STUDY ON PATHOGENIC MECHANISM OF EMOTIONS IN TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE—An Observation of Hydrogen Peroxide Releasing Function of Celiac Macrophages in Rats Under Stress State

The hydrogen peroxide releasing function of macrophages in rats under the stress state wasobserved with the animal model of“excessive anger impairing the liver”.The resultsshowed that the volume of hydrogen peroxide released from the macrophages in rats wasdecreased,while the corticosterone level in plasma increased after stress.It indicates thatstimulation of harmful emotions could cause inhibition of immunoreaction of the organism,which might be related to the enhancement in excitability of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and hypersecretion of glucocorticoid hormone.

Global analysis of lysine succinylation in patchouli plant leaves

Lysine succinylation is a novel,naturally occurring posttranslational modification(PTM)in living organisms.Global lysine succinylation identification has been performed at the proteomic level in various species;however,the study of lysine succinylation in plant species is relatively limited.Patchouli plant(P.cablin(Blanco)Benth.,Lamiaceae)is a globally important industrial plant and medicinal herb.In the present study,lysine succinylome analysis was carried out in patchouli plants to determine the potential regulatory role of lysine succinylation in patchouli growth,development,and physiology.The global succinylation sites and proteins in patchouli plants were screened with an immunoprecipitation affinity enrichment technique and advanced mass spectrometry-based proteomics.Several bioinformatic analyses,such as function classification and enrichment,subcellular location predication,metabolic pathway enrichment and protein−protein interaction networking,were conducted to characterize the functions of the identified sites and proteins.In total,1097 succinylation sites in 493 proteins were detected in patchouli plants,among which 466 succinylation sites in 241 proteins were repeatedly identified within three independent experiments.The functional characterization of these proteins indicated that the tricarboxylic acid(TCA)cycle,oxidative phosphorylation,photosynthesis processes,and amino acid biosynthesis may be regulated by lysine succinylation.In addition,these succinylated proteins showed a wide subcellular location distribution,although the chloroplast and cytoplasm were the top two preferred cellular components.Our study suggested the important role of lysine succinylation in patchouli plant physiology and biology and could serve as a useful reference for succinylation studies in other medicinal plants.

First Report of Phomopsis Leaf Spot on Patchouli [Pogostemon cablin( Blanco) Benth. ]Caused by Diaporthe arecae in China

A severe leaf spot disease on patchouli,was observed in Guangdong,China.Early symptom appeared as circular or irregularly shaped and dark brown spots along the leaf margins and tips.As the disease progressed,the spots enlarged and with masses black,sessile conidiomata were observed in lesions.The results of morphology,molecular biology and pathogenicity test indicate that the causal agent of leaf disease of patchouli is Diaporthe arecae.

Pharmacokinetic Effects of Baicalin on Cerebral Ischemia-reperfusion after iv Administration in Rats

Objective To investigate the pharmacokinetic effects of baicalin on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) after iv administration in rats. Methods The cerebral I/R rats were induced by occluding the bilateral carotid arteries of normal rats for 2 h, followed by reperfusion. The resultant animals were immediately iv administrated with baicalin (90 mg/kg), whilst the same dose of baicalin was injected to the normal rats. Plasma samples were collected at different time to construct pharmacokinetic profiles by plotting drug concentration vs time. Quantification of baicalin in rat plasma was achieved using a simple and rapid HPLC method. Results In normal rats, the major parameters of distribution half-life, elimination half-life, area under the plasma concentration-time (AUC), apparent volume of distribution (Vd), and clearance (CL), estimated by an open two-compartmental model, were 0.8868 min, 26.0968 min, 149.6204 mg/min·L, 4.765 L/kg, and 0.5776 L/ kg·min), respectively. However, in I/R rats, the corresponding parameters were 2.084 min, 34.4998 min, 260.0188 μg·min/L, 5.9376 L/kg, and 0.334 L/(kg·min), respectively. Conclusion The cerebral I/R could significantly increase AUC and Vd values, decrease CL values, and prolong the terminal half-life of baicalin. These findings suggest that the injuries of I/R could play an important role in pharmacokinetic process of baicalin.

Hypotriglyceridemic Effects of Apple Polyphenols Extract via Up-Regulation of Lipoprotein Lipase in Triton WR-1339-Induced Mice

Objective：To investigate the anti-hyperlipidemic effects of apple polyphenols extract（APE）in Triton WR-1339-induced endogenous hyperlipidemic model.Methods：Firstly,APE was isolated and purified from the pomace of Red Fuji Apple and contents of individual polyphenols in APE were determined using highperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry（HPLC-MS）.Secondly,forty male National Institude of Health（NIH）mice were randomly divided into 5 groups with 8 animals in each group.The Fenofibrate Capsules（FC）group and APE groups received oral administration of respective drugs for 7 consecutive days.All mice except those in the normal group were intravenously injected through tail vein with Triton WR-1339 on the6th day.Serum and livers from all the mice were obtained 18 h after the injection.The changes in serum total cholesterol（TC）,triglyceride（TG）,lipoprotein lipase（LPL）and hepatic triglyceride lipase（HTGL）were measured by respective kits.Finally,expression of hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha（PPARα）mRNA was measured by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction（RT-PCR）method.Results：Serum TC and TG levels significantly increased in Triton WR-1339-induced model group compared with the normal group（P〈0.01）.Oral administration of APE[200 and 400 mg/（kg·day）]dose-dependently reduced the serum level of TG in hyperlipidemic mice（P〈0.01）.Serum LPL and HTGL activities significantly decreased in Triton WR-1339-induced model group compared with the normal group（P〈0.05）.Oral administration of APE[200 and 400 mg/（kg·day）]dose-dependently elevated the serum activity of LPL in hyperlipidemic mice（P〈0.05or P〈0.01）.Furthermore,compared with the normal group,hepatic mRNA level of PPARαin the model group significantly decreased（P〈0.01）.Oral administration of APE[200 and 400 mg/（kg·day）]dose-dependently elevated the expression of PPARαin hyperlipidemic mice（P〈0.05 or P〈0.01）.Conclusion：APE could reduce TG level via up-regulation of LPL activity,which provides new evidence to elucidate the anti-hyperlipidemic effects of APE.