Review of the Protective Mechanism of Paeonol on Cardiovascular Disease.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Paeonol(Pae) is a phenolic component extracted from peony bark, peony root and Xu Changqing. Studies have shown that Pae can protect cardiomyocytes by inhibiting oxidative stress, promoting mitochondrial fusion, regulating mitochondrial autophagy and inhibiting inflammation. In addition, Pae improves ventricular remodeling by inhibiting myocardial apoptosis, hypertrophy and fibrosis. Pae also has a good protective effect on blood vessels by inhibiting vascular inflammation, reducing the expression of adhesion molecules, inhibiting vascular proliferation, and inhibiting oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS). Pae also has the effect of anti-endothelial cell senescence, promoting thrombus recanalization and vasodilating. In conclusion, the molecular targets of Pae are very complex, and the relationship between different targets and signaling pathways cannot be clearly explained, which requires us to use systems biology methods to further study specific molecular targets of Pae. It has to be mentioned that the bioavailability of Pae is poor, and some nanotechnology-assisted drug delivery systems improve the therapeutic effect of Pae. We reviewed the protective mechanism of paeonol on the cardiovascular system, hoping to provide help for drug development in the treatment of CVD.

[Protective mechanism of tetramethylpyrazine on cardiovascular system].

Tetramethylpyrazine is the main component of Ligusticum chuanxiong. Studies have found that tetramethylpyrazine has a good protective effect against cardiovascular diseases. In the heart, tetramethylpyrazine can reduce myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury by inhibiting oxidative stress, regulating autophagy, and inhibiting cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Tetramethylpyrazine can also reduce the damage of cardiomyocytes caused by inflammation, relieve the fibrosis and hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes in infarcted myocardium, and inhibit the expansion of the cardiac cavity after myocardial infarction. In addition, tetramethylpyrazine also has a protective effect on the improvement of familial dilated cardiomyopathy. Besides, the mechanisms of tetramethylpyrazine on blood vessels are more abundant. It can inhibit endothelial cell apoptosis by reducing oxidative stress, maintain vascular endothelial function and homeostasis by inhibiting inflammation and glycocalyx degradation, and protect vascular endothelial cells by reducing iron overload. Tetramethylpyrazine also has a certain inhibitory effect on thrombosis. It can play an anti-thrombotic effect by reducing inflammatory factors and adhesion molecules, inhibiting platelet aggregation, and suppressing the expression of fibrinogen and von Willebrand factor. In addition, tetramethylpyrazine can also reduce the level of blood lipid in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice, inhibit the subcutaneous deposition of lipids, inhibit the transformation of macrophages into foam cells, and inhibit the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells, thereby reducing the formation of atherosclerotic plaque. In combination with network pharmacology, the protective mechanism of tetramethylpyrazine on the cardiovascular system may be mainly achieved through the regulation of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/Akt), hypoxia-inducible factor 1(HIF-1), and mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK) pathways. Tetramethylpyrazine hydrochloride and sodium chloride injection has been approved for clinical application, but some adverse reactions have been found in clinical application, which need to be paid attention to.

Antibiotics prescription for targeted therapy of pediatric invasive pneumococcal diseases in China: a multicenter retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) is a major cause of bacterial meningitis, septicemia and pneumonia in children. Inappropriate choice of antibiotic can have important adverse consequences for both the individual and the community. Here, we focused on penicillin/cefotaxime non-susceptibility of S. pneumoniae and evaluated appropriateness of targeted antibiotic therapy for children with IPD (invasive pneumococcal diseases) in China. METHODS: A multicenter retrospective study was conducted in 14 hospitals from 13 provinces in China. Antibiotics prescription, clinical features and resistance patterns of IPD cases from January 2012 to December 2017 were collected. Appropriateness of targeted antibiotics therapy was assessed. RESULTS: 806 IPD cases were collected. The non-susceptibility rates of S. pneumoniae to penicillin and cefotaxime were 40.9% and 20.7% respectively in 492 non-meningitis cases, whereas those were 73.2% and 43.0% respectively in 314 meningitis cases. Carbapenems were used in 21.3% of non-meningitis cases and 42.0% of meningitis cases for targeted therapy. For 390 non-meningitis cases with isolates susceptible to cefotaxime, vancomycin and linezolid were used in 17.9% and 8.7% of cases respectively for targeted therapy. For 179 meningitis cases with isolates susceptible to cefotaxime, vancomycin and linezolid were prescribed in 55.3% and 15.6% of cases respectively. Overall, inappropriate targeted therapies were identified in 361 (44.8%) of 806 IPD cases, including 232 (28.8%) cases with inappropriate use of carbapenems, 169 (21.0%) cases with inappropriate use of vancomycin and 62 (7.7%) cases with inappropriate use of linezolid. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic regimens for IPD definite therapy were often excessive with extensive prescription of carbapenems, vancomycin or linezolid in China. Antimicrobial stewardship programs should be implemented to improve antimicrobial use.

Effectiveness of laser adjunctive therapy for surgical treatment of gingival recession with flap graft techniques: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Various flap graft techniques in the treatment of gingival recession have already been reported in the literatures for root coverage. Laser therapy has effects of ablative, hemostatic, and decontamination. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to compare the efficacy of flap surgery combined with laser with surgery alone for treating gingival recession. The studies were searched from PubMed, Embase, Web of science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials by two reviewers up to August 2017. The quality of RCTs was assessed by Cochrane Handbook. Data were extracted from studies and analyzed by Review Manager 5.3. 95% confidence interval (CI) and risk ratio (RR) were calculated for dichotomous data. Seven RCTs with 173 patients and 296 teeth were included in the meta-analysis. We found no statistically significant differences between two groups in GRD (gingival recession depth) (P = 0.21), GRW (gingival recession width) (P = 0.92), RES (root esthetic score) (P = 0.21), and CRC (complete root coverage) (P = 0.09). Statistically significant differences were found between two groups in the WKT (width of keratinized tissue) (P < 0.0001) and 1-year follow-up of PD (probing depth) (P = 0.03) and CAL (clinical attachment level) (P < 0.00001). The meta-analysis found that surgery with laser therapy provided clinical advantages in terms of WKT and 1-year follow-up of PD and CAL. However, flap graft associated with laser did not offer additional benefit to root coverage and esthetics in treating gingival recession. More long-term studies are required to assess these parameters.

Analysis of active compounds and antioxidant activity assessment of six popular Chinese Juhua teas.

Chrysanthemum is an important traditional Chinese medicine and is drunk daily as a herbal tea. Chlorogenic acids and flavonoids are generally considered as the bioactive compounds. In this work, six kinds of Juhua Tea were analyzed and their active compounds and antioxidant activities were compared. In total, 32 phenolic compounds were profiled and identified using HPLC-DAD/ESI-MSn, composed of chlorogenic acids (10), flavones (8), chalcones (8), flavanones (4) and flavonols (2). Chalcones were the main flavonoids in Kunlun Xueju (Coreopsis tinctoria) extract, while flavones and chlorogenic acids were dominant in the five Chrysanthemum teas. Total chlorogenic acids content (TCA) was highest in Tai Ju (Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. 'Tai Ju') (8.59 ± 0.87 mg/g DW), and total flavonoids content (TF) was highest in Kunlun Xueju (87.2 ± 7.0 mg/g DW), which were both lowest in Ganye Ju (Chrysanthemum eticuspe) (TCA 0.86 ± 0.26 mg/g DW, TF 1.43 ± 0.41 mg/g DW). Huangin Ju (Anthemis tinctoria) possessed the most flavones (19.7 ± 0.6 mg/g DW). Antioxidant capacity of each drink, assessed by Folin-Ciocalteu, DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays, consistently showed that Kunlun Xueju extract possessed stronger antioxidant activity than the other five, suggesting that the flavonoids content accounted for the free radical scavenging. The present work provides a method for the characterization and quality control of Juhua Tea. Moreover, it is a guideline for consuming choice, due to the different biological functions resulting from chalcones, chlorogenic acids, and flavones.

Polyphenols and triterpenes from Chaenomeles fruits: chemical analysis and antioxidant activities assessment.

Mugua, fruit of the genus Chaenomeles, is a valuable source of health food and Chinese medicine. To elucidate the bioactive compounds of five wild Chaenomeles species, extracts from fresh fruits were investigated by HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS/MS. Among the 24 polyphenol compounds obtained, 20 were flavan-3-ols (including catechin, epicatechin and procyanidin oligomers). The mean polymerisation degree (mDP) of procyanidins was examined by two acid-catalysed cleavage reactions; the mDP value was the highest in Chaenomeles sinensis and the lowest in Chaenomeles japonica. Total polyphenol content (TPC) reached 46.92 and 46.28 mg/g gallic acid equivalents (GAE) in Chaenomeles speciosa and Chaenomeles thibetica, respectively, although their main bioactive compounds were different (being epicatechin and procyanidin B2 in the former, and catechin and procyanidin B1 in the latter). These two species also exhibited equally strong free radical scavenging activities. Our results further showed that the antioxidant ability of Chaenomeles fruits was significantly correlated to their total polyphenol contents. Two triterpenes (oleanolic acid and ursolic acid) were the highest quantity in Chaenomeles cathayensis and C. thibetica, respectively.