Traditional Chinese herbal medicine Astragalus Radix and its effects on intestinal absorption of aconite alkaloids in rats.

Objective: Astragalus Radix (AR, Huangqi in Chinese) has been widely used as a qi (energy) restoring herb that is thought to act through reinvigorating the spleen and lung. Aconite is used to rebalance the body temperature during illness and played an irreplaceable role in disease control since ancient times, but it is limited by its strong neuro and cardiotoxicity. Since the Song Dynasty (1227), the two herbs have been commonly used as herbal pairs including in the famous Qifu Decotion, from the "Wei's Family Prescription". However, many ancient texts also record that they are not compatible using together, suggesting they can have negative outcomes when mixed. This study investigated whether Astragali Radix had either positive or negative effects on absorption of six different active alkaloids derived from aconite. Methods: Single intestinal perfusion model was used to study the effects of Astragali Radix on aconite alkaloids absorption. Response of ABC transporters and distribution of three tight junction proteins on the surface of intestinal enothelium were assessed by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), Western blot and immunofluorescence microscopy, respectively. Results: The results showed that aconite alkaloids absorption could be inhibited, and different concentrations of Astragali Radix considerably increased the expression levels of the ABC transporters and tight junction proteins with Astragali Radix treatment. Conclusion: These results suggest that Astragali Radix can block absorption of aconite alkaloids through the upregulation expression of ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC transporters) and tight junction proteins. It demonstrates that co-administration of Astragali Radix with other drugs might change the absorption profile of the second drug which is important to know in clinic therapy.

[Raw Materials and End Treatment-based Emission Factors for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from Typical Solvent Use Sources].

A database of refined raw materials and end treatment-based VOCs emission factors for typical solvent use sources was developed for the Pearl River Delta. For this, the impact of composition and the content of raw materials, production process, and comprehensive end treatment on the emission of VOCs was analyzed. The solvent use sources included printing, furniture manufacturing, and electronic component and equipment manufacturing. The results showed that the main VOCs in the raw materials used in printing were ethyl acetate, propyl acetate, isopropanol, propanol, and ethanol, which contributed 60%-80% to the total amount of VOCs. Ethyl acetate and butyl acetate were the main oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) from the raw materials used in furniture manufacturing, contributing 45%-65% of the total. The main VOCs from the raw materials used in electronic component and equipment manufacturing were OVOCs such as alcohols, ethers and phenols, BTEX, and halohydrocarbons. The uncontrolled and controlled emission factors for VOCs from printing were 415.2 kg·t-1 and 184.3 kg·t-1, respectively. Of these, solvent-based raw materials accounted for 704.9 kg·t-1 and 200.1 kg·t-1, water-based raw materials accounted for 325.6 kg·t-1 and 230.3 kg·t-1, UV raw materials accounted for 197.0 kg·t-1 and 129.0 kg·t-1, and plant-based raw materials accounted for 89.0 kg·t-1 and 89.0 kg·t-1, respectively. The uncontrolled and controlled emission factors for VOCs from furniture manufacturing were 379.0 kg·t-1 and 290.2 kg·t-1, respectively. Of these, solvent-based raw materials accounted for 603.0 kg·t-1 and 448.5 kg·t-1, water-based raw materials accounted for 80.0 kg·t-1 and 80.0 kg·t-1, and powder raw materials accounted for 230.0 kg·t-1 and 184.0 kg·t-1, respectively. In electronic component and equipment manufacturing, the uncontrolled and controlled emission factors (unit:kg·million-1) for VOCs from AC ceramic capacitors, CC ceramic capacitors, varistors, and aluminum electrolytic capacitors were 59.7 and 40.8, 394.1 and 269.6, 282.4 and 193.2, and 1.2 and 1.0, respectively. The uncontrolled and controlled emission factors for VOCs from the manufacturing of continuous terminals, enameled wire, and printed circuit boards were 56.3 kg·t-1 and 42.8 kg·t-1, 87.2 kg·t-1 and 28.3 kg·t-1, and 26.4 kg·(100 m2)-1 and 11.6 kg·(100 m2)-1, respectively.

[Research progress of anti-drug resistance in traditional Chinese medicine].

Bacterial drug resistance has been always the focus of the world. With the abuse of antibiotics and the emerging of "Superbug" in the world, the harm of drug resistance to human beings is more and more serious, with an uncontrollable trend. Today, with the relative lack of antibiotics, people pay more attention to Chinese herbal medicines with a wide range of sources, high security, less toxic side effects and mysterious anti-drug resistance mechanism, hoping to find new ways or new ideas to solve the problem of drug resistance. In recent years, the screening, extracting and isolating of effective drug resistance inhibitors from natural plants and traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as the investigation in mechanism of anti-drug resistance, have become a hot research in the field of medicine. In this paper, we would analyze and summarize the action mechanism of bacterial drug resistance, characteristics and advantages of anti-drug resistance of traditional Chinese medicine, as well as the herbal ingredients with anti-drug resistance effect, hoping to provide certain theoretical basis and research ideas for solving the problem of bacterial drug resistance and developing new green Chinese antibiotics.

Acute and subacute toxicity of the extract of Aristolochiae fructus and honey-fried Aristolochiae fructus in rodents.

Aristolochiae Fructus (AF) and honey-fried Aristolochiae Fructus (HAF) have been used in China for thousands of years as an anti-tussive and expectorant drug. Few clinical cases were reported associated with the toxicity of AF and HAF, although relatively high contents of aristolochic acids (AAs) were found in them. This work was designed to compare the acute and subacute toxicity of AF and HAF in order to provide references for safe clinical use and to evaluate the possibility of reducing toxicity of AF by honey-processing. The extracts of the herb were fed to mice or rats via gastric tube. Various toxic signs and symptoms, body weights, serum biochemical assay, organ weights and histopathology were used to evaluate the toxic effects. The median lethal dose (LD50) of AF and HAF are 34.1±7.2 g/kg/d and 62.6±8.0 g/kg/d with a 95% average trustable probability (p=0.95), respectively. The subacute results showed a dose-dependant relationship of the toxicity of AF and HAF. Even in the high dose groups, only moderate toxicity was observed. Honey-frying and decoction with water can decrease the contents of AAs, and attenuate the toxic effects of AF. But sufficient attention should be still paid to the safety of AF and HAF due to the existence of AAs.

[Effects of different frequencies of electroacupuncture on blood glucose level in impaired glucose tolerance patients].

OBJECTIVE: To Investigate the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) at different frequencies for patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). METHODS: A total of 120 IGT outpatients were randomly divided into control, EA-5 Hz, EA-50 Hz, and EA-100 Hz groups (n = 30/group). EA (1 mA) was applied to bilateral Pishu (BL 20), Shenshu (BL23), Zusanli (ST 36) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) for 20 min, once daily for 60 sessions. Body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and 2-hour post-prandial blood glucose (2 h PBG) contents were detected by using BAYER Blood Sugar Analyzer and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) content was detected by enzymatic assay. RESULTS: Following the treatment, both HbA1c and 2 h PBG levels in the EA-5 Hz group were significantly lower than those of the control group and those of pre-treatment in the same one group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). No significant differences were found between the EA-5 Hz and control groups, between pre-treatment and post-treatment in the EA-5 Hz group in BMI and FBG levels; between the EA-50 Hz and control groups, between the EA-100 Hz and control groups, and between pre-treatment and post-treatment in the EA-50 Hz and EA-100 Hz groups in BMI, FBG,2 h PBG and HbA1c levels (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Lower frequency EA of BL 20, BL 23, ST 36 and SP 9 can reduce HbA1c and 2 h PBG levels in IGT patients, suggesting a helpful effect of EA in controlling the development of diabetes.

[Nutrient contents and microbial populations of aeolian sandy soil in Sanjiangyuan region of Qinghai Province].

Sanjiangyuan region (the headstream of three rivers) in Qinghai Province of China is the highest and largest inland alpine wetland in the world. The study on the nutrient contents and microbial populations of aeolian sandy soils in this region showed that soil organic matter content increased with the evolution of aeolian sand dunes from un-stabilized to stabilized state, being 5.9 and 3.8 times higher in stabilized sand dune than in mobile and semi-stabilized sand dunes, respectively. Soil nitrogen and phosphorus contents increased in line with the amount of organic matter, while potassium content and pH value varied slightly. The microbial populations changed markedly with the development of vegetation, fixing of mobile sand, and increase of soil nutrients. The quantities of soil bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes were 4.0 and 2.8 times, 19.6 and 6.3 times, and 12.4 and 2.6 times higher in stabilized and semi-stabilized sand dunes than in mobile sand dune, respectively, indicating that soil microbial bio-diversity was increased with the evolution of aeolian sand dunes from mobile to stabilized state. In addition, the quantities of soil microbes were closely correlated with the contents of soil organic matter, total nitrogen, and available nitrogen and phosphorus, but not correlated with soil total phosphorus, total and available potassium, or pH value.