Pharmacological Effect and Toxicity of Xanthii Fructus / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Xanthii Fructus (XF) is one of important drugs for the treatment of sinusitis and headache.It is commonly used in the treatment of diseases relating to immune abnormalities,such as rheumatoid arthritis,acute and chronic rhinitis,allergic rhinitis,and skin diseases,with a high medicinal value.Modern pharmacological studies have showed a wide range of pharmacological effect and a high medicinal value in XF.However,due to long-term or excessive intake,and improper processing of medicinal materials,toxic reactions have often occurred.Toxicological studies have shown that XF poisoning can cause substantial damage to organs,such as the liver,heart and kidney,especially to liver.This paper reviews the pharmacological action,toxic substances and hepatotoxicity mechanism of XF by systematically reviewing and summarizing relevant literatures on XF both at home and abroad.It is concluded that XF has anti-hypertension,anti-allergic,anti-bacterial,anti-inflammatory,analgesic,anti-tumor and lipid-decreasing effects.The toxic components are mainly atractyloside,carboxy atractyloside and 4'-desulphate-atractyloside.The mechanism of hepatotoxicity induced by XF is closely related to lipid peroxidation,bile cholestasis and hepatocyte energy metabolism.Meanwhile,the discovery of novel biomarkers of hepatotoxicity,such as miRNA-122,also provides new ideals for medical research.Toxic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an important part of TCM.Compatibility or processing can reduce or eliminate toxicity and preserve or increase efficacy.At present,there are few reports on the principle of attenuating the production of XF.The author suggests further strengthening the study on the principle of attenuation of XF,giving full play to the unique curative effect of XF and developing its greater medicinal value.

In silico design of novel proton-pump inhibitors with reduced adverse effects / 医学前沿

The development of new proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) with less adverse effects by lowering the pKa values of nitrogen atoms in pyrimidine rings has been previously suggested by our group. In this work, we proposed that new PPIs should have the following features: (1) number of ring II = number of ring I + 1; (2) preferably five, six, or seven-membered heteroatomic ring for stability; and (3) 1 < pKa1 < 4. Six molecular scaffolds based on the aforementioned criteria were constructed, and R groups were extracted from compounds in extensive data sources. A virtual molecule dataset was established, and the pKa values of specific atoms on the molecules in the dataset were calculated to select the molecules with required pKa values. Drug-likeness screening was further conducted to obtain the candidates that significantly reduced the adverse effects of long-term PPI use. This study provided insights and tools for designing targeted molecules in silico that are suitable for practical applications.

The toxicity of aconitum alkaloids on cardiocytes and the progress of its research using the methods of molecular toxicology / 中国法医学杂志

Aconltium plants are a group of important poisonous plants in the Ranunculaeeae family of Angiosperm subphylum.and one of the earliest recorded poisonous plants in China as well.In their tubers(root)have hypertoxic Aconitium alkaloids,which belong to the group of diesterditerpene alkaloids.It is repeatedly reported in China that aconitine poisoning,and even death from aconitine poisoning,caused by the individual differences in pharmaceutical tolerance of aconitine,taking the wrong medicine or inadequate dosage,or put in the poison by homicide.At present,the research on aconitine is mainly limited to clinical treatment,but lack of research on toxicity mechanism of aeonitine.This paper reviews some progress relating to the toxicological mechanisms of this kind of alkaloid.