Umbelliferone Inhibits Migration, Invasion and Inflammation of Rheumatoid Arthritis Fibroblast-Like Synoviocytes and Relieves Adjuvant-Induced Arthritis in Rats by Blockade of Wnt/ß-Catenin Signaling Pathway.

Umbelliferone (UMB), a natural coumarin compound, has been reported to possess anti-rheumatic effects on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experimental models, but its potential role of UMB in regulating migration, invasion and inflammation of RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) remain unclear. Herein, MTT assay was performed to confirm the non-cytotoxic concentrations (10, 20, and 40[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M) and the treatment time (24[Formula: see text]h) of UMB on TNF-[Formula: see text]-stimulated RA FLS (MH7A cells) in vitro. Results of wound-healing, transwell and phalloidin staining assays revealed that UMB inhibited TNF-[Formula: see text]-induced migration, invasion and F-actin cytoskeletal reorganization in MH7A. Results of ELISA, western blot and gelatin zymography indicated that UMB decreased the productions of pro-inflammatory factors, including IL-1[Formula: see text], IL-6, IL-8, MMP-2 and MMP-9, and inhibited MMP-2 activity in TNF-[Formula: see text]-stimulated MH7A cells. In vivo, UMB (25[Formula: see text]mg/kg and 50[Formula: see text]mg/kg) relieved the joint damage and synovial inflammation in rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA). Mechanistically, UMB could suppress Wnt/[Formula: see text]-catenin signaling both in TNF-[Formula: see text]-induced MH7A cells and in AIA rat synovium, evidenced by decreasing Wnt1 protein level, activating GSK-3[Formula: see text] kinase by blocking GSK-3[Formula: see text] (Ser9) phosphorylation, and reducing the protein level and nuclear translocation of [Formula: see text]-catenin. Importantly, combined use of lithium chloride (a Wnt/[Formula: see text]-catenin signaling agonist) eliminated the inhibitory effects of UMB on migration, invasion and inflammation in vitro and the anti-arthritic effects of UMB in vivo. We concluded that UMB inhibited TNF-[Formula: see text]-induced migration, invasion and inflammation of RA FLS and attenuated the severity of rat AIA through its ability to block Wnt/[Formula: see text]-catenin signaling pathway.

Ascyrones A-E, type B bicyclic ployprenylated acylphloroglucinol derivatives from Hypericum ascyron.

Five new polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (1-5), ascyrones A-E, and four known compounds (6-9) were isolated from the aerial parts of Hypericum ascyron. All of the isolates containing a bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-2,4,9-trione core and a benzoyl group, belonged to type B bicyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (BPAPs). Their structures and absolute configurations were established based on spectroscopic analyses and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data. The anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and cytotoxicity activities of compounds 1-4 and 6-9 were evaluated. Compound 6 exhibited obvious anti-inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells. Compounds 1 and 9 exhibited slight cytotoxicity against Hep3B cells. Meanwhile, compound 1 showed mild neuroprotective activity against corticosterone (CORT)-induced PC12 cell damage at 10 µmol·L-1.

[Application of near infrared spectroscopy to predict contents of various lactones in chromatographic process of Ginkgo Folium].

This study established a method for rapid quantification of terpene lactone, bilobalide, ginkgolide C, ginkgolide A and ginkgolide B in the chromatographic process of Ginkgo Folium based on near infrared spectroscopy(NIRS). The effects of competitive adaptive reweighting sampling(CARS), random frog(RF), and synergy interval partial least squares(siPLS) on the performance of partial least squares regression(PLSR) model were compared to the reference values measured by HPLC. Among them, the correlation coefficients of prediction(Rp) of validation sets of terpene lactone, bilobalide, and ginkgolide C were all higher than 0.98, and the relative standard errors of prediction(RSEPs) were 5.87%, 6.90% and 6.63%, respectively. Aiming at ginkgolide A and ginkgolide B with relatively low content, the genetic algorithm joint extreme learning machine(GA-ELM) was used to establish the optimized quantitative analysis model. Compared with CARS-PLSR model, the CARS-GA-ELM models of ginkgolide A and ginkgolide B exhibited a reduction in RSEP from 15.65% to 8.52% and from 21.28% to 10.84%, respectively, which met the needs of quantitative ana-lysis. It has been proved that NIRS can be used for the rapid detection of various lactone components in the chromatographic process of Ginkgo Folium.

[Research progress of continuous manufacturing and process knowledge system of traditional Chinese medicine].

In the past few years, continuous manufacturing(CM) has been put forward by the FDA. Pharmaceutical enterprises are encouraged to promote the implementation of CM, which has become a hot research direction of pharmaceutical technology. In February 2019, the FDA issued a draft guideline for the implementation of CM, which greatly promoted the development of CM and provided reference for continuous manufacturing of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). The production process of TCM is a complex system. With the innovation of production equipment and the promotion of automation and informatization of TCM production, the exis-ting policies, regulations and traditional production control capacity are difficult to meet the market demand for high-quality TCM pro-ducts. In this paper, we reviewed the new technologies and methods of quality control in accordance with the characteristics of TCM production by referring to modern manufacturing technology, information technology and quality control technology. Based on the "QbD" theory and "PAT" technology, process knowledge system(PKS), an advanced control strategy, was proposed to provide a reference for the implementation of CM in TCM production.

[Rapid determination of active components in Ginkgo biloba leaves by near infrared spectroscopy combined with genetic algorithm joint extreme learning machine].

Near-infrared spectroscopy(NIRS) combined with band screening method and modeling algorithm can be used to achieve the rapid and non-destructive detection of the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) production process. This paper focused on the ginkgo leaf macroporous resin purification process, which is the key technology of Yinshen Tongluo Capsules, in order to achieve the rapid determination of quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin in effluent. The abnormal spectrum was eliminated by Mahalanobis distance algorithm, and the data set was divided by the sample set partitioning method based on joint X-Y distances(SPXY). The key information bands were selected by synergy interval partial least squares(siPLS); based on that, competitive adaptive reweighted sampling(CARS), successive projections algorithm(SPA) and Monte Carlo uninformative variable(MC-UVE) were used to select wavelengths to obtain less but more critical variable data. With selected key variables as input, the quantitative analysis model was established by genetic algorithm joint extreme learning machine(GA-ELM) algorithm. The performance of the model was compared with that of partial least squares regression(PLSR). The results showed that the combination with siPLS-CARS-GA-ELM could achieve the optimal model performance with the minimum number of variables. The calibration set correlation coefficient R_c and the validation set correlation coefficient R_p of quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin were all above 0.98. The root mean square error of calibration(RMSEC), the root mean square error of prediction(RMSEP) and the relative standard errors of prediction(RSEP) were 0.030 0, 0.029 2 and 8.88%, 0.041 4, 0.034 8 and 8.46%, 0.029 3, 0.027 1 and 10.10%, respectively. Compared with the PLSR me-thod, the performance of the GA-ELM model was greatly improved, which proved that NIRS combined with GA-ELM method has a great potential for rapid determination of effective components of TCM.

[On-line detection of concentration process of Ganmaoling granules by near infrared spectroscopy combined with automatic control system].

Our research was designed for on-line detection of multi-index in the concentration process of Ganmaoling granules by integration of near infrared spectroscopy and automatic control system. First, on-line detection system was set up in the concentration tank for Ganmaoling granules production. Spectra were scanned and values of chlorogenic acid, linarin, solid content and relative density were measured. Models of partial least squares regression were built and imported into near infrared workstation. By connecting the control system, real-time multi-index values were determined automatically in the concentration process. Results showed that correlation coefficients of chlorogenic acid, linarin, solid content and relative density models were 0.963, 0.989, 0.993 and 0.918, respectively. Relative standard errors of prediction were 3.71%, 4.28%, 4.17% and 0.24%, respectively, indicating a good performance and high accuracy of the models. Real-time data collection during the whole process was measured by the near infrared detecting system in the control system. In conclusion, the near infrared detection system is able to perform real-time automatic determination of multiindex in the concentration process of Ganmaoling granules with significant advantages.

[On-line monitoring of extraction of coldrine by near-infrared spectrum].

Extraction of the four Chinese herbals is the beginning step of the production process of coldrine granules and influences on drug quality significantly. In this paper, the on-line near infrared spectrum was collected during the extraction process of coldrine and then pre-processed by the first derivative. Partial least square regression (PLSR) model was developed for the quantity indicators of linarin, chlorogenic acid and solid content, according to results of both HPLC and weight-loss as reference methods. The correlation coefficient, root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSECV), root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) were used to optimize model parameters and confirm their performance. Correlation coefficients of three quality control indicator models reached more than 0.95.Values of RMSEC of linarin, chloroenic acid and solid content were 0.010 4, 0.009 34 and 0.055 5, respectively. And the values of RMSEP were 0.009 47, 0.142 and 0.008 42, respectively. The models, built on-line analyze data, revealed that the correlation coefficients of predicted values and measured values were greater than 0.97 and values of RSEP of linarin, chloroenic acid and solid content were 8.14%, 8.17% and 9.86%, respectively. The results showed that the NIR method could achieve the on-line detection and real-time monitoring of multi-indexes during the extraction process of coldrine. The technology could be used for drug quality control in the process of practical production, reducing the batch differences and ensuring pharmaceutical quality stability. In addition, it could provide real-time production data for subsequent product quality backtracking.

[Application of near infrared spectroscopy combined with particle swarm optimization based least square support vactor machine to rapid quantitative analysis of Corni Fructus].

A novel method was developed for the rapid determination of multi-indicators in corni fructus by means of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) based least squares support vector machine was investigated to increase the levels of quality control. The calibration models of moisture, extractum, morroniside and loganin were established using the PSO-LS-SVM algorithm. The performance of PSO-LS-SVM models was compared with partial least squares regression (PLSR) and back propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN). The calibration and validation results of PSO-LS-SVM were superior to both PLS and BP-ANN. For PSO-LS-SVM models, the correlation coefficients (r) of calibrations were all above 0.942. The optimal prediction results were also achieved by PSO-LS-SVM models with the RMSEP (root mean square error of prediction) and RSEP (relative standard errors of prediction) less than 1.176 and 15.5% respectively. The results suggest that PSO-LS-SVM algorithm has a good model performance and high prediction accuracy. NIR has a potential value for rapid determination of multi-indicators in Corni Fructus.

[Particle settling characteristics of alcohol precipitation mixture of Paeoniae Radix rubra extract and models establishment of settling velocity].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the particle settling characteristics of alcohol precipitation mixture of Paeoniae Radix rubra extract and establish models of the sedimentation rate. METHODS: Focusing on the particle settling characteristics such as particle settling curve, particle settling velocity (PSV), particle volume index (PVI), the particle settling process of alcohol precipitation was investigated. The effect of three key process factors on the settling process was discussed and mathematical models for describing the particle settling velocity were developed. RESULTS: Controlling of higher final alcohol concentration, higher density of Paeoniae Radix rubra extract, or lower initial alcohol concentration, was conducive to settlement of alcohol precipitation particles. In the constant speed phase, an empirical calculation formula of v(0) was established, with both the variables PSV and PVI (v(0)=-0.236PSV+0.022PVI+7.521). Another developed model was applied to predict the settling velocity in decelerated phase and the simulation was very good [v=k(1-n(1)X)(4)exp(-n(2)X)/X]. CONCLUSION: The results of this work will contribute to a better control and optimization of alcohol precipitation process, and help to implementation of accuracy control in the manufacture of botanical medicines.

[Fast measurement method based on near infrared spectroscopy in purifying process of Carthamus tinctorius extracts].

OBJECTIVE: To really realize quality control of Chinese herb purifying process, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used not only for fast monitoring quality-control index of the process, but also for fast judgment of absorption endpoint. METHOD: The purification process of Carthamus tinctorius extracts with nonionic macroreticular resin was selected as an example. HPLC was used as the reference method to determine the content of HSYA. Quantitative and qualitative detection modes of purification were developed by NIRS combined with partial least squares (PLS) and moving block of standard deviation (MBSD). RESULT: The correlation coefficient of the calibration model was 0.999, and the RPD for calibration and validation were above 5, of 5.54 and 5.22, respectively. Based on acquisition spectra, absorption endpoint calculated by MBSD was close to that by HPLC, Only 1 min deviation. CONCLUSION: The method mentioned above is proved to be convenient, rapid and nondestructive, and is applicable for fast monitoring the content of HSYA and fast judgment of absorption endpoint in purifying process of C. tinctorius extracts.

[Optimization of alcohol precipitation process for extract of Carthamus tinctorius by multiple guidelines grading method].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the optimal alcohol precipitation parameters for extract of Carthamus tinctorius. METHODS: The effects of different factors on the transfer rate of hydroxy safflower yellow A (HSYA) was studied via single factor experiments, including the final alcohol concentration of the liquor, the speed of stirring, the initial density of the extract, the temperature and the pH of the liquor. Based on the results of single factor experiments, the final alcohol concentration of the liquor, the speed of stirring, the initial density of the extract and the pH of the liquor were studied by an orthogonal test and a multiple guidelines grading method, and the transfer rate of HSYA, the yield and the purity of extract in the supernatant were used as comprehensive evaluation index. RESULT: The optimal alcohol precipitation process of Carthamus tinctorius extract was as follows: the final alcohol concentration of the liquor 50%, the speed of stirring 500 r/min, the initial density of the extract 1.15 g/ml and the pH of the liquor 5.0. CONCLUSION: The proposed alcohol precipitation process is convenient and steady with high transfer rate of HSYA, high yield and purity of extract in the supernatant.

Development of the fingerprint for the quality of Radix Linderae through ultra-pressure liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

An ultra-pressure LC (UPLC) method has been developed and validated for the quality evaluation of a traditional Chinese medicine (Radix Linderae) by chemical fingerprint analysis with chromatograms collected at two wavelengths (260 and 320 nm). Eleven characteristic peaks in the fingerprints were identified by comparing their retention times, UV spectra and ESI-MS/MS data with those of the reference substances or the data in the literatures. Both correlation coefficient of similarities in chromatograms and relative peak areas of common peaks were calculated for quality expression of the Radix Linderae samples collected from different areas in China. The results showed high variation of relative peak area and correlation coefficients among the samples collected from various habitats, which indicated that the quality consistency of Radix Linderae is still a problem worthy of serious concern.

[Effect of transurethral resection of prostate on quality of life in aged patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) on the quality of life in aged patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH). METHODS: Altogether 358 BPH patients were evaluated by International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), the 5-Item Version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5),Quality of Life Scale (QOLS) questionnaires, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS),residual urine volume (RUV), and maximum flow rate(Qmax) before and at 3 months after they underwent TURP. RESULTS: The mean scores of IPSS, QOLS, SAS, and SDS, and mean RUV decreased, and mean Qmax increased significantly at 3 months after receiving operation compared with those before the treatment in aged patients with BPH. But no significant difference was found in the scores of IIEF-5 between post-operation and pre-operation. CONCLUSION: TURP may alleviate BPH clinical symptoms and improve quality of life, but may not be helpful to the recovery of sexual function in aged patients with BPH.

[Optimization for vacuum belt drying process of Panax notoginseng extract].

OBJECTIVE: To optimize the conditions of the vacuum belt drying process (VBD) for drying Panax notoginseng extract and compare with methods of vacuum freezing drying and spray drying. METHOD: The optimum conditions of VBD were obtained by orthogonal design and validated by determinations of moisture content of the dried product and recovery of active ingredients. Experiments on different drying methods were also conducted. RESULT AND CONCLUSION: The optimum conditions are as follows, the feeding speed was 15 mL x min(-1), the belt speed was 4 mm x min(-1), and the heating temperature was (105, 100 degrees C). Comparing with the drying methods of vacuum freezing drying and spray drying, vacuum belt drying possesses some advantages, such as higher recovery of active ingredients, less moisture content of dried product and better overall yield.

[Advances in studies on multi-stage countercurrent extraction technology in traditional Chinese medicine].

Multi-stage countercurrent extraction technology, integrating solvent extraction, repercolation with dynamic and countercurrent extraction, is a novel extraction technology for the traditional Chinese medicine. This solvent-saving, energy-saving and high-extraction-efficiency technology can at the most drive active compounds to diffuse from the herbal materials into the solvent stage by stage by creating concentration differences between the herbal materials and the solvents. This paper reviewed the basic principle, the influence factors and the research progress and trends of the equipments and the application of the multi-stage countercurrent extraction.

[Optimizing process of four-effect countercurrent extraction of danshensu from Salvia miltiorrhiza].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the process factors and characteristic of four-effect countercurrent extracting process of Danshensu from Salvia miltiorrhiza. Optimizing the parameters by using regression analysis and principal components analysis (PCA). METHOD: Applying the orthogonal design method to optimize the extracting process. The factors of extraction time, solvent volume, extraction temperature and the degree of grinding were considered. And also, the new process was compared with the refluence process. RESULT: The optimal condition of four-effect countercurrent extraction of Danshensu from S. miltiorrhiza was 1 h extraction time, solvent to sample ratio of 12 mL x g(-1), 80 degrees C , 20 - 40 mesh of particle size. Compared with the refluence process, the countercurrent extracting process has the advantages of higher recovery, less solvent consumption and shorter extraction time. CONCLUSION: The four-effect countercurrent extraction process has great advantages and is good for Chinese medicinal materials.