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Aiming at the hysteresis and destructiveness of off-line static detection of critical quality attribute of the moisture content of the raw material unit of the traditional Chinese medicine manufacturing process, honey-processed Tussilago farfara, honey-processed Astragalus and honey-processed Glycyrrhiza uralensis were used as the research carriers, and the drying method was used to measure the moisture content as a reference value. The moving stage was used to simulate the movement process of samples on the conveyor belt in the actual on-site production process, and near-infrared (NIR) spectra were collected, combined with machine learning, to establish NIR on-site dynamic detection model of moisture content in multi-variety honey-processed Chinese herbal slice. The results show that the second derivative method is used to preprocess the spectrum. The number of decision trees (ntree), the number of random features (max feature), and the minimum number of samples for generating leaf nodes (node size) are selected: 46, 76, and 8, respectively. The quantitative analysis model of moisture content has the best effect. The prediction coefficient of determination (the prediction coefficient of determination, R2pre) and the root mean square error of prediction (root mean square error of prediction, RMSEP) of the model were 0.903 2 and 0.330 2, respectively. The NIR quantitative model for the moisture content of multi-variety honey-processed Chinese herbal slice established in this study has good predictive performance, and can achieve rapid, accurate and non-destructive quantitative analysis of the moisture content of honey-processed Tussilago farfara, honey-processed Astragalus and honey-processed Glycyrrhiza uralensis at the same time, and provides a method for determining the moisture content of honey-processed Chinese herbal slice of the raw material unit of the traditional Chinese medicine manufacturing process.
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To explore the research hotspots and frontier directions of pyroptosis in the field of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), the authors searched CNKI and Web of Science for literature related to pyroptosis in TCM, screened literature according to the search strategy and inclusion criteria, and analyzed the publication trend of the included literature. VOSviewer was used to draw author cooperation and keyword co-occurrence network diagrams, and CiteSpace was employed for keyword clustering, emergence, and timeline view. Finally, 507 Chinese literature and 464 English literature were included, and it was found that the number of Chinese and English literature was increasing rapidly year by year. The co-occurrence of the authors showed that in terms of Chinese literature, there was a representative research team composed of DU Guan-hua, WANG Shou-bao and FANG Lian-hua, and for English literature, the representative research team was composed of XIAO Xiao-he, BAI Zhao-fang and XU Guang. The network visualization of Chinese and English keywords revealed that inflammation, apoptosis, oxidative stress, autophagy, organ damage, fibrosis, atherosclerosis, and ischemia-reperfusion injury were the primary research diseases and pathological processes in TCM; berberine, resveratrol, puerarin, na-ringenin, astragaloside Ⅳ, and baicalin were the representative active ingredients; NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD, TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3, and p38/MAPK signaling pathways were the main research pathways. Keyword clustering, emergence, and timeline analysis indicated that the pyroptosis research in TCM focused on the mechanism of TCM monomers and compounds intervening in diseases and pathological processes. Pyroptosis is a research hotspot in the area of TCM, and the current discussion mainly focuses on the mechanism of the therapeutic effect of TCM.
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Piroptose , Medicina Tradicional Chinesa , Proteína 3 que Contém Domínio de Pirina da Família NLR , Reconhecimento Automatizado de Padrão , ApoptoseRESUMO
GC-MS metabolomics was used to investigate the effects of fudosteine on lung cancer A549 cells in an inflammatory microenvironment. Eleven metabolites (malic acid, isoleucine, lactose, galactinol, creatinine, gluconic acid, oleic acid, phosphate, S-carboxymethyl-L-cysteine, uridine and tagatose) were identified in the metabolomics results and could be used as biomarkers of fudosteine treatment. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that the metabolic pathways of amino acids including isoleucine, valine, leucine, glycine, serine and threonine were significantly altered, as were the metabolic pathways of carbohydrates such as galactose and pentose phosphate. Fudosteine significantly reduced the level of inflammatory factors in A549 cells and corrected the inflammatory microenvironment by interfering with the effects of amino acid metabolites and amino acid metabolism pathways. This study reveals that fudosteine may be able to inhibit the continuous inflammatory response and prevent the further progression of lung cancer by suppressing the inflammatory microenvironment.
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Based on network pharmacology, the mechanism of Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma et Radix-Ligustri Lucidi Fructus(PL) combination against acute gouty arthritis(AGA) was explored and preliminarily verified by animal experiment. The chemical components and corresponding targets of PL were retrieved from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP). The active components with oral bioavailability(OB)≥30% and drug-likeness(DL)≥0.18 were screened based on literature, and the related protein targets were collected. Then the protein targets were standardized with the help of UniProt database. The AGA-related targets were searched from GeneCards, NCBI, and DrugBank. The common targets of the disease and the medicinals were yielded by FunRich V3, and the protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was constructed to screen the key targets, followed by Gene Ontology(GO) term enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of the key targets. Afterwards, some of the key targets were verified by sodium urate crystal-induced AGA mouse model. A total of 25 active components and 287 targets of PL, 811 targets of AGA, and 88 common targets were screened out. PPI network analysis showed that tumor necrosis factor(TNF), interleukin-6(IL-6), and interleukin-1β(IL-1β) may be the core targets of PL in the treatment of AGA. The key targets were mainly involved in 566 GO terms(P<0.05), including multiple biological processes such as inflammatory response and immune response. Moreover, they were related to 116 KEGG pathways and these pathways were involved in inflammation and immunity, mainly including NOD-like receptor signaling pathway and TNF signaling pathway. Animal experiment confirmed that PL can alleviate ankle swelling, improve abnormal gait, and down-regulate the protein expression of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β in AGA mice, indicating that PL can treat AGA through TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β and the feasibility of network pharmacology to predict drug targets. This study preliminarily discussed the key targets and biological signaling pathways involved in the treatment of AGA with PL combination, which reflected the multi-pathway and multi-target action characteristics of Chinese medicine. Moreover, this study laid a scientific basis for research on the treatment of AGA with PL combination, as well as the mechanism of action.
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Animais , Camundongos , Artrite Gotosa/tratamento farmacológico , Medicamentos de Ervas Chinesas/uso terapêutico , Ligustrum , Farmacologia em Rede , RizomaRESUMO
OBJECTIVES@#To explore the correlation between intestinal microbiota and postmortem interval(PMI) in rats by using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology.@*METHODS@#Rats were killed by anesthesia and placed at 16 ℃, and DNA was extracted in caecum at 14 time points of 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27 and 30 d after death. The 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology was used to detect intestinal microbiota in rat cecal contents, and the results were used to analyze the rat intestinal microbiota diversity and differences.@*RESULTS@#The total number of intestinal microbial communities did not change significantly within 30 days after death, but the diversity showed an upward trend. A total of 119 bacterial communities were significantly changed at 13 time points after death. The models for PMI estimation were established by using partial least squares (PLS) regression at all time points, before 9 days and after 12 days, reaching an R2 of 0.795, 0.767 and 0.445, respectively; and the root mean square errors (RMSEs) were 6.57, 1.96 and 5.37 d, respectively.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology, the composition and structure of intestinal microbiota changed significantly within 30 d after death. In addition, the established PLS regression model suggested that the PMI was highly correlated with intestinal microbiota composition, showing a certain time series change.
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Animais , Ratos , Microbioma Gastrointestinal/genética , Sequenciamento de Nucleotídeos em Larga Escala , Microbiota/genética , Mudanças Depois da Morte , RNA Ribossômico 16S/genética , TecnologiaRESUMO
OBJECTIVE@#To obtain the subtypes of the clinical hypertension population based on symptoms and to explore the relationship between hypertension and comorbidities.@*METHODS@#The data set was collected from the Chinese medicine (CM) electronic medical records of 33,458 hypertension inpatients in the Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine between July 2014 and May 2017. Then, a hypertension disease comorbidity network (HDCN) was built to investigate the complicated associations between hypertension and their comorbidities. Moreover, a hypertension patient similarity network (HPSN) was constructed with patients' shared symptoms, and 7 main hypertension patient subgroups were identified from HPSN with a community detection method to exhibit the characteristics of clinical phenotypes and molecular mechanisms. In addition, the significant symptoms, diseases, CM syndromes and pathways of each main patient subgroup were obtained by enrichment analysis.@*RESULTS@#The significant symptoms and diseases of these patient subgroups were associated with different damaged target organs of hypertension. Additionally, the specific phenotypic features (symptoms, diseases, and CM syndromes) were consistent with specific molecular features (pathways) in the same patient subgroup.@*CONCLUSION@#The utility and comprehensiveness of disease classification based on community detection of patient networks using shared CM symptom phenotypes showed the importance of hypertension patient subgroups.
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Since July 2020, nucleic acids of novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 were frequently detected in cold chain food imported to China, making imported food being a potential risk to the COVID-19 outbreak. Based on the epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2, imported cold-chain food and their packaging may become the carriers of SARS-CoV-2 in long-distance cross-border transportation. In each aspect of stakeholders including governmental supervision, manufacturers and consumers, China should strengthen the risk management of imported cold-chain food to ensure the safety, especially pay attention to the health protection of industry workers in close contact with cold -chain food.
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OBJECTIVE@#To establish an animal model with malignant tumor in the skull base-infratemporal region, and to explore the role of iodine staining technique in identifying tumor tissues with Micro-CT data.@*METHODS@#Sedation anesthesia was carried out on 12 BABL/c nude mice using inhaled isoflurane, and then WSU-HN6 cells that cultured and immortalized from human tongue squamous cell carcinoma were injected into the right infratemporal fossa via the submandibular area. The procedure was carried out under ultrasonographic guidance. The nude mice were sacrificed after 3 weeks observation. The head specimens were fixed and scanned by Micro-CT, and repeated scans were performed after staining with 3.75% compound iodine solution. Following decalcification in 20% EDTA for 2-4 weeks, the head specimens were embedded and sectioned. Hematoxylin and eosin staining and Pan-Keratin immunohistochemical staining were carried out. Bright-field microscopy and stereomicroscopy were used to visualize. The Micro-CT data were analyzed using iPlan software (Brainlab).@*RESULTS@#Non-traumatic ultrasonography was used to guide HN-6 cells injection and confirm skull-base tumor formation in all the animals. Ultrasonographic guidance reduced the risk of cervical vessel injury when transferring tumor cells into the skull base space. An obvious asymmetrical appearance was detected via ultrasonography 3 weeks after tumor cell injection. The Micro-CT analysis showed that the bone was obviously damaged on the right side of the skull base, but the soft tissue image was unrecognizable. After four days staining with compound iodine solution, the morphology of the tumor and surrounding soft tissue could be clearly identified. Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed the tumor formation of the right infratemporal fossa region accompanied by bone destruction. Human keratin immunohistochemical staining showed that the tumor tissue originated from human squamous cell carcinoma, and the polynuclear osteoclasts could be seen at the margin of the skull base bone resorption.@*CONCLUSION@#The animal model with malignant tumor in the skull base-infratemporal region could be successfully established via submandibular injection under ultrasound-guidance. Bone changes of the skull were easily observed on Micro-CT, but the tumor counter was not able to be distinguished from surrounding soft tissue. The 3.75% compound iodine staining of the head specimen could help discern the tumor and surrounding soft tissue in more details.
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Animais , Camundongos , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas/diagnóstico por imagem , Fossa Infratemporal , Iodo , Camundongos Nus , Base do Crânio , Coloração e Rotulagem , Neoplasias da Língua , Microtomografia por Raio-XRESUMO
Whether in the West or the East, the connection between the ear and the rest of the body has been explored for a long time. Especially in the past century or more, the relevant theoretical and applied research on the ear has greatly promoted the development of ear therapy, and finally the concept of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has been proposed. The purpose of taVNS is to treat a disease non-invasively by applying electrical current to the cutaneous receptive field formed by the auricular branch of the vagus nerve in the outer ear. In the past two decades, taVNS has been a topic of basic, clinical, and transformation research. It has been applied as an alternative to drug treatment for a variety of diseases. Based on the rapid understanding of the application of taVNS to human health and disease, some limitations in the development of this field have also been gradually exposed. Here, we comprehensively review the origin and research status of the field.
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Using a H2O2-induced BRL cell senescence model, we investigated the anti-aging effects of drug-containing serums of Erzhi Wan (EZW) and various polar extracts (petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, water, and iridoid glycoside-enriched fractions). Cell viability was detected by MTT assay. Cell senescence was evaluated with β-galactosidase staining assay. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by flow cytometry. UFLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was used to identify chemical components in EZW and the extracts, and molecular docking technology was used to predict the anti-aging components of EZW. Results showed that treatment of cells with 600 μmol·L-1 H2O2 for 72 h markedly induced cell senescence, inhibited cell proliferation and increased intracellular β-galactosidase activity and ROS levels. If cells were pretreated with drug-containing serum of EZW this induction of senescence was decreased. A total of 49 chemical compounds were identified in EZW by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, 14 of these were identified by molecular docking as potential active ingredients. Based on these analyses, and the in vitro experiments with polar extracts, we conclude that the anti-aging components of EZW are triterpenes, flavonoids and phenyl alcohols, providing a basis for further elucidation of the active agents and mechanism of the anti-aging effect of EZW.
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The present study evaluates different processing and drying methods and investigates their effects on the chemical components in Paeoniae Radix Alba via content determination. The fresh medicinal materials of Paeoniae Radix Alba collected from Bozhou of Anhui province were processed(boiled and peeled) and dried(hot air-dried, infrared-dried, and microwave-dried) at different temperatures(40, 50, 60 and 70 ℃), and the 11 components(monoterpene glycosides, polyphenols, tannin, and benzoic acid) in Paeoniae Radix Alba were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-TQ-MS). Then the compounds in processed and dried samples were analyzed by partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA), and the contribution rates of differential components were evaluated by variable important in projection(VIP). The results indicated that the samples obtained by different processing and drying methods could be distinguished. Albiflorin, gallic acid, 1,2,3,4,6-pentakis-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, and benzoic acid were the common differential components in boiled Paeoniae Radix Alba. Benzoic acid was the common differential component in peeled Paeoniae Radix Alba. Gallic acid was the common differential component in Paeoniae Radix Alba dried by different methods. The samples could not be distinguished after drying at different temperatures due to the lack of common differential components. This study is expected to provide a reference for the selection of processing and drying methods and the optimization of processing parameters.
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Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Pressão , Medicamentos de Ervas Chinesas , Paeonia , Extratos Vegetais , Espectrometria de Massas em TandemRESUMO
The WD40 transcription factor family is a gene superfamily widely found in eukaryotes, which is closely related to plant growth and development regulation. It has been reported that the WD40 transcription factor was involved in the synthesis of anthocyanins, which is one of the vital components of safflower flavonoid compounds. In this study, 40 CtWD40 members in the safflower genome were identified though bioinformatics tools and gene expression analysis methods. According to the WD40 protein sequence and phylogenetic characteristics of Arabidopsis and other plants, the safflower CtWD40 family was classified into 7 subfamilies. Conservative motif analysis was used to reveal the specific conserved motifs and gene structures of each subfamily member, and there exist a certain degree of similarities in the conserved motifs and gene structure between the closely related family members. Subsequently, the search for cis-acting elements of gene promoters found CtWD40-specific promoter elements, revealing the metabolic pathways which may involve. Next, enrichment of function analysis was employed to analyze the functional categories and cellular localization of the CtWD40 protein. Furthermore, the interactions between CtWD40 proteins predicted its potential regulatory function. Finally, 19 members of the safflower CtWD40 subfamily were analyzed by qRT-PCR, the result showed the expression patterns of these members were different in diverse tissue and flowering period. This study provides a basis for the functional and expression research of the CtWD40 genes.
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Carthamus tinctorius , Biologia Computacional , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Regulação da Expressão Gênica de Plantas , Genoma de Planta , Família Multigênica , Filogenia , Proteínas de Plantas , Genética , Fatores de Transcrição , GenéticaRESUMO
In this paper,the design and development of sustained and controlled release preparations in traditional Chinese medicine( TCM) based on quality by design( QbD) was put forward,aiming at the current situation that the final product quality is affected by multiple factors during the development of sustained and controlled release preparations in TCM. The important development of sustained and controlled release preparations in western medicine in recent years was summarized. According to the complex process of TCM,the concept of QbD was proposed to design and develop sustained and controlled release preparations in TCM. QbD concept was used to analyze the complex factors affecting sustained and controlled release preparations in TCM,and determine the high risk factors affecting the quality of the final product. The high risk factors were controlled from the process to achieve the goal of quality control.This article could provide research ideas for the sustained and controlled release preparations with complex components in TCM,so as to promote the research and development of sustained and controlled release preparations in TCM.
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Preparações de Ação Retardada , Medicamentos de Ervas Chinesas , Medicina Tradicional Chinesa , Controle de QualidadeRESUMO
The stable quality of hospital preparations is the basis for their clinical efficacy. Gynecological antipruritic prescription is widely used in gynecology clinics of Chinese medicine hospitals. Therefore,in this study,the production process of gynecological antipruritic lotion was optimized based on the concept of quality by design( QbD). The production process of the gynecological antipruritic lotion was developed to ensure its process stability and reliable quality,and enhance its clinical applicability. With total amount of matrine and oxymatrine used as the critical quality attribute( CQA) of the production process,parameter levels were designed based on production practice of hospital preparations,and Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken experiments were used to optimize the water extraction and alcohol precipitation process of antipruritic lotion based on CQA of intermediates and final product. The soaking time,the first extraction time,and the second extraction time were determined as the critical process parameters( CPPs) of the production process. The optimal preparation process was as follows: water volume of 8 times,soaking for 0. 5 h,extraction for 2 times,the first extraction for 30 min,the second extraction for 56 min,alcohol concentration of 50%,and alcohol precipitation for 3 h. Furthermore,the design space was established based on the binomial regress model between CPPs and CQA,so as to set the optimization target and risk range; and the control space was displayed by overlay plot. The results of three repeated experiments in the control space showed that the relative standard deviation( RSD) of CQA was 4. 70%,and the similarity of chromatogram for gynecological antipruritic lotion was 0. 978,0. 974,and 0. 998,respectively. The above results indicated that the operation in the control space can guarantee the quality and stability of gynecological antipruritic lotion,suitable for practical application.
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Antipruriginosos , Medicamentos de Ervas Chinesas , ÁguaRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To design and construct a patient-doctor interaction system for echinococcosis treatment. METHODS: The in-depth interview and brainstorming method were used to determine the main functional modules of the system based on the server/client model. RESULTS: An echinococcosis patient-doctor interaction system was successfully constructed in Sichuan Province and got through preliminary debugging. The system contained four functions, namely quick consultation, treatment supervision, health education, and other auxiliary functions. CONCLUSIONS: The patient-doctor interaction system of echinococcosis treatment is hopeful to enhance the management effectiveness on echinococcosis patients, and to provide more convenient and quick medical consultation and health information for patients.
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Gerenciamento Clínico , Equinococose , Educação em Saúde/métodos , Relações Médico-Paciente , China , HumanosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Phenylephrine has been proved to exert a protective effect on radiant-induced salivary gland and epithelial cell injuries, but its effect on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress in osteoblasts are not fully understood. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of phenylephrine on H2O2-induced oxidative stress in osteoblasts, and to explore the mechanism underlying the regulation by the expression level of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt). METHODS: Primary osteoblasts were cultured and randomly divided into four groups: blank control group, H2O2group, phenylephrine group, and combination group (0.5 hour pretreatment of 1×10-5mol/L phenylephrine, and then given 300 μmol/L H2O2). The morphology of osteoblasts was observed at different time points. Osteoblasts were collected after 24-hour culture, and total RNA and protein were then extracted to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of Nampt by RT-PCR and western blot assay, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Compared with the blank control group, reduced osteoblasts and evident cell shrinks were observed in the H2O2group, while the number of osteoblasts significantly increased in the combined group compared with the H2O2group at 12, 24 and 48 hours of culture. RT-PCR results showed that the mRNA level of Nampt in the H2O2group was reduced by 31.23% of that in the blank control group, while the mRNA level of Nampt in the combination group was dramatically increased by 206.20% of that in the H2O2group at 24 hours of culture (both P < 0.05). Furthermore, western blot assay findings revealed that the protein level of Nampt in the H2O2group was reduced by 67.98% of that in the blank control group, while the protein level of Nampt in the combination group was increased by 152.25% of that in the H2O2group at 24 hours of culture (both P < 0.05). Our results indicate that phenylephrine can alleviate the shrink and atrophy of osteoblasts caused by H2O2, thereby exerting protective effect by up-regulating the mRNA and protein levels of Nampt that may be a regulatory gene.
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Objective To design and construct a patient-doctor interaction system for echinococcosis treatment. Methods The in-depth interview and brainstorming method were used to determine the main functional modules of the system based on the server/client model. Results An echinococcosis patient-doctor interaction system was successfully constructed in Sichuan Province and got through preliminary debugging. The system contained four functions, namely quick consultation, treatment supervision, health education, and other auxiliary functions. Conclusion The patient-doctor interaction system of echinococcosis treatment is hopeful to enhance the management effectiveness on echinococcosis patients, and to provide more convenient and quick medical consultation and health information for patients.
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Objective To design and construct a patient-doctor interaction system for echinococcosis treatment. Methods The in-depth interview and brainstorming method were used to determine the main functional modules of the system based on the server/client model. Results An echinococcosis patient-doctor interaction system was successfully constructed in Sichuan Province and got through preliminary debugging. The system contained four functions, namely quick consultation, treatment supervision, health education, and other auxiliary functions. Conclusion The patient-doctor interaction system of echinococcosis treatment is hopeful to enhance the management effectiveness on echinococcosis patients, and to provide more convenient and quick medical consultation and health information for patients.
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The active ingredients in some Tibetan medicinal herbs are toxic components as well,and we need to have a clear understanding of their mechanism and metabolic pathways in use. The endogenous toxic components of highly toxic Tibetan herbal medicines are mainly alkaloids, such as aconitum alkaloids, methyllycaconitine, tropane alkaloids, brucine, strychnine, papaverine and swainso-nine. The majority of endogenous toxic alkaloids in Tibetan medicine herbs exist in roots, fruits and seeds of plants, exerting neurotoxicity or cardiotoxicity as highly toxic inherent chemicals. Most alka-loids are metabolized in phaseⅠvia de-alkylation, hydroxylation, hydrolysis and other reactions, as well as in phaseⅡvia glucuronic acid and sulfonic acid conjugation. They form various metabolites with high polarities and reduced toxicities so as to be easily excreted. The closeness between the therapeutic dose and toxic dose of alkaloids components in Tibetan medicinal herbs leads to their attenuated prep-aration via frying, dairy, highland barley wine soaking, or in combination with Terminalia Chebula to decrease toxicity, as is cited classic books on in Tebitan medicine. Focused on twelve alkaloids of five classes including aconitine, tropane and brucine, we have reviewed the characteristics of their metabo-lism and transformation, as well as their toxicity attenuation and safety evaluation.
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The aim of this paper was to investigate and compare the penetration-enhancing characteristics of menthol and essential oil from Mentha haplocalyx(M.haplocalyx oil) on the transdermal absorption of the complex traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) components. A series of TCM components were selected as model drugs based on their lipophilicity (logP value), namely osthole(OT, logP=3.85), tetramethylpyrazine(TMP, logP=2.34), ferulic acid(FA, logP=1.26), puerarin(PR, logP=-0.35) and geniposide(GP, logP=-1.01), in order to simply and characterize the TCM complex components system. Transdermal experiment in vitro was employed to investigate and compare the penetration-enhancing characteristics of menthol and M.haplocalyx oil on the transdermal absorption of these model drugs. Meanwhile, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) was used to further compare the effect of menthol and M. haplocalyx oil on the molecular structure of stratum corneum(SC). The results showed that both of menthol and M.haplocalyx oil at proper concentration could promote the transdermal absorption of the selected model drugs. After application of menthol, the drug logP values gradually tended to have negative linear relationship with the logarithm of penetration enhancement ratio(ER); while after application of M.haplocalyx oil, the logP values tended to have parabolic relationship with the logarithm of ER. However, both menthol and M.haplocalyx oil exhibited higher efficiency for the drugs with relative low lgP value(ie hydrophilic drugs), with similar penetration-enhancing characteristics between these two. Infrared spectroscopy results showed that menthol and M.haplocalyx oil could affect the skin barrier functions mainly via stratum corneum lipids, with similar effect intensity, and this was consistent with the results of transdermal experiment in vitro. Thus, Menthol had similar penetration-enhancing characteristics with M.haplocalyx oil, and had same effect on the SC molecular structure. Therefore, as transdermal penetration enhancer, the menthol with single composition could be considered to replace M.haplocalyx oil with complex compositions.