Zhong xi yi jie he xue bao = Journal of Chinese integrative medicine最新文献

Objective: An ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS)-based chemical analytic technology was used to evaluate the chemical constitution of Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata in the process of decocting, so as to provide a scientific basis for processing Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata.

Methods: Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata samples with different decocting time were detected using UPLC/Q-TOF-MS to create a fingerprint spectrum. The data of tR-m/z pairs, ion intensities and sample codes were processed by partial least squared-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to holistically compare the difference among these samples.

Results: The contents of diester-diterpenoid alkaloid such as aconitine, mesaconitine and hypaconitine were higher between 2 to 10 min, while the contents of the lower toxic monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids such as benzoylaconine, benzoylmesaconine and benzoylhypaconine increased during the first 60 min, then their contents stabilized.

Conclusion: Selecting the correct processing time for Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata according to clinical indications is essential for attenuating toxicity and increasing efficiency. Within 30 min is the best time for diester-diterpenoid alkaloids as the main pharmacodynamic material, and within 60 min is the best time for monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids as the pharmacodynamic material of Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata.

Objective: To study the effects of Xifeng Capsule, a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, combined with carbamazepine on spontaneous epileptic seizure induced by lithium and pilocarpine in rats and the expression level of multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1).

Methods: Lithium and pilocarpine were used to induce epilepsies in rats. All epileptic rats were randomly divided into model, high-dose Xifeng Capsule, medium-dose Xifeng Capsule, low-dose Xifeng Capsule, high-dose Xifeng Capsule plus carbamazepine (CBZ) (combined high-dose group), high-dose Xifeng Capsule plus half dose of CBZ (combined low-dose group) and CBZ groups with 10 rats in each group. And another 10 normal rats served as control. After treating 28 d, immunohistochemical method was used to detect the MRP1 expression in cortex and hippocampus of the epileptic rats.

Results: MRP1 expression in hippocampus of the treated groups was higher than that of the normal control group, with wider range and darker positive particles, but was lower than that of the model group. In the cortical areas, the differences between the combined high-dose group or the combined low-dose group and the model group were statistically significant (P<0.05). Regardless of the hippocampus CA1, CA3, gyrus or cortical areas, the influence of high-dose Xifeng Capsule on MRP1 distribution was superior to that of low-dose Xifeng Capsule; Xifeng Capsule combined with CBZ had better effects than low-dose Xifeng Capsule, medium-dose Xifeng Capsule and CBZ used alone (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Xifeng Capsule used alone or combined with CBZ can effectively inhibit MRP1 expression in hippocampus and cortex of epileptic rats.

Objective: To study the antidiabetic, neurochemical-antioxidant and cognition protective effects of Clitorea ternatea leaves on a rat model of diabetic cognitive decline.

Methods: Antidiabetic activity was evaluated by serum glucose and body weight estimation in ethanol extract of Clitorea ternatea (EECT)-treated diabetic rats. Effects of EECT on spatial working memory (SWM) and spatial reference memory (SRM) were evaluated by Y-maze and Morris water maze tests respectively. Neurochemical-antioxidant effects of EECT were studied by acetylcholinesterase assay, and measurements of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARSs), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) levels in diabetic rats.

Results: The 200 and 400 mg/kg of EECT showed a significant antidiabetic activity by decreasing serum glucose level (P<0.05, P<0.01), and there was a significant increase in the body weight in 400 mg/kg of EECT-treated diabetic rats (P<0.01). EECT was found to cause significant increases in SWM and SRM in retention trials on Y-maze and Morris water maze respectively (P<0.05, P<0.01). Significant decreases in acetylcholinesterase activity and TBARS level, and significant increase in CAT level were observed in rats treated with 200 and 400 mg/kg of EECT compared with rats in the diabetic control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Significant increase was also found in SOD in rats treated with 400 mg/kg of EECT.

Conclusion: Clitorea ternatea exhibits antidiabetic and antioxidant activities, offers the protection against diabetes-induced cognitive decline, and warrants the need for further studies to elucidate its mode of action.

Objective: To observe the effects of ursolic acid (UA) on insulin resistance and cell differentiation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and to explore the mechanisms.

Methods: 3T3-L1 adipocytes were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) supplemented with glucose (25 mmol/L) and insulin (10(-6) mol/L) to induce insulin resistance. After culture, glucose consumption of the adipocytes was detected by glucose oxidase method and glucose uptake was detected by using tritium-marked glucose. Drug concentration for following test was determined through detecting the effects of different concentrations of UA on the activity of 3T3-L1 adipocytes with insulin resistance by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) staining. 3T3-L1 adipocytes with insulin resistance were cultured with DMEM, rosiglitazone, and low- and high-dose UA, and then, glucose uptake and differentiation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes were detected. Finally, real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot methods were used to detect the effects of UA on expressions of adipocyte lipid binding protein (aP2), c-Cbl-associated protein (CAP) and matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) in 3T3-L1 cells with insulin resistance.

Results: After dealing with high glucose/hyperinsulin for 24 h, insulin resistance was induced successfully in the 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The concentrations of UA were defined to be 4 to 20 μmol/L. Compared with the model group, the glucose uptake was significantly increased in the rosiglitazone group and groups treated with low- and high-dose UA (P<0.01). The differentiation levels of 3T3-L1 adipocytes in the UA groups were lower than those in the control group and the rosiglitazone group. Effects of UA on the expressions of aP2 and MMP-1 were not obvious, but UA could up-regulate expression of CAP both in mRNA and protein levels (P<0.01).

Conclusion: Low- and high-dose UA can improve the glycometabolism and differentiation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes with insulin resistance by up-regulating the expression of CAP.

Objective: Based on individual cases of treatment, we were interested in whether the effects of a special kind of qigong, the "White Ball" exercises, can be objectified by physically measurable parameters and psychological scores.

Methods: We performed a preliminary prospective controlled interventional study with the waiting list design. In the qigong group eight children were included. They received specific qigong lessons of the "White Ball" qigong over seven weeks, twice a week, for 30 min with a waiting list design and instructions to perform the same exercises at home daily. In the control group eight children were included in a waiting list design with no qigong instruction. Subjective perception of anxiety was measured by the Portuguese version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale adapted for children. In addition, salivary cortisol, heart rate variability, blood pressure, surface electromyography of the trapezius muscle and reaction time were measured at the beginning and the end of the study prior to the regular public auditions.

Results: In comparison to the changes in the control group, the qigong group scored significantly lower in heart rate. Otherwise the groups did not differ significantly; however, the effect size was large for salivary cortisol, surface electromyography of the trapezius muscle and blood pressure. There were relevant reductions of subjective perception of anxiety, salivary cortisol levels and heart rate.

Conclusion: The heart rate of performing schoolchildren can be potentially reduced by "White Ball" exercises. Based on a sample of 8/8, positive tendencies were also observed for anxiety and blood pressure. The next steps of objectifying possible qigong effects are to increase the sample size, to study young people in other situations arousing anxiety, to develop an appropriate control intervention, to solve the problem of blinding and double blinding, to find additional parameters that may be influenced by the "White Ball" qigong, and to compare the qigong effects with other methods reducing anxiety such as more traditional biofeedback or systematic desensitization.

Objective: To investigate the effects of Changweiqing-medicated serum, which was prepared with a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on the reversal of oxaliplatin (L-OHP) resistance and the relationship between the reversal and cellular accumulation of platinum and proteins associated with copper transporter in HCT116/L-OHP cells.

Methods: For clarifying the reversal effect of Changweiqing, methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium was applied to determine the L-OHP resistance of HCT116/L-OHP cell line. The relationship between the cellular accumulation of platinum and the L-OHP resistance in HCT116/L-OHP cells, and the effects of drug-medicated serum on intracellular contents of platinum were detected by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Western blot method was used to determine the expressions of human copper transporter 1 (hCTR1), ATPase Cu(2+) transporting alpha polypeptide (ATP7A), copper-transporting P-type adenosine triphosphatase (ATP7B), glutathione S-transferase-π (GST-π) and multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (MRP2).

Results: The inhibitory concentration 50% values of different pairs of L-OHP-sensitive and -resistant cells were 7.2 and 89.00. The resistance index of HCT116/L-OHP cells was 12.36. The reverse index of drug serum on HCT116/L-OHP cells was 2.74. The platinum content in HCT116/L-OHP cells was decreased compared with HCT116 cells in condition of 7.2 μg/mL L-OHP. After treating by 7.5% Changweiqing-medicated serum, the intracellular platinum contents in L-OHP-sensitive and -resistant cells were increased. It was dose-dependent that drug-medicated serum promoted the uptake of L-OHP by HCT116 or HCT116/L-OHP cells and inhibited the discharge. The 7.5% Changweiqing-medicated serum increased the expression of hCTR1 and decreased the expressions of ATP7A and ATP7B in HCT116/L-OHP cells, but had no effects on GST-π and MRP2 protein expressions.

Conclusion: Changweiqing can reverse the L-OHP resistance of HCT116/L-OHP by increasing the cellular platinum-DNA accumulation. Down-regulation of expression of ATP7B and ATP7A, and up-regulation of hCTR1 may cause the increase of intracellular platinum content in HCT116/L-OHP cells.

Data management has significant impact on the quality control of clinical studies. Every clinical study should have a data management plan to provide overall work instructions and ensure that all of these tasks are completed according to the Good Clinical Data Management Practice (GCDMP). Meanwhile, the data management plan (DMP) is an auditable document requested by regulatory inspectors and must be written in a manner that is realistic and of high quality. The significance of DMP, the minimum standards and the best practices provided by GCDMP, the main contents of DMP based on electronic data capture (EDC) and some key factors of DMP influencing the quality of clinical study were elaborated in this paper. Specifically, DMP generally consists of 15 parts, namely, the approval page, the protocol summary, role and training, timelines, database design, creation, maintenance and security, data entry, data validation, quality control and quality assurance, the management of external data, serious adverse event data reconciliation, coding, database lock, data management reports, the communication plan and the abbreviated terms. Among them, the following three parts are regarded as the key factors: designing a standardized database of the clinical study, entering data in time and cleansing data efficiently. In the last part of this article, the authors also analyzed the problems in clinical research of traditional Chinese medicine using the EDC system and put forward some suggestions for improvement.

Objective: In this study, we investigated the antimyocardial ischemic effects of flavonoid-rich methanolic leaf extract of Acalypha indica (AIE).

Methods: An animal model of myocardial ischemic injury was induced by isoproterenol (ISO) in adult rats. Albino Wistar rats were pretreated with the AIE (100 and 200 mg/kg body weight orally) for 30 d followed by ISO (85 mg/kg subcutaneously) at an interval of 24 h for 2 d. At the end of the experimental period (12 h after the second dose of ISO injection), rats were sacrificed by anaesthetization with an intramuscular injection of ketamine hydrochloride (24 mg/kg). To ensure anti-ischemic potential of AIE, the plasma lipids such as total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), free fatty acids (FFA), phospholipids (PL), myocardial lipids and hepatic lipids (TC, TG, FFA and PL) were estimated. Histopathology of heart tissue was also examined.

Results: Administration of AIE maintained the levels of plasma lipids in all the treatment groups (100 and 200 mg/kg) when compared with the ISO-injected model rats. Histopathological examination of heart tissue of ISO-administered model rat showed myofiber loss, extensive subendocardial necrosis, infiltration of inflammatory cells, marked myocellular edema and vacuolar degeneration. However, pretreatment with AIE at 200 mg/kg showed predominantly normal myocardium structure with myofibers appeared and no inflammatory cell infiltration, edema and necrosis.

Conclusion: The biochemical and histological evidence from this study shows that AIE is protective against ISO-induced myocardial ischemia.

Objective: To observe the protective effects of echinacoside on rotenone-induced damages in rats.

Methods: Healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing from 200 to 220 g, were randomly divided into five groups with 20 rats in each group: control group, rotenone group and echinacoside groups of low, medium and high doses (20, 40 and 80 mg/(kg·d)). Rats in the rotenone group were injected intraperitoneally for four weeks with rotenone (2.75 mg/(kg·d)), dissolved into dimethyl sulfoxide; rats in the control group were injected intraperitoneally with dimethyl sulfoxide daily, and rats in the echinacoside groups received daily intraperitoneal injection of rotenone along with echinacoside gastric perfusion for four weeks. Modified neurological severity score was used to evaluate neurobehavior of the animals; dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra were observed by immunochemical method and dopamine concentration in striatum was determined by a fluorescence spectrophotometer. Biomarkers of liver and kidney damage were also measured.

Results: In the rotenone group, the rats suffered from severe neurological disability (P<0.01), and the number of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra and dopamine concentration in striatum were decreased (P<0.05) compared with the normal control group; levels of the biomarkers for evaluating liver and kidney damage were increased (P<0.05). In the echinacoside groups, the neurological disability and the loss of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra were suppressed and dopamine concentrations in striatum were increased (P<0.05), but the liver and kidney damage was not improved (P>0.05).

Conclusion: Rotenone causes severe damages to dopaminergic neurons, liver and kidney in rats and echinacoside selectively reverses dopaminergic neuronal injury.

Oenothera genus (Onagraceae) has been used as a folk remedy since ancient times for the treatment of asthma, gastrointestinal disorders, neuralgia, skin diseases, and hepatic and kidney diseases. Different chemical constituents like lipids, flavonoids, tannins, steroids and triterpenes have been isolated from this genus. The various notable pharmacological activities reported from the genus are antioxidant, cytotoxic, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antihyperlipidaemic, thrombolytic and antidiarrhoeal. The present paper is to summarize the worldwide reported biological activities and phytoconstituents associated with this genus for about 50 years and highlight the medicinally important species belonging to this genus so that these species can be further explored and used as therapeutic agents for various diseases.