Determination of the median lethal dose of zinc gluconate in mice and safety evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Zinc Gluconate (ZG) is a safe and effective supplement for zinc. However, there is limited research on the optimal dosage for intravenous injection and the safety evaluation of animal models for ZG. This study aims to determine the safe dose range of ZG for intravenous injection in C57BL/6J mice. METHODS: A Dose titration experiment was conducted to determine the LD50 and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) of ZG in mice. Based on the LD50, four sub-lethal doses (SLD) of ZG were evaluated. Following three injections of each SLD and monitoring for seven days, serum zinc levels were measured, and pathological changes in the liver, kidney, and spleen tissues of mice were determined by histological staining. RESULTS: The dose titration experiment determined the LD50 of ZG in mice to be 39.6 mg/kg, with a 95%CI of 31.8-49.3 mg/kg. There was a statistically significant difference in the overall serum zinc levels (H = 36.912, P < 0.001) following SLD administration. Pairwise comparisons showed that the serum zinc levels of the 1/2 LD50 and 3/4 LD50 groups were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.001); the serum zinc level of the 3/4 LD50 group was significantly higher than those of the 1/8 LD50 and 1/4 LD50 groups (P < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between the different SLDs of ZG and the serum zinc levels in mice (rs = 0.973, P < 0.001). H&E staining showed no significant histological abnormalities or lesions in the liver, kidney, and spleen tissues of mice in all experimental groups. CONCLUSION: The appropriate dose range of ZG for intravenous injection in C57BL/6J mice was clarified, providing a reference for future experimental research.

Methodology and application of process analytical technology (PAT) for traditional Chinese medicine manufacturing:a review / 中国中药杂志

Owing to the advancement in pharmaceutical technology, traditional Chinese medicine industry has seen rapid development. Preferring conventional manufacturing mode, pharmaceutical enterprises of traditional Chinese medicine have no effective process detection tools and process control methods. As a result, the quality of the final products mainly depends on testing and the quality is inconsistent in the same batch. Process analytical technology(PAT) for traditional Chinese medicine manufacturing, as one of the key advanced manufacturing techniques, can break through the bottleneck in quality control of medicine manufacturing, thus improving the production efficiency and product quality and reducing the material and energy consumption. It is applicable to the process control and real-time release of advanced manufacturing modes such as intelligent manufacturing and continuous manufacturing. This paper summarized the general idea of PAT for traditional Chinese medicine manufacturing. Through the analysis of the characteristics and status quo of the technology, we summed up the methodology for the continuous application and improvement of PAT during the whole life-cycle of traditional Chinese medicine. The five key procedures(process understanding, process detection, process modeling, process control, and continuous improvement) were summarized, and the application was reviewed. Finally, we proposed suggestions for the technical and regulatory challenges in implementing PAT in traditional Chinese medicine industry. This paper aims to provide a reference for development and application of PAT in advanced manufacturing, intelligent manufacturing, and continuous manufacturing of traditional Chinese medicine industry.

Effects of dietary leucine and valine levels on growth performance, glycolipid metabolism and immune response in Tilapia GIFT Oreochromis niloticus.

An 8-week feeding trial was performed to evaluate the effects of dietary leucine (Leu) and valine (Val) levels on growth performance, glycolipid metabolism and immune response in Oreochromis niloticus. Fish (15.23 ± 0.05 g) were randomly fed four diets containing two Leu levels (1.2% and 2.3%) and two Val levels (0.7% and 1.4%) as a 2 × 2 experimental design (LL-LV, LL-HV, HL-LV and HL-HV). Compared with LL-LV group, the growth parameters (final weight, daily growth coefficient (DGC) and growth rate per metabolic body weight (GRMBW)), feed conversion rate (FCR), the activities of intestinal amylase, lipase, creatine kinase (CK) and Na+, K+-ATPase, liver NAD+/NADH ratio, as well as the expression of SIRT1, GK, PK, FBPase, PPARα, CPT IA, ACO and IL10 all increased significantly in the HL-LV group; however, in the high Val group, final weight, DGC, GRMBW, intestinal enzyme activities, as well as the expression of PEPCK, SREBP1, FAS, IL8 and IL10 of the HL-HV group were significantly lower than those of the LL-HV group, while the opposite was true for the remaining indicators. Significant interactions between dietary Leu and Val were observed in final weight, DGC, GRMBW, plasma IL1ß and IL6 levels, intestinal amylase and CK activities, liver NAD+/NADH ratio, as well as the expression of SIRT1, PK, PEPCK, FBPase, SREBP1, FAS, PPARα, CPT IA, ACO, NF-κB1, IL1ß, IL6 and IL10. The highest values of growth parameters, intestinal enzyme activities and expression of SIRT1, FBPase, PPARα, CPT IA and ACO were observed in the HL-LV group, while the opposite was true for the expression of SREBP1, FAS, PPARα, NF-κB1, IL1ß and IL6. Overall, our findings indicated that dietary Leu and Val can effect interactively, and fish fed with diets containing 2.3% Leu with 0.7% Val had the best growth performance and hepatic health status of O. niloticus.

Research on batch-to-batch quality control of compound Danshen extract based on physical characterization and multivariate statistical analysis / 中国中药杂志

Physical attributes of Chinese herbal extracts are determined by their chemical components, and the physical and chemical attributes jointly affect the preparation process performance and the final product quality. Therefore, in order to improve the quality control of Chinese herbal extracts, we should comprehensively study the batch-to-batch consistency of physical and chemical attributes as well as the correlations between them. This paper first explored the physical attributes affecting the preparation process performance of the compound Danshen extract and developed a method for characterizing the texture attributes. With such main chemical components as water, phenolic acids, saponins, and saccharides and texture, rheology, and other physical attributes taken into consideration, the batch-to-batch quality fluctuation of products from different production lines and time was analyzed by principal components analysis(PCA). Finally, the correlation and partial least squares(PLS) analysis was conducted, and the regression equation was established. The fitting result of the PLS model for dynamic viscosity was satisfying(R~2Y=0.857, Q~2=0.793), suggesting that the chemical components could be adjusted by the component transfer rate in the extraction process, the impurity removal rate in the alcohol precipitation process, and the water retention rate of the concentration process to meet the control of the extract dynamic viscosity. This study clarified the correlations between physical and chemical attributes of the compound Danshen extract and established a method for controlling its physical attributes based on process regulation, which would provide reference for improving the quality control of Chinese herbal extracts.

Detection of NEO in muskmelon fruits inoculated with Fusarium sulphureum and its control by postharvest ozone treatment.

Fusarium rot of muskmelon, caused by Fusarium spp., is one of the most important postharvest decays, that not only causes economic losses but leads to trichothecenes contamination. A rapid and sensitive method was developed for neosolaniol (NEO) analysis in muskmelon inoculated with F. sulphureum, utilizing acetonitrile/water (84:16, v/v) extraction and PriboFast M270 columns purification and UPLC-MS/MS detection. Method validation was evaluated by linearity (R ≥ 0.9990), recovery (88.1-136.9%), precision (RSD ≤ 3.97%) and sensitivity (LOD, 0.5 µg/kg; LOQ, 1.5 µg/kg). The effect of ozone treatment on Fusarium rot development and NEO accumulation in inoculated muskmelon was also evaluated. The results showed that UPLC-MS/MS method was suitable for analyzing NEO in inoculated muskmelon, and 1.10 mg/l ozone treatment for 120 min significantly controlled Fusarium rot development and NEO accumulation in fruits after 5, 8 and 11 days. In vivo tests showed that ozone at 1.10 mg/l effectively degraded NEO in acetonitrile.

Selection for a Zinc-Finger Protein Contributes to Seed Oil Increase during Soybean Domestication.

Seed oil is a momentous agronomical trait of soybean (Glycine max) targeted by domestication in breeding. Although multiple oil-related genes have been uncovered, knowledge of the regulatory mechanism of seed oil biosynthesis is currently limited. We demonstrate that the seed-preferred gene GmZF351, encoding a tandem CCCH zinc finger protein, is selected during domestication. Further analysis shows that GmZF351 facilitates oil accumulation by directly activating WRINKLED1, BIOTIN CARBOXYL CARRIER PROTEIN2, 3-KETOACYL-ACYL CARRIER PROTEIN SYNTHASE III, DIACYLGLYCEROL O-ACYLTRANSFERASE1, and OLEOSIN2 in transgenic Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seeds. Overexpression of GmZF351 in transgenic soybean also activates lipid biosynthesis genes, thereby accelerating seed oil accumulation. The ZF351 haplotype from the cultivated soybean group and the wild soybean (Glycine soja) subgroup III correlates well with high gene expression level, seed oil contents and promoter activity, suggesting that selection of GmZF351 expression leads to increased seed oil content in cultivated soybean. Our study provides novel insights into the regulatory mechanism for seed oil accumulation, and the manipulation of GmZF351 may have great potential in the improvement of oil production in soybean and other related crops.

Outcome of watch and wait strategy or organ preservation for rectal cancer following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy: report of 35 cases from a single cancer center / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the safety and efficacy of organ preservation surgery or "watch and wait" strategy for rectal cancer patients who are evaluated as clinical complete response(cCR) or near-cCR following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT).</p><p><b>METHOD</b>From March 2011 to June 2016, 35 patients with mid-low rectal cancers who were diagnosed as cCR or near-cCR following nCRT underwent organ preservation surgery with local excision or surveillance following "watch and wait" strategy in the Peking University Cancer Hospital. All the patients received re-evaluation and re-staging 6-12 weeks after the completion of nCRT, according to Habr-Gama and MSKCC criteria for the diagnosis of cCR or near-cCR. The near-cCR patients who received local excision and were pathologically diagnosed as T0Nx were also regarded as cCR. The end-points of this study included organ-preservation rate (OPR), sphincter-preservation rate (SPR), non-re-growth disease-free survival (NR-DFS), stoma-free survival, cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival(OS). Kaplan-Meier curve was used to estimate the survival data at 3 years.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 35 cases were analyzed including 24 males (68.6%) and 11 females (31.4%). The median age was 60 (range 37-79) years and the median distance from tumor to anal edge was 4(2-8) cm. Thirty-three patients received 50.6 Gy/22f IMRT with capecitabine and two patients received 50 Gy/25f RT with capecitabine. The cCR and near-cCR rates were 74.3%(26/35) and 25.7%(9/35) respectively. Excision biopsy was performed in 4 near-cCR cases to confirm the diagnosis of cCR. The non-re-growth DFS rate was 14.3%(5/35) and the median time of tumor re-growth was 6.7 (4.7-37.4) months. In five patients with tumor re-growth, four were salvaged by radical rectal resections and one received local excision. The distant metastasis rate was 5.7%(2/35), one patient presented resectable liver metastasis and received radical resection, another patient presented multiple bone metastases and was still alive. The median follow-up time was 43.7(6.1-71.4) months. At three years, the organ-preservation rate was 88.6%(31/35), the sphincter-preservation rate was 97.1% (34/35). No local recurrence was observed in five patients who received salvage surgery. The non-re-growth DFS was 94.0%. Three patients died of non-rectal cancer related events. The cancer-specific survival was 100%, the overall survival was 92.7% and the stoma-free survival rate was 90.0%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Organ preservation surgery or "watch and wait" strategy for cCR or near-cCR patients is feasible and achieves good outcomes. This strategy can be an alternative to standard care, improve patient's quality of life and facilitate tailored treatment for mid-low rectal cancer following nCRT, however, it should be cautiously applied in near-cCR patients before local excision biopsy.</p>

Study of therapeutic effects of Alprostadil Injection and Composite Salvia Injection on diabetic foot / 药物评价研究

Objective To study the therapeutic effects of Alprostadil Injection and Composite Salvia Injection on diabetic foot.Methods Selected 210 cases of patients with diabetic foot who were treated in our hospital from January 2012 to December 2016,divided into three groups randomly.The group A was treated with Alprostadil Injection,group B was treated with Composite Salvia Injection,the group C was treated with Alprostadil Injection and Composite Salvia Injection.The clinical therapeutic effects of the three groups were compared,and the levels of blood lipid,urea nitrogen,creatinine,beta-globulin and urinary microalbumin before and after treatment were compared.Results After treatment,the effective rate of the group C was 92.86％ (65/70),significantly higher than that of the group A and B (P ＜ 0.05).After treatment,the levels of TG,TC and LDL-C in the three groups were significantly lower than before treatment (P ＜ 0.05),HDL-C levels were significantly higher than before treatment (P ＜ 0.05),and the group C was more significant (P ＜ 0.05).After treatment,the levels of urea nitrogen,creatinine,beta 2 and urinary microalbumin were significantly decreased in the three groups than before (P ＜ 0.05),and the group C was more significant (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The effect of Alprostadil Injection and Composite Salvia Injection on diabetic foot is better,which is safe and effective.

Clinical efficacy and safety of recombinant adenovirus-p53 combined with concurrent radiotherapy and hyperthermia in treatment of advanced soft tissue sarcoma:a study of 76 patients / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of recombinant adenovirus-p53(rAdp53) injection combined with radiotherapy and hyperthermia in the treatment of unresectable advanced soft tissue sarcoma.Methods In this retrospective study, we evaluated 76 patients with unresectable advanced primary or recurrent soft tissue sarcoma treated in our hospital from November 2005 to November 2012.These patients received radiotherapy and hyperthermia with rAdp53(p53 group, n=41) or without rAdp53(control group, n=35).rAdp53((1-2)×1012viral particles each time, once a week, 8 times on average) was injected into the tumor or infused into the pelvic cavity.Radiotherapy (2 Gy each time, 5 times a week) was performed for the planning target volume at 56.3±5.3 Gy in the p53 group and 58.1±4.2 Gy in the control group, with no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05).Superficial or deep thermotherapy was employed 8 times on average (twice a week).Clinical features, response rate, time to progression (TTP), overall survival (OS), and adverse events were compared between the two groups (P>0.05).The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate OS;the log-rank test was used for survival difference analysis and univariate prognostic analysis;the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data.Results At 2 months after treatment, the p53 group had significantly increased response rate (partial response+ complete response+ stable disease)(85% vs.54%, P=0.003) and local control rate (49% vs.23%, P=0.020) as well as prolonged TTP (12 months vs.5 months, P=0.010) and OS (48 months vs.31 months, P=0.049), as compared with the control group.No adverse events caused by radiotherapy and hyperthermia except transient fever were seen in the two groups.Conclusions Concurrent radiotherapy and hyperthermia combined with rAdp53 injection is effective and safe for patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma.

Activation of phenylpropanoid pathway and PR of potato tuber against Fusarium sulphureum by fungal elicitor from Trichothecium roseum.

The induced resistance of potato tuber (Solanum tuberosum cv. Xindaping) tissue against Fusarium sulphureum by a fungal elicitor from the incompatible pathogen Trichothecium roseum and its possible mechanism were studied. The results showed that the lesion development of the wound-inoculated potato tuber was significantly reduced by treatment with the fungal elicitor from T. roseum (P < 0.05). Inoculation with F. sulphureum on the 16th day after treatment with the fungal elicitor80 at 15.0 µg/ml had the best resistant effect in the potato tuber, with the diameter being only reduced by 47 % that of the control. In addition, the results also showed that the potato tuber treated with the fungal elicitor80 could systemically induce lignin deposition, total phenolic content, flavonoid content and defense enzymes, including three keys phenylpropanoid pathway (PAL, 4CL and C4H) and pathogenesis-related (GLU and CHT) enzymes. The fungal elicitor80 also enhanced the up-regulation of the transcription and expression of PAL, C4H, 4CL, GLU and CHT genes. The treatment with the fungal elicitor80 + F. sulphureum caused the marked and/or prompt enhancement of all indexes when compared to treatment with the fungal elicitor80 or inoculation with the pathogen alone. The results suggested that the fungal elicitor of T. roseum could significantly enhance defense responses in potato tuber against dry rot mainly due to the up-regulation of the transcription and expression of resistance-related genes as well as increasing the activity of resistance-related enzymes and antifungal compounds.

Human INO80/YY1 chromatin remodeling complex transcriptionally regulates the BRCA2- and CDKN1A-interacting protein (BCCIP) in cells

The BCCIP (BRCA2- and CDKN1A-interacting protein) is an important cofactor for BRCA2 in tumor suppression. Although the low expression of BCCIP is observed in multiple clinically diagnosed primary tumor tissues such as ovarian cancer, renal cell carcinoma and colorectal carcinoma, the mechanism of how BCCIP is regulated in cells is still unclear. The human INO80/YY1 chromatin remodeling complex composed of 15 subunits catalyzes ATP-dependent sliding of nucleosomes along DNA. Here, we first report that BCCIP is a novel target gene of the INO80/YY1 complex by presenting a series of experimental evidence. Gene expression studies combined with siRNA knockdown data locked candidate genes including BCCIP of the INO80/YY1 complex. Silencing or over-expressing the subunits of the INO80/YY1 complex regulates the expression level of BCCIP both in mRNA and proteins in cells. Also, the functions of INO80/YY1 complex in regulating the transactivation of BCCIP were confirmed by luciferase reporter assays. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments clarify the enrichment of INO80 and YY1 at +0.17 kb downstream of the BCCIP transcriptional start site. However, this enrichment is significantly inhibited by either knocking down INO80 or YY1, suggesting the existence of both INO80 and YY1 is required for recruiting the INO80/YY1 complex to BCCIP promoter region. Our findings strongly indicate that BCCIP is a potential target gene of the INO80/YY1 complex.

Electroacupuncture Reduces Aß Production and BACE1 Expression in SAMP8 Mice.

Electroacupuncture (EA) has been reported to have beneficial effects on Alzheimer's disease (AD). BACE1 (ß-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1) is involved in the abnormal production of amyloid-ß plaque (Aß), a hallmark of AD pathophysiology. Thus, the present study investigated the effects of EA on memory impairment, Aß production, and BACE1 expression in senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice. We found that EA improved spatial learning and memory impairment of SAMP8 mice. Furthermore, EA attenuated Aß production and repressed the expression of BACE1 in the hippocampus of SAMP8 mice. Taken together, our results suggest that EA could have a potential therapeutic application in AD and that BACE1 may be an important target of EA in the treatment of AD.

Improvement in the neural stem cell proliferation in rats treated with modified "Shengyu" decoction may contribute to the neurorestoration.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: "Shengyu" decoction, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been used to treat diseases with deficit in "qi" and "blood". The modified "Shengyu" decoction (MSD) used in the present study was designed to treat traumatic brain injury (TBI) on the basis of the "Shengyu" decoction, in which additional four herbs were added. Many ingredients in these herbs have been demonstrated to be effective for the treatment of brain injury. The present study was performed to evaluate the neurorestorative effect and the underlying mechanisms of MSD on the rat brain after a TBI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TBI was induced in the right cerebral cortex of adult rats using Feeney's weight-drop method. Intragastrical administration of MSD (1.0 ml/200 g) was begun 6h after TBI. The neurological functions and neuronal loss in the cortex and hippocampus were determined. The levels of nerve growth-related factors GDNF, NGF, NCAM, TN-C, and Nogo-A and the number of GFAP(+)/GDNF(+), BrdU(+)/nestin(+), BrdU(+)/NeuN(+) immunoreactive cells in the brain ipsilateral to TBI were also measured. Moreover, the influences of MSD on these variables were observed at the same time. RESULTS: We found that treatment with MSD in TBI rats ameliorated the neurological functions and alleviated neuronal loss. MSD treatment elevated the expression of GDNF, NGF, NCAM, and TN-C, and inhibited the expression of Nogo-A. Moreover, MSD treatment increased the number of GFAP(+)/GDNF(+), BrdU(+)/nestin(+), and BrdU(+)/NeuN(+) immunoreactive cells in the cortex and hippocampus. CONCLUSION: The present results suggest that MSD treatment in TBI rats could improve the proliferation of neural stem/progenitor cells and differentiation into neurons, which may facilitate neural regeneration and tissue repair and thus contribute to the recovery of neurological functions. These effects of modified "Shengyu" decoction may provide a foundation for the use of MSD as a prescription of medicinal herbs in the traditional medicine to treat brain injuries in order to improve the neurorestoration.

Clinical application of fast-track surgery with Chinese medicine treatment in the devascularization operation for cirrhotic portal hypertension / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the clinical effect of fast-track surgery combined with Chinese medicine treatment in devascularization operation for cirrhotic esophageal varices.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventy-two patients with cirrhotic esophageal varices were selected from January 2009 to June 2013, and randomly assigned to a conventional group and a fast-track group (fast-track surgery combined with Chinese medicine treatment) using a randomized digital table, 36 cases in each group. Operation and anesthesia recovery time, postoperative hospitalization and quality of life were recorded and compared between groups during the perioperative period.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the conventional group, the fast-track group had longer operation time (253.6±46.4 min vs. 220.6±51.0 min) and anesthesia recovery time (50.5±15.9 min vs. 23.5±9.6 min; P<0.01); less bleeding (311.3±46.8 mL vs. 356.2±57.5 mL; P<0.01) and less transfusion (1932.3±106.9 mL vs. 2045.6±115.4 mL; P<0.01); as well as faster recovery of gastrointestinal function, shorter postoperative hospitalization and higher quality of life. There were no serious postoperative complications and no further bleeding occurred.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Fast-track surgery combined with Chinese medicine treatment is a safe and feasible approach to accelerate the recovery of patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension in perioperative period of devascularization operation.</p>

The neuroprotective effect of modified "Shengyu" decoction is mediated through an anti-inflammatory mechanism in the rat after traumatic brain injury.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: "Shengyu" decoction, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been used to treat diseases with deficit in "qi" and "blood" induced frequently by profound loss of blood or by long sores with heavy pus, in which a potential anti-inflammatory effect is implied. The modified "Shengyu" decoction (MSD) used in the present study was designed on the basis of the "Shengyu" decoction, additional four herbs were added in. Many ingredients in these herbs have been demonstrated to be anti-inflammatory and thus MSD may be used for the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI). To evaluate the neuroprotective effect and the underlying mechanisms of MSD on the rat brain after TBI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TBI was induced in the right cerebral cortex of male adult rats using Feeney's weight-drop method. The rats were administered a gavage of MSD (0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 ml/200 g) 6h after TBI. The neurological functions, brain water content, contusion volume, and neuron loss were determined. The levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, and IL-10 and the number of GFAP- and Iba1-positive cells in the brain ipsilateral to TBI were also measured. Moreover, the influence of MSD on these variables was observed at the same time. RESULTS: The neurological deficits, brain water content, and neuron loss were significantly reduced after 1.0 or 2.0 ml/200 g of MSD treatment but not after 0.5 ml/200 g. In addition, treatment with MSD (1.0 ml/200 g) significantly increased the level of IL-10 and reduced the level of TNF-α and IL-1ß and the number of GFAP- and Iba1-positive cells after TBI. However, the contusion volume of brain tissue and the expression of IL-6 were not significantly changed. CONCLUSION: MSD may be a potential therapeutic for the treatment of TBI because MSD alleviated secondary brain injury induced by TBI. In addition, MSD inhibited the inflammatory response through reducing the expression of inflammatory cytokines and the activation of microglial cells and astrocytes in the brain tissue of rats after TBI. Therefore, a potential anti-inflammatory mechanism of the "Shengyu" decoction was confirmed, which may be one of the main reasons of "Shengyu" decoction used to treat diseases with obvious inflammatory responses.

Tissue culture of Sophora tonkinensis Gapnep. and its quality evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Sophora tonkinensis Gapnep. is an important rare medicinal plant in China. There were only a few papers on the rapid propagation of S. tonkinensis through in vitro tissue culture, and still no report focuses on the quality analysis of in vitro tissue culture plantlets. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The different concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), kinetin (KT), and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) were used to establish and screen the optimal rapid propagation technology of S. tonkinensis by orthogonal test; the different concentrations of a-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and ABT rooting power (ABT) were used to screen the optimal rooting technology. For quality evaluation of tissue culture plants, three different sites were chose to finish planting experiment. The leaf characteristics, radix ex rhizoma yield, and contents of matrine and oxymatrine were evaluated, respectively, to provide evidence of high yield and good qualities of tissue culture plants. RESULTS: A large number of buds could be induced directly from epicotyl and hypocotyl explants on the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1.5 mg/l BAP, 0.5 mg/l IAA, and 0.5 mg/l KT; the best root induction medium was solid MS medium at half the macronutrient concentration supplemented with 1.0 mg/l NAA, 0.4 mg/l IBA, and 0.1 mg/l ABT. The rooting rate was 98%. All tissue culture plants showed normal leaf characteristics. Tissue culture plants from two sites possessed higher radix ex rhizoma yield and overall productivity of matrine and oxymatrine than those of seed plants. CONCLUSION: Tissue culture is a rapid, effective, and convenient propagation method for S. tonkinensis, and the quality of S. tonkinensis tissue culture plants meets the requirement of quality standard of China Pharmacopoeia (edition 2010), the crude drug from S. tonkinensis tissue culture plants will be suitable for substituting the crude drug from seed plants.

Development of quality traceability system of traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

The development of Chinese medicine is directly related to the quality and safety issues, It has drawn great attention of people. Chinese traditional medicine quality issue involves two aspects of traditional Chinese medicine itself and human. In order to prevent man-made or illegal factors led to the decrease of the quality of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) or security risk, it needs to establish a feasible system to guarantee, in which the construction and development of traditional Chinese medicine quality traceability system is an important direction of the development of the traditional Chinese medicine in the future. This paper first reviews the development of quality traceability system status and critical retrospective techniques, then introduced current development status of quality traceability system of traditional Chinese medicine( QTS-TCM), pointing out the characteristics of QTS-TCM, and finally given the current research findings of QTS-TCM.

One Network Resource Sharing Architecture of Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

Currently, the basic network resource of the entire traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry is fragmented. Issues of data unify are not easily resolved. It seems that there is no new breakthrough in key technologies, especially on the problem of data sharing and resources' integration. In this context, a method of medical information data sharing is advocated to solve the problem. We use the RESTful style to define resources of the pharmaceutical industry, which is based on the UDDI Web services standards. The objective of this paper is to create a method of TCM resource URL defined and exchanged. Finally, this paper provided an easy way for TCM data network sharing.

[Effects of electroacupuncture on the function of respiration chain in hippocampal mitochondria of SAMP8 mice ].

OBJECTIVE: from the perspective of mitochondria. METHODS: Tweleve SAMP8 mice aged 8 months were randomly divided into a model group (n = 6) and an electroacupuncture group (n = 6), and six SAMR1 mice aged 8 months were selected as a control group. The electroacupuncture group was treated with electroacupuncture at "Baihui" (GV 20), "Dazhui" (GV 14), "Shenshu" (BL 23) and "Taixi" (KI 3) for 20 min, once each day, 10 days for a course, and lasted for 3 courses. The other two groups were grasped and fixed in the same way at the same time without the other treatment. After the end of treatment, the learning and memory abilities of the mice were measured by Morris water maze, the activity of hippocampal mitochondrid respiratory chain enzyme complex was performed by spectrophotometry, and the levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were detected by a reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the average escape latency significantly lengthened, the residence time on the plateau phase shortened, the activity of respiratory chain enzyme complexe I, II, III, and IV was decreased, and ATP concentration was decreased in the model group. Compared with the model group, the average escape latency significantly shortened, the residence time on the plateau phase lengthened, the activity of hippocampal mitochondrid respiratory chain complexes I, II, III, and IV was significantly increased, and ATP concentration was increased in the electroacupuncture group. CONCLUSION: Electroacupuncture can increase the activity of hippocampal mitochondrid respiratory chain enzyme complexe and ATP concentration and improve mitochondrial function, which may be one of underlying mechanisms of electroacupuncture in treatment of AD.

[Therapeutic efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen on traumatic brain injury in the rat and the underlying mechanisms].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment on the activation of astrocytes and the expression of glia-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) in the brain after traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: 54 male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups (n = 18): sham-operated, TBI and HBO treatment groups. TBI was induced with Feeney's method, bone window was opened without strike on the brain tissue in the sham-operated group. HBO group rats received HBO treatment for 60 min in the hyperbaric chamber containing O2 100% at 3 ATA. When neurological functions were measured 48 h after TBI, rats were decapitated, the brain water content of 18 rats was measured, 18 brains were sliced for the morphological observation after Nissl staining and for the immunohistochemistry staining of astrocyte markers glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), vimentin and S100, and the other 18 brains of injured side were used for Western blot analysis of GDNF and NGF. RESULTS: HBO treatment reduced the neurological deficit, brain water content and hippocampal neuronal loss. In the observed cortex and hippocampal area astrocytes were activated, the cell number of positive expression of astrocyte markers GFAP, vimentin and S100 was increased, and the expression of GDNF and NGF was elevated after TBI. However, these indices were all enhanced further after the HBO treatment. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that HBO may be an effective therapy for TBI and upregulation of the expression of GDNF and NGF may underly the effect of HBO.