Effect of electroacupuncture on neurological deficit and activity of TLR2/NF-κB signaling in ce-rebral ischemia /reperfusion injury rats / 针刺研究

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on neurological behavior and activity of Toll-like receptor 2 / nuclear factor kappa B (TLR2/NF-κB) signaling of the ischemic cerebral area in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) rats, so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of CIRI. METHODS: A total of 120 male SD rats were randomly divided into blank control, sham operation, model, EA and EA＋NF-κB inhibitor (Pyrrolidine Dithiocarbamate Hydrochloride, PDTC, EA＋PDTC) groups which were further divided into 3, 7, 14 and 28 d subgroups (n＝6 in each subgroup). The CIRI model was established by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery for 90 min, followed by reperfusion. EA (1－20 Hz, 6 V) was applied to "Shuigou" (GV26), "Neiguan" (PC6), "Sanyinjiao" (SP6) and "Weizhong" (BL40) for 30 min, once a day for 28 days. For rats of the EA＋PDTC group, PDTC solution (120 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected on the 3rd day after successful modeling and before EA intervention. The neurological deficit severity (Zea Longa score) was assessed 3, 7, 14 and 28 days after modeling. The expression levels of TLR2, Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase (IRAK) and NF-κB mRNAs in the ischemic penumbra region of brain tissue were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. RESULTS: Following modeling, the neurological deficit scores were significantly increased from the 3rd day on after CIRI (P<0.05), the expression levels of TLR2 mRNA on day 3, 7, 14 and 28, and IRAK mRNA on day 3 and 7, as well as NF-κB mRNA on day 3, 7 and 14 were significantly up-regulated in the model group relevant to the blank control group (P<0.05). After EA intervention, the neurological deficit scores were significantly decreased in the EA group on day 3, 7 and 28 and in the EA＋PDTC group on day 3, 7, 14 and 28 in comparison with those of the model group (P<0.05). In addition, the expression levels of TLR2 mRNA and NF-κB mRNA on day 3, 7 and 14 in the EA group, and on day 3, 7, 14 and 28 in the EA＋PDTC group, IRAK mRNA on day 3 in the EA and EA＋PDTC group were significantly down-regulated (P<0.05), but those of IRAK mRNA on day 14 and 28 in the EA group were significantly up-regulated in comparison with those of the model group (P<0.05). The effect of the EA＋PDTC was obviously superior to that of simple EA in down-regulating the expression of TLR2 (on day 28), and IRAK (on day 3, 14, 28), and NF-κB (on day 3, 7 and 14) (all P<0.05). CONCLUSION: EA stimulation can improve the symptoms of neurological deficits in CIRI rats, which may be related to its effect in suppressing the expression of TLR2, NF-κB and IRAK mRNAs of the ischemic cerebral tissue, i．e., down-regulating the activity of TLR2/NF-κB signaling.

Prediction of Antiviral and Anti-inflammatory Mechanisms of Major Compounds from Flowers of Trollius Chinensis Based on Molecular Docking Technology / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To predict the antiviral and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of major compounds from the flowers of Trollius chinensis, namely, vitexin, orientin, 2"-O-β-L-galactopyranosylvitexin, 2"-O-β-L-galactopyranosylorientin, veratric acid, and trolline, by using the molecular docking technique. Methods Discovery Studio 2.5 software and Chinese Medicine Chemistry Database were employed for docking between the ligands including 6 compounds and the proteins including Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and neuraminidase (NA). The docking results and interactions of their functional domains were obtained by simulation analysis. Results Vitexin, orientin, 2"-O-β-L-galactopyranosylvitexin, veratric acid, and trolline were applied to one or more TLR, whereas 2"-O-β-L-galactopyranosylorientin could interact with neither of the proteins investigated. Flavonoids, namely vitexin, orientin, 2"-O-β-L-galactopyranosylvitexin and 2"-O-β-L-galactopyranosylorientin were applied to NA, whereas veratric acid and trolline could not interact with NA. Conclusion Five out of the 6 compounds have influence on the signaling pathways mediated by TLRs, and TLR3, 4, and 7 are their potential targets for antivirus and anti-inflammation. Four flavonoids can affect the activity of influenza virus by interacting with NA. This study can provide a basis for the investigation of the antiviral and anti-inflammatory effective compounds of the flowers of Trollius chinensis and the further development.

Comparison on three methods for identification of critical process parameters / 中草药

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of multiple linear regression method, stepwise regression method, and standardized partial regression coefficient method for the identification of critical process parameters. Methods: The acid precipitation and alkaline dissolution process of Scutellariae Radix (SR) water extract was investigated as an example. Results: Similar results were obtained using three different methods. The concentration of SR water extract, pH value of acid precipitation, pH value of alkali dissolution, and refrigeration temperature were considered as critical process parameters. Conclusion: The selection of threshold values of the three methods all are subjective. Multiple linear regression method is simple, but is not as sensitive as stepwise regression method. The effects of a parameter on several process indices can be considered simultaneously and easily weighted using standardized partial regression coefficient method.

On-line monitoring of extraction process of danhong injection based on near-infrared spectroscopy / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish a rapid quantitative analysis method for the quality control of Danhong injection extraction using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Online collecting the NIR spectra during the mixed extraction process of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Carthamus tinctorius, partial least squares regression (PLSR) models were developed for the quality indicators rosmarinic acid (RA), salvia acid B (SaB), lithospermic acid (LA), hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) and solid content (SSC), with HPLC and weight-loss method as reference methods.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The correlation coefficients of the cross validation for RA, SaB, LA, HSYA and SSC were 0.909 3, 0.915 2, 0.901 9, 0.747 7 and 0.931 4, respectively. And the root mean square errors of cross validation (RMSECV) were 0.012 1, 0.251, 0.017 7, 0.038 1 g x L(-1) and 0.359%, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In this study, NIR spectroscopy was successfully applied to achieve the real-time determination of the contents of RA, SaB, LA and SSC, while the performance of the HSYA calibration model needed to be improved.</p>

Application of ultraviolet spectroscopy for rapid analysis in extraction process of danhong injection / 中国中药杂志

In this work, a rapid analysis method basing on ultraviolet spectroscopy was established for the determination of danshensu, protocatechuic aldehyde, rosmarinci acid, lithospermic acid and salvianolic acid B in the extraction process of Danhong injection. In the extraction process of Danshen and Honghua crude drugs, 44 extraction solution samples were collected and the contents of the five components were determined by HPLC analysis. The ultraviolet spectra of the samples were collected. Partial least square regression was used to establish the multivariate calibration models between the ultraviolet spectra and the contents of the five components. The results showed that the established models could predict the contents of the five components in the extraction solution accurately. The ultraviolet spectroscopy method established in this work can be used for rapid analysis of the intermediates of Danhong injection, which may be applied for the quality control in the manufacturing process.