Metabolic profiling investigation of Fritillaria thunbergii Miq. by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Thunberg fritillary bulb (the dry bulbs of Fritillaria thunbergii Miq.), a traditional Chinese Medicine, is widely applied as an expectorant and antitussive. In this investigation, the primary metabolites of bulbs, flowers, leaves, and stems of F. thunbergii were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis, partial least squares-discriminate analysis, orthogonal projection to latent structures-discriminate analysis, and heat map analysis showed that there were dissimilar metabolites, and a negative correlation between amino acids and saccharides in different analytes. Furthermore, carbodiimide, tryptophan, glucose-6-phosphate, xylose, 2-piperidinecarboxylic acid, monoamidomalonic acid, phenylalanine, and histidine were found to play an important role in the plant metabolism net of F. thunbergii.

[Identification of alkaloids and flavonoids in all parts of Fritillaria thunbergii using LC-LTQ-Orbitrap MSn].

Alkaloids and flavonoids in flowers, flower buds, stems, leaves, and bulbs of Fritillaria thunbergii were identified by LC-LTQ-Orbitrap MSn.Alkaloids were identified by ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18（2.1 mm×50 mm, 1.7 µm ) chromatographic column with a mobile phase of 10 mmol•L⁻¹ ammonium formate-acetonitrile and gradient elution in positive MS scan mode.Meanwhile, flavonoids were analyzed by Agilent-Zorbax SB C18 (4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 µm) chromatographic column with a mobile phase of 0.2% acetic acid-acetonitrile and gradient elution in negative MS scan mode.Combined with literature reports, chemical constituents were identified and determined by accurate molecular weights and fragment ion peaks in the ESI-MS/MS spectra based on high resolution mass spectrometer.In all parts of F.thunbergii, 37 alkaloids including 7 alkaloids (zhebeininoside, peimisine, peimine, peiminine, ebeiedinone/puqiedinone, ebeiedine/ puqiedine, peimisine-N-oxide) were simultaneously analyzed.Moreover, 16 flavonoids including quercetin, kaempferol and their glycosides were identified.The results indicated that the aerial parts had the similar alkaloids as the bulbs on the whole.Meanwhile, it had a series of flavonoids undetected in the bulbs.Our results provided the scientific basis for the development and utilization of aerial parts of F.thunbergii.

Cigarette smoking and risk of hip fracture in women: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Whether cigarette smoking can increase the risk of hip fracture in women is unclear. This meta-analysis, which pooled results from 10 prospective cohort studies, was performed to derive a more precise estimation between cigarette smoking and the risk of hip fracture in women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pubmed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ISI Web of Science were systematically searched to identify relevant studies. A meta-analysis was performed to examine the association among 10 studies. The pooled risk estimates were calculated by using both random- and fixed-effects model. Heterogeneity among articles and their publications bias were also tested. All of the statistical analyses were performed using the software programs STATA (version 12.0). RESULTS: Relative risk was significantly increased in current female smokers (pooled RR, 1.30; 95%CI, 1.16-1.45). The association was significant among the high-dose smokers (more than 15 cigarettes per day) while not among the low-does smokers (less than 15 cigarettes per day). Omission of any single study had little effect on the pooled risk estimate. Former smokers had a similar RR of hip fracture (RR, 1.02; 95%CI, 0.93-1.11) to published papers. Smoking cessation for ≥10 years leads to a significant decline in risk. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking is associated with an increased hip fracture risk in women. Cessation of smoking for ≥10 years had a decreased impact on risk of hip fracture. Given the inconsistency among the studies in the choice of adjustments, the associations between cigarette smoking and risk of hip fracture in women await further investigation.