Evaluation of the Clinical Efficacy of the Classic Prescription "Baihe Dihuang Decoction" Based on Meta-Analysis.

Purpose: To explore the clinical application of Baihe Dihuang Decoction. To provide certain data support and theoretical basis for the clinical application of Baihe Dihuang Decoction in the future. Methods: With "Baihe Rehmannia Tang" as the search term, the search was carried out on CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, PubMed and other databases. The statistical analysis of Baihe Dihuang decoction for treating diseases was obtained. Meta-analysis of the data was performed using RevMan 5.3 software to analyze the main therapeutic indicators of the disease. Results: According to the 83 valid literature that can be found, it is shown that 17 are used for the treatment of depression, 14 are used for the treatment of menopausal syndrome, 24 are used for the treatment of insomnia, and 28 are used for the treatment of other diseases. Conclusion: In the treatment of depression, menopausal syndrome, and insomnia combined with Baihe Dihuang Decoction can have a better therapeutic effect and diminish the incidence of adverse reactions. It provides a theoretical basis for the study and experimental study of its active components.

[Powder modificationfor improving content uniformity of Ziyin Yiwei Capsules].

Based on the defects in powder properties of the contents of Ziyin Yiwei Capsules, this study screened out the main medicinal slice powders causing the poor powdery properties, and introduced the powder modification process to improve the powdery properties of these slice powders, the pharmaceutical properties of the capsule contents, and the content uniformity of Ziyin Yiwei Capsules, so as to provide a demonstration for the application of powder modification technology to the preparation of Chinese medicinal solid preparations. Through the investigation on the powder properties of the contents of Ziyin Yiwei Capsules, it was clarified that the pulverized particle size of the capsule contents had a good correlation with the pulverization time. According to the measurement results of the powder fluidity and wettability, the quality defects of the capsule contents were caused by the fine powders of Taraxaci Herba and Lungwortlike Herba. "Core-shell" composite particles were prepared from medicinal excipients magnesium stearate and fine powders of Taraxaci Herba and Lungwortlike Herba slices after ultra-fine pulverization to improve the powder properties of the problematic fine powders. Powder characterization data including fluidity and wettability were measured, followed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and infrared ray(IR) detection. It was determined that the optimal dosage of magnesium stearate was 2%, and the compositing time was 3 min. The composite particles were then used as content components of the Ziyin Yiwei Capsules. The powder characteristics between the original capsule and the modified composite capsule including the particle size, fluidity, wettability, uniformity of bulk density, and uniformity of chromatism as well as the content uniformity and in vitro dissolution were compared. The results showed that the powder characteristics and content uniformity of the prepared composite capsule were significantly improved, while the material basis of the preparation was not changed before and after modification. The preparation process was proved to be stable and feasible. The powder modification technology solved the pharmaceutical defects that were easy to appear in the preparation of traditional capsules, which has provided experimental evidence for the use of powder modification technology for improving the quality of Chinese medicinal solid preparations and promoting the secondary development and upgrading of traditional Chinese medicinal dosage forms such as capsules.

(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate attenuates myocardial injury induced by ischemia/reperfusion in diabetic rats and in H9c2 cells under hyperglycemic conditions.

(-)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) exerts multiple beneficial effects on cardiovascular performance. In this study, we aimed to examine the effects of EGCG on diabetic cardiomyopathy during myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. EGCG (100 mg/kg/day) was administered at week 6 for 2 weeks to diabetic rats following the induction of type 1 diabetes by streptozotocin (STZ). At the end of week 8, the animals were subjected to myocardial I/R injury. The EGCG-elicited structural and functional effects were analyzed. Additionally, EGCG (20 µM) was administered for 24 h to cultured cardiac H9c2 cells under hyperglycemic conditions (30 mM glucose) prior to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) challenge, and its effects on oxidative stress were compared to H9c2 cells transfecteed with silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) small interfering RNA (siRNA). In rats with STZ-induced diabetes, EGCG treatment ameliorated post-ischemic cardiac dysfunction, decreased the myocardial infarct size, apoptosis and cardiac fibrosis, and reduced the elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malonaldehyde (MDA) levels, and attenuated oxidative stress. Furthermore, EGCG significantly reduced H/R injury in cardiac H9c2 cells exposed to high glucose as evidenced by reduced apoptotic cell death and oxidative stress. The protein expression levels of SIRT1 and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) were reduced in the diabetic rats and the H9c2 cells under hyperglycemic conditions, compared with the control rats following I/R injury and H9c2 cells under normal glucose conditions. EGCG pre-treatment significantly upregulated the levels of htese proteins in vitro and in vivo. However, treatment with EX527 and SIRT1 siRNA blocked the EGCG-mediated cardioprotective effects. Taken together, our data indicate that SIRT1 plays a critical role in the EGCG-mediated amelioration of I/R injury in diabetic rats, which suggests that EGCG may be a promising dietary supplement for the prevention of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Berberine Induced Apoptosis of Human Osteosarcoma Cells by Inhibiting Phosphoinositide 3 Kinase/Protein Kinase B (PI3K/Akt) Signal Pathway Activation.

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor with high mortality but effective therapy has not yet been developed. Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid component in several Chinese herbs including Huanglian, has been shown to induce growth inhibition and the apoptosis of certain cancer cells. The aim of this study was to determine the role of berberine on human osteosarcoma cell lines U2OS and its potential mechanism. METHODS: The proliferation effect of U20S was exanimed by 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo(-z-y1)-3,5-di- phenytetrazoliumromide (MTT) and the percentage of apoptotic cells were determined by flow cytometric analysis. The expression of PI3K, p-Akt, Bax, Bcl-2, cleavage-PARP and Caspase3 were detected by Western blott. RESULTS: Berberine treatment caused dose-dependent inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis of U20S cell. Mechanistically, berberine inhibits PI3K/AKT activation that, in turn, results in up-regulating the expression of Bax, and PARP and down-regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and caspase3. In all, berberine can suppress the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of U2OS cell through inhibiting the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway activation. CONCLUSION: Berberine can suppress the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of U2OS cell through inhibiting the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway activation.

Biomarker expression in lung of rabbit with pulmonary fibrosis induced by ammonium perchlorate.

Ammonium perchlorate (AP), an oxidizer, has been used in solid propellants. Although AP exposure has been suspected as a risk factor for the development of pulmonary fibrosis, data are still inconclusive. To evaluate the pulmonary toxicity and the potential pulmonary fibrosis caused by occupational exposure to this compound, 25 male rabbits were randomly allocated into five groups to receive AP or bleomycin or saline by intratracheal injection. All rabbits were sacrificed and total RNA from the lungs was extracted. Expressions of types I and III collagens, transforming growth factor-ß(1) (TGF-ß(1)) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) messenger RNA (mRNA) were measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The expressions of type I and III collagen mRNA in low, moderate and high dose AP groups were significantly higher (p < 0.01 or p < 0.05) than that in the saline group. There was also a significant increased level of TGF-ß(1) and TNF-α mRNA in the three AP groups compared with saline control group (p < 0.01 or p < 0.05). These results reveal that AP can increase gene expressions of types I, III collagens, TGF-ß(1) and TNF-α in lung of rabbits exposed to AP. The overexpression of these biomarkers were considered as effective indicator linking to the development of pulmonary fibrosis and finally demonstrated that AP has potential to induce pulmonary fibrosis.