To study the chemical constituents of Artemisia lactiflora. The compounds were isolated by column chromatography with silica gel, C18 reverse-phase silica gel, semi-preparative HPLC, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral analysis. Twelve compounds were isolated from alcohol extracts of A. lactiflora and identified as 7-hydroxycoumarin (1), 7-methoxycoumarin (2), balanophonin (3), aurantiamide (4), aurantiamide acetate (5), isovitexin (6), kaempferol-3-O-beta-D-rutinoside (7), rutin (8), caffeic acid ethyl ester (9), quercetin (10), methyl 3, 5-di-O-caffeoyl quinate (11) and methyl 3, 4-di-O-caffeoyl quinate (12), respectively. Compounds 3-12 were obtained from this plant for the first time.
Artemisia ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

AIMTo investigate the effects of RLI on plasma nitric oxide (NO) and NO synthase (NOS) isoforms of healthy humans.

METHODS30 healthy human subjects (aged from 40 - 70 years old) were recruited. RLI was induced by five 5 min cycles of ischemia of non dominant arm (200 mmHg, 5 min interval). Blood pressure, heart rate, and the feelings of ischemic arm were continuously monitored. Venous plasma was collected in contralateral arm at Pre, Post-0 h, Post-4 h, and Post-24 h. Plasma level of NO was measured by Griess reaction, and NOS was measured by chemical method.

RESULTSBlood pressure and heart rate varied in normal range. The uncomfortable feeling was decreased with the increasing numbers of ischemic cycles. Plasma level of NO, and iNOS in plasma were significantly increased at Post-0 h, Post-4 h, and Post-24 h compared to Pre (P < 0.05). tNOS was also significantly increased at Post-0 h and Post-4 h compared to Pre (P < 0.05). No significant change in plasma cNOS was shown at following three time points than Pre.

CONCLUSIONThese findings suggest that RLI can elevate plasma level of NO, tNOS, and iNOS in healthy humans. RLI might be a safe method as a rIPC, and it would have important possibility to be performed in clinic.

Adult ; Aged ; Arm ; blood supply ; Female ; Humans ; Ischemia ; blood ; physiopathology ; Ischemic Preconditioning ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nitric Oxide ; blood ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; blood ; metabolism ; Reperfusion Injury ; physiopathology ; prevention & control

Objective To screen the effective parts of loosening bowel and relieving constipation in mice from different extracted parts of Angelica and to investigate the utilization of fuzzy matter-element model in evaluating the effect of moisturizing intestine to relaxing the bowels of Angelica's different extracted parts.Methods Kunming mice were randomly divided into 11 groups,including normal group,model group (constipation),positive control group (Nongsuo Danggui Wan and Runchang Wan:20 μL · g-1),medicated group consisted by 7 different extracted parts of Angelica (3.4 g · kg-1 Angelica herbs).The constipation model was formed by the compound difenoxate solution 5.0 mg · kg-1 and finished after 30 min.We used the first defecation time as well as the dark stool points in 6 h,the weight of stools,the pushing rate of intestine and intestinal moisture as detection index and then using fuzzy matter-element model on variation coefficient weight to evaluate the comprehensive effect of different extract parts of Angelica.Results Time of first black stool discharge as well as the dark stool points in 6 h,the weight of stools,the pushing rate of intestine and intestinal moisture in model group were (241.90 ± 48.10) min,(9.00 ± 5.40) count,(149.10 ± 86.80) mg,(48.90 ± 16.50) ％,(1.45 ± 0.16) g,respectively.The 70％ ethanol impregnation part (part 2) on the factors were (172.60 ± 40.70) min,(17.30 ± 4.50) count,(223.70 ± 63.40) mg,(73.70 ± 13.10) ％,(1.71 ± 0.18) g,respectively.The difference between part 2 and model group was statistically significant in the factors (P ＜0.05 or P ＜0.01).Combining with the result of the value of Euclid approach degree,the maximum is 0.71 (part 2:70％ alcohol impregnation part).Conclusion The 70％ alcohol impregnation part is the effective part of loosening bowel to relieve constipation in mice.The method and model can be used to objectively evaluate the effect of moisturizing intestine to relaxing the bowels of Angelica' s different extracted parts.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of the Chinese herbal medicine of Longbixiao (LBX) Capsule on the expressions of TGF-beta1 and Smoothelin in human prostatic stromal cells cultured in vitro.

METHODSBlood serum medicated with LBX was incubated with the stromal cells isolated from men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and cultured in vitro. The mRNA expression levels of TGF-beta1 and Smoothelin were detected by real-time RT-PCR and other relevant techniques.

RESULTSIn the high and low concentration groups, the gene relative expressions of TGF-beta1 were (0.158 +/- 0.020) and (0.169 +/- 0.020) , while those of Smoothelin were (0.035 +/- 0.007) and (0.036 +/- 0.007) respectively, both significantly decreased in comparison with the control group(P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONLBX reduces the mRNA expressions of TGF-beta1 and Smoothelin in human prostatic stromal cells and can be used in the treatment of BPH.

Animals ; Capsules ; Cells, Cultured ; Cytoskeletal Proteins ; genetics ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Gene Expression ; drug effects ; Humans ; Male ; Muscle Proteins ; genetics ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; pathology ; Rabbits ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Serum ; chemistry ; Stromal Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; genetics

Objective:To construct the knowledge base of Tibetan medicine prescriptions and explore to standardize the names of Tibetan medicine prescriptions. Method:By using the concept of "man-machine combination"，through the construction of Tibetan medicine terminology glossary （data sources： national drug standards，local drug standards，text classics on Tibetan medicines，etc.），the terminology glossary of Tibetan medicine prescriptions was mined. Upon its combination with expert review，the text association between Tibetan medicine prescriptions and various drug standards and dictionaries was constructed，and the standardization methods and techniques of prescription drug names were explored. Result:In this paper，the Tibetan medicine prescriptions approved for marketing in China were taken as the research object，and various inconveniences caused by the inconsistency between the names of prescriptions and the names of medicinal herbs were revealed. This paper also discussed the design ideas on name standardization of Tibetan medicines from three levels： text association，optimization of evaluation methods，and formation of expert decision-making system. We put forward a five-in-one （screening， evaluation， reviewing， fixing， and renewing） research model of Tibetan medicine name standardization. The construction，functions and advantages of the database and thesaurus of Tibetan medicine prescriptions were described in detail， and in combination with the text notes， association between the standard medicinal materials and the prepared prescriptions was then established. Conclusion:The text association method in this paper can accurately reflect the nonstandard names of Tibetan medicine prescriptions. Combined with expert review，it can be， to a certain extent， extended to the standardization of herb names in prescriptions with large scale of or more complex network structures.

ObjectiveMicrotube associated protein-2 （MAP-2）， alpha-tubulin （α-tubulin）， and synaptophysin （SYP） are important proteins in neuronal signal communication. This paper observed the effects of modified Zhigancao Tang on the expression of serum α-Synuclein （α-Syn） and its oligomers， MAP-2， α-tubulin， and SYP of patients with liver and kidney deficiency of Parkinson's disease （PD）， analyzed their correlation， and evaluated the therapeutic effect of modified Zhigancao Tang in patients with liver and kidney deficiency of PD based on α-Syn transmission pathway mediated by neuronal communication in vivo. MethodsA total of 60 patients with PD who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into a treatment group （30 cases） and a control group （30 cases）. Both groups were treated on the basis of PD medicine， and the treatment group was treated with modified Zhigancao Tang. Both groups were treated for 12 weeks. The changes in UPDRS score， TCM syndrome score， and expression of serum α-Syn and its oligomers， MAP-2， α-tubulin， and SYP were observed before and after 12 weeks of treatment in each group. The correlation between the above-mentioned serum biological indexes and the levels of serum α-Syn and its oligomers was analyzed. ResultsAfter treatment， the TCM syndrome score， UPDRS score， UPDRS-Ⅱ score， and UPDRS-Ⅲ score of the treatment group were significantly decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The UPDRS score， UPDRS-Ⅱ score， and UPDRS-Ⅲ scores in the treatment group were significantly decreased compared with those in the control group after treatment （P<0.05）. After treatment， the total effective rate of the control group was 63.3% （19/30）， and that of the treatment group was 86.7% （26/30）. The clinical effect of the observation group was better than the control group （Z=-2.03， P<0.05）. The total effective rate of the observation group was better than that of the control group， and the difference was statistically significant （χ²=5.136， P<0.05）. After treatment， the oligomer level of serum α-Syn and MAP-2 level in the treatment group were significantly decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The levels of serum α-Syn and its oligomers， as well as α-tubulin in the treatment group， were significantly decreased compared with those in the control group after treatment （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Serum α-Syn was correlated with serum MAP-2 and α-Syn oligomer in patients with PD （P<0.05， P<0.01） but not correlated with serum SYP . Serum α-Syn oligomers of patients with PD were correlated with serum MAP-2 and α-tubulin （P<0.05， P<0.01） but not correlated with serum SYP level. Serum SYP of patients with PD was correlated with serum MAP-2 （P<0.05）. ConclusionModified Zhigancao Tang has a therapeutic effect on patients with liver and kidney deficiency of PD by inhibiting the production of α-Syn oligomers and intervening α-Syn microtubule transport pathway in vivo.