Total Flavonoids of Chuju Decrease Oxidative Stress and Cell Apoptosis in Ischemic Stroke Rats: Network and Experimental Analyses.

Background: Pharmacological research results showed that total flavonoids of Chuju (TFCJ) could be used to treat acute myocardial ischemia and myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. In this study, we explored the protective effect of TFCJ on ischemic stroke (IS) in the IS rat model. We hypothesized that TFCJ might exert its neuroprotective effects by suppressing apoptosis and oxidative stress that are closely related to PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Method: TFCJ (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg) was administered for 7 days. Rats (260 ± 20 g) were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 2 h and reperfusion for 24 h. The neuroprotective effect of TFCJ was substantiated in terms of neurological deficits, oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and malondialdehyde), pathomorphological changes (HE staining and TUNEL staining), and neurobehavioral functions in the rats. Then, we employed network pharmacology to reveal the potential mechanism of TFCJ against IS. Western blot was used to determine the levels of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway proteins. The expression of BCL-2, BAX, and cleaved-Caspase-3 was also measured by Western blots and RT-PCR. Results: The histopathological assessment showed that TFCJ reduced MCAO-induced brain damage. Besides, TFCJ exerted a protective role in MCAO rats by alleviating cell apoptosis and oxidative stress. Network pharmacology showed that TFCJ might be used against IS through the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. TFCJ reduced cell apoptosis and oxidative stress by increasing the level of p-AKT and p-mTOR in MCAO rats, while the effect of TFCJ was significantly reversed when applying LY294002 (PI3k inhibitor). Conclusion: These results indicated that TFCJ might decrease oxidative stress and apoptosis that are closely related to PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in IS. TFCJ is a promising authentic traditional Chinese medicine for the management of IS.

A Network Pharmacology Approach for Exploring the Mechanisms of Panax notoginseng Saponins in Ischaemic Stroke.

BACKGROUND: Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) have been deemed effective herb compounds for treating ischaemic stroke (IS) and improving the quality of life of IS patients. This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of PNS in the treatment of IS based on network pharmacology. METHODS: PNS were identified from the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology (TCMSP) database, and their possible targets were predicted using the PharmMapper database. IS-related targets were identified from the GeneCards database, OMIM database, and DisGeNET database. A herb-compound-target-disease network was constructed using Cytoscape, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were established with STRING. GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis were performed using DAVID. The binding of the compounds and key targets was validated by molecular docking studies using AutoDock Vina. The neuroprotective effect of TFCJ was substantiated in terms of oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and malondialdehyde) and the levels of IGF1/PI3K/Akt pathway proteins. RESULTS: A total of 375 PNS targets and 5111 IS-related targets were identified. Among these targets, 241 were common to PNS, and IS network analysis showed that MAPK1, AKT1, PIK3R1, SRC, MAPK8, EGFR, IGF1, HRAS, RHOA, and HSP90AA1 are key targets of PNS against IS. Furthermore, GO and KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that PNS probably exert therapeutic effects against IS by regulating many pathways, such as the Ras, oestrogen, FoxO, prolactin, Rap1, PI3K-Akt, insulin, PPAR, and thyroid hormone signalling pathways. Molecular docking studies further corroborated the experimental results.The network pharmacology results were further verified by molecular docking and in vivo experiments. CONCLUSIONS: The ameliorative effects of PNS against IS were predicted to be associated with the regulation of the IGF1-PI3K-Akt signalling pathway. Ginsenoside Re and ginsenoside Rb1 may play an important role in the treatment of IS.

Magnetization jump in one dimensional J - Q 2 model with anisotropic exchange.

We investigate the adiabatic magnetization process of the one-dimensional J - Q 2 model with XXZ anisotropy g in an external magnetic field h by using density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method. According to the characteristic of the magnetization curves, we draw a magnetization phase diagram consisting of four phases. For a fixed nonzero pair coupling Q, (i) when g < -1, the ground state is always ferromagnetic in spite of h; (ii) when g > -1 but still small, the whole magnetization curve is continuous and smooth; (iii) if further increasing g, there is a macroscopic magnetization jump from partially- to fully-polarized state; (iv) for a sufficiently large g, the magnetization jump is from non- to fully-polarized state. By examining the energy per magnon and the correlation function, we find that the origin of the magnetization jump is the condensation of magnons and the formation of magnetic domains. We also demonstrate that while the experienced states are Heisenberg-like without long-range order, all the jumped-over states have antiferromagnetic or Néel long-range orders, or their mixing.

[Comparative Study on the Four Kinds of Flavonoids from Four Different Varieties of Dendranthema morifolium].

Objective: To establish a high phase liquid chromatography method of the content in quercetin,luteolin,apigenin,acacetin,and to compare the difference of content from four different varieties of Dendranthema morifolium in simultaneously. Methods: The UPLC methods were adopted,and the chromatographic column was Waters ACQUITYUPLC; the column was BEH C18（ 50 mm ×2. 1 mm,1. 7 µm）,the mobile phase was 0. 1% phosphoric acid solution-methanol in gradient elution,the flow rate was 0. 2 m L/min;and the detection wavelength was set at 320 nm; the column temperature 25 ℃; and the sample quantity was 1 µL. Results: In the range of 0. 0027 0. 0135 mg/m L（ r1= 0. 9962） concentration within quercetin in a good linear relationship between peak area. In the range of0. 0032 0. 0160 mg/m L（ r2= 0. 9963） concentration within luteolin in a good linear relationship between peak area. In the range of0. 0029 0. 0145 mg/m L（ r3= 0. 9964） of apigenin in the mass concentration and the peak area. In the range of 0. 0029 0. 0145 mg/m L（ r4= 0. 9963） concentration within acacetin in a good linear relationship between peak area. Conclusion: This method can be determined daisy quercetin,luteolin,apigenin,acacetin content in Dendranthema morifolium.

[Research on the changes of name of Wuzhuyu (Medicinal Evodia Fruit)].

The name of Wuzhuyu (Medicinal Evodia Fruit) comes from the place of "Wu", and the shape of its fruit, which is like a 'Zhuyu'. In addition, it is also called "Yi, Sha, Jiao, Dang, Yuejiao and Qiu" for different reasons; for example, "Yi" because of its processing and sacrificial function; and "Sha" because of the bug-killing function of its root and cortex. In Xin Xiu Ben Cao (Newly Revised Materia Medica) of the Tang Dynasty, its names were unified as Wuzhuyu. Because it can be eaten, it was also called "Shizhuyu". In the Song Dynasty, with the discontinued vogue of eating Zhuyu, people had difference attitudes to the "Wuzhuyu" and "Shizhuyu". Nowadays, "Wuzhuyu" is the established name of these kinds of materia medica.