Safety assessment of a new multivitamin.

A newly created multivitamin possesses many protective health functions. To investigate its safety when applied in medical treatment and when used as a food supplement, we studied its acute oral toxicity and 13-week oral toxicity in mice. The results showed that the oral lethal dose, 50% (LD(50)) of the biomass of the multivitamin in mice was greater than 2492 mg/kg body weight (BW) and that poisoned mice recovered within 72 h. The no observed effect level (NOEL) of long-term consumption was more than 249.3mg/kg BW for haematological parameters, clinical chemistry parameters, histopathological examination of organs, food consumption, BW, ratio of organ weight to BW and other physiological parameters and conditions. Therefore, we conclude that dosages of up to 249.3 mg/kg BW/day of this multivitamin do not cause chronic toxicity in animals. Administration of this multivitamin may even improve the resistance of animals to negative environmental factors and may be safe for long-term consumption to enhance the health of individuals in accordance with the prescribed dosage (1.4 ∼ 4.2 mg/kg BW/day).

Antihyperglycemic effects of total flavonoids from Polygonatum odoratum in STZ and alloxan-induced diabetic rats.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Total flavonids of Polygonatum(P) odoratum (TFP) were tested for anti-diabetic activity in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rhizoma Polygonati Odorati, well-known Chinese traditional medicine, is widely used for treatment of diverse diseases for example diabetes. In our study, TFP was extracted by 70% ethanol and purified by macroreticular resin. The experiments were designed to detect the anti-diabetic activity of TFP by determination of blood glucose (BG) using one touch gluco-meter and insulin levels by using a radioimmunoassay kit in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice and alloxan-induced diabetic rats and alpha-amylase inhibitory activity by alpha-amylase inhibition assay in vitro. RESULTS: TFP had beneficial effects on regulation of blood glucose. Daily administration with 50-200 mg/kg body weight of TFP for 9 days can reduce significantly hyperglycemia in STZ-induced diabetic mice. Thirtieth day administration with TFP (50-200 mg/kg body weight) also decreased significantly fasting blood glucose in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The hypoglycemic effect of TFP at 50 and 100 mg/kg is less than that of acarbose 20 mg/kg and gliclazide 15 mg/kg. The hypoglycemic effects of TFP at 200 mg/kg is similar to that of acarbose 20 mg/kg and gliclazide 15 mg/kg. TFP also could increase significantly the insulin level in alloxan-induced type 2 diabetic rats (P<0.05) compared with control. Alpha-amylase inhibition assay in vitro showed that TFP inhibited significantly alpha-amylase activity in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: TFP possess significant dose-dependent anti-diabetic activity. TFP is one of the primary hypoglycemic active compounds of Polygonatum odoratum which would worth further study and development.

Relationships among genetic makeup, active ingredient content, and place of origin of the medicinal plant Gastrodia tuber.

Gastrodia tuber and its component gastrodin have many pharmacological effects. The chemical fingerprints and gastrodin contents of eight Gastrodia populations were determined, and the genomic DNA polymorphism of the populations was investigated. Genetic distance coefficients among the populations were calculated using the DNA polymorphism data. A dendrogram of the genetic similarities between the populations was constructed using the genetic distance coefficients. The results indicated that the genomic DNA of Gastrodia tubers was highly polymorphic; the eight populations clustered into three major groups, and the gastrodin content varied greatly among these groups. There were obvious correlations among genetic makeup, gastrodin content, and place of origin. The ecological environments in Guizhou and Shanxi may be conducive to evolution and to gastrodin biosynthesis, and more suitable for cultivation of Gastrodia tubers. These findings may provide a scientific basis for overall genetic resource management and for the selection of locations for cultivating Gastrodia tubers.

[Cloning of distinguishing DNA sequences of Gastrodia elata Blume and application of them in identifying gastrodia tuber].

Gastrodia elata Bl. is a famous and costful traditional Chinese medicine. Their genomic DNA fingerprints were investigated using a modified Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA method. DNA fragments common to all or to fine populations were identified and recovered. Five DNA fragments were proven not to be reported through DNA cloning, PCR identifying, nucleotide sequencing and bioinformatics analyses and were received in and recorded by NCBI GenBank. Gastrodine contents of the Gastrodia tuber samples were determined using high performance liquid chromatography technique. The distribution of the five DNA fragments in 9 Gastrodia elata Blue populations and the correlation with gastromedicine content were studied. The results show the distribution of these DNA sequences varied greatly among the populations whereby DNA Sequence 1 was the common and distinguishing molecular marker for all the populations studied and DNA Sequence 2 may relate to higher gastrodine content. In conclusion, these DNA marker sequences can be employed to identify genuine gastrodia tubers, better varieties and optimize their selection and cultivating.

Anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities of Smilax china L. aqueous extract.

The aqueous extract of the tuber of Smilax china L., popularly known in China as "jin gang ten", was tested for its anti-inflammatory activities in rats by egg-albumin-induced edema and anti-nociceptive effects in mice using hot-plate test and acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction test, respectively. The aqueous extract in the dose of 1000 mg/kg (i.g.) had a significant anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effect compared to physiological saline. The anti-inflammatory effects are similar to acetylsalicylic acid (200 mg/kg, i.g.). We also evaluated the aqueous extract for the inhibition of prostaglandin production (for COX-2 inhibitions) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mouse macrophage cells. The result showed that both COX-2 activity and COX expression were inhibited by the extract. These active extracts suppressing activities warranted further studies of active principles and development of new anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents. Studies to determine correlation between chemical composition and pharmacological activity are underway.

[Optimization of purification conditions for with macroporous adsorption resin total saponins from smilax china].

OBJECTIVE: To develop a with high efficiency and practicality for separating and purifying total steroidal saponins lax china. METHOD: Using adsorption capacity and desorption rate of total steroidal saponins as the primary screening index, surveyed, and the optimized conditions of adsorption and desorption of total steroidal saponins were studied. RESULT: The adsorption and desorption rate of total steroidal saponins reached 16 mg x mL(-1) and 90% respectively for macroporous resin HPD100 chosen. Macroporous resin HPD100 could be well used in separating and purifying total steroidal saponins from S. china.

Supercritical fluid extraction of sapogenins from tubers of Smilax china.

Supercritical CO(2) fluid extraction (SFE-CO(2)) was used to extract the sapogenins after acid hydrolysis from Smilax china tubers. The influence of extraction variables, such as modifier, pressure, temperature and extraction time, were studied. SFE-CO(2) was found to produce higher yield than conventional solvent extraction. The highest yield (0.454%) of sapogenins, mostly containing diosgenin, was obtained using 35 MPa pressure, 65 degrees C and 95% EtOH as a modifier for 180 min, higher than that obtained with conventional extraction methods (0.385%).