Aflatoxins and fungal community distribution during harvesting and processing of Platycladi Semen / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to analyze aflatoxins content and fungal community distribution in the harvesting and processing of Platycladi Semen, and explore the key link that affects aflatoxins contamination. The related Platycladi Semen samples of different maturity periods(cone non-rupture period, early rupture, and complete rupture period) and different processing periods(before drying, during 2-d drying, during 7-d drying, before and after seed scale removal, before and after peeling, 1 d after color sorting, and 7 d after color sorting) were collected for identifying the fungal community composition on sample surface by ITS amplicon sequencing. Then the content of aflatoxins B_1, B_2, G_1 and G_2 was determined by HPLC-MS/MS. The results showed that during the harvesting of Platycladi Semen from cone non-rupture to complete rupture, aflatoxins were only detected in the seed scale and seed coat, with aflatoxin G_2 in the seed scale and aflatoxin B_1 in the seed coat. During the drying, with the prolongation of drying time, aflatoxins B_1 and G_2 were detected simultaneously in the seed scale, aflatoxin B_1 in the seed coat, and low-content aflatoxin B_1 in the seed kernel. During subsequent processing, the aflatoxin content in seed kernel during subsequent processing was slighted increased. As demonstrated by fungal detection, Aspergillus flavus was not present during the harvesting of Platycladi Semen, but present during the drying and processing. Its content in the seed coat during the drying process was relatively higher. In short, Platycladi Semen should be harvested as soon as possible after it becomes fully mature. Drying process is the key link of preventing aflatoxin contamination. It is advised to build a sunlight room or adopt similar settings, standardize the operations in other processes, and keep the surrounding environment clean to minimize aflatoxin contamination.

Investigation and research on fungal diversity of Platycladi Semen on Chinese market / 中国中药杂志

In the process of harvesting, production and processing, storage, and transportation, the traditional Chinese medicine Platycladi Semen is prone to mildew due to its own and environmental factors, which can nourish the production of toxic or pathogenic fungi, and even produce mycotoxins, which affects the safety of clinical medication. The 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia limits the highest standard of aflatoxin content in Platycladi Semen. However, there are few studies on the fungal contamination of Platycladi Semen, and it is difficult to prevent and control it in a targeted manner. Therefore, based on the Illumina NovaSeq6000 platform, this article uses ITS sequence amplicon technology to analyze the distribution and diversity of fungi in 27 batches of commercially available Platycladi Semen in the Chinese market. A total of 10 phyla, 35 classes, 93 orders, 193 families, 336 genera, and 372 species of fungi were identified in China. Among them, Aspergillus, Alternaria spp. were dominant, 20 batches of samples were detected for A. flavus, 10 batches of samples were detected for A. nidulans, and all samples were detected for potential pathogenic fungi such as A. fumigatus and A. niger. According to diversity analysis, the diversity of the fungal communities in the samples from Gansu province was high, the samples in Shandong province contain the largest number of fungal species, and the samples in Guangxi province had the lo-west diversity and the least number of species. In most samples, pathogenic fungi such as A. fumigatus, A. niger, A. flavus, A. parasiticus were detected in varying degrees. This study systematically investigated the fungal contamination of Platycladi Semen from the markets in the last link of the its industrial chain, and clarified the distribution of Platycladi Semen fungi, especially toxin-producing fungi, and provided theoretical basis for the targeted prevention and control of fungal contamination in Platycladi Semen.

Protective effect of telmisartan on rats with renal failure and its mechanism

OBJECTIVE@#To study the protective effect of telmisartan on rats with renal failure and its mechanism.@*METHODS@#60 Wistar rats were chosen as study objective, and were divided into 4 groups randomly: 15 in group A (sham operation group), 15 in group B (model group), 15 in group C (telmisartan group) and 15 in group D (telmisartan + GW9962 group). The difference of survival rate, blood-urine biochemical indexes, renal pathological change, and the expression level of PPARγ and nNOS were compared.@*RESULTS@#After 12 weeks, the survival rate of group A was 93.33% (14/15), that of group B was 46.67% (7/15), that of group C was 86.67% (13/15), that of group D was 60.00% (9/15), and the difference among 4 groups had statistical significance (P  0.05); after 3 weeks, 6 weeks and 12 weeks, these difference was statistical significant (P < 0.05). The difference of blood-urine biochemical indexes, that of renal pathological change, and that of the expression level of PPARγ and nNOS was statistical significant (P < 0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Telmisartan has protective effect on renal failure caused by 5/6 nephrectomy, which might be relative to the expression level of PPARγ and nNOS.

Protective effect of telmisartan on rats with renal failure and its mechanism

Objective: To study the protective effect of telmisartan on rats with renal failure and its mechanism. Methods: 60 Wistar rats were chosen as study objective, and were divided into 4 groups randomly: 15 in group A (sham operation group), 15 in group B (model group), 15 in group C (telmisartan group) and 15 in group D (telmisartan+GW9962 group). The difference of survival rate, blood-urine biochemical indexes, renal pathological change, and the expression level of PPARγ and nNOS were compared. Results: After 12 weeks, the survival rate of group A was 93.33% (14/15), that of group B was 46.67% (7/15), that of group C was 86.67% (13/15), that of group D was 60.00% (9/15), and the difference among 4 groups had statistical significance (P0.05); after 3 weeks, 6 weeks and 12 weeks, these difference was statistical significant (P<0.05). The difference of blood-urine biochemical indexes, that of renal pathological change, and that of the expression level of PPARγ and nNOS was statistical significant (P<0.05). Conclusions: Telmisartan has protective effect on renal failure caused by 5/6 nephrectomy, which might be relative to the expression level of PPARγ and nNOS.

Changes of pathogens and antibiotic susceptibility surveillance in a respiratory ward from 2001 to 2005 / 中国感染与化疗杂志

Objective To explore the changes of pathogens and antibiotic susceptibility in a respiratory ward.Methods All pathogens isolated from patients in a respiratory ward from 2001 to 2005 and the drug susceptibility results were retrospectively analyzed.For patients with more than 1 isolates of the same species, only the first strain of pathogen was included for analysis. The isolation and identification procedure was based on guidelines for national clinical laboratories.The susceptibility test was performed by disk diffusion method.WHONET 5.3 software was used for statistical analysis.Results A total of 876 strains were analyzed.The majority was gram negative bacteria.MRSA prevalence was 72.4% and showed a trend of increase.No vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Enterococcus was detected.Streptococcus pneumoniae was highly resistant to macrolides.The non-sensitivity rate to penicillin was 25.5%-66.7% over years.The resistance rate to levofloxacin was 22.2%-27.3%.Enterobacter and Acinetobacter baumannii showed stable susceptibility to imipenem.ESBLs-producing Esche- richia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae accounted for 33.3%-38.9% and 14.3%-19.2% respectively.P.aeruginosa strains were relatively susceptible to ceftazidime, amikaein, cefoperazone-sulbactam, imipenem, piperacillin-tazobactam and cefepime. The sensitivity rate was 87%, 82.6%, 78.3%, 73.9%, 73.9% and 71.4% respectively in 2005.Conclusions The changes of pathogens and antibiotic resistance in the respiratory ward were consistent with the surveillance data in this country, which were influenced by underlying diseases, severity of illness and antibiotic use.Our data are useful for the guidance of rational use of antibiotics.