Objective: To study the effective substance foundation of Ephedrae Herba and explore its mechanism, in order to further enrich the theory of drug resistance of Ephedrae Herba.Method: In this experiment, a compound model was used to establish rat model of Harmful Fluid Retention in upper Jiao. The Rats were randomly divided into model group, captopril group (4.38 mg·kg^-1), Ephedrae Herba decoction group(468 mg·kg^-1), polysaccharide group (265.36 mg·kg^-1), volatile oil group (2.34 mg·kg^-1), alkaloid group(40.71 mg·kg^-1) and phenolic acid group (210.60 mg·kg^-1), and normal group (10 mL·kg^-1). The normal group and the model group were given the same volume of normal saline for four weeks. The 24 h urine volume of rats was collected by metabolic cage method. The changes of heart and lung tissue morphology were observed under light microscope. The heart index, lung index, left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF), left ventricular short axis shortening rate(LVFS) and pulmonary permeability index, number(LPI), lung dry-wet ratio(W/D), creatine kinase isoenzyme(CK-MB), angiotensin Ⅱ(Ang Ⅱ), aldosterone(ALD), cardiac aquaporin 1(AQP1), lung AQP1, aquaporin-3(AQP3) and kidney AQP1, aquaporin-2(AQP2), interleukin-6(IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) change were detected.Result: Compared with the normal group, heart and lungs of the model group were significantly damaged. The amount of 24 h urine, LVEF, LVFS of model rats were significantly reduced(P<0.01); whereas heart index, lung index, CK-MB, LPI, Ang Ⅱ, W/D, ALD, IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly increased(P<0.05,P<0.01), and the model of Harmful Fluid Retention in the Upper Jiaowas established successfully. The amount of 24 h urine, LVEF, LVFS, IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly increased (P<0.05, P<0.01) in the alkaloid group, and the heart index, the lung index, CK-MB, LPI, Ang Ⅱ, W/D, ALD, IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly reduced (P<0.05, P<0.01). And the Alkaloid group can alleviate the heart and lung pathology in the Rats Model of Harmful Fluid Retention in the Upper Jiao.Conclusion: Alkaloid components "Wen" and "Xin" are the effective substance basis of its action. The mechanism may be related to the inhibition of renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) and the anti-inflammatory effect.

The chemical constituents of the fruits of Chaenomeles sinensis (Thouin) Koehne were investigated using chromatographic methods, including Diaion HP-20, Toyopearl HW-40, MCI Gel CHP-20, ODS, Silica gel chromatography and semi-preparative-HPLC. Three compounds were isolated and their structures were elucidated with spectral data and physicochemical properties, which were identified as chaenomeles alkaloid A (1), ginsenine (2) and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-methyl-β-carboline-3-car-boxylic acid (3). Among those, compound 1 is a new alkaloid, compound 2 and 3 were isolated from this plant for the first time. To investigate the protective effect of compounds 1-3 on Rat adrenal pheochromocytoma (PC-12) injury induced by the β-amyloid protein (Aβ_25-35). The results show that compounds 2 and 3 have a significant protective effect on the PC12 cells exposed to Aβ_25-35.