In our country, the technology of extraction and separation of traditional Chinese medicine is backward relatively. The production process is extensive and the equipment level is low relatively. The manufacturing process is mainly based on unit operation and manual operation. The automatic control of the whole process has not been realized, which has seriously restricted the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine industry. If automatic control technology applied to traditional Chinese medicine in the extraction process, the process parameters of operation will be in the effective and strict monitoring and control, so as to improve the product quality and production efficiency, reduce costs, to achieve the green production. In this paper, the current situation and the application of new automation technology in the process of extraction traditional Chinese medicine in recent years were summarized, in order to provide a reference for Chinese medicine green and intelligent production.

OBJECTIVE To explore the effect of volatile oil of Ligusticum chuanxiong on the transdermal properties and cytotoxicity of triptolide in vitro. METHODS The chemical constituents of the volatile oil of L. chuanxiong were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The lower abdominal skin of KM mice was separated and divided into triptolide group， triptolide in compatibility with volatile oil of L. chuanxiong groups at 1∶10， 1∶50， 1∶100 （hereinafter referred to as “compatibility 1∶10”“compatibility 1∶50”“compatibility 1∶100” groups）. After the skin of mice in each group was fully exposed to 0.2 g of the corresponding cream for 24 h， the cumulative transdermal dose （Qn） of triptolide in the receiving solution of each group was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography， and the transdermal absorption rate （Jss） was calculated. Human immortalized keratinocytes （HaCat） were used as a model， the CCK-8 method was used to detect the cell survival rate of different concentrations of the volatile oil of L. chuanxiong and triptolide before and after compatibility. RESULTS A total of 62 chemical constituents of the volatile oil of L. chuanxiong were identified， including Z-ligustilide， senkyunolide， and β-selinene. The Qn （P＜ 0.01） and Jss of triptolide increased within 24 h in the compatibility 1∶10 and 1∶50 groups， while the Qn （P＜0.05） and Jss decreased in the compatibility 1∶100 group as compared with the triptolide group. Compared with the triptolide group， the cell survival rate of HaCat was significantly increased in the compatibility 1∶10 and 1∶50 groups when the triptolide concentrations were 36， 72 and 144 ng/mL （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； while the cell survival rate of HaCat was decreased in the compatibility 1∶100 group， but the difference was not statistically significant （P＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS When the compatibility ratio of triptolide and volatile oil of L. chuanxiong was 1∶10 or 1∶50， it can promote the transdermal absorption of triptolide and reduce the cytotoxicity of triptolide to HaCat.

OBJECTIVE To study the extraction technology of Sophora flavescens-Phellodendron chinense drug pair and provide a reference for the development of new drugs for the treatment of anorectal diseases. METHODS Using the contents of total alkaloids of S. flavescens （matrine+oxymatrine）， berberine hydrochloride and total flavonoid， and extract yield as evaluation indicators， analytic hierarchy process-entropy weight method was used to calculate the weight coefficient of each indicator， and was combined with Box-Behnken design-response surface method to study the extraction technology of S. flavescens-P. chinense drug pair and verify it. RESULTS The optimal extraction technology of S. flavescens-P. chinense drug pair was immersed in 12-fold amount of 58% ethanol for 30 minutes and extracted twice， each time for 120 minutes. The relative error between the verification experimental results and the predicted value was 1.88%. CONCLUSIONS The obtained extraction technology is stable and feasible and can provide reference for the application of S. flavescens-P. chinense drug pair and development of new drugs.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of the combination of components from Tripterygii Radix et Rhizoma and Chuanxiong Rhizoma on rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes （RA-FLSs） and the underlying mechanism. MethodsRA-FLSs were grouped as follows： blank control， positive control （methotrexate）， Tripterygii Radix et Rhizoma components， Chuanxiong Rhizoma components， and components from Tripterygii Radix et Rhizoma+Chuanxiong Rhizoma. The cell-counting kit-8 （CCK-8） assay was employed to the cell proliferation， invasion， and apoptosis. The levels of tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α， interleukin （IL）-6， reactive oxygen species （ROS）， and malondiadehyde （MDA） in cells were measured. Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 （Nrf2）， heme oxygenase-1 （HO-1）， nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-κB） p65， phosphorylated inhibitory subunit of NF-κBα （p-IκBα）， cysteinyl aspartate-specific protease-3 （Caspase-3）， and B-cell lymphoma 2 （Bcl-2）. Real-time PCR was employed to determine the mRNA levels of Nrf2， HO-1， and NF-κB p65. ResultsThe cells in the groups of positive control， Tripterygii Radix et Rhizoma components， Chuanxiong Rhizoma components， and components from Tripterygii Radix et Rhizoma+Chuanxiong Rhizoma were treated with 2.50 mg·L^-1 methotrexate， 0.20 mg·L^-1 triptolide + 0.20 mg·L^-1 celastrol， 5.00 mg·L^-1 ferulic acid + 20.00 mg·L^-1 ligustrazine， 0.20 mg·L^-1 triptolide + 0.20 mg·L^-1 celastrol + 5.00 mg·L^-1 ferulic acid + 20.00 mg·L^-1 ligustrazine， respectively. Compared with the blank control group， drug administration reduced the proliferation and invasion and increased the apoptosis of cells （P<0.01）， lowered the levels of TNF-α， IL-6， ROS， and MDA （P<0.01）， up-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of Caspase-3， Nrf2， and HO-1 （P<0.01）， and down-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of Bcl-2， NF-κB p65， and p-IκBα （P<0.01）. Compared with the Tripterygii Radix et Rhizoma components group， the combination of components from Tripterygii Radix et Rhizoma+Chuanxiong Rhizoma inhibited the proliferation and invasion （P<0.05） and promoted the apoptosis of RA-FLSs， up-regulated the mRNA levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 and protein levels of Nrf2 and Caspase-3 （P<0.05）， and down-regulated the protein levels of NF-κB p65 and p-IκBα （P<0.05）. ConclusionThe combination of components from Chuanxiong Rhizoma and Tripterygii Radix et Rhizoma can inhibit the proliferation and invasion and promote the apoptosis of RA-FLSs and alleviate oxidative stress and inflammation by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway， activating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway， and regulating the expression of Bcl-2/Caspase-3.

Objective    To summarize the early outcomes of totally thoracoscopic minimally invasive aortic valve replacement (AVR) and double valve replacement (DVR). Methods    The clinical data of patients who underwent totally thoracoscopic minimally invasive AVR or DVR in Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital from April 2020 to January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into an AVR group and a DVR group according to the surgical method, and the clinical data of the two groups were compared. Results    Finally 22 patients were enrolled, including 14 males and 8 females with an average age of 50.0±11.2 years at operation. Eight patients were degenerative disease, 8 were rheumatic heart disease combined with valvular disease, and 6 were bicuspid aortic valve. Out of the 22 patients, 16 underwent AVR alone, and 6 underwent DVR. All patients completed the operation successfully, and there was no death. Perivalvular leakage during surgery occurred in 2 patients. The average cardiopulmonary bypass time was 187.0±39.9 minutes, and aortic cross-clamping time was 117.0 (99.0, 158.0) minutes. Duration of mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit stay was 9.5 (4.8, 18.3) hours and 41.0 (34.0, 64.0) hours, respectively. The volume of chest drainage at the first 24 hours after surgery was 214.0±124.6 mL, and the postoperative hospital stay was 5.5 (4.0, 8.3) days. The cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic cross-clamping time in the DVR group were longer than those in the AVR group, and the volume of chest drainage at 24 hours after surgery was more than that in the AVR group, with a statistical difference (P<0.05). Echocardiography before hospital discharge showed paravalvular leakage in 1 patient. There was no death during follow-up of 5.9±3.0 months. Conclusion    The early outcome of totally thoracoscopic minimally invasive AVR and DVR is satisfactory, and the approach of surgery is worth exploring.