Comprehensive profiling of Stephania tetrandra (Fangji) by stepwise DFI and NL-dependent structure annotation algorithm-based UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS and direct authentication by LMJ-HRMS.

Stephania tetrandra S. Moore, a widely used traditional antirheumatic herbal medicine (HM), is a rich source of isoquinoline alkaloids. With the exception of the two recognized isoquinolines, viz. tetrandrine and fangchinoline, the other isoquinoline alkaloids present in S. tetrandra have not been clearly clarified. In addition, due to their similar names and morphological similarities, S. tetrandra is often mistakenly substituted and adulterated with the nephrotoxic Aristolochia fangchi. In this study, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-triple time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was initially employed to comprehensively profile the isoquinolines from S. tetrandra. To overcome the complexities arising due to the similar mass behaviors of the isoquinolines, a stepwise diagnostic fragment ion (DFI) and neutral loss (NL)-dependent structure annotation algorithm was proposed, and this accelerated the identification of 393 isoquinolines distributed over twenty classes. Consequently, liquid microjunction surface sampling-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LMJ-HRMS) was deployed in an attempt to directly authenticate S. tetrandra by the chemical profiling of its crude slice. By matching the 393 isoquinolines, the 87 peaks detected by LMJ-HRMS were assigned to 270 isoquinolines, including the recognized tetrandrine and fangchinoline. The absence of aristolochic acid-related mass signals confirmed the authentication of S. tetrandra. In summary, LMJ-HRMS can be considered a direct, nondestructive, high-throughput, and environment-friendly analytical method for the authentication of HMs. Moreover, the stepwise DFI- and NL-dependent structure annotation algorithm-based UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS method allowed high-coverage detection and high-quality data processing of the inherent structural similarity and complexity of isoquinolines or other phytochemical compounds.

The value of synchro-cystourethrometry for evaluating the relationship between urethral instability and overactive bladder.

PURPOSE: To investigate the correlation between urethral instability (URI) and overactive bladder (OAB) in children. METHODS: We retrospectively investigated 126 children with OAB and 36 children without OAB using synchro-cystourethrometry. The prevalence of detrusor overactivity (DO) and URI, and the diagnostic sensitivity of DO alone and DO combined with URI, was compared. The OAB children with URI voluntarily received transcutaneous electrical pudendal nerve stimulation with anisodamine (stimulation group, SG) or anisodamine alone (non-stimulation group, NSG). The effectiveness of treatment was evaluated. Average voided volume (AVV), maximum voided volume (MVV), and number of voids per day (NV) were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: In OAB children, the prevalence of DO and URI was 51.6 and 32.5%, respectively. The prevalence of URI was 5.6% in controls. The prevalence of URI was significantly higher in OAB children. The diagnostic sensitivity and Youden index of DO combined with URI were higher than DO alone. In SG, 45.7% of children were cured, with a ≥ 50% improvement rate of 82.9%, while no child was cured, with a ≥ 50% improvement rate of 36.8% in NSG. A significant increase in AVV and MVV together, with a decrease in NV, was seen in SG. There was a significant difference in visual analogue scale values between SG and NSG (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Urethral instability plays an essential role in the pathogenesis and progression of OAB in children. Synchro-cystourethrometry is a useful urodynamic technology to precisely diagnose OAB, and transcutaneous electrical pudendal nerve stimulation may be an effective treatment for OAB children induced by URI.

Purified black tea theaflavins and theaflavins/catechin supplements did not affect serum lipids in healthy individuals with mildly to moderately elevated cholesterol concentrations.

BACKGROUND: Ingestion of tea flavonoids found in both green and black tea is linked to cardiovascular health benefits such as lowering serum lipids. Evidence for a cholesterol-lowering benefit of green or black tea consumption from human intervention studies is, however, conflicting and active components responsible for the effect have not yet been clearly identified. AIM OF THE STUDY: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel design study the effects of ingesting a purified black tea theaflavins (TFs) powder alone or in combination with catechin (TFs/catechins) on lowering serum total (TC) and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-c) were assessed. METHODS: In total, 102 mildly to moderately hypercholesterolemic (TC and LDL-c: 5.70 +/- 0.74 and 3.97 +/- 0.61 mmol/L, respectively) subjects (67 men and 35 women) were randomly assigned to consume once daily one capsule of one of the 3 treatments: TFs (providing 77.5 mg), TFs/catechins (providing 75.0 mg TFs plus 150.0 mg catechins and 195.0 mg of other polyphenols), or placebo (cellulose). RESULTS: Serum TC and LDL-c concentrations did not differ significantly among the 3 treatments as assessed at 4, 8, and 11 weeks using analysis of covariance (p = 0.1187 and p = 0.1063, respectively). Although changes over time from baseline to week 11 were significant for TC and LDL-c (p = 0.0311 and p = 0.0269, respectively), this decrease over time was seen in the TFs and placebo groups. CONCLUSION: In this human intervention study, no statistically significant LDL-c lowering effect was seen with either TFs alone or the TFs/catechins combination as compared to placebo. Based on these findings it cannot be concluded that tea flavonoids such as theaflavins and catechins are responsible for a putative cholesterol-lowering effect of black tea, at least not with the daily dose applied in the present study.

Effects of catechin enriched green tea on body composition.

Obesity is a major health problem in the developed and developing world. Many "functional" foods and ingredients are advocated for their effects on body composition but few have consistent scientific support for their efficacy. However, an increasing amount of mechanistic and clinical evidence is building for green tea (GT). This experiment was therefore undertaken to study the effects of a high-catechin GT on body composition in a moderately overweight Chinese population. In a randomized placebo-controlled trial, 182 moderately overweight Chinese subjects, consumed either two servings of a control drink (C; 30 mg catechins, 10 mg caffeine/day), one serving of the control drink and one serving of an extra high-catechin GT1 (458 mg catechins, 104 mg caffeine/day), two servings of a high-catechin GT2 (468 mg catechins, 126 mg caffeine/day) or two servings of the extra high-catechin GT3 (886 mg catechins, 198 mg caffeine/day) for 90 days. Data were collected at 0, 30, 60, and 90 days. We observed a decrease in estimated intra-abdominal fat (IAF) area of 5.6 cm(2) in the GT3 group. In addition, we found decreases of 1.9 cm in waist circumference and 1.2 kg body weight in the GT3 group vs. C (P < 0.05). We also observed reductions in total body fat (GT2, 0.7 kg, P < 0.05) and body fat % (GT1, 0.6%, P < 0.05). We conclude that consumption of two servings of an extra high-catechin GT leads to improvements in body composition and reduces abdominal fatness in moderately overweight Chinese subjects.