RESEARCH OF ANTIMICROBIAL AND RESISTANCE MODIFYING AGENTS FROM BENINESE PLANTS USED IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

In a world of increasing resistance to current antibiotics,search of novel therapeutic options is urgently needed.The aim of this work was to screen plant crude extracts for direct or indirect(inhibition of resistance)antimicrobial activity.Four crude extracts from 12 plants traditionally used in Benin for the treatment of infections were

Multi-drug Resistant Uropathogenic Escherichia coli and Its Treatment by Chinese Medicine

Objectives： To investigate the resistance and virulence profiles of uropathogenic Escherichia coli（UPEC） and its treatment by Chinese medicine（CM） Fuzheng Qingre Lishi Formula（扶正清热利湿方, FQLF）. Methods： UPEC strains were isolated from recurrent urinary tract infections（UTIs） patients. Patient sensitivities to 17 antibiotics were tested by the disk diffusion method. Virulence genes were screened by plolymerase chain reaction. A mouse model was constructed using a multi-drug resistant and virulent UPEC strain and treated with FQLF or the antibiotic imipenem. The treatment efficacy was evaluated by bacterial clearance from urine and the urinary organs. Results： A total of 90 UPEC strains were collected, and 94.4% of the isolates were resistant to at least 1 antibiotic. Approximately 66.7% of the UPEC strains were multi-drug resistant. More than one virulence gene was found in 85.6% of the isolates. The extended-spectrum β-lactamases（ESBL）-positive strains were more resistant than the negative ones. The virulence gene number was positively correlated with the resistance number（P〈0.05）. A mouse model was successful y constructed using UPEC10. Treatment with either FQLF or antibiotics significantly cleared bacteria from the mouse urine after 14 days. In the untreated control, the bacteria lasted for 28 days. FQLF treatment of the UTI mouse model greatly reduced the bacterial number in the kidney and bladder, but could not completely clear the bacteria. Conclusions： Multi-drug resistance is common among UPEC isolates, and the resistance is positively related with virulence. FQLF could treat UPEC UTIs, but could not completely clear the bacteria from the host.

Potent Therapeutic Effects of Shouwu Jiangqi Decoction(首乌僵芪汤)on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome with Insulin Resistance in Rats

Objective：To investigate the effect of Shouwu Jiangqi Decoction（首乌僵芪汤,SJD） on polycystic ovary syndrome（PCOS） with insulin resistance（IR） in rats and to explore the underlining molecular mechanisms.Methods：A total of 51 female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups：control group（n=7）,model group（n=8）,SJD high-dose group（n=9）,SJD medium-dose group（n=9）,SJD low-dose group（n=9） and DMBG group（n=9）.Radioimmunoassay was used to measure serum follicle-stimulating hormone（FSH）,luteinizing hormone（LH） and testosterone concentrations and qRT-PCR and western blot were used to examine the expression levels of mRNA and protein respectively of insulin receptor substrate 1（IRS-1）and phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases（PI3K） p85α in different groups.Results：FSH level significantly decreased in the model group compared with the normal control（P〈0.01）,and high-dose SJD and DMBG can significantly increase FSH level（P〈0.01）.LH level showed a mild increase without statistic significance in the model group compared with the control and different dosages of SJD had no significance effect on LH level,while DMBG can significantly decrease LH level（P〈0.01）.Testosterone level significantly increased in the model group compared with the control group（P〈0.01）,and high-dose SJD and DMBG can significantly decrease testosterone level（P〈0.01）.The expression of IRS-1 as well as PI3Kp85α were significantly decreased in the model group compared with the normal control group at both mRNA（P〈0.001） and protein（P〈0.01） level,and both high-dose SJD and DMBG can enhance IRS-1 and PI3 K expression（P〈0.05）.Conclusions：SJD has potent therapeutic effects on PCOS with IR in rats.The therapeutic effects of SJD on IR and ovulatory dysfunction are probably achieved through correcting the defective insulin signaling transduction.

Protective Effects of Chaihu Shugan San(柴胡疏肝散) on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Rats with Insulin Resistance

Objective： To investigate the protective effects of Chinese medicine formulation Chaihu Shugan San（柴胡疏肝散, CHSGS） on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease（NAFLD） in rats with insulin resistance（IR） and its molecular mechanisms. Methods： Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups： the control group, the model group, Dongbao Gantai group（东宝肝泰, DBGT, 0.09 g methionine/kg）, CHSGS high-dose group（CHSG-H, 12.6 g crude drug/kg）, CHSGS medium-dose group（CHSG-M, 6.3 g crude drug/kg）, and CHSGS low-dose group（CHSG-L, 3.15 g crude drug/kg）. After establishing the NAFLD rat model and treatment for 8 weeks, total cholesterol（TC）, triglyceride（TG）, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol（HDL-C）, free fatty acid（FFA）, fasting blood glucose（FBG）, fasting insulin（FINS） contents in blood serum, and TC, TG contents in the hepatic homogenate were measured by an automatic biochemical analyzer, and a homeostasis model assessment was applied to assess the status of IR, insulin sensitivity index（ISI）, and homeostasis model assessment for insulin secretion（HOMA-IS）. The expression levels of adiponectin and leptin mRNA in liver tissue were analyzed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Pathological changes of livers were observed by hematoxylineosin staining of paraffin section. Results： Compared with the model group, the serum levels of TC, TG, FFA, FBG, FINS, IRI, ISI, and the liver levels of TC and TG in CHSG-H, CHSG-M, CHSG-L groups showed significant declines（P〈0.01 or P〈0.05）; the serum levels of HDL-C, HOMA-IS were significantly increased（P〈0.01 or P〈0.05）; the expression of leptin mRNA was dramatically decreased and the expression of adiponectin mRNA was increased in the hepatic tissue（P〈0.01 or P〈0.05）. The fatty deposition of liver cells could also be alleviated. Conclusion： CHSGS could up-regulate the expression of adiponectin mRNA and down-regulate the expression of leptin mRNA on the liver, suggesting the CHSGS had positive therapeutic effect on NAFLD in rats with IR.

Study on Effect of Chinese Herbal Medicine for Enhancing Therapeutic Efficacy on Refractory Drug Resistant Leukemia

The so-called multidrug resistance （MDR） of leukemic cells means the cross resistance of leukemic cells against multiple anti-tumor agents with different constitution and acting mechanism, which takes place simultaneous after resistance to a single contacted drug has been produced. Tumor cells with MDR would now show a low sensitivity to anti-tumor agents, making chemotherapy ineffective or of little effect. Moreover, MDR is one of the pathogenetic factors for inducing refractory leukemia.

Effects of 24 Chinese Medicinal Herbs on Nucleic Acid, Protein and Cell Cycle of Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells

Objective: To study the effects of 24 Chinese medicinal herbs on nucleic acid, protein and cellcycle of human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Methods: Using flow cytometry the authors analysed the effects of 24Chinese medicinal herbs (CMH) in compound recipe on proliferation index (PI), DNA index, protein index andratio of various phases in cell cycle of human lung adenocarcinoma cells (SPC-A-1). Results: The PI was morethan 20%, in 4 CMH, while 3 CMH, Gynostemma Pentaphylla, Radix Glehnia, and Radix Ginseng couldstrengthen the body resistance. That suggested using CMH of strengthening body resistance could not only serveas conventional ionic but also as tumor cell inhibitor. Meanwhile the action points of 24 CMH on cell cycle weredifferent from one another. Conclusions: According to these results, Chinese recipes were more effective in clinical practice.