Historical Evolution and Modern Research Progress of Rehmanniae Radix / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Rehmanniae Radix is a common medicine of traditional Chinese medicine， which has the function of nourishing Yin and tonifying the kidney， and has a long application history of processing. This medicine was first recorded in Synopsis of Golden Chamber （《金匮要略》）， which was mainly produced by steaming and boiling. Its processing materials were diverse. In addition to rice wine， honey， Amomi Fructus， milk， Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum， and Carthami Flos were also recorded in ancient books， but with the evolution of time， the characteristic excipients gradually disappeared. Based on this， starting with different excipients， the author consulted the classics of materia medica and processing specifications in various regions， sorted out the historical evolution of Rehmanniae Radix processing， and explored new methods and new ideas to exert the maximum efficacy on this basis. At the same time， the effects of different processing excipients on the chemical components and pharmacodynamic effects of Rehmanniae Radix were analyzed. After literature review， it was found that Rehmanniae Radix mainly had the effects of clearing heat and cooling blood， nourishing Yin and generating fluid. Its traditional processing excipients generally used rice wine， Carthami Flos and others. After processing with different excipients， there was different effects on the chemical components and pharmacological effects of Rehmanniae Radix. In summary， this paper can provide useful reference for standardized research on different processed products of Rehmanniae Radix.

[Protective effect of ginsenoside Rg_1 on hypoxia/reoxygenation injury and its mechanism].

This project aimed to explore the protective effect of ginsenoside Rg_1 on hypoxia/reoxygenation(H/R)-induced H9 c2 cardiomyocyte injury and its underlying signaling pathway. The H/R model of H9 c2 cardiomyocytes was established and then the cells were divided into different treatment groups. CCK-8(cell counting kit-8) was used to detect the activity of cardiomyocytes; Brdu assay was used to detect the proliferation of H9 c2 cells; the caspase-3 activity was tested, and then the protein expression was assessed by Western blot. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the apoptosis level of cardiomyocytes. Ginsenoside Rg_1 inhibited H/R-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and caspase-3 activity, promoted nuclear transcription of nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2(Nrf2), and enhanced the expression of the downstream heme oxygenase-1(HO-1). Ginsenoside Rg_1 could increase Nrf2 nuclear transcription and HO-1 expression with the increase of concentration(10, 20, 40, 60 µmol·L~(-1)). However, the protective effect of ginsenoside Rg_1 on cardiomyocytes was significantly weakened after the transfection of Nrf2-siRNA. Ginsenoside Rg_1 could protect cardiomyocytes by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

Visualization analysis on the research hotspots of doctoral dissertation of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences during 2008-2018 / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To reveal the research focus of doctoral dissertation of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences by information visualization.Methods:Based on the relevant documents from January 1st, 2008 to December 31st, 2018 retrieved by CNKI, through the methods of CiteSpace high-frequency word visualization analysis and co word clustering, the research focus was explored in three time segments, and comparative analysis was carried out.Results:A total of 1 918 literatures were included. The methodology research based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndromes, the application research of data mining technology, and the clinical research of TCM were identified by knowledge atlas as the research hotspots of academic dissertation of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences from 2008 to 2018, with good continuity. The disease types of related researcheswere close to the clinical frontier, and the continuity of syndrome and treatment research of coronary heart disease were poor. The number of basic researches represented by TCM syndrome were always lower than that of clinical research. The diagnosis and treatment mode and modern research methods based on the combination of disease and syndrome and the combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine were gradually deepening in the field of TCM.Conclusions:Interdisciplinary research is a hot topic in the dissertation research of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. The use of information visualization tools can provide reference for scientific and in-depth exploration of the research direction of TCM.

Adaptive evolution analysis of squalene synthase in medicinal plants of Araliaceae / 中草药

Objective: To analyze the adaptive evolution of squalene synthase (SS) in the medicinal plants of Araliaceae. Methods: The adaptive evolutionary analysis of 23 SS genes of seven medicinal plants of Araliaceae was carried out by using the branch model, site model, branch-site model, MEC model, SLAC, FEL, and REL of PAML software. Results: In the analysis of PAML and MEC models, most of the branches and loci were found to be under strong negative selection, and no positive selection sites were found. The analysis by SLAC, FEL, and REL also showed that there were a large number of negative selection sites, only 412P, 413N, and 415K were positive selection sites. Conclusion: This indicates that negative selection plays a leading role in SS gene of Araliaceae. The 412P, 413N, and 415K sites found may be involved in the activity of SS.

UPLC/ESI-QTOF-MS-based metabolomics survey on the toxicity of triptolide and detoxication of licorice / 中国天然药物

Triptolide (TP) from Tripterygium wilfordii has been demonstrated to possess anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive, and anticancer activities. TP is specially used for the treatment of awkward rheumatoid arthritis, but its clinical application is confined by intense side effects. It is reported that licorice can obviously reduce the toxicity of TP, but the detailed mechanisms involved have not been comprehensively investigated. The current study aimed to explore metabolomics characteristics of the toxic reaction induced by TP and the intervention effect of licorice water extraction (LWE) against such toxicity. Obtained urine samples from control, TP and TP + LWE treated rats were analyzed by UPLC/ESI-QTOF-MS. The metabolic profiles of the control and the TP group were well differentiated by the principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis. The toxicity of TP was demonstrated to be evolving along with the exposure time of TP. Eight potential biomarkers related to TP toxicity were successfully identified in urine samples. Furthermore, LWE treatment could attenuate the change in six of the eight identified biomarkers. Functional pathway analysis revealed that the alterations in these metabolites were associated with tryptophan, pantothenic acid, and porphyrin metabolism. Therefore, it was concluded that LWE demonstrated interventional effects on TP toxicity through regulation of tryptophan, pantothenic acid, and porphyrin metabolism pathways, which provided novel insights into the possible mechanisms of TP toxicity as well as the potential therapeutic effects of LWE against such toxicity.

Difference in inclusion behavior of β-cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin with menthol / 中国中药杂志

Volatile oils are important active components in traditional Chinese medicine, but their components are complicated and unstable. It is common to use cyclodextrin inclusion technique to improve the stability of volatile oils and make them easier to be prepared. At present, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) is the most common inclusion material. The evaluation indicators for inclusion technique usually contain the inclusion rate and the oil content in the inclusion compound. However, the articles about the study on selecting inclusion materials for volatile oils were few. In this paper, menthol, the main active ingredient of mint volatile oil, was used as model drug, while β-CD and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) were used as the inclusion materials. Inclusion equilibrium constant (K), solubilization ratio were investigated, and the results were combined with IR, DSC and TG to verify the formation of inclusion complexes. It turned out that in the range of 0-15 mmol•L⁻¹, the solubility of menthol was increased linearly with the increase of HP-β-CD concentration, with AL-type phase solubility diagram, K=3 188.62 L•mol⁻¹; in the range of 0-12.5 mmol•L⁻¹, the solubility of menthol was increased linearly with the increase of β-CD concentration, K=818.73 L•mol⁻¹. When the concentration was over 12.5 mmol•L⁻¹, the solubility of menthol appeared to be a negative deviation with the increase of β-CD concentration, with AN-type solubility diagram. The above results showed that the inclusion behavior was different between β-CD and HP-β-CD, laying a foundation for further study on inclusion complexes of volatile oil.

Research progress of the effect of folic acid in pemetrexed-based chemotherapy / 肿瘤研究与临床

This review analyzed the effect of folic acid on pemetrexed efficacy and toxicity, especially high-does folic acid supplementation. The optimal duration for supplementation prior to the first dose of pemetrexed has not been defined. The review also explored whether total plasma homocysteine levels can be as a marker to predict and avoid toxicity from pemetrexed therapy.

A new biflavone glucoside from the roots of Stellera chamaejasme / 中国天然药物

The present study investigated the chemical constituents of the roots of Stellera chamaejasme (Thymelaeaceae). One new biflavone glucoside (1), along with other thirteen known compounds (2-14), was isolated by repeated column chromatographic methods and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral analyses. The cytotoxic activities of selected compounds were evaluated against four human cancer cell lines (A549, BEL-7402, HCT-116, and MDA-MB-231) by the SRB assay method. Compound 9 showed remarkable cytotoxicity against BEL-7402 with IC50 value being 0.65 μg·mL(-1); compounds 7, 8, and 12 exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against A549 with IC50 values being 2.38, 1.57, and 2.35 μg·mL(-1), respectively.

Experiences of patients prior to operation with recurrent glioma based on the Corbin and Strauss chronic illness trajectory framework:a qualitative study / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective To understand the experiences of patients prior to operation with recurrent glioma based on the Corbin and Strauss chronic illness trajectory framework. Methods Fourteen patients participated in the semi-structure interviews.Data were analyzed with Colaizzi′s phenomenologica l procedure. Results Based on the Corbin and Strauss chronic illness trajectory framework, experiences of patients prior to operation with recurrent glioma were extracted. (1) Illness-related work including severe symptoms of illness and lack of knowledge of illness. (2) Biographical work including loss of biography and identity of self. (3) Everyday life work including change of social roles, complicated mood combined negative experience and positive experience, heavy economic burden. Conclusions Nursing staff should attach importance to experiences of patients, and provide targeted interventions for successful operations and recovery of physical and spiritual healing.

Chemical mechanisms involved in slow fire processing and pulverization of Brassica juncea / 中国中药杂志

This article dealed with the effects of processing method and duration on the major bioactive components (sinigrin and sinapine thiocyanate) in Brassica juncea. The contents of sinigrin and sinapine thiocyanate in decoctions of raw and processed B. juncea were determined and compared by high performance liquid chromatography on a Alltima C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) at 35 degrees C with the acetonitrile-0.1% phosphoric acid as the mobile phrase in gradient elution. The detection wavelength of sinigrin and sinapine thiocyanate was set at 227 nm and 326 nm, and the flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1). It was found that with the extended processing duration, the contents of sinigrin and sinapine thiocyanate first increased and then decreased: i.e., 0-2 minutes they increased gradually (for sinigrin, by 9.65% in processed products and 356. 10% in powder; for sinapine thiocyanate, by 12.82% in processed products and 3.41% in powder), and achieved their highest content at 2 min; then, decreased during the next 5 minutes (for sinigrin, by 80.35% in processed products and 82.09% in powder; for sinapine thiocyanate, by 14.29% in processed products and 17.54% in powder), suggesting that processing duration could significantly affect the contents of bioactive components in B. juncea, enzymatic hydrolysis of sinigrin when the seed is crushed in the present of moisture may be responsible for the content change. It is recommended that the slow fire should be the best processing method and the raw seed could be used directly in the water extracts related industrial production.

Effect of Schisandra chinensis lignans on neuronal apoptosis and p-AKT expression of rats in cerebral ischemia injury model / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of Schisandra chinensis lignans (SCL) on neuronal apoptosis and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway of rats in the cerebral ischemia injury model, and study its possible mechanism.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Rats were orally administered SCL high, middle and low dose groups (100, 50, 25 mg x kg(-1)) for 14 days. The cerebral ischemia injury model was established by using the suture-occluded method to rate the neurological functions. The cerebral infarction area was observed by TTC staining. The pathological changes in brain tissues were determined by HE staining. Bcl-2 and Bax expressions were detected by immunohistochemical assay. The protein expressions of p-AKT and AKT were assayed by Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Compared with the model group, SCL high, middle and low dose groups showed reduction in the cerebral infarction area to varying degrees, improve the pathological changes in brain tissues, promote the expression of apoptin Bcl-2 and p-AKT, and inhibit the expression of apoptin Bax.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>SCL shows a protective effect on rats with cerebral ischemia injury. Its mechanism may be related to the increase in p-AKT ability and antiischemic brain injury capacity and the inhibition of nerve cells.</p>

Chronic administration of Liu Wei Dihuang protects rat's brain against D-galactose-induced impairment of cholinergic system / 生理学报

This study was aimed to investigate the protective effect of Liu Wei Dihuang (LWDH) against D-galactose (D-gal)-induced brain injury in rats and the existence of sex-dependent differences in LWDH protection. Sixty-four rats evenly composed of males and females were randomly assigned into 4 groups (n = 8): normal saline (NS) + NS (N + N), NS + LWDH (N + L), D-gal + NS (D + N) and D-gal + LWDH (D + L) groups. Rats in D + N and D + L groups received daily injection of D-gal (100 mg/kg, s.c.) for six weeks to establish the aging model, while rats in N + N and N + L groups were injected with the same volume of NS. From the third week, rats in N + L and D + L groups were orally administered with a decoction of LWDH for subsequent six weeks. Rats in N + N and D + N groups were orally administered just with the same volume of NS simultaneously. Morris water maze test was employed to evaluate the ability of learning and memory of the rats in all the groups. Acetylcholine (ACh) content, activities of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in visual cortex were assayed. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining were used to observe the morphologic injury in hippocampus and visual cortex, and immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate ChAT and AChE expression levels in the visual cortex. The results showed that the rats in D + N groups exhibited a longer escape latency to platform, lower swimming speed, less percent of target quadrant search time and platform crossings, compared with N + N groups, suggesting the establishment of aging model, while LWDH improved these indexes in D-gal-treated rats. Compared with D + N groups, LWDH increased ACh content and ChAT activity, and decreased AChE activity in visual cortex. Remarkable loss of neurons was found in hippocampus and visual cortex of aging rats, and the injury was significantly attenuated by LWDH. Immunohistochemistry showed D-gal-induced decreases of ChAT and AChE expressions were restored by LWDH. Furthermore, under the neural protection of LWDH, the improvement on platform crossings in male aging rats was better than that in female ones, while in ChAT expression and neuron density in visual cortex, female aging rats obtained more amelioration. These results suggest LWDH can markedly reverse the D-gal-induced cognitive impairments and neuronal damage in both hippocampus and visual cortex, which are achieved at least partly through restoring cholinergic system in central nervous system. Moreover, there is some sex difference in protective effects of LWDH against D-gal-induced impairment.

Effect of sijunzi decoction on the intestinal flora disturbance in two rat models of Pi-deficiency syndrome / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the changes of intestinal microflora in two rat models of Pi-deficiency syndrome (PDS) to study the effect of Sijunzi Decoction (SJZD) on intestinal microflora alteration (IMA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Wistar rats allocated in Group A and B were established into two kinds of PDS models by Folium Sennae and Radix et Rhizoma Rhei respectively. Fecal samples were collected from the model rats at three phases, i. e. before modeling, after modeling and after treated with SJZD. Total DNA of microbial communities in them was extracted and amplified with ERIC-PCR to generate fingerprints for reflect the intestinal microflora configuration. Shannon-Weaver index (H') was used to analyze the diversity of rats' intestinal microflora, Sorenson pairwise similarity coefficient (Cs) was used to compare the similarity of different ERIC-PCR fingerprints, and Student's t test was used for analyzing the statistical significance of their differences.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The intestinal microflora in both groups obviously changed after modeling and recovered to the primary level after treated with SJZD. The H' of the ERIC-PCR fingerprints at the three phases was 2.20 +/- 0.12, 2.00 +/- 0.10 and 2.27 +/- 0.10 in Group A, and 2.09 +/- 0.02, 1.88 +/- 0.10 and 1.94 +/- 0.10 in Group B respectively, both showing significant differences among different phases (P<0.05). Accumulative curves of Cs showed that the proportion of Cs accounting for less than 60% was 0 in Group A and 19% in Group B before modeling, 75% and 52% for them respectively after modeling, and 4% and 24% after rehabilitation with SJZD.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The H' of intestinal microflora in the two kinds of PDS models were significantly lowered, and could be recovered to the normal level by SJZD treatment (P<0.05). ERIC-PCR fingerprints can be used as a bio-criterion for evaluating intestinal microflora in patients with PDS.</p>

Effect of Xianlong granules on immunological function in rats of adjuvant arthritis / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of Xianlong granules (XLG) on immunological function in the rat of adjuvant arthritis (AA).</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Rats were randomly divided into normal group, AA model group, prednisone group and low, middle and high dose XLG groups, 10 rats in each group. All rats were treated by intragastric administration from the 18 days after arthritis was induced by the complete Freud's adjuvant and the effect of XLG on toes swelling was observed. On the 30th days after modeling, proliferation of the splenic and thymic lymphocytes, and IgG secreted by splenocytes were detected respectively by MTT assay and ELISA.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Compared with the model group, both the high and middle dose XLG groups had significant therapeutic effects on toes dwelling in the rat of AA (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01); The low, middle and high dose XLG groups strengthened the PHAM-inhibited proliferation of splenic lymphocytes (P < 0.05), and inhibited the PHAM-augmented proliferation of thymic lymphocytes (P < 0.05); XLG did not significantly effect on IgG level secreted by splenocytes in rats of AA.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>XLG can cure toes swelling in rats of AA, which is related with regulation of the abnormal immunlological function.</p>