Textual research on Bambusae Concretio Silicea / 中国中药杂志

By studying various ancient texts such as herbal classics and medical literature from different eras, it was found that there were discrepancies in the records about Bambusae Concretio Silicea(Tian Zhu Huang). In order to establish an accurate foundation, this research was based on ancient herbal literature and combined with plant morphology and investigative studies to examine its earliest mentions in ancient texts, nomenclature, medicinal properties, indications, and quality assessment standards. In the early records, Bambusae Concretio Silicea was referred to by several different names, such as "Zhu Huang" "Tian Zhu Huang" "Zhu Gao" "Zhu Tang", and "Zhu Huang". The earliest known formal usage of the name "Tian Zhu Huang" was found in the book Ri Hua-zi's Materia Medica(Ri Hua Zi Ben Cao). Throughout various ancient texts, the earliest recorded information about Bambusae Concretio Silicea also appeared in Ri Hua-zi's Materia Medica, not in Materia Medica of Sichuan(Shu Ben Cao) or other ancient texts. Ri Hua-zi's Materia Medica provided relevant descriptions of its origin, medicinal properties, and indications, albeit with some errors due to limited knowledge. However, this has been a valuable starting point for future research on Bambusae Concretio Silicea and holds pioneering significance in forming a mature system. As the research delved deeper, the medicinal properties of Bambusae Concretio Silicea have been consistent since Ri Hua-zi's Materia Medica, and the understanding has gradually improved through years of clinical verification. During the investigation process, the authors found limited records on the quality evaluation of Bambusae Concretio Silicea in ancient texts. Although the information is scarce, it serves as a foundational basis for establishing corresponding quality grading standards for Bambusae Concretio Silicea in the future.

Silicea terra200cH evaluated by two different spectroscopy methods: a pilot study

Spectroscopy has been shown to bea useful method to study the physicochemical properties of homeopathic preparations. Aim: In this pilot study, we comparedtwo methods (photon scattering and visible-light spectroscopy) in the physicalevaluation of Silicea terra200cH. Methodology: Italian test: Two sampleshave been examinedand compared: Silicea terra200cH and Sac lac200cH, both preparedin water solution, diluted and succussed according to German Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia(Cemon Lab, Italy).Lactose was includedbecause the first 3 potencies of Silicea terraaremadeby trituration in lactosepowder.Measurements were made using an innovative Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) camera developedby Daniele Gullà, called MIRA/CORA(proprietary name). Slight variations in chrominance and luminance due to micro-vibrational 3D phenomenawere analyzed.Allmeasurements have been performed in a dark room at a constant temperature of 22°C +/-0,2°C usingafilter with very narrow spectral bands (10 nm).The measurements have been repeated three times on both Silicea terra200cH and Sac lac200cHwithin a few minutes aftereach other.Brazilian test: In the second test, performed in Brazil, variations in absorbance were used to identify Silicea terra200cH compared with Sac lac200cH andcompared withanother control solution of non-succussed 30% alcohol, using six solvatochromic dyes, following the method developed by Cartwright [1,2]. Both homeopathic samples were imported from Italy(the same sample bottles used in the Italian test),in Brazil they have beendiluted 1:100 in 30% hydro-alcoholic solution, and submitted to 100 succussions using an automatic mechanical arm (Denise, AUTIC, Brazil) prior to being tested. Samples were inserted into dyes solutions and evaluated by visible spectroscopy (FEMTO Spectrophotometer, Brazil). Dyes were prepared in ethanol P.A., according to previous established methods [3]. Three series in triplicate were performed and the results were analyzed by ANOVA / Tukey, comparing both samples and the unsuccussed 30% hydroalcoholic control solution.Results: Italian test: Measurements of the mean entropy of the signals, statistically elaborated with T Student test,yielded a two tailed p value < 0.05, where the entropy of the signal recorded from the Silicea terra200cHsample was statistically lower than the 200cH Sac lacsample.Brazilian test: Among all tested dyes, only BDN(4-(Bis-(4-(dimethylamino)-phenyl)methylene)-1(4H)-naphthalenone) showed aninteraction with Silicea terra200cH, reproducing the conclusions obtained in [3].Conclusions: Two different spectroscopic methods were able to show signal differences betweenSilicea terra200cH andSac lac200cH, suggesting that changes in solvent organization could be involved in the homeopathic signaling process, along withchanges in dipole moments of solvent and dyes. The results are potentially in line witha recent publishedpaper [4], that supportsthe propositionthatthe lower entropy of the verum signal compared with controls could beexplained by increased coherent vibrations of the verum sample, as theoretically explained in previous literature [5].

Chemical differences between natural and synthetic materials of Bambusae Concretio Silicea based on plant metabolomics / 中草药

Objective: To study the chemical differences between natural and synthetic of Bambusae Concretio Silicea by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Methods: The qualitative analysis of chemical composition was made combined online database and secondary fragmentation cleavage rules, and difference analysis was carried out by the Enhance Peak Find function of PeakView software. Then the converted data was imported into SIMCA-P software to establish an OPLS-DA statistical model and differential secondary metabolites were analyzed. Results: The constituents of Bambusae Concretio Silicea mainly included amino acids, organic acids, alkaloids, glycosides, etc. Among them, 11 components were known, while other 43 compounds were identified for the first time. A total of 14 distinct components, including 2,5-dimethyl-1,3-oxazole-4-carboxylic acid and sucrose, and 12 biomarkers, including 4-(heptyloxy)phenyl-4-(hexyloxy)benzoate, and N-lauryldiethanolamine were identified. Conclusion: This study reveals that the chemical differences between the two herbs are obvious, while betaine and sucrose can be used as the distinguishing indicators. And it provides new ideas and data references for the quality control and clarification of medicinal substances.

Free water molecules and hydrogen bonding form the basis of variation in homeopathic potencies as revealed by vibrational spectroscopy

Using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) we have demonstrated that homeopathic potencies of Natrum mur, Cantharis, Nux vomica and Sulphur show differences with respect to the number of free water molecules and strength of hydrogen bonding. The purpose of the present study is to confirm this phenomenon in three potencies of two more drugs Calcarea carb and Silicea. Design: The potencies used for each of the two drugs were 30cH, 200cH and 1000cH. The control was 90% ethanol as also the potentized drugs. The control, as well as the potencies, were diluted with distilled water to reduce the level of ethanol to 0.03 molar fraction in each of them. FTIR spectra of all the potentized drugs, control and sterile distilled water (reference water) were taken in the wave number region of 4000-2800 cm-1. The full width at half maximum (fwhm) of OH band was measured for each spectrum. The width was divided into two in the middle. The difference spectrum (absorbance of drug solution - absorbance of reference water) for each potency and the control was obtained after normalization of the spectrum at 3410 cm-1. One difference spectrum so obtained for a potency was subtracted from another to find out if there is a difference between two different potencies. Results: The half width half maximum (hwhm) in both the high and low-frequency sides of the OH band is far less narrow in potencies than in the control as compared to that in water. The difference spectra for different potencies show different levels of fall in intensity at the wave number region of dip at 3630 cm-1...

Preparados homeopáticos e ambiente de cultivo na produção e rendimento de quercetina em carqueja [Baccharis trimera (Less) DC. ] / Homeopathic preparations and crop environments through production and yield of quercetin on carqueja plants [Baccharis trimera (Less) DC. ]

A carqueja (Baccharis trimera) é uma espécie da família Asteraceae muito utilizada na medicina popular por apresentar várias atividades biológicas relacionadas à seus metabólitos secundários, entre eles os flavonoides. Este experimento teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos de preparados homeopáticos e do ambiente de cultivo na produção e rendimento de flavonoides totais expressos em quercetina por plantas de carqueja. Foi adotado o esquema fatorial 6 x 2 no delineamento inteiramente casualisado, sendo 5 tratamentos homeopáticos: Silicea CH6, CH12, CH30, D7 e Equisetum D7 e controle (etanol 70%) x 2 ambientes de cultivo: estufa e tela de sombreamento 50%, com 4 repetições, totalizando 48 unidades experimentais. Os tratamentos homeopáticos foram aplicados na concentração de 25 gotas/500 mL de água destilada usando borrifadores manuais. Cada planta recebeu 10 mL da solução por aplicação, via foliar. As aplicações foram realizadas sempre pela manha, três vezes por semana, em dias alternados, durante dois meses (27/07/2010 a 27/09/2010). A interação entre os fatores, assim como os fatores independentes foram comparados pelo teste Tukey a 5% de probabilidade. O efeito dos preparados homeopáticos e dos dois ambientes de cultivo em plantas de carqueja foi avaliado pelas variáveis: massa fresca (MFPA), massa seca (MSPA) e teor de quercetina (QCT) na parte aérea das plantas. As variáveis MFPA e QCT foram influenciadas pelos ambientes de cultivo, pelos preparados homeopáticos e pela interação entre os dois fatores. A variável MSPA foi influenciada apenas pela interação dos fatores. Plantas cultivadas em ambiente com 50% de sombreamento associadas à aplicação dos preparados homeopáti-cos Silicea CH6 e D7, apresentaram maior rendimento em querceti-na. Plantas cultivadas na estufa associadas à aplicação do Equisetum D7 apresentaram menor rendimento em quercetina.

The carqueja plant (Baccharis trimera) is a specie of the family Asteraceae widely used in folk medicine for presenting various biological activities, due to the high content of secondary metabolites, including flavonoids. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of homeopathic preparations and crop environments through production and yield of quercetina on carqueja plants. The experiment was a factorial scheme (6X2) on completely randomized design with 5 homeopathic treatments: Silicea CH6, CH12, CH30, D7 and Equisetum D7 e control (70% ethanol) x 2 crop environments: greenhouse and shade 50% and 4 replicates, totaling 48 experimental units. The treatments were applied at concentration of 25 drops/500 mL of distilled water using hand sprayers. Each plant received 10 mL via leaves. The prepara-tions were sprayed always on mornings, three times a week on alternate days during two months (27/09/2010 to 27/11/2010). The interaction between the factors as well as the independents factors were compared by the Tukey test at 5% probability. The effect of homeopathic preparations and the two crop environments on carqueja plants were evaluated through the variables: fresh matter of aerial part (FMAP), dry matter of aerial part (DMAP) and flavonoids content (QCT). The variables FMAP and QCT were significantly influenced by the crop environments, the preparations and interaction between the two factors. The DMAP was only influenced by the interaction of the two factors. The 50% shade environment associated with Silicea CH6 or D7 increased yield of quercetin. The greenhouse environment associated with Equisetum D7 decreased yield of quercetin.

Identification of Bamboo Shavings, Concretio Silicea Bambusae and Their Closely Related Species based on the psbA-trnH Intergenic Region / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

In this study, the psbA-trnH sequence was used as DNA barcoding to evaluate the accuracy and stability for identification of Bamboo shavings, Concretio Silicea Bambusae and their closely related species. 56 samples were collected and conducted the DNA extraction. Obtained sequences were assembled using the CodonCode Aligner V4.2, the genetic distances and NJ tree were computed and constructed using MEGA 5.0. The results shows that the maximum intra-specific K2P distances were less than the minimum inter-specific K2P distances. The NJ tree indicated that Bamboo shavings, Concretio Silicea Bambusae and their closely related species can be distinguished from each other clearly, except for Bambusa tuldoides Munro and Bambusa textilis, which perhaps attributed to their closely genetic relationship.