Quantitative Determination And Preparative Isolation Of Two Major Alkaloids From The Vietnamese Medicinal Herb Evodiae Fructus

Objective: To develop a simple and accurate HPLC-DAD method for simultaneous determination, the content of major components: limonin, evodiamine, and rutaecarpine in Evodiae fructus and evaluation the quality of Evodiae fructus sold in markets. Methods: Open column chromatography was used to separate and purify rutaecarpine and evodiamine, the two major alkaloids from Evodiae fructus extract as a laboratory standard. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a Germini C18 column (150 mm × 4.6 mm I.D., 5 µm), detected at 210 nm. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile (A), methanol (B), and water (C). The validated method simultaneously determined alkaloid content in 40 batches of samples collected from markets in different regions of Vietnam. Results: In one-step purification, our method yielded 326 mg of rutaecarpine and 128 mg of evodiamine from 3.2 g of crude extract, with purities of 98.9 and 98.5%, respectively. The structures of these compounds were identified using 1H NMR and 13C NMR. There was a significant correlation between alkaloid content and fruit size, with a Spearman correlation coefficient of>0.5 (p<0.001), and there was a large difference in alkaloid contents between three maturity degrees of the fruit. Open-mouth fruits and fruits with average sizes of 4 to 6 mm had the highest alkaloid contents, whereas closed-mouth fruits had the lowest. Conclusion: This study provided information on the standardization and quality control of evodiamine and rutaecarpine in Evodiae fructus, as well as a foundation for further pharmacological and toxicological studies.

Cytological findings of NK/T-cell lymphoma in pericardial effusion: A case report with a review of the literature

Extranodal Natural Killer/T-cell lymphoma (ENKL) is an aggressive NK or cytotoxic T-cell neoplasm. The cytological features of NK/T-cell lymphoma have been rarely described, mainly focusing on the fine needle aspiration cytology from lymph nodes or soft tissue, except for a few cases focused on body fluid. A 46-year-old man visited the hospital due to generalized weakness and weight loss. Three months prior, computed tomographic scan revealed mesenteric panniculitis and reactive lymph nodal enlargement, as well as a mildly thickened left adrenal gland, suggesting an inflammatory condition. About 100 days later, marked enlargement of both adrenal glands with pericardial effusion was noted. The pericardial effusion contained medium-sized atypical lymphocytes, suspicious for malignant lymphoma, and the left adrenal mass was histologically confirmed as ENKL on biopsied specimen. Herein, we describe the cytological features of NK/T-cell lymphoma in body fluid cytology along with a review of the literature.

Heterotopic ossification in appendiceal mucinous neoplasms: clinicopathological characteristics of 3 cases

Heterotopic bone formation is a very rare event in the gastrointestinal tract including in the appendix. Here we report three cases of heterotopic ossification in appendiceal mucinous neoplasms, one occurring in an appendiceal mucinous cystadenoma, another in a low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm, and the third occurring in an appendiceal mucinous adenocarcinoma. The clinicopathologic characteristics of these three present cases and two previously reported cases are discussed in detail. The mechanism of heterotopic ossification in appendiceal mucinous neoplasm is still unclear, but mucin extravasation and subsequent calcification may be predisposing events.