Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae-Assessing the influence of herbal processing methods and improved effects on functional dyspepsia.

Background: The unique pharmaceutical methods for the processing of botanical drugs according to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) affect clinical syndrome differentiation and treatment. The objective of this study was to comprehensively elucidate the principles and mechanisms of an herbal processing method by investigating the alterations in the metabolites of Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (AMR) processed by Aurantii Fructus Immaturus (AFI) decoction and to determine how these changes enhance the efficacy of aqueous extracts in treating functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods: A qualitative analysis of AMR before and after processing was conducted using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS, and HPLC was employed for quantitative analysis. A predictive analysis was then conducted using a network analysis strategy to establish a botanical drug-metabolite-target-disease (BMTD) network and a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and the predictions were validated using an FD rat model. Results: A total of 127 metabolites were identified in the processed AMR (PAMR), and substantial changes were observed in 8 metabolites of PAMR after processing, as revealed by the quantitative analysis. The enhanced aqueous extracts of processed AMR (PAMR) demonstrate improved efficacy in treating FD, which indicates that this processing method enhances the anti-inflammatory properties and promotes gastric motility by modulating DRD2, SCF, and c-kit. However, this enhancement comes at the cost of attenuating the regulation of motilin (MTL), gastrin (GAS), acetylcholine (Ach), and acetylcholinesterase (AchE). Conclusion: Through this series of investigations, we aimed to unravel the factors influencing the efficacy of this herbal formulation in improving FD in clinical settings.

Diversity and structural analysis of rhizosphere soil microbial communities in wild and cultivated Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae and their effects on the accumulation of active components.

Rhizosphere microorganisms are the main factors affecting the formation of high quality medicinal materials and promoting the accumulation of secondary metabolites. However, the composition, diversity, and function of rhizosphere microbial communities in endangered wild and cultivated Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (RAM) and their relationships with active component accumulation have remained unclear. In this study, high-throughput sequencing and correlation analysis were used to study the rhizosphere microbial community diversity (bacteria and fungi) of three RAM species and its correlation with the accumulation of polysaccharides, atractylone, and lactones (I, II, and III). A total of 24 phyla, 46 classes, and 110 genera were detected. The dominant taxa were Proteobacteria, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota. The microbial communities in both wild and artificially cultivated soil samples were extremely species-rich, but there were some differences in their structure and the relative abundances of microorganism taxa. Meanwhile, the contents of effective components in wild RAM were significantly higher than those in cultivated RAM. Correlation analysis showed that 16 bacterial and 10 fungal genera were positively or negatively correlated with active ingredient accumulation. These results showed that rhizosphere microorganisms could play an important role in component accumulation and might lay a foundation for future research on endangered materials.

Effect of the extract made from Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (RAM) on the immune responses of mice to a commercial foot-and-mouth disease vaccine.

OBJECTIVES: Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an economically important animal disease because of the speed of its transmission. Routine vaccination may not be effective; RAM can be considered as a potential facilitator for this. Present study was designed to evaluate the effects of feeding different treatment of the RAM in different days on the immune responses in mice immunised with FMDV type O vaccine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In experiment 1, 50 ICR mice were randomly divided into five groups with 10 animals in each group, and the basic diet containing 1% Crush of RAM for 1-week ad libitum feeding period, 1% Crush of RAM for 6-week ad libitum feeding period, 1% Decoction of RAM for a 1-week ad libitum feeding period, 1% Decoction of RAM for a 6-week ad libitum feeding period, respectively. Blood samples were collected 2 weeks after boosting for measurement of FMDV-specific IgG level and the IgG subclasses, lymphocyte proliferation as well as production IL-5 and IFN-γ. In experiment 2, four groups mice were fed basic diet and basic diet containing 5% Decoction of RAM for 2-, 4- and 6-day ad libitum feeding periods, respectively. Then we collected blood samples for detecting IgG and IgG subclasses, splenocytes for lymphocyte proliferation as well as production IL-5 and IFN-γ, and tissue samples of small intestine for sIgA. RESULTS: The results indicated that 1% Decoction of RAM for a 1-week ad libitum feeding period group and 5% Decoction of RAM for 2-, 4- and 6-day ad libitum feeding period group enhance the FMDV-specific immune responses significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the results demonstrate that doses and feeding time of RAM are important to affect the immune responses.

Atractylodes lancea Rhizoma Attenuates DSS-Induced Colitis by Regulating Intestinal Flora and Metabolites.

Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. is a herb widely used traditionally for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases such as gastric ulcer, spleen deficiency, and diarrhea. In China, people fry raw A. lancea (SCZ) together with wheat bran to make bran-fried A. lancea (FCZ). Ancient Chinese texts have documented that FCZ can enhance the function of regulating the intestines and stomach. Nevertheless, the effect and mechanism of SCZ and FCZ on ulcerative colitis (UC) are still unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the therapeutic effects of SCZ and FCZ and their mechanisms on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC in mice. The chemical constituents of SCZ and FCZ were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) with six reference compounds. The effects of SCZ and FCZ were investigated based on their effects on weight loss, disease activity index (DAI) score, colon length shortening, goblet cell loss, and pathological changes using the colons from a mouse model of DSS-induced UC. The effects of SCZ and FCZ on levels of the inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-[Formula: see text], interleukin-6, interleukin-1[Formula: see text], mucoprotein (MUC2), tight protein (ZO-1, occludin), and the activation of macrophages were determined using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence (IF). 16s RNA sequencing technology was used to detect the composition of the intestinal flora in each group. Nontargeted metabonomics was used to detect the serum metabolite levels of mice in each group. Pearson analysis was used to determine the correlation between the intestinal flora, metabolites, and pathological indices. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the genes of different metabolite-related enzymes. A pseudogerm free (PGF) mouse model was used to verify whether the effect of SCZ and FCZ in UC depends on the regulation of intestinal flora. SCZ and FCZ could inhibit weight loss and decrease the DAI score, colon length shortening, goblet cell loss, and the extent of pathological changes in the colons of mice with DSS-induced colitis. Moreover, SCZ and FCZ inhibited the decrease in MUC2, ZO-1, occludin, production of pro-inflammatory factors, and activation of pro-inflammatory macrophages in colonic tissue. The effect of FCZ was better than that of SCZ. SCZ and FCZ not only inhibited the abundance of harmful bacteria and increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria, but also regulated the metabolism of disease-related metabolites such as amino acid and cholesterol metabolism. Both preparations inhibited the gene expression (Slc6A7, PRODH, Sdsl, HMGCR, SREBP-2) of different metabolite-related enzymes. In the PGF mouse model, the above effects were not observed. Rhizoma Atractylodes was effective in alleviating DSS-induced UC in mice, and FCZ was found to be superior to SCZ. The mechanism of action of FCZ and SCZ is mainly related to the regulation of intestinal flora and their associated metabolites.

Quality evaluation of decoction pieces of Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae by near infrared spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a fast, simple and reliable method for quality evaluation of decoction pieces of Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (referred as BZ below) by near infrared spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics. METHOD: Twelve batches of raw medicinal materials of BZ were collected from three main producing location in China. According to the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, these raw decoction pieces were stir-fried in wheat bran using a stir-frying machine for 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 min, respectively. The resulted 60 samples were categorized into three classes (i.e., light, moderate and dark) by experienced pharmacists according to their surface color. After that, these slices were smashed to acquire near infrared spectra and to determine the contents of atractylenolide I, II and III by HPLC method. Qualitative and quantitative models were constructed to relate the spectra to the color labels and to the contents of three atractylenolides. Various chemometrics methods, including calibration methods like principal component analysis, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and partial least squares regression (PLSR), spectra pretreatment methods like standard normal variate, multiplicative scatter correction, derivation and smoothing, feature selection methods like particle swarm optimization, genetic algorithm (GA) and other fourteen methods were compared in detail. The PLS-DA models were evaluated by jackknife tests with calculating parameters such as error rate (ERR), true positive rate (TPR), true negative rate (TNR) and F1 score, meanwhile the PLSR models were evaluated by five fold cross-validation tests with calculating parameters such as coefficients of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and residual predictive deviation (RPD). RESULTS: The PLS-DA models with spectra pretreated by 1D5S or 1D9S and wavelengths selected by InfFS, Relief-F, MutInfFS, fisher or CFS performed best, yielding 0.00 of ERR, 1.00 of TPR, 1.00 of TNR, and 1.00 of F1 for all three classes. As for quantitative models, the PLSR models by 1D5S spectra pretreatment and GA wavelengths selection performed best, where R2C and R2P were all >0.95, RMSEC and RMSEP were all <0.04%, MAEC and MAEP were all <0.04%, and RPD were all >5. CONCLUSION: The present qualitative and quantitative models can be successfully used to distinguish the degree of suitability of processed BZ, and to determine the contents of three atractylenolides, which thus are of great help for quality evaluation and control of processed BZ and other decoction pieces.

A Hyperspectral Imaging Approach for Classifying Geographical Origins of Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae Using the Fusion of Spectrum-Image in VNIR and SWIR Ranges (VNIR-SWIR-FuSI).

Hyperspectral data processing technique has gained increasing interests in the field of chemical and biomedical analysis. However, appropriate approaches to fusing features of hyperspectral data-cube are still lacking. In this paper, a new data fusion approach was proposed and applied to discriminate Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (RAM) slices from different geographical origins using hyperspectral imaging. Spectral and image features were extracted from hyperspectral data in visible and near-infrared (VNIR, 435-1042 nm) and short-wave infrared (SWIR, 898-1751 nm) ranges, respectively. Effective wavelengths were extracted from pre-processed spectral data by successive projection algorithm (SPA). Meanwhile, gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) and gray-level run-length matrix (GLRLM) were employed to extract textural variables. The fusion of spectrum-image in VNIR and SWIR ranges (VNIR-SWIR-FuSI) was implemented to integrate those features on three fusion dimensions, i.e., VNIR and SWIR fusion, spectrum and image fusion, and all data fusion. Based on data fusion, partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and support vector machine (SVM) were utilized to establish calibration models. The results demonstrated that VNIR-SWIR-FuSI could achieve the best accuracies on both full bands (97.3%) and SPA bands (93.2%). In particular, VNIR-SWIR-FuSI on SPA bands achieved a classification accuracy of 93.2% with only 23 bands, which was significantly better than those based on spectra (80.9%) or images (79.7%). Thus it is more rapid and possible for industry applications. The current study demonstrated that hyperspectral imaging technique with data fusion holds the potential for rapid and nondestructive sorting of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs).

The Alisma and Rhizoma decoction abates nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-associated liver injuries in mice by modulating oxidative stress and autophagy.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the effects of the Alisma and Rhizoma decoction on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and to further shed light on the underlying mechanisms of the actions of the Alisma and Rhizoma decoction. METHODS: Plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) content was determined and liver inflammation and fibrosis were evaluated. Intrahepatocellular malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase contents were determined using commercially available kits Furthermore, α-SMA expression in liver tissues was examined by immunohistochemistry and LC3-II was detected by immunoblotting assays. RESULTS: Mice receiving the Alisma and Rhizoma decoction by gastric lavage had significantly lower plasma ALT content and markedly higher hepatic superoxide dismutase activity than mice receiving the methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet. Furthermore, the decoction aborted MCD-induced increase in liver malondialdehyde content. Immunohistochemistry showed that the decoction suppressed hepatic α-SMA expression. Our transmission electronic microscopy revealed that the decoction markedly reduced the number of autophagosomes and immunoblotting assays showed that the decoction caused a dose-dependent decrease in LC3-II in hepatic tissues. CONCLUSION: The Alisma and Rhizoma decoction lessens NASH-associated liver injuries by modulating oxidative stress and autophagy in hepatocytes of mice fed with MCD.

Chinese herb pair Paeoniae Radix Alba and Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma suppresses LPS-induced inflammatory response through inhibiting MAPK and NF-κB pathway.

BACKGROUND: The combination of Radix Paeoniae Alba (RPA) and Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (RAM) has long been used as a classic herb pair for the treatment of gynecologic and gastrointestinal diseases, but the underlying mechanisms of the herb pair remain unknown. This study aims to explore the anti-inflammatory potentials of RPA-RAM herb pair and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: The bioactive parts of RPA-RAM were extracted and screened through the inhibitory effects against nitric oxide (NO) production. The effects of optimized RPA-RAM extracts (OPAE) on inflammation-associated mediators were investigated by Western blotting, real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), Enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) and immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: OPAE potently suppressed the productions of NO, TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages, concentration-dependently inhibited protein level of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), dramatically downregulated mRNA expression of iNOS, TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1. In addition, OPAE significantly prevented phosphorylation and degradation of inhibitory kappa Bα (IκBα) and subsequently restrained the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65. Pretreatment with OPAE also attenuated the LPS-induced phosphorylation of ERK, JNK and p38. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated that OPAE suppressed inflammatory responses in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages by decreasing critical molecules involved in MAPK and NF-κB pathway, suggesting that the herb pair could be a promising therapeutic candidate for inflammation-related diseases.

Simultaneous Determination of Five Components in Ermiao Pills by UHPLC with Dual-Wavelength / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To develop an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography(UHPLC) method for simultaneous determination of berberine hydrochloride, phellodendrine hydrochloride, palmatine hydrochloride, magnoflorine, and rhizoma atractylodis in Ermiao pills. METHODS: The UHPLC analyses were performed on a Waters BEH C18 column (2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 μm)eluted with acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid(each 100 mL containing 0.1 g sodium dodecyl sulfate). The flow rate was 0.3 mL·min-1, the detection wavelength was set at 280 and 340 nm, and the column temperature was set at 30℃. RESULTS: The calibration curves of the five compositions had good linear relationship in the ranges of the tested concentrations. The precision, stability and repeatability complied with the requirements of methodology. The recoveries were between 96.8%-99.3% respectively. The RSDs were below 2.8%. CONCLUSION: The developed method is simple, sensitive, rapid and accurate. This work provides helpful information for the comprehensive quality evaluation of Ermiao pills.

Study on the Quality Standard for Xiao'er Hanting Granule / 中国药师

Objective:To establish the quality standard for Xiao'er Hanting granule. Methods:Astragali Radix,Rhizoma Atrac-tylodis Macrocephalae (baked) and Saposhnikoviae Radix were qualitatively identified by a TLC method. The contents of calycosin-7-O-β-D-glycoside in the preparation were determined by an HPLC method. The chromatographic column was Cosmosil C18(250 mm× 4.6 mm,5 μm);the mobile phase was acetonitrile-0.2% methanoicacid(16 :84); the flow rate was 1.0 ml·min-1; the detection wavelength was 260 nm. Results:Astragaloside A in Astragali Radix was detected by the TLC method,and Rhizoma Atractylodis Mac-rocephalae (baked),Saposhnikoviae Radix and saposhnkoviae standard crude drug had the same clear spots without any negative inter-ference. The linear range of calycosin- 7-O-β-D-glycoside was 0.061-0.613 μg(r =0.999 9). The average recovery was 99.4% (RSD=1.29%,n=6). Conclusion:The method is accurate,rapid,stable and reliable with good reproducibility,which is suitable for the quality control of Xiao'er Hanting granule.

Analysis of Composition Principles of Prescriptions for Simple Obesity Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Support System / 广州中医药大学学报

Objective To explore the composition principles of prescriptions for simple obesity based on the analysis of medical literature issued in recently 30 years about Chinese medicine for simple obesity. Methods We collected literature of Chinese medicine in treating simple obesity from VIP, CNKI, Wanfang, CBM and CMCC/CMCI databases, and screened out the formulas for simple obesity to establish a formula database. And then the medication rules were figured out with the Traditional Chinese medicine Inheritance Support System version 2.5 (TCMISS 2.5) software. Results A total of 57 formulas were screened out. And the top 10 herbs with highest occurrence frequency in the prescriptions were Poria, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Rhizoma Alismatis, Radix et Rhizoma Rhei, Fructus Crataegi, Radix Astragali, Radix Glycyrrhizae, Folium Nelumbinis, Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae and Semen Cassiae. After data mining, we got 13 high-frequency herb-pair combinations and 31 core combinations, and 8 new prescriptions were extracted. Conclusion The research has achieved the quantitative description of the relationship between the Chinese medicines, the extraction of the core combinations and the discovery of new Chinese medicine prescriptions for simple obesity. The results will provide references for the development of new Chinese medicines for the treatment of simple obesity .

Protective effect of a polysaccharide from Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae on acute liver injury in mice.

A homogeneous polysaccharide was isolated and purified from Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (RAM) and named PRAM2. Its average molecular weight was 19.6×10(3)Da and it was composed of rhamnose, xylose, arabinose, glucose, mannose and galactose in a ratio of 1: 1.3: 1.5: 1.8: 2.1: 3.2. In vitro experiments confirmed that PRAM2 presented an obvious effect to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl) (DPPH), superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical. In vivo experiments confirmed that PRAM2 could reduce the liver weight, liver index, aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities in the serum; meanwhile, PRAM2 could significantly reduce nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity, and nitric oxide (NO) and malonaldehyde (MDA) contents in the liver tissues, and increase superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities. These results suggest that PRAM2 has a significant in vitro antioxidant activity and a protective effect on CCl4-induced liver injury in mice; the protective effect may be related to its anti-oxidation, its inhibition of NOS activity and NO level and its reduction of the production of free radicals.

Fast determination of two atractylenolides in Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae by Fourier transform near-infrared spectroscopy with partial least squares.

Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (RAM) is a commonly used food and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which traditionally strengthens the spleen, benefits vital energy, eliminates dampness, and promotes hidroschesis. Its primary effective constituents are polysaccharides and volatile oil, whose main components are atractylenolide I and III. Fourier transform near-infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIR) is widely used in TCM research. However, determination of atractylenolides in RAM using FT-NIR has not been described. In this study, a new method for the determination of atractylenolides I and III in RAM by NIR was established. The spectral characteristics of atractylenolides I and III were obtained by second derivative multiple scattering correction, and its chart to the original absorbance spectra. Additionally, in combination with the partial least squares (PLS) algorithm, the calibration process was performed for the quantitation of the samples. The root mean square error of cross-validation of the PLS models for atractylenolides I and III was 0.0387 and 0.0358, and the determination coefficient of quantitative models was 96.63 and 96.16, respectively. This study demonstrated that NIR spectroscopy can be used to analyze quickly and efficiently the contents of atractylenolides I and III in RAM.

Curing effects evaluation of rhizoma atractylodis macrocephalae on yeast prion[PSI+] / 中国人兽共患病学报

Investigation of the effects of rhizome atractylodis macrocephalae on yeast prion [PSI+ ]was conducted in this study .Liquid culture containing rhizome atractylodis macrocephalae aqueous extracts was applied to evaluate its therapeutic effects preliminarily .Then yeast replica plating together with Semi Denaturing Detergent Agarose Gel Electrophoresis com-bined with western blot were used to further confirm the results .It's showed that the cure rate of aqueous extracts of rhizome atractylodis macrocephalae on yease prion [PSI+ ]could reach 6% .

Study on Extracting with Supercritical CO_2 Fluid from Roasted Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae and Roasted Fructus aurantii immaturus and Analysis on the Chemical Constituents by GC-MS / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To study the optimum parameters of the supercritical CO2 fluid extraction of roasted Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae and roasted Fructus aurantii immaturus,and chemical constituents of extractive matters. Methods The experiment was performed with orthogonal design. Four factors were extractive pressure,temperature,extractive time and the flow rate of CO2. GC-MS was applied for analyzing. Results The optimum condition were obtained:the extractive pressure was 33 MPa,the temperature of extraction was 40 ℃,the extractive time was 60 minutes and the flow rate of CO2 was 27 L/h. The main chemical constituents was gamma-Elemene. Conclusion The method applied to obtain the extractive matters from roasted Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae and roasted Fructus aurantii immaturus was quickly and efficiently with satisfactory results. It provides foundation for exploration.

Optimum Selection Processing Study of Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae Stir-fried with Bran by Orthogonal Design / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To research the best processing method of Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae stir-fried with bran. Methods L9(34) orthogonal table are decided with three factors:The amount of the adjuvant, heating temperature, heating time. According to the amount of water-soluble extractive, alcohol-soluble extractive and volatile oil, orthogonal design is applied to processing. Results The best processing method is:Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae were processed by stir-frying with 10 percent of bran for 5 min in a heat of 150 ℃. Conclusion The results can provide basis for establishing the quality standard of this crude drug.

Fingerprints establishment of Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae by high performance liquid chromatography and analysis of plant resource / 中华中医药杂志

Objective:To establish the fingerprints of Rhizoma Atractylodis macrocephalae from different origins with high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)technology,which was furthermore applied in the quality comparison of plant resource.Methods:In this method,C1 8column(4.6mm?250 mm)was used with the mobile phase containing acetonitrile-water for gradient elution,acetonitrile(A):0-15min,75%;15-20min,75%-95%;20-35min,95%;35-40min,95%-75%;40-50min,75%,flow rate 1 mL/min and wave length 220nm.Results:The HPLC fingerprints of Rhizoma Atractylodis macrocephalae from different origins were established and the correlated coefficients of each were calculated.9 common peaks were determined in HPLC chromatogram,three of them were identified as atractylenolideⅢ,Ⅰand atractylon respectively.Conclusion:The method was simple,reproducible and can be used as plant resource selection and quality control of Rhizoma Atractylodis macrocephalae.

Effect of Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae on electrogastric arrhythmia in rats and its mechanisms / 第三军医大学学报

Objective To observe the effect of Rhizome Atractylodis Macrocephalae (RAM) on electrogastric arrhythmia in rats and its mechanisms. Methods A total of 30 Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: control group, model group and RAM plus model group. The frequency of slow wave(FSW), coefficient of variation(CV) and abnormal rhythm index(ARI) were recorded and analyzed by computer. The substance P(SP), vasoactive intestinal peptide(VIP) and nitric oxide synthase(NOS) nerves in antral myenteric plexus were observed by immunohistochemical staining. Results Compared with those of the control group, the CV and ARI in model group markedly increased( P 0.05). The denites of SP nerves markedly decreased( P 0.05). Conclusion RAM has regulative effect on the electrogastric arrhythmia in rats and the mechanisms may be related with the increased SP nerves and decreased VIP and NOS nerves in antral myenteric plexus.

Effects of four Chinese herb extracts on cell proliferation in IEC-6 cells of rats and their glucose absorption / 中草药

Objective To study the effects of Chinese herb extracts on cell proliferation and glucose absorption in intestinal epithelial cell line(IEC-6 cells) of rats.Methods The extracts of four Chinese herbs,including Herba Agastaches(HA),Rhizoma Atractylodis(RA), Cortex Phellodendri(CP),and Gypsum Fibrosum(GF),were made.Their suitable concentration on the cell proliferation in IEC-6 cells was determined by MTT method,and glucose absorption and the activity of Na+,K+-ATPase in IEC-6 cells were assayed.A method of real time PCR was applied to the determination of SGLT1 and GLUT2 mRNA expression in the cells.Results Chinese herb extracts treatment altered the cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner.Moreover,RA volatile oil(50 ?g/mL) and CP alkaloid(10 ?g/mL) treatment increased glucose absorption and the activity of Na+,K+-ATPase genes(P0.05).Conclusion The three extracts treatment,including RA volatile oil,CP aklaloid,and HA volatile oil,could increase glucose absorption and the expression of glucose transport carrier genes,but their regulative mechanism are not totally the same.

Fingerprint of Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae by HPLC / 中草药

Objective To establish the chromatographic fingerprint of Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae(RAM) from GAP base at Youyang by HPLC for the quality control.Methods With Symmetry C_(18) colunm(250 mm?4.6 mm,5 ?m),gradient elution was performed by mobile phase containing MeOH-H_2O(65%—100%).The flow rate was 0.8 mL/min and detection wavelength was 254 nm.Eleven batches of RAM from various producing areas were comparatively analyzed to establish a fingerprint.Results(Eleven) Mutual peaks were selected in chromatography.Among the obtained fingerprint,the most of the detected peaks were separated effectively.The accuracy,repeatability,and stability of this method were satisfied.The RSD of relative retention time of mutual peaks which existed in all samples was less than 1%.The results of peak area were in accordance with the request of fingerprint.Conclusion The esta-(blished) fingerprint can be used for the quality control and species identifying of RAM.