Chinese Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Chinese Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology(CJPT)started its publication in 1986.It is a monthly and distributed to readers both at home and abroad.This journal is collaboratively sponsored by the Chinese Pharmacological Society,the Chinese Society of Toxicology and Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology.This journal focuses on the presentation of the latest findings in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology in order to promote academic exchanges worldwide and steer this sphere of research forward.In line with the principles of precision,

Pharmacological Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Course Reform of Experimental Teaching under the Background of Courses on the Ideological and Political Dimension

Pharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine is a bridge course linking traditional medicine and modern medicine.In the past,the teaching often focused on the cultivation of basic theories and skills,but did not integrate into the systematic design of ideological and political education.According to the characteristics of the course,this paper combines professional courses with ideological and political education from the aspects of teaching objectives,teaching contents,teaching methods,teaching resources and professional teachers’quality,so as to enhance students’recognition of Chinese excellent culture.

Call for Papers International Symposium on Toxicology Jointly Sponsored by the China Preventive Medical Association and the Chinese Pharmacological Society

The scientific program will consist of symposia and poster sessions. Topics related to theoretical and applied research in the domain of toxicology and toxicological studies on chemicals of public concern will be welcome. The presenter’s name, address, and telephone and FAX numbers should be submitted along with the title of the presentation and whether it is oral or poster. Deadline: April 15, 1990. Papers should be submitted to:

Dissemination of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Germany from an Intercultural Perspective: A Brief Introduction of Franz Hübotter

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)is the cultural heritage of all humankind.TCM not only embodies the cultural crystallization of the region and the nation,but also performs the important mission of curing the lives,saving the sick and maintaining the health of the people.In the history of the spread of Chinese medicine to the West,foreign missionaries have played an important role,and researches about this role have continued in China.In the history of Chinese medicine in Germany,there is a pivotal figure named Franz Hübotter(1881-1967),who broke through the deadlock in the academic research of Chinese medicine in the 19th century in Germany,but the discussion on his contribution has been comparatively rare in China.His works and translations are not only of medical value,but are also valuable historically,culturally,and socially.The historical development of TCM has the authenticity of history,the integrity of the environment,and the richness of the times.Medical experts have explored and verified the value of medicine.Translators and scholars are mainly concerned with the dissemination of knowledge from an intercultural perspective.This paper provides a primitive and objective introduction to Franz Hübotter,hoping to trigger off the secondary research among scholars of different professional backgrounds and to expand professional thinking,and then get over the barriers of disciplines.

Serum containing Tongqiaohuoxue decoction suppresses glutamate-induced PC12 cell injury

Glutamate application is an established method of inducing PC12 cell injury. PC12 cells were cultured with serum containing Tongqiaohuoxue decoction consisting of moschus, Carthamus tinctonus, Rhizoma chuanxiong, Semen pruni persicae, and Radix Paeoniae Rubra. After 24 hours of co-cultivation, glutamate （12.5 mM） was added to the culture medium. We found that serum containing Tongqiaohuoxue decoction prevented the increase in reactive oxygen species, and the decreases in superoxide dismutase and Na＋-K＋-ATPase activity, induced by glutamate. It also reduced the concentration of malondialdehyde, enhanced the mitochondrial transmembrane potential, inhibited the elevation of cellular calcium, and decreased phosphorylation of calmodulin-dependent protein kinase I1. Thus, serum containing Tongqiaohuoxue decoction had protective effects on cell proliferation and membrane permeability in glutamate-injured PC12 cells.

EFFECTS OF RADIX ANGELICAE SINENSIS AND SHUANGHUANGLIAN ON A RAT MODEL OF CHRONIC PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA PNEUMONIA

Objective. To study the effects of two kinds of Chinese herbal medicine, Radix angelicae sinensis(RAS)(当归)and Shuanghuanglian(SHL)(双黄连) on chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa(PA)lung infection in a rat model mimicking cystic fibrosis(CF). Methods.Rats were divided into RAS, SHL and control groups. All rats were challenged intratracheally with alginate embedded PA and the treatments with herbal medicine started on the same day of challenge. The drugs were administered subcutaneously once a day for ten days and the control group was treated with sterile saline.The rats were sacrificed two weeks after challenge. Results. Significantly improved lung bacterial clearance(P<005, P<001) and milder macroscopic lung pathology (P<0005) were found in the two treated groups compared to the control group. In the SHL treated group, the neutrophil percent in the peripheral blood leukocytes(P<005), the antiPA IgG level in serum (P<005), the incidence of lung abscesses(P<0005) and the incidence of acute lung inflammation(P<005) were significantly lower than in the control group. The RAS treatment reduced fever(P<005), decreased the incidence of lung abscesses(P<0005) and lung mast cell number (P<005), and lowered antiPA IgG1 level in serum(P<005) when compared to the control group. The antiPA bacterial activity test in SHL was weakly positive whereas in RAS it was negative. Conclusion.The treatment with both herbal medicines could increase the resistance of the rats against PA lung infection and they therefore might be potential promising drugs for stimulation of the immune system in CF patients with chronic PA lung infection.

Effects of Diazepam on Rat Cholinesterase andMembrane Stability of Red Cell in vitro

The results confirmed that diazepam inhibits the cholinesterase in rat serum,red cell,corpus striatum and diaphragm in vitro,that the higher the diazepam concentration,the stronger the cholinesterase inhibition,and that diazepam is a reversible inhibitor to acetylcholinesterase and diazepam has a stabilizing action on red cell membranes.The role of these effects of diazepam in the treatment of organic phosphate poisoning is discussed

Effects of Chinese Herbal Medicine Serum on the Apoptosis of Sinoatrial Node Cells Induced by Simulated Ischemia-reperfusion

Objective:To study the effect of Chinese herbal medicine Kangxin Fumai Granule(康心复脉颗粒 Granule for heart diseases) serum on the primary cultured sinoatrial node(SAN) cell apoptosis induced by simulated ischemia-reperfusion(IR).Methods:The SAN cells removed from SAN tissue of neonatal Wistar rats were cultured and purified with differential attachment and 5'-bromodeoxyuridine(BrdU) treatment.Simulated IR model was adopted.The obtained cells were morphologically observed with inverted microscopy.By using the method of serum pharmacology,the cell apoptosis was measured with TUNEL staining qualitatively and with flow cytometry quantitatively.Results:Three kinds of cells were observed in the cultured SAN cells:spindle,triangle and irregular.The spindle cells comprised the greatest proportion.The SAN cells in the model group showed moderate positive brown staining in the nucleus,and the apoptosis rate increased significantly compared to that in the control group(P<0.01).While the SAN cells in the Kangxin Fumai Granule high-dose group did not demonstrated positive staining in the nucleus,and the apoptosis rate decreased significantly compared to that in the model group(P<0.05).Conclusion:Of the cells cultured from SAN,the spindle cells were pacemaker cells of SAN in rats.Blockade and/or inhibition of the SAN cell apoptosis might be one of the important mechanisms of Kangxin Fumai Granule in preventing and treating sinoatrial injury induced by simulated IR.

Exploring Traditional Chinese Medicine by A Novel Therapeutic Concept of Network Target

Traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） holds a holistic theory, and specializes in balancing disordered human body using numerous natural products, particularly Chinese herbal formulae. TCM has certain treatment advantages for patients suffering from various complex diseases. However, due to the complex nature of TCM, it remains difficult to unveil such holistic medicine by the current reductionism research strategies, which treat both herbal ingredients and targets in isolation. Recently, an emerging network pharmacology approach has been introduced to tackle this bottleneck problem. A TCM-derived novel therapeutic concept, ＂network target＂, which is different from the Western medicine＇s ＂onetarget＂ concept, has been proposed from China. The network target strategy is able to illustrate the complex interactions among the biological systems, drugs, and complex diseases from a network perspective, and thus provides an innovative approach to access ancient remedies in a precision manner and at a systematic level, which also highlights TCM＇s potential in current medical systems.

Metabolism of Chinese Materia Medica in Gut Microbiota and Its Biological Effects

The drug metabolism in gut microbiota draws increasing attentions. After interacting with the gut bacteria, the biological effects of drugs might be altered, leading to toxicity or detoxification, production of potential bioactivities, regulating intestinal absorption, etc. In this review, we will focus on the metabolism of Chinese materia medica（CMM） in mammal gut microbiota and its biological effects to learn the interaction between gut bacteria and drugs through oral route in CMM.

Effect of Jinmaitong (筋脉通) Serum on the Proliferation of Rat Schwann Cells Cultured in High Glucose Medium

Objective： To investigate the effect of Jinmaitong （筋脉通,JMT） serum on the proliferation of rat Schwann cells （SCs） primarily cultured in high glucose medium. Method： SOs were primarily cultured in Dulbecco＇s minmum essential medium （DMEM control）, 50 mmol/L glucose medium （50 mmol/L Glu）, 75 mmol/L glucose medium （75 mmol/L Glu）, as well as 50 mmol/L glucose medium, with different concentrations of JMT serum （undiluted, 1：2 diluted and 1：8 diluted） and Neurotropin （Ntp）, respectively. The proliferation of SCs under different conditions was detected by MTT. Result： SCs grew exuberantly in DMEM within 24-72 h, but slowed down at 96 h. The proliferation of SCs was inhibited in 50 mmol/L Glu and 75 mmol/L Glu after cultures of 48, 72 and 96 h, which showed that both were significantly different compared to the control group （P〈0.01）. The inhibition was more significant in 75 mmol/L Glu than in 50 mmol/L Glu （P〈0.05）. Spearman＇s rho analysis revealed that the proliferation of SCs had a negative correlation with the concentration of glucose （r=-0.471, P〈0.01）. Excluding the time factor, partial correlation showed similar results （r =-0.679, P〈0.01）. After 48 h, the proliferation of SCs increased significantly in JMT 1：2 and Ntp compared with 50 mmol/L Glu （control 0.437±0.019, 50 mmol/ L Glu 0.367±0.035, JMT1：2 0.426±0.024, Ntp 0.422±0.013; P〈0.01）, and there were no statistically significant differences among the JMT groups, the Ntp group and the control group （P〉0.05）. Conclusions： The proliferation of SCs was inhibited in high glucose medium, and the inhibition was reduced by different concentrations of JMT serum, especially at JMT1：2.

Phytochemistry,Metabolism, and Metabolomics of Ginseng

Ginseng, as a medicinal plant, has been used for thousands of years in China, Korea, and Japan, and the study on ginseng is a hotspot in the research field as evidenced by about 7000 scientific papers in PUBMED. In recent decades, many ginseng studies focused on the metabolism and metabolomics of ginseng or its active ingredients using modern bioanalytical technologies. To date, more than 200 ginsenosides and non-saponin constituents have been isolated and identified. In the past decades, rapid development of analytical technologies has facilitated the advancement of ginseng research in many ways. In this review, we focus on the advances of ginseng research in chemistry, pharmacology, and metabolomics. We also provide the comments on the significance as well as challenges of metabolomics-based ginseng studies.