Advanced Application of Polymer Nanocarriers in Delivery of Active Ingredients from Traditional Chinese Medicines.

Active ingredients from Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) have been a cornerstone of healthcare for millennia, offering a rich source of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential. However, the clinical application of TCMs is often limited by challenges such as poor solubility, low bioavailability, and variable pharmacokinetics. To address these issues, the development of advanced polymer nanocarriers has emerged as a promising strategy for the delivery of TCMs. This review focuses on the introduction of common active ingredients from TCMs and the recent advancements in the design and application of polymer nanocarriers for enhancing the efficacy and safety of TCMs. We begin by discussing the unique properties of TCMs and the inherent challenges associated with their delivery. We then delve into the types of polymeric nanocarriers, including polymer micelles, polymer vesicles, polymer hydrogels, and polymer drug conjugates, highlighting their application in the delivery of active ingredients from TCMs. The main body of the review presents a comprehensive analysis of the state-of-the-art nanocarrier systems and introduces the impact of these nanocarriers on the solubility, stability, and bioavailability of TCM components. On the basis of this, we provide an outlook on the future directions of polymer nanocarriers in TCM delivery. This review underscores the transformative potential of polymer nanocarriers in revolutionizing TCM delivery, offering a pathway to harness the full therapeutic potential of TCMs while ensuring safety and efficacy in a modern medical context.

Therapy of traditional Chinese medicine in Candida spp. and Candida associated infections: A comprehensive review.

Candida spp. are commonly a group of opportunistic dimorphic fungi, frequently causing diverse fungal infections in immunocompromised or immunosuppressant patients from mucosal disturbs (oropharyngeal candidiasis and vulvovaginal candidiasis) to disseminated infections (systemic candidiasis) with high morbidity and mortality. Importantly, several Candida species can be isolated from diseased individuals with digestive, neuropathic, respiratory, metabolic and autoimmune diseases. Due to increased resistance to conventional antifungal agents, the arsenal for antifungal purpose is in urgent need. Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) are a huge treasury that can be used as promising candidates for antimycotic applications. In this review, we make a short survey of microbiological (morphology and virulence) and pathological (candidiasis and Candida related infections) features of and host immune response (innate and adaptive immunity) to Candida spp.. Based on the chemical structures and well-studied antifungal mechanisms, the monomers, extracts, decoctions, essential oils and other preparations of TCMs that are reported to have fair antifungal activities or immunomodulatory effects for anticandidal purpose are comprehensively reviewed. We also emphasize the importance of combination and drug pair of TCMs as useful anticandidal strategies, as well as network pharmacology and molecular docking as beneficial complements to current experimental approaches. This review construct a therapeutic module that can be helpful to guide in-future experimental and preclinical studies in the combat against fungal threats aroused by C. albicans and non-albicans Candida species.

Simultaneous detection of five mycotoxins in traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) by visual protein microarray.

The pollution of mycotoxins to crops such as traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) is an established problem throughout the world. Thus, mycotoxin determination in TCMs during production and processing is significantly necessary, which means rapid, sensitive and accurate analytical methods are needed. In this work, a new method of visual protein microarray based on a 96-well microtiter plate was proposed. Combined with a colorimetric method, five mycotoxins (ochratoxin A, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, aflatoxin B1 and fumonisin B1) in 90 samples (TCMs) could be detected simultaneously within 30 minutes. The detection limits for the five mycotoxins are 0.25 µg/kg, 0.33 µg/kg, 11.84 µg/kg, 0.06 µg/kg, and 3.58 µg/kg, which can satisfy specified requirements of mycotoxins in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 edition) adequately. Under repeated conditions, experiments were carried out on actual samples to verify the feasibility of the method. The results showed that the recoveries of all analytes were between 70 % and 120 %, and the relative standard deviations were less than 15 %. In comparison to LC-MS/MS, this method significantly reduces the required time, and the colorimetric technique offers more direct results compared to fluorescence-based screening assays. This method exhibits substantial potential for the rapid and sensitive on-site detection of TCMs for quality control.

[Mechanisms of oxidative stress in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury and protective effects of traditional Chinese medicines].

Myocardial ischemia is a disease characterized by high morbidity and mortality rates, restoring blood supply to the ischemic area through reperfusion is an effective intervention method. However, numerous studies have shown that reperfusion may cause severe myocardial damage, resulting in myocardial systolic and diastolic dysfunction and seriously affecting myocardial function. This phenomenon is called myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury(MIRI). The physiological and pathological mechanisms of MIRI include oxidative stress, calcium overload, autophagy, pyrolysis, endoplasmic reticulum stress, apoptosis, etc. Oxidative stress plays an important role in MIRI-related cell death and is considered to be the main mechanism of MIRI. The occurrence of oxidative stress is mainly due to the excessive production of reactive oxygen species(ROS), which disrupts the balance of the redox system of the body or tissue. A large number of highly reactive ROS exceed the antioxidant defense capacity of cardiomyocytes, causing modifications in biological macromolecules such as DNA and proteins and resulting in severe reactions like DNA damage, protein dysfunction, cell damage or death, and local inflammation. Oxidative stress mediates apoptosis, autophagy, and inflammatory injury through various pathways, resulting in irreversible cardiomyocyte injury and myocardial dysfunction, which brings significant challenges for clinical treatment and prognosis. In recent years, remarkable progress has been made in understanding oxidative stress in ischemia reperfusion(I/R) injury of different organs and tissue. However, the injury mechanism caused by oxidative stress in restoring blood supply to the ischemic area and the protective effect of TCM remain largely unexplored. This article reviewed the role of oxidative stress in MIRI, the main production pathways of ROS, and the protective effects of TCM on oxidative stress injury during ischemic myocardial reperfusion, so as to provide a reference for future research and clinical treatment in this field.

Cytokine Storm in COVID-19: Insight into Pathological Mechanisms and Therapeutic Benefits of Chinese Herbal Medicines.

Cytokine storm (CS) is the main driver of SARS-CoV-2-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in severe coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). The pathological mechanisms of CS are quite complex and involve multiple critical molecular targets that turn self-limited and mild COVID-19 into a severe and life-threatening concern. At present, vaccines are strongly recommended as safe and effective treatments for preventing serious illness or death from COVID-19. However, effective treatment options are still lacking for people who are at the most risk or hospitalized with severe disease. Chinese herbal medicines have been shown to improve the clinical outcomes of mild to severe COVID-19 as an adjunct therapy, particular preventing the development of mild to severe ARDS. This review illustrates in detail the pathogenesis of CS-involved ARDS and its associated key molecular targets, cytokines and signalling pathways. The therapeutic targets were identified particularly in relation to the turning points of the development of COVID-19, from mild symptoms to severe ARDS. Preclinical and clinical studies were reviewed for the effects of Chinese herbal medicines together with conventional therapies in reducing ARDS symptoms and addressing critical therapeutic targets associated with CS. Multiple herbal formulations, herbal extracts and single bioactive phytochemicals with or without conventional therapies demonstrated strong anti-CS effects through multiple mechanisms. However, evidence from larger, well-designed clinical trials is lacking and their detailed mechanisms of action are yet to be well elucidated. More research is warranted to further evaluate the therapeutic value of Chinese herbal medicine for CS in COVID-19-induced ARDS.

Refined Cumulative Risk Assessment of Pb, Cd, and as in TCM Decoction Based on Bioavailability through In Vitro Digestion/MDCK Cells.

In this study, the oral bioavailability of Pb, Cd, and As in three types of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and TCM decoctions were investigated through in vitro PBET digestion/MDKC cell model. Furthermore, a novel cumulative risk assessment model associated with co-exposure of heavy metal(loid)s in TCM and TCM decoction based on bioavailability was developed using hazard index (HI) for rapid screening and target organ toxicity dose modification of the HI (TTD) method for precise assessment. The results revealed that the bioavailability of Pb, Cd, and As in three types of TCM and TCM decoction was 5.32-72.49% and 4.98-51.97%, respectively. After rapid screening of the co-exposure health risks of heavy metal(loid)s by the HI method, cumulative risk assessment results acquired by TTD method based on total metal contents in TCMs indicated that potential health risks associated with the co-exposure of Pb, Cd, and As in Pheretima aspergillum (E. Perrier) and Oldenlandia diffusa (Willd.) Roxb were of concern. However, considering both the factors of decoction and bioavailability, TTD-adjusted HI outcomes for TCMs in this study were <1, indicating acceptable health risks. Collectively, our innovation on cumulative risk assessment of TCM and TCM decoction provides a novel strategy with the main purpose of improving population health.

Immobilized PAD4 enzyme on magnetic nanoparticles for screening natural inhibitors from traditional Chinese medicines.

Dysregulation of peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 (PAD4) is involved in a variety of diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and it has emerged as potential and promising therapeutic target. However, no PAD4 inhibitor is ready for clinical use. Immobilized enzyme screening technology has gained increasing attention due to its low cost, reusability, easy separation from the reaction mixture, and resistance to changes in environmental conditions. In this study, PAD4 was immobilized on the magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) to prolong its activity stability, and a simple and rapid screening strategy of traditional Chinese medicine inhibitors based on immobilized PAD4 was established. The PAD4 enzyme was immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) via Schiff base reaction using glutaraldehyde (GA) as crosslinking agent. Compared with free PAD4, the resulting MNP@GA@PAD4 exhibited an enhanced tolerance to temperature and storage stability, and its reusability was greatly improved with 66 % of initial enzyme activity after being recycled 10 times. The inhibitory activity of the immobilized PAD4 was assessed using two known PAD4 inhibitors GSK484 and BB-Cl-amidine. The semi-maximum inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of GSK484 and BB-Cl-amidine for MNP@GA@PAD4 were 1.00 and 0.97 µM, respectively, for free PAD4 were 0.64 and 0.85 µM, respectively. Finally, the MNP@GA@PAD4 was employed to rapid screen of natural PAD4 inhibitors from forty traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Under the same conditions, the controlled experiment was conducted with free PAD4. The screening results of TCMs inhibitors on MNP@GA@PAD4 and free PAD4 were similar, the alcohol extracts of Cinnamomi Cortex and Caryophylli Flos had significant inhibitory effects on PAD4 enzyme activity. The IC50 values of Cinnamomi Cortex extract for MNP@GA@PAD4 and free PAD4 were determined as 27 and 48 µg/mL, respectively. The IC50 values of Caryophylli Flos extracts for MNP@GA@PAD4 and free PAD4 were determined as 48 and 32 µg/mL, respectively. For the first time, this study proposed a method to immobilize PAD4 on magnetic materials, and developed a rapid, reusable and feasible strategy to screening natural PAD4 inhibitors from TCMs.

Integrating Data Mining with Metabolomics to Analyze the Mechanism of the "Pearl-Borneol" Pair in Promoting Healing of Diabetic Wounds.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic diabetic wounds pose a significant threat to the health of diabetic patients, representing severe and enduring complications. Globally, an estimated 2.5% to 15% of the annual health budget is associated with diabetes, with diabetic wounds accounting for a substantial share. Exploring new therapeutic agents and approaches to address delayed and impaired wound healing in diabetes becomes imperative. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history and remarkable efficacy in treating chronic wound healing. In this study, all topically applied proprietary Chinese medicines (pCMs) for wound healing officially approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) were collected from the NMPA TCM database. Data mining was employed to obtain a high-frequency TCM ingredients pair, Pearl-Borneol (1:1). METHOD: This study investigated the effect and molecular mechanism of the Pearl-Borneol pair on the healing of diabetic wounds by animal experiments and metabolomics. The results from animal experiments showed that the Pearl-Borneol pair significantly accelerated diabetic wound healing, exhibiting a more potent effect than the Pearl or Borneol treatment alone. Meanwhile, the metabolomics analysis identified significant differences in metabolic profiles in wounds between the model and normal groups, indicating that diabetic wounds had distinct metabolic characteristics from normal wounds. Moreover, Vaseline-treated wounds exhibited similar metabolic profiles to the wounds from the model group, suggesting that Vaseline might have a negligible impact on diabetic wound metabolism. In addition, wounds treated with Pearl, Borneol, and Pearl-Borneol pair displayed significantly different metabolic profiles from Vaseline-treated wounds, signifying the influence of these treatments on wound metabolism. Subsequent enrichment analysis of the metabolic pathway highlighted the involvement of the arginine metabolic pathway, closely associated with diabetic wounds, in the healing process under Pearl- Borneol pair treatment. Further analysis revealed elevated levels of arginine and citrulline, coupled with reduced nitric oxide (NO) in both the model and Vaseline-treated wounds compared to normal wounds, pointing to impaired arginine utilization in diabetic wounds. Interestingly, treatment with Pearl and Pearl-Borneol pair lowered arginine and citrulline levels while increasing NO content, suggesting that these treatments may promote the catabolism of arginine to generate NO, thereby facilitating faster wound closure. Additionally, borneol alone significantly elevated NO content in wounds, potentially due to its ability to directly reduce nitrates/nitrites to NO. Oxidative stress is a defining characteristic of impaired metabolism in diabetic wounds. RESULTS: The result showed that both Pearl and Pearl-Borneol pair decreased the oxidative stress biomarker methionine sulfoxide level in diabetic wounds compared to those treated with Vaseline, indicating that Pearl alone or combined with Borneol may enhance the oxidative stress microenvironment in diabetic wounds. CONCLUSION: In summary, the findings validate the effectiveness of the Pearl-Borneol pair in accelerating the healing of diabetic wounds, with effects on reducing oxidative stress, enhancing arginine metabolism, and increasing NO generation, providing a mechanistic basis for this therapeutic approach.

The mechanisms underlying Chinese medicines to treat inflammation in diabetic kidney disease.

ETHNIC PHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the main cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which is a public health problem with a significant economic burden. Serious adverse effects, such as hypotension, hyperkalemia, and genitourinary infections, as well as increasing adverse cardiovascular events, limit the clinical application of available drugs. Plenty of randomized controlled trials(RCTs), meta-analysis(MAs) and systematic reviews(SRs) have demonstrated that many therapies that have been used for a long time in medical practice including Chinese patent medicines(CPMs), Chinese medicine prescriptions, and extracts are effective in alleviating DKD, but the mechanisms by which they work are still unknown. Currently, targeting inflammation is a central strategy in DKD drug development. In addition, many experimental studies have identified many Chinese medicine prescriptions, medicinal herbs and extracts that have the potential to alleviate DKD. And part of the mechanisms by which they work have been uncovered. AIM OF THIS REVIEW: This review aims to summarize therapies that have been proven effective by RCTs, MAs and SRs, including CPMs, Chinese medicine prescriptions, and extracts. This review also focuses on the efficiency and potential targets of Chinese medicine prescriptions, medicinal herbs and extracts discovered in experimental studies in improving immune inflammation in DKD. METHODS: We searched for relevant scientific articles in the following databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. We summarized effective CPMs, Chinese medicine prescriptions, and extracts from RCTs, MAs and SRs. We elaborated the signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms by which Chinese medicine prescriptions, medicinal herbs and extracts alleviate inflammation in DKD according to different experimental studies. RESULTS: After overviewing plenty of RCTs with the low hierarchy of evidence and MAs and SRs with strong heterogeneity, we still found that CPMs, Chinese medicine prescriptions, and extracts exerted promising protective effects against DKD. However, there is insufficient evidence to prove the safety of Chinese medicines. As for experimental studies, Experiments in vitro and in vivo jointly demonstrated the efficacy of Chinese medicines(Chinese medicine prescriptions, medicinal herbs and extracts) in DKD treatment. Chinese medicines were able to regulate signaling pathways to improve inflammation in DKD, such as toll-like receptors, NLRP3 inflammasome, Nrf2 signaling pathway, AMPK signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, JAK-STAT, and AGE/RAGE. CONCLUSION: Chinese medicines (Chinese medicine prescriptions, medicinal herbs and extracts) can improve inflammation in DKD. For drugs that are effective in RCTs, the underlying bioactive components or extracts should be identified and isolated. Attention should be given to their safety and pharmacokinetics. Acute, subacute, and subchronic toxicity studies should be designed to determine the magnitude and tolerability of side effects in humans or animals. For drugs that have been proven effective in experimental studies, RCTs should be designed to provide reliable evidence for clinical translation. In a word, Chinese medicines targeting immune inflammation in DKD are a promising direction.

Effects of traditional Chinese medicines on weight management among adults with overweight or obesity: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Increasing evidence has reported the anti-obesity effects of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and their potential advantages in weight loss, such as fewer side effects and lower costs compared to the current recommended treatments like Western medicines. Previous review studies have examined the effects of a few commonly used TCM therapies such as acupuncture and herbal medicines on weight loss. This network meta-analysis (NMA) study aims to review and rank the effects of currently available TCMs on weight loss and to compare the effects of TCMs with different intervention durations. Eligible Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted among Chinese adults with overweight or obesity were searched on electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, and SinoMed) up to 1 March 2023. Pairwise meta-analysis was performed to examine the pooled effects of TCMs on weight loss, and NMA was conducted to rank different types of TCMs. Subgroup analysis stratified by intervention duration was performed. Forty-six RCTs were eligible for inclusion in the review. The results showed that TCMs, especially when the treatment duration was ≤6 months, were more effective in both body weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) reduction than non-pharmacological interventions and placebo/no treatment. Acupotomy was ranked as the most effective TCM treatment in reducing both body weight and BMI. Traditional Chinese medicines have promising potential for weight loss and could be included in future clinical guidance as a standalone or supplementary treatment for obesity. Future studies need to further investigate under-researched TCMs, examine the long-term effects and safety of TCMs in obesity treatment, and validate the findings from this study among other ethnic populations.

Potential COVID-19 remedies from repurposed drugs and herbal small RNAs.

To date, SARS-CoV-2 has caused millions of deaths, but the choice of treatment is limited. We previously established a platform for identifying Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved repurposed drugs for avian influenza A virus infections that could be used for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment. In this study, we analyzed blood samples from two cohorts of 63 COVID-19 patients, including 19 patients with severe disease. Among the 39 FDA-approved drugs we identified for COVID-19 therapy in both cohorts, 23 drugs were confirmed by literature mining data, including 14 drugs already under COVID-19 clinical trials and 9 drugs reported for COVID-19 treatments, suggesting the remaining 16 FDA-approved drugs may be candidates for COVID-19 therapy. Additionally, we previously reported that herbal small RNAs (sRNAs) could be effective components in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for treating COVID-19. Based on the abundance of sRNAs, we screened the 245 TCMs in the Bencao (herbal) sRNA Atlas that we had previously established, and we found that the top 12 TCMs for COVID-19 treatment was consistent across both cohorts. We validated the efficiency of the top 30 sRNAs from each of the top 3 TCMs for COVID-19 treatment in poly(I:C)-stimulated human non-small cell lung cancer cells (A549 cells). In conclusion, our study recommends potential COVID-19 remedies using FDA-approved repurposed drugs and herbal sRNAs from TCMs.

Modulating the Gut Microbiota and Metabolites with Traditional Chinese Medicines: An Emerging Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Its Complications.

Currently, an estimated 537 million individuals are affected by type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the occurrence of which is invariably associated with complications. Glucose-lowering therapy remains the main treatment for alleviating T2DM. However, conventional antidiabetic agents are fraught with numerous adverse effects, notably elevations in blood pressure and lipid levels. Recently, the use of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and their constituents has emerged as a preferred management strategy aimed at curtailing the progression of diabetes and its associated complications with fewer adverse effects. Increasing evidence indicates that gut microbiome disturbances are involved in the development of T2DM and its complications. This regulation depends on various metabolites produced by gut microbes and their interactions with host organs. TCMs' interventions have demonstrated the ability to modulate the intestinal bacterial microbiota, thereby restoring host homeostasis and ameliorating metabolic disorders. This review delves into the alterations in the gut microbiota and metabolites in T2DM patients and how TCMs treatment regulates the gut microbiota, facilitating the management of T2DM and its complications. Additionally, we also discuss prospective avenues for research on natural products to advance diabetes therapy.

Identification of octyl gallate, a novel apoptosis-inducing compound for colon cancer therapy, from Sanguisorba officinalis L. by cell membrane chromatography and UHPLC-(Q)TOF-MS/MS.

Colon cancer is a common gastrointestinal malignancy that ranks third in incidence among gastrointestinal cancers. Therefore, screening bioactive compounds for treatment of colon cancer is urgently needed. Sanguisorba officinalis L. (SO) has been demonstrated that the extractions or monomers possess potential anti-tumor effect. In this study, we firstly used cell membrane chromatography (CMC) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with (quadrupole) time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-(Q) TOF-MS/MS) to identify a novel active ingredient, octyl gallate (OG), from SO methanol extract (SO-MtOH). HCT116 and SW620 cells lines were used for in vitro research, which showed OG presents great anti-colon cancer effect by inhibiting proliferation, inducing apoptosis, and repressing the migration and invasion. Furthermore, SW620 bearing athymic nude mice was used to investigate the potential antitumor activity in vivo, which exhibited OG treatment remarkably lessened the tumor volume. Mechanism studies showed that OG downregulated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling axis and induced apoptosis by upregulating the Bax/Bcl-2 protein and the cleaved caspase-3, caspase-9. In conclusion, our research innovatively applied the method of CMC to intriguingly unearth the potential anti-colon cancer ingredient OG and demonstrated its the great antineoplastic activity, which provide a new insight for researchers efficiently developing the novel apoptosis-inducing compound for colon cancer therapy.

Targeting lipid reprogramming in the tumor microenvironment by traditional Chinese medicines as a potential cancer treatment.

In the last ten years, there has been a notable rise in the study of metabolic abnormalities in cancer cells. However, compared to glucose or glutamine metabolism, less attention has been paid to the importance of lipid metabolism in tumorigenesis. Recent developments in lipidomics technologies have allowed for detailed analysis of lipid profiles within cancer cells and other cellular players present within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and its bioactive components have a long history of use in cancer treatments and are also being studied for their potential role in regulating metabolic reprogramming within TME. This review focuses on four core abnormalities altered by lipid reprogramming in cancer cells: de novo synthesis and exogenous uptake of fatty acids (FAs), upregulated fatty acid oxidation (FAO), cholesterol accumulation, which offer benefits for tumor growth and metastasis. The review also discusses how altered lipid metabolism impacts infiltrating immune cell function and phenotype as these interactions between cancer-stromal become more pronounced during tumor progression. Finally, recent literature is highlighted regarding how cancer cells can be metabolically reprogrammed by specific Chinese herbal components with potential therapeutic benefits related to lipid metabolic and signaling pathways.

[Development of green pesticides from traditional Chinese medicines based on artificial intelligence and compatibility of traditional Chinese medicines].

The food security of China as a big agricultural country is attracting increasing attention. With the progress in the traditional Chinese medicine industry, Chinese medicinal materials and their preparations have been gradually developed as agents for disease prevention and with antimicrobial and insecticidal functions in agriculture. Promoting pesticide innovation by interdisciplinary integration has become the trend in pesticide research globally. Considering the increasingly important roles of green pesticides from traditional Chinese medicines and artificial intelligence in pest target prediction, this paper proposed an innovative green control strategy in line with the concepts of ecological sustainable development and food security protection. CiteSpace was used for visual analysis of the publications. The results showed that artificial intelligence had been extensively applied in the pesticide field in recent years. This paper explores the application and development of biopesticides for the first time, with focus on the plant-derived pesticides. The thought of traditional Chinese medicine compatibility can be employed to creat a new promosing field: pesticides from traditional Chinese medicine. Moreover, artificial intelligence can be employed to build the formulation system of pesticides from traditional Chinese medicines and the target prediction system of diseases and pests. This study provides new ideas for the future development and market application of biopesticides, aiming to provide more healthy and safe agricultural products for human beings, promote the innovation and development of green pesticides in China, and protect the sustainable development of the environment and ecosystem. This may be the research hotspot and competition point for the green development of the pesticide industry chain in the future.

Medical Applications and Distribution of Borneol during the Joseon Period.

Borneol(yongnoe) was a fragrance and medicinal ingredient with unique efficacy. However, it could be produced only in tropical Southeast Asia and obtained only through international trade. In addition, camphor(jangnoe) with similar material properties was developed and distributed as an inexpensive replacement for borneol, although the processing method is different from that of borneol. Even in Joseon Korea, borneol and camphor were recognized as separate medicines, and efforts were made to obtain a high-quality borneol. Borneol and camphor have a unique effect of relieving inflammation, pain and heavy feeling, so it could be widely applied to symptoms in various diseases. During the Joseon period, borneol was a rare item that could only be obtained through foreign trade, and it was also used for perfumes and insect repellents, but most widely used as medicine. There are many records of actually prescribing borneol to the royal family, and many medicines containing borneol and its effective symptoms were also recorded in the medical books. Borneol was able to spread widely in Joseon society thanks to the practice of distributing 'nabyak' to court officials every year in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar. Since nabyak was used as a household medicine that was stored and used when necessary, pills containing borneol that could be applied to various symptoms were suitable for this purpose. Despite considerable medical demand, borneol was one of the important 'dangyakjae', the Chinese medicines imported to Joseon. During the Joseon period, borneol was imported through China and Japan, but genuine borneol was difficult to obtain, so it was often presented to Joseon as gifts of envoy trade. It is thought that camphor was also imported, but it is not well mentioned in official records or medical books reflecting national demand. Perhaps this is thought to be because the government prioritized securing better quality borneol rather than campher. In the early 17th century, due to the instability of the envoy's route to the Ming Dynasty, Joseon had to import borneol only through the sea. As a result, there were problems with the supply and quality of borneol, and national interest in Japanese borneol temporarily increased. However, as the relationship with the Qing Dynasty stabilized, a system was established to import national borneol demand through the annual envoy trade. Naeuiwon, the medical center for the royal family is in charge of securing and prescribing Chinese medicines, but the cost was covered by the silver paid by Hojo, the ministry of finance of Joseon Dynasty. Since the amount of Chinese medicines used in the preparation of nabyak was not small, the financial burden of importing enough medicines including borneol increased. The purveyors for government played a role in supplying Chinese medicines to the government. Their appearance shows that private merchants were actively involved in the trade of Chinese medicines including borneol. The formation of the medicinal market by private merchants' activities greatly contributed to the widespread expansion of the applications and distribution of borneol.

Optimization of ultrasonic pretreatment and analysis of chlorogenic acid in potato leaves.

Chlorogenic acid (CA) is an effective ingredient that can strengthen immunity during following the COVID-19 era. The current cost of CA is high owing to its complex purification process and low yield (approximately 2%). In this study, a one-step path orthogonal experiment was designed based on the results from Gauss calculation, which consisted of acidity, coordination, and hydrolysis in molecules. The optimized extraction conditions were 60 â„ƒ, 60 min, 1:20 liquid ratio, and 40% ethanol in a nitrogen atmosphere controlled using a device of our own design, which led to CA yields of up to 6.35% from potato leaves. The purified CA was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and molecular fluorescence. This accurate and reproducible method can not only be used to obtain high yields of CA but can also be used for the quality control of active plant products and their isomers.

Microencapsulation of multi-component traditional Chinese herbs extracts and its application to traditional Chinese medicines loaded textiles.

Extracts of traditional Chinese herbs (TCH) contain a variety of anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory and other bioactive factors. However, the defect of easy degradation or loss of active ingredients limits its application in traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) loaded textiles. In this work, TCH extracts containing different active ingredients were innovatively proposed as the core material of microcapsules. The feasibility of microencapsulation of multi-component TCH extracts in the essential oil state was initially demonstrated. Polyacrylate was also used as a binder to load the microcapsules onto the fabric to improve the durability and wash resistance of the treated fabric. Modeling the oil release of microcapsules for controlled release under different conditions may provide new possible uses for the materials. Results show that the constructed microcapsule has a smooth surface without depression and can be continuously released for over 30 days. The release behavior of microcapsules follows different release mechanisms and can be modulated by temperature and water molecules. The incorporation of microcapsules and polyacrylate does not significantly change the fabric's air permeability, water vapor transmission and hydrophilicity. The washing durability and friction properties of the microcapsule-based fabric are greatly improved, and it can withstand 30 washing tests and 200 friction tests. Moreover, the results of methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) release assay using human dermal papilla cells (HDP) as an in vitro template confirm that the microcapsule has no toxic effects on human cells. Therefore, the successful microencapsulation of multi-component TCH extracts indicates their potential application in the field of TCM-loaded textiles.

Determination of fifteen illegal colorants in traditional Chinese medicines by two hydrophobic DES-based microextraction methods coupled with an HPLC-DAD.

The dyeing and adulteration of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) are continuously updated. Valuable analytical methods for the daily inspection of illegal colorant additives in TCMs and the preparations are in demand. Two deep eutectic solvent (DES)-based vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (VA-LLME) and ultrasonic-assisted solid-liquid microextraction (UA-SLME) were developed for the sample pretreatment of ten water-soluble colorants and five water-insoluble colorants, respectively, followed by an HPLC-DAD detection. Fifteen colorants were analyzed at four detection wavelengths within 40 min of gradient elution. The optimal DES of VA-LLME and UA-SLME were screened from 23 homemade DESs. The factors affecting the extraction efficiency of VA-LLME and UA-SLME were optimized systematically. Under the optimal conditions, ten water-soluble colorants analyzed by DES-based VA-LLME-HPLC-DAD showed good linearity (R ≥ 0.9995) within the optimal linear range. The LODs and LOQs were 0.2-1.0 µg g-1 and 0. 5-5.0 µg g-1, respectively. The recoveries of spiked samples were 80.2%-104.7 %, with RSDs ≤ 4.39 %. Five water-insoluble colorants of Sudan I‒IV and Sudan 7B analyzed by DES-based UA-SLME-HPLC-DAD showed good linearity (R ≥ 0.9995) within the optimal linear range. The LODs and LOQs were 0.8-8.0 µg g-1 and 4.0-40.0 µg g-1, respectively. The recoveries of spiked samples were 94.2%-103.1 %, with RSDs ≤ 4.81 %. The proposed DES-based VA-LLME-HPLC-DAD was successfully applied to analyze six water-soluble yellow colorants in Cuscutae Semen, salted Cuscutae Semen, and four water-soluble red colorants in Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus. The proposed DES-based UA-SLME-HPLC-DAD was successfully applied to analyze five water-insoluble red colorants in Dieda pills. The study provides analytical method options for routine tests of water-soluble, water-insoluble, or both water-soluble/-insoluble illegal colorant additives in herbal medical materials and preparations by the relevant proposed DES-based sample pretreatment method or a combination of the two proposed DES-based methods.

Herb induced liver injury by Xianling Gubao Tablets: A case assessed for causality using updated RUCAM and integrated evidence chain.

Objective: A typical case of Xianling Gubao (XLGB) Tablets-induced liver injury was systematically studied in the clinic and the laboratory. Methods: A patient with herb-induced liver injury (HILI) and a history of taking XLGB Tablets before disease onset was engaged as the study subject, and the case was diagnosed according to the updated Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method (RUCAM) and the integrated evidence chain (iEC) method recommended by the Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Herb-induced Liver Injury (HILI Guidelines). Results: Clinical history, biochemical indexes and imaging tests were used to exclude the influence of fundamental diseases and confusing liver diseases such as viral, alcoholic and autoimmune liver diseases on the diagnosis. Based on an investigation of the patient's medication history, she was suspected to have HILI caused by XLGB Tablets, as the patient was only taking an oral preparation of XLGB Tablets, and the influence of other drugs on the diagnosis was excluded. This patient with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≥ 3 × upper limit of normal (ULN) and a calculated R of 6 was diagnosed with possible acute drug-induced hepatocellular injury. The relationship was considered "highly probable" (score of 9) using the updated RUCAM of 2016. Moreover, the fingerprint similarity between the preparation taken by the patient and a commercially available preparation was 0.99, suggesting that the patient was consuming XLGB Tablets rather than another drug. LC-MS technology and the Agilent Fake TCM-Drugs database were used to investigate the drug, and no chemical additions were found. Examination of the drug for pesticide residues, heavy metals, aflatoxins and other exogenous substances indicated compliance with the content limits of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Conclusion: In summary, the final diagnosis of XLGB-induced liver injury reached the clinical diagnosis of HILI and was acute severe hepatocellular injury type by the updated RUCAM and iEC. Therefore, this study provides scientific evidence regarding the causality evaluation of compound preparations of traditional Chinese medicines-induced liver injury.