Governor vessel moxibustion combined with western medication for mild to moderate depression with kidney-yang deficiency: a randomized controlled trial / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the therapeutic efficacy of governor vessel moxibustion combined with fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule, simple fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule and placebo moxibustion combined with fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule for mild to moderate depression with kidney-yang deficiency.@*METHODS@#A total of 126 patients with mild to moderate depression with kidney-yang deficiency were randomized into a governor vessel moxibustion group (42 cases, 2 cases dropped off), a western medication group (42 cases, 1 case dropped off) and a placebo moxibustion group (42 cases, 1 case dropped off). The western medication group was given fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule orally, 20 mg a time, once a day. On the basis of the treatment in the western medication group, governor vessel moxibustion was applied from Dazhui (GV 14) to Yaoshu (GV 2) in the governor vessel moxibustion group, once a week; placebo moxibustion was applied in the placebo moxibustion group, once a week. Treatment of 8 weeks was required in the 3 groups. Before and after treatment, the scores of Hamilton depression scale-17 (HAMD-17), Asberg's rating scale for side effects (SERS) and TCM clinical symptom were compared, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated.@*RESULTS@#After treatment, the scores of HAMD-17, SERS and TCM clinical symptom were decreased compared before treatment in the 3 groups (P<0.05), the decrease ranges of above scores in the governor vessel moxibustion group were larger than those in the western medication group and the placebo moxibustion group (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 92.5% (37/40) in the governor vessel moxibustion group, which was higher than 75.6% (31/41) in the western medication group and 80.5% (33/41) in the placebo moxibustion group (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Governor vessel moxibustion combined with fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule can improve the degree of depression and relieve the clinical symptoms in mild to moderate depression patients with kidney-yang deficiency, the efficacy is superior to simple fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule, and can reduce the fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule-induced adverse effect to a certain extent.

Herbal Textual Research on Morindae Officinalis Radix in Famous Classical Formulas / 中国实验方剂学杂志

By consulting ancient herbal medicines， medical and prescription books， combined with modern documents， the textual research of Morindae Officinalis Radix has been conducted to verify the name， origin， changes in production areas， quality evaluation， harvesting， and processing methods， so as to provide reference and basis for the development and utilization of the famous classical formulas. After textual research， the production areas of Morindae Officinalis Radix has experienced great changes from north to south in history. The original plants involve 11 families， 14 genera and 21 species， and the mainstream varieties in ancient times were Damnacanthus officinarum and D. indicus， and the basis of Morindae Officinalis Radix in modern times has changed into the dry roots of Morinda officinalis produced in Guangdong province and other places. The medicinal parts of Morindae Officinalis Radix in ancient and modern times are all roots， and the quality is better if it has many beads， thick flesh， and purple color. Ancient medical books recorded that it was usually harvested in February and August， dried in the shade， and used to remove the wood core. And the modern harvesting and processing method is to dig throughout the year， first remove the fibrous roots， dry in the sun until 60%-70% dry， gently beat flatten and dry in the sun. The processing methods of the past dynasties are mainly salt-， vinegar-， wine-processed， etc. Based on the systematic research of Morindae Officinalis Radix， from the perspective of clinical experience and safety and effectiveness， it is recommended that the famous classical formulas should be developed from the mainstream variety since modern times， namely Morindae Officinalis Radix.

Salvia miltiorrhiza and Pueraria lobata, two eminent herbs in Xin-Ke-Shu, ameliorate myocardial ischemia partially by modulating the accumulation of free fatty acids in rats.

BACKGROUND: Xin-Ke-Shu (XKS), a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, has been clinically proven to be effective for treatment of acute myocardial ischemia (AMI). Numerous studies underscore the important role of fatty acid metabolism in the pathogenesis of AMI. PURPOSE: This study examined the relationship between free fatty acids (FFAs) and AMI and the contributions of individual herbs found in XKS to provide a basis for the study of the compatible principle of XKS. METHODS: UFLC-MS/MS-based targeted metabolomics was performed to analyze the levels of 15 FFAs in the plasma and myocardium of isoproterenol (ISO)-induced AMI rats treated with XKS and the subtracted prescriptions of XKS. Electrocardiogram data, H&E staining, biochemical analysis and western blotting were assayed to illustrate the cardioprotection of XKS and its subtracted prescription in AMI. Correlation analysis was used to reveal the relationship between the levels of FFAs and overexpressed proteins/biochemical enzymes. RESULTS: We found aberrant fatty acid metabolism in AMI rats. In both plasma and myocardium, the concentrations of most of quantified FFAs were significantly altered, whereas the concentrations of stearic acid and behenic acid were similar between the control and AMI groups. Correlation analysis revealed that palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and arachidonic acid were potentially the most relevant FFAs to inflammatory and apoptotic proteins and CK-MB. Moreover, XKS effectively alleviated pathological alterations, FFA metabolism abnormity, inflammation and apoptosis found in the myocardium of AMI rats. Notably, the removal of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Pueraria lobata from XKS resulted in markedly regulation loss of cardioprotection during AMI, especially mediation loss of FFA metabolism. The other three herbs of XKS also played a role in improving AMI. CONCLUSION: Fatty acid metabolism aberrance occurred during AMI. S. miltiorrhiza and P. lobata play vital roles in the anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic action partially by regulating FFA levels. Our findings revealed potential novel clinical FFAs for predicting AMI and extended the insights into the compatible principle of XKS in which S. miltiorrhiza and P. lobata can potently modulate FFA metabolism.

Molecular classification and clinical diagnosis of acute-on-chronic liver failure patients by serum metabolomics.

Prevalence of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) patients is growing worldwide, associating with multi-organ failure and high short-term mortality rates. ACLF can be of varying entity manifestation, whereas it remains poorly defined. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) stratifies ACLF into two types, damp hot (DH) and cold damp (CD), by seasoned TCM practitioners, for specific treatment with different TCMs. The biggest challenge for the outcome of TCM therapy is the accuracy of diagnosis. However, it is difficult to guarantee it due to lack of the molecule classification of ACLF. Herein, we recruited 58 subjects including 34 ACLF patients (18 DH and 16 CD) and 24 healthy controls, and analyzed serum metabolic profiles using untargeted ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) metabolomics approach. A total of 10 serum metabolites were found as potential biomarkers for diagnosis of ACLF. Among them, taurochenodesoxycholic acid (N3), glycyldeoxycholic acid (N5) and 12-HETE-GABA (N7), varied between two types of ACLF and can be merged as a combination marker to differentiate CD from DH patients with area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) of 0.928 (95 % CI 0.8-1). CD patients possessed comparatively higher bile acid metabolism and lower arachidonic acid metabolism compared with DH patients. The results provide not only serum molecules for early accurate diagnosis of ACLF patients, but also potential clinical biomarkers for classification of CD and DH types. The findings clarify that molecular markers will be objective criteria for diagnosis of clinical types in TCM practice.

Anti-inflammatory chemical constituents of Flos Chrysanthemi Indici determined by UPLC-MS/MS integrated with network pharmacology.

Flos Chrysanthemi Indici (FCI), the flower of Chrysanthemum indicum L., is a common functional food and a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Previous studies have revealed that FCI has anti-inflammatory activity, but little is known about its anti-inflammatory chemical profile. In this study, the potential anti-inflammatory constituents of FCI were investigated by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) combined with the network pharmacology approach, and further confirmed on a LPS activated RAW264.7 macrophage model. As a result, a total of forty-two compounds, including thirty-two flavonoids, nine phenolic acids and one sesquiterpene, were identified. Among them, fourteen compounds including eight flavonoids (11, 17, 24, 28, 32, 39, 41 and 42) and six caffeoylquinic acids (3, 4, 5, 13, 15 and 20) were recognized as potential key anti-inflammatory constituents of FCI through network pharmacology analysis, because they accounted for 92% of the relative peak area in the UPLC-Q-TOF/MS chromatogram and acted on 87 of 97 the inflammatory targets of FCI. However, only 16 targets were shared between the flavonoids and caffeoylquinic acids, indicative of both acting on more different targets. Further the anti-inflammatory effects of the fourteen constituents were validated with the decreased levels of NO, TNF-α, IL-6 and PGE2 in RAW264.7 macrophage cells treated with LPS. Our results indicated that both flavonoids and caffeoylquinic acids were responsible for the anti-inflammatory effect of FCI through synergetic actions on multi-targets. Moreover, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (15), luteolin (24) and linarin (28) were the most important active constituents of FCI and could be selected as chemical markers for quality control of FCI. Overall, the findings not only explore the anti-inflammatory chemical constituents of FCI, but also provide novel insights into the effective constituents and mechanism of TCMs.

A label-free electrochemical aptasensor based on 3D porous CS/rGO/GCE for acetamiprid residue detection.

A novel label-free electrochemical aptasensor was fabricated based on a three-dimensional porous electrode (3D-CS/rGO/GCE) for the detection of acetamiprid residues. The sensing signal was generated by the DNA itself. The porous electrode was prepared by electrodeposition in situ and characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). These results indicated that the porous electrode has a uniform nanoporous structure, high active area, and excellent conductivity, leading to improve the transmission efficiency of current signals. The 3D-CS/rGO/GCE was used to increase a load of acetamiprid aptamer on the electrode. Meanwhile, DNA self-assembly strategy was used to further increase the DNA amounts. Thus the electrochemical current was amplified significantly due to increased phosphate group amounts by the above synergistic effect. The determination of acetamiprid residues using square wave voltammetry (SWV) showed good sensitivity, with the linear range from 0.1 pM to 0.1 µM and the detection limit was 71.2 fM. The label-free electrochemical aptasensor was also used to detect acetamiprid residues in tea samples with satisfactory results.

Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. Leaf Extract Improves Erectile Dysfunction in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats by Protecting Endothelial Function and Ameliorating Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis Function.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a major complication of diabetes mellitus. Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. is used as a traditional medicine for male impotence, but no systematic study has examined its effect on diabetes-associated ED. In this study, we investigated the effects of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. leaf extract (EULE) on restoring erectile function in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats model. After 16 weeks of treatment, EULE administration had significantly increased intracavernosal pressure, nitric oxide (NO) levels, and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) concentrations. Serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels were markedly higher and serum malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were lower in the EULE-treated groups than in the diabetic model group. EULE restored NO biosynthesis by significantly increasing protein kinase B (Akt) and endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) activation. Furthermore, EULE is likely to benefit the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, as it increased gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone (T) concentrations as well as hormone receptors Gnrhr, Fshr, and Lhr expression levels. Hence, EULE attenuates oxidative stress, increases NO production, and activates the Akt-eNOS pathway to restore endothelial function; moreover, EULE enhances the HPG axis to improve erectile function. These results suggest that EULE may represent a new therapeutic avenue for diabetes-associated ED.

Identifying a wild allele conferring small seed size, high protein content and low oil content using chromosome segment substitution lines in soybean.

KEY MESSAGE: A wild soybean allele conferring 100-seed weight, protein content and oil content simultaneously was fine-mapped to a 329-kb region on Chromosome 15, in which Glyma.15g049200 was predicted a candidate gene. Annual wild soybean characterized with small 100-seed weight (100SW), high protein content (PRC), low oil content (OIC) may contain favourable alleles for broadening the genetic base of cultivated soybeans. To evaluate these alleles, a population composed of 195 chromosome segment substitution lines (SojaCSSLP4), with wild N24852 as donor and cultivated NN1138-2 as recurrent parent, was tested. In SojaCSSLP4, 10, 9 and 8 wild segments/QTL were detected for 100SW, PRC and OIC, respectively. Using a backcross-derived secondary population, one segment for the three traits (q100SW15, qPro15 and qOil15) and one for 100SW (q100SW18.2) were fine-mapped into a 329-kb region on chromosome 15 and a 286-kb region on chromosome 18, respectively. Integrated with the transcription data in SoyBase, 42 genes were predicted in the 329-kb region where Glyma.15g049200 showed significant expression differences at all seed development stages. Furthermore, the Glyma.15g049200 segments of the two parents were sequenced and compared, which showed two base insertions in CDS (coding sequence) in the wild N24852 comparing to the NN1138-2. Since only Glyma.15g049200 performed differential CDS between the two parents but related to the three traits, Glyma.15g049200 was predicted a pleiotropic candidate gene for 100SW, PRC and OIC. The functional annotation of Glyma.15g049200 indicated a bidirectional sucrose transporter belonging to MtN3/saliva family which might be the reason that this gene provides a same biochemical basis for 100SW, PRC and OIC, therefore, is responsible for the three traits. This result may facilitate isolation of the specific gene and provide prerequisite for understanding the other two pleiotropic QTL.

Coffee consumption and risk of pancreatic cancer: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.

The association between coffee consumption and pancreatic cancer risk has been extensively studied; however, there is no consistent conclusion. Therefore, this meta-analysis study sought to evaluate dose-response relationship between them. A search was conducted using the PubMed and Web of Science databases. Thirteen high-quality cohort studies were identified, involving in 959,992 study participants and 3831 pancreatic cancer cases. Comparing the highest with lowest categories of coffee intake, the pooled relative risk (RR) was 1.08 (95% CI 0.94-1.25). For dose-response analysis, no evidence of a nonlinear dose-response association between coffee consumption and pancreatic cancer (p for nonlinearity =0.171) was found. The risk of pancreatic cancer was increased by 5.87% (RR =1.06, 95% CI 1.05-1.07) with the increment of one cup/day. Coffee consumption was identified to be related with the increasing risk of pancreatic cancer in a dose-response manner. Nevertheless, further mechanistic studies are needed to clarify the concerned issues.

Ultrasensitive "signal-on" electrochemical aptasensor for assay of acetamiprid residues based on copper-centered metal-organic frameworks.

In present work, a versatile "signal-on" electrochemical aptasensor with ultra-sensitivity and high selectivity for detecting acetamiprid residues has been successfully constructed. Electrochemistry behaviors of as-synthesized copper-centered metal-organic frameworks (CuMOF) on various electrodes were investigated in details. The results indicated that CuMOF exhibited well-behaved redox events. Thus, we used Au-CuMOF as signaling element to label probe DNA (pDNA). The gold nanoparticles-reduced graphene oxide (Au-rGO) has a high specific surface area and excellent conductivity, which was utilized to immobilize complementary strand (cDNA). In the presence of acetamiprid, Au-CuMOF-labeled pDNA would hybridize with the exposed cDNA, allowing CuMOF to approach the electrode and produce a sensitive signaling current. Such a "signal-on" method does not suffer from the drawbacks of "signal-off" methods. The linear range of this proposed electrochemical aptasensor was 0.1 pM-10.0 nM and the detection limit was as low as 2.9 fM. This platform exhibited wonderful selectivity, stability, and repeatability, and was successfully applied to detect acetamiprid residues in tea samples exhibiting enormous practical application potential.

Hypermonins A and B, two 6-norpolyprenylated acylphloroglucinols with unprecedented skeletons from Hypericum monogynum.

Two new 6-norpolycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs), hypermonins A (1) and B (2), featuring an undescribed decahydroindeno[1,7-bc]furan ring system, were isolated from the leaves and twigs of Hypericum monogynum. These compounds are a pair of epimers with opposite configurations at the C-5 position. Their structures, including their absolute configurations, were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. A plausible biosynthetic pathway of 1 and 2 was also proposed. Compound 1 exhibited a significant protective effect against corticosterone-induced injury in PC12 cells.

Functionalizing bottom ash from biomass power plant for removing methylene blue from aqueous solution.

In order to seek a possible path for utilization bottom ash, the solid waste from biomass incineration for power generation, its basic characteristics were investigated, and removing methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution was attempted as well. Results indicated bottom ash dominantly contained Si and Ca-related minerals with >35 mineral elements, meanwhile, it was typically characterized by alkalinity (pH of 9.5) and low specific surface area (14.5m2/g). As the only bottom ash was employed for removing MB, removal efficiency was lower than 44%, however, it was greatly improved to 100% as hydrogen peroxide was supplemented (final concentration of 4.0%). Based on the elucidated mechanisms, Fenton-like reaction was triggered by bottom ash, which was dominantly responsible for removing MB, rather than the adsorption by bottom ash. Besides, increasing reaction temperature and duration dramatically promoted MB removal by bottom ash with the aid of hydrogen peroxide (HBA). A great promotion on MB removal from 92.3mg/g to 143.9mg/g was achieved as pH was adjusted from 2.0 to 5.0, indicating MB removal was pH-dependent. The maximum removal of 260.9mg/g was achieved by HBA at a relatively high initial MB concentration of 2000.0mg/L, suggesting a great potential in treating dye wastewater by functionalizing bottom ash with the aid of hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, the released heavy metals and derived by-products from MB removal were acceptable in consideration of their potential environmental risks. Thus, the current work offers a new path to valorize the solid waste in biomass electricity generation plant.

Chemical profiling of Di-Wu-Yang-Gan Granules by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry with MSE technology.

Di-Wu-Yang-Gan Granules is a Traditional Chinese Medicine prescription used for the treatment of HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B patients in China. It consists of five commonly used Chinese herbs. However, the chemical constituents of the whole prescription had not been clarified yet. Hence, in this study, the chemical profiling of Di-Wu-Yang-Gan Granules was explored by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry, which can provide accurate molecular weight within 5-ppm error and sufficient MS/MS fragment ions without the need for precursor ion selection. As a result, 116 compounds were identified, including lignans, triterpenesaponins, flavonoids, coumarins, iridoids, nortriterpenoids, phenolic acids, and sesquiterpenes. All compounds were further assigned to the individual herbs. In conclusion, this established method was reliable and effective for the separation and identification of the constituents in Di-Wu-Yang-Gan Granules. The findings are beneficial for quality control of the prescription during production and provide helpful chemical information for exploring its efficacy and the mechanism of action. The fragmentation regularity summarized in this study also provided important information for the rapid identification of the chemical composition in herbal medicines or their prescription.

Evaluation of the water soluble extractive of astragali radix with different growth patterns using 1H-NMR spectroscopy.

Astragali radix (AR), known in China as huangqi, is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Water soluble extractive (WSE) values play an important role in the quality evaluation of herbal drugs. In this study, WSE of wild and cultivated AR were compared systematically. The WSE value of cultivated AR was significantly higher than that of the wild AR, and their UV-absorbance in the range of 250-400 nm was also different. The chemical compositions of different WSE were further compared by 1H NMR spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis. Results from the principal component analysis and the hierarchical cluster analysis showed a clear separation between the WSEs of wild and cultivated AR. The differential metabolites responsible for the separation were identified by orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis and recursive support vector machine. The WSE of wild AR contained more arginine, valine, threonine, asparagine, succinate, and glutamine, while the cultivated AR contained more sucrose. Thus, the WSE can be used as a simple and reliable method for discrimination of wild and cultivated ARs, and the results obtained in this study extend the potential use of WSE in the quality evaluation of herbal drugs.

[NMR-based analysis of water soluble extracts of different Astragali Radix].

Water soluble extract (WSE) is an important index for the quality evaluation of Astragali Radix (AR). In this study, the WSE of the wild AR from Shanxi province (SX) and the cultivated AR from Gansu Province (GS) were compared. The WSEs of two types of AR were determined according to the appendix of Chinese pharmacopoeia. Then the WSEs were subjected to NMR analysis, and the obtained data were analyzed using HCA, PCA, OPLS-DA, microarray analysis, and Spearman rank analysis. In addition, the Pearson correlation of differential metabolites were also calculated. The results showed that the WSE content of GS-AR (37.80%) was higher than that of SX-AR (32.13%). The main constituent of WSE was sucrose, and other 18 compounds, including amino acids, organic acids, were also detected. Multivariate analysis revealed that SX-AR contained more choline, succinic acid, citric acid, glutamate, taurine and aspartate, while GS samples contained more sucrose, arginine and fumaric acid. In addition, the Pearson correlations between different metabolites of the two types of AR also showed apparent differences. The results suggested that the WSE of two types of AR differs not only in the content, but also in the chemical compositions. Thus, the cultivation way is important to the quality of AR. This study supplied a new method for the comparison of extract of herbal drugs.

Highly efficient and large-scale fabrication of superhydrophobic alumina surface with strong stability based on self-congregated alumina nanowires.

In this study, a large-area superhydrophobic alumina surface with a series of superior properties was fabricated via an economical, simple, and highly effective one-step anodization process, and subsequently modified with low-surface-energy film. The effects of the anodization parameters including electrochemical anodization time, current density, and electrolyte temperature on surface morphology and surface wettability were investigated in detail. The hierarchical alumina pyramids-on-pores (HAPOP) rough structure which was produced quickly through the one-step anodization process together with a low-surface-energy film deposition [1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (PDES) and stearic acid (STA)] confer excellent superhydrophobicity and an extremely low sliding angle. Both the PDES-modified superhydrophobic (PDES-MS) and the STA-modified superhydrophobic (STA-MS) surfaces present fascinating nonwetting and extremely slippery behaviors. The chemical stability and mechanical durability of the PDES-MS and STA-MS surfaces were evaluated and discussed. Compared with the STA-MS surface, the as-prepared PDES-MS surface possesses an amazing chemical stability which not only can repel cool liquids (water, HCl/NaOH solutions, around 25 °C), but also can show excellent resistance to a series of hot liquids (water, HCl/NaOH solutions, 30-100 °C) and hot beverages (coffee, milk, tea, 80 °C). Moreover, the PDES-MS surface also presents excellent stability toward immersion in various organic solvents, high temperature, and long time period. In particular, the PDES-MS surface achieves good mechanical durability which can withstand ultrasonication treatment, finger-touch, multiple fold, peeling by adhesive tape, and even abrasion test treatments without losing superhydrophobicity. The corrosion resistance and durability of the diverse-modified superhydrophobic surfaces were also examined. These fascinating performances makes the present method suitable for large-scale industrial fabrication of chemically stable and mechanically robust superhydrophobic surfaces.

[Optimization of acupuncture treatment programs for facial paralysis].

OBJECTIVE: To optimize the acupuncture treatment programs for facial paralysis. METHODS: Sixty-three patients of facial paralysis were randomly divided and treated according to the table of L9 (3)4 in orthogonal test. They were treated with different combined programs of 4 factors and 3 levels, including factor A (acupuncture op portunity), B (acupoints prescription), C (quantity of stimulus) and D (time of electroacupuncture). The change of facial nerve function score was observed to choose the best acupuncture treatment program for facial paralysis from factor A (acupuncture opportunity), B (acupoints prescription), C (quantity of stimulus), D (time of electroacupuncture) and their 3 levels in each factor. RESULTS: B (acupoints prescription) and D (time of electroacupuncture) were significant factors (P < 0.05), and B (acupoints prescription) was the most important influential factor. B3 (alternative use of two groups of acupoints) was the best one among the 3 levels of B (acupoints prescription), and D3 (electroacupuncture in disperse-dense wave for 30 min) was the best one of D (time of electroacupuncture). CONCLUSION: Two groups of acupoints alternatively used with electroacupuncture in disperse-dense wave for 30 min is the best treatment program for facial paralysis.

Optimization of acupuncture treatment programs for facial paralysis / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To optimize the acupuncture treatment programs for facial paralysis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty-three patients of facial paralysis were randomly divided and treated according to the table of L9 (3)4 in orthogonal test. They were treated with different combined programs of 4 factors and 3 levels, including factor A (acupuncture op portunity), B (acupoints prescription), C (quantity of stimulus) and D (time of electroacupuncture). The change of facial nerve function score was observed to choose the best acupuncture treatment program for facial paralysis from factor A (acupuncture opportunity), B (acupoints prescription), C (quantity of stimulus), D (time of electroacupuncture) and their 3 levels in each factor.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>B (acupoints prescription) and D (time of electroacupuncture) were significant factors (P < 0.05), and B (acupoints prescription) was the most important influential factor. B3 (alternative use of two groups of acupoints) was the best one among the 3 levels of B (acupoints prescription), and D3 (electroacupuncture in disperse-dense wave for 30 min) was the best one of D (time of electroacupuncture).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Two groups of acupoints alternatively used with electroacupuncture in disperse-dense wave for 30 min is the best treatment program for facial paralysis.</p>

[Studies on anti-hyperglycemic effect and its mechanism of Clinopodium chinense].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-hyperglycemic effect and its mechanism of ethanol extraction from Calamintha chinensis (EJCT). METHOD: Fasting serum glucose (FSG) in normal mice was determined after oral administration of EJCT. Effects of EJCT on hyperglycemia mice induced by adrenaline were investigated by observing the contents of FSG and liver glucogen. Effect of EJCT on the diabetic mice induced by alloxan was investigated by observing the contents of FSG and the injured degree of pancreatic islet. The antilipid-peroxidation of EJCT on liver homogenate was measured by determination of malondiadehyde (MDA) induced by Fe2+/Cys. RESULT: EJCT showed no obvious effect on FSG in normal mice. However, EJCT 300, 600 mg x kg(-1) could remarkably decrease the contents of FSG and increase liver glucogen in hyperglycemia mice induced by adrenaline. In diabetic mice induced by alloxan, EJCT 150, 300, 600 mg x kg(-1) could remarkably decrease the contents of FSG. The damage of pancreatic islet induced by alloxan was also significantly attenuated by EJCT. Furthermore, EJCT 30, 60, 90, 120 mg x L(-1) inhibited lipid peroxidation initiated by Fe2+/Cys in liver homogenate. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that EJCT can significantly attenuate hyperglycemia in diabetic mice, which is probably due to decreasing the decomposition of liver glucogen, increasing the synthesis of liver glucogen, antioxidation and amelioration of damaged pancreatic islet.

[Absorption of extractive Rhizoma Coptidis in rat everted gut scas].

OBJECTIVE: Using in vitro everted gut seas to research the intestinal absorption of the extractive Rhizoma Coptidis at the different intestinal section and the different density. METHOD: Berberine (BER) and palmatine (PAL) which are representative compositions of the extractive Rhizoma Coptidis in everted gut seas are detected by HPLC, and calculated the absorption parameter to describe the character of absorption. RESULT: The absorption of BER and PAL is linearity in different intestine and different dose, and the square of coefficient correlation exceed 0.9, which consistent with zero order rate process. The K(a) of BER and PAL increases along with the raised dosage of the extractive Rhizoma Coptidis (P < 0.05), indicated it is the passive absorption. The absorption of BER and PAL in the jejunum is the most quick, the ileum and colon are slower. CONCLUSION: In the different dosage of extractive Rhizoma Coptidis, the absorption of BER and PAL Conforms to the zero order rate process at the different intestine, and is the passive absorption.