Origin, development, and modern application value of Chinese herbal lozenges / 中国中药杂志

Lozenge is one of the traditional dosage forms of Chinese medicine. It has been recorded in traditional Chinese medical classics of all dynasties since the Eastern Han Dynasty and has been developing and evolving continuously. The unique pharmaceutical methods and application scope are the driving force of its emergence, existence, and development. Up to now, lozenge has been included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia as an independent dosage form. Lozenge has been endowed with new meaning by modern Chinese medicine pharmaceutics, which is worth tracing origin and exploring value. The present study reviewed the origin and development of lozenge, compared lozenge with other similar dosage forms, analyzed the characteristics of modern and ancient dosage forms of lozenge, and discussed the development prospect and potential of lozenge in combination with the demand development of modern Chinese medicine preparation, so as to provide references for expanding the modern application of lozenge.

A randomized controlled study on an integrated approach to prevent and treat re-adhesion after transcervical resection of moderate-to-severe intrauterine adhesions

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to compare the clinical efficacy of an integrated approach to prevent and treat the recurrence of moderate-to-severe intrauterine adhesions (IUA) after hysteroscopic transcervical resection of adhesion (TCRA). METHODS: The study included a total of 70 patients with moderate-to-severe IUAs who underwent TCRA. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: treatment group (n=35) and control group n=35). In the treatment group, patients underwent balloon uterine stent placement and artificial cycle as well as received intrauterine perfusion of Danshen injection and oral Chinese medicine. In the control group, patients underwent balloon uterine stent placement and artificial cycle as well as received hyaluronic acid sodium and intrauterine device (IUD). Follow-up was performed after treatment of uterine cavity, menstruation and pregnancy. RESULTS: After 3 months of treatment, we observed a significantly lower rate of intrauterine re-adhesion (45.71% versus 77.14%, p=0.044) and significantly higher clinical efficiency (82.86% versus 77.14%, p=0.025) in the treatment group than those in the control group. After 6 months of treatment, we observed a significantly higher clinical efficiency in the treatment group than that in the control group (88.57% versus 68.57%, p=0.039). During the follow-up period, the pregnancy rate was 45.71% and 37.14% in the treatment group and control group, respectively, although the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.628). CONCLUSIONS: After surgical management of IUA, the integrated treatment combining a uterus stent placement and artificial cycle with Danshen injection and oral Chinese medicine can improve the condition of menstruation, and prevent and treat recurrence of IUA.

Development status and research strategy of traditional Chinese medicine temporary prescription preparation technology / 中国中药杂志

Temporary prescription preparation is the preparation processed into different dosage forms by relevant pharmacist according to the temporary preparation requirement and the personalized prescription made by the doctor in accordance with the syndrome differentiation and drug performance.It is an important part in personalized pharmaceutical services.Rational design of process route,production equipment and quality control method for the temporary prescription preparation,and establishment of technology research strategy and mode in accordance with the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine temporary prescription preparations play an important role in promoting the development of the temporary prescription preparations.To promote the normalization,standardization and intelligent development of temporary prescription preparations,we would comprehensively summarize the significance,policy,technology characteristics,technology research status quo and existing problems in this paper,and put forward the research direction of temporary prescription preparation technology based on the physical properties of raw materials,equipment research strategy,and intelligent manufacturing technology.Thus it will push the inheritance and innovation of temporary prescription preparation.

Effect of FPZ, a total flavonoids ointment topical application from Pouzolzia zeylanica var. microphylla, on mice skin infections

ABSTRACT The present study was designed to investigate the effect of FPZ, a total flavonoids ointment topical application from Pouzolzia zeylanica var. microphylla (Wedd.) Masam, Urticaceae, on skin infections in mice. FPZ ointment anti-infective effect was investigated on Staphylococcus aureus-induced skin abscess and skin ulcers in mice by evaluating the variation in abscess volume, histopathology of skin tissue and healing rate. Secondary, it is topical anti-inflammatory activities on carrageenan-induced hind paw edema in mice was estimated. Besides, FPZ ointment fingerprint was performed by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography and FPZ ointment chemical constituents were isolated and identified by repeated column chromatograph and spectroscopic methods. The results revealed that FPZ ointment topical application at the concentration of 2.5-10% could attenuate skin abscess and ulcers and accelerate wound healing, as compared with control group treated with vehicle (p < 0.05). The histological analysis indicated that FPZ ointment acted via inflammation inhibition, granulation promotion and epidermis formation. Moreover, FPZ ointment effectively inhibited carrageenan-induced paw edema in a dose-dependent manner, especially 10% FPZ which showed superior activities in comparison with dexamethasone used as reference drug. FPZ ointment topical application showed a significant anti-infective effect against pyogenic bacterial skin infection in mice.

Wetting agent dosage screening for traditional Chinese medicine pellet based on torque rheological property / 中国中药杂志

With lubricant and bonding effect simultaneously, wetting agent has direct effect on properties of wet mass and extrudate, thus affecting the forming quality of pellets in extrusion-spheronization process. In this research, 25 representative kinds of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) were selected as model drugs and 20%, 30% and 40% drug loading were set with MCC as their balling agent. The torque rheological curves were measured to get parameters such as maximum torque (Tmax) and corresponding water addition (WTmax) for these 75 raw materials by a mixer torque rheometer (MTR).The results showed that among 75 representative raw materials, 74 ones could be obtained for spherical pellets under the water addition of WTmax-2. corresponding to the second largest torque in torque rheological curve, suggesting that MTR could be used to select the optimal wetting agent dosage of TCM pellets. So the tedious and expensive pre-production work could be considerably reduced when TCM pellets were prepared.

Relation of serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels to bone mineral density in southern Chinese postmenopausal women: A preliminary study.

Background & objectives: Vitamin D insufficiency is prevalent in postmenopausal women and has been related to low bone mineral density (BMD). However, controversial results have been reported for the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels and BMD. This study was done to investigate whether serum 25(OH)D levels were associated with BMD in postmenopausal women living in Guangzhou in southern China. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 119 asymptomatic postmenopausal women, aged 48-85 yr, who were consecutively selected from Guangzhou city. BMD was measured at the lumbar spine and femoral neck. The correlation between serum 25(OH)D levels and BMD wes investigated. Results: With increasing serum 25(OH)D levels categorized as <20, 20-30, and ≥30ng/ml, the PTH levels decreased gradually (P=0.031). Bivariate correlation analyses showed an inverse relationship between serum 25(OH)D and PTH levels after controlling for age and BMI (r=-0.209, P=0.023). Although subjects with vitamin D<30 ng/ml had significantly lower BMD, age- and BMI-adjusted serum 25(OH)D was weakly correlated with BMD at femoral neck (r=0.185, P=0.045), and not at lumbar spine (r=0.172, P=0.063). In multiple regression analyses, serum 25(OH)D was a predictor for BMD at femoral neck (R 2=0.424). However, serum β-CTX was a determinant for BMD at lumbar spine (R 2=0.361). Interpretation & conclusions: Serum 25(OH)D levels showed a positive correlation with BMD at femoral neck and serum β-CTX levels were inversely correlated with BMD at lumbar spine in postmenopausal women. Further studies are needed to elucidate the clinical impact of these findings.

Discussion on research and development of new traditional Chinese medicine preparation process based on idea of QbD / 中国中药杂志

Traditional processes are mostly adopted in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation production and the quality of products is mostly controlled by terminal. Potential problems of the production in the process are unpredictable and is relied on experience in most cases. Therefore, it is hard to find the key points affecting the preparation process and quality control. A pattern of research and development of traditional Chinese medicine preparation process based on the idea of Quality by Design (QbD) was proposed after introducing the latest research achievement. Basic theories of micromeritics and rheology were used to characterize the physical property of TCM raw material. TCM preparation process was designed in a more scientific and rational way by studying the correlation among enhancing physical property of raw material, preparation process and product quality of preparation. So factors affecting the quality of TCM production would be found out and problems that might occur in the pilot process could be predicted. It would be a foundation for the R&D and production of TCM preparation as well as support for the "process control" of TCMIs gradually realized in the future.

Evaluating method of the characteristic physical properties of the wetting mass using texture analyser / 药学学报

To build the evaluating method of the characteristic physical properties of the wetting mass, this study reported the preparation of wetting mass by adding water into microcrystalline cellulose, and using texture analyser texture profile analysis to test its physical properties, including hardness, adhesiveness, springness, cohesiveness, chewiness, resilience and so on, then finding out the better method and parameters. The method was evaluated and used to test wetting mass, which was made of microcrystalline cellulose of different types and polyvinylpyrrolidone. When running texture profile analysis whose trigger force was 1500 g, the relative standard deviation was under 10%, and the trend of every characteristic physical property tallied with the theory result by water ratio increase. Testing result of the same excipient with the same water ratio had a higher precision, while characteristic physical properties of wetting mass who was made of the same excipient with different water ratios and different excipients had a great difference. Using texture analyser to test physical properties of wetting mass could get a result which tallied with the theory by water ratio increase, and had a well precision, accuracy and sensitivity, and thus it could also evaluate the characteristic physical properties of wetting mass relatively well.

Toll-like receptor 9 is correlated to disease activity in Chinese systemic lupus erythematosus population / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Toll like receptor (TLR) 9 has been shown to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in animal models. Its pathogenic role in human SLE, however, was poorly elucidated. This study was performed to investigate the role of TLR9 involved in the aberrant signaling pathway and its correlation with disease activity in SLE.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>mRNA level of TLR9 and interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). IFN-a expression was measured in the serum of the SLE patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>TLR9 expression was significantly higher in SLE patients than that in health controls (P = 0.011). SLE patients with positive anti-dsDNA antibody had significantly higher expression of TLR9 than that with negative anti-dsDNA antibody (P = 0.001). TLR9 expression was positively correlated with fever (P = 0.017), alopecia (P = 0.046), safety of estrogens in lupus erythematosus national assessment SLE disease activity index (SELENA-SLEDAI) score (r(s) = 0.385, P = 0.003), and the level of IRF5 (r(s) = 0.35, P = 0.027) and IFN-a (r(s) = 0.627, P = 0.001) in SLE patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TLR9 is associated with SLE disease activity and might be involved in the IFN-a pathway of SLE.</p>