[Research progress on chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Ajania plants].

Ajania belonging to the subtribe Artemisiinae of Anthemideae(Asteraceae) is a genus of semi-shrubs closely related to Chrysanthemum. There are 24 species of Ajania in northwestern China, most of which are folk herbal medicines with strong stress tolerance. Modern medical studies have demonstrated that the chemical constituents of Ajania mainly include terpenoids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, alkynes, and essential oils. These compounds endow the plants with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antimalarial, antioxidant, and insecticide effects. In this study, we reviewed the research progress in the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Ajania, aiming to provide reference for the further research and development of Ajania.

[Anemoside B4 regulates fatty acid metabolism reprogramming in mice with colitis-associated cancer].

The study aimed to investigate the effect of anemoside B4(B4) on fatty acid metabolism in mice with colitis-associated cancer(CAC). The CAC model was established by azoxymethane(AOM)/dextran sodium sulfate(DSS) in mice. Mice were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, and low-, medium-, and high-dose anemoside B4 groups. After the experiment, the length of the mouse colon and the size of the tumor were measured, and the pathological alterations in the mouse colon were observed using hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining. The slices of the colon tumor were obtained for spatial metabolome analysis to analyze the distribution of fatty acid metabolism-related substances in the tumor. The mRNA levels of SREBP-1, FAS, ACCα, SCD-1, PPARα, ACOX, UCP-2, and CPT-1 were determined by real-time quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR). The results revealed that the model group showed decreased body weight(P<0.05) and colon length(P<0.001), increased number of tumors, and increased pathological score(P<0.01). Spatial metabolome analysis revealed that the content of fatty acids and their derivatives, carnitine, and phospholipid in the colon tumor was increased. RT-qPCR results indicated that fatty acid de novo synthesis and ß-oxidation-related genes, such as SREBP-1, FASN, ACCα, SCD-1, ACOX, UCP-2, and CPT-1 mRNA expression levels increased considerably(P<0.05, P<0.001). After anemoside B4 administration, the colon length increased(P<0.01), and the number of tumors decreased in the high-dose anemoside B4 group(P<0.05). Additionally, spatial metabolome analysis showed that anemoside B4 could decrease the content of fatty acids and their derivatives, carnitine, and phospholipids in colon tumors. Meanwhile, anemoside B4 could also down-regulate the expression of FASN, ACCα, SCD-1, PPARα, ACOX, UCP-2, and CPT-1 in the colon(P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.001). The findings of this study show that anemoside B4 may inhibit CAC via regulating fatty acid metabolism reprogramming.

Compatibility of Fuzi and Ginseng Significantly Increase the Exposure of Aconitines.

The herb-pair ginseng-Fuzi (the root of Aconitum carmichaelii) is the material basis of Shenfu prescriptions and is popular in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of heart failure, and even shock with severe-stage of COVID-19. A narrow therapeutic window of Fuzi may cause significant regional loss of property and life in clinics. Therefore, systemic elucidation of active components is crucial to improve the safety dose window of Shenfu oral prescriptions. A high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed for quantification of 10 aconitines in SD rat plasma within 9 min. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification were below 0.032 ng/ml and 0.095 ng/ml, respectively. Furthermore, a systemic comparison with their pharmacokinetic characteristics after oral administration of a safe dosage of 2 g/kg of Fuzi and ginseng-Fuzi decoction for 24 h was conducted. Eight representative diester, monoester, and non-ester aconitines and two new active components (i.e., songorine and indaconitine) were all adopted to elucidating the differences of the pharmacokinetic parameters in vivo. The compatibility of Fuzi and ginseng could significantly increase the in vivo exposure of active components. The terminal elimination half-life and the area under the concentration-time curve of mesaconitine, benzoylaconitine, benzoylmesaconitine, benzoylhypaconitine, and songorine were all increased significantly. The hypaconitine, benzoylmesaconitine, and songorine were regarded as the main active components in vivo, which gave an effective clue for the development of new Shenfu oral prescriptions.

Effects of Acanthopanax senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim.) Harms on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury revealed by metabolomics and transcriptomics.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (CIR) injury is one of the main diseases leading to death and disability. Acanthopanax senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim.) Harms (AS), also known as Panax ginseng, has neuroprotective effects on anti-CIR injury. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of its therapeutic effects is not clear. AIM OF THE STUDY: To systematically study and explore the mechanism of Acanthopanax senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim.) Harms extract (ASE) in the treatment of CIR injury based on metabolomics and transcriptomics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The pharmacological basis of ASE in the treatment of CIR was evaluated, and samples were used in plasma metabolomics and brain tissue transcriptomics to reveal potential biomarkers. Finally, according to online database, we analyzed biomarkers identified by the two technologies, explained reasons for the therapeutic effect of ASE, and identify therapeutic targets. RESULTS: A total of 53 differential metabolites (DMs) were identified in plasma and 3138 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in brain tissue from three groups of rats, including sham, ischemia-reperfusion (I/R), and ASE groups. Enrichment analysis showed that Nme6, Tk1, and Pold1 that are involved in the production of deoxycytidine and thymine were significantly up-regulated and Dck was significantly down-regulated by the intervention with ASE. These findings indicated that ASE participates in the pyrimidine metabolism by significantly regulating the balance between dCTP and dTTP. In addition, ASE repaired and promoted the lipid metabolism in rats, which might be due to the significant expression of Dgkz, Chat, and Gpcpd1. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that ASE regulates the significant changes in gene expression in metabolites pyrimidine, and lipid metabolism in CIR rats and plays an active role in the treatment of CIR injury through multiple targets and pathways.

Structural characterization of a homopolysaccharide with hypoglycemic activity from the roots of Pueraria lobata.

A water-soluble neutral homopolysaccharide (PLP-1) was obtained from the roots of Pueraria lobata by DEAE cellulose and Sephadex G-200 gel chromatography purification. The average molecular weight of PLP-1 was 16.2 kDa. Monosaccharide composition analysis showed that PLP-1 was composed of glucose as a glucan. The structure of PLP-1 was characterized on the basis of extensive physical and chemical analysis, which indicated that the backbone of PLP-1 was mainly composed of →3)-α-d-Glcp(1→ and →4)-ß-d-Glcp(1→ with a molar ratio of 7.0 : 1.0. Moreover, the hypoglycemic activity of PLP-1 was investigated by palmitic acid and high glucose induced insulin resistant HepG2 cells. The results elucidated that PLP-1 could decrease the glucose concentration by up-regulating the expression of PI3K and AKT, and down-regulating the expression of FoxO1, PCK2, and G6Pase in insulin resistant cells. Therefore, PLP-1 could serve as a dietary supplement to ameliorate insulin resistance for diabetic patients.

[Study on therapeutic effect and its related mechanism of anemoside B4 on ischemia reperfusion injury induced by renal artery and vein ligation in rats].

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effect and mechanism of anemoside B4 on renal ischemia reperfusion injury in rats. A total of 50 rats were randomly divided into the model group(NS) and anemoside B4 low-dose(1.25 mg·kg~(-1)), medium-dose(2.5 mg·kg~(-1)) and high-dose(5 mg·kg~(-1)) groups after the right kidney was removed and the left kidney was ligated to make the ischemia reperfusion model. Another 10 rats were selected as sham operation group only for normal control group(NS, received normal saline). Automatic biochemical analyzer was used to measure serum blood urea nitrogen(BUN), creatinine(Cre), cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) and urinemicroalbumin(mALB) levels after 5 days of tail vein injection treament. Total urine protein and total urinary albu-min were calculated and kidney samples were collected. Histopathological changes of renal tissues were observed by PAS staining. Western blot analysis was performed to detect the protein expressions of TLR4 and NF-κB in renal inflammatory factors related to NLRP3 pathway and TLR4/NF-κB pathway. The results showed that the levels of BUN, Cre, urinary total protein and urinary total albumin in the model group were significantly increased(P<0.01), with severe renal tubule injury was serious, manifested by obvious expansion of renal tubules, more serious tubular proteins, and some tubular epithelial cells were exfoliated. At the same time, the expression of inflammatory factors related to NLRP3 pathway and TLR4/NF-κB pathway increased significantly(P<0.01 or P<0.05). The levels of BUN, Cre were reduced in different doses of anemoside B4(P<0.05). The levels of total urinary protein and total urinary albumin were decreased in the low and high dose groups of anemoside B4.The level of total urinary albumin in the high-dose group of anemoside B4 was significantly reduced(P<0.05).Renal tubular injury was alleviated, tubular epithelial cell exfoliation was reduced, and the expression of related inflammatory factors was reduced in different degrees(P<0.01 or P<0.05). This study showed that anemoside B4 could alleviate renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. And its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of inflammatory factors related to response mediated by NLRP3 pathway and TLR4/NF-κB pathway by anemoside B4.

[Expression characteristics of inflammatory and apoptosis factors and regulatory effect of anemoside B4 in mice with acute kidney injury].

This paper was aimed to observe the effect of anemoside B4(hereinafter referred to as B4) on cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury in mice, and to investigate its possible mechanism in renal protection from inflammation and apoptosis aspects. Mice were divided into normal group, model group, dexamethasone positive group and B4 high, middle and low dose groups(5, 2.5, and 1.25 mg·kg~(-1 )doses). All the other mice groups except normal group were given with tail vein injection of cisplatin(15 mg·kg~(-1)) to induce acute kidney injury models. The drug administration was started on the day of modeling, and lasted for 4 days. After 1 hour of the last injection, orbital blood was collected. After the serum was separated, serum urea nitrogen(BUN), creatinine(Cre), total protein(TP), and albumin(ALB) were tested by using an automatic biochemical analyzer; the changes of kidney pathological morphology were observed by PAS staining; the protein expression levels of inflammatory factors including nucleotide binding oligomerization domain-like receptor(NLRP3), cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 1(caspase-1), interleukin-18(IL-18), interleukin-1ß(IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor(TNF-α), and interleukin-6(IL-6) and apoptosis factors including p53, caspase-3, cleaved-caspase-3, Bcl-2 associated X protein(Bax), and B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2) were analyzed by Western blot. The results showed that B4 significantly reduced the serum BUN and Cre contents, and alleviated pathological changes in renal tissues, such as the shedding and degeneration of renal tubular epithelial cells, tubulin tubule type. B4 significantly down-regulated the protein expressions of p53, Bax, cleaved-caspase-3 in the kidney and up-regulated the expression of Bcl-2/Bax. In model group, however, no significant up-regulation was observed in the protein expression levels of inflammatory cytokines(NLRP3, pro-caspase-1, IL-18, IL-1ß, TNF-α, IL-6). The results suggested that B4 had a certain protective effect on cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury, and could activate p53 signaling pathway related apoptotic factors. B4 renal protective effect was mainly related to the regulation of p53 signaling pathway, while NLRP3 inflammasome and related inflammatory factors had no obvious response in this model.

Isolation of chemical constituents with anti-inflammatory activity from Reineckia carnea herbs.

Three new saponins (1-3), a new natural product (4) and six other known compounds (5-10) were isolated from the whole Reineckia carnea plant. Their structures were established by comparison of their NMR spectra and MS data with literature data. In addition, all the isolated compounds were evaluated in vitro for anti-inflammatory activities against LPS-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Compounds 1-4 exhibited anti-inflammatory activities with IC50 values of 37.5 µM, 31.4 µM, 34.6 µM, and 56.1 µM, respectively. Furthermore, compounds 5-10 showed anti-inflammatory activities with IC50 values ranging from 20.3 to 42.9 µM.

Anemoside B4 Protects Rat Kidney from Adenine-Induced Injury by Attenuating Inflammation and Fibrosis and Enhancing Podocin and Nephrin Expression.

Anemoside B4 (B4) isolated from Radix Pulsatilla has anti-inflammatory activities in the colon and antitumor effects. However, its role in the prevention and treatment of kidney injury has not been reported. Here, we reported the effects of B4 on chronic kidney injury (CKI) and studied its related mechanism based on an adenine-induced kidney injury model in rats. The results showed that serum BUN (blood urea nitrogen), Crea (creatinine), and urinary proteins increased significantly after oral administration of adenine. Meanwhile, the adenine contents in both renal tissue and urine increased markedly compared with those of normal rats. Moreover, IL-1ß, IL-6, TNFα, and NFκB expression was upregulated in the kidney. Simultaneously, the expression of NLRP3 (the nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain-like receptor, leucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain-containing 3) in the inflammasome, which consists of Caspase 1, ASC (apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain), and IL-18, was significantly upregulated. B4 could significantly decrease BUN and Crea; reduce urinary proteins in rats; suppress the expression of IL-6, IL-1ß, NFκB, NLRP3, Caspase 1, ASC, and IL-18; and increase urinary adenine contents and promote its excretion. In addition, B4 also upregulated the expression of podocin and nephrin, two major podocyte proteins, and reduced the fiber collagen in the renal interstitial, suggesting that B4 could protect the glomerular matrix from adenine injury in addition to its anti-inflammatory effects. The results of this study show new perspective of B4 as a potential drug against adenine-induced renal injury.

[Study on acute kidney injury model induced by renal ischemia-reperfusion in rats].

In this study,in-depth systematic evaluation of rat of acute kidney injury(AKI) caused by renal arteriovenous ligation was conducted to better master and apply this model for drug research. Male SD rats of 2-3 months old were employed in this study.The left kidney was removed,and the right kidney received ligation for 40 min and reperfusion for 24 h. Serum creatinine(Crea),urea nitrogen(BUN) and the renal tissue sections were assayed as the basic indicators to evaluate their renal function. The mRNA expression of inflammatory necrosis factors and apoptotic factors was used to evaluate the mechanism of molecular pathophysiological changes. The results showed that the serum Crea and BUN caused by ligation of both renal arteries and veins were significantly higher than those of rats with renal artery ligation. After renal arteriovenous ligation for 40 min and reperfusion for 24 h in rats,the serum Crea of the rats varied from less than 100 µmol·L-1 to more than 430 µmol·L-1. Among them,5 rats showed less than 100 µmol·L-1 serum Crea,20 rats with 100-200 µmol·L-1 serum Crea and 12 rats with more than 430 µmol·L-1. Rats with serum Crea between 300-430 µmol·L-1 accounted for 66.3%(122/184) of the total number of the experiment rats. After 72 h reperfusion,serum Crea in the group of Crea 370-430 µmol·L-1 continued to increase,while the serum Crea in the group of Crea 200-300 µmol·L-1 and the group of Crea 300-370 µmol·L-1 recovered quickly. No matter serum Crea was elevated or decreased,the renal tubules showed pathological changes such as vacuolar degeneration or even necrosis. The mRNA expression levels of Toll-like receptor(TLR4),tumor necrosis factor(TNF-α) and interleukin(IL-6) in renal tissueswere significantly up-regulated,and the effect was most obvious in the group of serum Crea 370-430 µmol·L-1. The study indicated that the model for AKI caused by renal arteriovenous ligation and reperfusion is easy to operate,and the serum Crea and BUN have the characteristics of continuous increase,beneficial to the observation of drug effects. This acute kidney injury is mainly related to the pathophysiological response of inflammatory necrosis.

Study on anti-hyperuricemia effects and active ingredients of traditional Tibetan medicine TongFengTangSan (TFTS) by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

TongFengTangSan (TFTS), a traditional Tibetan medicine comprising of Tinospora sinensis (TS), Terminalia chebula Retz (TC) and Trogopterori faeces (TF), is used to treat joint diseases like gout, gout arthritis, swelling, pain etc. Despite the significant therapeutic effects of TFTS, its pharmacological components have not been analyzed so far. Therefore, the chemical composition of the effective part of TFTS was analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS). The results show that the ethanol extract (EE) of TFTS was more effective in reducing the serum uric acid (SUA) and XOD (Serum and Liver) levels in a hyperuricemic rats model compared to the TFTS raw powder (RP). UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS identified a total of 106 compounds in the positive and negative ion mode, of which 87 were from TC, 13 from TS and 6 from TF. In addition, 106 compounds contained 57 tannins, 6 triterpenoids, 10 alkaloids, 7 flavonoids, 22 organic acids and 4 phenylpropanoids. The preliminary results indicate that the EE of TFTS includes the active anti hyperuricemic substances. The present study first investigated the efficacy and the active components of TFTS in hyperuricemic treatment, and further summarized the diagnostic ion and neutral loss patterns of MS/MS cracking of tannic compounds. These findings lay the foundation for the further study and clinical application of TFTS.

[Application of metabolomics and related technologies in research and development field of traditional Chinese medicine].

Internal environment of metabolism of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a dynamic process, which is in line with the "holistic-dynamic-comprehensive-analytic" characteristics of metabonomics, therefore metabonomics have a unique advantage to reveal the metabolic pattern of TCM. The application of metabonomics in TCM has great practical significance in understanding the pharmacodynamic/toxic effect material basis, mechanisms and guiding for determination of dosage and treatment course; At the same time, the scientific compatibility of TCM prescription, the germplasm resources of TCM and the preclinical safety/toxicity can be widely researched. At present, metabolomics has become a leading technology in many industries and fields including the research and development of TCM. The core of metabolomics is analytical technology, because comprehensive metabolite profiles or accurate identification of known metabolites can be obtained from complex biological samples only by appropriate analytical techniques. At the same time, a series of bioinformatics/chemical informatics/stoichiometry methods are needed to process the data, so as to obtain the potential law and information in the mass data. In this paper, the concept of metabolomics, relevant analytical techniques, data processing methods and applications were explained and analyzed clearly. In addition, the core problems and countermeasures of metabolomics were summarized, and the future development of metabolomics was prospected as well.

[In vivo metabolism of three coumarins from Chimonanthi Radix based on UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS].

Scopolin (SC-1), scopoletin (SC-2) and isofraxidin (IS-1) are the main active constituents in Chimonanthi Radix. However, the in vivo metabolism of SC-1, SC-2 and IS-1 have not been comprehensively clarified. In this study, the in vivo metabolic profiles of these three coumarins in the rat plasma, urine and feces were analyzed. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) method was applied to characterize the prototypes and metabolites of SC-1, SC-2 and IS-1 in rat feces, urine, and plasma after intravenous administration. A total of 11 metabolites of the three parent compounds were tentatively identified. The main metabolic pathways were analyzed by identification of metabolites, and it was found that these three coumarins underwent multiple in vivo metabolic reactions including glucuronidation, sulfonation, isomerism and reduction. In this study, the analysis of metabolites of three coumarins basically demonstrated their in vivo metabolic process, providing basis for the further pharmacokinetics and pharmacological evaluations of SC-1, SC-2 and IS-1.

Structural characterization and discrimination of Chimonanthus nitens Oliv. leaf from different geographical origins based on multiple chromatographic analysis combined with chemometric methods.

The Chimonanthus nitens Oliv. leaf (CNOL). is a widely used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used for treating colds and influenza. In the present study, a comprehensive strategy integrating multiple chromatographic analysis and chemometric methods was firstly proposed for structural characterization and discrimination of CNOL from different geographical origins. It consists of three steps: Firstly, the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) method was applied for comprehensive profiling of characterization constituents in CNOL by high-resolution diagnostic product ions/neutral loss filtering, and a total of 40 constituents were identified. Secondly, chemical fingerprints were established by HPLC coupled with photodiode array detector (PDA), and similarity analyses were calculated based on nineteen common characteristic peaks. Subsequently, the nine major constituents, including coumarins, flavonoids, and phenolic acids were quantified, and the quantitative data further analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). Thirdly, a hot map visualization was conducted for clarifying the distribution of major compounds among different geographical origins. Also, nine constituents detected could be used as chemical markers for discrimination of CNOL from different provinces. Collectively, these results indicated that our proposed platform was a powerful tool for chemical profiling and discrimination of herbs with multiple botanical origins, providing promising perspectives in tracking the formulation process of TCMs products.

[Study on differences of Ainsliaea fragrans from different sources based on UFLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and PCA analysis].

A rapid and accurate method of UFLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS combined with multivariate statistical analysis was established for the identification of Ainsliaea fragrans from different origins in this study. The A. fragrans from different producing areas of Jiangxi, Yunnan, Henan and Jiangsu were determined by UFLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS in the negative ion mode. And the data of the study were analyzed by the Markerview and other software for the PCA and OPLS-DA cluster analysis as well as t test. The results of the principal component analysis(PCA)showed that the main components from different origins were well distinguished. And the results of multivariate statistical showed the differences and similarities between different producing areas. Besides, 40 different compounds were identified in the negative ion mode. This method for identifying A. fragrans from different producing areas has the advantages of rapid accuracy and simplicity, which laid the foundation for the evaluation of the quality of the A. fragrans.

[Rapid identification of the different constituents in Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis before and after processing by UHPLC-QTOF/MS~E combining with metabonomics].

This study was performed to use UHPLC-QTOF/MSE technology to rapidly search and identify variations of chemical ingredients between Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis and its processed products. The present study provides a basis for the study of Chinese herbal medicine processing with a focus on the impact of processing on chemical components. Using a time-dependent data scan mode (MSE) couple with metabolomics technology, we acquired accurate data and identified the potential chemical markers. A total of 12 chemical markers were identified in the crude, vinegar-processed and wine-processed Schisandra chinensis fruit; The results showed that the levels of 6-O-benzoylgomisin O, schisantherin B, schisantherin C, schisantherin D and neokadsuranic acid are the highest in crude Schisandra chinensis fruit; thelevels of schizandrin A, schizandrin B, schizandrin C, gomisin D and gomisin T are the highest in wine-processed Schisandra chinensis fruit; the levels of schisantherin A and schisandrin are the highest in vinegar-processed Schisandra chinensis fruit. There were significant changes of chemical components between Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis and their processed products, and these findings may offer a reasonable explanation for variation of efficacy and clinical applications in the processed products of Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis.

[Pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of α-hederin sodium salt in rats].

To study the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution characteristics of α-hederin sodium salt in rats. 100 mg•kg⁻¹ α-hederin sodium salt was given to the rats by intragastric administration, and LC-MS/MS method was used to determine its concentration at different time in plasma and tissues. Plasma and tissue samples were treated with methanol protein deposition method. Main pharmacokinetic parameters were as follows： tmax (0.97±1.23) h, Cmax (222.53±57.28) µg•L⁻¹, AUC0-t (1 262±788.9) h•µg•L⁻¹, T1/2 (17.94±9.50) h. α-hederin can be detected in heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, brain, muscle and adipose. The results showed that α-hederin sodium salt was absorbed fast and eliminated slowly in rats after oral administration. It was widely distributed in body tissues and livers kept the highest concentrations among various tissues at different time, so it can be speculated that α-hederin may have certain targeting property on livers.

[Analysis of Applying Chinese Medical Clinical Pathway for Treating Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the application effect of Chinese medical clinical pathway for treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and to provide evidence for further improving clinical pathways. METHODS: Totally 270 ADHD children patients were recruited and treated at pediatrics clinics of 9 cooperative hospitals from December 2011 to December 2012. The treatment course for all was 3 months. Scores of attention deficit and hyperactivity rating scale, scores of behavior, Conners index of hyperactivity (CIH), and Chinese medical syndrome scores were compared between before and after treatment. The efficacy difference in various sexes, ages, and disease courses were evaluated by judging standards for Chinese medical syndrome and ADHD. RESULTS: Fifteen children patients who entered clinical pathway dropped out, and the rest 255 completed this trial. Compared with before treatment, total scores of attention deficit and hyperactivity rating scale, scores of attention deficit and hyperactivity rating scale, CIH, and Chinese medical syndrome scores obviously decreased (all P < 0.01). The total effective rate in disease efficacy was 87.8% (224/255 cases), and the total effective rate in Chinese medical syndrome curative effect was 87.5% (223/255 cases). The clinical curative effect was not influenced by age, gender, or course of disease when statistically analyzed from judging standards for Chinese medical syndrome or for disease efficacy. CONCLUSION: Intervention by Chinese medical clinical pathway could improve ADHD patients' symptoms, and its efficacy was not influenced by sex, age, or course of disease.

Two new furaldehyde compounds from the rhizomes of Gastrodia elata.

Two new compounds 5-[4'-(4″-hydroxybenzyl)-3'-hydroxybenzyloxymethyl]-furan-2-carbaldehyde (1) and 5-[4'-(4″-hydroxybenzyl)-3'-hydroxybenzyl]-furan-2-carbal-dehyde (2), together with two known 5-(4-hydroxbenzyloxymethyl)-furan-2-carbaldehyde] (3) and 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde (4), were isolated from the rhizome of Gastrodia elata. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis and comparison of their spectral data with those reported previously. All compounds exhibited weak or no cytotoxicity against human colon carcinoma cell line (HT-29) and human chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line (K-562).

[Determination of equilibrium solubility and n-octanol/water partition coefficient of pulchinenosiden D by HPLC].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the equilibrium solubility of pulchinenosiden D in different solvents and its n-octanol/water partition coefficients. METHOD: Combining shaking flask method and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to detect the n-octanol/water partition coefficients of pulchinenosiden D, the equilibrium solubility of pulchinenosiden D in six organic solvents and different pH buffer solution were determined by HPLC analysis. RESULT: n-Octanol/water partition coefficients of pulchinenosiden D in different pH were greater than zero, the equilibrium solubility of pulchinenosiden D was increased with increase the pH of the buffer solution. The maximum equilibrium solubility of pulchinenosiden D was 255.89 g x L(-1) in methanol, and minimum equilibrium solubility of pulchinenosiden D was 0.20 g x L(-1) in acetonitrile. CONCLUSION: Under gastrointestinal physiological conditions, pulchinenosiden D exists in molecular state and it has good absorption but poor water-solubility, so increasing the dissolution rate of pulchinenosiden D may enhance its bioavailability.