Characterization and Comparison Analysis of WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants and ISO Standards of Chinese Materia Medica.

Medicinal plants or Chinese materia medica (CMM) are now attracting worldwide attention as they have increasingly prominent advantages over chemical drugs in disease treatment and healthcare. Since the 1990s, World Health Organization (WHO) and International Organization for Standardization established the Technical Committee of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ISO/TC 249) have carried out the development of quality standards on medicinal plants or CMMs respectively, and a considerable number of monographs and international standards have been published. Since the two international organizations adhere to different principles, the standards they develop naturally have different emphasis. Driven by market demand and international trade, ISO mainly takes quality, efficacy and safety into consideration when developing standards, while WHO pays more attention to clinical practice, quality control and medication guidance. Up to now, there is a lack of comparative analysis on the records, background, principles, basic content, and main requirements of quality standards on medicinal plants or CMMs respectively published by WHO and ISO. Therefore, based on international standards of CMM developed by ISO/TC 249 platform and WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants, this paper systematically compares the purposes, selected principles, standard-developing process, basic content, and main quality requirements to summarize their similarities and differences, and find their merits, aiming to serve as a reference to the development of international standards for CMMs that helps them go global.

Efficacy and safety of massage therapy for autism spectrum disorders: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder with increasing incidence. At present, the global incidence of the disease is on the rise, and the cause is unknown. There is no specific treatment for this disease at present, mainly education and training. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment has a certain effect on the improvement of the symptoms of the disease. The treatment methods are mainly oral Chinese medicine and acupuncture, but children are often not easy to cooperate. As a safe and effective green therapy, massage is easy to be accepted by children. METHODS: We will search the following electronic databases for randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy in treating autism spectrum disorders: Wanfang and PubMed Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Excerpta Medica database. Each database will be searched from inception to March 2021. The entire process will include study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and meta-analyses. RESULTS: This proposed study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with autism spectrum disorders. The outcomes will include changes in autism spectrum disorder relief and adverse effect. CONCLUSION: This proposed systematic review will evaluate the existing evidence on the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with autism spectrum disorders. DISSEMINATION AND ETHICS: The results of this review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication. Because all of the data used in this systematic review and meta-analysis have been published, this review does not require ethical approval. Furthermore, all data will be analyzed anonymously during the review process.

[Pharmacological effects of Huangqin Decoction prepared from roots of multi-originated peony on ulcerative colitis in mice:a comparative study].

Huangqin Decoction(HQD) is a classic prescription for treating dysentery in the Treatise on Cold Damage and now is mainly used for the treatment of ulcerative colitis(UC). Since there are no requirements on specific Paeonia species, both Paeoniae Radix Alba(white peony root, WPR) and Paeoniae Radix Rubra(red peony root, RPR) are clinically used in HQD now. Although the two types of peony roots are close in origin and similar in primary components, the medicinal properties and efficacies are different. Furthermore, the systematic comparative analysis on the efficacy differences in treating UC of HQD with the roots of multi-originated peony has been seldom reported. This study compared and evaluated the pharmacological effects of HQD prepared from the roots of multi-originated peony, including WPR, RPR-l(derived from P. lactiflora), and RPR-v(derived from P. veitchii) based on the mouse model of UC induced by dextran sodium sulfate(DSS) by animal behaviors, pathological section(colon), and cytokine expression(IL-1ß and IL-6), aiming to provide evidence for the identification of the original resource of peony root in HQD. The results indicated that all HQD samples prepared from WPR, RPR-l, and RPR-v could improve the symptoms of UC. Compared with the HQD-WPR, HQD-RPR-l and HQD-RPR-v were significantly different in weight loss, colon length, and disease activity index(DAI) score, but there was no significant difference between HQD-RPR-l and HQD-RPR-v. Moreover, HQD-RPR-v exhibited the most significant improvement in the pathological morphology of colonic tissue and mucosal defects. According to the previous comparative analysis of chemical profiling and content distribution of HQD prepared from the roots of multi-originated peony, RPR-v in HQD was potent in protecting against UC, which was presumedly attributed to a large number of monoterpene glycosides and galloyl glucoses. This study provided a scientific basis for the determination of peony root in HQD and its clinical medication.

Effects of massage therapy for patients with thoracic facet joint disorders: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Thoracic facet joint disorder is a common thoracic disorder in clinic, inducing pain and discomfort at the dislocated thoracic vertebrae, radiating to pain of the neck and back. The incidence of thoracic facet joint disorder is higher than the facet disorder of the cervical and lumbar vertebrae. Therefore, an ideal strategy to relieve thoracic facet joint disorder is urgently needed. In recent years, massage therapy has been increasingly accepted by thoracic facet joint disorder patients due to its lower costs, fewer unwanted side effects and safety for clinical use. In this systematic review, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with thoracic facet joint disorder. METHODS: We will search the following electronic databases for randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of massage therapy in treating thoracic facet joint disorder: Wanfang and PubMed Database, CNKI, CENTRAL, CINAHL and EMBASE. Each database will be searched from inception to October 2020. The entire process will include study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment and meta-analyses. RESULTS: This proposed study will evaluate the effectiveness of massage therapy for patients with thoracic facet joint disorder. CONCLUSIONS: This proposed systematic review will evaluate the existing evidence on the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with thoracic facet joint disorder. DISSEMINATION AND ETHICS: The results of this review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication. Because all of the data used in this systematic review and meta-analysis has been published, this review does not require ethical approval. Furthermore, all data will be analyzed anonymously during the review process. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/XMEJD.

Efficacy and safety of massage therapy for chronic atrophic gastritis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) is an established precursor of gastric carcinoma with high prevalence worldwide. It is a typical complex gastro-intestinal disease with multiple influence factors, of which exact mechanisms remain unelucidated. Therefore, an ideal strategy to relieve CAG is urgently needed. In recent years, massage therapy has been increasingly accepted by CAG patients due to its lower costs, fewer unwanted side effects and safety for clinical use. In this systematic review, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with chronic atrophic gastritis. METHODS: We will search the following electronic databases for randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy in treating chronic atrophic gastritis: Wanfang and Pubmed Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Cochrane Central register of controlled trials, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Excerpta Medica database. Each database will be searched from inception to September 2020. The entire process will include study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and meta-analyses. RESULT: This proposed study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with chronic atrophic gastritis. The outcomes will include changes in CAG relief and adverse effect. CONCLUSION: This proposed systematic review will evaluate the existing evidence on the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with chronic atrophic gastritis. DISSEMINATION AND ETHICS: The results of this review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication. Because all of the data used in this systematic review and meta-analysis has been published, this review does not require ethical approval. Furthermore, all data will be analyzed anonymously during the review process.

[Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus addition on soil microbial community and amino sugar in a temperate forest on Changbai Mountain, Northeast China].

We carried out an experiment including nitrogen addition (N, 50 kg N·hm-2·a-1), phosphorus addition (P, 25 kg P·hm-2·a-1) and both nitrogen and phosphorus addition (NP, 50 kg N·hm-2·a-1+25 kg P·hm-2·a-1) in a natural Korean pine broad-leaved mixed forest on Changbai Mountain to examine the effects of single and combined N and P additions on soil microbial community composition and amino sugar. The results showed that N and P addition significantly reduced total microbial biomass by 19.5% and 24.6% in the organic layer of soil, while P addition significantly reduced the biomass of bacteria and fungi by 23.8% and 19.3%, respectively. In the mineral layer, N, P and NP addition significantly increased total microbial biomass by 94.8%, 230.9%, and 115.0% respectively, while the biomass of bacteria and fungi were significantly increased under all the treatments. The fungi to bacteria ratio (F/B) was significantly increased in the organic layer by N addition, while was decreased in the mineral layer soil by NP addition. The Gram-positive bacteria to Gram-negative bacteria ratio showed positive response to N, P and NP addition. Soil amino sugars responded differently to different treatments. N, P and NP addition significantly decreased glucosamine content by 41.3%, 48.8% and 36.4% in the organic layer, while N and NP addition increased muramic acid content by 43.0% and 71.1%, respectively. The contents of glucosamine and muramic acid in the mineral layer did not change significantly in response to N addition but increased significantly in response to both P addition and NP addition. The glucosamine to muramic acid ratio in the organic layer significantly decreased under fertilization treatments, indicating that N and P addition increased the relative contribution of bacteria to soil organic carbon accumulation. The changes in soil amino sugar contents were closely related to the change in microbial community composition after N and P addition, both of which were affected by changes in soil chemical properties.

Anti-hypertrophic and anti-apoptotic effects of short peptides of potato protein hydrolysate against hyperglycemic condition in cardiomyoblast cells.

Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy is a critical pathological phenomenon observed in diabetic cardiomyopathy. Various molecular events including the Calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T-cell (NFAT) mediated signaling contributes to the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy. While different new therapeutic interventions are investigated in order to overcome pathological hypertrophic effects, recent studies on peptide hydrolysates from common foods have gained interest. In this study the cytoprotective efficiency of two short peptides DIKTNKPVIF (DF) and a dipeptide IF from a potato protein hydrolysate were evaluated for their anti-hypertrophic effects against high glucose (HG) challenge. Murine cardio myoblast (H9c2) cells were challenges with 33 mM of glucose and after 1 h were treated with DF or IF for 24 h. The results showed enlargement in cell size, elevated ANP and BNP expression induced by HG however the abnormalities were efficiently attenuated by IF and DF. Further, HG increased the levels of calcineurin and NFATC3 which was markedly suppressed by DF and IF in H9c2 cells. The results further showed that DF and IF suppresses the activation of p38 in a dose dependent manner with no notable effects on JNK activation. DF and IF also attenuated the HG induced apoptotic effects in H9c2 cells by suppressing the apoptotic proteins and by enhancing the survival and anti-apoptotic proteins. Further, it should be noted that administration of both the fragments showed similar effects in all the analysis. Our results therefore showed that DF and IF of potato protein hydrolysate possess efficient protective effects against HG-induced cardiomyocyte damages by ameliorating the apoptotic and hypertrophic effects.