Reactive postural adjustment in response to predictable and unpredictable perturbations in healthy adults: A comparison between swayback, hyperlordotic and erect postures.

BACKGROUND: Promoting an erect posture in standing has been advocated to offer superior protection to the spine when compared to hyperlordotic and swayback postures. RESEARCH QUESTION: Do postural adjustments towards external perturbation differ between erect, hyperlordotic and swayback postures? If so, which posture offers better protection to lumbar spine? METHODS: Forty-four healthy adults received top-down perturbations under unpredictable (without visual-and-auditory input) and predictable (with visual-and-auditory input) conditions in three simulated postures: erect, hyperlordotic, and swayback. Postural adjustments namely the centre of pressure parameters, joint angle onsets, and neuromuscular responses measured by muscle onsets and co-contraction between muscle pairs upon the perturbation were compared using the two-way repeated measures ANOVA. Post-hoc analysis with Bonferroni correction was conducted to identify the between-posture differences for the respective postural adjustment parameters. RESULTS: Path length, ellipse area and average velocity of centre of pressure were significantly greater under unpredictable condition as compared to predictable condition (p < 0.001). Significant between-posture difference was detected in centre of pressure path length (p < 0.035), pelvic tilt onset (p < 0.038) and all muscle co-contraction indexes (p < 0.001). Post-hoc analysis revealed significantly smaller centre of pressure path length in erect posture as compared to hyperlordotic and swayback postures (p < 0.01) under unpredictable conditions. Significantly greater co-contraction indexes of lumbar multifidus and erector spinae, and internal oblique and lumbar multifidus were found in hyperlordotic as compared to erect and swayback postures (p < 0.05). SIGNIFICANCE: Compared to erect posture, adoption of hyperlordotic and swayback postures altered the contributions of the active and passive subsystems of the spine that regulates postural control upon external perturbations. Such differences in neuromuscular control may lessen the capacity of the human spine to withstand loading and shear forces. Prospective studies are required to validate if habitually adopted hyperlordotic and swayback postures contribute to an earlier/ higher prevalence of spinal dysfunctions.

Dance in Zoom: Using video conferencing tools to develop students' 4C skills and self-efficacy during COVID-19.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the education community has actively sought strategies to allow it to maintain operations; one such strategy is to switch from face-to-face to online teaching. Compared with other art disciplines, the use of technology in dance education has been seriously understudied. This study collected multiple forms of data, tapping into students' and instructors' viewpoints, to examine the use of Zoom to develop students' 4C skills (i.e., creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking) and self-efficacy in dance education. A mixed-methods research design was adopted. Teacher observations and student surveys were conducted in a public university in Macau. The results showed significant increases in collaboration and creativity in the activities and assignments on Zoom. Critical thinking and communication skills did not change significantly in the Zoom-based dance class. Students were generally satisfied with the use of Zoom in dance class, but their self-reported self-efficacy significantly decreased after Zoom was introduced. The findings are discussed from both the students' and the instructor's perspectives.

Correlation between quality and geographical origins of Leonuri Herba revealed by the qualitative fingerprint profiling and quantitative determination of chemical components.

BACKGROUND: Leonuri Herba (Yimucao) is a very common Chinese herbs for treating menstrual and maternal diseases for thousands of years in China. However, the herb collected in different origins was easily found in the markets which induce the unstable quality for clinic use. In this study, a comprehensive strategy of using multiple chromatographic analysis and chemometric analysis was firstly investigated for chemical discrimination of Leonuri Herba from different geographical origins. METHODS: UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS was applied to identify the peaks of Leonuri Herba and chemical fingerprints were established in 30 batches from different geographical origins. Meanwhile, dissimilarities of chemical compositions among different origins were further investigated by principal component analysis and cluster analysis. And a quantitative UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS approach were established to investigate the potential marker for quality control of Leonuri Herba. RESULTS: A total of 49 chromatographic peaks of Leonuri Herba were identified by UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. Leonuri Herba were classified into four categories, and eight major compounds detected could be used as chemical markers for discrimination. Also, the eight components, including leonurine, 4',5-dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavone, rutin, hyperoside, apigenin, quercetin, kaempferol and salicylic acid, were simultaneously quantified using the extracting ion mode of UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. CONCLUSION: The current strategy not only clearly expounded the correlation between quality and geographical origins of Leonuri Herba, but also provided a fast, accurate and comprehensive qualitative and quantitative method for assessing the quality of Leonuri Herba.

Family Interaction and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Emerging Adults: A Mediation Model of Gratitude.

In this study, we investigated the relations between family interaction, gratitude, and depressive symptoms among Chinese emerging adults. It also investigated gratitude as a mediator in the relation between family interaction and depression. Data were obtained from 321 college students who completed the online questionnaire about the Family Assessment Instrument, Gratitude Questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire, and demographic information. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test hypotheses and bootstrapping with 5,000 resamplings (95% confidence interval) was used to confirm the mediation model. Results showed that gratitude partially mediated the relation between family interaction and depression. In other words, students with healthy family interaction, as indicated by perceived better family communication, mutuality, and harmony with family members, tended to report higher general gratitude, and subsequently diminished depressive symptoms. The practical implications were discussed.

An Examination of the Conceptual Structure of Long-Term Goal Striving.

Long-term goal striving has been recognized as an important stage in goal achievement. Compared with the development of measurements of goal setting, researchers tended to measure goal striving in different manners. This study examined the conceptual structure of goal striving and validated a new scale to operationalize the construct within academic learning contexts. A 25-item scale was validated with 522 Chinese university students to assess its factor structure, reliability, gender invariance, criterion-related validity, and incremental validity. Confirmatory factor analysis results supported both the first-order and second-order model. Overall, the scale showed good reliability, validity, and invariance across gender. We suggested that this new scale could be used as an effective measure to assess the level of goal striving among university students in a Chinese context.

Implementation and Evaluation of a 10-Week Health Equity Curriculum for Pharmacy Students.

Objective To describe a health equity curriculum created for pharmacy students and evaluate students' perceptions and structural competency after completion of the curriculum.Methods A health equity curriculum based on transformative learning and structural competency frameworks was implemented as a 10-week mandatory component of the pass-no pass neuropsychiatric theme for second year pharmacy students. Each week, students reviewed materials around a neuropsychiatric-related health equity topic and responded to discussion prompts through asynchronous forums or synchronous online video discussions. The effectiveness of the health equity curriculum was evaluated through assessment of structural competency through a validated instrument, an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), and a questionnaire.Results All enrolled second year pharmacy students (n=124) participated in the health equity curriculum. Of the 75 students who completed the structural competency instrument, 46 (61%) were able to identify structural determinants of health, explain how structures contribute to health disparities, or design structural interventions. Ninety-six of the 124 students (77%) were able to address their OSCE standardized patient's mistrust in the health care system. Thematic analysis of student comments elucidated three themes: allyship, peer connection, and self-awareness. Students rated asynchronous discussion forums as significantly less effective than online video discussions and patient cases for achieving curricular objectives.Conclusion A mandatory curriculum delivered remotely throughout the didactic pharmacy curriculum using a blended learning approach was an effective way to incorporate health equity content and conversations into existing courses. Implementation of this or similar curriculums could be an important step in training pharmacy students to be advocates for social justice.

Saliva viral load better correlates with clinical and immunological profiles in children with coronavirus disease 2019.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric COVID-19 studies exploring the relationships between NPS and saliva viral loads, clinical and immunological profiles are lacking. METHODS: Demographics, immunological profiles, nasopharyngeal swab (NPS), and saliva samples collected on admission, and hospital length of stay (LOS) were assessed in children below 18 years with COVID-19. FINDINGS: 91 patients were included between March and August 20 20. NPS and saliva viral loads were correlated (r = 0.315, p = 0.01). Symptomatic patients had significantly higher NPS and saliva viral loads than asymptomatic patients. Serial NPS and saliva viral load measurements showed that the log10 NPS (r = -0.532, p < 0.001) and saliva (r = -0.417, p < 0.001) viral loads for all patients were inversely correlated with the days from symptom onset with statistical significance. Patients with cough, sputum, and headache had significantly higher saliva, but not NPS, viral loads. Higher saliva, but not NPS, viral loads were associated with total lymphopenia, CD3 and CD4 lymphopenia (all p < 0.05), and were inversely correlated with total lymphocyte (r = -0.43), CD3 (r = -0.55), CD4 (r = -0.60), CD8 (r = -0.41), B (r = -0.482), and NK (r = -0.416) lymphocyte counts (all p < 0.05). INTERPRETATION: Saliva viral loads on admission in children correlated better with clinical and immunological profiles than NPS.

Qualitative and quantitative characterization of carbohydrate profiles in three different parts of Poria cocos.

Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for centuries. Its three medicinal parts are Poria Cutis, the epidermis or fulingpi in Chinese; White Poria, the middle part or baifuling; and Poria cum Radix Pini, the sclerotium with some part of host pine root or fushen. The hostwood in fushen is the inner part, known as fushenmu. The epidermis, middle part and middle-plus-inner part have different clinical applications, but the differences in their chemistry have not been well determined. Previous studies only concentrated on the differences in secondary metabolites in different parts of P. cocos; however, in this study, we focused on the carbohydrates, another major type of bioactive chemicals in P. cocos, which is also different from most of the other TCM researches. The carbohydrates (polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and monosaccharides) in three parts (epidermis, middle and inner part) of P. cocos were qualitatively and quantitatively characterized by high performance gel permeation chromatography coupled with charged aerosol detector (HPGPC-CAD) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS). The obtained data were further processed by principal component analysis (PCA) and supervised orthogonal partial least squared discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The results showed that the epidermis contained more polysaccharides with larger molecular weight and higher amount of glucose residue than that of the middle and inner parts, indicating the epidermis as the key site of accumulation of P. cocos polysaccharides. When compared with the epidermis and inner part, the middle part contained the highest glucose molar ratio greater than 92 % in the three types of carbohydrates, whereas the inner part possessed the greatest molar ratio of mannose, xylose, arabinose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, and galacturonic acid in all kinds of carbohydrates. Furthermore, PCA and OPLS-DA clearly demonstrated that arabinose, glucose, galacturonic acid, and ribose played key roles in the clusters between the epidermis, middle and inner parts. The observed differences in the chemical components in the three parts could provide some explanation for the discriminative clinical applications of Poria Cutis, White Poria, and Poria cum Radix Pini. These findings also provided a chemical basis for quality assessment of P. cocos.

Comparative quality of the forms of decoction pieces evaluated by multidimensional chemical analysis and chemometrics: Poria cocos, a pilot study.

Many Chinese medicinal materials (CMMs) are parts of plants or fungi that have been processed into different physical forms, termed decoction pieces, that are typically boiled in water for consumption. One CMM may have several decoction pieces forms, e.g., slices, small cubes (dice), or grains. The specifications that have different morphological parameters (shape, size and thickness) for these various decoction pieces have been developed over, in some cases, centuries of practice. Nevertheless, whether and how the form of decoction pieces affects the extraction (decoction) dynamics, and quality stability during storage has not been studied. Here, we investigated Poria cocos (PC) as a pilot study; we explore how the form of PC decoction pieces affects its chemistry using multidimensional chemical evaluation such as ultra-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-PDA-QTOF-MS/MS), ultra-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) and high performance gel permeation chromatography coupled with charged aerosol detector (HPGPC-CAD), combined with analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis (PCA), factor analysis (FA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). The results indicated that different specifications had significant differences, and these specifications could be divided into four groups. The comprehensive results of the chemical analyses undertaken here indicate that the highest potentially available quality of PC decoction pieces was in the forms of curl, ultra-small grains and small grains, followed by thin slices. This information not only is conducive to promoting the standardization of the specification/form of PC decoction pieces and maximizing the benefits from its utilization, but also provide a promising strategy for assessing other CMM decoction pieces in different forms.

Asarones from Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma stimulate expression and secretion of neurotrophic factors in cultured astrocytes.

Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma (ATR, the dried rhizome of Acorus tatarinowii Schott.) is a traditional Chinese medicine widely used to treat brain diseases, e.g. depression, forgetfulness, anxiety and epilepsy. Several lines of evidence support that ATR has neuronal beneficial functions in animal models, but its action mechanism in cellular level is unknown. Here, we identified α-asarone and ß-asarone could be the major active ingredients of ATR, which, when applied onto cultured rat astrocytes, significantly stimulated the expression and secretion of neurotrophic factors, i.e. nerve growth factor (NGF), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), in dose-dependent manners. These results suggested that the neuronal action of ATR, triggered by asarone, might be mediated by an increase of expression of neurotrophic factors in astrocytes, which therefore could support the clinical usage of ATR. In addition, application of PKA inhibitor, H89, in cultured astrocytes partially blocked the asarone-induced neurotrophic factor expression, suggesting the involvement of PKA signaling. The results proposed that α-asarone and ß-asarone from ATR could serve as potential candidates for drug development in neurodegenerative diseases.

A Chinese Herbal Preparation, Xiao-Er-An-Shen Decoction, Exerts Neuron Protection by Modulation of Differentiation and Antioxidant Activity in Cultured PC12 Cells.

Xiao-Er-An-Shen Decoction (XEASD), a Chinese herbal formula, has been used in clinic for treating insomnia and mental excitement in children and adolescents. However, less of scientific data supports its effectiveness in clinic. Here, we aim to study the role of XEASD in regulating neuron differentiation and antioxidant activity. An HPLC-MS was used to chemically standardize herbal extract of XEASD. The standardized herbal extracts of XEASD (0.3-3.0 mg/mL) were applied onto cultured PC12 cells for 48 hours. The treatment with XEASD extract induced neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells in a dose-dependent manner, having the highest response by ~50% of differentiated cells. Application of XEASD extract dose dependently stimulated expressions of NF68, NF160, and NF200 in cultured PC12 cells. Furthermore, XEASD activated the phosphorylation of cAMP responsive element binding protein on PC12 cells, the effect of which was blocked by H89, a protein kinase A inhibitor. Moreover, XEASD showed free radical scavenging activity and stimulated the transcriptional activity of ARE. These results supported the neurobeneficial effects of XEASD in the induction of neurite outgrowth and protection against oxidative stress and could be useful for neurological diseases, in which neurotrophin deficiency and oxidation insult are involved.

Comparative Study of Different Acorus Species in Potentiating Neuronal Differentiation in Cultured PC12 Cells.

Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma (ATR), the rhizome of Acorus tatarinowii Schott, is a common traditional Chinese medicine being used clinically for mental disorder. However, other Acorus species herbs are all having the same Chinese name 'Chang Pu', making the confusion in herbal market. Acori Graminei Rhizoma (AGR) and Acori Calami Rhizoma (ACR) are common adulterants of ATR. Here, we aim to provide a comparative analysis between ATR, AGR, and ACR in potentiating neuronal differentiation. Volatile oil, derived from Acorus species, was applied onto cultured PC12 cells, and various parameters were determined: (i) transcriptional activation of neurofilament promoters was determined by the promoter-driven luciferase activity assay; (ii) the neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells was captured and measured; and (iii) the neurofilament expression and its underlying mechanism were analyzed by western blotting. The co-treatment of ATR, AGR, or ACR volatile oil with low concentration of nerve growth factor (NGF) could potentiate the NGF-induced neuronal differentiation in cultured PC12 cells. In addition, application of protein kinase A inhibitor H89 in cultures blocked the induction of neurofilament. Among these three Acorus species, ATR volatile oil showed the highest NGF-induced induction in neurite outgrowth and neurofilament expression, as compared with that of AGR and ACR. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Asarone from Acori Tatarinowii Rhizome prevents oxidative stress-induced cell injury in cultured astrocytes: A signaling triggered by Akt activation.

Acori Tatarinowii Rhizome (ATR; the dried rhizome of Acori tatarinowii Schott) is a well-known herb being used for mental disorder in China and Asia. Volatile oil is considered as the active ingredient of ATR, and asarones account for more than 90% of total volatile oil. Here, the protective effects of ATR oil and asarones, both α-asarone and ß-asarone, were probed in cultured rat astrocytes. The cyto-protective effect of ATR oil and asarones against tBHP-induced astrocyte injury was revealed, and additionally ATR oil and asarones reduced the tBHP-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. In parallel, the activity of anti-oxidant response element (ARE) promoter construct (pARE-Luc), being transfected in cultured astrocytes, was markedly induced by application of ATR oil and asarones. The mRNAs encoding anti-oxidant enzymes, e.g. glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutamate-cysteine ligase modulatory subunit (GCLM), glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC) and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) were induced by ATR oil and asarones in a dose-dependent manner. The ATR oil/asarone-induced gene expression could be mediated by Akt phosphorylation; because the applied LY294002, a phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor, fully abolished the induction. These results demonstrated that α-asarone and ß-asarone could account, at least partly, the function of ATR being a Chinese medicinal herb.

Authentication of Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma (Shi Chang Pu) and its adulterants by morphological distinction, chemical composition and ITS sequencing.

BACKGROUND: Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma (ATR; rhizome of Acorus tatarinowii Schott) (Shi Chang Pu) is widely used in Chinese medicine (CM) to resuscitate, calm the mind, resolve shi (dampness) and harmonize the wei (stomach). Seven different species have been identified as belonging to the genus Acorus, all of which can be found in China. However, it can be difficult to distinguish the different species of Acorus because of their morphological similarities. The aim of this study was to authenticate Acorus species using macroscopic and microscopic techniques, chemical analysis and DNA authentication and to compare the resolution power and reliability of these different methods. METHODS: Four batches of ATR, Acori Graminei Rhizoma (AGR), Acori Calami Rhizoma (ACR) and Anemones Altaicae Rhizoma (AAR) (totaling 16 samples) were collected from Hong Kong and mainland China. The major characteristic features of these Acorus species were identified by macroscopic and microscopic examination. The identified samples were also analyzed by UHPLC analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchal clustering analysis (HCA) on UHPLC results were used to differentiate between the samples. An internal transcribed spacer (ITS) was selected as a molecular probe and a modified DNA extraction method was developed to obtain trace amounts of DNA from the different Acorus species. All extracted DNA sequences were edited by Bioedit and aligned with the ClustalW. And the sequence distances were calculated using the Maximum Parsimony method. RESULTS: Macroscopic and microscopic analyses allowed for AAR to be readily distinguished from ATR, AGR and ACR. However, it was difficult to distinguish between ATR, AGR and ACR because of their similar morphological features. Chemical profiling revealed that α- and ß-asarone were only found in the ATR, AGR and ACR samples, but not in the AAR samples. Furthermore, PCA and HCA allowed for the differentiation of these three species based on their asarone contents. Morphological authentication and chemical profiling allowed for the partial differentiation of ATR, AGR ACR and AAR. DNA analysis was the only method capable of accurately differentiating between all four species. CONCLUSION: DNA authentication exhibited higher resolution power and reliability than conventional morphological identification and UHPLC in differentiating between different Acorus species.

Asarone from Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma Potentiates the Nerve Growth Factor-Induced Neuronal Differentiation in Cultured PC12 Cells: A Signaling Mediated by Protein Kinase A.

Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma (ATR), the rhizome of Acorus tatarinowii Schott, is being used clinically to treat neurological disorders. The volatile oil of ATR is being considered as an active ingredient. Here, α-asarone and ß-asarone, accounting about 95% of ATR oil, were evaluated for its function in stimulating neurogenesis. In cultured PC12 cells, application of ATR volatile oil, α-asarone or ß-asarone, stimulated the expression of neurofilaments, a bio-marker for neurite outgrowth, in a concentration-dependent manner. The co-treatment of ATR volatile oil, α-asarone or ß-asarone, with low concentration of nerve growth factor (NGF) potentiated the NGF-induced neuronal differentiation in cultured PC12 cells. In addition, application of protein kinase A inhibitors, H89 and KT5720, in cultures blocked the ATR-induced neurofilament expression, as well as the phosphorylation of cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB). In the potentiation of NGF-induced signaling in cultured PC12 cells, α-asarone and ß-asarone showed synergistic effects. These results proposed the neurite-promoting asarone, or ATR volatile oil, could be useful in finding potential drugs for treating various neurodegenerative diseases, in which neurotrophin deficiency is normally involved.

Indication of nerve growth factor binding components from herbal extracts by HerboChip: a platform for drug screening on a chip.

BACKGROUND: HerboChip is an array of different fractions deriving from herbal extracts. This study aimed to identify effective components from Chinese medicine (CM) that interact with nerve growth factor (NGF) as a target using HerboChip. METHODS: Fifty types of CM that are traditionally used as remedies for emotion imbalance were selected and extracted with 50 % ethanol. Biotinylated-NGF was hybridized with over 300 chips coated with different HPLC-separated fractions from CM extracts and straptavidin-Cy5 was used to identify the NGF-bound fractions. RESULTS: Over 300 chips were screened within a week, and 17 positive hits were identified. The interaction of the identified herbal extracts with NGF was confirmed in cultured PC12 cells. Co-application of NGF and herbal extract interfered with NGF-induced expression of neurofilaments, including NF68 and NF200 in cell cultures. Western blot analysis comparing the intensity of phosphorylated cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) over total CREB showed NGF-induced CREB phosphorylation was modulated by the identified herbal extracts. Five CM herbs showed activating activities on the NGF response and nine CM herbs showed inhibiting activities. CONCLUSION: The current result supported the applicability of HerboChip for screening NGF binding components from herbal extracts.

Clivorine, an otonecine pyrrolizidine alkaloid from Ligularia species, impairs neuronal differentiation via NGF-induced signaling pathway in cultured PC12 cells.

BACKGROUND: Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are commonly found in many plants including those used in medical therapeutics. The hepatotoxicities of PAs have been demonstrated both in vivo and in vitro; however, the neurotoxicities of PAs are rarely mentioned. PURPOSE: In this study, we aimed to investigate in vitro neurotoxicities of clivorine, one of the PAs found in various Ligularia species, in cultured PC12 cells. STUDY DESIGN: PC12 cell line was employed to first elucidate the neurotoxicity and the underlying mechanism of clivorine, including cell viability and morphology change, neuronal differentiation marker and signaling pathway. METHODS: PC12 cells were challenged with series concentrations of clivorine and/or nerve growth factor (NGF). The cell lysates were collected for MTT assay, trypan blue staining, immunocytofluorescent staining, qRT-PCR and western blotting. RESULTS: Clivorine inhibited cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation evidenced by MTT assay and dose-dependently reducing neurite outgrowth, respectively. In addition, clivorine decreased the level of mRNAs encoding for neuronal differentiation markers, e.g. neurofilaments and TrkA (NGF receptor). Furthermore, clivorine reduced the NGF-induced the phosphorylations of TrkA, protein kinase B and cAMP response element-binding protein in cultured PC12 cells. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our results suggest that clivorine might possess neurotoxicities in PC12 cells via down-regulating the NGF/TrkA/Akt signaling pathway. PAs not only damage the liver, but also possess neurotoxicities, which could possibly result in brain disorders, such as depression.

Jujube-containing herbal decoctions induce neuronal differentiation and the expression of anti-oxidant enzymes in cultured PC12 cells.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The fruit of Ziziphus jujuba (Mill.), known as Jujuba Fructus (JF) or jujube, is a well-known Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for blood nourishment and sedation effect. Apart from prescribing as single herb alone, JF is very often being included in multi-herbal decoctions to prolong, enhance and harmonize pharmaceutical effects of decoctions while at the same time reducing toxicity. Here, we aimed to compare the protective and differentiating activities of three chemically standardized jujube-containing decoctions, including Guizhi Tang (GZT), Neibu Dangguijianzhong Tang (NDT) and ZaoTang (ZOT) in cultured PC12 cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The protein expressions of neurofilaments, including NF68, NF160 and NF200, under the herbal treatment were revealed by western blot. The determination of neurite outgrowth in cultured PC12 cells upon the treatment of herbal extracts was performed by light microscope equipped with a phase-contrast condenser and SPOT imaging software. The protective effect against tBHP-induced cytotoxicity under the herbal treatment was measured by MTT assay. A luciferase reporter construct carrying four repeats of anti-oxidant response element (ARE) and a downstream luciferase reporter gene luc2P was transfected into PC12 cells to study the transcriptional activation of ARE. The mRNA expression of antioxidant enzymes under the herbal treatment was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS: These jujube-containing decoctions processed similar neuro-protective and brain beneficial properties. The herbal treatment induced the protein expression of neurofilaments. Neurite outgrowth was observed under the herbal treatment. In parallel, the pre-treatment of herbal extracts protected PC 12 cells against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the herbal treatments triggered the mRNA expressions of relevant anti-oxidation genes, i.e. glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), glutamate-cysteine ligase modulatory subunit (GCLM), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) via the activation of anti-oxidant response element (ARE). CONCLUSION: The results therefore demonstrated neuro-protective and differentiating properties of the three closely related decoctions, and which subsequently illustrated the enhancement function of jujube within a multi-herbal decoction.

Chemical and biological assessment of Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba)-containing herbal decoctions: Induction of erythropoietin expression in cultures.

Jujubae Fructus, known as jujube or Chinese date, is the fruit of Ziziphus jujuba (Mill.), which not only serves as daily food, but acts as tonic medicine and health supplement for blood nourishment and sedation. According to Chinese medicine, jujube is commonly included in herbal mixtures, as to prolong, enhance and harmonize the efficiency of herbal decoction, as well as to minimize the toxicity. Here, we aim to compare the chemical and pharmacological properties of three commonly used jujube-containing decoctions, including Guizhi Tang (GZT), Neibu Dangguijianzhong Tang (NDT) and Zao Tang (ZOT). These decoctions share common herbs, i.e. Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata cum Melle, Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens and Jujube, and they have the same proposed hematopoietic functions. The amount of twelve marker biomolecules deriving from different herbs in the decoctions were determined by LC-MS, and which served as parameters for chemical standardization. In general, three decoctions showed common chemical profiles but with variations in solubilities of known active ingredients. The chemical standardized decoctions were tested in cultured Hep3B cells. The herbal treatment stimulated the amount of mRNA and protein expressions of erythropoietin (EPO) via the activation of hypoxia response elements: the three herbal decoctions showed different activation. The results therefore demonstrated the hematopoietic function of decoctions and explained the enhancement of jujube function within a herbal mixture.

Authentication of Cordyceps sinensis by DNA Analyses: Comparison of ITS Sequence Analysis and RAPD-Derived Molecular Markers.

Cordyceps sinensis is an endoparasitic fungus widely used as a tonic and medicinal food in the practice of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In historical usage, Cordyceps specifically is referring to the species of C. sinensis. However, a number of closely related species are named themselves as Cordyceps, and they are sold commonly as C. sinensis. The substitutes and adulterants of C. sinensis are often introduced either intentionally or accidentally in the herbal market, which seriously affects the therapeutic effects or even leads to life-threatening poisoning. Here, we aim to identify Cordyceps by DNA sequencing technology. Two different DNA-based approaches were compared. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences and the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) were developed here to authenticate different species of Cordyceps. Both approaches generally enabled discrimination of C. sinensis from others. The application of the two methods, supporting each other, increases the security of identification. For better reproducibility and faster analysis, the SCAR markers derived from the RAPD results provide a new method for quick authentication of Cordyceps.