OBJECTIVE:To classify the drug properties of Compositae involved in effective patent of TCM extract combina-tion. METHODS:Property,flavor and the meridian tropism of TCM were used as the parameters;by computer analysis software, fuzzy cluster analysis was conducted from Compositae mostly involved in effective patent of TCM extract combination which ap-proved before Jan. 1st in 2015 and kept till May 30th in 2015. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS:27 ingredients of Compositae were involved with the functions as protecting liver almost. They were classified into 5 categories. The first category included 10 ingredi-ents as Dendranthema morifolium which were cold,bitter to taste,and in the liver and lung meridian,and all of them contained flavonoids compounds;the second category included 3 ingredients as Gnaphalium affine of which flavonoids compounds were main medicinal components;the third category included 5 ingredients as Atractylodes lancea which could protect liver and contained vola-tile oil;the forth category included 4 ingredients as Tussilago farfara which showed anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effect;the fifth category included 5 ingredients as Erigeron breviscapus which contained ingredients for cardiovascular disease. Those catego-ries were similar not only in property,flavor and the meridian tropism,but also in active ingredients and effects. The researchers should further research TCM of which pharmacologic action are not well understood,by means of make reference to known TCM in the same category,and make preparation to save time and enlarge medicinal resource.

Objective To provide references for the education of intellectual property of TCM universities and colleges.Methods A questionnaire investigation were administered to the graduate students of traditional Chinese medicine from 5 domestic TCM universities and colleges, and data were collected and analyzed, with the addition of Internet information searching. The importance of intellectual property education for graduate students and the status in the end were analyzed.Results Some noticeable problems still exist in the graduate student education on intellectual property, like lack of curriculums, poor after-class practice, less special lectures, and so on.Conclusion In order to tackle these problems, and to make the education of graduate students of traditional Chinese medicine better, the corresponding cultivation mechanisms should be established; the main educational points should be definite; the secure system of laboratory should be improved.

Medicinal plant Paris L. has high medicinal value. There are 8 varietas of 4 kinds of Sect. Euthya which could be used as Chinese medicine. Sect. Euthya with stout rhizomes are the source of Chinese herb Paris L. and the core source of the medicinal plants in every place of origin. Shaanxi Province is one of the major areas. This paper summarizesand analizes the research progress of Paris L. grew in Shaanxi Province including its medicinal status, effective component, pharmacological, endophytic microorganisms sequencing, resource distribution and utilization, as well as the standardized production and planting and provides suggestions for the further research and rational exploitation and utilization of medicinal plant resources of Paris L. in Shaanxi Province.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the potential molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of curcumin on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by network pharmacology and experimental in vitro validation. METHODS: The predictive targets of curcumin or HCC were collected from several databases. the identified overlapping targets were crossed with Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses using the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) platform. Two of the candidate pathways were selected to conduct an experimental verification. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide tetrazolium (MTT) assay was used to determine the effect of curcumin on the viability of HepG2 and LO2 cells. The apoptosis and autophagy of HepG2 cells were respectively detected by flow cytometry and transmission electron microscopy. Besides, western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were employed to verify the p53 apoptotic pathway and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)‍-activated protein kinase (AMPK) autophagy pathway. HepG2 cells were pretreated with pifithrin-‍α (PFT-‍α) and GSK690693 for further investigation. RESULTS: The 167 pathways analyzed by KEGG included apoptosis, autophagy, p53, and AMPK pathways. The GO enrichment analysis demonstrated that curcumin was involved in cellular response to drug, regulation of apoptotic pathway, and so on. The in vitro experiments also confirmed that curcumin can inhibit the growth of HepG2 cells by promoting the apoptosis of p53 pathway and autophagy through the AMPK pathway. Furthermore, the protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) of the two pathways were downregulated in the inhibitor-pretreated group compared with the experimental group. The damage-regulated autophagy modulator (DRAM) in the PFT-‍α-pretreated group was downregulated, and p62 in the GSK690693-pretreated group was upregulated. CONCLUSIONS Curcumin can treat HCC through the p53 apoptotic pathway and the AMPK/Unc-51-like kinase 1 (ULK1) autophagy pathway, in which the mutual transformation of autophagy and apoptosis may occur through DRAM and p62.
AMP-Activated Protein Kinases/pharmacology* ; Apoptosis ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology* ; Curcumin/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/pathology* ; Network Pharmacology ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/metabolism*