ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: Artemisinin was first extracted from the herb Artemisia annua which has been used for many centuries in Chinese traditional medicine as a treatment for fever and malaria. It has been given the 2011 Lasker-DeBakey clinical medical research award. In this paper, knowledge map of artemisinin research was drawn to provide some information for global researchers interested in artemisinin and its relevant references. Methods: In this work, bibliometric analysis and knowledge visualization technology were applied to evaluate global scientific production and developing trend of artemisinin research through Science Citation Index (SCI) papers and Medline papers with online version published as following aspects: publication outputs, subject categories, journals, countries, international collaboration, citations, authorship and co-authorship, author key words and co-words analysis. The Thomson Data Analyzer (TDA), Netdraw and Aureka software were employed to analyze the SCI as well as Medline papers data for knowledge mapping. Results: Global literature of artemisinin research has increased rapidly over the past 30 years and has boosted in recent years. Seen from the statistical study in many aspects, Pharmacology & Pharmacy, and Chemistry are still the main subjects of artemisinin research with parasitology and tropical medicine increasing quickly. Malaria Journal and American Journal of Tropical Medicine are top productive journals both in SCI and Medline databases. Quantity and quality of papers in US are in a leading position, although papers quantity and active degree in developing countries such as P.R. China, Thailand and India are relatively high, the quality of papers from these countries needs to be improved. New emerging key words and co-words remind us that mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, artemisinin-based alternatives, etc. are the future trends of artemisinin research. Conclusion: Through bibliometric analysis the development trends of artemisinin research are predicted. With further development of artemisinin research, it is presumed that scientists might concentrate mainly on the synthesis of new compounds with activity, action mechanism, new artemisinin-based combination therapy regimens, etc.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), as an adipocyte secreted cytokine, was recently found to be inversely correlated with expression of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) in insulin resistance (IR) state and to have an intimate relationship with IR and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The present study aimed to evaluate the anti-diabetic efficacy of cinnamaldehyde (Cin), berberine (Ber), and metformin (Met) as well as their impacts on the RBP4-GLUT4 system.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Rat models of T2DM were established by combination of intraperitoneal injection of low-dose streptozotocin and high fat diet induction. Rats were divided into five groups: the control group, the diabetes group, the diabetes + Ber group, the diabetes + Cin group, and the diabetes + Met group. Western blotting was used to detect the serum or tissue RBP4 and GLUT4 protein levels.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After treatment for four weeks, both Cin and Ber displayed significant hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, and insulin sensitizing functions (P < 0.01) compared with the control group. Their effects on lowering fasting plasma glucose (FPG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) seem even better than that of Met. Cin and Ber markedly lowered serum RBP4 levels and up-regulated the expression of tissue GLUT4 protein, and Cin seemed more notable in affecting these two proteins.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Both Cin and Ber display an exciting anti-diabetic efficacy in this study and may be of great value for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Their mechanisms involve the RBP4-GLUT4 system, during which the serum RBP4 levels are lowered and the expression of tissue GLUT4 protein is up-regulated.</p>