Phthalides, senkyunolide A and ligustilide, show immunomodulatory effect in improving atherosclerosis, through inhibiting AP-1 and NF-κB expression.

Atherosclerosis is initiated by the local inflammation response to lipid deposition, and the most commonly administered antiatherogenic drugs are statins. Based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) evidence, we aimed to find effective therapeutic agents other than statins. A TCM, Suxiao Jiuxin Pill (SX), has been widely used in curing cardiovascular diseases for thirty years. In this paper, a combination of pharmacologic studies and RNA-Seq transcriptomics were employed to explore the pharmacodynamic advantages of SX over atorvastatin in the ApoE-/- mouse. 113 differentially expressed genes that were modulated by SX to a greater degree than atorvastatin were primarily involved in immunomodulation. The expression of BTK, AKT1, c-jun and CD137 was effectively regulated by SX with better effect than atorvastatin. Then a dual-luciferase reporter assay for NF-κB inhibition was applied to identify active components in SX. As a result, Senkyunolide A (Sen A) and Ligustilide (Lig), the key immunomodulatory ingredients in SX, were found to inhibit the expression of CD137 which is a diagnostic biomarker in atherosclerosis. It was further confirmed that Lig effectively suppressed the expression of AP-1 and NF-κB and the phosphorylation of AKT. Therefore, Lig achieved its CD137 inhibition through suppressing the expression of AP-1 and AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway, which partly explains the immunomodulation of SX in atherosclerosis. Above all, phthalides may be the primary components of SX improving immune and inflammation response in atherosclerosis.

High-Throughput Analytical Techniques for Determination of Residues of 653 Multiclass Pesticides and Chemical Pollutants in Tea--Part V: A Comparative Study of the Influence of Tea Hydration on the Efficiency of Pesticide Multiresidue Determination Using Three Sample Preparation Methods and GC/MS/MS.

This paper describes a comparative study of the influence of three sample preparation techniques (M1: hydration+oscillating extraction+partial extraction solution hexane partitioning cleanup; M2: hydration+oscillating extraction+overall extraction solution SPE cleanup; and M3: pure acetonitrile homogeneous extraction+overall extraction SPE cleanup) on the determination efficiency of 456 pesticide multiresidues in tea. First, it was discovered from the mathematical correlation equation of 329 pesticide recoveries established and log Kow values that the extraction efficiency of hydration method M1 has obvious correlation with pesticide log Kow, making the extraction efficiency of M1 take the shape of an arc trend line with a certain arc hanging down from both ends of polar pesticides and nonpolar pesticides. Second, regarding the M1 method, the interfering matter after co-extraction increased in large quantities, which markedly lowered the S/N of the target pesticides and method sensitivity, leading to an obvious decrease of the method efficiency. The fortification experiment of the uniform limit 0.010 mg/kg proved that with the M1 hydration method there are 23 pesticides with recoveries between 70 and 120% and RSD<20%, accounting for only 5.0%, while with nonhydration method M3 there are 229 pesticides, making up 50%.

High-throughput GC/MS and HPLC/MS/MS techniques for the multiclass, multiresidue determination of 653 pesticides and chemical pollutants in tea.

An efficient and sensitive method has been established for simultaneous determination of 653 pesticides in teas by GC/MS and HPLC/MS/MS. The method involved extraction with acetonitrile followed by cleanup using Cleanert-TPT SPE and subsequent identification and quantitation of 490 pesticides by GC/MS and 448 pesticides by HPLC/MS/ MS. The LODs for pesticides determined by GC/MS were between 1.0 and 500 microg/kg, and those determined by HPLC/MS/MS were between 0.03 and 4820 microg/kg. At the low fortification levels of 0.01-100 microg/kg, the average recoveries of 94% of the pesticides determined by GC/MS were between 60 and 120%, 77% of which had an RSD below 20%. For 91% of pesticides determined by HPLC/MS/MS, the average recoveries were between 60 and 120%, 76% of which had an RSD below 20%. The paper also reports a novel SPE column, Cleanert TPT, which comprised graphitized carbon black (PestiCarb), polyamine silica, and amide polystyrene for purifying the tea samples. The results indicated good repeatiblity and reproducibility.

Two new triterpenes from the rhizomes of Alisma orientalis.

Two new triterpenoids, 25-anhydro-alisol F (1) and 11-anhydro-alisol F (2), were isolated from the rhizomes of Alisma orientalis. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods.