Effect and mechanism investigation on improving kidney deficient in mice of Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata based on plasma metabolomics / 药学学报

Plasma nontargeted metabolomics technology was developed for investigating the effect and mechanism of improving kidney deficient in mice of Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata. Thirty-five ICR mice were randomly divided into the control group, the model group, the BB24 h (braising with black bean sauce for 24 hours) group, the BB32 h group, and the BB40 h group. Biochemical indices in blood plasma of mice were measured by collecting eye blood after modeling. Changes in plasma endogenous metabolites of mice from each group were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-linear trap quadrupole-orbitrap XL (UPLC-LTQ-orbitrap XL), and differential metabolites were screened. The results of pharmacodynamic investigation showed that compared to the model group, the levels of estradiol increased obviously in the BB24 h (P < 0.05), and the levels of cortisol increased obviously in BB32 h (P < 0.05). The hormone level of mice with kidney deficiency was significantly improved after taking processed Polygonum multiflorum. A total of 70 differential endogenous metabolites in blood plasma of mice were identified from all treatment groups, which mainly involved glycerophospholipid meta-bolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, and linoleic acid metabolism. The study indicated that Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata may play the role of tonifying liver and kidney by improving the disorder of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and regulating lipid metabolism in mice. Correlation analysis on differential metabolites in blood plasma and the chemical constituents showed that stilbene glycosides and saccharides may be the key pharmacodynamic material basis. The present study provides a new reference and theoretical foundation for revealing the potential pharmacodynamic material basis and mechanism investigation on tonifying liver and kidney of Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata. This study was carried out following the ethical guidelines and regulations for the use of laboratory animals of the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and passed the animal experimental ethical review [No. SYXK (Jing) 2019-0003].

Effect of acupuncture at neck-Jiaji (EX-B 2) and tuina on the cognitive function in the patients with subjective cognitive decline / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVES@#To observe the effects on cognitive function, sleep quality and hemodynamics in the patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) after treated with acupuncture at neck-Jiaji (EX-B 2) and tuina on the base of healthy lifestyle education and meta-memory training.@*METHODS@#Sixty SCD patients were randomly divided into an observation group (30 cases, 1 case dropped out) and a control group (30 cases, 3 cases dropped out). In the control group, the healthy lifestyle education and meta-memory training was performed, twice daily, 15 min each time; the 5-day intervention was delivered a week, lasting consecutively 4 weeks. On the base of the intervention as the control group, in the observation group, acupuncture at neck-Jiaji (EX-B 2) and tuina was conducted. First, one-finger pushing and plucking method of tuina was exerted on the neck region along the running courses of the bladder meridian of foot-taiyang and the governor vessel, for 10 min to 15 min; afterwards, acupuncture was delivered at bilateral neck-Jiaji (EX-B 2), from C1 to C7; and the needles were retained for 30 min. This intervention was given once daily, 5 times a week, for consecutive 4 weeks. Before and after treatment, the score of the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), the score of full scale memory quotient (FSMQ) were assessed by Wechsler memory scale-fourth edition (WMS-Ⅳ) and the score of the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) was compared between the two groups. Using transcranial Doppler ultrasound, the hemodynamic indexes (the mean velocity [Vm] and pulsatility index [PI] of the left vertebral artery [LVA], the right vertebral artery [RVA] and the basilar artery [BA]) were determined in the two groups.@*RESULTS@#After treatment, the scores of MMSE and FSMQ increased compared with those before treatment in the two groups (P<0.05, P<0.001), PSQI score was lower (P<0.05) and Vm of BA was higher (P<0.001) in the observation group when compared with those before treatment. The scores of MMSE and FSMQ, as well as Vm of BA were higher (P<0.05, P<0.001), and PSQI score was decreased (P<0.05) in the observation group when compared with the control group.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The combined therapy of acupuncture at neck-Jiaji (EX-B 2) and tuina is more advantageous to improving cognitive function, relieving chronic emotional stress and ameliorating sleeping quality in the patients with subjective cognitive decline, which may be achieved by improving the blood supply of the basilar artery.

Similar change laws of content of nine components in four processing methods of Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata / 中国中药杂志

To standardize the processing technology of Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata and stabilize its quality, the similar change laws of Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata with different processing methods and time were analyzed. The processing time of Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata was studied at 24, 32, 40, 48 h, and 4 different processing methods were studied, namely stewed with black bean sauce, steamed, steamed with black bean sauce, and steamed with black bean sauce and rice wine. The content of stilbene glycosides and anthraquinones were determined by HPLC-DAD method. UV method was used to determine the content of polysaccharides, and HPLC-ELSD method was used to determine the monosaccharides and oligosaccharides. The comparative chart of content determination, cluster analysis and entropy weight TOPSIS model was used to find the similar change laws and time interval of different processing methods of Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata. The results demonstrated that around 32 h, the content of nine components in Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata with different processing methods had similar change laws, and the decoction pieces had a high quality, indicating that the four processing methods of Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata are likely to be used as one type of decoction piece with the same name.

UPLC-Q-TOF-MS analysis on chemical constituents of classical prescription Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Tang standard decoction / 中国中药杂志

UPLC-Q-TOF-MS technology was used to analyze the chemical constituents from classical prescription Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Tang standard decoction. Acquity HSS T3 column(2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.8 μm) was used as the chromatographic column, with 0.1% formic acid solution-0.1% formic acid acetonitrile as the mobile phase for gradient elution. The volume flow rate was 0.4 mL·min~(-1) and the column temperature was 40 ℃. Mass spectrometry data of Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Tang standard decoction were collected in positive and negative ion modes. The chemical constituents from classical prescription Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Tang standard decoction were analyzed and identified by Masslynx 4.1 software combined with SciFinder database, comparison with reference mate-rials, mass spectrometry data analysis and reference to relevant literature. A total of 110 compounds were analyzed and identified, including 33 flavonoids, 14 monoterpene glycosides, 8 triterpenoids, 8 gingerols, 17 phenylpropanoids, 12 organic acids, 7 amino acids and 11 other compounds. The results of this study provide an experimental basis for the further research on the substance basis and quality control of Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Tang standard decoction.

Determination of medium- and short-chain fatty acids in feces by UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS with pre-column derivatization / 药学学报

A pre-column derivatization and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) method was developed for qualitative and quantitative determination of medium- and short-chain fatty acids in mice feces, and was further applied to evaluate variations in the feces of mice before and after antibiotic treatment. This animal experiment had been approved by Animal Experimental Ethics Committee of Jiangsu Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine. By optimizing the derivatization conditions and UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS parameters a new UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS method with 3-nitrophenylhydrazine as the derivatization reagent was developed for simultaneous determination of 16 medium- and short-chain fatty acids. Validation studies showed that the linearity of the calibration curves was good (R2>0.99), the RSD of intra-day and inter-day precision was less than 10%, the repeatability RSD was less than 6%, the recovery rate was between 80% - 120% at three spiked levels, and the stability RSD was less than 7% within 36 h. The types and amounts of the detected medium- and short-chain fatty acids in feces significantly changed after the mice were treated with antibiotics. The content of formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, and lactic acid decreased, whereas that of heptanoic acid and succinic acid increased significantly. All these results suggest that the newly established method is accurate and reliable, and can be used for determination of medium- and short-chain fatty acids in feces.

Mechanism of Wulingsan in Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis Based on Network Pharmacology / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To study the mechanism of Wulingsan (WLS) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by network pharmacology. Method:The active components of WLS were screened on traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology(TCMSP) platform, and the targets were predicted in DragBank database. The "component-target" network was constructed by Cytoscape 3.2.1 software. Disease targets were searched in TTD, DrugBank and DisGenet databases. The Venn diagram was built to extract the target of WLS in the treatment of RA, and the gene oesthetics(GO) function annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedin of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) signal pathway enrichment analysis were performed by cluego plugin. The TCM-component-target-pathway network of WLS was constructed, and the network feature analysis was made by Network Analyzer. Result:Totally 52 components and 297 potential targets in WLS and 1 845 targets relating to RA were excavated, and 49 common targets of WLS-RA were obtained. The common targets were mainly enriched in 322 biological processes and 31 signaling pathways. Conclusion:WLS may regulate targets, such as prostaglandin epoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), cysteine aspartate protein-3 (Caspase-3), transcription factor p65 (RELA), progesterone receptor (PGR), and adjust cancer-related pathways, tumor necrosis factor(TNF) signaling pathways, interleukin-17(IL-17) signaling pathways, nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB) signaling pathways, Th17 cell differentiation, so as to inhibit the inflammatory response, regulate immune function and adjust apoptosis to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

Evaluation of chemical consistency of triterpene acids in ethanol extracts of Poria and acetic ether extracts thereof by UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS with full scan and mimic MRM mode / 药学学报

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) method was developed to evaluate the chemical consistency of triterpene acids in ethanol extracts of Poria and acetic ether extracts thereof. First, high resolution mass spectrometry data were obtained with Full scan mode, by comparing with MS data from the reference compounds and literatures, a total of 23 components were unequivocally or tentatively identified in ethanol extracts and acetic ether extracts thereof. Then, a mimic multiple reaction monitoring (mMRM) mode was established using UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS to quantify the triterpene acids in ethanol extracts and acetic ether extracts thereof. Eleven components were absolutely quantified with reference compounds, while 12 components without reference compounds were relatively quantified with peak areas, the transfer and enrichment rate of triterpene acids during liquid-liquid extraction were calculated. It was found all of the 23 triterpene acids identified in Poria ethanol extracts could be transferred into acetic ether extracts with high transfer and enrichment rate. The present study provides not only scientific evidence for further extraction of triterpene acids in Poria by acetic ether, but also an approach for comprehensive evaluation of the chemical consistency of herbal medicine extracts before and after the liquid-liquid extraction.

Effect of Zusanli Point Electroacupuncture on Smooth Muscle Contraction Function and Cortactin Expression in Rats with Irritable Bowel Syndrome / 广州中医药大学学报

Objective To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture at Zusanli (ST36) point on the expression of cortical actin-binding protein (cortactin) in smooth muscle cells of rats with irritable bowel syndrome(IBS). Methods Eighty female Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats aged 3 months were randomly divided into 4 groups: normal group, model group, acupoint group and sham-acupoint group, 20 rats in each group. The diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) rat model was established by high-lactose feeding combined with restraint stress method. Acupoint group was given electroacupuncture at Zusanli point, and sham-acupoint group was given electroacupuncture at external region of 5 mm beside Zusanli point. After treatment, time for the discharge of active carbon through all of the gastrointestinal duct was measured, the contraction of rat proximal colon smooth muscle strips was tested, the expression level of cortactin and the ratio of G/F-actin in the proximal colon were detected by Western blotting method. Results Compared with the normal group, time for the discharge of active carbon through all of the gastrointestinal duct was shortened, and the systolic basic tension of colonic smooth muscle, the expression level of cortactin, and the ratio of G/F-actin in the model group were increased (P<0.05). After electroacupuncture treatment, the time for the discharge of active carbon through all of the gastrointestinal duct in acupoint group was prolonged, and the systolic basic tension of the intestinal smooth muscle, the expression level of cortactin, and ratio of G/F-actin were decreased (P < 0.05 compared with the model group and non-acupoint group). Conclusion Electroacupuncture at Zusanli point can effectively improve the gastrointestinal function of IBS rats and has regulatory effect on the contraction of colonic smooth muscle.

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.

Effects of boiling duration in processing of White Paeony Root on its overall quality evaluated by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry based metabolomics analysis and high performance liquid chromatography quantification / 中国天然药物

Boiling processing is commonly used in post-harvest handling of White Paeony Root (WPR), in order to whiten the herbal materials and preserve the bright color, since such WPR is empirically considered to possess a higher quality. The present study was designed to investigate whether and how the boiling processing affects overall quality of WPR. First, an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry-based metabolomics approach coupled with multivariate statistical analysis was developed to compare the holistic quality of boiled and un-boiled WPR samples. Second, ten major components in WPR samples boiled for different durations were quantitatively determined using high performance liquid chromatography to further explore the effects of boiling time on the holistic quality of WPR, meanwhile the appearance of the processed herbal materials was observed. The results suggested that the boiling processing conspicuously affected the holistic quality of WPR by simultaneously and inconsistently altering the chemical compositions and that short-time boiling processing between 2 and 10 min could both make the WPR bright-colored and improve the contents of major bioactive components, which were not achieved either without boiling or with prolonged boiling. In conclusion, short-term boiling (2-10 min) is recommended for post-harvest handling of WPR.

Therapeutic effects of zinc supplement as adjunctive therapy in infants and young children with rotavirus enteritis / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the therapeutic effects of oral zinc supplement in infants and young children with rotavirus enteritis, and its preventive effects against diarrhea recurrence within 3 months after treatment.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 103 infants and young children with rotavirus enteritis were randomly divided into zinc supplement group (n=51) and conventional treatment group (n=52). Both groups were equally treated with a comprehensive therapy, besides which the zinc supplement group received zinc gluconate granules for 10 days. The treatment outcomes were examined at 72 hours after treatment, and the time required for the disappearance of positive symptoms and the recovery of injured extra-intestinal organs were determined. In addition, these patients were followed up for 3 months to determine the incidence of diarrhea recurrence after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The overall response rate in the zinc supplement group was significantly higher than that in the conventional treatment group (90% vs 75%; P<0.05). The durations of diarrhea, high fever, and vomiting in the zinc supplement group were significantly shorter than that in the conventional treatment group (P<0.05). In addition, the recurrence rate of diarrhea and the incidence of severe diarrhea within 3 months after treatment in the zinc supplement group were significantly lower than in the conventional treatment group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Oral zinc supplement as adjunctive therapy is effective in treating infants and young children with rotavirus enteritis, and reducing the incidence and severity of diarrhea recurrence in the subsequent 3 months.</p>

[Development of a method for measuring dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) and dissolved ferrous iron in large batch in pore water samples of sediments with micro-volumes].

A method was established to measure the concentrations of dissolved reactive phosphate (DRP) and dissolved ferrous iron (Fe) in micro-volume solution samples through colorimetric determination in large batch using a 384-well Microplate Spectrophotometer. Concentrations of DRP and dissolved Fe were determined by the molybdenum blue and phenanthroline colorimetric methods, respectively. The results showed that the sample consumption used for each parameter was between 20 and 50 microL after dilution, and the detection limits for DRP and dissolved Fe were 0.006 mg x L(-1) and 0.010 mg x L(-1) respectively, while the analytical precision varied between 1% and 5%. The established method was applied to measure DRP and dissolved Fe in pore waters of sediment profiles in Lake Taihu, which were collected by a high-resolution Peeper (HR-Peeper) device with a vertical resolution of 2 mm. The results showed a simultaneous increase of DRP and dissolved Fe in their concentrations with the depth of two sediment profiles investigated.

Advance in saponins of aerial parts of Panax species / 中国中药杂志

The bioactivities, chemical composition and distribution of aerial parts of Panax species are different from the roots. The present paper summarized the phytochemical and analytical studies of aerial parts of Panax species, including P. ginseng, P. notoginseng, P. quinquefoliun and P. japonicus. This review aims so as to provide scientific evidences for further investigation of chemical profile, quality control and optimal utilization of these resources.

Development of UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS combined with reference herb approach to rapidly screen commercial sulfur-fumigated ginseng / 中国中药杂志

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) combined with reference herb method was developed to rapidly screen commercial sulfur-fumigated ginseng. Sufur-fumigated ginseng reference herb was prepared using genuine ginseng by conventional procedure. Then the reference sulfur-fumigated ginseng sample was analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS to identify characteristic marker components. 25-hydroxyl-Re sulfate with higher abundance was se- lected as marker compound from 8 characteristic components identified in sulfur-fumigated ginseng reference herb. The fragmentation of 25-hydroxyl-Re sulfate was extensively investigated, fragment ion m/z 879.44 with higher intensity was chosen as the characteristic ion of sulfur-fumigated ginseng. The response of ion m/z 879. 44 was improved by optimizing the MS conditions so that this ion could be used as the characteristic marker ion for screening purpose in ion extracting screening mode. The established approach was successfully applied to inspect 21 commercial ginseng samples collected from different cities in China It was found that the chemical profiles of 9 samples were similar to that of sulfur-fumigated ginseng reference herb, and the characteristic ion m/z 879. 44 of 25-hydroxyl-Re sulfate was also detected in these samples, suggesting that there were nearly 43% ginseng samples analyzed being sulfur-fumigated. This findng agreed well with the results of sulfur dioxide residues of these 21 commercial ginseng samples determined with the method documented in Chinese Pharmacopeia Compared with the method documented in Chinese Pharmacopeia, the proposed approach is more rapid and specific for screening sulfur-fumigated ginseng. SFDA of China should strengthen the enforcement to prohibit ginseng being sulfur-fumigated, so that ginseng and it preparations could be effectively and safely benefit to the health of human beings.

Speciation of organic phosphorus in a sediment profile of Lake Taihu. II. Molecular species and their depth attenuation.

The understanding of organic phosphorus (P) dynamics in sediments requires information on their species at the molecular level, but such information in sediment profiles is scarce. A sediment profile was selected from a large eutrophic lake, Lake Taihu (China), and organic P species in the sediments were detected using solution phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P NMR) following extraction of the sediments with a mixture of 0.25 mol/L NaOH and 50 mmol/L EDTA (NaOH-EDTA) solution. The results showed that P in the NaOH-EDTA extracts was mainly composed of orthophosphate, orthophosphate monoesters, phospholipids, DNA, and pyrophosphate. Concentrations of the major organic P compound groups and pyrophosphate showed a decreasing trend with the increase of depth. Their half-life times varied from 3 to 27 years, following the order of orthophosphate monoesters > phospholipids > or = DNA > pyrophosphate. Principal component analysis revealed that the detected organic P species had binding phases similar to those of humic acid-associated organic P (NaOH-NRP(HA)), a labile organic P pool that tends to transform to recalcitrant organic P pools as the early diagenetic processes proceed. This demonstrated that the depth attenuation of the organic P species could be partly attributed to their increasing immobilization by the sediment solids, while their degradation rates should be significantly lower than what were suggested in previous studies.

Effect of anti-asthma Chinese medicine Chuankezhi on the anti-tumor activity of cytokine-induced killer cells / 癌症

Chuankezhi (CKZ), a new Chinese medicine, plays an important role in immunoregulation. Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells have been commonly used for immunotherapy in recent years. In this study, we aimed to investigate the immunoregulatory effect of CKZ on CIK cells. Peripheral blood monocytes were isolated from healthy donors, and CIK cells were generated by culturing monocytes with interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin 2. Different concentrations of CKZ were added on day 2. After incubation for 14 days in culture, the antitumor effects of CIK cells were measured by cytotoxicity assay. Flow cytometry was used to explore the effect of CKZ on CIK cell immunophenotype, intracellular cytokine production, and apoptosis. The effect of CKZ on the antitumor activity of CIK cells in nude mice was also investigated. CKZ increased the percentage of CD3+CD56+ CIK cells but did not significantly change the percentage of CD4+, CD8+, or CD4+CD25+ CIK cells. CKZ-conditioned CIK cells showed a greater ability to kill tumor cells, as well as a higher frequency of IFN-γ and TNF-α production, compared with the CIK cells in the control group. CKZ also suppressed the apoptosis of CIK cells in vitro. Furthermore, CKZ combined with CIK cells had a stronger suppressive effect on tumor growth in vivo than the CIK, CKZ, or normal saline control groups. Our results indicate that CKZ enhances the antitumor activity of CIK cells and is a potential medicine for tumor immunotherapy.

Effect of ultra high-pressure processing on microorganisms and ginsenosides of Panax ginseng / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the feasibility of the application of ultra high-pressure processing (UHPP) as an anticorrosion and anti-mould method by comparing the total numbers of bacteria and mould colonies and the content of ginsenosides before and after UHPP.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The total numbers of bacteria and moulds colony were determined by microbiological test method. The contents of 12 ginsenosides were determined by HPLC.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Under the three selected conditions, the total number of bacterial colony decreased significantly, while the mould was not detected in UHPP samples; and the contents of 12 ginsenosides were increased significantly in methanol extracts and water extracts.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>UHPP not only shows anticorrosion and anti-mould effects, but also enhances the leaching rate of ginsenosides. It is a highly effective, safe and environmental friendly anticorrosion and anti-mould technique for Ranax ginseng worth in-depth study.</p>

Correlation of intestinal mucosal injury with serum diamine oxidase / 中华儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the relationship between the changes of intestinal mucosal tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), plasma diamine oxidase (DAO) values and the degree of mucosal injuries in young rat model of colitis and thereby to explore if plasma DAO could be used as a potential index for monitoring intestinal mucosal injury.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and four healthy young male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats aged 5-6 weeks were randomly divided into three groups: zero time group (n = 8), model group (n = 48) and control group (n = 48). The model and control groups were further divided into 24 h, 72 h, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 4 weeks subgroups, respectively, with 8 rats in each. The rats in model group were given 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBSA) via enema to induce colitis, while the rats in the control group were given normal saline (NS) solution in the same way and those in zero time group were not treated. TNF-alpha and DAO were measured by immunohistochemical technique and spectrophotometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The most serious enteric mucosal injury was seen 24 hours after giving TNBSA. Plasma DAO and TNF-alpha decreased as the intestinal mucosal injury was alleviated.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Plasma DAO values may be used as a marker for intestinal mucosal injury. TNF-alpha is a factor for causing mucosal injury. Young rat colitis model can be used to study intestinal mucosal injury.</p>

Effect of pH and aging time on the kinetic dissociation of 243Am(III) from humic acid-coated gamma-Al2O3: a chelating resin exchange study.

The chelating resin was studied to assess its influence on metal availability and mobility in the environment. The association of organic-inorganic colloid-borne trace elements was investigated in this work. The radionuclide 243Am(III) was chosen as the representative and chemical homologue for trivalent lanthanide and actinide ions present in radioactive nuclear waste. The kinetic dissociation behavior of 243Am(III) from humic acid-coated gamma-Al2O3 was studied at pH values of 4.0 +/- 0.1, 5.0 +/- 0.2, and 6.0 +/- 0.2 with a contact time of 2 days after the addition of a chelating cation exchanger resin. The concentrations of the components were: 243Am(III) 3.0 x 10(-7) mol/L, gamma-Al2O3 0.5 g/L, HA 10 mg/L (pH 4.0 +/- 0.1, 5.0 +/- 0.2, and 6.0 +/- 0.2) and 50 mg/L (pH 6.0 +/- 0.2), respectively. The kinetics of dissociation of 243Am(III) after different equilibration time with humic acid-coated gamma-Al2O3 was also investigated at pH 5.0 +/- 0.2. The experiments were carried out in air and at ambient temperature. The results suggest that the fraction of irreversible bonding of radionuclides to HA-coated Al2O3 increases with increasing pH and is independent of aging time. The assumption of two different 243Am(III)-HA-Al2O3 species, with "fast" and "slow" dissociation kinetics, is required to explain the experimental results. 243Am(III) species present on HA-Al2O3 colloids moves from the "fast" to the "slow" dissociating sites with the increase of aging time.