Current trends and possibilities of typical microbial protein production approaches: a review.

Global population growth and demographic restructuring are driving the food and agriculture sectors to provide greater quantities and varieties of food, of which protein resources are particularly important. Traditional animal-source proteins are becoming increasingly difficult to meet the demand of the current consumer market, and the search for alternative protein sources is urgent. Microbial proteins are biomass obtained from nonpathogenic single-celled organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and microalgae. They contain large amounts of proteins and essential amino acids as well as a variety of other nutritive substances, which are considered to be promising sustainable alternatives to traditional proteins. In this review, typical approaches to microbial protein synthesis processes were highlighted and the characteristics and applications of different types of microbial proteins were described. Bacteria, fungi, and microalgae can be individually or co-cultured to obtain protein-rich biomass using starch-based raw materials, organic wastes, and one-carbon compounds as fermentation substrates. Microbial proteins have been gradually used in practical applications as foods, nutritional supplements, flavor modifiers, and animal feeds. However, further development and application of microbial proteins require more advanced biotechnological support, screening of good strains, and safety considerations. This review contributes to accelerating the practical application of microbial proteins as a promising alternative protein resource and provides a sustainable solution to the food crisis facing the world.

Homotherapy for heteropathy: Interleukin-41 and its biological functions.

Interleukin-41 (IL-41) is a newly discovered cytokine, named Cometin, Subfatin, meteorin-like transcription (Metrnl), and so forth. It is widely expressed in animals and can exert its biological roles through autocrine and paracrine forms. It has functions such as anti-inflammatory, improving body metabolism, regulating immunity, regulating fat metabolism and participates in the process of autoimmune disease or inflammatory injury. It plays an important role in psoriasis, diabetes, Crohn's disease (CD), osteoarthritis, Kawasaki disease (KD), Graves' disease, autoimmune hepatitis, infertility, obesity, sepsis, cardiovascular diseases and respiratory diseases. This paper reviews the biological functions of IL-41, the relationship between IL-41 and diseases, the effects of IL-41 in the cytokine network and the possible signalling pathways. In order to explore the same target or the same drug for the treatment of different diseases from the perspective of homotherapy for heteropathy, cytokine strategies based on IL-41 have been put forward for the precise treatment of immune diseases and inflammatory diseases. It is worth noting that IL-41 related preparations for lung protection and smoking cessation are interesting research fields.

Heterogeneous optical network and power allocation scheme for inter-CubeSat communication.

In this Letter, the problems of achieving inter-CubeSat communication through radio frequency (RF) and lasers are explained, and the feasibility of using visible light communication to replace RF and lasers is investigated. On this basis, a novel, to the best of our knowledge, heterogeneous optical network with high flexibility is proposed, in which CubeSats are divided into clusters in pairs. CubeSats in each cluster utilize different optical modulation methods to achieve a compromise between optical power efficiency and spectral efficiency, as well as avoid inter-CubeSat interference. Furthermore, under the maximum power and minimum capacity constraints, a closed-form optical power allocation solution minimizing an overall bit error rate (BER) is investigated. Simulation results show that our proposed scheme is more preferred in practical systems and can achieve 3.8 dB gains compared to the conventional power allocation scheme at a BER of 10-4.

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and imaging for non-invasive objective assessment of genitourinary syndrome of menopause: a pilot study.

The genitourinary symptom of menopause (GSM) affects up to 65% of women, resulting in symptoms such as vulvovaginal dryness, discomfort, and dysuria, which significantly impacts quality of life. The current assessment methods rely on subjective questionnaires that can be influenced by individual differences, as well as invasive measurements that are time-consuming and not easily accessible. In this study, we explore the potential of a non-invasive and objective assessment tool called diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and imaging (DRSI) to evaluate tissue chromophores, including water, lipid, oxyhemoglobin, and deoxyhemoglobin. These measurements provide information about moisture content, lipid levels, oxygen saturation, and blood fraction, which can serve as surrogate markers for genital estrogen levels. Our findings reveal distinct differences in these chromophores among pre, peri, and postmenopausal subjects. By using lipid and blood fraction tissue chromophores in a K-Nearest Neighbour classifier model, we achieved a prediction accuracy of 65% compared to vaginal maturation index (VMI) that is clinically used to assess estrogen-related hormonal changes. When age was included as the third feature, the accuracy increased to 78%. We believe that by refining the study protocol and configuring the fiber probe to examine tissue chromophores both in the superficial vulva skin for epidermal water content and the deeper layers, DRSI has the potential to provide objective diagnosis and aid in monitoring the treatment outcome of GSM.

Towards an E-nose: Metal-organic frameworks based quartz crystal microbalance array for fruit ripeness indexing.

Ethylene is a hormone for fruit ripening control, and for the purpose of maintaining plant quality, ethylene monitoring is crucial. Due to the simple structure and limited functionality, the technical realization of ethylene detection by an artificial sensor remains a challenge. In this paper, we present a metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) array based electronic nose (e-nose) for rapid and accurate determination of ethylene. Six zirconium-based MOFs with systematically modified pore sizes and π-π binding sites have been prepared and fabricated into a sensor array using quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technology. By virtue of the synergistic features of six MOF sensors, selectivity detection of ethylene has been achieved. The detection limit reaches to 0.27 ± 0.02 ppm, and high selectivity and stability (98.29 % ± 0.88 %) could also be confirmed. By submitting data to machine learning algorithm, an e-nose system could be established for discriminating ethylene from mixtures with a qualitative accuracy of 90.30 % and quantitative accuracy of 98.89 %. Practical evaluation suggests that the e-nose could index the fruit quality based on the accurate detection of ethylene released during fruit ripeness. This work demonstrates the promising potential of fabricating MOFs based e-nose systems for practical monitoring applications by selectively detecting challengeable target molecules.

Nutrient-rich hydrothermal carbon production by exogenous nutrients combined with seaweed internal water.

As a product of hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) technology, hydrothermal carbon has shown excellent application potential in soil improvement, greenhouse gas reduction and pollution remediation. Since a large amount of water and biomass are directly used as reaction media, hydrothermal carbon produced by traditional HTC possesses poor nutrient properties and accompanied by the generation of toxic and hazardous wastewater. Here, a versatile and easily scalable strategy has been demonstrated for the one-step production of industrial nutrient-rich hydrothermal carbon (NRHC) by combining the exogenous nutrients with seaweed internal water. During the reaction process, exogenous nutrients (NH4H2PO3, KNO3, CO(NH2)2) participated in the HTC reaction and were uniformly distributed on the surface of hydrothermal carbon through surface complexation precipitation, ion exchange, and electrostatic interactions. Simulations based on density functional theory revealed that NRHC produced in presence of exogenous nutrients possessed more active sites and surface charges. Moreover, the adsorbent and adsorbate were simultaneously affected by intermolecular forces, electrostatic forces, and internal energy of the system, and the thermodynamics of adsorption process was more stable. Compared with no exogenous nutrient involvement, NRHC produced by exogenous nutrients showed 2.12, 18.56, and 25.69 times increase in the N, P, and K content. The length of the seed germination root system increased by 4.3-5.9 times, which met the standards set for agricultural fertilizer. Due to increased yield per unit volume and reduced wastewater generation, the cost of NRHC production reduced by 47.83-58.23 per cent and profit enhanced by 1.56-1.68 times, as compared to traditional HTC. This low-cost streamlined process provides a new strategy for large-scale production and direct application of hydrothermal carbon.

Sensitive sensing of Hg(II) based on lattice B and surface F co-doped CeO2: Synergies of catalysis and adsorption brought by doping site engineering.

Transition metal oxides are widely used in the detection of heavy metal ions (HMIs), and the co-doping strategy that introducing a variety of different dopant atoms to modify them can obtain a better detection performance. However, there is very little research on the co-doped transition metal oxides by non-metallic elements for electrochemical detection. Herein, boron (B) and fluorine (F) co-doped CeO2 nanomaterial (BFC) is constructed to serve as the electrochemically sensitive interface for the detection of Hg(II). B and F affect the sensitivity of CeO2 to HMIs when they were introduced at different doping sites. Through a variety of characterization, it is proved that B is successfully doped into the lattice and F is doped on the surface of the material. Through the improvement of the catalytic properties and adsorption capacity of CeO2 by different doping sites, this B and F co-doped CeO2 exhibits excellent square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) current responses to Hg(II). Both the high sensitivity of 906.99 µA µM-1 cm-2 and the low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.006 µM are satisfactory. Besides, this BFC glassy carbon electrode (GCE) also has good anti-interference property, which has been successfully used in the detection of Hg(II) in actual water. This discovery provides a useful strategy for designing a variety of non-metallic co-doped transition metal oxides to construct trace heavy metal ion-sensitive interfaces.

Increase in hnRNPA1 Expression Suffices to Kill Motor Neurons in Transgenic Rats.

A dominant mutation in hnRNPA1 causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but it is not known whether this mutation leads to motor neuron death through increased or decreased function. To elucidate the relationship between pathogenic hnRNPA1 mutation and its native function, we created novel transgenic rats that overexpressed wildtype rat hnRNPA1 exclusively in motor neurons. This targeted expression of wildtype hnRNPA1 caused severe motor neuron loss and subsequent denervation muscle atrophy in transgenic rats that recapitulated the characteristics of ALS. These findings demonstrate that the augmentation of hnRNPA1 expression suffices to trigger motor neuron degeneration and the manifestation of ALS-like phenotypes. It is reasonable to infer that an amplification of an as-yet undetermined hnRNPA1 function plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of familial ALS caused by pathogenic hnRNPA1 mutation.

PIH1D3-knockout rats exhibit full ciliopathy features and dysfunctional pre-assembly and loading of dynein arms in motile cilia.

Background: Recessive mutation of the X-linked gene, PIH1 domain-containing protein 3 (PIH1D3), causes familial ciliopathy. PIH1D3 deficiency is associated with the defects of dynein arms in cilia, but how PIH1D3 specifically affects the structure and function of dynein arms is not understood yet. To gain insights into the underlying mechanisms of the disease, it is crucial to create a reliable animal model. In humans, rats, and mice, one copy of the PIH1D3 gene is located on the X chromosome. Interestingly, mice have an additional, intronless copy of the Pih1d3 gene on chromosome 1. To develop an accurate disease model, it is best to manipulate the X-linked PIH1D3 gene, which contains essential regulatory sequences within the introns for precise gene expression. This study aimed to develop a tailored rat model for PIH1D3-associated ciliopathy with the ultimate goal of uncovering the intricate molecular mechanisms responsible for ciliary defects in the disease. Methods: Novel Pih1d3-knockout (KO) rats were created by using TALEN-mediated non-homologous DNA recombination within fertilized rat eggs and, subsequently, underwent a comprehensive characterization through a battery of behavioral and pathological assays. A series of biochemical and histological analyses were conducted to elucidate the identity of protein partners that interact with PIH1D3, thus shedding light on the intricate molecular mechanisms involved in this context. Results: PIH1D3-KO rats reproduced the cardinal features of ciliopathy including situs inversus, defects in spermatocyte survival and mucociliary clearance, and perinatal hydrocephalus. We revealed the novel function of PIH1D3 in cerebrospinal fluid circulation and elucidated the mechanism by which PIH1D3 deficiency caused communicating hydrocephalus. PIH1D3 interacted with the proteins required for the pre-assembly and uploading of outer (ODA) and inner dynein arms (IDA), regulating the integrity of dynein arm structure and function in cilia. Conclusion: PIH1D3-KO rats faithfully reproduced the cardinal features of ciliopathy associated with PIH1D3 deficiency. PIH1D3 interacted with the proteins responsible for the pre-assembly and uploading of dynein arms in cilia, and its deficiency led to dysfunctional cilia and, thus, to ciliopathy by affecting the pre-assembly and uploading of dynein arms. The resultant rat model is a valuable tool for the mechanistic study of PIH1D3-caused diseases.

Detergent-insoluble PFN1 inoculation expedites disease onset and progression in PFN1 transgenic rats.

Accumulating evidence suggests a gain of elusive toxicity in pathogenically mutated PFN1. The prominence of PFN1 aggregates as a pivotal pathological hallmark in PFN1 transgenic rats underscores the crucial involvement of protein aggregation in the initiation and progression of neurodegeneration. Detergent-insoluble materials were extracted from the spinal cords of paralyzed rats afflicted with ALS and were intramuscularly administered to asymptomatic recipient rats expressing mutant PFN1, resulting in an accelerated development of PFN1 inclusions and ALS-like phenotypes. This effect diminished when the extracts derived from wildtype PFN1 transgenic rats were employed, as detergent-insoluble PFN1 was detected exclusively in mutant PFN1 transgenic rats. Consequently, the factor influencing the progression of ALS pathology in recipient rats is likely associated with the presence of detergent-insoluble PFN1 within the extracted materials. Noteworthy is the absence of disease course modification upon administering detergent-insoluble extracts to rats that already displayed PFN1 inclusions, suggesting a seeding rather than augmenting role of such extracts in initiating neuropathological changes. Remarkably, pathogenic PFN1 exhibited an enhanced affinity for the molecular chaperone DNAJB6, leading to the sequestration of DNAJB6 within protein inclusions, thereby depleting its availability for cellular functions. These findings shed light on a novel mechanism that underscores the prion-like characteristics of pathogenic PFN1 in driving neurodegeneration in the context of PFN1-related ALS.

A Reliable Method for Determining the Degree of Orientation of Fibrous Foods Using Laser Transmission and Computer Vision.

The degree of organised alignment of fibre structures, referred to as the degree of orientation, significantly influences the textural properties and consumer acceptance of fibrous foods. To develop a new method to quantitatively characterise the fibre structure of such foods, a laser transmission imaging system is constructed to capture the laser beam spot on a sample, and the resulting image undergoes a series of image processing steps that use computer vision to translate the light and dark variations of the original images into distinct ellipses. The results show that the degree of orientation can be reasonably calculated from the ellipse obtained by fitting the outermost isopixel points. To validate the reliability of the newly developed method, we determine the degree of orientation of typical fibrous foods (extruded beef jerky, pork jerky, chicken jerky, and duck jerky). The ranking of the measured orientation agrees with the results of pseudocolour maps and micrographs, confirming the ability of the method to distinguish different fibrous foods. Furthermore, the relatively small coefficients of variation and the strong positive correlation between the degree of organisation and the degree of orientation confirm the reliability of this newly developed method.

Raspberry polyphenols alleviate neurodegenerative diseases: through gut microbiota and ROS signals.

Neurodegenerative diseases are neurological disorders that become more prevalent with age, usually caused by damage or loss of neurons or their myelin sheaths, such as Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important triggers for neurodegenerative disease development, and mitigation of oxidative stress caused by ROS imbalance in the human body is important for the treatment of these diseases. As a widespread delicious fruit, the raspberry is widely used in the field of food and medicine because of its abundant polyphenols and other bioactive substances. Polyphenols from a wide variety of raspberry sources could alleviate neurodegenerative diseases. This review aims to summarize the current roles of these polyphenols in maintaining neurological stability by regulating the composition and metabolism of the intestinal flora and the gut-brain axis signal transmission. Especially, we discuss the therapeutic effects on neurodegenerative diseases of raspberry polyphenols through intestinal microorganisms and ROS signals, by means of summary and analysis. Finally, methods of improving the digestibility and utilization of raspberry polyphenols are proposed, which will provide a potential way for raspberry polyphenols to guarantee the health of the human nervous system.

Knowledge mapping of COVID-19 and autoimmune diseases: a visual and bibliometric analysis.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have shown an association between COVID-19 and autoimmune diseases (ADs). Studies on COVID-19 and ADs have also increased significantly, but there is no bibliometric analysis to summarize the association between COVID-19 and ADs. The purpose of this study was to perform a bibliometric and visual analysis of published studies related to COVID-19 and ADs. METHODS: Based on the Web of Science Core Collection SCI-Expanded database, we utilize Excel 2019 and visualization analysis tools Co-Occurrence13.2 (COOC13.2), VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and HistCite for analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1736 related kinds of papers were included, and the number of papers presented an overall increasing trend. The country/region with the most publications is the USA, the institution is the Harvard Medical School, the author is Yehuda Shoenfeld from Israel, and the journal is Frontiers in Immunology. Research hotspots include immune responses (such as cytokines storm), multisystem ADs (such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis), treatment modalities (such as hydroxychloroquine, rituximab), vaccination and autoimmune mechanisms (such as autoantibodies, molecular mimicry). The future research direction may be the mechanisms and treatment ideas of the association between ADs and COVID-19 (such as NF-κB, hyperinflammation, antiphospholipid antibodies, neutrophil extracellular traps, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor), other cross-diseases of COVID-19 and ADs (such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, acute respiratory distress syndrome). CONCLUSION: The growth rate of publications regarding ADs and COVID-19 has risen sharply. Our research results can help researchers grasp the current status of ADs and COVID-19 research and find new research directions in the future.

Autoimmune diseases and gut microbiota: a bibliometric and visual analysis from 2004 to 2022.

Many studies have shown that gut microbiota is closely related to autoimmune diseases (ADs). Studies on gut microbiota and ADs have also increased significantly, but no bibliometric analysis has summarized the association between gut microbiota and ADs. This study aimed to conduct a bibliometric and visual analysis of published studies on gut microbiota and ADs. Based on the Web of Science Core Collection SCI-expanded database, we utilize Excel 2019 and visualization analysis tools VOSviewer and co-occurrence13.2 (COOC13.2) for analysis. A total of 2516 related kinds of literature were included, and the number of papers presented an overall increasing trend. The country/region with the most publications is the USA, the institution is the Harvard Medical School, and the author is Mikael Knip from the USA. Hot research areas include intestinal regulation (such as dysbiosis, short chain fatty acids, and probiotics), multisystem ADs (such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease), and immune-related cells (such as T cells, and dendritic cells). Psoriasis, dysbiosis, autoimmune liver disease, and fecal microbiota transplantation may be the future research direction. Our research results can help researchers grasp the current status of ADs and gut microbiota research and find new research directions in the future.

Numerical and experimental analysis of the stiffness and band-gap properties of shell structures with periodically variable cross sections.

This paper describes one-dimensional periodic shell structures that have variable cross sections, a new type of periodic shell structures made from photopolymer. This paper will discuss the stiffness of periodic sub-cells that have variable cross sections and the band gaps of Bragg scattering shell structures based on numerical analysis and a series of experiments. This paper uses the Bloch theorem and lumped-mass method to create a band gap model for periodic shell structures. In this paper, an equivalent stiffness model for sub-cells is also created based on the principle of superposition and validated by experiments. Numerical studies and experiments are conducted to examine the effects of geometrical parameters, number of sub-cells, and stiffness of sub-cells on band gaps of one-dimensional periodic shell structures and to test the effectiveness of the models. The findings in this paper prove that by varying the stiffness of sub-cells under a fixed lattice constant, band gaps of one-dimensional periodic shell structures can be decreased. The findings also confirmed that the initial band gap of one-dimensional periodic shell structures can be lowered by increasing the number of sub-cells in a period. Unlike other types of Bragg scattering periodic structures, one-dimensional periodic shell structures allow their longitudinal band gaps to be adjusted under a fixed lattice constant. Those findings serve as a theoretical foundation for the application of Bragg scattering periodic shell structures in low-frequency vibration.

In-pipette-tip kapok fiber-supported liquid extraction/in-situ derivatization coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography for conveniently determining three furfurals.

This study presents an in-pipette-tip kapok fiber-supported liquid extraction/in-situ derivatization (in-pipette-tip KF-SLE-ISD) method for simultaneous enrichment and derivatization of furfurals. Briefly, 3 mg of natural kapok fiber, which was loaded in an assembled pipette-tip, was used to support 12.5 µL of extractant (ethyl acetate/toluene, 75:25, v/v) containing 10 mM 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine. The in-pipette-tip KF-SLE-ISD procedure was conveniently conducted by aspirating/releasing 1 mL of sample solution 10 cycles, allowing simultaneous extraction and derivatization of furfurals. Then, 100 µL of acetonitrile was aspirated/released 5 cycles for elution, 10 µL of which was directly analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The limits of quantitation were in ranges of 0.10-0.45 µg/mL. The method showed satisfied linearity (R2 > 0.99), precision (RSD < 8.53%) and relative recovery (90.34-114.71%), which was successfully applied to determine furfurals in various samples (e.g., honeys, juices and glucose injections). The proposed method has the merits of effectiveness, simplicity, low cost, wide availability and ease of automation.

Co-hydrothermal carbonization of polyvinyl chloride and lignocellulose biomasses for chlorine and inorganics removal.

Co-hydrothermal carbonization (co-HTC) of lignocellulose biomass (LB) and chlorinated waste can simultaneously remove organic chlorine and inorganics, however, the interaction mechanisms are unclear owing to the variety of operating conditions and complexity of biomass compositions. Pine, bamboo, corncob, corn stalk, and wheat straw were co-hydrothermally carbonized with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) at the mass ratio of 9:1 for 30 min under 260 °C to explore the fundamental interactions. The synergistic index (SI) of dechlorination efficiency ranged from -20.3 % to 19.9 %, indicating the interaction depended on the content and composition of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in the LB feedstocks. Hydroxyl functional groups in cellulose and soluble lignin dehydration intermediates promoted PVC substitution. The LB fragments prevented PVC aggregation while promoted PVC fragmentation, thereby facilitating dechlorination. The polyaromatic hydrochar derived from insoluble lignin and polymeric hydrochar derived from hemicellulose, cellulose, and soluble lignin can coat the surface of molten PVC and act as significant dechlorination inhibitors. All SI of removal efficiency of inorganics (RE) were positive, ranging from 0.74 % to 154 %, with large variations for different inorganics, indicating that inorganics contents in LB influenced RE significantly. A large amount of water-insoluble/acid-soluble inorganics was removed via a metathesis reaction. Soluble inorganics were dissolved in the process water by HCl leaching.

Effect of Ginkgo biloba leaves on the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) in soil and its underlying mechanism.

Cr(VI) is a toxic, teratogenic, and carcinogenic heavy metal element in soil that poses major ecological and human health risks. In this study, microcosm tests combined with X-ray absorption near-edge spectra (XANES) and 16Sr DNA amplification techniques were used to explore the effect of Ginkgo biloba leaves on the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) in soil and its underlying mechanism. Ginkgo biloba leaves had a favorable remediation effect on soil varying in Cr(VI) contamination levels, and the optimal effect was observed when 5% Ginkgo biloba leaves were added. The occurrence state of Cr(VI) in soil before and after the addition of Ginkgo biloba leaves was analyzed by XANES, which revealed that Cr(VI) was fully converted to the more biologically innocuous Cr(III), and the hydroxyl-containing quercetin in Ginkgo biloba leaves was one of the primary components mediating this reduction reaction. The Cr(VI) content was significantly lower in non-sterilized soil than in sterilized soil, suggesting that soil microorganisms play a key role in the remediation process. The addition of Ginkgo biloba leaves decreased the α-diversity and altered the ß-diversity of the soil bacterial community. Actinobacteria was the dominant phylum in the soil remediated by Ginkgo biloba leaves; four genera of Cr(VI)-reducing bacteria were also enriched, including Agrococcus, Klebsiella, Streptomyces, and Microbacterium. Functional gene abundances predicted by PICRUST indicated that the expression of glutathione synthesis genes was substantially up-regulated, which might be the main metabolic pathway underlying the mitigation of Cr(VI) toxicity in soil by Cr(VI)-reducing bacteria. In sum, Ginkgo biloba leaves can effectively remove soil Cr(VI) and reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III) via quercetin in soil, which also functions as a carbon source to drive the production of glutathione via Cr(VI)-reducing bacteria and mitigate Cr(VI) toxicity. The findings of this study elucidate the chemical and microbial mechanisms of Cr(VI) removal in soil by Ginkgo biloba leaves and provide insights that could be used to enhance the remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated soil.

Improvement of high-quality evaluation criteria of Chinese patent medicines based on whole process control / 中国中药杂志

Chinese patent medicines(CPMs) are unique therapeutic drugs in China. Establishing and improving the evaluation criteria is an important measure to promote the high-quality development of CPMs. Based on the "evaluation criteria of high-grade CPMs with quality as the core index" established by our group in 2018, the "high-quality evaluation criteria for CPMs based on whole process control" was proposed in the present study in 2022. The scope of application and basic principles of the new criteria were clarified. A quality evaluation scoring table was established in the new criteria, including five parts: raw material selection, production process, quality control, efficacy evaluation, and brand building. The technical evaluation indexes involved have increased from 20% in the original criteria to 70% in the new criteria, and efficacy evaluation has been added in the new criteria. The subjective evaluation indicators account for a large proportion in the original criteria, which is prone to bias. The improved criteria overcome this shortcoming. It is expected that the new criteria as a basis can play a better role in the selection of high-quality products of CPMs, guide enterprises and institutions to participate actively in the evaluation and research of high-quality CPMs, and promote the high-quality development of CPMs.

Effective components and mechanism of Qijiao Shengbai Capsules based on fingerprinting and network pharmacology / 中国中药杂志

Qijiao Shengbai Capsules(QJ) can invigorate Qi and replenish the blood, which is commonly used clinically for adjuvant treatment of cancer and leukopenia due to chemoradiotherapy. However, the pharmacological mechanism of QJ is still unclear. This work aims to combine the high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) fingerprints and network pharmacology to clarify the effective components and mechanism of QJ. The HPLC fingerprints of 20 batches of QJ were established. The similarity evaluation among 20 batches of QJ was performed by using Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Traditional Chinese Medicine(version 2012), resulting in a similarity greater than 0.97. Eleven common peaks were identified by reference standard, including ferulic acid, calycosin 7-O-glucoside, ononin, calycosin, epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C, icariin, formononetin, baohuoside I, and Z-ligustilide. The "component-target-pathway" network was constructed by network pharmacy, and 10 key components in QJ were identified, such as ferulic acid, calycosin 7-O-glucoside, ononin, and calycosin. The components were involved in the phosphoinositide 3 kinase-protein kinase B(PI3K-Akt), mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK), and other signaling pathways by regulating potential targets, including EGFR, RAF1, PIK3R1, and RELA, to auxiliarily treat tumors, cancers, and leukopenia. The molecular docking conducted on the AutoDock Vina platform confirmed the high binding activity of 10 key effective components with core targets, with the binding energy less than-5 kcal·mol~(-1). In this study, the effective components and mechanism of QJ have been preliminary revealed based on HPLC fingerprint and network pharmacology, which provided a basis for quality control of QJ and a refe-rence for further study on its mechanism.