OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents of the fruit of Aristolochia contorta.

METHODThe compounds were isolated by chromatographic techniques and crystalization, the structures were elucidated by spectrum analysis.

RESULTFifteen compounds were isolated from the dry fruit of A. contorta, which were six aristolochic acids: aristolochic acid I, aristolochic acid III a, aristolochic acid IVa, aristolochic acid II, aristolochic acid III and aristolochic acid VIIa. Three aristolactams: aristololactam I, aristololactam II and aristololactam IIIa. Three phenolic acids syringic acid, vanillic acid and p-coumaric acid. Three other type compounds: pentacosane acid, beta-sitosterol and daucossterol.

CONCLUSIONAristolochic acid III, aristolochic acid VIIa, aristololactam IIIa, and penfacosane acid were isolated from A. contorta for the first time, and compounds 4-13 were isolated from the furit of A. contorta for the first time.

Aristolochia ; chemistry ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; analysis ; isolation & purification

To investigate the health impacts of crystalline silica mixed dust and other potential occupational hazards on workers in ceramic factories, a cohort study of 4851 workers registered in the employment records in 3 ceramic factories in Jingdezhen city of China between 1972 and 1974 was identified. The cohort mortality was traced throughout 2003 with an accumulation of 128970.2 person-years, revealed 1542 deaths. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated for the main causes of death by using Chinese national mortality rates as reference. The mortality from all causes in three ceramic factories was 12.0 per thousand and the cumulative mortality was 31.8%. Malignant neoplasm, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, infectious diseases were the first four illnesses that threaten workers' life, and they accounted for 73.2% of all deaths. The results of this study showed that the standardized mortality ratio for all subjects was 1.02, which is very close to that expected on the basis of the China national mortality rates. Statistically significant mortality excesses for respiratory disease (SMR=1.36), pneumoconiosis (SMR=37.34), infectious disease (SMR=5.70) and pulmonary tuberculosis (SMR=3.88) were observed. The mortality of 2938 dust-exposed workers was higher than that of 1913 non dust-exposed workers. Except for pneumoconiosis, the mortality from lung cancer, non-malignant respiratory diseases and pulmonary tuberculosis in dust-exposed workers were significantly increased as compared with that in non-exposed workers, and the relative risks (RRs) were 1.86 (1.16-2.99), 2.50 (1.84-3.40), 1.81 (1.34-2.45). The exposure-response relationships between cumulative dust exposure level and mortality from all causes, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, respiratory diseases, and pulmonary tuberculosis were also identified. The findings indicated that silica mixed dust in ceramic factories has harmful impact on the workers' health and life span in ceramic factory.

Objective:To investigate the structural and functional changes of the common carotid artery in patients with severe preeclampsia (SPE).Methods:Fifty-six patients with severe preeclampsia (SPE group) admitted in the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from May 2019 to December 2021, and 31 normal pregnant women admitted in the same period (control group) were enrolled in the study. All subjects underwent conventional ultrasonography and color Doppler sonography examinations. The QLAB software was used to measure intima-media thickness (IMT) and hemodynamics indexs, including systolic peak velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), vascular resistance index (RI) and vascular pulsation index (PI); the elastic parameters, including stiffness index β, the stress and strain modulus of elasticity Ep and compliance (AC). The clinical data and ultrasound parameters were compared between SPE group and control group. Logistic regression was used to analyze the correlation between elastic parameters and SPE.Results:Compared with the control group, the PSV, EDV were decreased, and RI was increased in the prenatal SPE group (all P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the Ep and stiffness index β increased in the SPE group, while AC decreased (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that PSV ( OR=0.915, 95%CI: 0.859-0.974, P=0.005) was negatively correlated with SPE; IMT( OR=4.012, 95%CI:1.150-10.660, P=0.005), RI ( OR=9.279, 95%CI:1.781-46.743, P=0.013), Ep ( OR=1.086, 95%CI:1.031-1.142, P=0.002) were positively corrected with SPE. Conclusion:The structure and function of the common carotid artery have changed in patients with SPE.

OBJECTIVETo develop a method for the determination of harpagide and harpagoside in Scrophulariae Radix (Xuanshen) by HPLC-UV under double wavelength, and to study the changes of these two constituents during processing, and to set the limitation of harpagide and harpagoside contents in crude drug and sliced pieces of Xuanshen.

METHODThe analyses were performed on an Agilent Technologies ZORBAX SB-C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) eluted with acetonitrile-water (containing 0.03% phosphoric acid) in gradient model. The flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1) . The column temperature was 25 degrees C. The UV detector wavelength was set at 210 nm before 13 min and then changed to 280 nm.

RESULTHarpagide and harpagoside were separated well. The linear calibration curves were obtained over of 0.0549 - 1.46 microg for harpagide (r = 0.9999, n =7) ,0.0225 - 0.900 microg for harpagoside (r = 0.9998, n = 9). The recoveries ( +/- RSD)% were 98.1 (+/- 2.4)% for harpagide and 98.8 (+/- 4.3)% for harpagoside. The contents of harpagide were 0. 277% - 0.620%, harpagoside were 0.078% - 0.362% in Xuanshen, and harpagide were 0.276% - 1.059%, harpagoside were 0. 059% - 0.183% in sliced Xuanshen, respectively. After the processing of Scrophulariae Radix, the content of harpagide increases 13.7% - 96.0%, while harpagoside decreases 11.0%-73.9%.

CONCLUSIONThis method is simple, accurate, and can be used for the quality control of Scrophulariae Radix. We propose that the total content of harpagide and harpagoside in either crude drug or sliced pieces of Scrophulariae Radix should not be less than 0.45%.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Glycosides ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Iridoid Glycosides ; Magnoliopsida ; chemistry ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Pyrans ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet ; methods

To investigate the health impacts of crystalline silica mixed dust and other potential occupational hazards on workers in ceramic factories, a cohort study of 4851 workers registered in the employment records in 3 ceramic factories in Jingdezhen city of China between 1972 and 1974 was identified2 The cohort mortality was traced throughout 2003 with an accumulation of 128970.2 person-years, revealed 1542 deaths. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated for the main causes of death by using Chinese national mortality rates as reference. The mortality from all causesin three ceramic factories was 12.0‰ and the cumulative mortality was 31.8%. Malignant neoplasm,cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, infectious diseases were the first four illnesses that threaten workers' life, and they accounted for 73.2% of all deaths. The resultsof this study showed that the standardized mortality ratio for all subjects was 1.02, which is very close to that expected on the basis of the China national mortality rates. Statistically significant mortality excesses for respiratory disease (SMR=1.36), pneumoconiosis (SMR=37.34), infectious disease (SMR=5.70) and pulmonary tuberculosis (SMR=3.88) were observed. The mortality of 2938 dust-exposed workers was higher than that of 1913 non dust-exposed workers. Except for pneumoconiosis, the mortality from lung cancer, non-malignant respiratory diseases and pulmonary tuberculosis in dust-exposed workerswere significantly increased as compared with that in non-exposed workers, and the relative risks(RRs) were 1.86 (1.16-2.99), 2.50 (1.84-3.40), 1.81 (1.34-2.45). The exposure-response relationships between cumulative dust exposure level and mortality from all causes, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, respiratory diseases, and pulmonary tuberculosis were also identified. The findings indicatedthat silica mixed dust in ceramic factories has harmful impact on the workers' health and life span in ceramic factory.