In the practice of building its humanistic environment of a research hospital,Nanjing Drum Tower hospital adheres to such humanistic characteristics of the hospital as humanistic concept,planning, environment,management,service,and quality.Furthermore,the hospital upholds such keys as learning, innovation, cooperation, undertaking, competition and development. High focus, high starting point planning,persistence,and down-to-earth efforts,effectively promoting hospital development.

Objective To determine the content of five alkaloids from extracts of Piper longum and test the pharmacodynamic effect of them on rats with experimental myocardial ischemia induced by injection of pituitrin. Methods The content of five alkaloids was determined simultaneously by HPLC. The experimental myocardial ischemia in rats was induced by injection of pituitrin, and the absolute value of T wave change and change of heart rate before and after model establishment were chosen to be the observation index. The effects of large, medium and small dose groups were evaluated. Results Three batches of samples were analyzed, with the contents of piperine for 56.1%, 49.7%, 51.6%; N-isobutyl-(2E,4E)-octadecatrienamide for 4.5%, 4.2%, 4.3%; guineensine for 0.46%, 0.38%, 0.40%; piplartine for 1.73%, 1.67%, 1.70% and piperamide for 0.55%, 0.46%, 0.49%, respectively. All dose groups from extracts of piper longum had significantly reduced the absolute value of T wave and almost have no effect on the change of heart rate, except the high dose group showed the effect of reducing heart rate at some time . Conclusion The HPLC method was suitable for the simultaneous determination of five alkaloids from extracts of Piper longum. It was shown that extracts of Piper longum had good bioactivity in anti-myocardial ischemia.

ObjectiveTo examine the inhibitory effects of berberine compounds， including columbamine， on acetylcholinesterase from the perspectives of drug-target binding affinity and kinetics and explore the blood-brain barrier （BBB） permeability of these compounds in different multi-component backgrounds. MethodThe median inhibitory concentration （IC₅₀） of acetylcholinesterase by berberine compounds including columbamine was measured using the Ellman-modified spectrophotometric method. The binding kinetic parameters （K_off） of these compounds with acetylcholinesterase were determined using the enzyme activity recovery method. A qualitative analysis of the ability of these components to penetrate the BBB and arrive at the brain tissue in diverse multi-component backgrounds （including medicinal herbs and compound formulas） was conducted using ultra performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry （UPLC-HRMS）. ResultBerberine compounds， including columbamine， exhibited strong inhibition of acetylcholinesterase， with IC₅₀ values in the nanomolar range. Moreover， they displayed better drug-target binding kinetics characteristics （with smaller K_off values） than the positive control of donepezil hydrochloride （P<0.01）， indicating a longer inhibition duration of acetylcholinesterase. Berberine components such as columbamine could penetrate the BBB to arrive at brain tissue in the form of a monomer， as well as in the multi-component backgrounds of Coptis and Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex medicinal extracts and the compound formula Huanglian Jiedutang. ConclusionThese berberine compounds such as columbamine exhibit a strong inhibitory effect on acetylcholinesterase and can arrive at brain tissue in multi-component backgrounds. In the level of pharmacological substance， this supports the clinical efficacy of compound Huanglian Jiedutang in improving Alzheimer's disease， providing data support for elucidating the pharmacological basis of compound Huanglian Jiedutang.