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.

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 authentication of medicinal Epimedium species--a case of diagnostic PCR authentication of Epimedium koreanum / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish the allele-specific diagnostic PCR methods for Epimedium koreanum.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>ITS of eight medicinal Epimedium species were sequenced and downloaded from GenBank, and aligned to find the specific sites in E. koreanum. The diagnostic primers were designed based on the sites, and used to amplify all the samples, then verified with the crude drugs and decoction pieces from market.</p><p><b>RESULT AND CONCLUSION</b>Two pairs of allele-specific diagnostic primers were successfully used to indentify E. koreanum from other medicinal species, and also can be used to identify the crude drugs and decoction pieces.</p>

Sampling in quality control of medicinal materials-A case of Epimedium / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of the different individual number of sampling on the assay results of the medicinal materials.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Epimedium pubescens and E. brevicornu were used as samples. The 6 sampling levels were formulated as 1 individual, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50 individuals mix, each level with 3 parallels and 1 individual level5 parallels. The contents of epimedin C and icariin, and the peak areas of epimedin A, epimedin B, rhamnosyl icarisid II and icarisid II in all samples were analyzed by HPLC.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The variation degree varied with species and chemical constituents, but the RSD and the deviation from the true value decreased with the increase of individual number on the same chemical constituent.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The sampling number should be more than 10 individuals in quality control of Epimedium, and 50 or more individuals would be better for representing the quality of medicinal materials.</p>

Effects of Pinacidil on Ventricular Repolarization in LQT2 Rabbit Heart / 医学研究杂志

Objective To study the effects of Pinacidil on Ventricular Repolarization in LQT2 Rabbit Heart.Methods 30 New Zealand white rabbits weighted from 2.5~3.0 kg were randomly divided into 3 groups:group A(control),group B(pinacidil),group C(pinacidil + glibenclamide).Left ventricular endocardium and epicardium MAPs and volume-conducted ECGs in isolated Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts were recorded simultaneously.To induce bradycardia,the AV nodes of rabbit hearts were damaged.EAD and TdP were induced by means of bradycardia in the presence of high concentration of d-sotalol(10-4M).Results In group B,pinacidil(5?mol/L)shortened the APD90 on endocardium from 445.48?54.31ms to 278.87?44.45ms after administration of pinacidil for 5 minutes(P0.05 vs.group A for all).Conclusion Pinacidil can decrease prolonged action potencial duration and TDR induced by bradycardia and high concentration of d-sotalol in rabbit hearts.Also,pinacidil could abolish the EAD and TdP related to delayed repolarization that may provide a novel and useful intervention in the clinical LQTS patients.

Role of PKC and MMPs in the pathogenesis of the rat experimental atherosclerosis and the action of Danshen injection / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM: To study the effects of protein kinase C on the expression of MMPs that may play an important role in the formation of atherosclerosis and the possible mechanism of Danshen injection to treat atherosclerosis. METHODS: 50 Sprgue-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into three groups randomly: control group (group C), model group (group M) and Denshen treatment group (group D). The serum was collected to measure the level of cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-ch). The expression of PKC and MMPs were measured by immunohistochemistry. Light microscope and electron microscope were also used. RESULTS: ① The cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-ch concentrations in group M and group D were significantly higher than those in group C (P