ObjectiveTo investigate the ameliorative effect and mechanism of total saponins of Codonopsis Radix （TSC） on learning and memory impairment induced by D-galactose in aging mice. MethodTwenty-four male C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned into four groups （n=6）： normal group， model group （200 mg·kg^-1 D-galactose）， TSC group （200 mg·kg^-1）， and donepezil group （3 mg·kg^-1）. After one week of pre-treatment， the mice in the model， TSC， and donepezil groups were administrated with corresponding agents for 8 weeks. In the ninth week， the Morris water maze test was performed to assess the learning and memory abilities. Histopathological changes in the brain were evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） and Nissl staining. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of nuclear factor kappa-B （NF-κB）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， and brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） in the brain tissue. The serum levels of glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px）， catalase （CAT）， superoxide dismutase （SOD）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， TNF-α， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， and interleukin-18 （IL-18） were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay， on the basis of which the effects of TSC on neuroinflammation and memory impairment in D-galactose-induced aging mice were assessed. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group exhibited decreased cognitive function， decreased activities of CAT， SOD， and GSH-Px in the serum （P<0.01）， and upregulated levels of MDA， TNF-α， IL-1β， and IL-18 （P<0.01）. In addition， partial neuronal damage and degeneration were observed in the hippocampus and cortex of the model group， accompanied by downregulated BDNF expression （P<0.05） and upregulated NF-κB and TNF-α expression （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， TSC alleviated D-galactose-induced cognitive dysfunction， enhanced the activities of CAT， SOD， and GSH-Px （P<0.01）， lowered MDA， TNF-α， IL-1β， and IL-18 levels （P<0.01）， and ameliorated the pathological changes in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Additionally， TSC upregulated BDNF expression （P<0.05， P<0.01） and downregulated NF-κB and TNF-α expression （P<0.05， P<0.01） in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. ConclusionTSC exerts a protective effect on cognitive dysfunction induced by D-galactose in aging mice by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation.

OBJECTIVE：To provide reference f or the qualit y sta ndard establishment of Amaranthus retroflexus. METHODS ： Taking 7 batches of A. retroflexus medicinal materials as the research object ，the appearance properties of the medicinal materials were investigated ，and the microscopic characteristics of the medicinal powders were observed. TLC method was adopted to qualitatively identify rutin ，valine and leucine in A. retroflexus medicinal materials. According to the relevant methods of the 2015 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia （part Ⅳ），water content ，total ash content ，acid-insoluble ash content and water-soluble extract content were determined. HPLC method was used to determine the content of rutin in the medicinal material of A. retroflexus . The determination was performed on Agilent 5 TC-C18（2）column with mobile phase consisted of methanol- 0.3％ phosphoric acid solution（40∶60，V/V），at the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection wavelength was set at 358 nm，and the column temperature was 30 ℃. The sample size was 10 μL. RESULTS：The appearance and microstructure characteristics of the medicinal materials were consistent with the existing description. The identification results of TLC meth od showed that 7 batches of medicinal materials and each reference substance （rutin，valine，leucine）showed spots of the same color at the same position. The moisture content of 7 batches of A. retroflexus medicinal materials was 7.43％-8.72％，the total ash content was 11.82％-13.78％，the acid-insoluble ash content was 0.15％-0.55％，and the water-soluble extract content was 17.27％-24.74％. The linear range of rutin was 10-200 μg/mL（R 2＝1.000 0）. RSDs of precision test ，stability test （24 h）and repeatability test were all less than 2.0％ （n＝6）. The average recovery rates of rutin were 99.14％，97.98％ and 98.80％ in low ，medium and high concentration of samples，and RSDs were 0.97％，0.95％，0.96％（n＝3）. The contents of rutin in 7 batches of A. retrophylla were 0.314-1.102 mg/g. CONCLUSIONS：In this study ，character observation ，microscopic identification ，moisture content ，total ash content ，acid- insoluble ash content and water-soluble extract content of A. retroflexus are investigated ；TLC method was established for qualitative identification of leucine ，valine and rutin in A. retroflexus ，and the HPLC method was established for content determination of rutin. It provides reference for the quality standard establishment of A. retroflexus .