Physicochemical, structural and rheological properties of pectin isolated from citrus canning processing water.

In order to better utilize the citrus pectin (CP) resource, the crude citrus pectin (CCP), obtained from the citrus fruit canning processing waste water, was purified by cellulose DEAE-52 column, providing neutral polysaccharide CP0 and two acidic polysaccharides (CP1 and CP3). CP1 had the highest yield among the three fractions, being 44.29%. The chemical composition, structure and morphology of these pectin components were analyzed. Monosaccharide composition analysis revealed that arabinose was the most abundant composition in these pectin samples. CCP, CP1 and CP3 were mainly composed of rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) regions. Compared with CP3, CCP and CP1 had longer side chains, which are mainly consisted of arabinose. FT-IR and NMR analysis indicated that α-type glycosidic bonds are the main linkage in the four pectin components. These CP samples were found to possess different conformation, but no triple-helical conformation was observed in all these CP fractions. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that CCP, CP1 and CP3 all had irregular sheet-like structures and partly porous structures. The four pectin components showed the characteristics of non-Newtonian fluids and possessed good viscoelasticity. Due to these properties, the pectin might have potential application in food industry as food thickening agent.

Different Survival Benefits of Chinese Medicine for Pancreatic Cancer: How to Choose?

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of Chinese medicine (CM) on patients with pancreatic cancer (PC) in a retrospective population-based study. METHODS: Between January 1, 2013, and August 30, 2016, according to whether received Western medicine treatment, the patients were included into either integrative medicine (IM) group or CM group. All enrolled patients were orally administrated with Gexia Zhuyu Decoction () or Liujun Ermu Decoction () by syndrome differentiation, twice a day, last for at least 2 months. The primary end point was overall survival (OS). RESULTS: A total of 174 patients with PC were enrolled in this study. In stage I/II, the median OS was 20.5 months in the IM group [95% confidence interval (CI), 12.499 to 28.501] and 11.17 months in the CM group (95% CI, 5.160 to 17.180, P=0.015). The 1- and 2-year survival rates for the two groups were 47.0%, 40.0% and 21.0%, 21.0%, respectively. In stage III/IV, median OS was 13.53 months (95% CI, 8.665 to 18.395) in the IM group versus 6.4 months (95% CI, 0.00 to 15.682) in the CM group, respectively (P=0.32). The 1- and 2-year survival rate for the IM and CM groups were 27.0%, 7.0% and 20.0%, 2.0%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Intervention of CM contributes to the different survival benefits for PC in different stages. Multimodality treatment might be a promising strategy for PC patients in early stage. While, in advanced stage, CM might be an alternative candidate for PC patients.

Tripterygium Glycosides for Treating Late-onset Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Context • Older- or late-onset rheumatoid arthritis (LORA) is defined as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with an onset of symptoms at age 60 y or older, which includes a specific clinical course and features. To date, a specific therapeutic treatment for LORA is still a dilemma in modern medicine. Objective • The study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of Tripterygium glycosides for treating LORA. Design • Seven databases were searched from their inceptions until June 2015. The research team included randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) in which Tripterygium glycosides were employed, either alone or as an adjuvant treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), in patients with LORA. The selection of studies, data extraction, and validation were performed independently by 2 reviewers. The Cochrane risk-of-bias criteria were used for evaluating the quality of the included studies. Settings • The study was conducted at Changzhou University (Changzhou, China), Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine (Nanjing, China), and the hospital affiliated with Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine (Nanjing, China). Participants • Studies including patients aged 60 y or older with RA in any of their peripheral joints were included in the meta-analysis. Intervention • All participants in the included studies were administered Tripterygium glycosides, either alone or together with other DMARDs, for at least 3 mo. Outcome Measures • The primary outcomes included (1) the swollen joint count (SJC) and (2) the tender joint count (TJC). The secondary outcomes included the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and the level of C-reactive protein (CRP). Results • Four RCTs met the inclusion criteria, and most of them were of low methodological quality. The results of the current meta-analysis indicated that Tripterygium glycosides plus DMARD therapy, when compared with DMARD therapy alone, showed a favorable effect: (1) on the SJC, with the mean difference (MD) = -1.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -1.64 to -1.51, and P < .01; (2) on the TJC, with the MD = -1.71, 95% CI = -2.26 to -1.15, and P < .01; (3) on the CRP levels, with the MD = -9.96, 95% CI = -10.96 to -8.96, and P < .01; and (4) on the ESR, with MD = -10.74, 95% CI = -12.47 to -9.00, and P < .01. In addition, the groups treated with Tripterygium glycosides were not superior to the intervention groups that did not use Tripterygium glycosides in terms of decreasing adverse events. Conclusions • A lack of sufficient trials contributed to the small sample size of the combined, eligible RCTs, and it was difficult to draw firm conclusions on the positive effects of Tripterygium glycosides and on their efficacy as an effective intervention for treating RA. A high risk of bias existed among the available RCTs. Further work with more RCTs on a larger patient population is necessary to confirm the efficacy and safety of Tripterygium glycosides for treating LORA.

Discovery of serum proteomic biomarkers for prediction of response to moxibustion treatment in rats with collagen-induced arthritis: an exploratory analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the possible impact of moxibustion on the serum proteome of the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rat model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six male Sprague-Dawley rats were included in this experiment. The CIA animal model was prepared by injection of type II bovine collagen in Freund's adjuvant on the first and seventh day. The 36 rats were randomly divided into two groups: the untreated CIA group (control), and the CIA plus treatment with moxibustion (CIA+moxi) group. Moxibustion was administered daily at ST36 and BL23 for 7, 14 or 21 days (n=12 rats each). Arthritis score was used to assess the severity of arthritis. At the end of each 7 day treatment, blood samples from the control group and the CIA+moxi group were collected. After removal of high abundance proteins from serum samples, two-dimensional gel combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight MS/MS (MALDI-TOF-MS/MS) techniques were performed to examine serum protein expression patterns of the CIA rat model with and without moxibustion treatment. In addition, the relevant proteins were further analysed with the use of bioinformatics analysis. RESULTS: Moxibustion significantly decreased arthritis severity in the rats in the CIA+moxi group, when compared with the rats in the CIA group 35 days after the first immunisation (p=0.001). Seventeen protein spots which changed >1.33 or <0.77 at p<0.05 using Bonferonni correction for multiple testing were found to be common to all three comparisons, and these proteins were used for classification of functions using the Gene Ontology method. Consequently, with the use of the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis, the top canonical pathways and a predicted proteomic network related to the moxibustion effect of CIA were established. CONCLUSIONS: Using the proteomics technique, we have identified novel candidate proteins that may be involved in the mechanisms of action underlying the beneficial effects of moxibustion in rats with CIA. Our findings suggest that immune responses and metabolic processes may be involved in mediating the effects of moxibustion. Moreover, periodxiredoxin I (PRDX1) and inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor (IP3R) may be potential targets.

[Differences of soil nutrients among different vegetation types and their spatial prediction in a small typical karst catchment.] / å ¸åž‹å–€æ–¯ç‰¹å°æµåŸŸä¸åŒæ¤è¢«ç±»åž‹é—´åœŸå£¤å »åˆ†çš„å·®å¼‚æ€§åŠå ¶ç©ºé—´é¢„æµ‹æ–¹æ³•.

Vegetation types restrict soil structure and heterogeneous processes of elements, which result in difference in spatial distribution of soil nutrients. In this study, the differences in contents of soil nutrients, TN, TP, TK, and soil organic matter (SOM) among different vegetation types were analyzed, and the accuracy of ordinary kriging, regression model and regression model based on vegetation type in predicting soil nutrients was compared. The results showed that, TN, TK and SOM were significantly (P<0.05) correlated to vegetation type, and TP had no significant correlation with vegetation type (P=0.390). TN and SOM had significant difference between shrubbery and arable land. TK had significant difference between arbor and scrub-grassland, shrubbery and arable land, and scrub-grassland and arable land, respectively. In a non-continuous typical small karst catchment, because of high spatial heterogeneity of terrain, the accuracy of multivariate linear regression model based on the real terrain factors of various points was considerably higher than that of ordinary kriging prediction method considering the locations of the known points and prediction points. Moreover, the regression model based on vegetation type improved the prediction accuracy of the TN.

Enhanced Protective Effect of the Combination of Uncaria and Semen Raphani on Vascular Endothelium in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

Endothelial dysfunction and low-grade inflammation are closely associated with hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. The combination of Uncaria (U) and Semen Raphani (R) is common in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of hypertension and heart diseases. We aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of the combination of Uncaria and Semen Raphani on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), and valsartan was used as a positive control. In the present study, all extracts decreased systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, and mean arterial pressure. U alone showed antihypertensive efficacy and effectively decreased CECs count, while R alone showed efficacy in relieving inflammatory level. The combination of U and R showed enhanced effectiveness at lowering activated CECs and improving endothelial integrity of thoracic aorta and mesenteric artery and normalized the level of plasma biomarkers of endothelial damage. The combination of U and R decreased the mRNA level of VCAM-1, Sel-L, TFPI, and Sel-P, while it elevated mRNA expression of FGF-1 and THBD of the thoracic aorta, which may be, at least in part, involved in the mechanism of protective effect on hypertensive endothelial injury.

[Analysis on composition principles of prescriptions for stranguria in dictionary of traditional Chinese medicine prescription].

By using traditional Chinese medicine inheritance support system to analyze the dominant experience and recessive principles of the prescriptions for stranguria in the dictionary of traditional Chinese medicine prescription (DCMP), we aim to define the medication pattern and rule and to acquire new prescriptions. In dominant experience analysis, we were able to find 22 drugs used over 50 times, including drugs of clearing heat, diuresis and relieving stranguria which are the most used and drugs of clearing heat, cooling blood, benefiting Qi and nourishing Yin. In addition, drugs of activating Qi and Xue, eliminating phlegm and removing toxic are often used, including 34 herb pairs and 5 combinations of three-taste drugs are used more than 35 times. These results fully reflect the composition principles and compatibility characteristic of prescriptions for treating stranguria in DCMP. Thirteen new prescriptions by way of recessive principle excavating were acquired. These new prescriptions might be suitable to clinical treatments of variable syndromes. This article provides an useful clue to research and produce new drugs.

[Intervention effects of qingre jiangya capsule on brain hippocampus of spontaneously hypertensive rats based on metabonomic research].

Thirty SHRs were obtained randomly to hypertension, model group, captopril group and Qingre jiangya capsule group. Ten Wistar rats were used as control group. The hippocampus tissue was removed to explore the damage of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and the protective effect of Qingre jiangya capsule after continuously administered for 14 days. And then the data were processed by principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The research results revealed captopril group was significantly different from the other three groups. The classification of other three groups is also very clear after captopril group removed. This suggested that Qingre jiangya capsule could improve the overall metabolism compared with captopril. Four metabolites were identified: dimethylglycine, glycerophosphocholine, aldosterone and noradrenaline. Hypertension hippocampus damage may mainly be expressed in tyrosine metabolism, aldosterone-regulated sodium, vascular smooth muscle contraction reabsorption, and Qingre jiangya capsule could reverse the hippocampus tissue damage of SHR.