Objective To investigate the anti-inflammatory effects and mechanism of durian peel extracts (DPE). Methods The in vivo anti-inflammation effects of DPE were examined by carrageenin-induced mice paw edema test and allergic contact dermatitis test induced by 2, 4-DNFB. And the in vitro anti-inflammation effects of DPE were evaluated with methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium ( MTT) assay in RAW 264.7 cell model of inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Results The results of animal experiments showed that DPE groups could markedly relieve mice paw edema induced by carrageenin ( P<0.01 or P<0.001 compared with blank group). DPE could effectively inhibit the allergic contact dermatitis induced by 2, 4-DNFB in mice, showing good dose-effect relationship. The results of in-vitro test showed that DPE at the given concentrations had no influence on RAW 264.7 cell proliferation. Tumor necrosis factor alpha ( TNF-α) , interleukin 6 ( IL-6) , interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), nitric oxide (NO) and nuclear factor kappaB (NF-кВ ) were observably inhibited, and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was enhanced by 25 and 50 mg/L of DPE. Conclusion DPE exert potential anti-inflammation effect, and the mechanism might be related to its inhibition of NF-кВsignal pathway.

Objective To evaluate the inhibitory activity of Herba Taraxaci extract on Escherichia coli DH5α (E. coli DH5α) and to investigate proteomic response of E. coli. Methods Medicinal powder of Herba Taraxaci was extracted with the solvents of different polarity ( n-hexane, ethyl acetate, distilled water) , and then the obtained 8 different extracts were subjected to thin layer chromatography ( TLC) analysis. Microdilution method was performed to detect the minimum inhibitory concentration ( MIC) of different extracts and the growth curves were described. The protein expression profiles of E . coli treated with the extracts were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electropheresis ( SDS-PAGE) and two dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) . Results Water decoction of Herba Taraxaci could obviously suppress the growth of E. coli with a MIC of 1.95 mg/mL. The different extractions exhibited no antibacterial activity except ethyl acetate phase 3 with a MIC of 0.13 mg/mL, which was equal to 19.23 mg/mL of crude drugs. The results of TLC analysis showed that chlorogenic acid was undetectable in n-hexane extract and ethyl acetate phase 1 extract, and ethyl acetate phase 2 and 3 extracts showed obviously increased spots. The results of SDS-PAGE and 2-DE showed that water decoction of Herba Taraxaci had inhibitory effect on the expression of functional protein. The results of 2-DE showed that after treatment with ethyl acetate phase 3 at the concentration of 2 × MIC for 21 hours, the amount of protein spots were 92 less than those of the blank control group, the spots of E. coli DH5α soluble protein with expression amount down-regulated doubly were 24, and those with expression amount up-regulated doubly were 19. Ethyl acetate phase 3 extract had an effect on down-regulating the protein expression of E. coli DH5α soluble protein pH3-10, and water decoction of Herba Taraxaci had inhibitory effect on E. coli DH5αprotein expression. Conclusion Herba Taraxaci has significant antibacterial activity on E. coli DH5α, and the water-soluble fraction of chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid might be the active components. The possible antibacterial mechanism may be related with the regulation of bacterial protein expression.

Objective To study the conditions of callus induction with the roots of Aquilaria sinensis as explants. Methods Two sources of roots of Aquiliaria sinensis were selected as the explants. The effects of sterilization methods and the combination of different concentrations of phytohormones on callus induction were evaluated. Results When Aquiliaria sinensis root seedling was sterilized in 0.01mg/mL HgCl2 solution for 3 minutes, the sterilized effect was the best. The optimal callus induction medium was MS+0.1 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) +0.1 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA). Aseptic Aquiliaria sinensis root seedling cultivated in callus induction medium containing MS+1.0 mg/L naphthalene acetic acid ( NAA) +0.8 mg/L 6-BA achieved the highest callus induction rate. Conclusion Callus can be induced from two sources of Aquilaria sinensis roots. The induction rate of callus is lower when the explant root seedling is cultivated using 2,4-D alone as inducer, and is increased when used together with 6-BA.

This article was aimed to study the species identification capability of psbA-trnH among Guanzhong herbs from Dryopteri. The nucleotide sequence information of psbA-trnH region was abstracted using standardized manners from 9 Dryopteri species (19 samples). The identification efficiency of psbA-trnH was analyzed based on TaxonGap among both tested materials (9 species, 19 samples) and tested materials plus GenBank data (17 species, 44 samples in total). The results showed that with the expanded species range, the discriminative efficiency of psbA-trnH de-clined from 100% (9/9) to 82.4% (14/17), while the proportion of within-specific heterogeneity larger than between-specific separability increased from 11.1% (1/9) to 52.9% (9/17). It was concluded that psbA-trnH can be recom-mended as the valuable barcode for homonym distinguishment among Guanzhong herbs, with attention of adequate sampling within species.

This study was aimed to screen candidate genes involved in the triterpenoid saponins biosynthetic pathway of the Ilex asprella root. The Illumina platform was applied to perform transcriptomic sequencing of I. asprella root, followed by a series of bioinformatics analysis. The results showed that a total of 272 candidate unigenes were anno-tated to be involved in the biosynthetic pathway of terpenoid in the transcriptome of I. asprella root, including 72 u-nigenes for the upstream pathway and 26 unigenes for cyclization, oxidation and glycosylation in the downstream pathway. Phylogenetic analysis was carried out to further analyze the evolution relationship of some candidate uni-genes and their homologous genes. Two genes IaA S1 and IaA S2 were proved to be mixed amyrin synthases in yeast expression system. Moreover, IaA S1 was identified to one of the rare ASs with α-amyrin as the major product. It was concluded that a series of candidate genes, which might be involved in the biosynthetic pathway of triterpenoid saponins, were screened out from the transcriptome of I. asprella root. Further investigation of these candidate genes will provide insight into their actual functions in the triterpenoid saponins biosynthetic pathway in I. asprella.

Objective To establish the quality standard of Radix Toddaliae Asiaticae. Methods Thin layer chromatography ( TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography ( HPLC) were used to identify and determine chloride nitidine and toddalolactone in Radix Toddaliae Asiaticae. The moisture and total ash contents were detected according to the methods recorded in appendix of Chinese Pharmacopeia (2010 edition) . Results Toddalolactone and chloride nitidine were detectable by TLC, the spots were clear and the dissociation was good. The established HPLC method was simple and accurate. The linear ranges of toddalolactone and chloride nitidine in Radix Toddaliae Asiaticae were 2.84~42.6 μg/mL and 25.6~385 μg/mL, and their recovery rates were 99.2 % ( RSD=1.12%) and 100 % ( RSD=0.71%) , respectively. The content of moisture was in the range of 75.8~98.9 mg/g and that of total ash was in the range of 12.4~33.6 mg/g. Conclusion The developed method is specific and accurate, and can provide useful reference for establishing quality standard of Radix Toddaliae Asiaticae.

Objective To evaluate the quality of medicinal materials of Lignum Dalbergiae Odoriferae in Chinese herbal medicine market. Methods Eighteen batches of commercial medicinal materials of Lignum Dalbergiae Odoriferae were identified and analyzed by macroscopical identification, thin layer chromatography (TLC), and volatile oil assay according to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia published in 2010. Visible spectrometry was used to determine the content of total flavonoids from the qualified samples. And the gas chromatography was applied to evaluate the content of nerolidol from volatile oils of the qualified samples. Results Only 33.3%of the samples met the standard of Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The total flavonoid content of the qualified samples was in the range of 21.6-29.0 mg/g. The content of nerolidol from volatile oils of the qualified samples was in the range of 294-574 mg/g. Conclusion At present, the quality of medicinal materials of Lignum Dalbergiae Odoriferae in Chinese herbal medicine market and in clinic varies greatly, and adulterants and inferior are common. The contents of chemical components in different batches of samples are significant different.

Objective To evaluate the quality of Radix et Caulis Ilicis Asprellae from Pingyuan planting base and Chinese herbal medicine market. Methods The water- and alcohol-soluble extracts from 19 batches of Radix et Caulis Ilicis Asprellae medicinal materials were detected according to Appendix ⅨH, ⅩA of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia ( 2010 edition). And the quality of the medicinal materials was evaluated by microscopic identification technology according to the method for Radix et Caulis Ilicis Asprellae recorded in Guangdong Provincial Chinese Medicine Standard, and then thin layer chromatography ( TLC) was optimized to establish the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint. The HPLC was performed on Waters XBridgeTM C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5μm) with acetonitrile(A)-0.2% (v/v) phosphorus acid (B) as the mobile phase by gradient elution, flow rate was 1.0 mL/min, and detection wavelength was 220 nm. Results The results of sample characters, TLC and microscopic identification showed that the samples of Radix et Caulis Ilicis Asprellae in Chinese herbal medicine markets were certified products, but stems and roots were blended. Seven common peaks were showed by HPLC and confirmed by similarity analytical software. The similarity of 15 batches of planting base samples was all above 0.9. Of 19 batches of the commercial samples, the similarity of 11 batches was above 0.9. The alcohol-soluble extract contents were in the range of 64.55 mg/g to 186.18 mg/g. Conclusion The medicinal materials of Radix et Caulis Ilicis Asprellae from Chinese herbal medicine market are certified products, but the qualities vary greatly for the blending of stems and roots and inadequate growth years. The quality of materials from planting base is better. The established method is helpful for the quality evaluation and control of Radix et Caulis Ilicis Asprellae.

Objective To investigate and evaluate the quality of Cortex Ilicis Rotundae medicinal materials in Chinese herbal medicine market. Methods Twenty-two batches of Cortex Ilicis Rotundae commercial medicinal materials were identified and analyzed by characteristic identification, microscopic identification, thin layer chromatography ( TLC) and extractives determination, and the contents of syringin and pedunculoside were detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) according to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia published in 2010. And then the quality of the medicinal material of Cortex Ilicis Rotundae was evaluated comprehensively. Results Of the 22 batches of Cortex Ilicis Rotundae medicinal materials, 2 batches were adulterated with fake Cortex Ilicis Rotundae, one batch was inferior and was mixed with counterfeits, and the quality of 12 batches was also poor. Conclusion At present, the quality of Cortex Ilicis Rotundae medicinal materials in Chinese herbal medicine market varies greatly, and adulterants and the inferior are common.

Objective To optimize the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for determining the content of scopoletin from Caulis Erycibes. Methods Methanol-25% HCl ( v/v, 4 : 1) solvent was used to extract scopoletin. HPLC method was performed on Waters XBridge Shield RP18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5μm) with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile ( A) and 0.16% ( v/v) acetic acid ( B) solution by gradient elution. The detection wavelength was 298 nm and the flow rate was set at 1.0 mL/min. Results The linear range of scopoletin from Caulis Erycibes was 2.83-118 μg/mL, and the recovery rate was 99.47% ( sR=1.07%). Conclusion The optimized method is simple, specific and accurate, and can provide reference for content determination of scopoletin in Caulis Erycibes.