[Status of content analysis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food and herbs].

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids(PAs) are a group of naturally occurring alkaloids with a pyrrolizidine skeleton which can be found in about 3% of the world's flowering plants. It is notorious that PAs are cause the hepatoxic and genotoxic-carcinogenic effects by taking PA-containing herbs, food and dietary supplements. In order to control the poisoning caused by PAs, European Medicines Agency has set a limit of intake of PAs from herbal medicinal products at 0.007 µg of 1,2-unsaturated PAs/kg body weight. Nonetheless, a systematic overview of the amount of PAs in the herb has not been provided. Therefore, this paper is to systematically review the current status of PAs content analysis of herbal medicines and foods reported in the literature, and to provide theoretical and experimental support for the safety risk assessment and control of PAs in Chinese herbal medicines.

[Study on protective mechanism of Tibetan medicine Ershiwuwei Songshi Pills on cholestatic liver injury in rats based on FXR signaling pathway].

This paper aimed to investigate the protective effect and mechanism of the Tibetan medicine Ershiwuwei Songshi Pills on α-naphthalene isothiocyanate(ANIT)-induced cholestatic liver injury in rats based on the farnesol X receptor(FXR) signaling pathway. SD rats were randomly divided into blank group, model group, ursodeoxycholic acid(UDCA) group, Tibetan medicine Ershiwuwei Songshi Pills low, medium and high dose groups(0.09, 0.18, 0.36 g·kg~(-1)). A prophylactic dosing regimen was used in the experiment. From the 1 st to 4 th days, the UDCA group and the Tibetan medicine Ershiwuwei Songshi Pills suspension groups received prophylactic gavage administration; on the 5 th day, the blank control group was given an equal volume of olive oil blank reagent, and the remaining groups were given ANIT modeling reagent. Administration was continued on day 5 to 6 in each administration group. Forty-eight hours after modeling on the 7 th day, blood was collected from the femoral artery of rats. Serum alkaline phosphatase(ALP), alanine aminotransferase(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase(AST), direct bilirubin(DBIL), total bilirubin(TBIL), and total bile acid(TBA) levels were detected, and liver histopathological changes were observed. The relative expression changes of FXR, SHP, CYP7 A1, MRP2, MRP3, NTCP, BSEP mRNA in liver tissues were detected by Real-time fluorescence quantitative method, and the expression changes of FXR, SHP, UGT2 B4 protein in liver tissues were detected by Western blot. The results showed that the Tibetan medicine Ershiwuwei Songshi Pills significantly reduced the levels of ALT, ALP, DBIL, TBIL and TBA in the serum of the ANIT mo-del rats(P<0.01, P<0.05), significantly up-regulated the mRNA expressions of SHP and NTCP(P<0.01, P<0.05), significantly down-regulated the mRNA expression of CYP7 A1 and MRP3(P<0.01, P<0.05); and significantly up-regulated the protein expressions of FXR and SHP(P<0.01, P<0.05). The Tibetan medicine Ershiwuwei Songshi Pills have an obvious protective effect on ANIT-induced cholestatic liver injury in rats, and its mechanism may be related to the bile acid metabolism mediated by the FXR signaling pathway.

Auricularia auricular-judae polysaccharide attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation.

Auricularia auricular-judae polysaccharide (AAP) has shown a variety of pharmacological properties. In the present study, the role of AAP in acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was analyzed in rats to further explore the possible underlying mechanisms. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into the control, AAP, LPS and LPS plus AAP groups. Rats were injected with LPS (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) to induce ALI. Rats in the LPS plus AAP group were treated with AAP for 7 days before the induction of ALI. The protein concentration in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was measured. The animal lung edema degree was evaluated by the wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio. The myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) level were assayed by MPO and MDA kits, respectively. The levels of inflammatory mediators, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL)-6, were assayed by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Pathological changes of lung tissues were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The data showed that treatment with AAP significantly improved LPS-induced lung pathological changes, attenuated protein concentration in the BALF, inhibited MPO activity and reduced the MDA level and lung W/D weight ratio. AAP also inhibited the release of TNF-α and IL-6 in blood. The results indicated that AAP has a protective effect on LPS-induced ALI in rats.