Comparison of HPLC fingerprints and determination of main components of Viticis Fructus from different species / 中国中药杂志

In order to comprehensively evaluate the quality of Viticis Fructus, this study established HPLC fingerprints and evaluated the quality of 24 batches of Viticis Fructus samples from different species by similarity evaluation and multivariate statistical analysis(PCA, HCA, PLS-DA). On this basis, an HPLC method was established to compare the content differences of the main components, including casticin, agnuside, homoorientin, and p-hydroxybenzoic acid. The analysis was performed on the chromatographic column(Waters Symmetry C_(18)) with a gradient mobile phase of acetonitrile(A)-0.05% phosphoric acid solution(B) at the flow rate of 1 mL·min~(-1) and detection wavelength of 258 nm. The column temperature was 30 ℃ and the injection volume was 10 μL. The HPLC fingerprint of 24 batches of Viticis Fructus samples was established with 21 common peaks, and nine peaks were identified. Similarity analysis was carried out based on chromatographic data of 24 batches of chromatographic data of Viticis Fructus, and the results showed that except for DYMJ-16, the similarity of Vitex trifolia var. simplicifolia was ≥0.900, while that of V. trifolia was ≤0.864. In addition, the similarity analysis of two different species showed that the similarity of 16 batches of V. trifolia var. simplicifolia was 0.894-0.997 and that of the eight batches of V. trifolia was between 0.990 and 0.997. The results showed that the similarity of fingerprints of these two species was different, but the similarity between the same species was good. The results of the three multivariate statistical analyses were consistent, which could distinguish the two different species. The VIP analysis results of PLS-DA showed that casticin and agnuside contributed the most to the distinction. The content determination results showed that there was no significant difference in the content of homoorientin and p-hydroxybenzoic acid in Viticis Fructus from different species, but the content of casticin and agnuside was significantly different in different species(P<0.01). The content of casticin was higher in V. trifolia var. simplicifolia, while agnuside was higher in V. trifolia. The findings of this study show that there are differences in fingerprint similarity and component content of Viticis Fructus from different species, which can provide references for the in-depth study of the quality and clinical application of Viticis Fructus.

Reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection risk is associated with the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea: A multi-center observational study in Shanghai, China / 中西医结合学报

OBJECTIVE@#Omicron, a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant, is responsible for numerous infections in China. This study investigates the association between the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea (SFHT) and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection to develop precise and differentiated strategies for control of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).@*METHODS@#This case-control study was conducted at shelter hospitals and quarantine hotels in China. A total of 5348 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled between April 1 and May 31, 2022, while 2190 uninfected individuals served as healthy controls. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on demographics, underlying diseases, vaccination status, and use of SFHT. Patients were propensity-score-matched using 1:1 nearest-neighbor matching of the logit of the propensity score. Subsequently, a conditional logistic regression model was used for data analysis.@*RESULTS@#Overall, 7538 eligible subjects were recruited, with an average age of [45.54 ± 16.94] years. The age of COVID-19 patients was significantly higher than that of uninfected individuals ([48.25 ± 17.48] years vs [38.92 ± 13.41] years; t = 22.437, P < 0.001). A total of 2190 COVID-19 cases were matched with uninfected individuals at a 1:1 ratio. The use of SFHT (odds ratio = 0.753, 95% confidence interval: 0.692, 0.820) was associated with a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to untreated individuals.@*CONCLUSION@#Our findings suggest that taking SFHT reduces the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This is a useful study in the larger picture of COVID-19 management, but data from large-sample multi-center, randomized clinical trial are warranted to confirm the finding. Please cite this article as: Zhang SX, Chen XX, Zheng Y, Cai BH, Shi W, Ru M, Li H, Zhang DD, Tian Y, Chen YL. Reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection risk is associated with the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea: A multi-center observational study in Shanghai, China. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(4):369-376.

Comparison of UPLC Fingerprint and Determination of Index Components Before and After Processing of Cyperi Rhizoma Processed with Four Excipients / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To study the quality evaluation method of Cyperi Rhizoma processed with four excipients. Method:Ultra-performance liquid chromatography （UPLC） fingerprints of raw products and processed products with four excipients of Cyperi Rhizoma were established， and the changes of chemical components in the fingerprints before and after processing were compared by chemometric analysis. The mobile phase was consisted of methanol （A）-water （B） for gradient elution （0-10 min， 5%-40%A； 10-30 min， 40%-70%A； 30-40 min， 70%A） at a flow rate of 0.3 mL·min^-1. The injection volume was 3 μL， the column temperature was 35 ℃， and the detection wavelength was 280 nm. The content changes of main index components in Cyperi Rhizoma before and after processing were compared by UPLC. The mobile phase was methanol-water （75∶25） and the detection wavelength was 242 nm. Result:Processing with four excipients had a significant impact on the overall characteristics of chemical components in the fingerprint of Cyperi Rhizoma. A total of 28 characteristic peaks were identified in fingerprints of the raw and processed products. Among them， peaks 1， 2 and 4 were specific peaks of the processed products， peak 5 was characteristic peak of the raw products. Peak 2 was identified as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural， peak 24 as cyperenone and peak 27 as <italic>α</italic>-cyperone. The 5-hydroxymethylfurfural produced by the processing with four excipients came from rice vinegar， rice wine and Maillard reaction of polysaccharides in Cyperi Rhizoma. The results of determination showed that there was no significant difference in the content of cyperenone after processing， but the content of <italic>α</italic>-cyperone decreased significantly. Conclusion:In the process of Cyperi Rhizoma processed with four excipients， there are new components produced by structural transformation， which are accompanied by changes in the content of index components. In this study， the quality of raw and processed products of Cyperi Rhizoma can be rapidly and effectively evaluated from qualitative and quantitative aspects.

Comparison of UPLC Fingerprint and Determination of Main Components Before and After Processing of Artemisiae Argyi Folium Processed with Four Excipients / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To establish the ultra-performance liquid chromatography （UPLC） fingerprints of Artemisiae Argyi Folium and Artemisiae Argyi Folium processed with four excipients， and quantitatively analyze the 8 phenolic acids and flavonoids contained in them， in order to explore the quality evaluation method of Artemisiae Argyi Folium processed with four excipients. Method:UPLC was used with Shim-pack XR-ODS C₁₈ column （2.0 mm×75 mm， 2.2 µm）， mobile phase of acetonitrile （A） -0.2% formic acid aqueous solution （B） for gradient elution （0-1 min， 10%A； 1-2 min， 10%-15%A； 2-17 min， 15%-18%A； 17-24 min， 18%-28%A； 24-36 min， 28%-38%A； 36-41 min， 38%-60%A； 41-45 min， 60%-100%A）， detection wavelength of 330 nm and flow rate of 0.2 mL·min^-1. The UPLC fingerprints of Artemisiae Argyi Folium before and after processing were established， and analyzed by chemometrics. Contents of 5-caffeoylquinic acid， 3-caffeoylquinic acid， 4-caffeoylquinic acid， 3，4-dicaffeoylquinic acid， 3，5-dicaffeoylquinic acid， 4，5-dicaffeoylquinic acid， jaceosidin and epuatilin in the decoction pieces were determined. Result:The fingerprints of Artemisiae Argyi Folium before and after processing were established， and the UPLC characteristic chromatograms of Artemisiae Argyi Folium before and after processing had good consistency， and the similarity was >0.94. Compared with Artemisiae Argyi Folium， the contents of 3-caffeoylquinic acid and 3，4-dicaffeoylquinic acid had no significant change after processing， the contents of jaceosidin and epuatilin decreased after processing， while the contents of 5-caffeoylquinic acid， 4-caffeoylquinic acid and 4，5-dicaffeoylquinic acid increased significantly （<italic>P<</italic>0.01）， their average increasing rates were 32.50%， 66.83%， 29.39%， respectively. And content of 3，5-dicaffeoylquinic acid was significantly decreased （<italic>P<</italic>0.01） ， and the average reduction rate was 51.25%. Conclusion:The contents of chemical components in Artemisiae Argyi Folium and Artemisiae Argyi Folium processed with four excipients have changed to a certain extent. Among them， 5-caffeoylquinic acid， 3，5-dicaffeoylquinic acid， 4-caffeoylquinic acid and 4，5-dicaffeoylquinic acid can be used as the key indicators for quality evaluation of Artemisiae Argyi Folium before and after processing.

Real-time three dimensional echocardiography-based evaluation of left ventricular function in children with Kawasaki disease / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the clinical significance of full volume real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT-3DE) in the assessment of general and local systolic functions of the left ventricle in children with Kawasaki disease (KD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 73 KD children (40 with and 33 without coronary artery lesions) and 35 healthy control children were recruited. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was measured by M-mode ultrasound and full volume RT-3DE imaging. A left ventricular volume-time curve and a segmental speed-time curve were generated. Differences between control subjects and patients with and without coronary artery lesions were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The M-mode ultrasound measurements of LVEF in KD patients with coronary artery lesions were significantly lower than in KD patients without coronary artery lesions and control children (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference between KD patients without coronary artery lesions and control children. RT-3DE measurements of LVEF were significantly different between the three groups analyzed (P<0.05): coronary artery lesion group < no coronary artery lesion group < control group. RT-3DE-based segmental ventricular wall analysis revealed that Tmsv16-SD and Tmsv12-SD in KD patients with coronary artery lesions were significantly higher than other two groups and Tmsv6-SD was also significantly higher than in the normal control group (P<0.05) and that Tmsv16-SD in KD patients without coronary artery lesions increased significantly compared with the normal control group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>RT-3DE can be used in the quantitative evaluation of the left ventricular function and therefore has significant clinical implications.</p>