolium originated from Wenxian county (i. e "huaiju") for assuring the quality of medicinal C. morifolium.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The content of water-soluble extracts, protein, sugar, flavonoid and chlorogenic acid of "huaiju" collected from Henanwenxian, Jiangsunanjing and Zhejiangtongxiang were selected as the indicator and determined, climate data of the corresponding places were collected for studying the effects on "huaiju" quality through path analysis and correlation analysis.</p><p><b>RESULT AND CONCLUSION</b>There existed no obviously differences among the detected indicators except the soluble sugar content. Sunlight, temperature and precipitation showed more effects on quality of "huaiju", the sunlight had the most direct effect on flavonoid, the 10 cm ground temperature had the most direct effect on chlorogenic acid.</p>

Preparation of tanshinone transfersome and its deformability / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To prepare tanshinone transfersome (TTs) and evaluate its deformability.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The transfersomes were prepared by film dispersion method followed by sonication, and their physical properties, morphology, content, entrapment efficiency, particle size, polydispersity, and Zeta potential were investigated. The stability and deformability of TTs were studied. Liposomes with different molar ratios of cholate and lecithin were compared for their permeability under external pressure.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The prepared TF were spherical vesicles with content of 1.0192+/-0.075 mg/ml, entrapment efficiency of (62.3+/-0.08)%, particle size of 110 nm, polydispersity of 0.19 and Zate potential of -15.0 mV. The TTs remained stable during light-proof preservation for 3 months at 4 degrees C, and sodium cholate contributed to the flexibility of the lecithin vesicles.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TTs prepared by film dispersion method has good entrapment efficiency and stability. The vesicles possess high deformability in relation to the molar ratio of sodium cholate to lecithin and the external pressure.</p>

Analyses on the trace elements of soils in geo-authentic and non-authentic production areas of Flos lonicearae / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyse the trace elements presented in the same germplasm of Flos Lonicerae with the soil in different producing areas of crude drugs and to investigate, the relationship between the trace elements and the characteristics of the geo-authentic Flos Lonicerae in the soil and crude drugs.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The analyses on the trace elements of soil and crude drugs were made by ICP-AES.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The contents of Sr, K, Na, Mg and Ca were higher in the geo-authentic areas, and the contents of Ca, Sr and Fe were higher, but the Cr and Pb were lower in the geo-authentic Flos Lonicerae. The geo-authentic crude drugs had a strong tendency to accumulate P and Cu.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>There are no direct relationship between the concentrations of trace elements in Flos Lonicerae and those in their corresponding soil. There are good relationship between the absorption and accumulation of Ca and Cr, Co, Na and Fe; Zn and Co, Cr, Mn; Na and Co; Mg and Mn.</p>

Analysis on the geologic background and physicochemical properties of cultivated soil of Flos Lonicerae in the geo-authentic and non-authentic producing areas / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the relationship between the Geo-authentic and Geologic Background System (GBS) and physicochemical properties of cultivated soil in the Flos Lonicerae.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The analysis on the physicochemical properties of cultivated soil, the geologic background system in 5 producing areas of Flos Lonicerae was compared.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The distribution of genuine Flos Lonicerae was restricted by GBS, which was mainly restricted in the temperate continental monsoon semi-arid climate zone between north latitude 34-36 degrees and east longitude 113-118 degrees.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The most suitable soil for the genuine Flos Lonicerae is the neutral or weak alkali sandy loamy soil with higher ion exchanging capacity, and the soils from those producing areas are determined by soil-forming parent materials.</p>