Chemical and pharmacological progress on a Tibetan folk medicine formula Bawei Chenxiang Powder / 中国中药杂志

Bawei Chenxiang Powder is a traditional Tibetan folk medicine formula, consisting of resinous wood of Aquilaria sinensis, kernel of Myristica fragrans, fruit of Choerospondias axillaris, travertine, resin of Boswellia carterii or B. bhaw-dajiana, stem of Aucklandia lappa, fruit of Terminalia chebula(roasted), and flower of Gossampinus malabarica. It has the function of clearing heart heat, nourishing heart, tranquilizing mind, and inducing resuscitation, which has been used for the treatment of coronary heart disease and angina pectoris. Modern research shows that the medicine materials of this formula mainly contain terpenoids like sesquiterpenes and triterpenes and polyphenols like flavonoids, lignans, and tannins, displaying some pharmacological activities such as anti-myocardial ischemia, anti-cerebral ischemia, and spatial learning and memory promotion. This review summaries the traditional uses, chemical constituents, and pharmacological activities research progress, hopefully to provide a reference for clarification of its pharmacological active ingredients.

Analgesic and sedative effects of Mongolian medicine Syringa pinnatifolia / 中国中药杂志

The peeled root,stem or twig of Syringa pinnatifolia is a representative Mongolian folk medicine with the effects of antidepression and pain relief. It has been used for the treatments of heart tingling,heart palpitations,upset,insomnia and other symptoms. Inspired by Mongolian medical theory and clinical practices,this study evaluated the analgesic effect of S. pinnatifolia ethanol extract( T) through three analgesic models including acetic acid writhing test,formalin test,and hot plate test,and the sedative effect of T was evaluated by locomotor activity and synergistic sleeping experiments,and furthermore the effects of T on the GABAergic nervous system were investigated by ELISA,immunohistochemistry,Western blot,and PCR methods. The results showed that T can significantly reduce the number of writhing,the time of paw licking and extend the thermal threshold of mice,suggesting the analgesic effect of T.T also can indicate its sedative effect by reducing the number of activities,decreasing latency of sleeping and extending sleeping time of mice. ELISA results showed that T can increase the content of GABA/Glu in rat cortex,hippocampus,and hypothalamus,and the most significant increase in hypothalamus. The immunohistochemistry and Western blot results showed that T can up-regulate the expression of GAD67 protein in hypothalamus,and the PCR results showed that T can up-regulate the expression of GABAA Rα1,α2,α3,α5,β1-3,γ1-3 genes,suggesting a sedative effect through the GABAergic nervous system. In conclusion,this study shed insight into the theoretical basis and clinical application of S. pinnatifolia,and also provides inspiration for subsequent development and application.

Sustained-releasing performance of polymethyl methacrylate bone cement carrying antituberculosis drugs in vitro / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:Antibiotic loaded bone cement has been well studied in clinical prevention and treatment of postoperative infection after artificial joint replacement. However, little is reported on antituberculotic-loaded bone cement. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the drug release properties of polymethyl methacrylate bone cement carrying antituberculosis drugs in a simulated body fluid (phosphate buffer solution, PBS). METHODS:The bone cement SimpLex P and antituberculosis drugs, including pyrazinamide, isoniazid, rifapentine, prothionamide, capreomycin, rifampicin, moxifloxacin, and amikacin, were mixed at 40 g:1.5 g and 40 g: 2.5 g ratios to prepare 16 groups of experimental specimens (n=5 per group). In addition, 40 g of bone cement powder was mixed with the liquid monomer to prepare a group of non-loaded bone cement specimens (control group,n=5). Either experimental or control specimens were soaked in PBS simulated body fluid, and then the extractions were taken at different time points to measure concentrations of antituberculosis drugs by high performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The effective sustained-releasing time in the PBS simulated body fluid was 45 and 60 days for 1.5 g and 2.5 g groups of pyrazinamide, was 60 and 45 days for 1.5 g and 2.5 g groups of isoniazid, was 60 and 45 days for 1.5 g and 2.5 g groups of rifapentine, was 150 and 150 days for 1.5 g and 2.5 g groups of protionamide, was 150 and 150 days for 1.5 g and 2.5 g groups of capreomycin, was 45 and 60 days for 1.5 g and 2.5g groups of rifampicin, was 90 and 90 days for 1.5 g and 2.5 g groups of moxifloxacin, and was 60 and 90 days for 1.5 g and 2.5 g groups of amikacin, respectively. All the drug carriers had good drug release characteristics. Especially the 1.5 g and 2.5 g groups of protionamide, 1.5 g and 2.5 g groups of capreomycin, 1.5 g and 2.5 g groups of moxifloxacin and 2.5 g group of amikacin showed a longer period of drug release in accordance with the clinical need. However, our preliminary findings showed that the mechanical strength of the composite bone cement was considerably reduced by isoniazid, rifampicin, rifapentine, or protionamide, while the SimpLex P bone cement carrying pyrazinamide, amikacin, moxifloxacin, or capreomycin showed no changes in the mechanical strength. Therefore, pyrazinamide, amikacin, moxifloxacin, and capreomycin are suitable for the preparation of bone cements carrying antituberculosis drugs.

Proteomic analysis of retinal proteins in rabbits following intravitreal PBS injection: analysis with tandem mass tag labeling coupled with LC-MS/MS / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Intravitreal (IVT) injection has become one of the most commonly performed ophthalmologic procedures. We investigated the changes in retinal function and proteomics in rabbits receiving IVT injection of PBS to evaluate the safety of IVT injection.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty Chinchilla rabbits were subjected to IVT injection of 50 µL PBS in the right eyes. On days 0, 4, 7 and day 14, the retinas of the rabbits were isolated after routine ophthalmic and electroretinogram examinations. The protein expressions in the retinas were quantified using tandem mass tag (TMT)-labeling coupled with LC-MS/MS, and bioinformatic analysis of the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) was performed based on KEGG database to identify significantly enriched pathways. Functional network of the significant DEPs was analyzed using STRING.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>No noticeable fundus or functional changes occurred in the rabbit eyes following IVT injection of PBS. A total of 6042 retinal proteins were identified in the retina following the injection, among which 49 proteins (0.81%) exhibited over 5.0-fold up-regulation or over 80% down- regulation relative to the control. Most of the distinctly up-regulated or down-regulated proteins were associated with the cytoskeleton. Significantly enriched pathways involved focal adhesion, tight junction, riboflavin metabolism, extracellular matrix-receptor interaction and regulation of actin cytoskeleton. Functional network analysis showed that ACTC1 and ISG15 played central roles in the protein interaction networks.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>IVT PBS injection in rabbits causes alterations in proteins associated with cell adhesion, morphology, migration, differentiation, signal transduction and riboflavin metabolism, but the alterations of the retinal proteins appear not sufficient to cause observable pathology of the retina.</p>