Metabolomics study of Danggui Buxue Tang on treatment of type 2 diabetes mice using UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS / 中国中药杂志

In this paper, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS)-based metabolomics approach was used to explore the mechanism of Danggui Buxue Tang(DBT) in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2 DM). T2 DM mice model was induced by high-sugar and high-fat fodder and streptozotocin(STZ). The routine indexes such as body weight, blood glucose, plasma insulin, IL-6 and related organ indexes were determined. The UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS technique was used to analyze the metabolism profile of serum samples between the control group and model group, and multiple statistical analysis methods including principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) were used to screen and identify biomarkers. Metabolic profiling revealed 16 metabolites as the most potential biomarkers distinguishing mice in model group from those in control group. The metabolomics pathway analysis(MetPA) was used to investigate the underlying metabolic pathways. Seven major metabolic pathways such the valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, primary bile acid biosynthesis, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, fatty acid metabolism and biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acid. Eleven metabolites such as taurocholic acid and palmitic acid were down-regulated in T2 DM mice, and five metabolites such as L-leucine and leukotriene E4 were up-regulated. Moreover, the sixteen biomar-kers of each administration group had a trend of returning to mice in control group. The significantly-altered metabolite levels indicated that DBT can improve the progression of type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity, regulating sugar and lipid metabolism disorders, and relieving inflammation.

Overview of Research on Chinese Medicine Patents for Prevention and Treatment of Asthenopia and Analysis Their Medication Rule / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective: To explore drug utilizing regularity of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) in treating and preventing asthenopia by analyzing the patent status of TCM in the field of asthenopia control for nearly 20 years. Method: Global patents about TCM in treating and preventing asthenopia were systematic searched in IncoPat platform.The application trend,legal status and categories of patents were analyzed.Meanwhile,the oral prescriptions and external prescriptions were performed correlation index analysis by IBM SPSS Modeler 18.0,respectively;the difference of compatibility rules between them was compared. Result: The number of global patents in treating and preventing asthenopia gradually increased,and the proportion of patents from China was more than 99%.The main patent applications were pharmaceutical composition,oral preparation,external eye patch and so on,but the ratio of licensed patents in total patents was low.In term of drug utilizing regularity,the oral prescriptions paid much attention to using TCM for nourishing the liver and kidney,while external prescriptions highlighted relieving sickness heat and detoxification. Conclusion: Patents of TCM in treating and preventing asthenopia has been kept increasing in recent years,but the authorization rate is low.Formulation based on TCM theory can be statistically summarized,which can be helpful for the development of anti-asthenopia products.

Anti-parasitic effects of water-soluble alkaloid fractions from ethanolic extracts of Sophora moorcroftiana seeds in Caenorhabditis elegans / 中国天然药物

Parasite infections of humans and animals remain a major global health problem, with limited choice of drugs being available to the treatment of parasitosis in the clinic. Sophora moorcroftiana (S. moorcroftiana) is a shrub that grows in Tibet Plateau of China. Decoction of the seeds has been used as a traditional Tibetan medicine to treat parasitosis for years. But the anti-parasitic effects of water-soluble fractions in the seeds need further investigation. In the present study, the water-soluble alkaloid fractions (E2) were obtained from S. moorcroftiana seeds by refluxing extraction with 60% ethanol and low polarity fraction (E2-a) and high polarity fraction (E2-b) were subsequently isolated from E2 using column chromatography. As a parasite model, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) were treated with different fractions and their survivals were recorded. The results showed that that E2-a induced a lower survival rate in C. elegans than E2-b and E2. The protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus (E. granulosus) were cultured in the presence of E2-a. Compared with E2-b and E2, protoscoleces exhibited decreased survival rate following E2-a treatment. Furtherly, the effects of E2-a on the behavior, brood size, and lifespan of the worms were investigated. Body bend frequencies of the worms treated with the high concentration of E2-a were reduced by two-thirds compared with the control group (P < 0.01). Compared with non-E2-a-treated group, exposure of nematodes to E2-a led to a decrease in head thrashes and pharyngeal pumps frequency (P < 0.01). E2-a treatment resulted in a significantly lower brood size (P < 0.01). Additional E2-a treatment induced a significantly shortened lifespan, compared with the control (P < 0.05). These findings indicated that water-soluble fraction E2-a from S. moorcroftiana seeds was a potential helminthic agent.

Anti-parasitic effects of water-soluble alkaloid fractions from ethanolic extracts of Sophora moorcroftiana seeds in Caenorhabditis elegans / 中国天然药物

Parasite infections of humans and animals remain a major global health problem, with limited choice of drugs being available to the treatment of parasitosis in the clinic. Sophora moorcroftiana (S. moorcroftiana) is a shrub that grows in Tibet Plateau of China. Decoction of the seeds has been used as a traditional Tibetan medicine to treat parasitosis for years. But the anti-parasitic effects of water-soluble fractions in the seeds need further investigation. In the present study, the water-soluble alkaloid fractions (E2) were obtained from S. moorcroftiana seeds by refluxing extraction with 60% ethanol and low polarity fraction (E2-a) and high polarity fraction (E2-b) were subsequently isolated from E2 using column chromatography. As a parasite model, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) were treated with different fractions and their survivals were recorded. The results showed that that E2-a induced a lower survival rate in C. elegans than E2-b and E2. The protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus (E. granulosus) were cultured in the presence of E2-a. Compared with E2-b and E2, protoscoleces exhibited decreased survival rate following E2-a treatment. Furtherly, the effects of E2-a on the behavior, brood size, and lifespan of the worms were investigated. Body bend frequencies of the worms treated with the high concentration of E2-a were reduced by two-thirds compared with the control group (P < 0.01). Compared with non-E2-a-treated group, exposure of nematodes to E2-a led to a decrease in head thrashes and pharyngeal pumps frequency (P < 0.01). E2-a treatment resulted in a significantly lower brood size (P < 0.01). Additional E2-a treatment induced a significantly shortened lifespan, compared with the control (P < 0.05). These findings indicated that water-soluble fraction E2-a from S. moorcroftiana seeds was a potential helminthic agent.

Simultaneous determination of five anthraquinones in a Chinese traditional preparation by RP-HPLC using an improved extraction procedure / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The stable quality of Chinese herbal medicines is a critical factor for their reliable clinical efficiency. An improved liquid-liquid extraction procedure and a liquid chromatographic method were developed to simultaneously analyze five anthraquinones (aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol and physcion) in a Chinese traditional hospital preparation, Fuyankang mixture, in order to quantitatively control its quality in a more effective way.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A more economical and repeatable extraction procedure based on conventional liquid-liquid extraction technique was developed and used to extract five marker components in Fuyankang mixture. These anthraquinones were separated in less than 20 min on a C18 column with methanol and 0.1% phosphoric acid (88:12, v/v) as mobile phase. The method was validated for specificity, precision, spiked recovery and stability.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared to conventional liquid-liquid extraction, the improved liquid-liquid extraction was found to be more effective for simultaneous extraction of anthraquinones from an aqueous Chinese herbal preparation, especially for hydrophobic compounds. The improved extraction method was successfully applied to determine the content of five marker components in Fuyankang mixture by the means of reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The improved extraction procedure may be suitable for routine quality control of Fuyankang mixture and other traditional preparations at city-level hospitals in China.</p>

Polymorphism of Usp26 correlates with idiopathic male infertility / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the correlation of nucleotide polymorphism in the ubiquitin-specific protease 26 (Usp26) gene with idiopathic male infertility and its action mechanism in spermatogenesis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Based on the WHO criteria (4th ed.), we selected 41 patients with idiopathic infertility from 150 infertile males, and enlisted 50 normal fertile men as controls. We examined the selected patients for mutations using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis, and determined how and where the mutations occurred by gene sequencing.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Low sperm concentration and poor sperm motility were found in the 41 men with idiopathic infertility. Nine (22.0%) of them exhibited changes in the Usp26 gene (P = 0.01), including compound mutations of 364insACA and 460G > A in 8 (19.5%, P = 0.01) and 1 044T > A substitution in 1 (2.4%, P > 0.05). The above three variations led to changes in the coding amino acids. No other changes were found in the remaining patients and normal fertile controls.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The nucleotide polymorphisms of the Usp26 gene might be closely related with idiopathic male infertility, and exert negative effect on the testis function.</p>