Metabolic Discrimination between Adventitious Roots and Standard Medicinal Part of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. Using FT-IR Spectroscopy.

This study aims to examine the metabolic discrimination between in vitro grown adventitious roots and the standard medicinal parts of Atractylodes macrocephala. To achieve this goal, firstly, in vitro culture conditions of adventitious roots such as indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) concentrations, types of media, inorganic salt strength of culture medium, and elicitor types and concentrations were optimized. The optimal culture conditions for proliferation of adventitious roots was found to consist of Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 5 mg L-1 IBA. Whole cell extracts from adventitious roots and the standard medicinal parts of A. macrocephala were subjected to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) from FT-IR spectral data showed that adventitious roots and standard medicinal parts were clearly distinguished in the PCA and PLS-DA score plot. Furthermore, the overall metabolite pattern from adventitious roots was changed depending on the dose-dependent manner of chemicals. These results suggest that FT-IR spectroscopy can be applied as an alternative tool for the screening of higher metabolic root lines and for discriminating metabolic similarity between in vitro grown adventitious roots and the standard medicinal parts. In addition, the adventitious roots proliferation system established in this study can be directly applied as an alternative means for the commercial production of A. macrocephala.

Noncoronary ST elevation and polymorphic ventricular tachycardia during left-sided accessory pathway ablation.

INTRODUCTION: An early repolarization (ER) pattern on electrocardiogram (ECG) sometimes has the risk of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PVT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF). An abnormal ER pattern can develop in various experimental or clinical situations. We experienced 4 cases of abnormal ER pattern with or without PVT during the radiofrequency (RF) ablation of the left accessory pathway. METHODS AND RESULTS: An electrophysiologic study and RF ablation were performed in 4 patients. Four patients had atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia. During RF ablation of the left accessory pathway, severe chest pain developed and was followed by abnormal J-point elevation. During the ongoing chest pain and J-point elevation, coronary angiograms showed normal findings. The chest pain and J-point elevation were followed by PVT or VF that was unresponsive to defibrillation. The PVT was spontaneously terminated and repeated. After 0.5 mg atropin was given, chest pain and ECG change disappeared. CONCLUSION: The mechanisms of ER syndrome during RF ablation might be increased vagal tone due to chest pain or direct vagal stimulation.

Ginsenoside Rg3 inhibits phenylephrine-induced vascular contraction through induction of nitric oxide synthase.

Ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3) isolated from Panax ginseng relaxes vessels and exerts a cytoprotective effect. In view of the fact that nitric oxide (NO) is involved in vascular hyporeactivity and immunostimulation, the effects of total ginsenosides (GS) and Rg3 on the vascular responses and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were investigated. Vasocontraction of endothelium-denuded aortic ring was induced by phenylephrine with or without GS or Rg3. The expression of iNOS was assessed by Western blot and RT-PCR analyses. NF-kappaB activation was monitored by gel shift, immunoblot and immunocytochemical analyses. Incubation of the endothelium-denuded aortic ring with GS or Rg3 inhibited phenylephrine-induced vasocontraction, which was abrogated by NOS inhibition. GS or Rg3 increased NO production in aortic rings, but Rb1, Rc, Re and Rg1 had no effect. Aortic rings obtained from rats treated with GS or Rg3 responded to phenylnephrine to a lesser extent, while producing NO to a larger extent, than those from control animals. GS or Rg3 induced iNOS in vascular smooth muscle. Rg3 induced iNOS with increase in NO production in Raw264.7 cells. Rg3 increased NF-kappaB DNA binding, whose band was supershifted with anti-p65 and anti-p50 antibodies, and elicited p65 nuclear translocation, which was accompanied by phosphorylation and degradation of I-kappaBalpha. PKC regulated iNOS induction by Rg3. In conclusion, Rg3 relaxes vessels as a consequence of NO production, to which iNOS induction contributes, and iNOS induction by Rg3 accompanied NF-kappaB activation, which involves phosphorylation and degradation of I-kappaBalpha and nuclear translocation of p65.