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Chinese materia medica has a wide range of clinical applications， but it has many active ingredients with different physicochemical properties， and the target organs， action pathways and mechanisms for different ingredients to exert their efficacy are not the same. Therefore， it is difficult to design and develop a co-delivery system loading multiple components of Chinese materia medica to maximize the synergistic therapeutic efficiency. Based on the characteristics of effectiveness and functionality of active ingredients， the strategies for multi-component co-delivery of Chinese materia medica can be categorized into two types：firstly， based on the effectiveness of active ingredients， new carriers such as liposomes， nanoparticles can be constructed to load multi-components of Chinese materia medica. secondly， based on the functionality of some active ingredients of Chinese materia medica， they are employed in the construction of co-delivery system， which can give play to the dual characteristics of their own efficacy and preparation functions. In this paper， we summarized the relevant research progress of the above two types of multi-component co-delivery strategies， and mainly discussed the pharmaceutical functions of the active ingredients in co-delivery systems， in order to find a more suitable multi-component co-delivery strategy， promoting the design and development of new delivery systems of Chinese materia medica.
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The development of single Chinese materia medica is an important direction of technological innovation in the field of Chinese materia medica at present， and the study of its comprehensive intellectual property protection system is of great significance to the intellectual property protection of the whole chain of innovative enterprises of single Chinese materia medica. Based on this， this paper takes the comprehensive protection system of intellectual property of Callicarpa nudiflora constructed by Jiuzhitang Pharmaceutical as a model to conduct empirical research， analyzes the protection forms applicable to intellectual property of Chinese materia medica， such as patents， administrative protection， trademarks， designs and intangible cultural heritages， and discusses the valuable and insufficient aspects of the protection system currently constructed by Jiuzhitang Pharmaceutical and puts forward the following suggestions：①paying attention to patent applications for planting/processing methods of raw medicinal materials， ②emphasizing the protection of geographical indications， authentic medicinal herbs， and new plant varieties， ③actively promoting product and technology upgrades， ④applying for data protection during product iteration， ⑤emphasizing the layout timing of patent and administrative protection， ⑥focusing on improving goodwill， ⑦enhancing awareness of intellectual property protection and promoting deep integration of industry， academia， and research. We hope that innovative enterprises engaged in the development of single Chinese materia medica can learn from the experience of the case， and optimize the strategy to better protect related products.
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ObjectiveTo develop traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） formulae for the treatment of nonsevere coronavirus disease 2019 （COVID-19） and to explore its anti-inflammatory mechanism. MethodsThe dysregulated signaling pathways were determined in macrophages from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of COVID-19 patients and in lung epithelial cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 in vitro based on transcriptome analysis. A total of 102 TCM formulae for the clinical treatment of nonsevere COVID-19 were collected through literature. The pathway-reversing rates of these formulae in macrophages and lung epithelial cells were evaluated based on signature signaling pathways， and the basic formula was determined in conjunction with TCM theory. The commonly used Chinese materia medica for nonsevere COVID-19 were summarized from the 102 TCM formulae as abovementioned. And together with the screening results from the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China， a “Chinese materia medica pool” was esta-blished for the development of TCM formulae for COVID-19. The regulatory effects of each herb on signaling pathways were obtained based on targeted transcriptome analysis. Oriented at reversing dysregulated signaling pathways of COVID-19， the calculation was carried out， and the artificial intelligent methods for compositing formulae， that are exhaustive method and parallel computing， were used to obtain candidate compound formulas. Finally， with reference to professional experience， an innovative formula for the treatment of nonsevere COVID-19 was developed. The ethanol extract of the formula was evaluated for its anti-inflammatory effects by detecting the mRNA expression of interleukin 1b （Il1b）， C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 2 （Cxcl2）， C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 （Cxcl10）， C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 （Ccl2）， nitric oxide synthase 2 （Nos2）， and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 （Ptgs2） using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction （RT-qPCR） in RAW264.7 cells treated with lipopolysaccharide （LPS）. ResultsIn macrophages and lung epithelial cells， 34 dysregulated signaling pathways associated with COVID-19 were identified respectively. The effects of the 102 formulae for clinical treatment of nonsevere COVID-19 were evaluated based on the dysregulated signaling pathways and targeted transcriptome， and the result showed that Yinqiao Powder and Pingwei Powder （银翘散合平胃散， YQPWP） ranked first， reversing 91.18% of the dysregulated signaling pathways in macrophages and 100% of the dysregulated signaling pathways in lung epithelial cells. Additionally， YQPWP had the function of scattering wind and clearing heat， resolving toxins and removing dampness in accordance with the pathogenesis of wind-heat with dampness in COVID-19. It was selected as the basic formula， and was further modified and optimized to develop an innovative fomula Qiaobang Zhupi Yin （翘蒡术皮饮， QBZPY） based on expert experience and artificial intelligence in composing formulae. QBZPY can reverse all the dysregulated signaling pathways associated with COVID-19 in macrophages and lung epithelial cells， with the reversing rates of 100%. The chief medicinal of QBZPY， including Lianqiao （Fructus Forsythiae）， Xixiancao （Herba Siegesbeckiae） and Niubangzi （Fructus Arctii）， can down-regulate multiple signaling pathways related with virus infection， immune response， and epithelial damage. RT-qPCR results indicated that compared with the model group， the QBZPY group down-regulated the mRNA expression of Il1b， tumor necrosis factor （Tnf）， Cxcl2， Cxcl10， Ccl2， Nos2 and Ptgs2 induced by LPS in RAW264.7 cells （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. ConclusionBased on targeted transcriptome analysis， expert experience in TCM and artificial intelligence， QBZPY has been developed for the treatment of nonsevere COVID-19. The ethanol extract of QBZPY has been found to inhibit mRNA expression of several pro-inflammatory genes in a cellular inflammation model.
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ObjectiveTo clarify the scientific validity of in vivo pharmacokinetic determination of the whole drug composition in Shenbai nanosuspension in rats， and to provide methodological guidance and theoretical basis for the in vivo study of multi-component complex system of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） preparations. MethodThe concentration of the overall components， mainly total saponins and total polysaccharides in Shenbai decoction and Shenbai nanosuspension， was determined in rat plasma at different times by area under the absorbance-wavelength curve method（AUAWC）， and the concentration of individual ginsenoside Rg1 was determined by high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC）， and the methodology was verified. The pharmacokinetic parameters of the whole component were compared with those of ginsenoside Rg1 to evaluate the in vivo operational characteristics of the two preparations. ResultThe methodological investigations of AUAWC and HPLC were in accordance with the requirements. AUAWC analysis showed that the overall components in both the decoction group and the nanosuspension group showed a one-compartment model， with half-life（t1/2） of 2.43 h and 2.04 h， respectively. The relative bioavailability of Shenbai nanosuspension was 138.99%. HPLC assay showed that ginsenoside Rg1 in the decoction group and the nanosuspension group showed a two-compartment model， with distribution half-life（t1/2α） of 0.13 h and 2.55 h， and elimination half-life（t1/2β） were 14.28 h and 3.85 h， respectively. The relative bioavailability of Shenbai nanosuspension was 127.49%. Compared with Shenbai decoction， the time to peak（tmax）， peak concentration（Cmax） and area under the drug-time curve（AUC） of the overall components and ginsenoside Rg1 in Shenbai nanosuspension were increased. ConclusionThe established AUAWC can be used for the pharmacokinetic study of the overall components of TCM preparations， which is complementary to the results of individual components measured by HPLC， and can provide useful reference for the in vivo study of new dosage forms of TCM.
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Safety is the core of the quality of Chinese materia medica products， and microbial pollution caused by medicinal materials， decoction pieces， intermediate products and others can bring certain impact on the quality and safety of Chinese materia medica products. The reasons for this are not only the problems of medicinal materials themselves， but also the exogenous pollution introduced in the production process. How to effectively use microbial detection technology and establish an appropriate microbial quality control strategy in the whole process of Chinese materia medica production is of great significance to improve the quality of Chinese materia medica products. Therefore， the authors put forward a microbial quality control strategy in the whole process of Chinese materia medica production based on the guidance of quality by design （QbD） concept， emphasizing the scientific linkage between the internal and external microbial quality control systems to jointly ensure the quality of products in all aspects. Among them， the internal microbial quality control system includes the control of the whole chain of Chinese materia medica-decoction pieces-intermediate products-excipitents-packaging materials-final products， which should be carried out by stages and characteristics， while the external microbial quality control system includes the control of personnel-equipment and facilities-pharmaceutical water-environment， emphasizing the principle of quality risk management and the development of monitoring programs， aiming to closely integrate microbial quality risk management with the production process of Chinese materia medica products， and to classify and develop microbial control strategies in order to minimize the impact of contaminating microorganisms and effectively guarantee the quality of Chinese materia medica products.
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Medicinal plants or Chinese materia medica (CMM) are now attracting worldwide attention as they have increasingly prominent advantages over chemical drugs in disease treatment and healthcare. Since the 1990s, World Health Organization (WHO) and International Organization for Standardization established the Technical Committee of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ISO/TC 249) have carried out the development of quality standards on medicinal plants or CMMs respectively, and a considerable number of monographs and international standards have been published. Since the two international organizations adhere to different principles, the standards they develop naturally have different emphasis. Driven by market demand and international trade, ISO mainly takes quality, efficacy and safety into consideration when developing standards, while WHO pays more attention to clinical practice, quality control and medication guidance. Up to now, there is a lack of comparative analysis on the records, background, principles, basic content, and main requirements of quality standards on medicinal plants or CMMs respectively published by WHO and ISO. Therefore, based on international standards of CMM developed by ISO/TC 249 platform and WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants, this paper systematically compares the purposes, selected principles, standard-developing process, basic content, and main quality requirements to summarize their similarities and differences, and find their merits, aiming to serve as a reference to the development of international standards for CMMs that helps them go global.
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Materia Medica/therapeutic use , Plants, Medicinal , Commerce , Internationality , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , Reference Standards , Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use , ChinaABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo collect and analyze the properties and application characteristics of external use of roots and rhizomes of Chinese herbal medicines in the Chinese Materia Medica（《中华本草》） to provide data references for the research on clinical external use of Chinese medicine， in order to provide data reference for clinical external use of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）. MethodThe Chinese herbal medicines included in the Chinese Materia Medica were systematically screened. The inclusion criterion was the explicit mention of terms like "root", "rhizome", "root bark", "tuber", "tuberous root", etc. under the "Source" in the Chinese Materia Medica. Information on properties, flavors, meridian tropism, medicinal parts, fresh use, toxicity, efficacies and indications, and dosage of roots and rhizomes of Chinese herbal medicines was collected. The information was then entered into an Excel spreadsheet for statistical analysis. ResultThe Chinese Materia Medica records 2 662 roots and rhizomes of Chinese herbal medicines, of which 1 653 are suitable for external use. The predominant properties and flavors are cool, cold, bitter, pungent, and sweet. These Chinese herbal medicines mainly act on the liver, lung, and spleen meridians. The primary medicinal parts used include root, rhizome, and root bark. More than half of the roots and rhizomes of Chinese herbal medicines can be used in their fresh form. The main efficacies include clearing heat, removing toxins, resolving stasis, dispersing accumulation, resolving blood stasis and stopping bleeding, reducing swelling and alleviating pain, dispelling dampness and relieving pain. The main indications are skin sores, traumatic injuries, and rheumatic diseases. Common external application methods include poultice, decoction for washing, and applying powdered form. Most of these Chinese herbal medicines lack specific dosage guidelines for external use, with an emphasis on using an appropriate amount. ConclusionThe Chinese Materia Medica contains a wide range of roots and rhizomes of Chinese herbal medicines suitable for external use, with definite therapeutic effects, providing a broad perspective for the application of Chinese medicine externally. However, there are still problems such as unclear dosages and limited research. Further studies are necessary to better utilize the advantages of the external use of Chinese medicine.
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By the end of 2021, a total of 915000 cases of occupational pneumoconiosis and 450000 existing cases have been reported nationwide. Silicosis is a common and serious pneumoconiosis disease caused by long-term inhalation of large amounts of free silica dust and extensive nodular fibrosis in the lungs. Because its specific pathogenic mechanism has not been elucidated and the relevant research progress is slow, there is still a lack of effective therapeutic and interventional drugs. With the increase of national attention and the unique advantages of Chinese materia medica in the treatment of silicosis, more and more studies have been conducted on the treatment of silicosis with active ingredients of Chinese materia medica in China, but most of them are still in preclinical research stage. This article mainly introduced the pharmacological action and mechanism of selected active components of Chinese materia medica in the intervention of silicosis from three aspects: anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, and intervention of apoptosis, providing ideas for subsequent research and development of new drugs for silicosis. This article argues, it is considered that some traditional Chinese medicines must observe the pathological changes in the treatment of silicosis in the overall animal experiment, clarify their pharmacodynamic effects, and further study the multiple targets and pathways involved in them to elucidate their specific mechanisms of action. At the same time, it can strengthen the analysis of active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine, or modify the structure of active ingredients, and then enhance its pharmacological activity in the treatment of silicosis, realizing the transformation of preclinical research stage to the results of clinical research.
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As an elective or compulsory professional course for traditional Chinese medicine related majors in colleges and universities, Chinese Materia Medica Processing plays a role in imparting professional knowledge and skills. More importantly, the Chinese Materia Medica Processing also has a recessive role in the cultivation of professional ethics. Through in-depth excavation of the rich ideological and political education elements in the teaching of Chinese Materia Medica Processing, the seamless connection between the ideological and political elements and the knowledge module of the course is realized, and the modern Chinese Materia Medica Processing teaching mode with the organic unity of value guidance, knowledge teaching and ability training is built, so as to achieve the unity of knowledge teaching and value guidance while highlighting the professional skills training.
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Endangered animal medicine is an important part of traditional Chinese medicine， which is distinctive in the treatment of diseases. At present， the rare and endangered medicinal materials such as tiger bone， rhinoceros horn， pangolin， antelope horn， bear bile are listed as national key protected animals， so their clinical application is limited， the current solution is mainly based on the ideas and methods of similar pharmacological effects， close genetic relationships， artificial breeding， and artificial synthesis to find and develop alternatives for endangered animal medicinal materials. Although artificially cultured bear bile and musk， and artificially synthesized tiger bone， bezoar and musk can solve the shortage of endangered animal medicines to a certain extent， there are still some problems such as difficult breakthroughs in breeding technology and incomplete recognition in the substitute industry. According to this， based on summarizing the existing substitutes for endangered animal medicines， our group proposed the concept of homology， homogeneity and equivalent of substitutes， and constructed a new idea to develop and evaluate substitutes by combining frontier biotechnology with multi-omics detection， so as to provide some support for protecting rare and endangered animals and solving the shortage of endangered animal medicines.
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This study systematically combed and analyzed the use of such terms as "prohibition"， "contraindication"， and "use with caution" in ancient Chinese books on materia medica and prescriptions， Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China（《中华人民共和国药典》）， and teaching materials and monographs of Chinese materia medica by means of hermeneutics， commentariology， textology， and data mining， and explored the historical evolution and conceptual connotations of "prohibition"， "contraindication"， and "use with caution" in Chinese materia medica， so as to provide reference for standardizing their understandings and clinical reasonable medication. The "prohibition"， "contraindication"， and "use with caution" of Chinese materia medica were first proposed in the period of pre-Qin and Han dynasties. "Prohibition" and "contraindication" were separately developed in the Sui， Tang， and Five dynasties and Song， Jin， and Yuan dynasties and have been widely used since the Ming and Qing dynasties. The "use with caution" becomes popular rapidly in modern times and is often present in clinical medication together with "prohibition" and "contraindication". "Prohibition" basically means strictly prohibited and "contraindication" means to avoid as much as possible. The terms "prohibition"， "contraindication"， and "use with caution" have experienced evolution from the pre-Qin period to modern times， and they are used to describe the degree of restriction on drug use（"prohibition" > " contraindication" > "use with caution"）.
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ObjectiveTo study the chemical structure of gardenia blue pigment and its inhibitory activity against monoamine oxidase B （MAO-B）， in order to seek a potential feasible way for rational utilization and value enhancement of iridoids in Gardeniae Fructus. MethodIridoid glycosides in Gardeniae Fructus were hydrolyzed by cellulase to obtain their aglycones and reacted with amino acids. Then， the products were purified by column chromatography packed with D101 macroporous resin and preparative liquid chromatography to obtain gardenia blue pigments， and the gardenia blue pigments were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance （NMR） and mass spectrometry （MS）. Benzylamine was used as the reaction substrate of MAO-B and in vitro incubated with gardenia blue pigment monomers， high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） was employed to determine the production of benzaldehyde for evaluating the inhibitory effect of gardenia blue pigments on MAO-B， the mobile phase was methanol （A） -50 mmol·L-1 potassium phosphate buffer （B， pH 3.2） （2∶3）， and the detection wavelength was 245 nm. ResultEight compounds of gardenia blue pigment A-H were synthesized and identified. In MAO-B inhibition test， compared with geniposide， the inhibitory activity of gardenia blue pigment D and E was significantly enhanced （P<0.05）. Compared with the 6β-hydroxygeniposide， the inhibitory activity of gardenia blue pigment G and H was significantly enhanced （P<0.05， P<0.01）. All the four gardenia blue pigments showed better MAO-B inhibitory activity than the prototype compounds. ConclusionGardenia blue pigment is a simple compound formed by one molecule of amino acid and one molecule of iridoid. Some gardenia blue pigments have better MAO-B inhibitory activity than the prototype compounds. The activity of gardenia blue pigment produced by different substrates is different， and the high-value gardenia blue pigment can be prepared based on experimental optimization， which can expand the application range of gardenia blue pigment and enrich the comprehensive utilization of iridoids from Gardeniae Fructus.
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In the era of artificial intelligence based on big data， data acquisition， storage and processing are more convenient， which provides a guarantee for accelerating the development of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， but it has not yet achieved organic integration with TCM theory. Based on preliminary research on the supramolecular "Qi chromatography" theory of TCM， combined with the current development trend of artificial intelligence， this paper analyzed the biological intelligence attribute of the function of TCM supramolecular "imprinting template"， in order to provide reference for the development of TCM drug innovation. Both the human body and Chinese materia medica are giant complex supramolecular bodies evolved from natural organisms. According to the "imprinting template"， the "social molecules" are controlled step by step to form the meridians and viscera. The interaction produces the original theory of TCM， in which the self-recognition， self-assembly， self-organization and self-replication of the "imprinting template" reflect the "intelligence" function attributes：the human body uses the "imprinting template" to self-identify and sense the ingredients of TCM， and store the memory information database in the meridian and collateral organs in the form of "imprinting template"， and then pass the "imprinting template". The comparison， analysis， and judgment of imprinting templates guide the self-assembly， self-organization and self-replication among "molecular society"， synthesize biological machines， produce biological functions， repair or strengthen biological supramolecular bodies， and present the most basic "intelligence" attribute. This suggests that the theory of theory-method-prescription-medicine of TCM is the weak embodiment of biological "intelligence"， while the human brain function is the strong embodiment of biological "intelligence". Since the intelligent function of supramolecular "imprinting template" runs through the natural world， artificial intelligence that can characterize the strong "intelligence" form of the human brain will also be integrated into all aspects of the natural world， suggesting the development direction of "intelligence" functionalization of drug innovation mode.
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Pathogenic bacterial infection is one of the main clinical symptoms. Antibiotics are widely used in clinical practice to inhibit or kill the bacteria， fungi and other pathogenic microorganisms. However， with the massive use of antibiotics， drug-resistant strains continue to appear that make the antibacterial situation is becoming increasingly severe. Due to the advantages of multiple targets， multiple pathways and multiple components， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） have gradually attracted more attention and were used in antibacterial treatment. However， some antimicrobial TCM have problems such as low solubility， poor stability， and low bioavailability. Improving and enhancing the antibacterial activity of TCM through preparation technology is one of the effective solutions. Based on this， two aspects of unilateral antibacterial TCM preparation technology and combination antibacterial preparation technology are introduced， including inclusion technology， nanotechnology， electrospinning， 3D printing and others. Distinctive features and specific application effects of these preparation technologies are explained firstly， and then their advantages and disadvantages are compared and analyzed. The review can be a useful reference for improving the antibacterial activity of TCM.
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ObjectiveTo count and analyze the toxic traditional Chinese medicines and their characteristics in Chinese Materia Medica， so as to provide reference for the development and application of toxic drugs. MethodThe traditional Chinese medicines included in Chinese Materia Medica were screened one by one， and the inclusion criteria were "drug properties"， "usage and dosage" and "major poison， highly poisonous， poisonous， slightly poisonous， slightly poisonous" appearing in ancient books. Standard toxic traditional Chinese medicines were entered into an excel sheet for statistical analysis. ResultA total of 1 408 toxic Chinese medicines were included. The properties and flavors were mainly cold， bitter， pungent and sweet； the main meridians were liver， lung， spleen and stomach； the root， whole grass and leaves were the most used medicinal parts， and there were many toxic drugs. The pre-treatment methods are mainly sun-dried， fresh， fried， calcined， and sunburned； the efficacy categories are mainly heat-clearing drugs， rheumatism drugs， blood-activating and stasis-removing drugs； oral administration methods are mainly decoctions， pills， and powders ， mainly for external application， dipping， and coating； the dosage for oral administration is mostly 9-15 g， 3-9 g， 3-6 g， and an appropriate amount is mainly for external use. ConclusionThere are many toxic Chinese medicines clearly recorded in Chinese Materia Medica， but only 83 kinds of clearly toxic Chinese medicines are included in Chinese Pharmacopoeia， which need to be further strengthened by experimental observation and clinical data verification. The clinical application of toxic traditional Chinese medicine is mainly based on heat toxin blood syndrome and rheumatic arthralgia， which is closely related to its nature， taste and meridian return. Able to move， has the effect of activating Qi and activating blood， "sweet" can replenish energy and slow down， and has the effect of tonic， alleviation and pain relief， and mostly used for the treatment of heat syndrome， blood syndrome and arthralgia syndrome. However， there are certain limitations in the classification and processing conditions of toxic traditional Chinese medicines， which need to be further improved and scientifically verified.
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ObjectiveTo explore the correlation between dryness and energy metabolism of Atractylodis Rhizoma， and to analyze the difference of medicinal properties between Atractylodes lancea and A. chinensis. MethodA total of 110 healthy SD rats were randomly divided into 11 groups， including normal group， volatile oil of A. lancea 1-5 group （S1-S5 group， doses of 447， 473， 442， 489， 496 mg·kg-1） and volatile oil of A. chinensis 1-5 group （N1-N5 group， doses of 197， 118， 281， 222， 185 mg·kg-1）， the administration volume was 0.01 mL·g-1 with intragastric administration for 21 days. Dryness effect of A. lancea and A. chinensis on rats was evaluated by comparing the body weight， drinking water volume， urine volume， whole blood viscosity and pathological sections of submandibular gland stained with hematoxylin-eosin （HE）. The expression of aquaporin 2 （AQP2） in rat kidney was measured by immunohistochemistry， the mRNA expressions of cytochrome C oxidase subunit 7A2 （COX7A2） and succinate dehydrogenase （SDH） complex subunit D （SDHD） in liver tissue were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. The contents of SDH， lactate dehydrogenase （LDH） and sodium ion-potassium ion-adenosine triphosphatase （Na+-K+-ATPase） in rat plasma were determined by colorimetry. The quality of A. lancea and A. chinensis was evaluated by coefficient of variation method， and Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlation between dryness and energy metabolism. ResultCompared with the normal group， the amounts of drinking water and urine in volatile oil of A. lancea group and volatile oil of A. chinensis group increased， and the submandibular gland acini atrophied， the whole blood viscosity of rats in the volatile oil of A. lancea group increased significantly （P<0.01）， the expression levels of COX7A2 and SDHD mRNA， the activities of SDH， LDH and Na+-K+-ATPase increased significantly （P<0.01）， and the expression of AQP2 in kidney decreased significantly （P<0.01）. Compared with the normal group， the expression level of COX7A2 mRNA， SDH activity and whole blood viscosity in the volatile oil of A. chinensis group increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， the AQP2 and SDH mRNA expression levels， LDH and Na+-K+-ATPase activities had no significant difference. The comprehensive score analysis of each index showed that the effect of volatile oil of A. lancea on dryness and energy metabolism was stronger than that of volatile oil of A. chinensis， and there was a positive correlation between dryness index and energy metabolism index. ConclusionThe two indexes show that medicinal properties of A. lancea is stronger than that of A. chinensis， and energy metabolism is closely related to the dryness of Atractylodis Rhizoma. It is suggested that it is reasonable to evaluate the dryness effect of Atractylodis Rhizoma from the perspective of energy metabolism， which can further enrich the evaluation indexes of medicinal properties.
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ObjectiveTo count and analyze the toxic traditional Chinese medicines and their characteristics in Chinese Materia Medica， so as to provide reference for the development and application of toxic drugs. MethodThe traditional Chinese medicines included in Chinese Materia Medica were screened one by one， and the inclusion criteria were "drug properties"， "usage and dosage" and "major poison， highly poisonous， poisonous， slightly poisonous， slightly poisonous" appearing in ancient books. Standard toxic traditional Chinese medicines were entered into an excel sheet for statistical analysis. ResultA total of 1 408 toxic Chinese medicines were included. The properties and flavors were mainly cold， bitter， pungent and sweet； the main meridians were liver， lung， spleen and stomach； the root， whole grass and leaves were the most used medicinal parts， and there were many toxic drugs. The pre-treatment methods are mainly sun-dried， fresh， fried， calcined， and sunburned； the efficacy categories are mainly heat-clearing drugs， rheumatism drugs， blood-activating and stasis-removing drugs； oral administration methods are mainly decoctions， pills， and powders ， mainly for external application， dipping， and coating； the dosage for oral administration is mostly 9-15 g， 3-9 g， 3-6 g， and an appropriate amount is mainly for external use. ConclusionThere are many toxic Chinese medicines clearly recorded in Chinese Materia Medica， but only 83 kinds of clearly toxic Chinese medicines are included in Chinese Pharmacopoeia， which need to be further strengthened by experimental observation and clinical data verification. The clinical application of toxic traditional Chinese medicine is mainly based on heat toxin blood syndrome and rheumatic arthralgia， which is closely related to its nature， taste and meridian return. Able to move， has the effect of activating Qi and activating blood， "sweet" can replenish energy and slow down， and has the effect of tonic， alleviation and pain relief， and mostly used for the treatment of heat syndrome， blood syndrome and arthralgia syndrome. However， there are certain limitations in the classification and processing conditions of toxic traditional Chinese medicines， which need to be further improved and scientifically verified.
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ObjectiveTo explore the correlation between dryness and energy metabolism of Atractylodis Rhizoma， and to analyze the difference of medicinal properties between Atractylodes lancea and A. chinensis. MethodA total of 110 healthy SD rats were randomly divided into 11 groups， including normal group， volatile oil of A. lancea 1-5 group （S1-S5 group， doses of 447， 473， 442， 489， 496 mg·kg-1） and volatile oil of A. chinensis 1-5 group （N1-N5 group， doses of 197， 118， 281， 222， 185 mg·kg-1）， the administration volume was 0.01 mL·g-1 with intragastric administration for 21 days. Dryness effect of A. lancea and A. chinensis on rats was evaluated by comparing the body weight， drinking water volume， urine volume， whole blood viscosity and pathological sections of submandibular gland stained with hematoxylin-eosin （HE）. The expression of aquaporin 2 （AQP2） in rat kidney was measured by immunohistochemistry， the mRNA expressions of cytochrome C oxidase subunit 7A2 （COX7A2） and succinate dehydrogenase （SDH） complex subunit D （SDHD） in liver tissue were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. The contents of SDH， lactate dehydrogenase （LDH） and sodium ion-potassium ion-adenosine triphosphatase （Na+-K+-ATPase） in rat plasma were determined by colorimetry. The quality of A. lancea and A. chinensis was evaluated by coefficient of variation method， and Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlation between dryness and energy metabolism. ResultCompared with the normal group， the amounts of drinking water and urine in volatile oil of A. lancea group and volatile oil of A. chinensis group increased， and the submandibular gland acini atrophied， the whole blood viscosity of rats in the volatile oil of A. lancea group increased significantly （P<0.01）， the expression levels of COX7A2 and SDHD mRNA， the activities of SDH， LDH and Na+-K+-ATPase increased significantly （P<0.01）， and the expression of AQP2 in kidney decreased significantly （P<0.01）. Compared with the normal group， the expression level of COX7A2 mRNA， SDH activity and whole blood viscosity in the volatile oil of A. chinensis group increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， the AQP2 and SDH mRNA expression levels， LDH and Na+-K+-ATPase activities had no significant difference. The comprehensive score analysis of each index showed that the effect of volatile oil of A. lancea on dryness and energy metabolism was stronger than that of volatile oil of A. chinensis， and there was a positive correlation between dryness index and energy metabolism index. ConclusionThe two indexes show that medicinal properties of A. lancea is stronger than that of A. chinensis， and energy metabolism is closely related to the dryness of Atractylodis Rhizoma. It is suggested that it is reasonable to evaluate the dryness effect of Atractylodis Rhizoma from the perspective of energy metabolism， which can further enrich the evaluation indexes of medicinal properties.
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This study mainly introduced the research on Chinese medicine toxicology funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC) in 2012-2021 and analyzed the research content. Furthermore, key research topics and characteristic research projects were discussed, such as the toxicity mechanism, relationship between toxicity and efficacy, toxicity-alleviating mechanisms, and new technology and methods. The review suggested that researchers should gain an in-depth understanding of the "toxicity" of Chinese me-dicine, turned to characteristic research topics, and build a toxicological research paradigm suited to the characteristics of Chinese medicine in project application.
Subject(s)
China , Foundations , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , Natural Science DisciplinesABSTRACT
Chinese materia medica( CMM) serves as an important cornerstone for the development of traditional Chinese medicine( TCM) culture and industry due to its unique ecological,medical,economic,scientific and technological,and cultural values. The supply shortage and unstable quality of some CMM resources have hindered the development of TCM. Ensuring the sustainable use of CMM resources has become essential for the development of TCM in China. Enriching CMM resources is the key to ensuring the sustainable utilization of TCM resources in China,which can be achieved via expanding the medicinal parts,developing the substitutes,seeking for analogues,exploring the ethnic and folk medicines,or introducing foreign medicinal materials. CMM efficacy or function positioning plays a very important role in the transformation of new CMM resources. The strategies and methods for efficacy or function positioning of new CMM resources,including analogy,plant genetic relationship exploration,medicinal property deduction,ethnobotanical investigation,text mining,network pharmacology,and structure-activity relationship exploration,were systematically proposed in this study based on CMM theory,textual research,and modern methodologies. This paper is expected to provide a theoretical reference for the continuous enrichment and development of CMM resources and the high-quality development of TCM culture and industry.