Study on a novel spherical polysaccharide from Fructus Mori with good antioxidant activity.

A novel polysaccharide (MFP1P) was isolated from Fructus Mori, followed by purification via DEAE-52 cellulose and 27 % ethanol fraction. The MFP1P had the molecular weight of 56.78 kDa and the total sugar content of 93.32±0.54 %. And the MFP1P is mainly composed of glucose, galactose, galacturonic acid and mannose with molar ratio of 66.62 %, 13.94 %, 18.24 % and 1.20 %, respectively. MFP1P was mainly composed of →3)-α-D-Gal (1→, ß-D-Man-(1→ and →6)-α-D-Glc (1→ glycosidic bond and showed a spherical chain conformation with uniform distribution in solution. The MFP1P exhibited great antioxidant activity with oxygen-free radical absorption capacity (ORAC) values of 291.63±6.81 µmol TE/g and MDA IC50 of 0.289±0.022 mg/mL.

Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Feasibility of Intratumoral Radiofrequency Hyperthermia-enhanced Herpes Simplex Virus Thymidine Kinase Gene Therapy.

Purpose To validate the feasibility and efficacy of intratumoral radiofrequency hyperthermia (RFH)-enhanced herpes simplex virus (HSV) thymidine kinase (TK) and ganciclovir (GCV) (hereafter, HSV-TK/GCV) gene therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and Methods This study was performed from November 11, 2015, to April 14, 2017, and included (a) in vitro experiments with human NSCLC cells to establish the proof of principle, (b) in vivo experiments using mice with subcutaneous NSCLC to further demonstrate the principle, and (c) in vivo experiments using rats with orthotopic NSCLC to validate the technical feasibility. Cells, nude mice, and nude rats were randomly divided into four groups (six animals per group): (a) combination therapy (HSV-TK/GCV combined with RFH), (b) RFH, (c) HSV-TK/GCV, and (d) phosphate-buffered saline. Data were analyzed by using the Dunnett t test or Kruskal-Wallis test. Results For in vitro experiments, the cell proliferation assay showed significantly diminished viable cells with combination therapy (mean, 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.44, 0.68) versus RFH (mean, 0.89; 95% CI: 0.82, 0.97), HSV-TK/GCV (mean, 0.71; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.86), and phosphate-buffered saline (mean, 1; 95% CI: 1, 1) (P < .05 for all). For in vivo experiments, optical imaging showed significantly decreased relative bioluminescence signal with combination therapy (mean, 0.71 [95% CI: 0.03, 1.39] in mice; 1.29 [95% CI: 0.51, 2.06] in rats) compared with RFH (mean, 2.66 [95% CI: 1.73, 3.59] in mice; 2.26 [95% CI: 1.51, 3.01] in rats), HSV-TK/GCV (mean, 1.37 [95% CI: 0.65, 2.08] in mice; 1.76 [95% CI: 1.20, 2.31] in rats), and phosphate-buffered saline (mean, 3.07 [95% CI: 2.50, 3.65] in mice; 2.94 [95% CI: 2.29, 3.58] in rats) (P < .001 for all). US showed that the smallest relative tumor volumes occurred with combination therapy (mean, 0.60; 95% CI: 0.15, 1.05) versus RFH (mean, 2.43; 95% CI: 1.80, 3.06), HSV-TK/GCV (mean, 1.32; 95% CI: 0.75, 1.89), and phosphate-buffered saline (mean, 2.56; 95% CI: 1.75, 3.38) (P < .05 for all) in the mouse subcutaneous model. Conclusion Intratumoral radiofrequency hyperthermia-enhanced herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase and ganciclovir gene therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer is feasible and can be guided by molecular imaging. © RSNA, 2018.

[Prescription regularity of famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine Doctor Yu Guoyou for treating gastrointestinal failure based ondata mining].

Gastrointestinal failure is a kind of severe systemic inflammatory response, and often complicated with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine have a better curative effect in treating it. This study collected the famous veteran TCM physician Yu Guoyou's 175 prescriptions for treating 89 cases of gastrointestinal failure, calculated the frequency of traditional Chinese medicines and their categories, and analyzed the medication regularity with system clustering method, so as to summarize Yu's frequently used drugs and prescriptions. The results showed the top three most frequently used drugs aremagnolia bark, bitter orange, and rhubarb, which are components of Xiaochengqi decoction; Among the traditional Chinese medicines, medicines of tonifying deficiency, regulating qi, clearing heat, eliminating phlegm and dissipating dampness are most commonly used. Among the tonic medicines, those for tonifying Qi accounted for 2/3, which was the largest proportion; At the same time, some new prescriptions and new drug combinations were excavated and could be used as the reference for clinical medication. According to the findings, when differentiating syndromes of gastrointestinal failure, Yu regards the spleen and stomach Qi deficiency as the root cause and the heat toxin, blood stasis, Qi stagnation and dampness as the symptoms. In the treatment of gastrointestinal function failure, Yu gives priority to strengthening spleen, regulating Qi and purgation, prescribes medicines for dissolving blood stasis and detoxication, dissipating dampness, clearing heat and eliminating phlegm according to syndrome types. In other words, the treatment is based on syndrome differentiation, and the prescription is modified according to symptoms. In particular, Yu attaches importance to stomach-Qi recuperation and gastrointestinal function recovery in the process of treatment.

An open-labeled, randomized, multicenter phase IIa study of gambogic acid injection for advanced malignant tumors.

BACKGROUND: Gambogic acid is a pure active compound isolated from the traditional Chinese medicinal plant gamboge (Garcinia morella Desv.). Based on the preliminary results of a phase I study, this phase IIa study compared the efficacy and safety of different dosage schedules of gambogic acid in patients with advanced malignant tumors. METHODS: Patients with advanced or metastases cancer who had not received any effective routine conventional treatment or who had failed to respond to the existing conventional treatment were randomly assigned to receive either 45 mg/m(2) gambogic acid intravenously from Days 1 to 5 of a 2-week cycle (Group A), or 45 mg/m(2) every other day for a total of five times during a 2-week cycle (Group B). The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR). RESULTS: Twenty-one patients assigned to Group A and 26 to Group B were included in the final analysis. The ORRs were 14.3% in Group A and 0% in Group B. It was not possible to analyze the significant difference because one of the values was zero. The disease control rates (DCRs) were 76.2% in Group A and 61.5% in Group B (P = 0.0456). The observed adverse reactions were mostly Grades I and II, and occurred in most patients after administration of the trial drug. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two arms. CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary results of this phase IIa exploratory study suggest that gambogic acid has a favorable safety profile when administered at 45 mg/m(2). The DCR was greater in patients receiving gambogic acid on Days 1 - 5 of a 2-week cycle, but the incidence of adverse reactions was similar irrespective of the administration schedule.

Clinical study of curing patients with perennial allergic rhinitis by qumin tongbi nasal spraying agent / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the mechanism of action and the therapeutic efficacy of treating patients with perennial allergic rhinitis by Qumin Tongbi Nasal Spraying Agent (QTNSA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and three patients with perennial allergic rhinitis were randomly assigned to two groups. Of them, 57 patients in the treatment group were treated with QTNSA and 46 patients in the control group were treated with Veconase. Seven days were taken as one therapeutic course, two courses in total. The therapeutic efficacy and the serum levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-8, immunoglobulin E (IgE) and nasal airway resistance (NAR), symptoms and signs integrals before and after treatment were observed in the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There was no statistical significance between the treatment group and the control group in the markedly effective rate (61.40% vs. 63. 04%) and the total effective rate (87.72% vs. 89.13%). After treatment symptoms and signs integrals of the two groups were significantly improved when compared with before treatment (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference between the two groups after treatment (P > 0.05). The serum levels of IL-4, IL-8, IgE, and NAR were significantly higher in the two groups than those of the normal group. They significantly decreased after treatment in the two groups, showing statistical difference (P < 0.01). There was no statistical difference between the treatment group and the control group (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>QTNSA could effectively treat perennial allergic rhinitis. It could obviously lower serum levels of IL-4, IL-8, IgE, and NAR in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis.</p>

Anti-inflammatory effects of ethyl acetate fraction from Melilotus suaveolens Ledeb on LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells.

AIM OF THE STUDY: This paper aimed to elucidate the anti-inflammatory effects of EtOAc fraction prepared from Melilotus suaveolens Ledeb ethanol extract with a cellular model of LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cell. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Some key pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators including IL-1 beta, IL-6, NO, iNOS, COX-2 and TNF-alpha, two important anti-inflammatory cytokines and mediators IL-10 and HO-1, I-kappaB and NF-kappaB were studied by sandwich ELISA, real-time PCR, western blot analysis and immunocytochemistry. At last a HPLC fingerprint was taken to evaluate the fraction. RESULTS: The EtOAc fraction could significantly inhibit the production of IL-1 beta, IL-6, NO, TNF-alpha, COX-2 in LPS-stimulated cell than that of single LPS-stimulated cell (p<0.01 or p<0.05), and the extract could increase the production of IL-10 and HO-1 than that of single LPS intervention cell (p<0.01 or p<0.05). Meanwhile, the extract also could inhibit the production of NF-kappaB compared to single LPS-stimulated cell. All the results showed that the extract had a good anti-inflammatory effect on LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cell. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the anti-inflammatory actions of M. suaveolens Ledeb EtOAc fraction might be due to the down-regulation of IL-1 beta, IL-6, NO, TNF-alpha and COX-2 via the suppression of NF-kappaB activation, and another pathway was up regulating the production of IL-10 and HO-1. Meanwhile, the EtOAc fraction might be further studied to isolate the active anti-inflammatory ingredients besides coumarin.

[Effects of penetration enhancers on percutaneous permeability of geniposide in Xiao'er Ninhuang tuire cataplasms].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the different permeation enhancers on the transdermal permeation of Xiao'er Niuhuang tuire cataplasms (XNTC). METHOD: Using improved franz-type diffusion cell with excised rat skin in vitro as the transdermal barrier, the content of permeated geniposide was determined by HPLC to study the kinetic parameters such as cumulative permeation quantity and permeation rate. RESULT: The result showed that the process of penetrating of geniposide in XNTC through skin could be in accordance with zero-rade releasing equation and XNTC was stable during the course of experiment. CONCLUSION: 5% Propylene glycol (PG)-azone (2:3) has the best permeation-enhancing effect, and the results provided a primary basis for the future research on Xiao'er Niuhuang tuire cataplasms.

In vitro anti-inflammatory effects of different solution fractions of ethanol extract from Melilotus suaveolens Ledeb.

BACKGROUND: Melilotus suaveolens Ledeb (M. suaveolens Ledeb) has long been used as a folk medicine in inflammation-related therapy. This study was undertaken to determine the anti-inflammatory effect of the plant. METHODS: Petroleum ether fraction, ethyl acetate fraction, n-butanol fraction, aqueous fraction were obtained from ethanol extract of M. suaveolens Ledeb and evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). While dexamethasone (DM) was used as a positive control, the effects of different solution fractions of ethanol extract on tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) mRNA, cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) mRNA, COX-2 and nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) of LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells were studied by real-time PCR, Western blot analysis and immunocytochemical assay, respectively. RESULTS: Coumarin was one of the main ingredients in different solution fractions of ethanol extract except the aqueous fraction with no inflammatory effect. The petroleum ether fraction, ethyl acetate fraction and n-butanol fraction of ethanol extract could inhibit the production of TNF-alpha mRNA, COX-2 mRNA and NF-kappaB to some extent. CONCLUSIONS: Different solution fractions of ethanol extract from M. suaveolens Ledeb had similar anti-inflammatory effect as did dexamethasone except the aqueous fraction. Coumarin was likely to be essential to the anti-inflammatory effect, and other ingredients might attribute to their different anti-inflammatory effects from the HPLC fingerprint.

Puerarin protects rat pancreatic islets from damage by hydrogen peroxide.

The protective effect of puerarin, an isoflavone purified from Chinese herb radix of Pueraria lobata, on hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2))-induced rat pancreatic islets damage was investigated. Exposure of islets to 500 microM H(2)O(2) could cause a significant viability loss and an increase in apoptotic rate. Pretreatment of islets with puerarin for 48 h resulted in a reduction in viability loss and apoptotic rate. 100 microM puerarin significantly inhibited the apoptosis of islets induced by H(2)O(2). In addition, preincubation with puerarin could restore the H(2)O(2)-induced decrease in basal and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in pancreatic islets. Puerarin was also found to inhibit the free radicals production induced by H(2)O(2) and to increase catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in the isolated pancreatic islets. These results suggest that puerarin can protect islets against oxidative stress probably due to stimulating the activities of the antioxidant enzymes. Puerarin may be effective in preventing islet cells from the toxic action of reactive oxygen species in diabetes.