[Characteristics of Phosphorus Adsorption in Aqueous Solution by Si-modified Peanut Shell Biochar].

In this work, a novel sodium silicate-modified peanut shell biochar(Si-PSB) was synthesized and used as phosphorus adsorbents. Compared with unmodified biochar(PSB), the adsorption capacity of Si-PSBs increased significantly. The adsorption capacity of 8% sodium silicate solution modified biochar(8%Si-PSB) was 3.9 times higher than that of PSB. The biochar was characterized using scanning electron microscopy(SEM), Fourier transformed infrared(FTIR), and X-ray diffraction(XRD), which confirmed that silica was present on the surface of 8%Si-PSB. The introduction of silica improved the reaction activity of biochar's own metal ions by affecting the morphology of calcium carbonate. The 8%Si-PSB had a good adsorption effect on phosphorus in both acid and alkali environments. Phosphorus adsorption by 8%Si-PSB and PSB was described well by the pseudo-second-order model, and the adsorption capacity after equilibrium fluctuated between 2.79 mg·g-1 and 0.71 mg·g-1, respectively. Further, the isothermal adsorption experimental data fitted well to the Langmuir model. The presence of humic acid in the solution inhibited the adsorption of phosphorus by the 8%Si-PSB and PSB. The 8%Si-PSB, as a new low-cost phosphorus removal material, can improve the utilization of metal ions in peanut shell itself.

Quality tracing evaluation strategies of compatible materials in Aconitum proprietary Chinese medicines.

The proprietary Chinese medicine (PCM) has become a significant supplement of modern medicine. Nevertheless, the absence of quality control standard of compatible materials in PCM has led to serious adulteration, which has an extremely bad effect on safety of drug use and clinical efficacy. Here, a quality tracing evaluation strategy of compatible materials in 32 Aconitum proprietary Chinese medicines (APCMs) was established, including data normalization, model development, model verification, and unknown prescription cracking. The model was delimited based on the weighted content of total 9 key alkaloids in 24 APCMs, which were 5.65-57.10 µg/g for extract medicines and 42.62-380.61 µg/g for powder medicines. Three newly published commercial APCMs, including Wangbi Tablet, Wangbi Granule, and Fengshigutong Capsule, were used to verify its reliability and the results proved to be positive. Moreover, a novel prescription cracking approach was proposed to decode the content of each material in five unknown prescriptions including Yaoxitong Capsule, Tongrendahuoluo Pill, Xinbao Pill, Dahuoluo Capsule, and Mugua Pill. Ultimately, the single or two compatible Aconitum materials in APCMs was successfully decoded and the processed level of the materials were effectively judged. This study for the first time established a practical strategy for supervision and cracking of compatible materials in PCMs and is of great significance to improve the quality control of PCMs.

[Effects of mulching management on biomass of Phyllostachys praecox and soil fertility]. / 林地覆盖经营对雷竹生物量及土壤肥力的影响.

We analyzed the dynamics of stand growth and soil nutrient availability during the degradation processes of Phyllostachys praecox plantation, taking the advantage of bamboo forest stands with different mulching ages (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 a). The results showed the aboveground and belowground biomass of bamboo forest reached the maximum value when they were covered by three years, which was significantly increased by 14.6% and 146.6% compared with the control. The soil nutrient content was affected by the mulching age and soil layer. Soil nutrients gradually accumulated in upper layer. Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen content were increased with the increases of coverage years. The soil total phosphorus content at different soil layers showed a trend of decreasing first and then increasing. It was the lowest level in the surface layer (0-20 cm) and the bottom (40-60 cm) in 6 years, and the subsurface (20-40 cm) soil reached the lowest level in three years. The total potassium content kept increasing in 0-20 cm soil layer, but decreased during the first three years of mulching and then increased in 20-60 cm soil layer. The comprehensive index of soil fertility quality was greatly improved after nine years mulching, with fertility of subsurface soil being better than that of surface and bottom soils. There was no relationship between the soil fertility index and biomass of different organs in bamboo in the different mulching ages. In the subsurface, however, nitrogen content was negatively related to leaf biomass and potassium was negatively correlated with the biomass of leaves and whip roots. Our results indicated that excessive accumulation of soil nutrients seriously inhibited the propagation and biomass accumulation of P. praecox after long-term mulching management and a large amount of fertilizer, which further aggravated the degradation of bamboo plantation.

Apigenin's anticancer properties and molecular mechanisms of action: Recent advances and future prospectives.

Cancer is a major health concern and leading burden on economy worldwide. An increasing effort is devoted to isolation and development of plant-derived dietary components as effective chemo-preventive products. Phytochemical compounds from natural resources such as fruits and vegetables are responsible for decreasing the risk of certain cancers among the consuming populations. Apigenin, a flavonoid phytochemical found in many kinds of fruits and vegetables, has been shown to exert significant biological effects, such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and most particularly anti-neoplastic properties. This review is intended to summarize the most recent advances in the anti-proliferative and chemo-preventive effects of apigenin in different cancer models. Analysis of the data from the studied cancer models has revealed that apigenin exerts its anti-proliferative effects through multiple and complex pathways. This guided us to discover some controversial results about the exact role of certain molecular pathways such as autophagy in the anticancer effects of apigenin. Further, there were cumulative positive evidences supporting the involvement of certain pathways such as apoptosis, ROS and DNA damage and repair. Apigenin possesses a high potential to be used as a chemosensitizing agent through the up-regulation of DR5 pathway. According to these preclinical findings we recommend that further robust unbiased studies should consider the possible interactions between different molecular pathways.

Olivibacter flavus sp. nov., a novel endophytic bacterium isolated from the root of Camellia sinensis.

A novel Gram-negative rod, endophytic bacterium, designated strain TMCC 8258T, was isolated from the root of Camellia sinensis collected from Puer, south-west China. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the strain belongs to the family Sphingobacteriaceae and a neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree suggested that strain TMCC 8258T formed a cluster with the type strain of Olivibacter ginsengisoli (showed the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 95.8%). Chemotaxonomic data [major fatty acid iso-C15:0, summed feature 3 (C16:1 ω7c and/or C16:1 ω6c), iso-C17:0 3-OH and major respiratory quinone MK-7] confirmed the affiliation of strain TMCC 8258T to the genus Olivibacter. The G + C content was 39.1 mol %. The results of the phylogenetic analysis, together with the physiological, morphological and biochemical tests, suggested that strain TMCC 8258T should be classified as representing a novel species of the genus Olivibacter, for which the name Olivibacter flavus is proposed. The type strain is TMCC 8258T (=CGMCC 1.16141 = KCTC 42683).

Two New Anthraquinones from the Roots of Prismatomeris connata.

Two new anthraquinones, 4-hydroxy-1,2,3-trimethoxy-7-hydroxymethylanthracene-9,10-dione (1) and 1,2,3-trimethoxy-7-hydroxymethylanthracene-9,10- dione (2), were isolated from the roots of Prismatomeris connata, a Chinese medicinal herb. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. Compound 1 exhibited cytotoxicity against a panel of H1229, HTB 179, A549 and H520 lung tumor cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 12.3 to 20 µM.

Seven New Tetrahydroanthraquinones from the Root of Prismatomeris connata and Their Cytotoxicity against Lung Tumor Cell Growth.

The root of Prismatomeris connata has been used in China for centuries as the medicinal herb "Huang Gen" (HG), but its phytochemicals or active ingredients are not well understood. In this study, we performed chemical analysis of the ethyl acetate fraction of a HG ethanol extract. We thus isolated seven new tetrahydroanthraquinones, prisconnatanones C-I (compounds 1-7) from the root of P. connata and identified their structures using spectroscopic analyses. Their absolute configurations were established by both modified Mosher's and Mo2OAc4 methods, and ORD techniques. Their cytotoxicity was tested in a panel of human lung tumor cells (H1229, HTB179, A549 and H520 cell lines). Prisconnatanone I (7) showed the highest activity, with an IC50 value ranging from 2.7 µM to 3.9 µM in the suppression of tumor cell growth, and the others with chelated phenolic hydroxyls exhibited relatively lower activity (IC50: 8-20 µM). In conclusion, these data suggest that some of the natural tetrahydroanthraquinones in HG are bioactive, and hydroxylation at C-1 significantly increases the cytotoxicity of these compounds against lung tumor cell growth.

[Endophytic bacterial diversity in Codonopsis pilosula, Ephedra sinica, and Lamiophlomis rotate: a study with LH-PCR].

To investigate the endophytic bacterial diversity in the three medicinal plant species Codonopsis pilosula, Ephedra sinica, and Lamiophlomis rotata in Ganzi of Sichuan, Southwest China, the total DNA of the three species were extracted by stringent surface sterilization, and studied with length heterogeneity-PCR (LH-PCR) method. For the same plant species, their root-, stem-, and leaf LH-PCR profiles were in a high level of similarity, with little differences in band richness. However, there existed great differences in the LH-PCR profiles among different plant species. C. pilosula had the biggest band richness, followed by E. sinica, and L. rotata. In the three plant species, the endophytic bacteria with an approximately 474 bp DNA length were dominant. The endophytic bacterial diversity of the plants was negatively correlated with rhizosphere soil available phosphorus content, but positively correlated with rhizosphere soil pH. Elevation and rhizosphere soil total nitrogen content were the important environmental factors affecting the distribution of enophytic bacteria in these plant species. The information of population diversity obtained from LH-PCR could more intuitively reflect the differences of bacterial diversity among different plant species, and thus, LH-PCR would be available to be used for analyzing the endophytic bacterial diversity in medicinal plants, providing information and guidance for the further isolation of microbial resources.

[Screening of antifungi endophytic actinomyces strains from salvia przewalskii in Tibean Plateau].

Twenty-four endophytic actinomycetes strains were isolated from the Salvia przewalskii in Tibetan Plateau of China by tablet coating method. Fusarium moniliforme, Helminthosporium turcicum and Bipolaris maydis were selected as indicator fungi to test the antimicrobial activities of these endophytic actinomycetes by tablet confrontation method. The results showed that 21 strains can produce antimicrobial substances which accounts for 85.7% of the total separates number. Four strains of endogenous actinomyces have more obvious antifungi activity. According to results of morphology and culture properties and 16S rDNA sequences of endophytic actinomyces, it is concluded that all of the isolates were streptomycetes trains.

Anticonvulsant activity of acute and chronic treatment with a-asarone from Acorus gramineus in seizure models.

For centuries, extracts of Acorus gramineus have been used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment, management, and/or control of human ailments, including central nervous system disorders such as convulsions and epilepsy. In the present study, we investigated the anticonvulsant activity of chronic treatment with the plant's major essential oil component (a-asarone, 50-200 mg/kg, per os (p.o.)) against maximal electroshock seizure (MES), pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures in mice, lithium-pilocarpine (LI-PILO)-induced status epilepticus (SE), and spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRSs) in rats and determined whether a single acute administration of a-asarone at various doses could produce anticonvulsant activity. As the standard antiepileptic drugs used, chronically administered a-asarone (50-200 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly delayed (p<0.05) the onset of, and antagonized maximal electroshock seizure and PTZ-induced seizures. Chronically administered a-asarone (50-200 mg/kg) also profoundly antagonized LI-PILO-induced seizures. The SE incidence, SE latency and seizure severity as well as mortality were significantly reduced after treatment with a-asarone at different doses. Higher doses of a-asarone (100-200 mg/kg) significantly reduced spontaneous recurrent seizure incidence, severity, and seizure frequency during treatment in LI-PILO-induced SRSs rats. On the other hand, a single acute administration of a-asarone (50-200 mg/kg) produced weak anticonvulsant activity in MES and PTZ-induced seizures. The results of this laboratory animal study indicate that chronically administered a-asarone possesses anticonvulsant activity in the mammalian experimental model used, and thus suggest that a-asarone may be used as a natural supplementary remedy in the management of convulsions and epilepsy.

Acupuncture combined with curcumin disrupts platelet-derived growth factor ß receptor/extracellular signal-regulated kinase signalling and stimulates extracellular matrix degradation in carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture treatment has been increasingly used to treat chronic liver diseases. We previously reported that acupuncture combined with curcumin, a natural antifibrotic compound, could remarkably attenuate liver fibrosis in chemically intoxicated rats, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. The present study was aimed at investigating the effects of acupuncture combined with curcumin on platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) signalling and extracellular matrix (ECM) regulation in the fibrotic liver. METHODS: A total of 60 Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into control, model, sham, acupuncture, curcumin and combination treatment groups. During the establishment of fibrosis using carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)), acupuncture at LR3, LR14, BL18 and ST36 and/or curcumin treatment by mouth were performed simultaneously. After treatment, serum PDGF levels were measured. Protein and mRNA expression of key effectors in PDGF pathway and fibrinolysis in the liver was determined. RESULTS: Acupuncture combined with curcumin potently reduced serum PDGF levels and selectively disrupted the PDGF-ßR/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) cascade. Combination treatment also significantly repressed expression of connective tissue growth factor and upregulated expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9, promoting fibrinolysis in the fibrotic liver. CONCLUSIONS: The beneficial effects of acupuncture and its combination with curcumin could be attributed to the disruption of PDGF-ßR/ERK pathway and stimulated ECM degradation in the fibrotic liver. Acupuncture treatment significantly enhanced curcumin effects at the molecular level. These findings may provide molecular insights into the potential of acupuncture combined with curcumin for prevention of hepatic fibrosis.

Polymorphisms of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase gene and clinical outcomes of gastric cancer patients treated with fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy in Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), a key enzyme involved in the catabolism of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), is the attractive candidate for pharmacogenetic research on efficacies and toxicities of 5-FU. The aim of this study is to explore the association between polymorphisms of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase gene (DPYD) and clinical outcomes of gastric cancer patients treated with fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy in the Chinese population. METHODS: Three hundred and sixty-two patients with gastric cancer in the Chinese population were treated with fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy. The single nucleotide polymorphic genotypes of DPYD were determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) using DNA samples isolated from peripheral blood collected before treatment. RESULTS: The average response rate for chemotherapy was 46.7%. A significantly different distribution of the rs1801159 (c2=8.76, P=0.012) genotypes was observed. Homozygous genotype rs1801159A/A was over-represented in responsive patients. Conversely, carriers of the rs1801159A/G genotype were prevalent in non-responsive patients. In the haplotype association analysis, there was significant difference in global haplotype distribution between the groups (c2=3.96, P=0.0465). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that polymorphisms of rs1801159 in DPYD may be used as valuable predictors of the response to fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for gastric cancer patients in the Chinese population. Well-designed, comprehensive, and prospective studies on determining these polymorphisms of DPYD as predictive markers for gastric cancer in response to fluorouracil-based therapies are warranted.

Acupuncture combined with curcumin attenuates carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats.

BACKGROUND: Increasingly, studies demonstrate the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy against liver fibrosis. Curcumin is a natural product with antifibrotic effects, but has poor pharmacokinetic profiles. This study aimed to evaluate whether acupuncture combined with curcumin could more potently attenuate liver fibrosis in chemical intoxicated rats. METHODS: 60 Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into control, model, sham, acupuncture, curcumin and combination therapy groups. During the establishment of fibrosis using carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)), acupuncture at LR3, LR14, BL18 and ST36 and/or curcumin treatment by mouth were performed simultaneously. After treatment, pathological indexes and histology for hepatic injury and fibrogenesis were detected. The expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) components was also determined. RESULTS: Acupuncture combined with curcumin potently protected the liver from CCl(4)-induced injury and fibrogenesis, as indicated by reduced levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, hyaluronic acid, laminin and procollagen III. Combined use also led to significant liver histological improvements. Furthermore, combined use effectively inhibited ECM expression such as α-smooth muscle actin, fibronectin and α1(1) collagen. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture treatment could significantly enhance the antifibrotic efficacy of curcumin on CCl(4)-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats in vivo, suggesting that a combination of acupuncture with curcumin may be exploited for the prevention of hepatic fibrosis.

Hyperthermia increases the therapeutic efficacy of survivinT34A in mouse tumor models.

The use of survivinT34A mutant targeted disruption of survivin, the strongest inhibitor of apoptosis protein overexpressed in tumors, has proved a promising strategy for advanced cancers. However, hyperthermia, as a cytotoxic enhancer, regularly activates the expression of survivin to counteract the heat-induced antitumor activity. Here, we investigated the combinational antitumor effect by using liposome-encapsulated mouse survivinT34A and hyperthermia in mouse models. We observed that the combination treatment of surivinT34A and hyperthermia significantly increased the growth inhibition and apoptosis of tumor cells in vitro compared with single treatment or other controls, which was similar to the effect of survivin silencing in combination with hyperthermia. Moreover, the inhibition of tumor growth in vivo was also remarkably enhanced by combination of surivinT34A and hyperthermia when compared with other treatments. Naturally, the tumor tissues in combination treatment presented the larger necrosis-like areas, more apoptotic cells and less microvessel density. Our findings suggest that the antitumor efficacy of survivin disruption can be enhanced by hyperthermia, which might be a new feasible approach for cancer therapy.

Topic model for Chinese medicine diagnosis and prescription regularities analysis: case on diabetes.

Induction of common knowledge or regularities from large-scale clinical data is a vital task for Chinese medicine (CM). In this paper, we propose a data mining method, called the Symptom-Herb-Diagnosis topic (SHDT) model, to automatically extract the common relationships among symptoms, herb combinations and diagnoses from large-scale CM clinical data. The SHDT model is one of the multi-relational extensions of the latent topic model, which can acquire topic structure from discrete corpora (such as document collection) by capturing the semantic relations among words. We applied the SHDT model to discover the common CM diagnosis and treatment knowledge for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using 3 238 inpatient cases. We obtained meaningful diagnosis and treatment topics (clusters) from the data, which clinically indicated some important medical groups corresponding to comorbidity diseases (e.g., heart disease and diabetic kidney diseases in T2DM inpatients). The results show that manifestation sub-categories actually exist in T2DM patients that need specific, individualised CM therapies. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that this method is helpful for generating CM clinical guidelines for T2DM based on structured collected clinical data.

[Protective effects of curcumin on neonatal rats with necrotizing enterocolitis].

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effects of curcumin on intestinal histopathological changes, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) concentrations in neonatal rats with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), in order to investigate the effects of curcumin against NEC. METHODS: Forty neonatal rats were randomly divided into four groups (n=10 each): normal control, solvent control, NEC model, and curcumin intervention. The general situations of rats were observed for 3 consecutive days, and the rats were then sacrificed on the 4th day. Intestinal tissues were obtained for examining the histopathological changes, COX-2 expression, and TNF-alpha and IL-10 concentrations. RESULTS: Curcumin treatment ameliorated the general situations and histopathological signs in rats with NEC. TNF-alpha and IL-10 concentrations in the NEC model and the curcumin intervention groups increased significantly compared with those in the normal and solvent control groups (p<0.05). The concentration of TNF-alpha decreased (p<0.05), while the concentration of IL-10 increased significantly in the curcumin intervention group in comparison with the NEC model group (p<0.05). Immunohistochemistry results indicated that the positive expression of COX-2 in the curcumin intervention group was significantly lower than that in the NEC model group. CONCLUSIONS: Curcumin has protective effects against NEC in neonatal rats, possibly through inhibiting COX-2 expression, reducing TNF-alpha content, and increasing IL-10 content.

Anti-angiogenic activity of julibroside J8, a natural product isolated from Albizia julibrissin.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-angiogenic properties of julibroside J(8), a triterpenoid saponin isolated from Albizia julibrissin. METHODS: In the presence of juliborside J(8,) the growth of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1), four human tumor cell lines, and a normal cell line (MRC-5) was evaluated by MTT assay. The in vivo anti-angiogenic effect of julibroside J(8) was evaluated on a chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) and in transplanted colon carcinoma cells in a nude mice neovascularisation model. RESULTS: Treatment with 0.5-4 microg/ml julibroside J(8) resulted in dose-dependent inhibition of growth, migration, and tube formation in HMEC-1 cells; julibroside J(8) also inhibited the formation of microvessels on CAM at a concentration of 10-50 microg/egg and reduced vessel density within tumor at a concentration of 0.5-3mg/kg. CONCLUSIONS: Julibroside J(8) may be a potent anti-angiogenetic and cytotoxic drug; further investigation is warranted.

[Artesunate combined with vinorelbine plus cisplatin in treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To our knowledge, there has been no clinical report of artesunate in the treatment of lung cancer. This study was designed to compare the efficacy and toxicity of artesunate combined with NP (a chemotherapy regimen of vinorelbine and cisplatin) and NP alone in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: One hundred and twenty cases of advanced NSCLC were randomly divided into simple chemotherapy group (control group, n=60) and combined artesunare with chemotherapy group (trial group, n=60). Patients in the control group were treated with NP regimen, including vinorelbine (25 mg/m(2), once-a-day intravenous injection, at the 1st and 8th day) and cisplatin (25 mg/m(2), once-a day intravenous drip, at the 2nd to 4th day). Patients in the trial group were treated with the basal therapy NP (in the same method and doses as control group) and artesunate (120 mg, once-a-day intravenous injection, from the 1st day to 8th day, for 8 days). At least two 21-day-cycles of treatment were performed. The short-term survival rate, disease controlled rate (DCR), time to progression (TTP), mean survival time (MST) and 1-year survival rate were analyzed as the primary end points, and the toxicity and safety were estimated. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the short-term survival rate, MST and 1-year survival rate between the trial group and the control group, which were 45.1% and 34.5%, 44 weeks and 45 weeks, 45.1% and 32.7%, respectively (P>0.05). The DCR of the trial group (88.2%) was significantly higher than that of the control group (72.7%) (P<0.05), and the trial group's TTP (24 weeks) was significantly longer than that of the control group (20 weeks) (P<0.05). No significant difference was found in toxicity between the two groups, such as myelosuppression and digestion reaction (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Artesunate can be used in the treatment of NSCLC. Artesunate combined with NP can elevate the short-term survival rate and prolong the TTP of patients with advanced NSCLC without extra side effects.

[Effect of ephedrine on neuronal plasticity in neonatal rats after hypoxic-ischemic brain injury].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of ephedrine on neural plasticity after hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) in neonatal rats. METHOD: Sixty SD rats, aged 7 days, were made as HIBD model, which were randomly divided into following 4 groups, an ephedrine group, a D-amphetamine (D-AMPH) group, a cytodine triphosphate-2Na (CTP) group and a ganglioside (GMI) group. Changes in the expression of growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) and synaptophysin (SYP) in the hippocampal area CA3 were detected with immunohistochemical method. Four weeks after the operation, learning and memory test in Morris water maze was performed for 5 days. RESULT: (1) The GAP-43 and SYP expression levels in hippocampal area CA3 in the ephedrine group were higher than those in the spontaneous recovery group (P < 0.05), with no significantly different from those the CTP group and the D-AMPH group. (2) The average escape latency in the ephedrine group, the D-AMPH group and the CTP group were significantly shorter than that in the spontaneous recovery group (P < 0.05), and the frequency passing the original platform in the 3 treatment groups were significantly more than those in the spontaneous recovery group (P < 0.01). The escape latency was longer and the frequency passing the original platform was less in the ephedrine group than that in the GM1 group, with no significant differences as compared with the CTP group and the D-AMPH group. CONCLUSION: Ephedrine can enhance spatial orientation and learning and memory abilities of HIBD rats in later life. This protective effect is associated with decrease of neuronal loss after HIBD, and promotion of the expression of GAP43 and SYP. Ephedrine can exert the same protection against HIBD as D-AMPH and CTP do, but the amelioration of spatial orientation and learning and memory abilities by ephedrine in later life in rats after HIBD is slightly weaker than that by GM1, which is possibly related with the dose of ephedrine.

Resveratrol as a novel agent for treatment of multiple myeloma with matrix metalloproteinase inhibitory activity.

AIM: To examine the in vitro antitumor activity of resveratrol against multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines (RPMI 8226, U266, and KM3), and the mechanisms involved. METHODS: The growth inhibition of resveratrol was determined by 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2-thiazyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The effect of resveratrol on the apoptosis was investigated by combined annexin V-propidium iodide staining. The effect of resveratrol on the invasion through Matrigel matrix was detected by transwell invasion analyses. The activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 proteins were determined by gelatin zymography analysis. The expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, Bcl-2, Bcl-x(L), XIAP and Bax protein were detected using Western blotting analysis. RESULTS: Resveratrol inhibited proliferation of MM cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Incubation of MM cells with resveratrol resulted in apoptotic cell death. Resveratrol down-regulated the expression of the antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2, Bcl-x(L) and XIAP and up-regulated the expression of the proapoptotic protein Bax. Furthermore, resveratrol inhibited invasion of RPMI 8226, U266, and KM3 cells with IC50 values of 64+/-8 micromol/L, 93+/-11 micromol/L, and 153+/-11 micromol/L, respectively. Resveratrol inhibited the constitutive expression of MMP-2 and -9 proteins of MM cells and suppressed its gelatinolytic activity. CONCLUSION: Resveratrol inhibits the proliferation of MM cells by inducing apoptotic cell death. Resveratrol also inhibits MM cell invasion. The inhibition of invasion may be associated with the attenuation of the enzymatic activities of MMP-2 and -9.