Xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity of constituents of Cinnamomum cassia twigs.

A methanol extract of the twigs of Cinnamomum cassia was found to inhibit xanthine oxidase. Purification of the methanol extract afforded three new phenolic glycosides, cinnacasolide A-C (11-13), together with 10 known compounds (1-10). The structures of the three new compounds were determined by interpretation of spectroscopic data. Cinnamaldehyde derivatives 1-5 and 7 were significant inhibitors of xanthine oxidase, with IC(50) values ranging from 7.8 to 36.3 µg/mL. The results indicate that the acyl group of these cinnamaldehyde derivatives plays an important role in the inhibition of xanthine oxidase.

Dioxin concentrations in breast milk of Vietnamese nursing mothers: a survey four decades after the herbicide spraying.

In an operation by United States Armed Forces during 1961 to 1971, large quantities of herbicides were sprayed in South Vietnam. These herbicides contained 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetraCDD), the most toxic congener of dioxins. Several decades after the herbicide spraying ceased, dioxin concentrations in the environment and human remained elevated in the sprayed areas. Breast milk samples from 520 nursing mothers residing in areas including the hot spots as well as the sprayed and unsprayed areas were collected to quantify the levels of dioxins. The total toxic equivalents of 2,3,7,8-substitued PCDDs/PCDFs in breast milk of mothers living in the hot spots, and the sprayed and unsprayed areas were 14.10 pg/g lipid, 10.89 pg/g lipid, and 4.09 pg/g lipid for primiparae and 11.48 pg/g lipid, 7.56 pg/g lipid, and 2.84 pg/g lipid for multiparae, respectively, with significant differences in the values among the three areas. In the hot spots, dioxin levels were highly correlated with the residency of mothers after adjustment for their age and parity.

WITHDRAWN: Anti-proliferative effects of compounds from the fruit peel of Wisteria floribunda on vascular smooth muscle cells.

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Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B inhibitors isolated from Morus bombycis.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of the chloroform-soluble fraction of Morus bombycis, using an in vitro PTP1B inhibitory assay led to the identification of three 2-arylbenzofurans, albafuran A (1), mulberrofuran W (2) and mulberrofuran D (6), along with three chalcone-derived Diels-Alder products, kuwanon J (3), kuwanon R (4), and kuwanon V (5). Compounds 1-6 showed remarkable inhibitory activity against PTP1B with IC(50) values ranging from 2.7 to 13.8 microM. Inhibition kinetics were analyzed by Lineweaver-Burk plots, which suggested that compounds 1-6 inhibited PTP1B in a mixed-type manner. The present results indicate that the respective lipophilic and hydroxyl groups of 2-arylbenzofurans and chalcone-derived Diels-Alder products play an important role in inhibition of PTP1B.

Anatomical Characteristics of Facial Nerve Trunk in Vietnamese Adult Cadavers.

BACKGROUND: In medical literature, there are few studies provided a precise and detailed description of the facial nerve rami and its branches. AIM: Identify several practical anatomic landmarks related to the facial nerve main trunk and its rami. METHODS: A descriptive study, 30 cadavers in the anatomy department of UPNT from October 2012 to April 2015. RESULTS: The average distance from the mandibular angle to the division of the facial nerve is 40.8 mm, and is 86.6% from range 36 - 50 mm. There is 86.7% case in which the facial nerve is in the lateral of the retromandibular vein, and there is a significant difference about both sides. Eighty percent of the case has the superior and inferior ramus in the lateral to the retromandibular vein. There are 2 cases in which the superior ramus makes the circle of the vein. Eighty percent of the facial nerve is in the lateral to the external carotid artery. CONCLUSION: The distance from the mandibular to the division of the facial nerve is longer. The relationship between the superior/inferior ramus and the retromandibular vein maybe not the same in both sides. In some cases, it makes the circle of the vein to cause some complication in the parotid gland surgery.

Short Tandem Repeats Used in Preimplantation Genetic Testing of Β-Thalassemia: Genetic Polymorphisms For 15 Linked Loci in the Vietnamese Population.

BACKGROUND: ß-thalassemia is one of the most common monogenic diseases worldwide. Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) of ß-thalassemia is performed to avoid affected pregnancies has become increasingly popular worldwide. In which, the indirect analysis using short tandem repeat (STRs) linking with HBB gene to detect different ß-globin (HBB) gene mutation is a simple, accurate, economical and also provides additional control of contamination and allele-drop-out ADO. AIM: This study established microsatellite markers for PGT of Vietnamese ß-thalassemia patient. METHODS: Fifteen (15) STRs gathered from 5 populations were identified by in silico tools within 1 Mb flanking the HBB gene. The multiplex PCR reaction was optimized and performed on 106 DNA samples from at-risk families. RESULTS: After estimating, PIC values were ≥ 0.7 for all markers, with expected heterozygosity and observed heterozygosity values ranged from 0.81 to 0.92 and 0.53 to 0.86, respectively. One hundred percent of individuals had at least seven heterozygous markers and were found to be heterozygous for at least two markers on either side of the HBB gene. CONCLUSION: In general, a pentadecaplex marker (all < 1 Mb from the HBB gene) assay was constituted for ß-thalassemia PGT on Vietnamese population.

High prevalence and significance of hepatitis D virus infection among treatment-naïve HBsAg-positive patients in Northern Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection is considered to cause more severe hepatitis than hepatitis B virus (HBV) monoinfection. With more than 9.5 million HBV-infected people, Vietnam will face an enormous health burden. The prevalence of HDV in Vietnamese HBsAg-positive patients is speculative. Therefore, we assessed the prevalence of HDV in Vietnamese patients, determined the HDV-genotype distribution and compared the findings with the clinical outcome. METHODS: 266 sera of well-characterized HBsAg-positive patients in Northern Vietnam were analysed for the presence of HDV using newly developed HDV-specific RT-PCRs. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were performed for HDV-genotyping. RESULTS: The HDV-genome prevalence observed in the Vietnamese HBsAg-positive patients was high with 15.4% while patients with acute hepatitis showed 43.3%. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated a predominance of HDV-genotype 1 clustering in an Asian clade while HDV-genotype 2 could be also detected. The serum aminotransferase levels (AST, ALT) as well as total and direct bilirubin were significantly elevated in HDV-positive individuals (p<0.05). HDV loads were mainly low (<300 to 4.108 HDV-copies/ml). Of note, higher HDV loads were mainly found in HBV-genotype mix samples in contrast to single HBV-infections. In HBV/HDV-coinfections, HBV loads were significantly higher in HBV-genotype C in comparison to HBV-genotype A samples (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: HDV prevalence is high in Vietnamese individuals, especially in patients with acute hepatitis B. HDV replication activity showed a HBV-genotype dependency and could be associated with elevated liver parameters. Besides serological assays molecular tests are recommended for diagnosis of HDV. Finally, the high prevalence of HBV and HDV prompts the urgent need for HBV-vaccination coverage.

Impact of perinatal dioxin exposure on infant growth: a cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in dioxin-contaminated areas in Vietnam.

Dioxin exposure levels remain elevated in residents living around former US Air Force bases in Vietnam, indicating potential adverse impacts on infant growth. In this study, 210 mother-infant pairs in dioxin-contaminated areas in Vietnam were recruited at the infants' birth and followed up for 4 months. Perinatal dioxin exposure levels were estimated by measurement of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans toxic equivalent (PCDDs/Fs-TEQ) in breast milk. The infants' size was measured at birth and 1 and 4 months after birth, and neurodevelopment was evaluated using the Bayley Scales III at 4 months of age. Among 4 dioxin groups (<25, 25-50, 50-75, ≥75 percentile of PCDDs/Fs-TEQ), cross-sectional comparisons of body size and neurodevelopment scales and comparisons of longitudinally assessed body size were performed respectively. At birth, head circumference of girls in the ≥75 percentile group was significantly larger than those in the <25 and 50-75 percentile groups. At 4 months of age, the weight and body mass index (BMI) of boys in the ≥75 percentile group were significantly lower than those in the other groups. Increase in weight was significantly lower in the ≥75 percentile group in both sexes from birth to 1 month but only in boys at 1-4 months of age. Estimated marginal mean values in a mixed model of weight and BMI during the first 4 months of life were significantly lower in the ≥75 percentile group in boys. In girls, marginal mean values for head circumference were increased with increase in dioxin levels. Only in boys, cognitive, language, and fine motor scores in the ≥75 percentile group were significantly lower than those in the other groups. These results suggested a considerable impact of perinatal dioxin exposure on infant growth, particularly in boys exposed to dioxins at high level of PCDDs/Fs-TEQ.

Multiple component quantitative analysis for the pattern recognition and quality evaluation of Kalopanacis Cortex using HPLC.

A quantitative and pattern recognition analyses were conducted for quality evaluation of Kalopanacis Cortex (KC) using HPLC. For quantitative analysis, four bioactive compounds, liriodendrin, pinoresinol O-ß-D-glucopyranoside, acanthoside B and kalopanaxin B, were determined. The analysis method was optimized and validated using ODS column with mobile phase of methanol and aqueous phosphoric acid. The validation gave acceptable linearities (r > 0.9995), recoveries (98.4% to 101.9%) and precisions (RSD < 2.20). The limit of detection of compounds ranged from 0.4 to 0.9 µg/mL. Among the four compounds, liriodendrin was recommended as a marker compound for the quality control of KC. The pattern analysis was successfully carried out by analyzing thirty two samples from four species, and the authentic KC samples were completely discriminated from other inauthentic species by linear discriminant analysis. The results indicated that the method was suitable for the quantitative analysis of liriodendrin and the quality evaluation of KC.