Tripterygium hypoglaucum extract ameliorates adjuvant-induced arthritis in mice through the gut microbiota / 中国天然药物

Traditionally, Tripterygium hypoglaucum (Levl.) Hutch (THH) are widely used in Chinese folk to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study aimed to investigate whether the anti-RA effect of THH is related with the gut microbiota. The main components of prepared THH extract were identified by HPLC-MS. C57BL/6 mice with adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) were treated with THH extract by gavage for one month. THH extract significantly alleviated swollen ankle, joint cavity exudation, and articular cartilage destruction in AIA mice. The mRNA and protein levels of inflammatory mediators in muscles and plasma indicated that THH extract attenuated inflammatory responses in the joint by blocking TLR4/MyD88/MAPK signaling pathways. THH extract remarkably restored the dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in AIA mice, featuring the increases of Bifidobacterium, Akkermansia, and Lactobacillus and the decreases of Butyricimonas, Parabacteroides, and Anaeroplasma. Furthermore, the altered bacteria were closely correlated with physiological indices and drove metabolic changes of the intestinal microbiota. In addition, antibiotic-induced pseudo germ-free mice were employed to verify the role of the intestinal flora. Strikingly, THH treatment failed to ameliorate the arthritis symptoms and signaling pathways in pseudo germ-free mice, which validates the indispensable role of the intestinal flora. For the first time, we demonstrated that THH extract protects joint inflammation by manipulating the intestinal flora and regulating the TLR4/MyD88/MAPK signaling pathway. Therefore, THH extract may serve as a microbial modulator to recover RA in clincial practice.ver RA in clincial practice.

Bile acid detection by biosensors-a review / 生物工程学报

Bile acids facilitate the absorption of lipids, and affect the development of various diseases by regulating intestinal flora structure and modulating immunity and metabolism. It is therefore important to quantitatively detect bile acids. Current analytical methods are still immature due to constituent complexity, structural heterogeneity and bioactive variability of bile acids. Detection of individual bile acids is of significance for pharmacological research, clinical diagnosis and disease prevention. Advances have been made in bile acid analysis from multiple sources including serum, bile, urine and feces, although several limitations still exist for bile acid quantification. Here we review research progress in conventional bile acid assays, including spectrophotometry, thin-layer chromatography, liquid/gas chromatography and liquid/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Moreover, we emphasize the development of bile acid biosensors that may have promising prospects.

Inhibition of chitin oligosaccharide on dyslipidemia and the potential molecular mechanism exploration / 生物工程学报

The inhibitory effect of NACOS on dyslipidemia and potential molecular mechanisms by in vitro and in vivo experiments were investigated. For in vitro study, four experimental groups were designed by using HepG2 cells, including the control group, palmitic acid (PA) treatment alone group, NACOS treatment alone group and NACOS + PA treatment group. For in vivo study, male C57BL/6 mice were divided into four groups (n=5) at random including the normal control group (NCD), high fat diet (HFD) group, NACOS treatment alone group, NACOS+HFD group, which were treated for 20 weeks. The used methods in this study were as follows: the observation of lipid droplet deposition in HepG2 cells by oil red O staining, the detection of mRNA levels of lipid metabolism-related regulators and inflammatory cytokine by RT-PCR method, the monitoring of MAPKs and PI3K/Akt pathway activation by Western blotting method. The in vitro study shows that, NACOS had no toxicity on the viability of HepG2 cells at 25-100 μg/mL and significantly reduced the deposition of lipid droplet. Also, based on both in vitro and in vivo investigation, NACOS evidently down-regulated the expression of lipid metabolism-related regulators (PGC1α, Cox5b, Mcad) and inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β) at mRNA level (P<0.05 or 0.01), and suppressed the activation of p38, ERK1/2 and Akt in HepG2 cells and lever tissues from HFD-fed mice (P<0.05 or 0.01). Based on the above, NACOS may inhibit the oxidation of liver mitochondrial fatty acid and the lipid biosynthesis, block the inflammatory responses and prevent the HepG2 cells and C57BL/6 mice from lipidemia.

Preparation and Quality Control of Erchen Dispersible Tablet / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To prepare erchen dispersible tablet and establish its quality control method.METHODS:cCMC-Na was used as disintegrating agent,and polyvinyl pyrrolidone as well as other adjuvants were added to prepare the tablet;The content of hesperidin was determined by HPLC,and the stability of the finished product was also evaluated.RESULTS:The sample size of hesperidin was linear in the range of1?g～80?g,the average recovery was99.98%,RSD=0.98%;The preparation showed good stability.CONCLUSION:The present formulatiom is rational,and the preparation technic is simple,the finished product meets the standards of Chinese Pharmacopenia.