Ligularia duciformis is a plant of the Ligularia genus (Compositae) which has been reported to have therapeutic effects of treating diseases such as bronchitis and coughing. In order to find out the bioactive components, the 85% ethanol extract of the root and rhizome of L. duciformis was treated by solvents extraction and column chromatography on silica gel and Sephadex LH-20. Six compounds were obtained from the ethyl acetate fraction and identified as 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylpropyl caffeate (I), 6beta, 8beta-dihydroxyeremophil-7 (11)-en-12, 8alpha-olide (II), 6beta, 8alpha-dihydroxyeremophil-7 (11)-en-12, 8beta-olide (III), 6beta-hydroxyeremophil-7 (11)-en-12, 8alpha-olide (IV), stigmasterol (V) and beta-daucosterol (VI) by analysis of their physic-chemical constants and spectral data. Compound I is a new compound and compounds II - V were isolated from L. duciformis for the first time. The antitussive effect of the compounds is under evaluation.
Asteraceae ; chemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Objective To observe the clinical effect of sling exercise therapy(S-E-T)combined with drug treatment for cervical vertigo in elderly patients.Methods Forty-nine elderly patients with cervical vertigo admitted to our hospital between January 2011 and July 2014 were randomly divided into an observation group(n=27)and a control group(n=22).The observation group was given 80 mg Ginaton(Extract of Ginkgo Biloba Leaves Tablets)produced by German Dr.Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co.KG three times a day,combined with S-E-T,including cervical stability and stretching training for 40min,focusing on the neck global muscle and local stabilize muscle rehabilitation,once every other day.The control group was provided with the same drug treatment.During the 6-month intervention,both groups were given health education by the same therapist.Both groups were assessed using the neck disability index(NDI),visual analogue scale(VAS)and evaluation scale for cervical vertigo(ESCV) before and after the intervention,as well as at the last follow-up visit.Before the treatment and at the last follow-up visit,the cervical X-ray examination and trigger point check were also conducted for both groups.Results All the forty-nine patients were followed up for 4.83 to 6.70 months,with an average of(6.01 ± 0.49)months.Significant improvement was observed in the average ESCV score for both groups after the treatment.Compared with before the treatment,there was significant improvement in the average NDI and VAS right after the treatment and at the last follow-up visit in the observation group,but only at the last follow-up visit in the control group.From the cervical X-ray,no significant differences were found in the vertebral osteophyte formation,facet joints and uncovertebral joint degeneration between the 2 groups(P＞0.05),while significant differences were observed in the number of the neck trigger points(P＜0.05).Conclusion The sling exercise therapy combined with drug treatment can significantly improve cervical function,relieve pain and vertigo symptoms in elderly patients with cervical vertigo.The effect is better than drug treatment alone.

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents of the bark of Paeonia suffruticosa.

METHODThe 95% ethanol extract was re-extracted with EtOAc, and then separated and purified by column chromatography using silica gel, Sephadex LH -20 and RP-18 as packing materials. The structures were identified on the basis of spectral analysis and physico-chemical characters.

RESULTSix compounds were isolated and identified as (+)-catechin (1), paeonidanin (2), paeoniflorigenone (3), 2, 5-dihydroxy-4-methoxyacetophenone (4), paeonol (5), gallic acid (6).

CONCLUSIONThe compound 1 was isolsted from the genus Paeonia for the first time. The compounds 2, 3 were isolated from this plant for the first time.

Catechin ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Monoterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Paeonia ; chemistry ; Plant Bark ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

Angelica polymorpha Maxim. is a plant of the Angelica genus (Umbelliferae). The root and stem of this plant is a folk medicine known to have the actions of relieving rheumatism and cold and subsiding swelling and pains. To investigate the chemical constituents in the root of A. polymorpha Maxim., seven compounds were isolated from an 80% ethanol extract by column chromatography. Their structures were elucidated according to the spectroscopic analysis. Compound 1 is a new sesquiterpene, named as bisabolactone. Its absolute configuration was determined by 1D NOESY and CD analysis. The others were identified as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (2), hycandinic acid ester 1 (3), ferulic acid (4), isooxypeucedanin (5), noreugenin (6) and cimifugin (7). Compound 2 and 3 were isolated from this genus for the first time and compound 4 was isolated from this plant for the first time.
Angelica ; chemistry ; Chromones ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Coumaric Acids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Coumarins ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Furaldehyde ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quinic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Sesquiterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a reactive mental disorder that occurs after an individual was exposed to a traumatic event,and the core of the treatment is the extinction of conditioned fear memory caused by stress.Fear memory is an incentive mechanism based on external stimuli that occupy a central position in the defense system.Traditional memory concept convinced that the original memory traces were in an unstable state when the memory was activated.This process is called memory reconsolidation.The research has proved the existence of the fear memory reconsolidation,but the specific mechanism of reconsolidation has not been clarified.The animal studies show that many brain sites and molecular mechanisms are involved in the process of fear memory reconsolidation.Understanding the underlying mechanisms of fear memory reconsolidation is conducive to the treatment of specific phobias and PTSD.This review summarized the brain structure and molecular mechanism of conditioned fear memory reconsolidation,providing a new direction for the in-depth study of conditioned fear memory reconsolidation and PTSD.

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents from the cultured mycelia of a fungus Cephalosporium which accelerate the growth of plant.

METHODThe constituents were isolated by column chromatography and identified by advanced physical and spectral analysis.

RESULTEleven compounds including 3-isopropyl-6-(1-methylpropyl) piperazine-2,5-dione(I), choline sulfate(II), 2-[(2-hydroxy tetracosanoyl) amino]-1,3,4-octadecatriol(III) were isolated and identified.

CONCLUSIONCompound I, II were isolated from Cephalosporium genus for the first time.

Acremonium ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Choline ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Dendrobium ; microbiology ; Mycorrhizae ; chemistry ; Piperazines ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plants, Medicinal ; microbiology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the therapeutic effects of Ping-tang Recipe (, PTR) on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

METHODSForty male SD rats were included in the study. Ten rats were fed on normal diet as normal control, and thirty rats were fed on HFD for 8 weeks to induce obesity, followed with low dose (0.42 g/kg) or high dose (0.84 g/kg) of PTR or vehicle for 8 weeks with 10 animals for each group. Glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity were evaluated by oral glucose tolerance test and insulin tolerance test. Hepatic steatosis was measured by immunohistochemistry. Liver lipid metabolic genes were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, while AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) expression was examined by Western blot.

RESULTSRats fed on HFD developed abdominal obesity, insulin resistance and NAFLD. PTR treatment reduced visceral fat (peri-epididymal and peri-renal) accumulation, improved glucose metabolism, and attenuated hepatic steatosis. The expressions of the key lipolytic regulating genes, including peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor γ co-activator 1α (PGC-1α), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PRAR-γ) and α (PRAR-α), were up-regulated (P<0.05 or P<0.01), while the expressions of lipogenic genes such as sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c), fatty acid synthase (FAS) and liver fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) were down-regulated (P<0.05 or P<0.01). In addition, PTR activated AMPK and promoted acetyl-CoA carboxylase phosphorylation in the liver.

CONCLUSIONSPTR improves insulin resistance and reverse hepatic steatosis in the rat model of HFD-induced obesity through promotion of lipolysis and reduction of lipogenesis, which involves the AMPK signaling pathway, thus representing a new therapeutic intervention for obesity related insulin resistance and NAFLD.

AMP-Activated Protein Kinases ; metabolism ; Animals ; Body Weight ; drug effects ; Diet, High-Fat ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Fatty Liver ; blood ; complications ; prevention & control ; Gene Expression Regulation ; drug effects ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Insulin Resistance ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; drug effects ; pathology ; Lipogenesis ; drug effects ; Lipolysis ; drug effects ; Liver ; drug effects ; enzymology ; pathology ; Male ; Obesity ; blood ; complications ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Triglycerides ; metabolism

This study was purposed to investigate the ratio of Th17 cells and CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T (Treg) cells in peripheral blood of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and to explore their roles in the pathogenesis and clinical diagnosis. Based on the number of peripheral lymphocytes and treatment condition, the CLL patients were divided into 2 groups: untreated group (n = 30) and remission group (n = 15), the healthy control group (n = 20) was set up as well. The frequencies of Th17 and Treg cells of all cases were detected by flow cytometry (FCM). The results showed that frequencies of CD3(+)CD4(+)T cells and Th17 cells were significantly higher in untreated group than that in healthy control group (P < 0.05), the frequencies of CD3(+)CD8(+)T cells and Treg cells were significantly lower in untreated group than that in healthy control group (P < 0.05), the ratio of Th17/Treg was significantly higher in untreated group than that in healthy control group (P < 0.05). The frequencies of Th17 were not statistically different between remission and healthy control groups, the frequencies of Treg cells were significantly lower in remission group than that in healthy control group (P < 0.05), the ratio of Th17/Treg was significantly higher in remission group than that in healthy control group (P < 0.05), frequencies of Th17 cells were markedly lower in remission group than that in untreated group (P < 0.05). It is concluded that Th17/Treg imbalance exists in patients with CLL, which may play a key role in pathogenesis and development of CLL.
Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell ; pathology ; Lymphocyte Count ; Male ; Middle Aged ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; cytology ; Th17 Cells ; cytology

Amniotic Fluid ; metabolism ; Biomarkers ; metabolism ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Embolism, Amniotic Fluid ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Keratin-13 ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Respiratory Aspiration ; metabolism ; pathology

BACKGROUNDXiaobuxin-Tang, a traditional Chinese herbal prescription recorded in a silk scroll unearthed from Mogao Caves of Dunhuang has been indicated that it can remit depressive disorder. The present study was designed to investigate its antidepressant effects in various animal depression models.

METHODSXiaobuxin-Tang was extracted by 70% alcohol, and then three behavioral despair models and 5-Hydroxytryptophan (HTP)-induced head twitch response model were adopted to assess the antidepressant effects of the ethanolic extract of Xiaobuxin-Tang with the study on spontaneous motor activity. Groups of mice and rats received oral treatment with Xiaobuxin-Tang (150 - 1200 mg/kg) only once acutely in all tests. The duration of immobility was measured during the last 4 minutes of the 6-minutes test period in mice forced swimming test, rats forced swimming test and mice tail suspension test. In 5-HTP-induced head twitch response, the mice were intraperitoneally administered with 120 mg/kg of L-5-HTP, and then the cumulative number of head twitches was counted in 20 minutes. Spontaneous motor activities of mice were recorded automatically in 10 minutes by VIDEOMEX-V image analytic system.

RESULTSThe extract at doses of 300 mg/kg (p.o.) and 600 mg/kg (p.o.) significantly decreased the duration of immobility time in a dose dependent manner in mice forced swimming test; also, the extract at dose of 1200 mg/kg (p.o.) significantly decreased the duration of immobility time in rat forced swimming test. Furthermore, the extract at a dose of 600 mg/kg had the same effect in mice tail suspension test. Meanwhile, the extract at the effective doses for behavioral despair models, had no effect on spontaneous motor activity in mice. The extract (300 - 1200 mg/kg, p.o.) also increased the accumulative number of the 5-HTP-induced head twitch response in mice in 20 minutes.

CONCLUSIONOur results suggested that the ethanolic extract of Xiaobuxin-Tang exerts antidepressant-like effect.

Animals ; Antidepressive Agents ; pharmacology ; Depression ; drug therapy ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Hindlimb Suspension ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Motor Activity ; drug effects ; Swimming