OBJECTIVETo find out the variation of 11 mental element contents in Dendrobium officinale with different germplasms and harvesting ages, the results can provide scientific basis for the quality evaluation and the breeding of D. officinale.

METHOD32 samples with 1-3 ages were collected from cultivated fields of Zhejiang and 11 samples were collected from markets. The 11 mental element contents of samples were determined by ICP-MS or AAS.

RESULTThe average contents of K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn, Cr, and Cu were 1,205.23, 766.82, 158.25, 31.06, 4.28, 8.28, and 0.97 mg x kg(-1), the contents of As, Hg, Pb, and Cd were all in limits except Cd content of one sample exceeded the standard limit 0.07 mg x kg(-1); germplasms and physiological ages impacted mental elements contents accumulation significantly.

CONCLUSIONThere were rich essential mental elements in D. officinale. D. officinale from Zhejiang province and medical materials from market were all safe; the breeding of D. officinale can increase the contents of essential mental elements and reduce contents of heavy mental elements; the effect of physiological age on metal elements contents was related to each element's physiological and biochemical function.

Dendrobium ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Metals ; analysis

This study was conducted to measure the concentrations of strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr), antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), and lead (Pb) in canine liver, renal cortex, and renal medulla, and the association of these concentrations with age, gender, and occurrence of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Tissues from 50 dogs were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Cu, Zn, and Mn levels were highest in the liver followed by the renal cortex and renal medulla. The highest Sr, Cd, and Se concentrations were measured in the renal cortex while lower levels were found in the renal medulla and liver. Female dogs had higher tissue concentrations of Sr (liver and renal medulla), Cd (liver), Zn (liver and renal cortex), Cr (liver, renal cortex, and renal medulla), and Pb (liver) than male animals. Except for Mn and Sb, age-dependent variations were observed for all element concentrations in the canine tissues. Hepatic Cd and Cr concentrations were higher in dogs with CKD. In conclusion, the present results provide new knowledge about the storage of specific elements in canine liver and kidneys, and can be considered important reference data for diagnostic methods and further investigations.
Aging ; Animals ; Dog Diseases/*metabolism ; Dogs ; Female ; Kidney/*chemistry ; Liver/*chemistry ; Male ; Metals/chemistry/*metabolism ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/*metabolism

OBJECTIVETo measure the contents of the water-soluble iron, five heavy metals and harmful elements in Magnetiturn and provide a basis for the quality control and safety evaluation of Magnetitum.

METHODIron (Fe), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu) were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS); arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) were determined by atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS).

RESULTThe mean content of element iron is 764.30 mg x kg(-1). The contents of five water-soluble heavy metals and harmful elements in Magnetitum were within the safety range. The recovery of the standard addition was in the range of 93.7% - 110.6%, and the RSD was less than 5.0%.

CONCLUSIONAnalyzing the water-soluble iron, heavy metals and harmful elements in Magnetitum is effective to the quality control and the safety evaluation of magnetitum.

Iron ; metabolism ; Materia Medica ; chemistry ; Metals, Heavy ; metabolism ; Solubility ; Spectrophotometry, Atomic

OBJECTIVETo investigate the influence of a broad range of environmental conditions on initial rates of hydrogen peroxide produced by Streptococcus oralis (S. oralis).

METHODSFor each rate measurement, 1 ml aliquots of 10(12) cells/L mid-logarithmic phase S. oralis in TSBY were centrifuged and respectively washed by phosphate buffer containing 0.01-10 mmol/L glucose or sucrose, phosphate buffer with 5.0-7.5 pH or Bis-Tris buffer containing 0.01-100 mmol/L Ca(2+), 0.01-100 mmol/L F(-) or 0.01-100 mmol/L HFPO(3)(-). After S. oralis was cultured in respective buffer for 10, 20 and 30 min at 37 degrees C, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in supernatant was assayed spectrophotometrically in 96-well micro-plate by ABTS-HRP at A(405).

RESULTSSynthesis rate of hydrogen peroxide by S. oralis was 7.48 micromol/L per minute without carbohydrate, the synthesis rate of hydrogen peroxide by S. oralis increased with 0.01-10 mmol/L glucose and 0.01-10 mmol/L sucrose, but there was no statistically significant difference in synthesis rate among the carbohydrate groups. The rates of H2O2 synthesis were inhibited in the buffer at pH 5.0-6.0, compared with pH 7.0 (P < 0.05). Ca(2+) had little influence on the rate of H2O2 synthesis. IC(50) of H2O2 synthesis rates by S. oralis responded to FHPO(3)(-) and F(-) were 12.65 mmol/L and 1.90 mmol/L respectively.

CONCLUSIONSEnvironmental conditions may influence the synthesis rate of H2O2 by S. oralis.

Culture Media ; chemistry ; Glucose ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; metabolism ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Metals, Heavy ; Streptococcus oralis ; metabolism

Six heavy metals, including As, Cu, Hg, Cd, Pb and Cr in Panax notoginseng were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) combined with wet digestion method. The samples of P. notoginseng were collected in 12 different regions, including Yunnan and Guangxi Province. Green Standards of Foreign Trading Medicinal Plants & Preparations was used as the standard to evaluate the pollution status of As, Cu, Hg, Cd, Pb and Cr in P. notoginseng. The results showed that content of As and Cd exceeded the limit of the standard and the percentage was 32.4% and 29.7%, respectively, while Cu, Hg and Pb were all bellow the limit. The SPSS 16.0 software was used to analyze the data. The occurrence of contained heavy metals has been discussed.
China ; Drug Contamination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Metals, Heavy ; analysis ; metabolism ; Panax notoginseng ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Soil Pollutants ; analysis ; metabolism

In this study, we investigate the bioaccessibility of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, As, Cd and Hg) in wild Artemisia annua and use target hazard quotients (THQ) proposed by US Environmental Protection Agency to assess the health risk under the heavy metal exposure. The results showed that the bioaccessibility of Cu, Pb, As, Cd and Hg in A. annua are 0.77, 0.66, 0.46, 0.68 and 0, respectively, and that the value of THQ for adults and children were 0.030 and 0.025 calculated by risk assessment model. The results indicated that the heavy metals in A. annua were not able to be completely absorbed by human body and that their contents were in a safe range. In this study, by combining the bioavailability of heavy metal and health risk assessment, we assessed the security of heavy metals of wild A. annua, which will provide reference for the standard of heavy metals for medicinal materials.
Artemisia annua ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Consumer Product Safety ; Drug Contamination ; Humans ; Metals, Heavy ; analysis ; metabolism ; Risk Assessment ; Soil Pollutants ; analysis ; metabolism

The process in the studies on physiological effects of rare earth elements in plants and their action mechanisms were summarized in the aspects of seed germination, photosynthesis, mineral metabolism and stress resistance. And the applications of rare earth elements in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in recent years were also overviewed, which will provide reference for further development and application of rare earth elements in TCM.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Metals, Rare Earth ; analysis ; metabolism ; Photosynthesis ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Soil ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of composite grinding dusts on rat respiratory system.

METHODSRats were administrated with grinding dusts by intratracheal injection. After 2 weeks, the total numbers of cells, the percentage of differential cell, the survival rate of cell, and the activity of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) and alkaline phosphatase(ALP) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were analyzed.

RESULTSAlong with increasing concentration of grinding dusts, the total number of cells in lavage also increased, and was more than that in quartz group. Compared with control group, the percentage of neutrophil in lavage of rats treated with grinding dust and quartz significantly increased and meanwhile that of macrophage significantly decreased[PMN: quartz group (33.83 +/- 4.54)%; grinding dusts group (26.50 +/- 3.99)%, (36.00 +/- 3.58)%, (38.00 +/- 2.10)% at 10, 25, 50 mg/ml respectively. Macrophages: quartz group (62.17 +/- 4.54)%; grinding dusts group (70.83 +/- 3.66)%, (60.83 +/- 2.14)%, (58.17 +/- 2.48)%] while those in control group were (2.83 +/- 0.75)%, (95.67 +/- 1.21)% respectively. The cell survival rate in lavage in control group was 80%, but that in grinding dust and TiO2 group significantly decreased(P < 0.01). The activity of LDH and ALP in all rats treated with dusts obviously increased, and there was significant difference compared with control group(P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). Furthermore, there was significant difference between grinding dust group and quartz group, and between grinding dust group and TiO2 group respectively.

CONCLUSIONMetal grinding dust is very harmful to rat's lung cells and may cause fibrogenesis in the lungs.

Alkaline Phosphatase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; chemistry ; cytology ; Dust ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; metabolism ; Lung ; pathology ; Metals ; Rats

Cation transporters play important roles in modulating the concentration of intracellular metal ions. The vacuole is an important storage organelle for many ions. Cation (Ca+)/H+ antiporters (CAXs) located at vacuolar membrane are mainly involved in the Ca2+ flux into the vacuole, and appear to be capable of transporting various divalent cations to some degree. Several CAX genes have been isolated and characterized from various plants in recent years. Four domains of plant CAXs have been identified: NRR regulates Ca2+ transport by a mechanism of N-terminal autoinhibition; Ca domain and C domain confer Ca2+ and Mn2+ specificity among CAX transporters, respectively; D domain plays a part in the regulation of cytosolic pH. AtCAXs identified in Arabidopsis thaliana are involved in the growth, development and stress adaption of plant. AtCAX3 is the mainly Ca2+/H+ transporter in response to salt stress; AtCAX2 and AtCAX4 participate in transportation and detoxicification of heavy metal ions (Cd2+, Zn2+, and Mn2+) in cells under heavy metal stress, and impact root/shoot Cd partitioning in plant. These suggest that CAX genes may be useful for nutritional enhancement of plants, and for increasing phytoremediation potential. Here, the classification, structure and function of CAXs in plants are reviewed.
Antiporters ; chemistry ; physiology ; Arabidopsis ; chemistry ; Arabidopsis Proteins ; chemistry ; physiology ; Calcium ; metabolism ; Cation Transport Proteins ; chemistry ; physiology ; Membrane Proteins ; physiology ; Metals, Heavy ; metabolism ; Plant Physiological Phenomena ; Plant Proteins ; physiology ; Plants ; chemistry ; Proton Pumps ; chemistry ; physiology ; Vacuoles ; metabolism ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo analyze the contents of harmful heavy metals, sulfur and trace elements from Paeoniae Radix Alba before and after sulfur-fumigated process.

METHODSamples were pretreated by wet digestion and then subjected to elements analysis by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES).

RESULTThe contents of Cu and S elements were increased, while the content of Zn element was decreased in Paeoniae Radix Alba after sulfur-fumigated process compared with the samples dried in the sun. Moreover, heavy metallic elements, such as As and Hg, were detected in Paeoniae Radix Alba after sulfur-fumigated process.

CONCLUSIONSulfur fumigated process may cause residual of heavy metals and sulfur which are harmful to human body and change the contents of some trace elements.

Fumigation ; methods ; Humans ; Metals, Heavy ; analysis ; Paeonia ; chemistry ; Spectrophotometry, Atomic ; methods ; Sulfur ; analysis ; metabolism ; Trace Elements ; analysis