ABSTRACT
Diabetic nephropathy （DN）， the most feared microvascular complication of diabetes and one of the most common and serious complications of diabetes， is the major cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide， leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes， and the main non-communicable cause of death worldwide. There are many types of saponins， which are the main bioactive components of various Chinese medicinals. They have various pharmacological activities such as lowering blood glucose and blood lipids， improving insulin resistance， anti-inflammation， anti-oxidative stress， anti-tumor， and immune modulation. In recent years， it has been frequently verified that the saponins in Chinese medicinals have definite effect in regulating DN， showing multi-target， multi-pathway， multi-system， multi-effect characteristics. Thus， they have broad prospects in the prevention and treatment of this disease. There has been an explosion of research on the treatment of DN with saponins in Chinese medicinals in vivo and in vitro， but there is a lack of systematic and comprehensive summary. Therefore， this study summed up the studies of saponins in Chinese medicinals in the intervention of DN and summarized the mechanisms such as improving glucolipid metabolism， inhibiting oxidative stress， anti-inflammation， anti-apoptosis， regulating autophagy， anti-fibrosis， and protecting podocytes， with a view to providing ideas and references for the development of drugs related to DN.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of porcine large intestine-processed Dahuang （Radix et Rhizoma Rhei） on defecation in constipation model mice and the possible mechanism. MethodsFifty Kunming mice were randomized to blank group （n=10） and model group （n=40）. Loperamide suspension at the dose of 8 mg/（kg·d） was given by gavage for four consecutive days to establish a model of constipation. The 24 successfully modeled mice were randomly divided into model group， processed Dahuang group， lactulose group， raw Dahuang group， with six mice in each group. Moreover， six randomly selected mice were chosen as control group. Since the fifth day， 8 mg/（kg·d） of loperamide suspension by gavage was given to the model group， processed Dahuang group， raw Dahuang group， and lactulose group； two hours later， the processed and raw Dahuang groups were administered with 0.6 g/（kg·d） of processed and raw Dahuang suspension， respectively， while the lactulose group was given 0.6 g/（kg·d） of latulose suspension， and the blank group and the model group were given 0.2 ml/10 g of distilled water by gavage， all for four days. The general condition， body weight after the last gavage， number of fecal particles within six hours， fecal wet weight， fecal water content ratio， intestinal propulsion rate and colonic histology changes by HE staining of each group were detected. ResultsThe body weight of the mice in the raw Dahuang group was significantly lighter than that in the other groups （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The number of fecal particles， fecal wet weight and intestinal propulsion rate of mice significantly decreased in the model group than in the blank group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared to those in the model group， the number of fecal particles and fecal wet weight in the processed Dahuang group， lactulose group and raw Dahuang group significantly increased， and the fecal water content ratio in the raw Dahuang group increased as well （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared to those in the processed Dahuang group， the number of fecal particles and fecal wet weight in the raw Dahuang group decreased， while the fecal water content ratio increased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）， and the fecal water content ratio in the lactulose group increased significantly （P＜0.05）. The intestinal propulsion rate in the processed Dahuang group was higher than that in the model group， lactulose group and raw Dahuang group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Histopathological analysis showed that the colonic crypts and goblet cells in the blank group were normal and clear， and the colonic muscular layer was thicker. The colonic crypts of the mice in the model group were damaged， with reduced goblet cells to varying degrees and changed colonic muscularis. In the lactulose group and raw Dahuang group， part of the crypts were broken， and the goblet cells were damaged to varying degrees， while in the processed Dahuang group， still the colonic tissue structure of the mice was relatively clear， and the colonic crypts and goblet cells were relatively normal， with thickened muscular layer of the colon. ConclusionPorcine large intestine-processed Dahuang could improve defecation in constipation model mice， and reduce the drastic purgation function of raw Dahuang， for which the mechanism may be related to the protection of colon histopathological damage.
ABSTRACT
Acute lung injury is a common critical respiratory disease， which can further develop into acute respiratory distress syndrome （ARDS） with a high fatality rate， but there is no effective drug at present. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway is involved in cell proliferation， metabolism， survival， and motility through phosphorylation of numerous downstream effector molecules. It plays an important role in the development of acute lung injury by regulating mitochondrial function， apoptosis， autophagy， oxidative stress， and inflammatory response. The active ingredients in Chinese medicinals alleviate acute lung injury by targeting the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. There has been an explosion of research on the treatment of acute lung injury by active ingredients in Chinese medicinals via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway， which is of great clinical research value. The article presented the first summary of studies exploring the correlation between PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and acute lung injury in recent years and summed up the protective effect of the active ingredients in Chinese medicinals against acute lung injury via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway， providing innovative mindsets and strategies for clinical application of active ingredients in Chinese medicinals in the treatment of acute lung injury.
ABSTRACT
As the first line of defense between the intestinal environment and the outside world， the intestinal mucosal barrier is essential for maintaining the intestinal homeostasis. The intestinal mucosal barrier injury will change the intestinal permeability and allow bacterial translocation and the entry of endotoxins into blood， thus triggering a series of inflammatory responses， followed by the injury of related tissues and the aggravation of primary diseases. The spleen， the acquired foundation， is responsible for maintaining the internal and external balance of the body and resisting external evils. Its physiological function is similar to that of the intestinal mucosal barrier. Spleen deficiency easily leads to intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction. Therefore， replenishing Qi， invigorating spleen， and restoring the efficacy of spleen and stomach qi in defensing and governing transportation and transformation are the keys to prevent and treat intestinal mucosal barrier injury. In recent years， studies have shown that the spleen-invigorating Chinese medicinals repair the intestinal mucosal injury by promoting the expression of intestinal epithelial tight junction proteins， regulating the intestinal immune function， microbial flora， and metabolites， and supplementing the intestinal nutrition， enabling them to gradually become a research hotspot. After reviewing the relevant articles published in China and abroad， this paper expounded the common syndrome types of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， the changes in intestinal mucosal barrier induced by spleen deficiency， the repairing effects of spleen-invigorating Chinese medicinals on intestinal mucosal barrier injury， in order to provide some clues for the research on the treatment of intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction-related diseases with spleen-invigorating Chinese medicinals.
ABSTRACT
This study was aimed to establish a qualitative model of near-infrared spectroscopy in order to accurately and rapidly identify several mineral Chinese medicinals from fossil including Os Draconis, Dens Draconis, Fossil Shell of Spirifer, and Fossil Crabs. The near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy combined with OPUS software was used to analyze the spectral characteristics of these samples. The pattern recognition method was explored through cluster analysis. And the accuracy of the model was verified. The results showed that these mineral Chinese medicinals from fossil had their characteristics absorption so that they can be quickly and accurately differentiated from each other through pattern recognition method. It was concluded that based on near-infrared spectroscopic mod-eling, these mineral Chinese medicinals from fossil including Os Draconis, Dens Draconis, Fossil Shell of Spirifer, and Fossil Crabs can be quickly and accurately identified.