Effects of peanut oligopeptides on the pasting properties of potato starch and digestive characteristics of dry, flat potato starch noodles.

In this study, we developed dry, flat potato starch noodles with an ideal taste and low digestibility. Peanut oligopeptide and potato starch were combined to form dry, flat potato starch noodles containing different peanut oligopeptide contents using a steam-slice method. Adding 5 % and 10 % peanut oligopeptides maintained the dry, flat starch noodles' quality. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that dry, flat starch noodles containing peanut oligopeptides had more pores with pore sizes ranging from 0.30 µm to 2.00 µm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that peanut oligopeptide promoted the recrystallization of amylopectin during the retrogradation process after gelatinization, and the crystallinity of noodles ranged from 4.31 % (control noodles) to 18.24 % (noodles containing 10 % peanut oligopeptides). An in vitro simulated digestion test showed that the slowly digestible starch and resistant starch contents of noodles containing 10 % peanut oligopeptides were 18.24 % and 22.03 %-significantly higher than control starch noodles (14.88 % and 9.9 %, respectively). Therefore, when peanut oligopeptides were added to dry, flat starch noodles, it was a promising material for lowering blood sugar levels after meals.

Based on the macromolecules in traditional Chinese medicine exploring the material basis and mechanism of the analgesic effect of Shaoyao Gancao Decoction / 药学学报

In order to study the analgesic effect of Shaoyao Gancao Decoction, this paper discussed material basis and mechanism from the perspective of macromolecules in traditional Chinese medicine. Inspired by the phenomenon of turbidity after boiling Chinese medicine, this experiment took Shaoyao Gancao Decoction as the research object to study the formation process of precipitation during boiling. The results showed that aggregates with a certain shape were formed in the solvent during the boiling process, and the precipitate was obtained by standing and centrifuging. Analysis found that the precipitation was mainly composed of small molecules such as paeoniflorin, albiflorin, liquiritin, glycyrrhizic acid, isoliquiritin and gallic acid, and macromolecules such as protein and polysaccharide. The composition of precipitate was consistent with that of Shaoyao Gancao Decoction, but the analgesic effect of Shaoyao Gancao Decoction after removing the precipitate was significantly reduced. Based on these results, we isolated small molecular compounds, polysaccharides and protein from Shaoyao Gancao Decoction and their contents are 60.4, 700.7 and 207.2 mg·g-1 respectively. We get the ratio, polysaccharide: small molecule = 11.6∶1, protein: small molecule = 3.4∶1, the precipitate is prepared in the state of boiling. The characterization results showed that the particle size of the precipitate will change significantly after co-heating, and the content determination results showed that the content of the six small molecular compounds which was free in solvent was significantly reduced after the formation of the precipitate. The acetic acid writhing experiment proved that the precipitate has a good analgesic effect, and effectively reduced the levels of inflammatory factors prostaglandin E2 and nitric oxide, and increased the level of anti-inflammatory factor interleukin-10. These results proved that the precipitate in Shaoyao Gancao Decoction is an important material basis for analgesic effect, and macromolecules such as protein and polysaccharide are the main components of the precipitate. The study of macromolecules in the precipitate of Shaoyao Gancao Decoction not only provides new ideas and methods for elucidating the pharmacodynamic material basis of Shaoyao Gancao Decoction, but also provides a reference for analyzing the scientificity of traditional decoction.

Clinical study on effect of Shumu Peitu herb-partitioned moxibustion on diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome and negative emotions / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To explore the intervention effect of Shumu Peitu herb-partitioned moxibustion on clinical signs and symptoms and negative emotions of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) patients with liver-stagnation and spleen-deficiency pattern.Methods:A total of 72 patients with IBS-D of liver-stagnation and spleen-deficiency pattern treated in the Department of Gastroenterology of Nanjing Vniversity of Chinese Medicine from September 2021 to June 2022 were selected for randomized controlled trial. The patients were randomly divided into the observation group (2 cases dropped off, 34 cases in total) and control group (1 case dropped off, 35 cases in total) by random number table method. The patients in control group were treated with Tongxieyaofang (TXYF). The patients in observation group were treated with oral administration of TXYF and Shumu Peitu herb-partitioned moxibustion, and both groups were treated for 4 weeks. The clinical efficacy, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome integral, IBS Quality of Life Questionnaire (IBS-QOL), IBS Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS), Bristol Stool Form Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were compared before and after treatment.Results:After treatment, the total effective rate of the observation group was 94.12%(32/34), which was higher than the 71.43%(25/35) in the control group, the difference was significant ( χ2 = 6.18, P<0.05). After treatment, the TCM syndrome integral in the observation group was (7.62 ± 4.08), which was lower than the (9.89 ± 4.71) in the control group, the difference was significant ( t = 2.14, P<0.05). After treatment of 3 days, the scores of quality of life in the five dimensions of dysthymia, behavior disorder, health worry, avoidance of eating and social function in the observation group were (82.44 ± 11.46), (80.25 ± 11.67), (76.23 ± 12.67), (59.80 ± 15.14) and (79.23 ± 11.59) points, which were different with the (73.57 ± 12.39), (72.35 ± 15.48), (69.76 ± 13.11), (50.00 ± 16.17) and (73.04 ± 13.11) points in the control group, the difference were significant ( t values were -3.09 - -2.08, all P<0.05). Three days after treatment, the score of IBS-SSS and Bristol fecal character in the observation group were (118.24 ± 40.64) and (5.09 ± 0.62) points, which were lower than the (146.86 ± 60.09) and (5.51 ± 0.66) points in the control group, the difference were significant ( t = 2.31 and 2.76, both P<0.05). After treatment, the score of HADS-A and HADS-D in the observation group were (6.26 ± 1.75) and (5.29 ± 1.47), which were different with the (7.26 ± 2.19) and (6.17 ± 2.11) in the control group, the difference were significant ( t = 2.08 and 2.00, both P<0.05). Conclusions:Shumu Peitu herb-partitioned moxibustion can effectively improve IBS-D patients with liver-stagnation and spleen-deficiency pattern, relieve clinical symptoms, reduce negative emotions, and improve quality of life.

Content analysis and quality evaluation of main active components and mineral elements of Cynomorium songaricum in different habitats / 中国中药杂志

To clarify the content characteristics of the main active components and mineral elements of Cynomorium songaricum under different habitat conditions, and further explore the relationship between the quality of C. songaricum and habitats, this study took C. songaricum from 25 different habitats in China as the research object, and measured the contents of 8 main active components and 12 mineral elements separately. Diversity analysis, correlation analysis, principal component analysis and cluster analysis were carried out. The results showed that the genetic diversity of total flavonoids, ursolic acid, ether extract, potassium(K), phosphorus(P) and zinc(Zn) in C. songaricum was high. The coefficient of variation of crude polysaccharide, ether extract, gallic acid, protocatechuic aldehyde, catechin, epicatechin, calcium(Ca), sodium(Na), magnesium(Mg), sulfur(S), iron(Fe), manganese(Mn), selenium(Se) and nickel(Ni) were all over 36%, indicating that the quality of C. songaricum was significantly affected by habitats. There were strong synergistic and weak antagonistic effects among the contents of the 8 active components, and complex antagonistic and synergistic effects among the contents of the 12 mineral elements. Principal component analysis revealed that crude polysaccharide, ursolic acid, catechin, epicatechin and total flavonoids could be used as the characteristic components to evaluate the quality of C. songaricum, and Na, copper(Cu), Mn and Ni were the characteristic elements to evaluate the quality of C. songaricum. In cluster ana-lysis, the second group with the main active components as cluster center had better quality in terms of the content of active substances, and the second group with the mineral elements as cluster center had higher utilization potential in the exploitation of mineral elements. This study could provide a basis for resource evaluation and breeding of excellent varieties of C. songaricum in different habitats, and provide a reference for cultivation and identification of C. songaricum.

Application and problems analysis of traditional Chinese medicine volatile oil preparation technology based on ionic liquids / 中国中药杂志

Ionic liquids(ILs) are salts composed entirely of anions and cations in a liquid state at or near room temperature, which have a variety of good physicochemical properties such as low volatility and high stability. This paper mainly reviewed the research overview of ILs in the application of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) volatile oil preparation technology. Firstly, it briefly introduced the application of TCM volatile oil preparation technology and composition classification and physicochemical properties of ILs, and then summarized the application of ILs in the extraction, separation, analysis, and preparation of TCM volatile oil. Finally, the problems and challenges of ILs in the application of TCM volatile oil were explained, and the application of ILs in TCM volatile oil in the future was prospected.

Conversion of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) into nanomedicine:application of theory of unification of medicines and excipients / 中国中药杂志

In recent years, the use of active substances as excipients or as substitutes for other excipients in the design of modern drug delivery systems has received widespread attention, which has promoted the development of the theory of unification of medicines and excipients in the design of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) preparations. Adopting the theory of unification of medicines and excipients to design drug delivery systems can reduce the use of excipients and thus the cost of preparations, reduce drug toxicity, increase drug solubility and biocompatibility, enhance synergistic effect, and realize targeted delivery and simultaneous delivery of multiple components. However, the research on the application of this theory in the modern drug delivery system of TCM preparations is still insufficient, with few relevant articles. In addition, the TCM active substances that can be used as the excipients remain to be catalogued. In this paper, we review the types and applications of the drug delivery systems with TCM active substances as excipients and describe their common construction methods and mechanisms, aiming to provide references for the in-depth research on the modern drug delivery systems for TCM preparations.

A single-beam of light priming the immune responses and boosting cancer photoimmunotherapy.

Mirroring the rapid clinical performance, immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) leads a remarkable clinical advance in combating cancer, but suffers poor response in most cancers. The low presence of tumor-infiltration lymphocytes and the poor immunogenicity in tumor microenvironment (TME) are the main factors hindering the effectiveness of ICB in the treatment of immunological "cold" tumors. Aiming at boosting immune response via TME modulation, we report a near-infrared laser-guided photoimmuno-strategy in which synergistic phototherapy, immune adjuvant, and ICB are integrated into one versatile nanoporphyrin platform. The prepared nanoporphyrins are self-assembled from purpurin18-lipids and have photodynamic/photothermal and immunomodulatory effects that can be tuned under a single laser irradiation, concomitant with fluorescence or MSOT imaging. In this work, the contributions of each component in the nanoporphyrin platform were specified. In particular, phototherapy-driven in situ tumor cell death provided abundant tumor-associated antigens to initiate immune responses. With the assist of spatiotemporally delivered immune adjuvant, phototherapy potentiated tumor immunogenicity, reprogrammed "cold" tumors into "hot" ones, and sensitized tumors to ICB therapy. Further combined with PD-L1 blockade, the photoimmune-strategy substantially stimulated tumor-specific immune-responses and long-term immunological memory against primary tumor, abscopal tumor as well as metastatic foci. Such single light-primed photoimmunotherapy offers a promising solution to overcome common hurdles in ICB treatment and can potentially be integrated into existing clinical practice.

Improvement of pasting and gelling properties of potato starch using a direct vapor-heat moisture treatment.

Conventional hydrothermal methods are lengthy and require high energy consumption. In this study, a quick and energy-saving direct vapor-heat moisture treatment (DV-HMT) method was used to improve the pasting and gelling properties of potato starch under the condition of high temperature (130 °C) and short periods (1, 3, 5, and 7 min). X-ray diffraction analysis exhibited that the relative crystallinity of DV-HMT starches decreased with the extension of treatment time. Small angle X-ray scattering measurements showed that the average thickness of the crystalline lamellae decreased from 6.193 to 5.937 nm, while the average thickness of the amorphous lamellae increased from 3.160 to 3.395 nm. Rapid visco-analyzer measurements exhibited that the breakdown values decreased to 0 mPa s for DV-HMT starches, indicating that this hydrothermal treatment led to starches with high resistance to heating and shearing. The gel hardness of starch treated by DV-HMT for 3 min (266 g) was around 5.4-fold higher than for non-treated starch (41 g). Considering the simple operation of DV-HMT and the short treatment periods (≤ 7 min) used in this study, DV-HMT could be a superior option to enhance the physicochemical and functional properties of starch.

Qualitative and quantitative analyses of Tripterygium hypoglaucum in Yinning Tablets, a compound traditional Chinese herbal preparation / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses of Tripterygium hypoglaucum in Yinning Tablets, a compound preparation of traditional Chinese herbal medicine.@*METHODS@#Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was used for qualitative analysis of Tripterygium hypoglaucum in Yining Tablets and the analytical protocols were optimized. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to quantitatively analyze the content of triptolide (the main active ingredient of Tripterygium hypoglaucum) in Yinning Tablets.@*RESULTS@#The results of TLC analysis showed that the test sample of Yinning Tablets and the positive control samples both produced clear, well separated spots without obvious interference in the blank samples. Assessment of the influences of the thin-layer plates from different manufacturers, temperature and humidity on the test results demonstrated good durability of the test. HPLC analysis of triptolide showed a good linear relationship within the concentration range of 1-100 μg/mL (regression equation: A=22.219C-19.165, r=0.9999); the contents of triptolide in 3 batches of Yinning tablets were 0.34, 0.34, and 0.28 μg per tablet, all within the range of 0.28-0.34 μg per tablet. It was finally determined that each Yinning tablet should not contain more than 0.6 μg of triptolide.@*CONCLUSION@#TLC and HPLC are simple, accurate, durable and specific for qualitative and quantitative analyses of Tripterygium hypoglaucum in Yinning Tablets.

Research progress on non-drug intervention for patients with perimenopausal depression / 四川精神卫生

This article gives a review on domestic and foreign researches on the non-drug intervention for patients with perimenopausal depression published from 2012 to 2022， so as to provide a reference for clinical treatment and nursing. Currently， pharmacotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for perimenopausal depression， while many existing problems remain to be solved such as the variation in treatment effect and the difficulty in maintaining emotional stability. however，high safety and relatively low cost are the characteristics of non-drug intervention， so this article expounds on the non-drug intervention measures for perimenopausal depression， such as music therapy， dietary therapy， exercise therapy， acupuncture therapy and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation （rTMS）.

Protectin DX restores Treg/Th17 cell balance in rheumatoid arthritis by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome via miR-20a.

Regulatory T-cell (Treg)/T-helper 17 (Th17) cell balance plays an important role in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Our study explored the protective effect of protectin DX (PDX), which restored Treg/Th17 cell balance in RA, and the role of the nucleotide-binding domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome pathway in this process. Using mass spectrometry, we discovered that level of PDX decreased in active-RA patients and increased in inactive-RA patients compared with HCs, and serum PDX was a potential biomarker in RA activity detection (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.86). In addition, a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice model was constructed and PDX obviously delayed RA progression in the CIA model, upregulating Tregs and anti-inflammatory cytokines while downregulating Th17 cells and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Moreover, NLRP3 knockout and rescue experiments demonstrated that NLRP3 participated in PDX-mediated Treg/Th17 cell balance restoration, joint injury amelioration and inflammatory-response attenuation using Nlrp3-/- mice. Furthermore, microarray and verified experiments confirmed that PDX reduced NLRP3 expression via miRNA-20a (miR-20a). In summary, we confirmed for the first time that PDX could effectively ameliorate CIA progression by restoring Treg/Th17 cell balance, which was mediated by inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway via miR-20a.

Clinical Efficacy of Qinghao Fuzheng Jiedu Decoction in Treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematous / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To study the clinical effect of Qinghao Fuzheng Jiedu decoction on systemic lupus erythematous （SLE）. Method:A total of 109 SLE patients admitted to the Rheumatology and Immunology Department of Wuhan No. 1 Hospital from December 2019 to October 2020 were selected and divided into an observation group （55 cases） and a control group （54 cases） using the random number table. Two cases in the observation group dropped out， leaving a total sample of 53， and one case in the control group dropped out， with 53 cases finally included. Patients in the control group were treated with prednisone tablet and azathioprine. On this basis， those in the observation group further received Qinghao Fuzheng Jiedu decoction. The clinical efficacy， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score， TCM syndrome efficacy， immunoglobulin （Ig） G， IgA， IgM， and complements C3 and C4 of the two groups were compared. The conversion of positive antinuclear antibody （ANA） and anti-double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid antibody （DS-DNA） titers to negative in two groups after treatment was analyzed. Result:The total clinical efficacy rate of the observation group was significantly higher than that of control group （92.45% vs 73.58%，<italic>χ²</italic>=6.692，<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Before treatment， there were no significant differences in IgG， IgA， IgM， complements C3 and C4， and serum ANA and ds-DNA titers between two groups. After treatment， the levels of IgG， IgA， and IgM and serum ANA and ds-DNA titers in both groups obviously declined， whereas the levels of complements C3 and C4 rose （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Besides， the levels of IgG， IgA， and IgM and serum ANA and ds-DNA titers in the observation group were lower than those in the control group， while the levels of complements C3 and C4 were higher （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. The negative rates of ANA and ds-DNA in observation group were significantly higher than those in control group （<italic>χ²</italic>=8.040，<italic>P</italic><0.05）. TCM syndrome scores were decreased in both groups after treatment （<italic>P</italic><0.05）， and the score in observation group was lower than that in control group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. In terms of TCM syndrome efficacy， the total effective rate of observation group was significantly increased as compared with that of the control group （94.34% vs 50.94%，<italic>χ²</italic>=25.112，<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Conclusion:Qinghao Fuzheng Jiedu decoction is effective in treating SLE and has a certain clinical application value.

Investigation on the Mechanism of Salvia miltiorrhiza in the Treatment of Postoperative Abdominal Adhesion Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE：To investigate the potential mechanism of Salvia miltiorrhiza in the treatment of postoperative abdominal adhesion （PAA）. METHODS ：Active components and target genes of S. miltiorrhiza were retrieved from TCMSP database，SwissADME database ，Perl database ，UniProt database and other databases. GeneCards ，OMIM and PubMed database were used to retrieve target genes related to PAA. Venn diagram was drawn by using mapping tool of bioinformatic online database so as to screen the intersecting targets of active component-PAA. STRING platform was adopted to establish target network related to active component-PAA and protein-protein interaction （PPI）network of intersecting targets ，etc.，and to screen hub genes. Gene ontology（GO）and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genom es（KEGG）pathway enrichment were carried out by using R 3.6.1 software. Using the protein encoded by hub gene as receptor and tanshinone Ⅱ A as ligand ，the molecular docking was carried out with AutoDock 1.5.6 tool. RESULTS ：A total of 38 active components of S. miltiorrhiza with high gastrointestinal absorption and their corresponding 72 targets，755 PAA-related target genes were identified. Results of Venn diagram showed that there were 33 intersecting targets of active components of chuqi90@163.com S. miltiorrhiza with PAA. Tanshinone ⅡA，dihydrotanshinolac- tone and other components may be important nodes of the target network related to active component-PAA. FOS，APP，ACHE， CASP3 and PTGS2 may be the hub genes in PPI network of intersecting targets. Results of GO enrichment showed that the intersecting targets were mainly concentrated in adrenergic receptor activity ，catecholamine binding ，G protein-coupled amine receptor activity and so on ；KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the intersecting targets were mainly enriched in neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction ，cGMP-PKG signaling pathway ，endocrine resistance ，EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance and calcium signaling pathway.Molecular docking analysis showed that tanshinone ⅡA could form hydrogen bonds with many amino acid residues such as VAL- 580 of proto oncogenes c-Fos ，amyloid precursor protein ，acetylcholinesterase，caspase 3 and prostaglandin G/H synthase 2. CONCLUSIONS ：The active components of S. miltiorrhiza play a role in the treatment of PAA by directly or indirectly acting on neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction ，cGMP-PKG signaling pathway ，endocrine resistance ， EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance resistance and calcium signaling pathway.

Effect of Shanhaidan Granules combined with tadalafil on erectile dysfunction: A multi-center clinical trial / 中华男科学杂志

Objective@#To observe the clinical effect and safety of Shanhaidan Granules (SHDG) combined with tadalafil tablets (TT) in the treatment of ED.@*METHODS@#In this open multi-center case-control clinical trial, we enrolled 247 ED patients according to the designed criteria, and treated them orally with SHDG at 10 g per time tid (n = 74), TT at 5 mg per time bid (n = 52), or SHDG + TT at the above doses (n = 121), all for 8 weeks. Before and after medication, we recorded the IIEF-6, erection hardness scores (EHS), traditional Chinese medicine syndromes (TCMS) scores, penile cavernous blood flow parameters and adverse reactions, and compared them between the 3 groups of patients.@*RESULTS@#After 8 weeks of treatment, all the patients showed significantly increased IIEF-6, EHS and TCMS scores in comparison with the baseline (P < 0.05). The total effectiveness rates in the SHDG, TT and SHDG + TT groups were 60.8%, 67.3% and 69.4% respectively based on the IIEF-6 scores, remarkably higher in the TT and SHDG + TT groups than in the SHDG group (P < 0.05), and 40.5%, 32.7% and 63.6% respectively according to the TCMS scores, markedly higher in the SHDG and SHDG + TT groups than in the TT group (P < 0.05). Single-center data manifested significantly increased peak systolic velocity (PSV) of the penile artery in the SHDG + TT and TT groups (P < 0.05). The improvement values of relevant parameters were remarkably higher in the SHDG + TT group than in the TT and SHDG groups, so were IIEF-6 scores in the TT than in the SHDG group, and TCM syndromes in the SHDG than in the TT group. No medication-related adverse events were found in any of patients after treatment, except for some mild side effects including muscle soreness and gastrointestinal reactions in a few cases, all soon relieved, none with abnormalities in blood and urine routine tests or hepatic and renal function indicators.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Shanhaidan Granules combined with tadalafil can significantly improve the erectile function and reduce TCM syndromes in ED patients, and therefore can be applied effectively and safely in clinical practice./.

Broad-Spectrum Profiling of Drug Safety via Learning Complex Network.

Drug safety is a severe clinical pharmacology and toxicology problem that has caused immense medical and social burdens every year. Regretfully, a reproducible method to assess drug safety systematically and quantitatively is still missing. In this study, we developed an advanced machine learning model for de novo drug safety assessment by solving the multilayer drug-gene-adverse drug reaction (ADR) interaction network. For the first time, the drug safety was assessed in a broad landscape of 1,156 distinct ADRs. We also designed a parameter ToxicityScore to quantify the overall drug safety. Moreover, we determined association strength for every 3,807,631 gene-ADR interactions, which clues mechanistic exploration of ADRs. For convenience, we deployed the model as a web service ADRAlert-gene at http://www.bio-add.org/ADRAlert/. In summary, this study offers insights into prioritizing safe drug therapy. It helps reduce the attrition rate of new drug discovery by providing a reliable ADR profile in the early preclinical stage.

Meridian tropism of Scutellaria baicalensis based on molecular thermodynamic characteristics / 药学学报

The property of medicine is the "identity card" of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and the key to crack the theory of property of TCM. Based on molecular thermodynamics, the effects of interaction between TCM and organs in vitro were studied from the perspective of micro-energy release and absorption in order to construct a new idea of characterizing meridian theory. Scutellaria baicalensis, for example, application of isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) were used to determine the energy changes during the interaction of Scutellaria baicalensis and its main active ingredient baicalin with brain, heart, lung, spleen and kidney in vitro, comparison including the association constant (Ka) and disassociation constant (Kd), combined with thermodynamic parameters, such as stoichiometry ratio (n), enthalpy change (ΔH), entropy change (ΔS), Gibbs free energy (ΔG), it is found that the interaction intensity between Scutellaria baicalensis and lung is significantly stronger than that of other organs, which is consistent with the theory of the return of Scutellaria baicalensis in ancient books. In addition, baicalin, the main active ingredient, showed the same action pattern as Scutellaria baicalensis. The thermodynamic parameters analysis showed that the action was a weak bond-induced spontaneous chemical binding reaction driven by both entropy and enthalpy. The results of specific curl measurement further proved the interaction between baicalin and lung, and were consistent with the results of ITC titration, indicating that ITC could be used to characterize the meridian tropism of TCM. Therefore, based on ITC, it is scientific and feasible to characterize the meridian of TCM by the energy change of the interaction between the decoction of TCM and its active components and the in vitro tissues respectively. This experiment provides a new idea for the discussion of meridian of TCM.

Analysis on Mechanisms of Modified Guipitang in Treatment of Yin-Fire Insomnia with Anxiety Based on Network Pharmacology / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To explore the mechanism of modified Guipitang in the treatment of Yin-Fire insomnia with anxiety with the help of network pharmacological analysis technology. Method:Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) was used to screen the main components and target genes of modified Guipitang. GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) were used to establish the target gene sets of insomnia and anxiety. STRING 11.0 software was used to analyze the interaction between the overlapping genes, and Cytoscape_3.6.1 software analysis and Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) algorithm were used to screen the core genes. Based on the results of network analysis, 48 SD female rats were randomly divided into blank control group, model group, eszopiclone tablets group (0.2 mg·kg-1·d-1), modified Guipitang low，medium，and high-dose groups (0.31，1.25，5 g·kg-1·d-1). The model of insomnia with anxiety was established by intraperitoneal injection of Para-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) and these rats were treated with corresponding drugs for 7 days. Then the frequency, time and distance of the activities were observed in the experiment of autonomic activity. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expressions of proactivated protein kinase 8 (MAPK8), RAC-alpha serine/threonine protein kinase (Akt1), mitogen-activated protein kinase 3 (MAPK3) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in rat hippocampus. Result:A total of 228 active compounds were screened from TCMSP database and 181 intersecting genes of diseases and drugs were obtained by comparing with GeneCards and OMIM comprehensive database. 9 core genes, including MAPK3, MAPK8, Akt1 and IL-6 were identified by STRING software and MCC algorithm. Animal experiments showed that the number of activity times, time and distance of modified Guipitang in high and medium dose groups were significantly lower than those in the model group. The high and middle dose groups of modified Guipitang could significantly inhibit the mRNA expression of MAPK3, MAPK8, Akt1 and IL-6 in hippocampus（P<0.01）, while the low dose group had no significant effect. Conclusion:The mechanism of modified Guipitang in treating Yin-fire insomnia with anxiety may be related to the regulation of MAPK3, MAPK8, Akt1 and IL-6 genes.

A Dual Cross-Linked Strategy to Construct Moldable Hydrogels with High Stretchability, Good Self-Recovery, and Self-Healing Capability.

Most conventional synthetic hydrogels suffer from poor mechanical properties; despite recent significant progress in fabricating tough hydrogels, it is still a challenge to simultaneously realize high stretchability, self-recovery, and self-healing capability in a hydrogel. In this work, a new type of starch/PVA/borax hybrid dual cross-linked (DC) hydrogel was synthesized by a one-pot method. The as-prepared DC hydrogels exhibited mechanical properties of remarkable extensibility (ca. 2485%), excellent toughness (ca. 290.5 kJ m-3), high compression strength (ca. 547.8 kPa), rapid recoverability (81.9% energy recovery after 30 min), and free-shapeable behavior. More impressively, the DC gels sustained approximately 300 times their own weight and exhibited an outstanding self-healing capability at room temperature both in air and underwater. Furthermore, the adsorption amount of methylene blue onto the anionic DC gel (144.68 mg/g) was much higher than that of corn starch gel. Consequently, the eco-friendly, stable, and biodegradable hydrogels will have a great potential application in removing anionic dyes from the wastewater produced by agriculture and industry.

Effects of ELK-1/JNK/c-Fos on apoptosis of rat hippocampal neurons cultured in vitro with Zuogui Jiangtang Jieyu Formula in simulated diabetes mellitus complicated with depression / 中国应用生理学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To study the effects of Zuogui Jiangtang Jieyu Formula (ZGJTJYF, the Chinese Medicine) on hippocampal neuron apoptosis in diabetes mellitus complicated with depression (DD).@*METHODS@#The primary cultured hippocampal neurons were treated with high glucose (150 mmol/L) and corticosterone (200 micromol/L) to establish the cell model of DD in vitro. The cultured hippocampal neurons were randomly divided into five groups: blank serum group, normal group, Zuogui Jiangtang Jieyu recipe drug-containing serum group, positive drug (metformin + fluoxetine) drug-containing serum group and model group (three compound holes in each group). The model group and the normal group were given the same amount of culture medium, and the other groups were given the corresponding serum with 10% volume fraction for 18 hours. Hoechst staining, high content cell imaging and RT-PCR were used to detect the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons and the expressions of apoptosis-related ETS-like 1 transcription factor(ELK-1), C-Jun N-terminal kinase(JNK) and c-Fos proteins and genes.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the blank group, the apoptotic number of hippocampal neurons in the model group was increased significantly, and the expression levels of ELK-1, JNK and c-Fos were increased significantly (P＜0.05). Compared with the model group, the local bright spots of hippocampal neurons in the Zuogui Jiangtang Jieyu recipe-containing serum group and the positive drug-containing serum group were decreased significantly, and the number of apoptotic cells was decreased significantly. The expressions of JNK, c-fos protein and mRNA were down-regulated significantly (P＜ 0.05), and the neural network and dendritic junction were improved significantly.@*CONCLUSION@#Zuo Gui Jiang Tang Jie Yu Formula can reverse the expressions of ELK-1, JNK and c-Fos signals in hippocampal neurons under DD environment and play an anti-apoptotic effect.