Ethanol extract of Astragali Radix and Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix, Myelophil, exerts anti-amnesic effect in a mouse model of scopolamine-induced memory deficits.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Myelophil, a combination of extracts taken from Astragali Radix and Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix, is a traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of chronic fatigue-associated disorders. Here we examined the ability of Myelophil to alleviate memory impairment in a mouse model. We aimed to investigate whether Myelophil has the pharmacological effects on memory deficits associated with brain dysfunctions using an animal model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten week-old male C57BL/6N mice were pretreated with Myelophil (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg), or tacrine (10 mg/kg) for 7 days, and then intraperitoneally injected with scopolamine (1 mg/kg). Memory-related behaviors were evaluated using the Morris water maze for 5 days. Levels of biomarkers of oxidative stress, antioxidant activity, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) were measured in brain tissues. RESULTS: Scopolamine treatment increased the escape latency time and shortened time spent in the target quadrant; these effects were ameliorated by pretreatment with Myelophil. Scopolamine-induced changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialehyde (MDA), and AChE activity were significantly attenuated in mice pretreated with Myelophil. Recovery of antioxidant capacities, including total glutathione (GSH) content, and the activities of GSH-reductase, GSH-S-transferase, and catalase was also evident in Myelophil-treated mice. The strongest effects were seen for ERK and muscarinic acetylcholine receptor 1 (mAChR1) at both the protein and gene expression levels, with significant amelioration of expression levels in the Myelophil pretreatment group. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that Myelophil confers anti-amnesic properties in a mouse model of memory impairment, driven in part by the modulation of cholinergic activity.

Herbal formula CGX ameliorates LPS/D-galactosamine-induced hepatitis.

CGX, a traditional herbal drug, has been prescribed for patients suffering from various liver diseases, including hepatitis B, alcoholic liver disease, and fatty liver. We investigated whether CGX has hepatoprotective effects against lipopolysaccharide/D-galactosamine (LPS/D-GalN)-induced acute liver injury and its underlying mechanism(s). Mice were administered CGX orally for 7 days prior to an injection of LPS (5 µg/kg)/D-GalN (700 mg/kg). Complete blood count, serum diagnostic markers, antioxidant activities, caspase activity, and histopathological examinations were conducted 8 h after the injection. To evaluate the immunological mechanism of CGX, serum TNF-α and IL-10 were investigated 1.5 h after LPS/D-GalN injection. CGX pretreatment (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) inhibited the elevation of serum AST and ALT levels as well as histopathological alterations. Moreover, CGX pretreatment inhibited activation of caspase-3/7. CGX attenuated LPS/D-GalN-induced lipid peroxidation with concomitant improvement in total antioxidant activities (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase). CGX elevated the antioxidant capacity of the liver in both the pathological and normal conditions. Furthermore, LPS/D-GalN-induced alterations of neutrophil and lymphocyte populations were ameliorated and serum TNF-α was decreased significantly by CGX. From these data we conclude that CGX protects the liver from LPS/D-GalN-induced hepatitis through antioxidant mechanisms as well as immune modulation.

Genetic and phenotypic diversity of parathion-degrading bacteria isolated from rice paddy soils.

Three parathion-degrading bacteria and eight pairs of bacteria showing syntrophic metabolism of parathion were isolated from rice field soils, and their genetic and phenotypic characteristics were investigated. The three isolates and eight syntrophic pairs were able to utilize parathion as a sole source of carbon and energy, producing p-nitrophenol as the intermediate metabolite during the complete degradation of parathion. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that the isolates were related to members of the genera, Burkholderia, Arthrobacter, Pseudomonas, Variovorax, and Ensifer. The chromosomal DNA patterns of the isolates obtained by polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) amplification of repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP) sequences were distinct from one another. Ten of the isolates had plasmids. All of the isolates and syntrophic pairs were able to degrade parathion-related compounds such as EPN, p-nitrophenol, fenitrothion, and methyl-parathion. When analyzed with PCR amplification and dot-blotting hybridization using various primers targeted for the organophosphorus pesticide hydrolase genes of previously-reported isolates, most of the isolates did not show positive signals, suggesting that their parathion hydrolase genes had no significant sequence homology with those of the previously-reported organophosphate pesticide-degrading isolates.

Cloning and expression of a parathion hydrolase gene from a soil bacterium, Burkholderia sp. JBA3.

A bacterium, Burkholderia sp. JBA3, which can mineralize the pesticide parathion, was isolated from an agricultural soil. The strain JBA3 hydrolyzed parathion to p-nitrophenol, which was further utilized as the carbon and energy sources. The parathion hydrolase was encoded by a gene on a plasmid that strain JBA3 harbored, and it was cloned into pUC19 as a 3.7-kbp Sau3AI fragment. The ORF2 (ophB) in the cloned fragment encoded the parathion hydrolase composed of 526 amino acids, which was expressed in E. coli DH10B. The ophB gene showed no significant sequence similarity to most of other reported parathion hydrolase genes.