OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of Zige lyophilized powder for injection in improving the acute cerebral microcirculation disturbance in rats.

METHODWindow craniotomy was performed for rats after the drug administration for 14 days. The experimental microcirculation disturbance model was duplicated with high molecule dextran. After the drug administration, the micro-vein diameters of cerebral pla mater of various groups were observed and recorded under the biological microscope. The blood flow volume was monitored by laser Doppler flow-meter. HCT was measured by the electric resistance method. The hemorheological indexes were detected by the auto-hemorheological instrument.

RESULTZige lyophilized powder for injection (16.40, 32.70, 65.40 mg x kg(-1)) could significantly expand the micro-vein diameter of cerebral pla mater, improve the downward trend of the blood flow volume, and reduce the various hemorheological indexes.

CONCLUSIONZige lyophilized powder for injection shows the effect in improving the cerebral microcirculation.

Animals ; Brain ; blood supply ; drug effects ; Brain Ischemia ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Male ; Powders ; administration & dosage ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of nitric oxide (NO) on the gene expression of hepatic TNF-α and IL-1β by crush injury of rat's soft tissues. METHODS: Rats were randomly divided into sham group, crush group, crush+aminoguanidine (AG) group, and crush+L-arginine (L-Arg) group. Activities of ALT and AST as well as NO level in serum were measured. Gene expressions of TNF-α and IL-1β were detected with RT-PCR. RESULTS: Obvious increase in TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA expression was detected in the crush group compared with the sham group (P<0.05). After pretreated L-Arg, expressions of TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA were markedly increased (P<0.05). After pretreated AG, those indices obviously decreased (P<0.05). Activities of ALT and AST enhanced and NO level increased in the crush group compared with the sham group (P<0.05). Pretreatment with L-Arg or AG led to substantial increased or reduced activities of ALT and AST as well as NO levels, respectively. CONCLUSION Endogenous NO mediated TNF-α, IL-1β mRNA up expression in liver induced by increased production of NO after crush injury of rat's soft tissues.
Animals ; Gene Expression ; Interleukin-1beta/metabolism* ; Liver ; Nitric Oxide/physiology* ; RNA, Messenger ; Rats ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Wounds and Injuries

The complete chloroplast genome of medicinal plant Asarum caudigerum Hance and its close relative A. cardiophyllum Franchet were sequenced using Illumina Hiseq technology, and assembled, annotated, and characterized by bioinformatic methods in this study. Then phylogenetic analysis of the complete chloroplast genomes of A. caudigerum, A. cardiophyllum, and twelve published species was conducted. The results indicated that the chloroplast genomes ranged from 186 215-186 985 bp in length, with a large single copy (LSC, 89 445-90 169 bp) and two inverted repeats (IRa/IRb, 48 387-48 408 bp). The overall GC content was 37.4%-37.5%. A total of 144 chloroplast genes were annotated, including 98 protein coding genes, 38 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. In addition, complex genomic rearrangements were detected in the chloroplast genome of Asarum. Meanwhile, visual evaluation of the discrete type of the sequence indicated that the variation level of non-coding region was higher than that of coding region. Phylogenetic analyses suggested that A. caudigerum and A. cardiophyllum were clustered into a single clade and A. cardiophyllum, A. sieboldii var. seoulense, A. misandrum and A. maculatum were clustered into another single branch. These two clade were sister species. This study provides a scientific basis for the identification, phylogenetic relationship, molecular breeding of Asarum species.

The study is to report the establishment of a method of screening the antitumor compounds based on the dynamic bio-response profile of cells to make up for the shortages of conventional end-point tests such as tedious operation and low sensitivity. Based on the principle of electric impedance of cells, the real-time cell electronic sensing (RT-CES) system was used to monitor the effect of epirubicin (EPI), cisplatinum (DDP) and carboplatin (CBP) on the growth of HepG2 cells, with the cell index (CI), half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) and detachment curve as evaluation indexes. Meanwhile, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and microscopy were applied for verification. The results showed that CI curve could sensitively real-time profile the inhibitory effect of model drugs on HepG2 cells. The IC50 of EPI, DDP and CBP were 0.53 +/- 0.04, 9.79 +/- 0.26 and 597.00 +/- 3.79 microg x mL(-1), respectively. What's more, the significant differences of detachment curves of the three drugs indicated that their functional mechanisms might be different, this is consistent with the literature. The RT-CES system with non-invasive, label-free and real-time characteristics could be used to monitor the bio-response profile of the three drugs to HepG2 cells, allowing to qualitatively and quantitatively distinguish the antitumor activities of the three drugs, and could be a complementary method for the present screening of antitumor compounds.
Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Biosensing Techniques ; methods ; Cell Count ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cisplatin ; pharmacology ; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor ; Electric Impedance ; Humans

This study aims at trying to establish a novel method of sterility test for injections based on biothermodynamics, in order to overcome the deficiencies of routine sterility tests such as long detecting cycle, low sensitivity and prone to misjudgments. A biothermodynamics method was adopted to rapidly detect the microorganism contamination of injections by monitoring the heat metabolism during the growth of microbe. The growth rate equal to or greater than zero and the heat power difference of P(i) and P(0) with three folds higher than the noise of baseline were chosen as indexes to study the heat change rule of microbe. In this way, the effectiveness of the new method to detect strains required by conventional sterility test or in injection samples was also investigated. Results showed that the Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi demanded by sterility testing methodology could be detected by biothermodynamics method within 10 hours, with the sensitivity lower than 100 CFU x mL(-1). Meanwhile, this method was successfully applied to the sterility test of Compound Yinchen injection (FFYC), Shuanghuanglian powder injection (SHL) and Compound Triamcinolone injection (TAND) which were sterilized with different degrees. Therefore, the biothermodynamics method, with advantages of fast detection and high sensitivity, could be a complementary solution for conventional sterility tests.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Drug Contamination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Fungi ; isolation & purification ; Gram-Negative Bacteria ; isolation & purification ; Gram-Positive Bacteria ; isolation & purification ; Hot Temperature ; Injections ; Microbiological Techniques ; methods ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sterilization ; Triamcinolone ; administration & dosage ; chemistry

In vitro neuraminidase inhibition assays and ultrafiltration liquid chromatography with diodearray detector coupled to time of flight mass spectrometer (UPLC-DAD-TOF-MS) were combined to screen bioactive compounds inhibiting neuraminidase from Isatidis Radix. By comparing the compounds from Isatidis Radix before and after ultrafiltration, we found that arginine, goitrin and adenosinea can bind with neuraminidase, and the binding degree of the three compounds were (36.23 +/- 1.12)%, (32.54 +/- 1.02)% and (9.38 +/- 0.47)%, respectively. The IC50 of arginine and goitrin were (1.16 +/- 0.02), (1.20 +/- 0.02) g x L(-1), respectively. While the IC50 of adenosinea was higher than 500 g x L(-1). The results showed that arginine and goitrin might be the main compounds with antiviral activity of Isatidis Radix. This study may provide a useful method for the screening of bioactive compounds and quality control of Isatidis Radix.
Antiviral Agents ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Arginine ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Isatis ; chemistry ; Mass Spectrometry ; Neuraminidase ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Orthomyxoviridae ; drug effects ; enzymology ; Oxazolidinones ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Ultrafiltration ; Viral Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDIn epidemiological studies, tuberculosis (TB) appears intimately with vitamin D insufficiency whereas its relationship with vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphism caused by radical difference remains unspecified. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between vitamin D genetic polymorphism and tuberculosis in Han ethnic group.

METHODSMeta-analysis was adopted in the synthetic quantitative analysis of documents home and abroad on the relationship between vitamin D genetic polymorphisms and tuberculosis, which were openly published during June 2000 to January 2010. Random effect model and fixed effect model analyses were used to calculate the incorporated odds ratio (OR) based on the heterogeneity test data.

RESULTSA total of 6 eligible studies were included in this analysis. The FokI-ff genotype showed a significant marginal association (Fixed effect model: OR 1.91, 95%CI 1.44-2.52; Random effect model: OR 1.91, 95%CI 0.94-3.88), yet TaqI polymorphisms was not significantly related to TB.

CONCLUSIONThe interaction between FoKI genotype polymorphism and TB observed demonstrates that vitamin D deficiency might exist as a risk factor during the development of TB in Han ethnic group and more evidences needed to validate the conclusion.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Case-Control Studies ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; genetics ; Receptors, Calcitriol ; genetics ; Tuberculosis ; epidemiology ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy of the monotherapy of 15 agents in treating essential hypertension.

METHODSAfter 2-week wash-out, a total of 370 patients with seated diastolic blood pressure 95-114 mmHg and seated systolic blood pressure < 180 mmHg were randomized to different therapeutic groups. 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was performed before medication and at the end of 8 weeks.

RESULTAll the agents significantly reduced the 24 hour mean blood pressures after treatment except doxazosin, terazosin, and torasemide.

CONCLUSIONThe result suggested that the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, beta-blockers and long-acting calcium antagonists were effective in treating essential hypertension, while the low-dose doxazosin, terazosin and torasemide can be used for combination therapy but not for monotherapy.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists ; therapeutic use ; Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists ; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Antihypertensive Agents ; classification ; therapeutic use ; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory ; Calcium Channel Blockers ; therapeutic use ; Doxazosin ; therapeutic use ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Humans ; Hypertension ; drug therapy ; Prazosin ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Sulfonamides ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

Taking the Zeyao Materia Medica,Benjing Fengyuan,De Pei Materia Medica,Shiyi Materia Medica,Harmful Benefits of Materia Medica as representative works in Qing Dynasty,this paper extracts text information from four aspects: drug identification,drug use,drug prevention and detoxification,constructs a drug pharmacovigilance information table of Qing Dynasty herbal works,and summarizes the drug pharmacovigilance of Qing Dynasty. Thought,in the Qing Dynasty,there were many recordings of drug pharmacovigilance. In the aspect of drug awareness,the main representative was Shi Yi Materia Medica which added many new drugs and introduced more new uses of drugs. In addition,in the aspect of drug use and prevention,the main representatives were Zeyao Materia Medica,Benjing Fengyuan,De Pei Materia Medica,and Harmful Benefits of Materia Medica. In the aspect of taboo of disease and syndrome,attention should be paid to the integration of medicine so as to make drugs closely related to clinical use. Although there is no special introduction on detoxification,it has been introduced in various medicines in the De Pei Materia Medica,Shiyi Materia Medica,which has a relatively systematic and complete drug warning ideology system of " drug identification-use-drug prevention-detoxification".This study found that the traditional pharmacovigilance thought of Qing Dynasty had the characteristics of attaching importance to the clinical application of toxic traditional Chinese medicine and the combination of medicine,which had certain guiding significance for modern clinical medication. This paper aims to explore the traditional drug pharmacovigilance knowledge in representative works of the Qing Dynasty,analyze the characteristics of the drug pharmacovigilance thought in the Qing Dynasty,and lay a foundation for clarifying the traditional drug pharmacovigilance system.
China ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Materia Medica ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Pharmacovigilance ; Records

BACKGROUNDStatins are potent lipid-lowering agents widely used in medical practice. There has been growing evidence suggesting the pleiotropic effects of statins in addition to the lipid-lowering effect. However, it is still unclear how rapidly the beneficial effects of statins occur. The transcriptome of peripheral blood cells can be used as a sensor to drug therapy. The purpose of the study was to investigate the acute effects of rosuvastatin both on lipids profile and gene expression of peripheral leukocytes following therapy with a single dose of rosuvastatin.

METHODSThirty healthy Chinese male volunteers were enrolled. The serum lipids, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and plasma fibrinogen were determined before and 72 hours after administration of 20 mg of rosuvastatin. The differentially expressed genes of peripheral leukocytes after administration of rosuvastatin were screened using human oligonucleotide microarray gene expression chips. Then four of the differentially expressed genes including ATM, CASP8, IL8RB and S100B were verified by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

RESULTSRosuvastatin decreased both serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol significantly 72 hours after administration of a single dose of 20 mg rosuvastatin. However, no significant changes occurred in blood high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein and fibrinogen after the treatment. A total of 24 genes were differentially expressed after the treatment. They were involved in important cell biological processes such as cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, apoptosis signaling, etc.

CONCLUSIONSRosuvastatin rapidly modulates the serum lipids and affects the gene expression of peripheral leukocytes in healthy volunteers. This finding provides some new clues for further studies on its potential pleiotropic effects.

Adult ; Caspase 8 ; genetics ; Fluorobenzenes ; pharmacology ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Leukocytes ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Pyrimidines ; pharmacology ; Receptors, Interleukin-8 ; genetics ; Rosuvastatin Calcium ; Sulfonamides ; pharmacology