Effects of Active Constituents of Sinopodophylli Fructus on Cell Proliferation,Cell Cycle and Mitochon-drial Membrane Potential of Human Breast Cancer Cell / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To explore the effects and mechanism of extracts,active constituents and constituent combination of Sinopodophylli Fructus on cell proliferation of human breast cancer. METHODS:Acid phosphatase method was conducted to deter-mine the effects of 4 extracts [ethanol extract (Xc),petroleum ether extract from ethanol extract (Xp),ethyl acetate extract from ethanol extract (Xe),n-butanol extract from ethanol extract (Xz)],5 active constituents [podophyllotoxin (S1),deoxypodophyllo-toxin (S2),4-desmethyl deoxypodophyllotoxin (S3),8-isopentenyl kaempferol (S4),8,2′-diisoprenyl quercetin-3-methyl ether (S5)] and 3 active constituent combination [combination 1,S1-S2-S3-S4-S5 (2:4:1:4:32),Z1;combination 2,S2-S4 (1:1),Z2;combination 3,S3-S4(1:4),Z3] on the MDA-MB-231,MCF-7 cell proliferation;flow cytometry was adopted to detect the effects of above-mentioned samples on MDA-MB-231,MCF-7(T47D)cell cycle and mitochondrial membrane potential. RESULTS:The active constituent combination Z1 showed significant inhibitory effects on MDA-MB-231,MCF-7 cells,the half inhibitory concen-trations(IC50)were(0.27±0.2),(0.11±0.1)μg/mL;extracts Xc,Xp,Xe,active constituents S2,S4 and active constituent combi-nation Z2,Z3 showed relatively strong inhibitory effects on MDA-MB-231,MCF-7 (T47D) cell proliferation (IC50<15 μg/mL). Both extracts and active constituents can block MDA-MB-231,MCF-7 cell cycle in G2/M phase;all active constituents can block MDA-MB-231,T47D cell cycle in G0/G1 phase,and can reduce MDA-MB-231,T47D cell mitochondrial membrane potential. CONCLUSIONS:The active constituents and constituent combination of Sinopodophylli Fructus can inhibit cell proliferation of breast cancer by affecting cell cycle and mitochondrial mem-brane potential.

Identification and Analysis of Harpagide Metabolites in Rats in vivo / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To study the metabolites,distribution,metabolic type and the possible activity of harpagide which is the active component from Scrophularia ningpoensis in rats in vivo. METHODS:4 SD rats were divided into blank group (ul-tra-pure water) and administration group (harpagide reference solution),2 in each group,ig,160 mg/kg,twice a day,for 3 d. Urine and feces were collected every 12 h before administration and the first administration;sample blood 8 mL was taken after 0.5,1 h of last administration;heart,liver,spleen,lung,kidney,stomach and small intestine were taken. The blood,urine,fe-ces and other tissue solutions were prepared,HPLC-MS was conducted to detect and identify the harpagide metabolites in rats in vi-vo and presume metabolic pathways,and PharmMapper software was used to predict metabolites activity. RESULTS:12 harpagide metabolites were identified in rats in vivo,the form of prototypes and metabolites were distributed in heart,liver,spleen,lung, kidney,stomach and small intestine. The metabolic type mainly included hydrolysis,dehydration,reduction,methylation,sul-fation,glucuronic acid binding,grade A coumaric acid binding,etc. The 12 compounds may have activities in the treatment of epi-lepsy,amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,diabetes,stroke,etc. CONCLUSIONS:Harpagide may be effective in the form of prototypes and metabolites. The study has provided basis for attributing the origins of metabolite,studying the effective form of S. ningpoensis clarifying its pharmacological mechanism and processing mechanism.

Contents Determination of Nine Components in Guizhi Decoction and Comparison of Different Decoction Methods / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To establish a method for the contents determination of 9 components in Guizhi decoction,and com-pare the effects of traditional decoction method and the extracting machine decoction method on these contents in Guizhi decoction. METHODS:HPLC was performed on the column of Agilent Zorbax SB-C18 with mobile phaseof acetonitrile- 0.1% phosphoric ac-id(gradient elution)at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min,the detection wavelength was 230 nm,254 nm and 280 nm,the column tempera-ture was 25℃,and the injection volume was 10μl. RESULTS:The linear range was 0.410 2-210.0μg/ml for gallic acid(r=0.999 9), 0.994 0-254.5μg/ml for albiflorin(r=0.999 9),1.636 0-1 675.0μg/ml for paeoniflorin(r=0.999 9),0.988 3-506.0μg/ml for liquiri-tin(r=0.999 6),0.987 3-31.59 μg/ml for coumarin(r=0.999 5),0.486 8-124.6 μg/ml for cinnamic acid(r=0.999 5),2.458 0-314.6μg/ml for cinnamaldehyde(r=0.999 5),0.034 3-1.096 μg/ml for 2-methoxy cinnamaldehyde(r=0.999 8),and 1.711 0-219.0 μg/ml for glycyrrdhizic acid (r=0.999 7);RSDs of precision,stability and reproducibility tests were lower than 5%,recoveries were 93.56%-103.19%(RSD=4.00%,n=9)、101.51%-107.32%(RSD=2.21%,n=9)、95.08%-103.76%(RSD=2.87%,n=9)、100.82%-105.73%(RSD=1.85%,n=9)、85.08%-89.12%(RSD=1.40%,n=9)、92.31%-99.12%(RSD=2.71%,n=9)、99.17%-102.32%(RSD=1.24%,n=9)、100.15%-103.98%(RSD=1.18%,n=9)、99.93%-102.61%(RSD=1.03%,n=9). The content of total effective components from the extracting machine decoction method was 4 565μg/g,that from the traditional decoc-tion method was 2 742 μg/g.CONCLUSIONS:The method is simple,stable and reproducible,and can be used for the simultaneous determination of 9 componentsin Guizhi decoction. The contents of gallic acid,albiflorin and 2-methoxy cinnamaldehyde are first re-ported. The total effective components from the extracting machine decoction method are higher than that from the traditional decoc-tion method.

Simultaneous Determination of Inulicin and Deacetylinulicin in Inulae Flos by HPLC / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To establish a method of simultaneous determination of inulicin and deacetylinulicin in Inulae Flos. METHODS:HPLC was performed on the column of Zorbax SB-C18 with mobile phase of acetonitrile-water(gradient elution)at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min,the column temperature was 25 ℃,the detection wavelength was 210 nm,and the injection volume was 10 μl. RESULTS:The linear range was 0.000 2-0.005 μg/ml(r=0.999 8)for inulicin and 0.000 1-0.001 7 μg/ml(r=0.999 4)for deacetylinulicin;RSDs of precision,stability and reproducibility tests were lower than 2.0%;recoveries were 99.63%-103.56%(RSD=1.26%,n=9)and 95.98%-101.21%(RSD=1.84%,n=9),respectively. CONCLUSIONS:The method is simple,accurate and reliable,and can be used for the quality evaluation of Inulae Flos.

Study on the HPLC Characteristic Chromatogram of Pheretima / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To establish the HPLC characteristic chromatogram of pheretima,and compare the differences of the main ingredient contents of Guangdong pheretima and Shanghai pheretima and the chromatogram differences among pheretima and 3 other animal drugs. METHODS:Pheretima HPLC characteristic chromatogram method was adopted to determine the characteris-tic chromatograms of 16 Guangdong pheretima,8 Shanghai pheretima,3 eupolyphaga,3 hirudo and 3 catharsius. Similarity evalua-tion and t test were used to analyze the differences of chromatogram data of 5 animal drugs. RESULTS:The established HPLC char-acteristic chromatogram method firstly identified 11 common characteristic peaks,including 6 nucleosides,4 nucleobase and 1 ami-no acid;and it could be used for the identification of pheretima from eupolyphaga,hirudo and catharsius;the differences of main ingredient contents in the characteristic chromatogram of Guangdong pheretima and Shanghai pheretima were firstly studied. The contents of xanthine and adenosine in Guangdong pheretima were higher than Shanghai pheretima,while the contents of uridine, guanosine and 2′-deoxy guanosine in Shanghai pheretima were higher than Guangdong pheretima. A new index S,calculated by these 5 constituents,was successfully applied to distinguish the 2 kinds of pheretima. CONCLUSIONS:The characteristic chro-matogram can be used for the identification of pheretima,and can provide reference for the pharmacodynamic differences study of Guangdong pheretima and Shanghai pheretima.

Effective Forms, Additive Effect, and Toxicities Scattering Effect of Pharmacodynamic Substances of TCMs Some Reflections Evoked by the Study on the Metabolic Disposition of Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

The blood concentrations of the pharmacodynamic substances of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) are usually very low. How can they exert pharmacological actions, in which forms (original form, metabolite or the both) do they exert the actions. To answer these questions, we proposed a new concept ofEffective Formsof pharmacodynamic substances of TCMs and a hypothesis of additive effect of multiple constituents of TCMs. The hypothesis includes that the aggregate or summation of Effective Forms of pharmacodynamic substances of TCMs is the core material base of the effi-cacy of TCMs, and the additive effect of the blood concentrations of different Effective Forms is one part of the action mechanism. The additive effect of the different Effective Forms of a TCMs means an additive effect of numerous con-stituents or/and metabolites on a same target, and therefore the efficacy brought by the addition of the concentrations of all these compounds, which different from the synergy effect of multi-constituents on multi-targets. Studies on the disposition of TCMs showed that a constituent can be biotransformed to many metabolites (up to more than 50 metabolites);different constituents can produce the same metabolites;many metabolites (up to 10 compounds for each metabolite) are isomers or homologues; some constituents can be converted to each other in vivo; and some metabolites are bioactive. These com-pounds having the similar structure are likely to have the same pharmacological effects on the same target, which could provide experimental evidences for the concept ofEffective Formsand the hypothesis ofAdditive Effect. We suggest that the Effective Forms and Additive Effects of the pharmacodynamic substances of TCMs should be extensively investi-gated in the future, and the results of such researches will help us further understand the pharmacodynamic substances and action mechanism of TCMs, and give a new explanation 'Toxicities Scattering Effect' for 'Why the toxicities of TCMs are low', and propose a new strategy for quality control of TCMs.

Pharmacognostical Study on Castanea Mollissima Blume Shell / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

This study was aimed to offer a scientific basis for the differentiation and control quality of Castanea mol-lissima Blume shell. The determination was given from the morphological identification, microscopical identification and TLC identification. The results showed that through obtained information such as morphological traits, tissue powder and TLC characteristics, the longitudinal section micrographs of C. mollissima Blume shell and the micro-scopic images of tissue powder had been received. It was concluded that the study provided a reliable reference for the identification of the quality control standards of C. mollissima Blume shell.

Research on relationship between commercial specifications of Scutellariae Radix and chemical composition and drug quality / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the chemical differences in 4 commercial specifications of Scutellaria Radix, research the affection of decayed central xylem part on the crude drug's chemical composition and provide scientific data for production, processing, sale and clinical applications of Scutellariae Radix.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Macroscopical identification method was used for observation of different specifications of Scutellariae Radix, including Qinwang, Tiaoqin both in 1st class and 2nd class and inferior samples. HPLC fingerprint method was used to analyze chemically the decayed central xylem part and non-decayed part as well as complete sample, and the results were described by the relative peak area.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The morphological characteristics of 4 specifications are greatly different from one another mainly in root diameters, root lengths and the proportions of decayed central xylem part in the root, and so the authors classified Qinwang and Tiaoqin in 1st class as Kuqin for all samples of them which have decayed central xylem; and classified Tiaoqin in 2nd class and the inferior samples as Ziqin, for having little decayed central xylem. The 4 specifications collected from the same producing area have similar HPLC fingerprint profile to one another, while they are different in relative peak area. The peak area ratios of aglycone to their glucuronide (baicalein/baicalin, wogonin/wogonoside, oroxylin A/oroxylin A-7-O-glucuronide) from Kuqin were significantly higher than those of Ziqin. The total area of the peaks in HPLC fingerprint chromatographs of decayed central xylem part were quite lower than that of non-decayed part, whereas peak areas of the characteristic peaks and the 3 peak area ratios of decayed central xylem were significantly higher than those of non-decayed part which could be used as characteristic parameters to distinguish Kuqin and Ziqin.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Four commercial specifications of Scutellariae Radix can be classified as Kuqin and Ziqin respectively according to morphological characteristics and the proportions of decayed central xylem part in the root. The chemical characteristics of Kuqin and Ziqin are different from each other, so it's worth clarifying the similarities and differences of Kuqin and Ziqin in future. The result in this research can be used as references for identification and quality control of Scutellariae Radix specifications, and investigation on effective components of Kuqin and Ziqin.</p>

Assessment on anti-nociception and anti-inflammation pharmacodynamics of Asarum heterotropoides var. mandshuricum and Asarum sieboldii / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the anti-nociception and anti-inflammation pharmacodynamics of Asarum heterotropoides var. mandshuricum and A. sieboldii.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Both the writhing test and hot plate test were conducted to assess the anti-nociceptive effect of Asarum and Xylene-induced mouse ear edema was conducted to assess the anti-inflammatory effect of Asarum.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Twelve samples of A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum and A. sieboldii from different producing areas showed anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects. Specifically, 27% to 61% of the seven samples of A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum showed anti-nociceptive effect and while 34% to 48% of A. sieboldi showed anti-nociceptive effect. The inflammatory inhibition rate of A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum produced in six producing areas (38%-57%) is higher than that of A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum produced in five producing areas (34%-48%). The same kind of Asarum produced in different areas showed significant differences. A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum produced in Jilin province (38%-57%) showed better anti-nociceptive effect than sample produced in Heilongjiang province (34%) in writhing test. A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum produced in Heilongjiang (43%) province showed a better anti-nociceptive effect than samples produced in Liaoning province (29%-36%) in hot plate test. A. sieboldii produced in Shaanxi province (47%-49%) showed a better anti-nociceptive effect than samples produced in Hubei province (40%) in writhing test. A. sieboldii produced in Shaanxi province (45%-59%) showed better anti-nociceptive effect than samples produced in Chongqing (40%) in hot plate test. A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum produced in Jilin province (51%-63%) showed better anti-inflammatory effect than samples produced in Heilongjiang province (50%). In totality, the results from analysis of geoherbalism showed that famous-region A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum and A. sieboldii had a better anti-nociception effect than Asarum produced in other producing areas, famous-region A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum had a better effect than those produced in other producing areas in anti-inflammation. But famous-region A. sieboldii showed no obvious difference from those produced in other producing areas in anti-inflammation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>All samples of Asarum showed anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects, but with significant differences among Asarum produced in different areas, indicating the eoherbalism to some extent.</p>

Design and practice of group PK teaching / 中华医学教育探索杂志

The author designed and practiced group PK teaching model in Pharmaceutical Botany combined with the ideas of educational skill training program in Peking university aiming at promoting students' learning initiative and enthusiasm as well as collective and teamwork sense.The paper discussed the concept of group PK teaching,requirements for teaching design and problems which should be noted in practice from the aspects of introduction,design and practice of the method as well as teaching effect evaluation and teaching method reflection.Survey questionnaire was used to evaluate the preliminary teaching effect of the new teaching method and to explore its teaching thought and educational idea.In practice,group PK teaching model improved students' self-learning awareness and ability,communication skills,collective and teamwork sense.

A new aristolochic acid derivative from Asarum himalaicum / 药学学报

To study the chemical constituents of Asarum himalaicum, fifteen compounds were isolated from a 70% ethanol extract by using a combination of various chromatographic techniques including column chromatography over silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and semi-preparative HPLC. By spectroscopic techniques including 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and HR-ESI-MS, these compounds were identified as 4-demethoxyaristolochic acid BII (1), aristolochic acid I (2), aristolochic acid Ia (3), 7-hydroxyaristolochic acid I (4), aristolochic acid IV (5), aristolic acid II (6), debilic acid (7), aristololactam I (8), 9-hydroxyaristololactam I (9), 7-methoxyaristololactam IV (10), (2S)-narigenin-5, 7-di-O-beta-D-pyranosylglucoside (11), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (12), 3, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (13), 4-hydroxycinnamic acid (14), and beta-sitosterol (15). All of these compounds (1-15) were obtained from A. himalaicum for the first time. Among them, 1 was identified as a new compound, and compounds 3-6, 9, 12-14 were isolated from Asarum genus for the first time. Since the kidney toxicity of aristolochic acids and aristololactams has been reported, the result of this investigation suggests that it should be cautioned to use A. himalaicum as a medicine.

Determination of harpagide and harpagoside in Scrophulariae Radix by HPLC-UV / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To develop a method for the determination of harpagide and harpagoside in Scrophulariae Radix (Xuanshen) by HPLC-UV under double wavelength, and to study the changes of these two constituents during processing, and to set the limitation of harpagide and harpagoside contents in crude drug and sliced pieces of Xuanshen.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The analyses were performed on an Agilent Technologies ZORBAX SB-C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) eluted with acetonitrile-water (containing 0.03% phosphoric acid) in gradient model. The flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1) . The column temperature was 25 degrees C. The UV detector wavelength was set at 210 nm before 13 min and then changed to 280 nm.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Harpagide and harpagoside were separated well. The linear calibration curves were obtained over of 0.0549 - 1.46 microg for harpagide (r = 0.9999, n =7) ,0.0225 - 0.900 microg for harpagoside (r = 0.9998, n = 9). The recoveries ( +/- RSD)% were 98.1 (+/- 2.4)% for harpagide and 98.8 (+/- 4.3)% for harpagoside. The contents of harpagide were 0. 277% - 0.620%, harpagoside were 0.078% - 0.362% in Xuanshen, and harpagide were 0.276% - 1.059%, harpagoside were 0. 059% - 0.183% in sliced Xuanshen, respectively. After the processing of Scrophulariae Radix, the content of harpagide increases 13.7% - 96.0%, while harpagoside decreases 11.0%-73.9%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This method is simple, accurate, and can be used for the quality control of Scrophulariae Radix. We propose that the total content of harpagide and harpagoside in either crude drug or sliced pieces of Scrophulariae Radix should not be less than 0.45%.</p>

Surveys on resources and varieties on Chinese markets of crude drug mahuang / 中国中药杂志

Many species of the genus Ephedra plants are used as Chinese traditional medicines, in Chinese which are known as "Mahuang" (Ephedrae Herba). In order to get a clear picture of resources distribution and varieties on Chinese markets of the crude drug Mahuang and provide scientific basis for their resource conservation and sustainable use, during recent years we conducted field investigations and market researches many times. The results showed that the most common species on the Chinese markets was E. sinica (33/38 commercial samples), followed by E. intermedia (5/38 commercial samples), which was also used in local clinics in Qing-hai, Gansu and Xinjiang province, no E. equisetina was found in the market. We noticed that the resources of both official and non-official plants of Mahuang, especially Zhong-Mahuang and Muzei-Mahuang, were seriously damaged in the past decade because of the ecological environment damage and over-digging. Zhong-Mahuang was distinguished in Ningxia and north Gansu, which was once one of the most distribution areas and contains more than 10,000 t Zhong-Mahuang. Muzei-Mahuang was distinguished in most places and distributed sparsely around Altay Mountains in northeast in Xinjiang. Thus, Cultivation of Mahuang, especially Zhong-Mahuang and Muzei-Mahuang should be greatly developed. At the same time, wild resources of Mahuang must be preserved strictly, i.e., proper method of cutting Ephedra plant could prevent the damage of the resource.

Screening effective parts of combination of Astragali Radix and Angelicae Sinensis Radix (A&A) for its renoprotective effects / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The decoction of Astragali Radix and Angelicae Sinensis Radix (A&A) has shown antifibrotic effects in rats with unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). The aim of this study was to track the effective parts of A&A for its renoprotective effects, according to the improvement of renal function and renal tubulointerstitial damage.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>A&A was sequentially extracted by using different solvents for three times and eleven different parts were gained. Wistar rats were randomly divided into Sham, UUO and the treatment groups with A&A or each part of A&A. After administration of A&A or its parts for 10 days, the levels of serum creatinin (Scr) and urea were measured. The morphological changes of kidneys were also semi-quantitatively analyzed by HE, Masson stained tissue sections, which including interstitial cell infiltration, tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The levels of Scr, urea were significantly increased, accompanied with severe renal damage in rats with UUO. As same as A&A, the part I in the first extraction and part IC in the second extraction were all shown to decrease the levels of Scr and urea and the index of renal interstitial damage. However, the following 4 parts extracted from IC in the third extraction were shown no effect on the above indexes.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The extract part I and part IC could be considered as the predominant parts of A&A for its renoprotective effects, due to their improvement of renal damage in interstitial nephropathy.</p>

Surveys on resources and varieties on Chinese markets of crude drug Xixin / 中国中药杂志

Many species of the genus Asarum plants are used as Chinese traditional or folk medicines, in Chinese which are known as "Xixin" (Asari Radix et Rhizoma) , "Bei-Xixin" , "Hua-Xixin" and "Nan-Xixin" , etc. In order to get a clear picture of resources distribution and varieties on Chinese markets of the crude drug Xixin and provide scientific basis for their resource conservation and sustainable use, during recent years we conducted field investigations and market researches many times. The results showed that the resources of both official Xixins and non-official Xixins were decreased because of the ecological environment damage and over-digging, especially species whose population size was small. Bei-Xixin derived from A. heterotropoides var. mandshuricum was the most species on the Chinese markets except for a few areas of China. Hua-Xixin derived from A. sieboldii and non-official Xixins were mainly used in their producing areas. Cultivation of Hua-Xixin should be greatly developed, and wild resources of non-official species must be preserved strictly.

Ecological environment of cultivated Astragali radix and market specification of prepared slices / 中国中药杂志

Astragali Radix is derived from roots of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus and A. membranaceus. The exhaustion of wild Astragali Radix has made cultivated Astragali Radix possess the commercial market of Astragali Radix. So the ecological environment of cultivated Astragali Radix should be investigated through field survey. Through investigation, we found that A. membranaceus var. mongholicus are cultivated in Hengshan mountain of Shanxi province, Longnan of Gansu province, south of Inner Mongolia and Qinghai provinces. A. membranaceus var. mongholicus is almost planted on the plain, except in Shanxi province it grows on the sunny side of the mountain. What is more, soil type, elevation, annual temperature and annual rainfall of these locations are different. So the ecological environments of cultivated location of Astragali Radix are different from each other. A. membranaceus is wild in Heilongjiang and northeast of Inner Mongolia, but the resource is drying up. It is also planted in few places of the provinces of Shanxi, Shandong, Hebei, Gansu, but cultivated scope of A. membranaceus is smaller than A. membranaceus var. mongholicus.. So A. membranaceus var. mongholicus possesses large part of Astragali Radix market. In market, there exists no unified specification fro slices of Astragali Radix, and specification of prepared slices will influence the contents of chemical components. Through investigation, different kind of prepared slices can be collected and compared, this provides evidences for quality control of prepared slices. Through investigation, five different specifications of prepared slices were found in market. The distributions of some specification of prepared slices are specified, like transverseprepared slices prepared from A. membranaceus only found in Heilongjiang province. Transverse prepared slices possess half part of prepared slice market, and can be used to identify original plant of Astragali Radix. So transverse prepared slices should be the unified specification of Astragali Radix.

Advances in studies of renal adverse reactions of Leonurus heterophyllus / 中国中药杂志

Motherwort (Herb of Leonurus heterophyllus) was a traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of various kinds of gynaecological diseases, which was considered as non-toxic medicine since ancient times. However, adverse effects such as kidney damage, uterus damage, allergy and diarrhea were frequently reported recently. This paper reviews the possible target site, toxic dosage, chemical substance and other related factors of these kidney damage caused by motherwort from both the clinic and animal experiment view.

Chemical constituent from fruit of Aristolochia contorta / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the chemical constituents of the fruit of Aristolochia contorta.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The compounds were isolated by chromatographic techniques and crystalization, the structures were elucidated by spectrum analysis.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Fifteen compounds were isolated from the dry fruit of A. contorta, which were six aristolochic acids: aristolochic acid I, aristolochic acid III a, aristolochic acid IVa, aristolochic acid II, aristolochic acid III and aristolochic acid VIIa. Three aristolactams: aristololactam I, aristololactam II and aristololactam IIIa. Three phenolic acids syringic acid, vanillic acid and p-coumaric acid. Three other type compounds: pentacosane acid, beta-sitosterol and daucossterol.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Aristolochic acid III, aristolochic acid VIIa, aristololactam IIIa, and penfacosane acid were isolated from A. contorta for the first time, and compounds 4-13 were isolated from the furit of A. contorta for the first time.</p>

Study on preparation and quantity determination of Scrophularia ningpoensis dispensing granules / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To develop the preparation method and to determine the quantity of effective constituents of Scrophularia ningpoensis dispensing granules.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Nine experiments were carried out through L9 (3(4)) orthogonal design. The contents of harpagoside and cinnamic acid were determined by HPLC method.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The optimal extraction process was as follows: the slices were soaked in water in the ratio of 1:8 for 0.5 h, then they were decocted for 2 h. For the second time, 6 times of water was added and sustained for 1.5 h. Harpagoside and cinnamic acid were linear within the ranges of 0.0776-1.552 microg (r=0.9999) and 0.01446-0.4339 microg (r=0.9999), respectively. The average recoveries were 100.4% (RSD 1.98%, n=6) and 98.27% (RSD1.35%, n=6), respectively. Ten batches of granules were determined.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The extraction process is scientific and the determination method is suitable for quality control of Scrophularia ningpoensis dispensing granules.</p>

Anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects in mice of water and ethanol extracts of roots and rhizomes of Asarum heterotropoides var. mandshuricum / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects of the different water extracts which were prepared by regular decoction time or removing volatie oil and ethanol extracts which were prepared in different concentration ethanol of Xixin (the roots and rhizomes of Asarum heterotropoides var. mandshuricum), and then to investigate the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive mechanisms.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Xylene-induced ICR mouse ear edema and hot plate test were utilized to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects of Xixin at different dose level (water extracts of regular decoction time or removing volatie oil at the dose of 0.8 g x kg(-1) and 1.6 g x kg(-1); 95% ethanol extracts at the dose of 0.91 g x kg(-1) and 1.82 g x kg(-1); 50% ethanol extracts at the dose of 0.76 g x kg(-1) and 1.52 g x kg(-1)). Xylene-induced adrenalectomized mouse ear edema model was used to study the anti-inflammatory mechanisms. To reveal the anti-nociceptive mechanisms, mice were pretreated with naloxone in the hot plate test.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The water extracts significantly reduced the weight of ear edema as compared with control group. Inhibition ratios were 43.20% and 63.69% at the higher dose, respectively. The ethanol extracts also significantly reduced the weight of ear edema and the inhibition ratios were 61.86% and 52. 56% at the higher dose, respectively. Mice administered water extracts delayed the latency times in the hot plate test. The anti-nociceptive effects of water extracts peaked at 2.0 h after i.g. administration. The hot plate latency times were increased by 51.27%, 62.78%, 60.08% and 68.00% at peak time, respectively. Regular decoction time group showed more significant effects in both models. The anti-inflammatory effect of 95% ethanol extracts was similar to 50% ethanol extracts. The water extracts were not effective in reducing xylene-induced adrenalectomized mouse ear edema. The anti-nociceptive effect of water extracts was blocked by naloxone.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Both the water extracts and ethanol extracts of Xixin showed considerable anti-inflammatory potency against xylene induced inflammation. The water extracts produced anti-nociception in thermal model. The water extracts prepared in regular decoction time showed better anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects. Both the 95% ethanol and 50% ethanol extracts showed similarly anti-inflammatory effects. The anti-inflammatory effect of water extracts related to adrenal gland. The anti-nociceptive effect of water extracts was involved in activating opioid receptor.</p>