Abnormal neuronal activation associated with fear memory extinction in the hippocampus of a PTSD mouse model / 神经解剖学杂志

Objective:To analyze the differences in neuronal activation during fear memory extinction in various sub-regions of the hippocampus in post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD)mice.Methods:Two immediate early gene-pro-tein labeling strategies were employed to label neurons associated with fear extinction in PTSD mice.In the first group,Arc protein in hippocampal neurons was labeled and observed through immunofluorescence staining in wild-type mice.In the second group,Fos-CreERT2;Ai9 transgenic mice were injected with tamoxifen 23 hours prior to inducing fear memory extinction,and the relevant neurons were labeled with fluorescent proteins for observation.The number of labeled hippocampal neurons and the dendritic branch structure were analyzed to compare the activation levels of hipp-ocampal neurons and the plasticity of neuronal dendrites.Results:The two groups of Arc and Fos positive neurons were mainly distributed in the dorsal hippocampus,in which Arc protein chromogenic was enriched in CA3 and DG subre-gions,while CA1 and CA2 subregions were scattered,while Fos-positive neurons were enriched in the DG subregion of hippocampus and scattered in CA1,CA2 and CA3 subregions.Compared to the control group,there was no significant difference in the number of neurons expressing Arc protein in each subregion of the hippocampus in the PTSD group.The number of Fos-positive neurons in CA1,CA3 and DG subregions in the hippocampus of the PTSD group was signifi-cantly increased(P＜0.01).The dendritic branches of neurons in the hippocampal region were observed and analyzed in Fos-CreERT2;Ai9 mice from both groups,but no significant changes were found.Conclusion:Abnormal activation of neurons occurs in different subregions of the hippocampus during fear extinction in PTSD mice,although there are no significant plasticity changes in the dendritic branches of the activated neurons.

Quality evaluation of Astmgali radix based on multivariate statistical analysis / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To explore the feasibility of using multivariate statistical analysis to evaluate the quality of Astmgali radix from different habitats. Methods:The contents of Astragaloside saponinⅠ, Astragalus saponin Ⅱ, Astragaloside Ⅲ and Astragaloside A were determined by UPLC-ELSD. The components of astragalus saponins from different habitats were analyzed by TOPSIS and cluster thermogram.Results:TOPSIS analysis showed that the comprehensive quality of Astmgali radix samples from Shanxi, Gansu and Inner Mongolia was related(were 0.297 3, 0.346 0, 0.322 5), and the whole quality of S13 and S14 from Shanxi and N5 from Inner Mongolia were higher than others. Cluster thermogram showed that Astmgali radix was grouped into three groups according to region, and the quality difference of Astmgali radix was mainly reflected on Astragaloside saponinⅠand Astragalus saponin Ⅱ. Conclusions:The theory of multivariate statistical analysis is perfect, objective and reliable. It can be used as a reference for comprehensive quality evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), selection of excellent germplasm resources and traceability of origin of TCM.

Hybrid polymer biomaterials for bone tissue regeneration / 医学前沿

Native tissues possess unparalleled physiochemical and biological functions, which can be attributed to their hybrid polymer composition and intrinsic bioactivity. However, there are also various concerns or limitations over the use of natural materials derived from animals or cadavers, including the potential immunogenicity, pathogen transmission, batch to batch consistence and mismatch in properties for various applications. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in developing degradable hybrid polymer biomaterials with controlled properties for highly efficient biomedical applications. There have been efforts to mimic the extracellular protein structure such as nanofibrous and composite scaffolds, to functionalize scaffold surface for improved cellular interaction, to incorporate controlled biomolecule release capacity to impart biological signaling, and to vary physical properties of scaffolds to regulate cellular behavior. In this review, we highlight the design and synthesis of degradable hybrid polymer biomaterials and focus on recent developments in osteoconductive, elastomeric, photoluminescent and electroactive hybrid polymers. The review further exemplifies their applications for bone tissue regeneration.

The compounds from n-butanol fraction of Alpinia oxyphylla / 药学学报

Nine compounds were isolated from the n-butanol fraction of 95% ethanol extract of the fruit of Alpinia oxyphylla Miq. with a combination of various chromatographic approaches, including MDS resin, silica gel, reverse phase C18 and preparative HPLC. On the basis of spectroscopic data analysis, they were elucidated as (1R, 4R, 10R)-1β, 4α-dihydroxy-11, 12, 13-trinor-5, 6-eudesmen-7-one (1), 1β, 4β-dihydroxy-11, 12, 13-trinor-8, 9-eudesmen-7-one (2), oxyphyllenone A (3), oxyphyllenone B (4), rhamnocitrin (5), staphylionoside D (6), benzyl-1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), 2-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1S)-phenylethylene glycol (8), and (S)-1-phenylethyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (9). Among them, compound 1 is a new sesquiterpene, named as oxyphyllenone C; compounds 8 and 9 are new natural products; compounds 2 and 6 were isolated from the genus Alpinia for the first time, and compound 7 was isolated from A. oxyphylla for the first time.

Resource Investigation for Endangered Wild Ferula sinkiangensis Based on Low Altitude Remote Sensing / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

As the specific endangered medicinal plant in Xinjiang, resources and distribution of Ferula sinkiangen-sis are important for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development of Chinese medicine resources. The spa-tial distribution and resources of F. sinkiangensis were researched based on low altitude remote sensing and sample investigation. The results showed that the optimum working time for F. sinkiangensis monitoring by low altitude remote sensing was the nearby 5 hills, which covered about 0.88 km2. It was suggested that the fence area should be expanded for protection. According to the results of low altitude remote sensing, the amount of F. sinkiangensis in yellow (diameter exceeding 0.3 m) was about 3 191. However, the sample investigation on amount of F. sinkiangensis in yellow (diameter exceeding 0.3 m) was about 2 752. The error between them was 14%. The monitoring time and range for F. sinkiangensis by low altitude remote sensing were also ensured. It was concluded that low altitude re-mote sensing had the advantage of quickly receiving distribution situation of F. sinkiangensis, which can effectively evaluate dynamic changes of F. sinkiangensis in Xinjiang.

Advances of studies on new technology and method for identifying traditional Chinese medicinal materials / 中国中药杂志

In this review, the authors summarized the new technologies and methods for identifying traditional Chinese medicinal materials, including molecular identification, chemical identification, morphological identification, microscopic identification and identification based on biological effects. The authors introduced the principle, characteristics, application and prospect on each new technology or method and compared their advantages and disadvantages. In general, new methods make the result more objective and accurate. DNA barcoding technique and spectroscopy identification have their owner obvious strongpoint in universality and digitalization. In the near future, the two techniques are promising to be the main trend for identifying traditional Chinese medicinal materials. The identification techniques based on microscopy, liquid chromatography, PCR, biological effects and DNA chip will be indispensable supplements. However, the bionic identification technology is just placed in the developing stage at present.

Distribution and influencing factors of magnoflorine in Epimedium / 中国中药杂志

Eighty samples of Epimedium from 29 species and were determined in this study. The content of magnoflorine in leaves range between 0. 003% and 2. 603%. The results showed that the content of magnoflorine was quite stable within species except E. wushanense, E. acuminatum, E. hunanense. Genetic factors might be the main influencing ones. The contents of different parts and different collecting time of the medicinal materials were variable.

Determination of saponins in Dipsaci Radix by HILIC-HPLC / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To develop an HILIC-HPLC method for simultaneous analysis of three main active triterpenoid saponins including dipsacus asponin VI, dipsacus asponin X and dipsacus asponin XII. To evaluate the medical material from various habitats in China, different commercial grades or parts of plant.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The HPLC was conducted on Venusil HILIC column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) with acetonitrile and water as the mobile phase at 25 degrees C, which was in gradient elution. The flow rate was 1 mL x min(-1); and the detection wavelength was 203 nm.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The contents of dipsacus asponin VI, X and XII were 0.77%-14.31%, 0.39%-3.19% and 0.41%-1.49% respectively in different provinces of China, that were related to locations. The contents of saponins from Yunnan and Sichuan provinces were higer than those of Hubei and Guizhou. Thick roots, which were high-class products, contained less saponins than thin ones. In addition, the contents of stem, residual parts of stem and fibrous roots were fewer than main roots.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This method is simple, sensitive and accurate. It could be used to determine the contents of dipsacus asponin VI, X, XII and evaluate the quality of dipsacus asperoides.</p>

Molecular methods for authentication of Chinese medicinal materials / 中国中药杂志

The resource authentication is required for quality assurance and control of Chinese medicine. This review provides an informative introduction to molecular methods used for authentication of Chinese medicinal materials. The technical features of the methods based on sequencing, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization are described, merits and demerits and development of the molecular methods in identification of Chinese medicinal materials are discussed.

The HPLC determination of the content of magnoflorine in main species of Epimedii Herba / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the content of magnoflorine in main species of Epimedii Herba.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Ultrasonic extraction, HPLC analysis.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The content of magnoflorine of Epimedium leaves range between 0.0029% and 1.688%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The content of magnoflorine of Epimedium show large differences between species but relatively stable within the species, E. koreanum Nakai is the highest one and E. brevicornu is the lowest.</p>