This paper reports a brief account of current research work on Oenotherae biennis L., including the utilization of nature resource, pharmacological action and clinical efficacy.

In this paper we present a study on the microscopic identification of Dingkundan.For this purpose,a total of 29 constitutive Chinese medicines in Dingkundan were all detected and the characters of every constitutive Chinese medicine for microscopic identification were briefly described.We also provide the microscopic character pictures attached.

The calcium antagonist action of arctigenin (ACT) was studied in order to verify the ef-fect of Fructus Arctii for the relieve of exterior syndrome. Muscular contraction of isolated rat trachea,colon, pulmonary artery and thoracic aorta induced by KC1, that of guinea pig trachea induced by CaCI2,before and after the addition of ACT were assessed and their contraction-response curves drawn and PD'2calculated according to Scott. The inhibition rate of two-phase contraction of guinea pig trachea induced byacetylcholine chloride (Ach) in comparison with verapamil (VER) was calculated. Results of the studyshowed that ACT could non-compatitively antagonize the muscular contraction of the test specimens withPD'2 of 4.01, 5.11, 5.98 and 6.05 respectively. Similar to VER, ACT could non-competitively antagonizethe isolated guinea pig trachea with PD'2 of 4.04 and 5.62 respectively. Both of them could inhibit thefirst phase contraction induced by Ach with inhibition rates of 66.14% and 81.42% respectively. It wasconcluded that ACT, as the active constituent of Fructus Arctii, relaxed smooth muscle contraction byblocking the potential dependant Ca2+ channel and the internal release of Ca2+.

"Congbai", fistular onion bulb, a Chinese herbal drug, was systematically studied in such aspects as botanical morphology, macroscopical characters, histology and so on. Scientific basis was provided to draw up the standard of identifying "Congbai".

Object To study the DNA fingerprinting of Arctium lappa L obtained from different localities Methods DNA fingerprinting of samples of crude and processed A lappa collected from four large commercial centers were examined by RAPD Results All crude A lappa showed similar fingerprinting characteristics, while the processed products gave considerable different results Conclusion DNA fingerprinting study is a reliant method to differentiate crude A lappa from its processed product

AIM:In order to ensure the quality stability of Fructus Polygoni Orientalis,to study the determination method of the fingerprint of Fruetus Polygoni Orientalis and to establish the fingerprint of Fructus Polygoni Orientalis.METHODS:The HPLC assay was used to establish the fingerprint of Fructus Polygoni Orienlalis and 28 pieces of goods were compared.RESULTS:The fingerprint of Fructus Polygoni Orientalis with 7 common peaks was established.The relative retention time and the ranges of relative area of the common peaks were determined.CONCLUSION:The established fingerprint can be used for the quality control of Fructus Polygoni Orientalis.

Objective To study the chemical composition from leaves of Smallanthus sonchifolius.Methods Some chromatography methods were used in the isolation procedure,while the structures were determined on the aids of NMR and MS spectral analyses.Results A new compound,together with five known compounds,was isolated from the ethanolic extract of the leaves.The new compound is characterized as 5,8-dihydroxyl-(5H,8H)-?-ionol(Ⅰ).Other compounds are obtained for the first time from the title plant and identified as ent-kaurane-3?,16?,17-triol(Ⅱ),entkaurane-16?,17-diol-19-oic acid(Ⅲ),3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde(Ⅳ),1-pentacosanol(Ⅴ),and 1-octacosanol(Ⅵ),respectively.Conclusion Compounds Ⅰ-Ⅵ are isolated from the plants of genus Smallanthus for the first time.Compound Ⅰ is a ?-ionol derivate firstly isolated from genus Smallanthus.It is named as sonchifolol.

Objective To study the active constituents of Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii MethodsThe compounds were separated by silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 chromatography method, their structures were identified on the spectral analyses and physical data. Results Eleven compounds were isolated and identified as ?-sitosterol (Ⅰ), physalin A (Ⅱ), physalin B (Ⅲ), physalin O (Ⅳ), physalin L (Ⅴ), physalin M (Ⅵ), daucosterol (Ⅶ), ombuine (Ⅷ), 5, 4′, 5′-trihydroxy-7, 3′-dimethoxy-flavonol (Ⅸ), luteolin (Ⅹ), and luteolin-7-O-?-D-glucopyranoside (Ⅺ). Conclusion Compound Ⅸ is a new compound named physaflavonol.

Objective:To observe the effects of Deoxyschisandrin on hemorrheology and coagulation function in ulcerative colitis (UC)mice.Methods:Trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)induced UC mice model was prepared.And then UC mice were randomly divided into model group,positive control group,high,medium,and low dose groups of deoxyschisandrin (80,40,20mg/kg),and in addition,a normal control group was set up.There were 10 mice in each group respectively.UC mice were intragastricly administrated with different concentration of deoxyschisandrin in medication group,or with equal volume distilled water in normal group or model group,respectively.The blood viscosity was determined by blood rheometer,and the bleeding time (BT)and the clotting time (CT)were also observed through the methods of tail cutting and blood coagulation in glass plates accordingly.Results:Compared with model group,the BT (P ＜ 0.01)and CT (P ＜ 0.05)were significantly prolonged,and the blood viscosity was decreased obviously (P ＜ 0.05) in UC mice after administrated with different concentration deoxyschisandfin for 14 days.And the effects in high dose group were strongest and similar to those in the positive group.Conclusions:Deoxyschisandrin can improve hemorrheology and coagulation function in UC mice.

The reports on chemical constituents of Hyoscyamus niger were summarized. The compounds include alkaloids, saponins, lignans, coumarinolignans, flavonoids, and some other nonalkaloidal compounds. TLC, HPLC, and GC were used for the qualitative and quantitative analyses of some chemical constituents in H. niger. Modern pharmacological experiments showed that H. niger had the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, anticonvulsant, spasmolytic, antidiarrhoeal, antisecretory, bronchodilatory, urinary bladder relaxant, hypotensive, cardiosuppressant, vasodilator, antitumor, and feeding deterrent properties. In addition, the toxicities of this medicinal plant were also described.