[Inhibitory Activity of Flower Extracts from Salvia deserta Schang on Streptococcus mutans].

Objective: To examine the in vitro inhibitory effect of flower extracts from Salvia deserta Schang (SFE) on Streptococcu smutans ( S. mutans). Methods: The inhibitory effect of SFE on planktonic S. mutans and the effect of SFE on the growth process of planktonic S. mutans were determined by the agar drilling method and the microdilution method. Crystal violet staining and MTT reduction assay were conducted to determine the effect of SFE on S. mutans biofilm formation. The effect of SFE on the production of exopolysaccharides (EPS) in S. mutans biofilm was determined by anthrone-sulfuric acid method. The intracellular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in S. mutans was determined by LDH colorimetric assay. The effects of SFE on the acid-producing capacity of S. mutans was determined by pH meter. Results: The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of SFE against S. mutans was 14 µg/µL. SFE of the the concentration between 1/8 MIC and MIC could inhibit the growth rate of S. mutans within 30 h and it could significantly inhibit the LDH activity compared with the control group ( P<0.0001). SFE of the concentration between 4 MIC and 1/4 MIC had an inhibitory effect on the acid production of S. mutans ( P<0.001). Moreover, it could effectively restrain the formation of S. mutans biofilm and significantly reduce the amount of EPS produced by biofilm ( P<0.01). Conclusion: SFE can effectively inhibit the activity of S. mutans and its biofilm. The mechanism of inhibiting S. mutans by SFE was preliminarily discussed as follows, it interferes with microbial adhesion and aggregation by reducing the production of bacterial EPS, thus inhibiting the formation of bacterial biofilms. In addition, it interferes with glycolysis of S. mutans by reducing the LDH activity of bacteria, thus inhibiting the acid production of S. mutans.

[Quality standard of uygur medicine Medicago sativa seeds].

In this paper, microscopic identification method was adopted to observe the microscopic characters of ten batches of Medicago sativa seeds. And M. sativa seeds were identificated by TLC method in contrast to trigonelline and stachydrine hydrochloride. The impurities, moisture, ash, sour insoluble ash were detected based on Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2010 version (Vol I ). An HPLC method was also established for determination of trigonelline in the M. sativa seeds. The contents of impurities, moisture, ash, sour insoluble ash should not exceed 5%, 10%, 6%, and 2%, respectively. The content of trigonelline should be not less than 0.795 6 mg x g(-1). The experimental methods were accurate and reliable, and can be used as the quality control of the seeds of M. sativa.

Physicochemical properties and lead ion adsorption of biochar prepared from Turkish gall residue at different pyrolysis temperatures.

How to correctly and scientifically dispose of medicine residue on the basis of protecting the environment is an urgent problem to be solved due to the continuous generation of a large amount of waste medicine residue. In this paper, the application of waste medicine residue (large volume produced each year) as a precursor in producing a biochar that could adsorb Pb ion was reported. Biochar is a stable, aromatic, porous substance that is rich in carbon and prepared through pyrolysis of waste biomass under anaerobic conditions. In this study, medicine residue was used as raw material, and high-temperature sintering furnace was used to prepare medicine slag biochar at different temperatures of 200°C, 300°C, 400°C, 500°C, and 600°C. The resulting biochar was characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), specific surface area analysis, field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy (RS). Experimental results showed that with the increase in pyrolysis temperature, the biochar structure was destroyed. The yield decreased as the temperature gradually decreased from 81.69% to 33.90%. With the increase in temperature, the pH, the ash, and the fixed carbon gradually increased, whereas the number of surface functional groups decreased. The quasi second order kinetic equation can better fit the kinetic characteristics of adsorbing Pb ion by biochar. In general, this study provides a valuable method for recycling medicine residue.

[Spectral analysis of elements in different samples of processed Foeniculum vulgare].

The compositions and contents of chemical compounds in traditional Chinese medicines would be changed after being processed using different methods, and their pharmacological activity may be influenced. ICP-AES, AAS and AFS were the first methods to be used to scan and analyze macro elements, trace elements and heavy metals in Foeniculum vulgare and its nine different processed samples in the present paper, which were correlated with people's health and lives. The experiment results showed that the three kinds of analyzing methods could be used to judge the contents and the changing trend of all elements in traditional Chinese medicine quickly and truly. Thirty two elements were found in F. vulgare, and there were noticeable changes in the contents of some elements in processed samples compared with F. vulgare without processing. These results indicated that there is great relevance between changes in the contends of elements with different processing methods, and auxiliary materials can not only change the contents of elements but also play a role in treating ills with effective constituents. Also, it was firstly found that the content of Hg rose greatly in the experiment, and these showed there was notable potential safety hazard when processed Foeniculum vulgare was used. These experiments widen the application of spectrum analyzing methods in safety evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine.

Evaluation of total phenol and flavonoid content and antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of Trollius chinensis Bunge extracts on Streptococcus mutans.

Dental caries is a chronic disease with multiple bacterial infections, Streptococcus mutans is the main cariogenic bacteria. Trollius chinensis Bunge is a common folk medicine in the Xinjiang area of China. In this study, we investigated the total flavonoid content and total phenol content in four types of T. chinensis Bunge extracts and the inhibitory effects of these extracts on S. mutans. Agar diffusion method was used to measure the inhibition zone diameters, and the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were determined by the twofold dilution method. Water extracts from T. chinensis Bunge and ethanol (30, 60, and 90%) extracts at different concentrations could significantly inhibit the growth of S. mutans. Among them, 30% ethanol extract exhibited the best antibacterial and antibiofilms effect. Biofilm research (crystal violet staining and CLSM) showed that 30% ethanol extract of T. chinensis Bunge plays an important role in inhibiting S. mutans growth and the number of biofilms. The results indicate that T. chinensis Bunge extract has good antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity on S. mutans. It has the potential to be developed for the treatment of caries in clinical application.

[Determination of ten metal elements in Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam by microwave digestion-FAAS].

Comprehensive utilization of traditional Uighur medicine has been increasingly emphasized, and the relationship between metal elements and traditional Uighur medicine has attracted great attention, so it is quite important to determine the contents of traditional Uighur medicine. The Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam powder was digested with HNO3 by microwave digestion before determination. Ten metal elements in Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam were determined by FAAS. The work conditions, accuracy and precision of the method were studied. The linear correlations of standard curves are good (r = 0.999 0-0.999 8). The recovery (n = 6) is 95%-108%, and the RSD(n = 6) is 0.45%-1.53%. The results showed that there were comparatively rich metal elements, among which are comparatively high calcium, magnesium and potassium in Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam. The method offers traits of low detection limit, high sensitivity, speediness and exactness, and wasapplied to the determination of metal elements in samples with satisfactory results. It provided useful data for discussing the relationship between the content of the metal elements in Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam and clinical application of the Uighur medicine.

[The effect of Uygur medicine Hyssopus officinalis L on expression of T-bet, GATA-3 and STAT-3 mRNA in lung tissue of asthma rats].

AIM: To study the Uygur medicine Hyssopus officinalis L on T-bet, GATA-3, STAT-3 mRNA levels of asthma rats in order to explore the mechanism of its treatment of asthma. METHODS: Rats were randomly divided into normal control group, asthma model group and dexamethasone group and water extract of Hyssopus officinalis L high and low dose group. The rats were sensitized with OVA, Al(OH)(3); and DPT vaccine and then challenged with inhalation of aerosolized OVA solution for Preparation of asthma model and the level of T-bet, GATA-3, STAT-3 mRNA were detected with RT-PCR. RESULTS: The normal control group and model group, model group and treatment group, the expression of T-bet, GATA-3 and STAT-3 mRNA in the lung tissue was statistically significant differences(P<0.05). Compared with model group, after treatment of Hyssopus officinalis L the expression of GATA-3 and STAT-3 mRNA of asthma rats significantly reduced (P<0.05), but the expression of T-bet mRNA was significantly higher (P<0.05).The expression of GATA-3 and STAT-3 mRNA of Hyssopus officinalis L high-dose treatment group was lower than the low-dose treatment group (P<0.05), but T-bet mRNA that was higher(P<0.05). The expression of T-bet mRNA has negative correlation with GATA-3 mRNA (r=-0.696), the expression of STAT-3 mRNA has correlation with T-bet mRNA and GATA-3 mRNA(r=-0.767, 0.772), P<0.05. CONCLUSION: Hyssopus officinalis L probably regulates the differentiation of Th1, Th2 and Th17 on transcription level to play the role of anti-inflammatory.