Strategy and challenge of innovative drug research and development from clinically effective ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

Novel drug discovery from the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine is the most distinctive feature and advantageous field of China, which has provided an unprecedented opportunity. However, there are still problems such as unclear functional substance basis, action targets and mechanism, which greatly hinder the clinical transformation of active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine. Based on the analysis of the current status and progress of innovative drug research and development in China, this paper aimed to explore the prospect and difficulties of the development of natural active ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine, and to explore the efficient discovery of trace active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine, and obtain drug candidates with novel chemical structure, unique target/mechanism and independent intellectual property rights, in order to provide a new strategy and a new model for the development of natural medicine with Chinese characteristics.

Age-related changes for the predictors of benign prostatic hyperplasia in Chinese men aged 40 years or older / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

A cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the age-stratified normal levels and age-related changes in the risk predictors of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) progression. A total of 4706 male participants aged 40 years or older in Zhengzhou (China) were enrolled. The values of the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), prostate volume (PV), and postvoid residual urine volume (PVR) significantly increased with age. Nonlinear relationships between age and IPSS scores ≥8 (P for nonlinearity = 0.046), PSA level ≥1.6 ng ml-1, PV ≥31 ml, or PVR ≥39 ml (all P for nonlinearity <0.001) were observed. After the age of 61 years, the risk indicators related to BPH progression were positively correlated with age (odds ratio [OR] >1), regardless of the predictors of the IPSS score, PSA level, PV, or PVR; and the OR values increased gradually. Therefore, after the age of 61 years, the risk predictors related to BPH progression were positively correlated with age.

Gut microbiota as a target for traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of cardiovascular disease: potential mechanisms and therapy strategies / 药学学报

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major contributor to patient deaths worldwide, and its pathogenesis is complex and mortality rates are increasing every year. Numerous researches have shown that the gut microbiota and its metabolites were closely associated with the development of CVD, and gut microbiota was expected to be a potential new target for the treatment of CVD. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), characterized by its multi-component, multi-target and integrity, can play a therapeutic role in CVD by regulating the gut microbiota, which has obvious advantages in stabilizing the disease, improving heart function and enhancing quality of life, and is an ideal intestinal microecological regulator. Therefore, this review will mainly discuss the intimate association of gut microbiota and its metabolites with CVD, and the therapeutic strategies of TCM targeting gut microbiota to improve CVD, including regulating the composition of gut microbiota, protecting the intestinal mucosal barrier, influencing the intestinal immune function and modulating the metabolites of gut microbiota, in order to provide a reference for the research of TCM targeting gut microbiota for CVD.

Comprehensive profiling and characterization of the absorbed components and metabolites in mice serum and tissues following oral administration of Qing-Fei-Pai-Du decoction by UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap HRMS / 中国天然药物

Qing-Fei-Pai-Du decoction (QFPDD) is a Chinese medicine compound formula recommended for combating corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China. The latest clinical study showed that early treatment with QFPDD was associated with favorable outcomes for patient recovery, viral shedding, hospital stay, and course of the disease. However, the effective constituents of QFPDD remain unclear. In this study, an UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS based method was developed to identify the chemical constituents in QFPDD and the absorbed prototypes as well as the metabolites in mice serum and tissues following oral administration of QFPDD. A total of 405 chemicals, including 40 kinds of alkaloids, 162 kinds of flavonoids, 44 kinds of organic acids, 71 kinds of triterpene saponins and 88 kinds of other compounds in the water extract of QFPDD were tentatively identified via comparison with the retention times and MS/MS spectra of the standards or refereed by literature. With the help of the standards and in vitro metabolites, 195 chemical components (including 104 prototypes and 91 metabolites) were identified in mice serum after oral administration of QFPDD. In addition, 165, 177, 112, 120, 44, 53 constituents were identified in the lung, liver, heart, kidney, brain, and spleen of QFPDD-treated mice, respectively. These findings provided key information and guidance for further investigation on the pharmacologically active substances and clinical applications of QFPDD.

Metabolites and metabolic pathways of maackiain in rats based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS / 中国中药杂志

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was used to investigate the metabolites of maackiain in rats based on the prediction function of UNIFI data processing system and liver microsomal incubation in vitro. Ten metabolites of maackiain after oral absorption were reasonably deduced and characterized. It was found that the biotransformation of maackiain mainly included phase Ⅰ oxidation, dehydrogenation, phase Ⅱ sulfate conjugation, glucosylation conjugation, and glucuronic acid conjugation. Among them, the product of glucosylation conjugation, trifolirhizin, was identified by comparison with the reference for the first time. Liver microsomal incubation in vitro further confirmed the metabolites and metabolic pathways of maackiain in rats. The metabolites in the blood, urine, and feces complemented each other, which revealed the migration, metabolism, and excretion modes of maackiain in rats. This study lays a foundation for the further investigation of the metabolic mechanism of maackiain in vivo and the in-depth research on the mechanism of pharmacodynamics and toxicity.

Investigation of modulating effect of Qingfei Paidu Decoction on host metabolism and gut microbiome in rats / 中国中药杂志

This study is to explore the effect of Qingfei Paidu Decoction(QPD) on the host metabolism and gut microbiome of rats with metabolomics and 16 S rDNA sequencing. Based on 16 S rDNA sequencing of gut microbiome and metabolomics(GC-MS and LC-MS/MS), we systematically studied the serum metabolites profile and gut microbiota composition of rats treated with QPD for continued 5 days by oral gavage. A total of 23 and 43 differential metabolites were identified based on QPD with GC-MS and LC-MS/MS, respectively. The involved metabolic pathways of these differential metabolites included glycerophospholipid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, TCA cycle and pyruvate metabolism. Meanwhile, we found that QPD significantly regulated the composition of gut microbiota in rats, such as enriched Romboutsia, Turicibacter, and Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, and decreased norank_f_Lachnospiraceae. Our current study indicated that short-term intervention of QPD could significantly regulate the host metabolism and gut microbiota composition of rats dose-dependently, suggesting that the clinical efficacy of QPD may be related with the regulation on host metabolism and gut microbiome.

Application of methods on target identification and validation of label-free natural products / 药学学报

Natural products areone source of new drugs, and their target identification is pivotal forelucidating the mechanism of action. Most methods of target discovery and validation utilize labeling natural products with probes. This is time-consuming and laborious, and often results in activity decrease or change of the natural products. Recent methods withoutchemicalmodificationhave become the main force in the target identification of natural products, including direct or indirect methods. Direct methods are mainly based on the principle of affinity and stability of protein, and indirect methods infer the drug target from the change in physiological responses or biochemical signatures. This review summarizes recent methods for target identification and validation of label-freenatural products, providing new ideas and strategies for future research in natural products.

Metabolomics and its application in the treatment of coronary heart disease with traditional Chinese medicine / 中国天然药物

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the treasure of Chinese Nation and gained the gradual acceptance of the international community. However, the methods and theories of TCM understanding of diseases are lack of appropriate modern scientific characterization systems. Moreover, traditional risk factors cannot promote to detection and prevent those patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who have not developed acute myocardial infarction (MI) in time. To sum up, there is still no objective systematic evaluation system for the therapeutic mechanism of TCM in the prevention and cure of cardiovascular disease. Thus, new ideas and technologies are needed. The development of omics technology, especially metabolomics, can be used to predict the level of metabolites in vivo and diagnose the physiological state of the body in time to guide the corresponding intervention. In particular, metabolomics is also a very powerful tool to promote the modernization of TCM and the development of TCM in personalized medicine. This article summarized the application of metabolomics in the early diagnosis, the discovery of biomarkers and the treatment of TCM in CAD.

Advances in biomarkers and stem cell-targeted therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma / 药学学报

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma as the main pathological type of liver cancer is one of the common malignant tumors in our country. Liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) have the characteristics of multidrug resistance, anti-radiotherapy and high tumorigenicity in addition to the characteristics of stem cells, namely, self-renewal, multi-directional differentiation and unlimited proliferation. Based on the above features, relapse and metastasis often occur after the patients being treated with conventional methods, which results in poor prognosis. Effective treatment targeting LCSCs has the potential to cure hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) completely. This article reviews the common biomarkers used in identification of LCSCs and development of stem cell-targeted therapy for HCC.

Pharmacokinetic of Jiaotai pill in normal and depressed rats / 药学学报

This study was aimed to explore the pharmacokinetics of epiberberine, jatrorrhizine, coptisine, palmatine, berberine of Jiaotai pill in the normal and depressed rats. According to ‘Katz’ method, the model of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) was established. The extract of Jiaotai pill was orally administered to rats, and the blood samples were collected via the the oculi chorioideae vein according to the time schedule. The concentrations of epiberberine, jatrorrhizine, coptisine, palmatine, berberine in rat plasma were determined by LC-MS/MS, and the pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by DAS1.0 software. Compared with normal rats, the Cmax of palmatine, coptisine, berberine and jatrorrhizine in Jiaotai pill in depressed rats were 1.99, 2.14, 2.3, 1.82 times than the normal group, while the AUC0−t were 1.23, 1.25, 1.29, 1.46 times and the AUC0−∞ were 1.21, 1.25, 1.30, 1.43 times, which were significantly different.

Chemical constituents from ethyl acetate-soluble extraction of Valeriana jatamansi / 中国中药杂志

Application of a combination of various chromatographic techniques including column chromatography over silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, macroporous adsorbent resin, and reversed-phase HPLC, led to the isolation of 173 compounds including irdidoids, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, triterpenes, lignans, flavonoids, and simple aromatic derivatives from the ethyl acetate-soluble fraction of the whole plants of Valeriana jatamansi(Valerianaceae), and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including 1D, 2D NMR UV, IR, and MS techniques. Among them, 77 compounds were new. In previous reports, we have described the isolation, structure elucidation, and bioactivities of 68 new and 25 known compounds. As a consequence, we herein reported the isolation and structure elucidation of the remaining 9 new and 71 known compounds, the structure revision of valeriotriate A(8a), as well as cytotoxicity of some compounds.

Application of network biology on study of traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

With the completion of the human genome project, people have gradually recognized that the functions of the biological system are fulfilled through network-type interaction between genes, proteins and small molecules, while complex diseases are caused by the imbalance of biological processes due to a number of gene expression disorders. These have contributed to the rise of the concept of the "multi-target" drug discovery. Treatment and diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine are based on holism and syndrome differentiation. At the molecular level, traditional Chinese medicine is characterized by multi-component and multi-target prescriptions, which is expected to provide a reference for the development of multi-target drugs. This paper reviews the application of network biology in traditional Chinese medicine in six aspects, in expectation to provide a reference to the modernized study of traditional Chinese medicine.

Establishment of a quantitative real-time PCR for rapid detection of Panax quinquefolius / 中国中药杂志

In this study, the specific primers and probes of Panax quinquefolius were designed for a quantitative real-time PCR, and the rapid identification method of P. quinquefolius was established by optimizing conditions. The method was used to validate 43 samples of the traditional Chinese medicine,and the results showed that 22 samples of P. quinquefolius were identified accurately. The limit of detection of the method can be reach to 1×10⁻⁴ ng. The method is accurate, fast, sensitive and specifically.

An updated role of astragalosideⅣin heart failure / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

Heart failure has become a global public health problem that seriously threatens human health. Due to "multi-target" effect, traditional Chinese medicine has unique advantages in the treat-ment of heart failure. Astragaloside Ⅳ is one of the main active ingredients of astragalus membrana-ceus.It has the functions of protecting the heart and neovascularization,anti-inflammation,anti-oxida-tion, regulating energy metabolism, neuroprotection and anti-cancer effects. This article reviews the recent progresses of astragaloside Ⅳ in the treatment of heart failure.Data show that astragaloside Ⅳcan inhibit heart fibrosis,attenuate excessively activation of renin-angiotensin system,increase energy metabolism, promote positive inotropic action, inhibit myocardial cell apoptosis, etc, which are all involved in the protective role of astragaloside Ⅳ in rodents or cellular models of heart failure.Astragalo-side Ⅳ may be a potential active ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of heart failure.

Salvianolic acid B regulates bone metabolism through Nox4 pathway in HFD mice / 中国药理学通报

Aim To evaluate the effects of salvianolic acid B ( Sal B ) on bone metabolism and its potential mechanism in high fat diet ( HFD) mice.Methods Thirty C57BL/6J male mice were divided into three groups with 10 mice each, namely normal , HFD and HFD+Sal B.HFD and HFD+Sal B mice were treated with HFD, and HFD+Sal B group mice were also with Sal B (125 mg· kg -1· d-1).After 12 weeks' treat-ment, femurs were harvested .The effects of Sal B on biomechanical strength were evaluated by biomechani-cal tests, and the effects of Sal B on bone microstruc-ture were evaluated by Safranin O/fast green staining and hematoxylin and eosin staining .The expression of nuclear factor-kappa B ( NF-κB)-p65 and NADPH ox-idase 4 ( Nox4 ) and cathepsin K in femurs was deter-mined by immunohistochemical staining . Results Maximum load and elastic load significantly decreased ,and the trabeculae became thinner and irregular in the femurs of HFD mice , while Sal B treatment could re-verse the descending biomechanical strength and the disorganized femurs bone micro-structures in HFD mice.In addition, the expressions of Nox4, NF-κB-p65 and cathepsin Kmarkedly increased in HFD mice , and Sal B possessed the ability to down-regulate the ex-pression of Nox4, NF-κB-p65, and cathepsin K in the femurs triggered by HFD .Conclusions Sal B treat-ment improves bone metabolism via regulating Nox 4/NF-κB/cathepsin K signaling pathway in HFD mice . The findings contribute to the understanding and exten-sion of the applications of Salvia miltiorrhiza and its constituents on osteoporosis .

Simultaneous determination of five constituents in Simotang Oral Liquid by HPLC / 中成药

AIM To establish an HPLC method for the simultaneous content determination of five constituents in Simotang Oral Liquid (Aucklandiae Radix,Aurantii Fructus,Arecae Semen,etc.).METHODS The analysis of 50％ methanol extract of this drug was performed on a 35 ℃ thermostatic Agilent Zorbax C18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm,5 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of acetonitrile-0.1％ formic acid flowing at 1.0 mL/min in a gradient elution manner,and the detection wavelength was set at 283 nm.RESULTS Synephrine,norisoboldine,naringin,hesperidin and neohesperidin showed good linear relationships within the ranges of 5.8-185.6 μg/mL (r =0.999 9),0.829-26.52 μg/mL (r =1.000 0),9.775-312.8 μg/mL (r =1.000 0),0.594-19 μg/mL (r =0.999 5) and 5.2-166.4 μg/mL (r =1.000 0),whose average recoveries were 98.93％,98.95％,102.57％,99.67％ and 103.43％ with the RSDs of 1.85％,1.27％,0.52％,0.89％ and 0.43％,respectively.CONCLUSION This simple,accurate and reproducible method can be used for the rapid quality control of Simotang Oral Liquid.

Mechanism of the synergistic analgesic effect between choline and acetaminophen / 药学学报

This study was designed to investigate the synergistic analgesic effect between choline (Cho) and acetaminophen (Ace). Mice were treated with 0.6% acetic acid solution by intraperitoneal injection to build acetate writhing model. The KM mice were randomly divided into four groups:control group (n=10), Cho group (n=50), Ace group (n=50), combination group (Cho+Ace group, n=40), then the writhing times were counted respectively. OriginPro8.5 was used to calculate ED 50. The isobolographic analysis was used to test the interaction of Cho and Ace. To explore the mechanism, forty KM mice were randomly divided into control group, Cho group, Ace group and Cho + Ace group. Blood was collected for detection of TNF-α, IL-6, PGE2 and NF-κB content using ELISA kits. The result ED 50 was calculated as followings. ED50 of Cho and Ace was 19.47 mg·kg-1 and 20.56 mg·kg-1. The concentrations were 2.94 mg·kg-1 for Cho and 3.15 mg·kg-1 for Ace in the combination test. The levels of TNF-α, IL-6, PGE2 and NF-κB in Cho group and Ace group were lower than those in the control group (Pα, IL-6, PGE2, NF-κB in Cho + Ace group were reduced further (P< 0.05). The results revealed that Cho and Ace have synergistic analgesic effects, which may associate with inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Choline improves lipopolysaccharide-induced central nervous system inflammatory response and cognitive dysfunction in mice / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the effect of choline in ameliorating lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced central nervous system inflammation and cognitive deficits in mice and explore the underlying mechanism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventy-two mice were randomized into saline control group, LPS group, choline intervention group and choline control group. In the latter two groups, the mice received pretreatment with intraperitoneal injections of choline (40 mg/kg, 3 times daily for 3 consecutive days) prior to microinjection of LPS into the lateral cerebral ventricle to induce central nervous system inflammation; in saline and LPS groups, the mice were pretreated with saline in the same manner before intraventicular injection of artificial cerebrospinal fluid. Choline treatment was administered in the mice till the end of the experiment. The locomotor activity and spatial learning and memory capacity of the mice were examined. The expressions of Iba1 protein and proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-β) I the hippocampal dentate gyrus, and the expressions of α 7nAchR, p38 MAPK and phosphorylated p38 MAPK in the hippocampus of the mice were detected.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Water maze test showed that compared with the saline control group, the mice in LPS group exhibited significantly reduced platform crossings (P<0.05), which was significantly increased by choline pretreatment (P<0.05). The mice pretreated with LPS expressed obviously increased levels of IBA-1 protein, TNF-α, and IL-1β in the hippocampus (P<0.01), and choline pretreatment significantly lowered the expressions of IBA-1 protein and IL-1β (P<0.05). The phosphorylation level of p38 MAPK increased significantly after LPS pretreatment (P<0.05), and was reduced by choline pretreatment (P<0.05); α 7nAchR expression increased significantly in choline intervention group as compared with that in the other 3 groups (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Choline can probably antagonize LPS-induced hippocampal p38 MAPK phosphorylation in mice via the α 7nAchR signaling pathway to protective against LPS-induced neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment in mice.</p>

Pharmacokinetics of five ginsenosides of Shexiang Baoxin pill in plasma of myocardial infarction rats / 中国中药杂志

Shexiang Baoxin pill(SBP) is widely used for treating coronary heart disease in clinic, with ginsenosides as its main effective component. This study was designed to investigate and compare the pharmacokinetic characteristics of five ginsenosides of five compounds after multiple oral administrations, ginseng extract(GE) and SBP in myocardial infarction rats. After intragastric administration to myocardial infarction rats, the plasma samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem triple-quad mass spectrometry. The results showed that Cmax of five compounds in all groups were less than 200 μg•L⁻¹. Tmax of corresponding analytes between groups revealed that ginsenosides in both SBP and GE were absorbed faster than each of the five compounds, indicating that GE and compounds contain components promoting absorption of ginsenosides. The oral administration doses of ginsenosides in SBP were the least in all groups, but with the greatest AUC0-tand AUCINF, which indicated that ginsenosides in SBP had the best absorption in all groups after oral administration to myocardial infarction rats. This study also demonstrated that compound is the best form of traditional Chinese medicine.

Research progress in mechanism of intestinal microorganisms in human diseases / 药学学报

The international cooperated research projects of the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) and Metagenomics of The Human Intestinal Tract (MetaHIT) were officially launched in 2007, which indicated the era of metagenomics research of microorganisms in human gastrointestinal tract had been coming. Each human body is a superorganism which is composed of 90% commensal microorganisms, especially the intestinal microorganisms. The intestinal microorganisms play an important role on health maintenance since they are involved in the absorption and metabolism of nutrients in the human bodies. Herein, we review the research progress in the mechanism of intestinal microorganisms in human diseases. Our purpose is to provide novel ideas on human health and therapeutic targets of diseases.