[Determination of maleic hydrazide residues and its influence on the quality of Atractylodes macrocephala].

OBJECTIVE: To determine maleic hydrazide (MH) residues and discuss its influence on the quality of Atractylodes macrocephala. METHODS: At the bud stage, A. macrocephala different concentration of MH. Then MH residues,the contents of sugar and lactone were determined by HPLC and UV. The quality of A. macrocephala was comprehensively evaluated by independent sample t test and principal component analysis. RESULTS: The range of MH residues was 0.3-2.2 mg/kg. The results of independent sample t test revealed that the trend of the contents of lactone was low-high-low with the increase of MH, and the effect of MH on the content of sugar was barely obvious. Meanwhile, principal component analysis showed that comprehensive evaluation on the quality of A. macrocephala was the best when MH with 75 or 100 times water was applied. CONCLUSION: Proper concentration MH is applied to ensure low concentration MH residues and improve yield and quality of A. macrocephala.

Parotid mammary analogue secretory carcinoma: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Mammary analogue secretory carcinoma (MASC) is a rare low-grade malignant salivary gland tumor. The morphological and immunohistochemical features of MASC closely resemble those of breast secretory carcinoma. The key characteristics of the lesion are a lack of pain and slow growth. There is no obvious specificity in the clinical manifestations and imaging features. The diagnosis of the disease mainly depends on the detection of the MASC-specific ETV6-NTRK3 fusion gene. CASE SUMMARY: This report describes a rare case of a 32-year-old male patient who presented with a gradually growing lesion that was initially diagnosed as breast-like secretory carcinoma of the right parotid gland. Imaging and histological investigations were used to overcome the diagnostic difficulties. The lesion was managed with right parotidectomy, facial nerve preservation, biological patch implantation to restore the resulting defect, and postoperative radiotherapy. On postoperative follow-up, the patient reported a mild facial deformity with no complications, signs of facial paralysis, or Frey's syndrome. CONCLUSION: The imaging and histological diagnostic challenges for MASC are discussed.

Response surface optimization of microwave-assisted extraction for HPLC-fluorescence determination of puerarin and daidzein in Radix Puerariae thomsonii.

Microwave-assisted extraction was optimized with response surface methodology for HPLC-fluorescence determination of puerarin and daidzein in Radix Puerariae thomsonii. The optimized extraction procedure was achieved by soaking the sample with 70% methanol (1:15, v/v) for 30 min, and then microwave irradiation for 11 min at a power of 600 W. Coupling the extraction process with HPLC-fluorescence presented good recovery, satisfactory precision, and good linear relation. Compared with a method from the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, the proposed method enables higher extraction efficiency and more aecurate analytical results. It can be of Potential value in quality assessment of Radix Puerariae thomsonii medicinal materials.

On-line solid-phase extraction-HPLC-fluorescence detection for simultaneous determination of puerarin and daidzein in human serum.

Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to the optimization of on-line solid-phase extraction (SPE) parameters, and an automated system of on-line SPE coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection was developed for the determination of puerarin and daidzein in human serum. The human serum sample of 50 microL was injected into a conditioned C18 SPE cartridge, and the matrix was washed out with acetonitrile-KH(2)PO(4)-triethylamine buffer (0.01 M, pH 7.4) (3:97, v/v) for 3 min at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min. Then the target analytes were eluted and transferred to the analytical column. A chromatographic gradient elution was programmed with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and KH(2)PO(4)-triethylamine buffer, and the analytes were determined with a fluorescence detector at excitation wavelength of 350 nm and emission wavelength of 472 nm, respectively. The proposed method presented good linear relations (0.85-170 microg/mL for puerarin and 0.2-40 microg/mL for daidzein), satisfactory precision (RSD<8%), and accredited recovery (92.5-107.8%).

From proteomic analysis to clinical significance: overexpression of cytokeratin 19 correlates with hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis.

To better understand the mechanism underlying the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis and to search potential markers for HCC prognosis, differential proteomic analysis on two well-established HCC cell strains with high and low metastatic potentials, MHCC97-H and MHCC97-L, was conducted using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Cytokeratin 19 (CK19) was identified and found to be overexpressed in MHCC97-H as compared with MHCC97-L. This result was further confirmed by two-dimensional Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence assay. Furthermore, one-dimensional Western blot analysis showed consistently increased CK19 expression in progressively more metastatic cells. Immunohistochemical study on 102 human HCC specimens revealed that more patients in the CK19-positive group had overt intrahepatic metastases (satellite nodules, p < 0.05; vascular tumor emboli, p < 0.001; tumor node metastatis staging, p < 0.001). CK19 fragment CYFRA 21-1 levels measured in sera from nude mice model of human HCC metastasis with radioimmunoassay increased in parallel with tumor progression and rose remarkably when pulmonary metastases occurred. The results demonstrated that overexpression of CK19 in HCC cells is related to metastatic behavior. Serum CK19 level might reflect the pathological progression in some HCC and may be a useful marker for predicting tumor metastasis and a therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC patients with metastases.