Effect of Xiaobailing Decoction on Melanocytes in Vitro

To observe the effect of Xiaobailing Decoction （消白灵汤） on murine melanocytes in vitro and to explore the mechanism of Xiaobailing Decoction in the treatment of vitiligo. Methods： B-16F10 murine melanoma cells were cultured in 1640 medium and treated respectively with different concentrations （lmg/ml, 2mg/ml, 3mg/ml） of the Chinese drug Xiaobailing Decoction and its main components, the drugs for replenishing the lddney-yang, and the drugs for nourishing blood and activating blood circulation, etc. for 7 days. MMT assay was used to determine the proliferation of B-16F10 murine melanoma cells. NaOH cleavage assay was adopted to measure the melanogenesis of melanocytes. Results：Xiaobailing Decoction, the drugs for replenishing the kidney-yang and the drugs for nourishing blood and activating blood circulation at different concentrations significantly improved the proliferation of B-16F10 murine melanoma cells from the 3rd day to the 5th day （P〈0.05）, with Xiaobailing Decoction at the concentrations of lmg/ml having the most distinct action on promoting the proliferation of melanocytes on the 3rd day （P〈0.001）; And the drugs for replenishing the lodney-yang at the concentrations of 2mg/ml and 3mg/ml and the drugs for nourishing blood and activating blood circulation at 3mg/ml significantly increased melanogenesis of melanocytes （P〈0.05）. Conclusion： Xiaobailing Decoction can promote melanocytic proliferation and melanogenesis in vitro, and it is indicated that the drugs for replenishing the kidney-yang and the drugs for nourishing blood and activating blood circulation play an important role in treating vitiligo.

Chemical fingerprinting of Su-He-Xiang-Wan and attribution of major characteristic peaks for its quality control by GC-MS

A simple and facile gas chromatography-mass spectrometer （GC-MS） fingerprint of Su-He-Xiang-Wan （SHXW） was developed, the similarity analysis was conducted, and attribution of the major characteristic peaks was identified for SHXW quality control. GC-MS analysis was performed on a QP2010 instrument （Shimadzu, Japan） equipped with a capillary column of RTX-5MS. The column temperature was initiated at 50℃, held for 5 min, increased at the rate of 3 ℃/min to 120 ℃, held for 2 min, and then increased at the rate of 4 ℃/min to 220℃, held for 10 min. Helium carrier gas was used at a constant flow rate of 1.3 mL/min. Mass conditions were ionization voltage, 70 eV; injector temperature, 250℃; ion source temperature, 250 ℃; splitting ratio, 30：1; full scan mode in the 40-500 Da mass ranges with rate of 0.2 s per scan. Attribution of the major characteristic peaks was identified for SHXW by comparing the chemical standards, references of Chinese herbal medicines and the negative controls of prescription samples （NC） of SHXW. With the help of the temperature-programmed retention indices （PTRIs） used together with mass spectra and chemical standards, 25 major characteristic peaks have been identified. Nine volatile medicinal materials were identified in the prescription of SHXW by attributing to the 27 major characteristic peaks. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is a powerful approach to quality control of complex herbal medicines.

Study on the Complex Prescription Compatibility Law of the Cold and Hot Nature of Mahuang Decoction(麻黄汤) and Its Categorized Formulae Based on the Cold-Hot Pad Differentiating Assay

Objective：To explore the complex prescription compatibility law of the cold and hot nature of Mahuang Decoction（麻黄汤,MHD） and Maxing Shigan Decoction（麻杏石甘汤,MXSGD）,both categorized formulas but with different hot/cold natures.Methods：Oxygen consumption of mice was determined among three groups：MHD,MXSGD and the control;a cold-hot pad differentiating assay was used to observe the variability of temperature tropism among the groups of mice which was treated with MHD,MXSGD,and their compositions. Meanwhile,the total anti-oxidant capability（T-AOC） activity were detected.Results：After administration of MHD, the mice showed increased oxygen consumption（P0.01）.Compared with MHD group,the remaining rate of MXSGD mice on the hot pad was found to be significantly increased with the cold-hot pad differentiating assay （P0.05）.There was no significant difference（P0.05） among the remaining rates of MXSGD,MXSGD with high dose Gypsum Fibrosum（MXHGF） group,and MXSGD with low dose Gypsum Fibrosum（MXLGF） group mice.Compared with the MHD group,T-AOC activity of the mice in the Consensus Compositons group was significantly decreased（P=0.0494）.Compared with the MXSGD group,T-AOC activity of Gypsum Fibrosum （GF） group was increased significantly（P=0.0013）.Conclusions：The differences in cold and hot nature could be represented objectively between MHD with a hot nature and MXSGD with a cold nature.The reason may be the Gypsum Fibrosum which decreased the efficacy of the consensus compositions.However,increasing or decreasing the dose of Gypsum Fibrosum will not change the cold and hot nature of MXSGD.