OBJECTIVE:To explore the transform of the medicinal properties of Coptis chinensis-Cinnamomum cassia couplet medicines before and after mixing. METHODS:Mice were randomly divided into normal group,weak constitution (induced by food restriction and swimming) group,weak constitution+C. chinensis group,weak constitution+C. cassia group,weak constitu-tion+couplet medicine group,prosperous constitution (induced by high protein diet) group,prosperous constitution+C. chinensis group,prosperous constitution+C. cassia group and prosperous constitution+couplet medicine group,with 10 mice in each group. After modeling,each group was given relevant medicine intragastrically by 20 g(crude drug)/(kg·d),and normal group was giv-en equivalent volume of normal saline intragastrically for consecutive 7 days. The proportion of rats remained in high-temperature ar-eas was recorded. Organ index,biochemical index(Na+/K+-ATPase,Ca2+/Mg2+-ATPase),total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC),SOD activity,the serum content of noradrenalin and dopamine were detected. RESULTS:Compared with normal group,proportion of mice in high-temperature area increased in weak constitution group,while liver index,spleen index,renal index,biochemical in-dex activity or content decreased(P<0.05);the change of above index in prosperous constitution group were opposite to weak con-stitution group;above index had statistical significance except for the proportion of mice in high-temperature area(P<0.05). Com-pared with weak constitution/prosperous constitution group,the proportion of mice remained in high-temperature area and liver in-dex increased in weak constitution/prosperous constitution+C. chinensis group,while biochemical index activity or content de-creased(P<0.05);the change of above index in weak constitution/prosperous constitution+C. cassia group were opposite to C. chi-nensis group,spleen index and renal index increased(P<0.05);the proportion of rats remained in high-temperature area increased in weak constitution/prosperous constitution couplet medicine group,and biochemical index activity or content decreased,among which total antioxidant activity decreased significantly(P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS:The couplet medicine manifests the“cold na-ture”after C. chinensis and C. cassia equally paired,because“hot nature”degree of C. cassia is lower than“cold nature”of C. chi-nensis.

AIM: The fingerprint chromatograms were established for quality evaluation of Desmodium styracifolium collected from 11 areas by HPLC. METHODS: The analysis was performed on a Phenomsil C_(18) column((4.6 mm)?250 mm,5 ?m) with acetonitrile-carbinol-water as mobile phase in a gradient mode at a flow rate of(1.0) mL/min,and at a column temperature of 25℃.The detection of wavelength was at 272 nm. RESULTS: 11 peaks were selected as the common fingerprint peaks.The relative standard deviations for relative retention values and relative peak areas were less than 3% in the precision and repeated test,the similarity of 11 batches of samples were no less than 0.9. CONCLUSION: The method is reliable and can be helpful on the quality control of Desmodium styracifolium.

Objective To investigate the effectiveness of treating postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) by intradermal drug injection.Methods Ten rabbits of both sexes weighing 2.3-2.8 kg were anesthetized with intravenous urethane 1.5 g/kg. In group A (n = 5) 30% horseradish peroxidase(HRP) 500 ?l and in group B (n = 5) 1%-2% fluorescent nuclear yellow (NY) 500?l were injected intradermally at 6-8 points along the both sides of spine in the scapula region. After 48-72 h the animals were sacrificed and C4 -T10 spinal ganglia, cervical and thoracic sympathetic ganglia and celiac ganglia were harvested for identification of labeled neurocytes. Results Labeled neurocytes were found in C4-T10 spinal ganglia, cervical and thoracic sympathetic ganglia and celiac ganglia. There were more labeled neurocytes in the C6-T8 spinal ganglia. There were more labeled neurocytes in the sympathetic ganglia than in the spinal ganglia. The distribution of fluorescent labeled neurocytes corresponded to neurocytes labeled by HRP method. At the same segment there were more fluorescent labeled neurocytes than neurocytes labeled by HRP. Conclusion There is an ascending axoplasma streaming channel from nerver ending to the neurocytes in the ganglion as shown by morphological study and the good therapeutic effect of intradermal drug injection in the treatment of PHN may be related to this channel.

AIM: To establish the method of fingerprinting analysis onZedoary turmeric oil by GC. Zedoary turmeric oil for the quality control of reference. METHODS: GC method was used to determine the fingerprint and its similarity of Zedoary turmeric oil calculated on Excel and cluster analysis. RESULTS: Seventeen samples of Zedoary turmeric oil indicated that there was a little similarity among them. Based on the cluster analysis, all the Zedoary turmeric oils could be divided into two categories, self-made and market purchasing oil, the latter oils purchased from Liaoning province and Jiangsu province varied considerably. Every category had a common fingerprint mode with clear resemblance. CONCLUSION: When finding the difference between the self-made and the marketpurchasing Zedoary turmeric oil, quality control requires serious consideration.

AIM:To establish the method for determining oridonin and rosemarinic acid in Donglingcao Tablets(Rabdosia rubescens(Hemsl.) Hara). METHODS:Oridonin and rosemarinic acid were determined by HPLC simultaneously with changing ultraviolet-visible wavelength.Chromatographic condition was composed of ODS-C_(18) column,methanol-03.% phosphoric acid (40∶60),UV detection wavelength of oridonin at 238 nm and of rosemarinic acid at 329 nm. RESULTS:The average recoveries were 97.8% and 96.7% and related standard deviations(RSD) were 1.9% and 2.3%. CONCLUSION:This method can be used to determine simultaneousely oridonin and rosemarinic acid in Donglingcao Tablets.

AIM: To establish the method of fingerprinting analysis on Zedoary turmeric oil by GC.Zedoary turmeric oil for the quality control of reference. METHODS: GC method was used to determine the fingerprint and its similarity of Zedoary turmeric oil calculated on Excel and cluster analysis. RESULTS: Seventeen samples of Zedoary turmeric oil indicated that there was a little similarity among them.Based on the cluster analysis,all the Zedoary turmeric oils could be divided into two categories,self-made and market purchasing oil,the latter oils purchased from Liaoning province and Jiangsu province varied considerably.Every category had a common fingerprint mode with clear resemblance. CONCLUSION: When finding the difference between the self-made and the market purchasing Zedoary turmeric oil,quality control requires serious consideration.

AIM:To simultaneously determine jatrorrhizine hydrochloride,palmatine hydrochloride,berberine hydrochloride、 evodiamine and rutaecarpine in Zuojin Pill(Rhizoma Coptidis,Fructus Evodiae).METHODS:A RP-HPLC method was established with gradient elution and an agilent C_ 18 column(250 mm?4.6 mm,5 ?m)was used.The mobile phase A was acetonitrile and the mobile phase B was water with 0.3% phosphoric acid-triethylamine.The detective wavelength was at 225 nm.RESULTS:Jatrorrhizine hydrochloride had a good linearity in the range of 0.013-0.065 ?g.The average recovery was 103.1% with RSD of 1.1%.Palmatine hydrochloride had a good linearity in the range of 0.013-0.102 ?g.The average recovery was 99.8% with RSD of 1.9%.Berberine hydrochloride had a good linearity in the range of 0.063-0.317 ?g.The average recovery was 99.8% with RSD of 1.4%.Evodiamine had a good linearity in the range of 0.001-0.007 ?g.The averoge recovery was 100.5% with RSD of 1.5%.Rutaecarpine had a good linearity in the range of 0.002-0.010 ?g.The average recovery was 98.9% with RSD of 1.9%.CONCLUSION:This method is simple,accurate and reproducible.It can be used to determine jatrorrhizine hydrochloride、 palmatine hydrochloride、 berberine hydrochloride、 evodiamine and rutaecarpine together with the same chromatogram condition.

AIM: To use seven parts cortex phellodendri and one part Rhizoma atractrylodis to extract mixedly,and study mouse's pharmacokinetic parameter of berberine derived from extract. METHODS: Evodiamine was taken as the marker,HPLC was used to determine berberine content in rat plasma. RESULTS: The linear range of rat's plasma sample was within 0.006 6-0.211 2 ?g/mL,RSD was little than 10%,detection limit was 0.0033 ?g/mL.The main pharmacokinetic parameters consisted of 2 h(T_max),0.183 mg/L(C_max),10.87 h(MRT_0-24),21.562?4.448(MRT_0-∞). CONCLUSION: Berberine in combination of cortex phellodendri and Rhizoma atractylodis can be quickly absorb and achieve the peak value,but metabolize slowly.

Objective To determine the content of sophocarpine, matrine, oxysophocarpine, sophoridine, oxymatrine in Sophora Flavescentis Radix from different areas. Methods Agilent ZORBAX NH2 column (4.6 mm×150 mm, 5 μm) was used with mobile phase of acetonitrile-ethanol-3% phosphate (84∶10∶6), at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The wavelength of detection was 210 nm. Results The linear range of sophocarpine, matrine, oxysophocarpine, sophoridine and oxymatrine were 0.022 88-0.114 4 μg (r=0.999 7), 0.083 2-0.416 0 μg (r=0.999 7), 0.376 2-1.836 0 μg (r=0.999 8), 0.104 4-0.522 μg (r=0.999 2), 0.491 2-2.456 μg (r=0.999 9), respectively. The average recovery were 101.63% (RSD=2.08%), 98.29%(RSD=1.87%), 101.89% (RSD=1.97%), 99.87% (RSD=2.06%), 102.66% (RSD=1.34%), respectively. Conclusion The method is simple, rapid and accurate, and suitable for the quality control of Sophorae Flavescentis Radix.

Objective To explore the relationship between brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (BaPWV) change and carotid artery plaque formation in middle-aged and elderly patients with essential hypertension(EH).Methods A cross sectional study was conducted in 409 patients who were admitted in Hypertension Department in our hospital from January to September 2013.Their age ranged from 35 to 75 years,with mean aged(53.2±15.0) years.Parallel carotid artery ultrasound and BaPWV examination were performed in all patients.According to whether carotid plaques were present,patients were divided into two groups:carotid plaque group and control group.And carotid plaque group was sub-grouped into normal BaPWV group (BaPWV ＜ 1400cm/s) and increased BaPWV group(BaPWV≥1400 cm/s) according to BaPWV levels.The detection rate of carotid plaque was compared between normal BaPWV group and increased BaPWV group.The correlation between BaPWV and carotid plaques was analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis.Results Compared with the control group,carotid plaque group showed the prevalence of carotid plaques was increased along with the increases of age(t=11.0,P=11.0),systolic blood pressure (t=3.87,P=3.87),diastolic blood pressure(t=3.70,P=0.00),pulse pressure(t=6.13,P 6.13),total cholesterol levels(t=2.57,P=0.01).The detection rate of carotid plaque was higher in increased BaPWV group than in normal BaPWV group [62.6％(159/254) vs.43.2％(67/155),x2=14.61,P=0.00].After adjusting for age,blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors,the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that increased BaPWV was an independent risk factor for carotid plaques(OR=2.06,P=0.05),and age,smoking,systolic pressure,diastolic pressure,pulse pressure,total cholesterol,low-density lipoprotein cholesterol,triglyceride levels were positively correlated with carotid plaques.Conclusions BaPWV is one of the independent impact factors for carotid plaques,which plays an important role in early diagnosis and screening for subclinical vascular lesions.