Investigation and Exploitation of New Medicinal Resources of Genus Bupleurum (Umbelliferae) in Qinghai Province and Xizhang (Tibet) Autonomous Region in China

In China,some species of Bupleurum (family Umbelliferae) have been used as Chinese traditional medicine under the name “Chai-Hu” for the treatment of fevers and influenza.In the present paper,the authors report a study on the investigation and exploitation of new medicinal resources of “Chai-Hu” in Qinghai Province and Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region where no one has studied this hitherto.18 species,7 varieties,I form of Bupleurum and a new species (Bupleurum qinghaiense) have been discovered.The taxonomy and preliminary phytochemical studies of the roots of three medicinal plants,B.qinghaiense,B.rnarginatum var.stenophyllum and B.smithii var.parvifolium.are reported in this paper.

Alginate-Coated Fe3O4 Hollow Microspheres for Drug Delivery

Novel hollow Fe3O4 nanoparticles for drug delivery were synthesized via a one-step template- free approach. These nanoparticles were obtained by modifing the Fe3O4 nanoparticles with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxy silane, and then grafting alginate onto the surface of amine magnetic. The hollow structure of Fe3O4 spheres was characterized by TEM, XRD, and XPS. The M-H hysteresis loop indicated that the magnetic spheres exhibit snperparamagnetic characteristics at room temperature. Daunorubicin acting as a model drug was loaded into the carrier, and the maximum percent of envelop and load were 28.4% and 14.2% respectively. The drug controlled releasing behaviors of the carriers were compared in different pH media.

Sensitivities of Vibrio vulnificus to Chinese Herbs and Effect of Medicinal Bath on Vibrio vulnificus

Vibrio vulnificus can cause rotten-skin disease in marine fish aquaculture, resulting in a large number of deaths. The occurrence of rotten-skin disease is becoming severer and severer, leading to serious economic losses. In this study, the sensitivities of V. vulnificus to the 18 kinds of herbs, such as stone calamus and Chinese rhubarb, were determined using the agar diffusion method （susceptibility paper）. The results showed that Chinese gall, dark plum, sea buckthorn and eucalyptus leaves have bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects, while sappan wood, Chi- nese rhubarb, pomegranate bark, mentha and clove have strong bacteriostatic ef- fects. The Chinese medicinal herb bath showed good control effect on V. vulnificus.

What Depth Should Deep-Sea Water be Pumped up from in the South China Sea for Medicinal Research?

In this study, seawater was pumped up from 150, 200, 300, 500 and 1000 m in the South China Sea and analyzed to make certain what depth should deep-sea water (DSW) be pumped up for medicinal usage. The pumping depth of DSW was determined on the basis of chemical ingredients. The analyses of inorganic elements and dissolved organic matter (DOM) were performed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) respectively. The raw data were used for hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that seawater pumped up from 500 m and 1000 m was similar in their chemical ingredients, and was different from the seawater pumped up from other depths. These results indicated that seawater from more than 500 m depth had relatively stable chemical ingredients and could be used as DSW in the South China Sea.

Research on Southern Herbs and Li Medical Plants in Hainan

The current situation, development advantages and presenting problems of southern herbs and Li medical plants in Hainan Province were analyzed in this pa-per. ln addition, some ideas and solutions were proposed, providing a reference to government departments and investors.

Inhibition effect of Chinese herbal medicine on transcription of hepatitis C virus structural gene in vitro

AIM: To investigate the inhibitory effect of Chinese herbal medicine on the transcription of hepatitis C virus (HCV) structural gene in Hela D cells.METHODS: Hela cell line was transfected with recombinant pBK-CMV-HCV containing HCV structural gene by Lipofectamine. RT-nested-PCR and Western blot assay were used to testify the HCV gene expression in Hela cells. The Hela cells expressing HCV structural protein were named Hela D cells. Prescriptions of Xiao chaihu Decoction (XCHD),Fufang Huangqi (FFHQ) and Bingganling (BGL) wererespectively added to Hela D cells in various concentrations. Semi-quantitative RT-nested-PCR product analysis was performed according to the fluorescent density between HCV DNA band and GAPDH DNA band in gel electrophoresisafter screened. RESULTS: Recombinant pBK-CMV-HCV could correctly express the HCV structural gene in Hela D cells. After coculture of Hela D cells with three prescriptional different concentrations for 48 h respectively, the transcription of HCVgene decreased with increasing of the concentration of each prescription. The lightness ratio of HCV product bands to GAPDH product bands was 0.24, 0.10 and 0.12 in Hela D cells incubated with 0.1 g/mL of XCHD, FFHQand BGL respectively and the lightness ratio HCV product bands to GAPDH product bands was 0.75, 0.67 and 0.61respectively in the control cells. CONCLUSION: The prescriptions of XCHD, FFHQ and BGL partly inhibit the transcription of HCV structural gene inHela D cells.

Study on Elemental Fingerprint of Traditional Marine Chinese Medicine Oysters from Jiaozhou Bay,China

In order to investigate the relationship between the trace elements and the characteristics of the oysters, we analyzed the trace elements present in the germplasm of oysters from different producing areas in the Jiaozhou Bay. The element fingerprints were established to reflect the elemental characteristics of the oysters. Concentration patterns of the elements were deciphered by principle component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). The six regions were discriminated with accuracy using HCA and PCA based on the concentration of 16 trace elements. The elements were viewed as characteristic elements of the oysters and the fingerprints of these elements could be used to distinguish the quality of the oysters.

Isolation and pharmacological activities of bromophenols from Rhodomela confervoides

Four bromophenols were isolated from the extract of marine red alga, Rhodomela confervoides by column chromatography and HPLC methods. By means of spectroscopic methods including IR, MS, 1D, and 2D-NMR techniques, their structures were elucidated as (1) 3-bromo-4,5-dihydroxy benzoic acid methyl ester; (2) bis (2,3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl) ether; (3) 3,4-dibromo-5-(methoxymethyl)-1,2-benzenediol and (4) 3-bromo-4,5-dihydroxy-benzaldehyde. Compound 1 was first isolated from the algae in nature, and 1, 4 were found to have selective cytotoxic activities against KB, Bel 7402 and A549 cells, 2 showed powerful antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aurens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The Anti-allergic Activity of Polyphenol Extracted from Five Marine Algae

Natural polyphenol has been widely believed to be effective in allergy remission. Currently, most of the natural poly- phenol products come from terrestrial sources such as tea, grape seeds among others, and few polyphenols have been developed from algae for their anti-allergic activity. The aim of the study was to screen some commercial seaweed for natural extracts with anti-al- lergic activity. Five algae including Laminaria japonica, Porphyra sp., Spirulina platensis, Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Scytosiphon sp were extracted with ethanol, and the extracts were evaluated for total polyphenol contents and anti-allergic activity with the hyalu- ronidase inhibition assay. Results showed that the total polyphenol contents in the ethanol extracts ranged from 1.67% to 8.47%, while the highest was found in the extract from Scytosiphon sp. Hyaluronidase inhibition assay showed that the extracts from Scyto- siphon sp. had the lowest IC50, 0.67 mg mL-1, while Chlorella pyrenoidosa extract had the highest IC50, 15.07 mg mL-1. The anti-allergic activity of Scytosiphon sp. extract was even higher than the typical anti-allergic drug Disodium Cromoglycate （DSCG） （IC50=1.13 mg mL-1）, and was similar with natural polyphenol from Epigallocatechin gallate （EGCG） （IC50 = 0.56 mg mL-l）. These results indicated that the ethanol extract of Scytosiphon sp. contains a high concentration of polyphenol with high anti-allergic activ- ity. Potentially Scytosiphon sp. can be developed to a natural anti-allergic compound for allergy remission.

Chemical constituents of marine medicinal mangrove plant Sonneratia caseolaris

Twenty-four compounds including eight steroids （1-8）, nine triterpenoids （9-16, 24）, three flavonoids （20-22）, and four benzenecarboxylic derivatives （17-19, 23） were isolated and identified from stems and twigs of medicinal mangrove plant Sonneratia caseolaris. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined by extensive analysis of their spectroscopic data. Among these rnetabolites, compounds 1, 4-20 and 22-24 were isolated and identified for the first time from S. caseolaris. In the in vitro cytotoxic assay against SMMC-7721 human hepatoma cells, compound 21 （3＇,4＇,5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone） exhibited significant activity with IC50 2.8 μg/mL, while oleanolic acid （14）, 3,3＇-di-O-methyl ether ellagic acid （18）, and 3,3＇,4-O-tri-O-methyl ether ellagic acid （19） showed weak activity. None of these compounds displayed significant antibacterial activites.

Evaluation of Antitumor,Immunomodulatory and Free Radical Scavenging Effects of A New Herbal Prescription Seaweed Complex Preparation

Seaweed Complex Preparation （SCP） is a clinical traditional Chinese medicine preparation which is composed of seven traditional Chinese herbs, and it has been used for treatment of lung cancer, liver cancer and digestive cancer. However, little infor- mation is available about the pharmacodynamic basis. The antitumor, immunomodulatory and free radical scavenging effects of SCP were evaluated in this study. Transplanted tumor in vivo method was used to determine the antitumor effect. The effects on spleno- cyte proliferation and phagocytosis of macrophages in tumor-bearing mice were measured by the MTT method and the phagocytizing cock red blood cell （CRBC） method respectively. The scavenging activities of SCP on DPPH and hydroxyl radicals in vitro were investigated. It was found that the medium-dose and high-dose of SCP could significantly inhibit the growth of transplanted hepatic tumor of murine hepatocarcinoma cell line H22, and promote proliferation of splenocytes and phagocytosis of macrophages. SCP possessed noticeable scavenging activities on DPPH and hydroxyl radicals. The antiturnor effects of SCP might be achieved by im- proving immune system and scavenging free radicals, which is in accordance with the viewpoint of traditional Chinese medicine in promoting the body resistance and eliminating pathogenic factors for cancer treatment.

Defensive nature of Sargassum polycystum (Brown alga) against acetaminophen-induced toxic hepatitis in rats: Role of drug metabolizing microsomal enzyme system, tumor necrosis factor-a and fate of liver cell structural integrity

AIM： To assess the defensive nature of Sargassum polycystum （S. polycystum） （Brown alga） against acetaminophen （AAP）-induced changes in drug metabolizing microsomal enzyme system, tumor necrosis factor （TNF-α） and fine structural features of the liver during toxic hepatitis in rats. METHODS： Male albino Wistar strain rats used for the study were randomly categorized into 4 groups. Group Ⅰ consisted of normal control rats fed with standard diet. Group II rats were administered with acetaminophen （800 mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneally）. Group Ⅲ rats were pre-treated with S. polycystum extract alone. Group IV rats were orally pre-treated with S. polycystum extract （200 mg/kg body weight for 21 d） prior to acetaminophen induction （800 mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneally）. Serum separated and liver was excised and microsomal fraction was isolated for assaying cytochrome P450, NADPH Cyt P450 reductase and bs. Serum TNF-α was detected using ELISA. Fine structural features of liver were examined by transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS： Rats intoxicated with acetaminophen showed considerable impairment in the activities of drug metabolizing microsomal enzymes, such as cytochrome P450, NADPH Cyt P450 reductase and bs when compared with the control rats. The rats intoxicated with acetaminophen also significantly triggered serum TNF-a when compared with the control rats. These severe alterations in the drug metabolizing enzymes were appreciably pretreated with S. polycystum. prevented in the rats The rats pretreated withS. polycystum showed considerable inhibition in the elevation of TNF-α compared to the rats intoxicated with acetaminophen. The electron microscopic observation showed considerable loss of structural integrity of the endoplasmic reticulum, lipid infiltration and ballooning of mitochondria in the acetaminophen-intoxicated rats, whereas the rats treated with S. polycystum showed considerable protection against acetaminophen-induced alterations in structural integrity. CONCLUSION： These observations suggest that the animals treated with S. polycystum extract may have the ability to protect the drug metabolizing enzyme system and mitochondrial functional status from free radical attack, thereby showing its defense mechanism in protecting hepatic cells from acetaminophen toxic metabolite N-acetyl-para-benzoquinone-imine （NAPQI）.

Distribution Patterns of Medicinal Plants along an Elevational Gradient in Central Himalaya,Nepal

This study aimed to compare the distribution patterns and trends of plant parts used among different groups of medicinal plants, geographical regions,and between medicinal plants and all vascular plants.We used the published sources for elevation records of 2,331 medicinal plant species to interpolate presence between minimum and maximum elevations and estimated medicinal plant richness for each 100-m elevational band. Monte Carlo simulations were used to test whether differences in elevational distribution between different groups of medicinal plants were significant. Total number of medicinal plants as well as different groups showed unimodal relationship with elevation. The elevational distributions of medicinal plants significantly differ between regions and between medicinal plant groups.When comparing the richness of all medicinal plants to all vascular plants,Monte Carlo simulations indicated that the numbers of medicinal plants are higher than expected at low elevations.The highest richness of medicinal plants at low elevation could be possibly due to favorable environmental factors such as high temperature, rainfall,sunlight or due to higher density of human population and thus higher pressure on use of any plants in lower elevations.

EVALUATION OF NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM LOW DOSE HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY ON POSTMENOPAUSAL WO-MEN BRAIN HIPPOCAMPUS USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE SCANNER

To investigate the effects of long-term low dose hormone replacement therapy （HRT） on postmenopaosal women in homone level, cognition score, hippocampus volume, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy （MRS） parameters. Methods A total of 182 postmenopausal women aged 50-87 years were chosen at Peking Union Medical College Hospital and assigned to HRT group and control group. The volunteers of HRT group had taken low dose hormone [ estradiol （E2 ） 0. 5-1.0 mg and progesterone 0.5-2.0 mg, once a day ] for 4-33 years. The concentrations of E2, progesterone, and testosterone were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The gene types of apolipoprotein E （ApoE） were measured by polymerase chain reaction, and the subjects with susceptible genes （ ApoE ε3/ε4） of Alzheimer＇s disease （AD） were screened. Their hippocampus volumes and MRS parameters were obtained through magnetic resonance imaging （MRI）, and results in two groups were analyzed by statistical method. Results Compared with control group, the concentrations of E2 at each age stage in HRT group were significantly higher （P 〈0. 05） except the 80-89 years old subgroup; yet, there were no statistical differences in the concentrations of progesterone and testosterone between the two groups. There was no obvious difference in ApoE subtypes distribution between the two groups The results of hippocampus MRI for the subjects with susceptible genes ApoE ε3/ε4 （HRT group 14 cases, control group 11 cases） showed that the ratio of bilateral hippocampus volume to whole brain volume in HRT group （0. 406 ± 0.028） was signiticantlyhigher than control gronp （0.369±0.031, P〈0.05）. Theresults of ^1H MRS for the subjects with susceptible genes ApoE ε3/ε4 （ HRT group 12 cases, control group 11 cases） showed that the N-acetylaspartate/total creatine at the area of hippocampus in HRT group （ 1.54±0. 08 ） were significantly higher than control group （ 1.45±0. 13, P 〈 0. 05）. Conclusions For postmenopausal women, long-term low dose HRT can maintain the physiological concentration of E2 in plasma. Furthermore, the hippocampus MRI performed on those with ApoE ε3/ε3 genes shows that long-term low dose HRT can prevent hippocampus atrophy, which is beneficial to maintain the brain function and prevent AD.

A CLINICAL TRIAL ON YU CONG TANG IN TREATMENT OF SENILE DEMENTIA

Yu Cong Tang ([symbol: see text]), a TCM decoction, was used to treat senile dementia. It has the action of invigorating the spleen, reinforcing the kidney, nourishing yin, strengthening yang, improving blood circulation, dredging the channels, removing phlegm and restoring consciousness. CT, EEG, REG, Hb, PaO2, Tch, TG and 17-OHCS were tested, showing significant differences (P

Optimization of four types of antimicrobial agents to increase the inhibitory ability of marine Arthrobacter oxydans KQ 11 dextranase mouthwash

We adopted the response surface methodology using single factor and orthogonal experiments to optimize four types of antimicrobial agents that could inhibit biofilm formation by Streptococcus mutans, which is commonly found in the human oral cavity and causes tooth decay. The objective was to improve the function of marine Arthrobacter oxydans KQll dextranase mouthwash （designed and developed by our laboratory）. The experiment was conducted in a three-level, four-variable central composite design to determine the best combination of ZnSO4, lysozyme, citric acid and chitosan. The optimized antibacterial agents were 2.16 g/L ZnSO4, 14 g/L lysozyme, 4.5 g/L citric acid and 5 g/L chitosan. The biofilm formation inhibition reached 84.49%. In addition, microscopic observation of the biofilm was performed using scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The optimized formula was tested in marine dextranase Arthrobacter oxydans KQ11 mouthwash and enhanced the inhibition of S. mutans. This work may be promoted for the design and development of future marine dextranase oral care products.

Systems Pharmacological Approach to Investigate the Mechanism of Hericium erinaceus for Alzheimer’s Disease

Objective To confirm evidence regarding the potential therapeutic effect of Hericium erinaceus(H.erinaceus,Hou Tou Gu,猴头菇) on Alzheimer’s disease(AD) using a system pharmacological approach in silico.Methods The active compounds of H.erinaceus were screened from the TCMDatabase@Taiwan,PubMed,and Pubchem.The predicted targets of H.erinaceus were selected by using the Similarity Ensemble Approach Database and the DisGeNET database was used to screen the targets related to AD.The compound-target-AD network was built.GO analysis and Pathway enrichment analysis were used for bioinformatics analysis.Results A total of 21 kinds of H.erinaceus active compounds were screened by network pharmacology,showing 451 predicted targets of active compounds.Among them,165 targets were associated with AD,and the compounds in H.erinaceus were highly connected to AD-related signaling pathways and biological processes,such as cholinergic synaptic transmission,inflammation-related pathways and neurotrophin signaling pathway.Conclusions Our results indicate that compounds in H.erinaceus interact with multiple targets in a synergetic way and the anti-inflammatory,anti-apoptosis and synaptic transmission enhancing effects of H.erinaceus might contribute to its major therapeutic effects on Alzheimer’s disease.

Development of a Zebrafish Model for Rapid Drug Screening against Alzheimer＇s Disease

Alzheimer＇s disease, the leading cause of dementia in the elderly, is a complex neurodegenerative disorder which leads to a progressive decline in cognitive functions. A rapid screening model is highly demanded for identification and evaluation of novel anti-Alzheimer＇s disease drugs from a large numbers of compounds. Until now, numerous studies utilized zebrafish model for drug discovery. Since aluminum can induce a similar biological activity in zebrafish as in Alzheimer patients, in this study, we developed a novel animal model using 3 to 5 day post-fertilization larval zebrafish by optimizing the doses and duration of aluminum chloride exposure. Six anti-Alzheimer＇s disease drugs with a variety of mechanisms were tested to validate the newly developed zebrafish model. Importantly, Rivastigmine, ThT, Flurbiprofen and AM-117 could increase the value of Dyskinesia Recovery Rate by 53.4-64%, 169.4-200%, 54.5-96% and 70.9-121%, respectively. Rivastigmine, Memantine, ThT, Flurbiprofen, Rosiglitazone and AM-117 improved the value of Response Efficiency by 86.6-175.1%, 28.2-66.6%, 127.2-236.5%, 118.3-323.7%, 26.6-140.8% and 70.2-161.4%, respectively. Our results suggest that the zebrafish model developed in this study could be a useful tool for high throughput screening of potential novel anti-Alzheimer＇s disease leading compounds targeting acetylcholinesterase, N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor, γ-secretase, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γand amyloid-β.

The pathogenesis of Alzheimer and pharmaceutical research on prevention

Senile Dementia is the illness with a symptom of ongoing cognitive obstacle and loss of memory function. With our population aging, dementia and depression in old age is increasing rapidly. It is estimated that by 2020, depressive disorder will become the second largest human disease leading to crippling. By 2040, globally the number of people with dementia will reach 81.1 million while the number of dementia patients in China will be the sum of that in all developed countries. Its incidence increases exponentially with age and the incidence of the elderly over 85 reach up to 8% -10%. Among all dementia patients, people with Alzheimer＇ s disease （Alzheimer＇ s disease, AD） accounted for 50 % -70%, the rest is vascular dementia （vascular dementia, VD） and mixed dementia. In the United States, Alzheimer＇ s disease has become the fourth leading cause of death followed after cardiovascular disease, cancer and stroke. Through comprehensive control strategy, we can improve the mental health level of old people, so as to protect the physical and mental health, improving the life quality of old people.