A Novel Strategy for Screening Active Components in Cistanche tubulosa Based on Spectrum-Effect Relationship Analysis and Network Pharmacology.

Cistanche tubulosa (Schenk) R. Wight is a valuable herbal medicine in China. The study aimed to explore the potential mechanisms of C. tubulosa on antioxidant activity using spectrum-effect relationship and network pharmacology and the possibilities of utilizing herbal dregs. In this work, different extracts of C. tubulosa, including herbal materials, water extracts, and herbal residues, were evaluated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technology. In addition, the antioxidant activities were estimated in vitro, including 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; superoxide anion; and hydroxyl radical scavenging assays. The spectrum-effect relationships between the HPLC fingerprints and the biological capabilities were analyzed via partial least squares regression, bivariate correlation analysis, and redundancy analysis. Furthermore, network pharmacology was used to predict potential mechanisms of C. tubulosa in the treatment of antioxidant-related diseases. According to the results, eleven common peaks were shared by different extracts. Geniposidic acid, echinacoside, verbascoside, tubuloside A, and isoacteoside were quantified and compared among different forms of C. tubulosa. The spectrum-effect relationship study indicated that peak A 6 might be the most decisive component among the three forms. Based on network pharmacology, there were 159 target genes shared by active components and antioxidant-related diseases. Targets related to antioxidant activity and relevant pathways were discussed. Our results provide a theoretical basis for recycling the herbal residues and the potential mechanisms of C. tubulosa in the treatment of antioxidant-related diseases.

[Research on quality difference of standard decoction of raw and fried Paeoniae Radix Alba based on fingerprint and multicomponent determination].

The extract rates, multicomponent content and fingerprint were determined in this study to investigate the quality diffe-rence between standard decoction of raw Paeoniae Radix Alba and fried Paeoniae Radix Alba. UPLC fingerprint was established for 17 batches of standard decoction of raw and fried Paeoniae Radix Alba, and the contents of gallic acid, catechin, albiflorin, paeoniflorin and benzoyl paeoniflorin were determined. The peak areas of standard decoction were analyzed by the independent t-test and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis. There was no significant difference in extract rates between the standard decoction of raw and fried Paeoniae Radix Alba. After fried processing, the content of albiflorin increased by 0.26%, while the contents of gallic acid, catechin, paeoniflorin and benzoyl paeoniflorin decreased by 13.04%, 27.97%, 10.30% and 18.79% respectively. There were 14 common peaks in the fingerprint of standard decoction of raw Paeoniae Radix Alba, and 16 common peaks in the fried Paeoniae Radix Alba. Peak 1 and peak 3 were new ones after processing, among which the peak 3 was 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. The results showed that peak 1, peak 3, peak 11 and peak 15 were the key compounds to distinguish standard decoction of raw and fried Paeoniae Radix Alba. In conclusion, this method is stable and can be used for the study of quantity transfer and quality control in the preparation process of standard decoction, granules and other dosage forms for raw and fried Paeoniae Radix Alba, providing reference for the identification of raw and fried Paeoniae Radix Alba and related preparations.

Graphene oxide/polydimethylsiloxane composite sponge for removing Pb(ii) from water.

An efficient adsorbent to remove Pb(ii) from water was prepared by treating polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sponge with polyvinyl alcohol and then coating the sponge with graphene oxide (GO). The GO-PDMS sponge was highly hydrophilic, easily handled during and after use, and easily recycled. The kinetics and isotherms of Pb(ii) sorption onto the GO-PDMS sponge were investigated by performing batch sorption tests. The kinetics of Pb(ii) sorption onto the GO-PDMS sponge indicated that sorption equilibrium occurred rapidly (within 60 min) and that the sorption data could be described using a pseudo-second-order model. Maximum Pb(ii) sorption onto the GO-PDMS sponge occurred at pH > 5. Increasing GO loading on the PDMS sponge increased the amount of Pb(ii) that could be sorbed. The isotherm for Pb(ii) sorption onto the GO-PDMS sponge was non-linear and was well described by the Langmuir isotherm model, indicating that Pb(ii) sorption onto the GO-PDMS sponge was homogeneous and occurred through sorption of a monolayer of Pb(ii). The GO-PDMS sponge, used as a filter, removed Pb(ii) efficiently from water. The Pb(ii) removal efficiencies were more than 50% and the maximum was 85%.

Analysis of the Formulation Regularity for Chinese Patent Medicines Containing Paeonia lactiflora Based on Data Mining / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE： To analyze the formulation regularity of Chinese patent medicines containing Paeonia lactiflora， and to provide evidence for modern clinical application and R&D of P. lactiflora. METHODS： The formulations of Chinese patent medicine containing P. lactiflora were collected from Chinese Materia Medica Preparation and 2015 edition of Chinese Pharmacopeia. Statistical analysis was performed on the frequency of medicinal material， channel tropism， distribution of attending syndromes and attending diseases， core medicine combination （support degrees were set as 10％， 20％， 30％ and confidence degree was 0.9） by using data mining methods such as descriptive statistics and association rule analysis in TCM Inheritance System V 2.5； the formulation regularity of common attending syndromes and attending diseases （support degrees were set as 20％， 30％， 40％ and confidence degree was 0.9） was analyzed. RESULTS： A total of 600 Chinese patent medicine formulations contained P. lactiflora， involving 673 ingredients. The main medicinal properties in Chinese patent medicines containing P. lactiflora were warm， followed by cold and neutral. The main medicinal flavor was sweet， followed by bitter and pungent. The main channel tropism was spleen， liver and heart channel. There were 165 kinds of main treatment diseases （menstrual disorder， dysmenorrhea， dizziness） and 159 main treatment syndromes （insufficiency of qi and blood， qi stagnation and blood stasis， liver and kidney deficiency）. Under the condition of 30％ support degree and 0.9 confidence degree， there were 20 core combination of Chinese patent medicine formulations containing P. lactiflora （Glycyrrhiza uralensis-P. lactiflora， Angelica sinensis-P. lactiflora， P. lactiflora-Poria cocos） and 19 association rules among drugs. Under the condition of 40％ support degree and 0.9 confidence degree， there were 8 core medicines in Chinese patent medicines containing P. lactiflora for menstrual disorders （such as P. lactiflora， Cyperus rotundus， A. sinensis）， 9 core medicines for dizziness （such as P. lactiflora， Rehmannia glutinosa， A. sinensis）， 9 core medicines for qi and blood deficiency （such as P. lactiflora， Atractylodes macrocephala， P. cocos）， and 10 core medicines for qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome （such as P. lactiflora， Aucklandia lappa， G. uralensis）. CONCLUSIONS： In this study， data mining was used to analysis the main symptoms， compatibility characteristics and formulation rules of Chinese patent medicines containing P. lactiflora， which can provide a basis for the modern clinical application and new drug development of P. lactiflora.

Effect of Scolopendra subspinipes extracts on STAT3 signaling pathway of human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells / 中草药

Objective: To observe the effect of Scolopendra subspinipes extracts (SSE) on signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway and phosphorylation of its protein expression as well as the regulation mechanisms of HepG2 cells proliferation, invasion, and metastasis after SSE exposure. Methods: HepG2 cells were processed with SSE of gradient concentration (300, 600, 1 200, and 2 400 μg/mL). The inhibitory effect of SSE on HepG2 cell proliferation was evaluated by CCK8 method. Subsequent experimental concentration was set from IC50 result of CCK8 methods. HepG2 cells were divided into control, SSE (250 and 500 μg/mL), and 5-FU groups. After HepG2 cells were treated with SSE for 48 h, Transwell Chambers detected the invasion of HepG2 cells and Western blotting demonstrated expression and activation of STAT3, p-STAT3 and VEGF, MMP-2 protein. Results: CCK8 method showed that SSE had obvious inhibition effect on human HepG2 cells proliferation with dose dependent effect (P < 0.05). The IC50 of SSE was 508.3 μg/mL at 48 h. Transwell result showed invasive ability of human HepG2 cells was significantly reduced compared with control group after SSE worked to cells for 48 h (P < 0.05). Compared with 250 μg/mL SSE group, the number of membrane cells in 500 μg/mL SSE and 5-FU groups were less (P < 0.05). Western blotting analysis showed that STAT3 signaling pathway was mainly down regulated by p-STAT3 expression after SSE worked to cells for 48 h. Compared with control group, the p-STAT3 expression of SSE was down-regulated (P < 0.05). The MMP-2 and VEGF protein expression of 500 μg/mL SSE decreased compared with control group (P < 0.05). The MMP-2 protein expression of 500 μg/mL SSE group had obvious difference compared with the 250 μg/mL SSE group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: SSE regulate the activation of human HepG2 cells STAT3 signaling pathway by STAT3 phosphorylation down-regulation and reduce the expression of MMP-2 and VEGF downstream target protein, thus inhibited HepG2 cells proliferation, invasion, and metastasis ability in vitro.

Kanglaite Injection Combined with Radiothreapy in the Treatment of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer:A System-aic Review / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To systematically review the efficacy and safety of Kanglaite injection combined with radiothreapy in the treatment of the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC),and provide evidence-based reference for clinical treatment. METH-ODS:Retrieved from PubMed,Cochrane Library,EMBase,VIP,CJFD,Wanfang database and CBM,randomized controlled tri-als(RCT)about the efficacy and safety of Kanglaite injection combined with radiothreapy in the treatment of NSCLC were collect-ed. Meta-analysis was performed by using Rev Man 5.3 software after data extraction and quality evaluation with modified Jadad scale. RESULTS:Totally 9 RCTs were included,involving 561 patients. Results of Meta-analysis showed,Kanglaite injection com-bined with radiothreapy can significantly improve the effective rate [OR=2.99,95%CI(2.07,4.31),P<0.001] and improvement rate of life quality [OR=3.74,95%CI(2.36,5.92),P<0.001],and reduce the incidence of radiation pneumonitis [OR=0.23,95%CI (0.12,0.47),P<0.001] and radiation esophagitis [OR=0.10,95%CI(0.05,0.21),P<0.001] of NSCLC patients,the differences were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS:Both the efficacy and safety of Kanglaite injection combined with radiothreapy in the treatment of NSCLC are superior to radiothreapy alone.

Effects of acitretin on proliferative inhibition and RANTES production of HaCaT cells.

Acitretin is one of the first line drugs to treat psoriasis, though the mechanisms are not fully clear. It has been reported that psoriatic keratinocytes secreted high level of RANTES, which can induce chemotaxis and activation of T cells, thus may play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. However, the effect of acitretin on RANTES production of human keratinocytes and its possible signaling are unclear. We observed a significant inhibition of acitretin on proliferation of human keratinocytes cell line (HaCaT cells) by MTT assay. The inhibition rate of HaCaT cells growth increased gradually from 13.70 to 67.73% with acitretin concentration rising from 0.01 to 50 micromol/L. In addition, RANTES expression detected in supernatant of HaCaT cells stimulated with TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma reduced 25, 18 and 12%, respectively, when cultured with 0.1, 1 and 5 micromol/L acitretin. Furthermore, 1 micromol/L acitretin significantly decreased RANTES mRNA level. Finally, acitretin decreased the expressions of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) and nuclear factor kappa B (NFkappaB) in nuclei of HaCaT cells stimulated with TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma, which were determined by immunocytochemistry and western blot. It suggests that acitretin can inhibit proliferation and RANTES production of human epidermal keratinocytes, and the latter may be related to the inhibition of nuclear translocations of STAT1 and NFkappaB.

Three ceramides from gorgonian Echinogorgia sp / 中草药

Objective To find new compound from gorgonian.Methods Three ceramides have been isolated from the South China Sea gorgonian Echinogorgia sp.by silica gel column chromatography.Results Their structures were established as(2S,3S,4R)-N-[2-(1,3,4-trihydroxyicosan-2-yl)]-hexadecanamide(1),(2S,3S,4R)-N-[2-(1,3,4-trihydroxyicosan-2-yl)]-heptadecanamide(2),and(2S,3S,4R)-N-[2-(1,3,4-trihydroxyicosan-2-yl]-octadecanamide(3) by spectroscopic methods and chemical conversion.Conclusion It is the first time to report the three chemical compounds from coral Echinogorgia sp.and compound 2 is a new compound.