[Comprehensive identification of metabolites and metabolic characteristics of luteolin and kaempferol in Simiao Yong'an Decoction in rats by UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS/MS].

Simiao Yong'an Decoction is a classic prescription for treating gangrene. Modern medical evidence has proven that Si-miao Yong'an Decoction has therapeutic effects on atherosclerosis(AS), vascular occlusion angeitides, and hypertension, while its pharmacodynamic mechanism remains unclear. The evidence of network pharmacology, molecular docking, literature review, and our previous study suggests that luteolin and kaempferol are two major flavonoids in Simiao Yong'an Decoction and can inhibit macrophage inflammation and exert anti-AS effects. However, due to lack of the metabolism studies in vivo, little is known about the metabolic characteristics of luteolin and kaempferol. This study employed ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with linear ion trap-Orbitrap mass spectrometry(UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS/MS) and relevant software to identify the metabolites and metabolic pathways of luteolin and kaempferol in rat plasma, urine, and feces, after oral administration of luteolin and kaempferol, respectively. After the administration of luteolin, 10, 11, and 3 metabolites of luteolin were detected in the plasma, urine, and feces, respectively. After the administration of kaempferol, 9, 3, and 1 metabolites of kaempferol were detected in the plasma, urine, and feces, respectively. The metabolic pathways mainly involved methylation, glucuronidation, and sulfation. This study enriches the knowledge about the pharmacological mechanism of luteolin and kaempferol and supplies a reference for revealing the metabolic process of other flavonoids in Simiao Yong'an Decoction, which is of great significance for elucidating the pharmacological effects and effective substances of this decoction in vivo.

Comparative Pharmacokinetics of Seven Major Compounds in Normal and Atherosclerosis Mice after Oral Administration of Simiao Yong'an Decoction.

Simiao Yong'an decoction (SMYAD), a classic traditional Chinese medicine formula, has been used to treat atherosclerosis (AS) in clinical in China, but its therapeutic mechanism and pharmacodynamic material basis are not clear. In this study, the AS model was caused by a high-fat diet and perivascular carotid collar placement (PCCP), and SMYAD was orally administered to the model and normal mice. A rapid, sensitive, selective, and reliable method using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) system combined with a Q Exactive HF-X mass spectrometer (UHPLC-Q Exactive HF-X MS) was established and validated for the simultaneous determination of seven compounds, including harpagide, chlorogenic acid, swertiamarin, sweroside, angoroside C, liquiritin, and isoliquiritigenin in the plasma of normal and AS mice. The specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, recovery, and stability of the method were all within the acceptable criteria. The results showed that some pharmacokinetic behaviors of harpagide, chlorogenic acid, and isoliquiritigenin were significantly different among the two groups of mice. The specific parameter changes were harpagide (AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ were 11075.09 ± 2132.38 and 16221.95 ± 5622.42 ng·mL-1·h, respectively; CLz/F was 2.45 ± 0.87 L/h/mg), chlorogenic acid (t 1/2 was 21.59 ± 9.16 h; AUC0-∞ was 2637.51 ± 322.54 ng·mL-1·h; CLz/F was 13.49 ± 1.81 L/h/mg) and isoliquiritigenin (AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ were 502.25 ± 165.65 and 653.68 ± 251.34 ng·mL-1·h, respectively; CLz/F was 62.16 ± 23.35 L/h/mg) were altered under the pathological status of AS. These differences might be partly ascribed to the changes in gastrointestinal microbiota, nonspecific drug transporters, and cytochrome P450 activity under the AS state, providing research ideas and experimental basis for pharmacological effects and pharmacodynamic material basis.

Clinical significance of serum markers reflecting gastric function and H. pylori infection in colorectal cancer.

Purpose: The study was conducted to investigate the relationship of serum pepsinogens PGI, PGII, gastrin-17, and Hp-IgG with colorectal cancer (CRC), aiming to explore the clinical significance of serum markers reflecting gastric function and H. pylori infection in CRC. Methods: A total of 569 CRC cases and 569 age and sex-matched controls were enrolled in this study between June 2012 and April 2016 from The First Hospital of China Medical University. The serum markers reflecting gastric function and H. pylori infection were detected using ELISA, including PGI, PGII, PGI/II ratio, G-17 and Hp-IgG. Information of clinicopathological parameters and tumor biomarkers was collected from the medical records of inpatients, including CEA, CA199, CA125, CA153 and AFP. Results: Serum PGII, G-17 levels and Hp-IgG were increased in CRC, while PGI and PGI/II ratio appeared no significant difference between CRC and controls. In subgroup analysis, PGII was more significant in males (P=0.014). Hp-IgG was demonstrated higher in age<60y (P=0.001). With respect to the association with serum tumor biomarkers, G-17 level was associated with the rise of CA125 (P=0.005, OR (95%CI): 4.89 (1.90-12.57)), Hp-IgG increasing was associated with the rise of CA125 (P=0.024, OR (95%CI): 4.10 (1.54-10.93)). Conclusions: Serum PGII, G-17 and Hp-IgG were associated with CRC risk. The serum levels of G-17 and Hp-IgG were associated with the rise of CA125 in patients with CRC.

[Degradation of Triclosan by Heat Activated Persulfate Oxidation].

Sulfate radical (SO4·-)-based advanced oxidation technologies (SR-AOPs) are widely used for remediation of contaminated groundwater and soils. This study investigated the reaction kinetics, products, and transformation pathways of triclosan, a widely used antimicrobial agent, during its degradation by heat activated persulfate oxidation. Experimental results revealed that increasing temperature or initial persulfate concentration significantly enhanced the degradation of triclosan. The reaction could be fitted in the pseudo-first-order kinetic model and the activation energy (Ea) was determined to be 142 kJ·mol-1. The presence of humic acid markedly inhibited triclosan degradation, whereas chloride (Cl-) showed a more complicated effect. Triclosan degradation was slightly accelerated in the presence of 5 µmol·L-1 Cl-, however, a higher concentration of Cl- (e.g., 10 µmol·L-1) showed an inhibitory effect. Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, a total of six transformation products, including 4-chlorocatechol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, and 2-chloro-5-(2,4-dichloro-6-hydroxyphenoxy)-1,4-benzoquinone, were identified. Accordingly, the cleavage of the ether bond and hydroxylation of the phenol ring were proposed as the principal pathways of triclosan degradation upon reaction with SO4·-. The findings of this study can be used to evaluate the feasibility of decontamination of triclosan by SR-AOPs.

[The color analysis of peacock feather].

Peacock feather is one of the typical cases with structural colors. In the present article, we found that flamboyant colors in the "eye spot" of male peacock came from photonic crystal structure by observing the surface texture with SEM and reflectance spectrum with fiber spectrometer, and different color regions correspond to various structure cycles and surface appearances of the microstructure. The reflectance spectrum showed that the location of reflective peak shifted with the changes in the incident angles. The theory that the color is caused by microstructure was verified by the phenomenon that reflective peak exhibited red-shift with the time-varying after soaking in isopropyl alcohol. This study paves the way for fabricating functional composite materials with peacock feather-like photonic crystal structure.

Fabrication of two-dimensional superposed microstructure by interference lithography.

In this paper, we report the basic theory and method of single exposure interference lithography (IL) to fabricate two-dimensional (2D) superposed microstructures. Distribution of six-beam interference intensities with different azimuth angle is discussed, and 2D superposed microstructures with different periodic constants are obtained by computer simulations. The experiment results using CHP-C positive photoresist show a 2D superposed photonic crystal composed of a periodically repeated hexagonal pattern of hexagonal lattice cells, which is in close agreement with the computer simulation. Fabrication of a superposed structure by single exposure IL paves the way for studying 2D photonic crystal fabrication, surface lasing, optical waveguides, and so on.