Herbalogical study on original plant and medicinal and edible values of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus / 中国中药杂志

Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus is a both medicinal and edible species specified by the China Ministry of Health, with a long history in China. According to the ancient monographs about materia medica, it was found that the records of the Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus on the original plants were confused. This paper reviewed the ancient monographs about materia medica, and made a summarization and textual research on the name, origin, habitat, processing methods, medicinal properties and clinicacy efficacy of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus based the comprehensive analysis on modern literatures and authoritative books of Chinese herbal medicine. The results indicated that there were many bynames of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus. Before the Yuan Dynasty, there was a mixed use of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus and Citri Fructus, which were not distinguished from each other in terms of nature and taste until the Yuan dynasty. Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus was a varietas of Citri Fructus. The main shape of the original plant of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus is "like a human hand with fingers" as recorded in ancient monographs about materia medica. The main places of origin of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus were Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Sichuan, which were relatively stable. There were fewer records about medicinal proces-sing methods of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus. Only steaming and baking methods were found in ancient monographs about materia medica, and the steaming method could reduce the irritability of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus. The processing of therapeutic dietary of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus was widely used in folk, which was represented by Chaozhou Laoxianghuang, a traditional succade made of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus. According to the 2015 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus had effects in soothing liver and regulating gas, relieving pain in the stomach, eliminating dampness and resolving phlegm, which was basically consistent with the descriptions in ancient monographs about materia medica. This paper defined the original plant of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus, and sorted out and summarized the processing methods, nature and taste of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus, so as to provide data support for the standardization of the processing technology and the development and utilization of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus.

Historical evolution of Coicis Semen processing methods / 中国中药杂志

Coicis Semen is widely used as a raw material which can be used as both medicine and food among people. According to the ancient monographs on materia medica and relevant documents on the processing specifications in various provinces and cities, herba logical study on the historical evolution of the processing methods of Coicis Semen was conducted in this paper from the aspects of collecting and processing methods of Coicis Semen, the processing methods in the past dynasties and the nature, flavour and efficacy of Coicis Semen. The results showed that the processing methods of Coicis Semen recorded in monographs on materia medica mainly included stir-frying, glutinous rice stir-frying, salt processing(including salt cooking and salt stir-frying), stir-frying with the earth scraped from the wall facing east, and ginger juice stir-frying, etc. Among them, stir-frying, and stir-frying with the earth scraped from the wall facing east are still used nowadays. The bran stir-frying is the improved version of glutinous rice stir-frying in order to be adaptive to the modern-day situation and the needs of the present. In addition, the ancient shell removal and kernel keeping method are also included in the processing procedures in modern local processing specifications, which are combined with frying to form a new method named "Fazhi" processing( "Fazhi" means a processing method of multiple procedures). The 2015 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia records that Coicis Semen is helpful to clear dampness and promote diuresis, strengthen the spleen and prevent diarrhea, eliminate impediment, discharge pus, resolve toxin and a mass, etc., which are consistent with those contained in ancient monographs on materia medica. After the "Fazhi" processing, the cold nature of Coicis Semen has been removed and its nature,flavour and meridian tropism have been changed, so its application scopes expanded. The results of this study clearly traced the history of the collecting and proces-sing of Coicis Semen, summarized the nature, flavour and efficacy of Coicis Semen contained in both ancient and modern literature, and provided a historical basis for the standardization of the subsequent processing technology of Coicis Semen, the clinical application of various processed products, and the further development and utilization of medicinal materials.

Herbalogical study on olibanum(Ruxiang) / 中国中药杂志

As a representative foreign medicinal material, olibanum(Ruxiang) was imported to China since the Qin and Han Dynasties. Olibanum was first described as a medicinal by the name "Xunluxiang" in Miscellaneous Records of Famous Physicians(Ming Yi Bie Lu). This study investigated historical records on olibanum and conducted the herbalogical study. It was found that olibanum came from the resin mainly obtained from the bark of Pistacia lenticus before the Tang Dynasty. With the prosperity of the Maritime Silk Road, instead, the resin obtained from the bark of Boswellia carterii was mainly used as olibanum. In ancient time, the oleo-gum-resin secreted from the cut bark was collected in spring and summer, and the quality was judged based on transparency and shape. The processing methods of olibanum went through many evolutions, which changed from simple methods such as grinding and frying to complex methods such as levigating and grinding with wine, and now to frying and processing with vinegar. The usage of olibanum included alchemy, folk and religious incense, bathing, cosmetic and medicinal since ancient times. From the Song Dynasty, olibanum had been mainly used as medicinal because of its good effect to treat wounds. In traditional Chinese medicine, olibanum unblocks menstruation, relieves pain and reduces swelling and generated muscles. The medicinal efficacy of olibanum is not much different from ancient to modern. Only the efficacy of replenishing energy and promoting the movement of Qi was rarely mentioned in modern reference. In this article, the historical evolutions of olibanum about original plants, processing and medicinal efficacy were sorted out. The results could provide historical basis for the further development and clinical utilization of olibanum.

The relationship between PMI and concentration of potassium ion and sodium ion in swine aqueous humor after death / 法医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explored the relationship between the concentration of potassium ion as well as sodium ion in the aqueous humor and post-mortem interval (PMI).@*METHODS@#The concentrations of potassium ion and sodium ion in the aqueous humor of swine within 48 h after death at 4 degrees C and 28 degrees C were detected using Z-500 atomic absorption spectrophotometer.@*RESULTS@#The concentrations of potassium ion and sodium ion in aqueous humor of isolated swine eyeballs within 48 h after death when the environmental temperature was 4 degrees C were significantly related to PMI. The relationship between PMI and the concentration of potassium ion was PMI = -0.178[K+]2 + 49.978 (R2 = 0.995). The relationship between PMI and the rate of sodium ion and potassium ion was PMI = 120.987/[Na+/K+]-28.834 (R2 = 0.905).@*CONCLUSION@#The concentration of potassium in aqueous humor of isolated swine eyeballs may be one of the reference indicators to estimate PMI of the corpses at lower temperatures.

Survivin and COX-2 expressions in giant cell tumor of bone and their relation to the prognosis / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression of survivin and COX-2 in giant cell tumor of bone (GCT) and explore the prognostic factors for GCT.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expressions of survivin and COX-2 in 39 GCT tissues of three Jaffe grades and 4 normal bone tissues were detected by immunohistochemical staining, and the data were analyzed in relation to the clinicopathological features of the patients.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expressions of survivin and COX-2 were significantly higher in the GCT tissues than in normal bone tissues (P<0.01). A positive correlation was found between survivin and COX-2 expressions and the pathological grade (P<0.01), but their expressions were not correlated to the patients' gender, age or surgical approaches (P>0.05). An obviously lowered recurrence rate was observed in patients with resection of the bone segment compromised by the tumor and subsequent bone grafting. Survivin and COX-2 were not independent risk factors of the prognosis of GCT.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Survivin and COX-2 expressions may participate in the pathogenesis and development of GCT, but is not indicative of the prognosis.</p>