As the core of traditional Chinese medicine theory, Zheng (syndrome, or pattern) classification will promote personalized medicine by changing the clinical diagnosis into a more precise mode when integrating Zheng classification with disease diagnosis approaches. The author adopted rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as a disease model, to explore the scientific fundamentals of Zheng classification based on disease diagnosis using systemic biological approaches and evidence-based medicine design, as well as developed novel approaches on the methodology of clinical effectiveness evaluation on Chinese medicine and R&D of combinational drugs design based on Fu Fang (Chinese herbal formula). Some unique research design and methods are herein introduced.
Anti-Infective Agents ; Drug Combinations ; Drug Discovery ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; classification ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Nutrition Therapy ; Precision Medicine ; Syndrome ; Treatment Outcome

The property theory of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is regarded as the core and basic of Chinese medical theory, however, the underlying mechanism of the properties in CHMs remains unclear, which impedes a barrier for the modernization of Chinese herbal medicine. The properties of CHM are often categorized into cold and heat according to the theory of Chinese medicine, which are essential to guide the clinical application of CHMs. There is an urgent demand to build a cold/heat property classification model to facilitate the property theory of Chinese herbal medicine, as well as to clarify the controversial properties of some herbs. Based on previous studies on the cold/heat properties of CHM, in this paper, we described a novel strategy on building a cold/heat property classification model based on herbal bio-effect. The interdisciplinary cooperation of systems biology, pharmacological network, and pattern recognition technique might lighten the study on cold/heat property theory, provide a scientific model for determination the cold/heat property of herbal medicines, and a new strategy for expanding the Chinese herbal medicine resources as well.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Herbal Medicine ; Humans ; Phytotherapy ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

Objective Toinvestigate the metabolic characteristics of triglyceride (TG) in the plasma of rabbitswith steroid?induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head and the therapeutic effect of Gushiling Capsule. Methods Rabbit model of femoral head necrosis induced by hormone was established. The level of plasma TG was detected by HPLC/MS and the relationship between the changes of plasma TG level and local histomorphology of femoral head was analyzed. Results Compared with the normal control group, significant changes of plasma TG levels were observed in the model group, the traditional Chinese medicine group and the western medicine group at each time point (P<0.01). However, no significant difference was found between the traditional Chinese medicine group and the western medicine group. Compared with the model group, only a small amount of high signal joint imaging and central signal of the femoral head were found by the MRI examination in the traditional Chinese medicine group and the western medicine group. Pathology assay results showed the degree of femoral head osteonecrosis in the Chinese medicine group was milder than that in the Western medicine group. Conclusion Gushiling Capsule and western medicine Simvastatin have the similar effect of reducing plasma TG, which may be one of the mechanisms underlying Gushiling Capsule preventing steroid?induced femoral head necrosis.

Some clinical trials showed that the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine was not good as the efficacy of western medicine even thoush clinical doctors have been using traditional medicine effectively. Such a result originated from improper application of western medical thoughts in routine clinical efficacy evaluation. To find differences from effective cases with non-effective cases and put the differences into the indication of next clinical trial would conform to the differentiation theory in traditional Chinese medicine. The differences, whether positively or negatively related to the efficacy, could be obtained from all information including symptom evaluation, tongue appearance, pulse feeling and biological parameters with non-linear and other statistical methods. More specific indication finding would be the key task for clinical efficacy evaluation via multiple clinical trials.
Clinical Protocols ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Phytotherapy ; Treatment Outcome

To investigate the distribution of mitochondria DNA 4 977 bp deletion, a common deletion (CD), in normal populations of Chinese, human peripheral blood samples from sixty healthy donors were collected, and levels of the CD in genomic DNA from the samples were detected using real-time PCR. The results showed that the CD was found in 27 health donors, with its positive rate being 45% (27/60). The CD ratio was between 0 and 0.00308%, and not affected by age and gender in sixty healthy donors. Our studies indicate that the CD ratio is low, and do not show the age-dependent accumulation and any gender difference in peripheral whole blood from the normal Chinese population.
Base Sequence ; DNA Primers ; DNA, Mitochondrial ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sequence Deletion

OBJECTIVETo find the status and changes of the soil nutrients in rhizosphere of Atractylodes lancea.

METHODTotal nitrogen (total N), available K, available P, organic matter (ORG), available nitrogen and pH in rhizosphere soil of the wild growing A. lancea in 3 sites, MS, LT and MFS, and the cultivated ones with different ages in LT were detected.

RESULTThe contents of total nitrogen (total N), available K, available P, organic matter (ORG), available nitrogen and pH value in rhizosphere soil were significant different between MS, LT and MFS (P < 0.01). The results of the 6 detected parameters in MS were the lowest, in MFS were the highest and in LT were in the middle. The total N, ORG and available N in the cultivated A. lancea were lower than that in the wild ones (P < 0.01) and available P and pH value in the cultivated A. lancea were higher than that in wild ones (P < 0.01) and there was no difference in available K between the wild and cultivated ones in LT (P > 0.05); 3 available P in rhizosphere soil of the two years old A. lancea were higher than of the one year old A. lancea (P < 0.01) and there were no difference of total N, ORG, available N, available K and pH value in rhizosphere soil of A. lancea between one year and two years plant (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONIt is indicated that the growth of A. lancea in Mt. Mao is faced nutrient stress.

Atractylodes ; growth & development ; China ; Ecosystem ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Nitrogen ; analysis ; Organic Chemicals ; Phosphorus ; analysis ; Plants, Medicinal ; growth & development ; Potassium ; analysis ; Rhizome ; growth & development ; Soil ; analysis

In this paper,the structures, data sources, data codes of "the spacial analysis database of geoherbs" based 3S technology are introduced, and the essential functions of the database, such as data management, remote sensing, spacial interpolation, spacial statistics, spacial analysis and developing are described. At last, two examples for database usage are given, the one is classification and calculating of NDVI index of remote sensing image in geoherbal area of Atractylodes lancea, the other one is adaptation analysis of A. lancea. These indicate that "the spacial analysis database of geoherbs" has bright prospect in spacial analysis of geoherbs.
Atractylodes ; chemistry ; classification ; growth & development ; China ; Databases, Factual ; Ecosystem ; Geographic Information Systems ; Geography ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; classification ; growth & development ; Software

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of Huoxiang Zhengqi liquid (HXZQ) on enteric mucosal immune responses in mice with Bacillus dysenteriae and Salmonella typhimurium induced diarrhea (BSD).

METHODMice were randomly divided into four groups with 10 mice in each group: control group (control), BSD group, Huoxiang Zhengqi liquid treated BSD groups at high dosage and low dosage (HXZQ high, HXZQ low). HXZQ was administrated from the day of diarrhea induction at dosage of 5.21 g kg(-1) and 0.52 g kg (-1) respectively. Peyer's patch and periphery lymphocytes were prepared for flow cytometry, and level of TNF-alpha in periphery and enteric tissue homogenate were determined with ELISA. Student's t-test was used for statistics.

RESULTMice in BSD group started showing continuous diarrhea at the day of induction till the fourth day when the mice were sacrificed. Diarrhea in the mice of HXZQ high and low groups lasted for 36 and 54 h respectively. There were more CD4+ and CD8+ cells in periphery, less CD4+ cells in peyer's patch in BSD mice comparing to normal mice. In peyer's patch, there were more CD8+ cells in mice in HXZQ high and low groups and more CD4+ in mice in HXZQ high group. Higher level TNF-alpha in periphery and intestinal tissue homogenate in BSD group were observed. Mice in HXZQ high group showed the decreased level TNF-alpha in periphery and enteric tissue homogenate.

CONCLUSIONThe immune regulation on peyer's patch CD4+ and CD8+ cells and suppression on TNF-alpha level in enteric homogenate might partially explain the effect of HXZQ on improvement of BSD.

Animals ; CD4-CD8 Ratio ; Colon ; immunology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Diarrhea ; immunology ; metabolism ; microbiology ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Dysentery, Bacillary ; immunology ; metabolism ; microbiology ; Immunity, Mucosal ; drug effects ; Intestinal Mucosa ; immunology ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Peyer's Patches ; drug effects ; immunology ; pathology ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Random Allocation ; Salmonella Infections ; immunology ; metabolism ; microbiology ; Salmonella typhimurium ; immunology ; Shigella dysenteriae ; immunology ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets ; drug effects ; immunology ; pathology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood ; metabolism

Objective:To investigate the expression of Fas、FasL and the apoptosis of liver cancer cell line HepG2 transfected with LIGHT and IFN-? gene mediated by Cationic liposome.Methods:HepG2 cells were divided into two groups(the solo transfection of LIGHT gene and the combined transfection of LIGHT and IFN-? genes) and the control groups(no transfection).HepG2 cells were cellected at 12h,24h and 48h after transfection.The apoptosis of HepG2 cells and the expression of Fas and FasL of the HepG2 cells were investigated with flow cytometry.Results:After transfection,the apoptosis of HepG2 cells increased,and the apoptosis of combined transfection group was higher than the solo transfection of LIGHT(P

Objective To investigate whether the mannose-binding-lectin 2 (MBL2) gene was associated with type 2 diabetes in the populations living the northern part of China. Methods The study involved 318 type 2 diabetic patients and 448 normoglycemic controls. The variances of rs1800450, rs1800451 and rs11003125 were determined by the Multiplex SNaPshot method. Fasting blood-glucose, triglyceride and total cholesterol were also measured. All of these results were analyzed by logistic regression method. Linkage disequilibrium and Haplotype measures were computed in all samples using Haploview. Results There seemed no mutation on rs 1800451 while the rs 1800450 and rs11003125 polymorphism was consistent with Hardy-Weinberg expectations in both the case and the control groups. Genotypes and allele frequencies of rs1800450 as well as rs11003125 were observed (P=0.006, P=0.003) and (P=0.010, P=0.004), respectively. Data from logistic regression analysis revealed that factors as overweight, abdominal obesity, hypercholesterolemia, GG genotype frequencies of Exonl rs1800450 polymorphism as well as (GC + CC) genotype frequencies of rs11003125 polymorphism in MBL2 conferred increased risks for type 2 diabetes. Haplotype analyses of the two SNPs (rs1800450, rs11003125) revealed similar effects as compared with the single SNP associations. Only haplotype constructed from GC alleles conferred increased trends for type 2 diabetes (OR=2.21, 95％ CI: 1.47-3.33, P=0.000). Conclusion Our result suggested that the Exonl rs1800450 polymorphism and promoter region rs11003125 polymorphism in MBL2 gene were both associated with type 2 diabetes in the Chinese population living in the northern areas of China. The G allele of rs 1800450 and C allele of rs 11003125 might be the risk factors of type 2 diabetes.