The HPLC fingerprint differences ofRadix Platycodonis from different origins were studied to provide references for their quality control and production. The total platycodins were purified by DB101 macroporous resin. HPLC-ELSD fingerprints of the total platycodins for 39 batches ofRadix Platycodonis samples from 9 provinces were performed on an Agilent HC-C8 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5μm) with gradient elution. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-0.5% acetic acid. The injection volume was 6μL. The flow rate was 0.5 mL·min-1. The temperature of drift tube was set at 90℃. And the gas flow (N2) was set at 1.2 mL·min-1. The results showed that there were large differences in the quality ofRadix Platycodonis from different origins with the common fingerprints of 6 batches of samples fromChifeng in Inner Mongolia as references. The quality ofRadix Platycodonis was closely related to the seeds, the ecological environment, the way of drying and storing and so on. It was concluded that it was important to strengthen the provenance base construction, standardization of the seeds, reasonable formulation of the regionalization, and standardization of the production processing for the cultivation and production ofRadix Platycodonis.

This study was aimed to compare the expectorant and antitussive actions ofPlatycodon grandilforum from different production areas in order to provide references for its cultivation and production. The antitussive activities ofP. grandilforum water extract from different areas were investigated through testing the cough times induced by ammonium hydroxide in mice. And the expectorant activities were studied by testing the amount of tracheal phenolsulfonphthalein excretion in mice. The results showed that the minimum effective dose ofP. grandiflorum fromChifeng of Inner Mongolia was 0.2 g·kg-1. Under this dosage,P. grandiflorum fromChifeng of Inner Mongolia can significantly reduce the cough frequency in mice (P < 0.01), and significantly prolong the cough incubation period in mice (P < 0.01).P. grandiflorum fromSichuan province,Shangzhou ofShaanxi province andChongqing can significantly decrease the cough frequency in mice (P < 0.05). P. grandiflorum from Sichuan province,Shangzhou ofShaanxi province andChifeng of Inner Mongolia can significantly increase the phenolsulfonphthalein excretion quantity in mice (P < 0.05). It was concluded thatP. grandilforum was effective for relieving cough and removing sputum. The effect ofP. grandilforum fromChifeng of Inner Mongolia was obviously stronger than that from other areas.

Objective: To discuss the affect of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level for the onset of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in cohort population. Methods: An epidemiological survey of the relationship between HbA1c and NAFLD conducted in 2012 was based at cohort baseline, and three follow-up sessions conducted in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In total 2 811 subjects were included in the study after exclusion of NAFLD patients at baseline and those who lost their lives due to relocation, and death. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the relationship between glycosylated hemoglobin and other risk factors of NAFLD. Continuous variables were compared using the t-test or the Mann-Whitney test. χ ²-test was used for the measurement of categorical data. Results: A total of 2 811 subjects with mean age of 59 (58.2±9.8) years old, including 1 664 males and 1 147 females. Age, waist circumference, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, γ-glutamyltransferase and fasting blood glucose level of HbA1c abnormal group were higher than normal group. The incidence of NAFLD in the abnormal HbA1c level group (25.4%) was higher than normal group (14.9 %), and diastolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was lower than normal group and the differences were statistically significant. During the three follow-up intervals, there were 440 new cases of NAFLD, consisting 285 males and 155 females with cumulative incidence of 15.7% (440/2 811). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that patients with elevated HbA1c had a higher risk of developing NAFLD (HR 1.796; 95% CI 1.335~2.418; P < 0.01), and the increased HbA1c level after adjustment for gender, age, and metabolic syndrome-related factors remained an independent risk factors for NAFLD (HR 1.580; 95.0% CI 1.161-2.152; P < 0.01). Conclusion An elevated HbA1c levels have a positive predictive value for the onset of NAFLD.