The chemical composition of Paeoniae Radix Alba(PRA) is complex, with primary secondary metabolites including monoterpenoids, tannins, triterpenoids, and flavonoids. In previous studies on the material basis of PRA, it was found that, in addition to the widely studied characteristic monoterpene glycosides, tannic acid components also play an important role in the efficacy of PRA. However, their pharmacological effects have not been thoroughly investigated. This paper reviews the tannic acid components in PRA, including pentagaloyl glucose(PGG), tetragaloyl glucose(TGG), trigaloyl glucose(TriGG), and gallic acid, along with their structures, properties, and characteristics to provide a detailed discussion of their pharmacological activities and related mechanisms, aiming to offer a theoretical basis for the material basis research and clinical application of PRA.
Paeonia/chemistry* ; Tannins/chemistry* ; Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Animals ; Plant Extracts

By employing the analytic hierarchy process(AHP), the CRITIC method(a weight determination method based on indicator correlations), and the AHP-CRITIC hybrid weighting method, the weight coefficients of evaluation indicators were determined, followed by a comprehensive score comparison. The grey correlation analysis was then performed to analyze the results calculated using the hybrid weighting method. Subsequently, a backpropagation-artificial neural network(BP-ANN) model was constructed to predict the extraction process parameters and optimize the extraction process for Shenxiong Huanglian Jiedu Granules(SHJG). In the extraction process, an L_9(3~4) orthogonal experiment was designed to optimize three factors at three levels, including extraction frequency, water addition amount, and extraction time. The evaluation indicators included geniposide, berberine, ginsenoside Rg_1 + Re, ginsenoside Rb_1, ferulic acid, and extract yield. Finally, the optimal extraction results obtained by the orthogonal experiment, grey correlation analysis, and BP-ANN method were compared, and validation experiments were conducted. The results showed that the optimal extraction process involved two rounds of aqueous extraction, each lasting one hour; the first extraction used ten times the amount of added water, while the second extraction used eight times the amount. In the validation experiments, the average content of each indicator component was higher than the average content obtained in the orthogonal experiment, with a higher comprehensive score. The optimized extraction process parameters were reliable and stable, making them suitable for subsequent preparation process research.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/analysis* ; Neural Networks, Computer

This study investigated the protective effect of arbutin(Arb) in yam on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced acute lung injury(ALI) in a mouse model and revealed its possible mechanism of action by metabolomics technology, providing a theoretical basis for clinical treatment of ALI. SPF BALB/c mice were randomly divided into normal control group, model group, resveratrol(Rv)-positive control group, Arb low-dose(15 mg·kg~(-1)) group, and Arb high-dose(30 mg·kg~(-1)) group. The LPS-induced ALI model was established in all groups except the normal control group. Hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining, TUNEL staining, and WBP whole-body non-invasive pulmonary function testing were used to evaluate the degree of lung tissue damage and lung function changes. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to detect the level of inflammatory factors in lung tissue. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the M1/M2 polarization status of macrophages in lung tissue. Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of the TLR4 signaling pathway and related apoptotic proteins. Liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer(LC-MS) metabolomics was used to analyze the changes in serum metabolic profile after Arb intervention. The results showed that Arb pretreatment significantly alleviated LPS-induced lung tissue injury, improved lung function, reduced the levels of pro-inflammatory factors(IL-6, TNF-α, IL-18, and IL-1β), and regulated the polarization status of M1/M2 macrophages. In addition, Arb inhibited the activation of the TLR4 signaling pathway, reduced the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins such as Bax, caspase-3, and caspase-9, up-regulated the level of Bcl-2 protein, and inhibited apoptosis of lung cells. Metabolomic analysis showed that Arb significantly improved LPS-induced metabolic abnormalities, mainly involving key pathways such as galactose metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, and lipid metabolism. In summary, Arb can significantly reduce LPS-induced ALI by regulating the release of inflammatory factors, inhibiting the activation of the TLR4 signaling pathway, improving metabolic disorders, and regulating macrophage polarization, indicating that Arb has potential clinical application value.
Animals ; Acute Lung Injury/chemically induced* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Arbutin/administration & dosage* ; Male ; Toll-Like Receptor 4/immunology* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Lung/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Protective Agents/administration & dosage* ; Humans ; Macrophages/immunology* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage*

General anesthesia is widely used in clinical practice,whereas the exact mechanism behind the general anesthetic-induced reversible loss of consciousness remains unclear.Recent studies have revealed a close relationship between the dopaminergic system and general anesthetic-induced loss of consciousness.This system,encompassing dopamine neurons,dopamine receptors,and related neural pathways,regulates functions such as movement,memory,arousal,and cognition.The dopaminergic neurons in the ventral periaqueductal gray and ventral tegmental area,along with D1 receptors,have been shown to facilitate emergence from anesthesia.However,the role of D2 receptors remains controversial.This review summarizes recent advancements in the role of the dopaminergic system in general anesthesia and the underlying mechanism,with the aim of clarifying the mechanism of general anesthesia and providing a theoretical basis for preventing delayed emergence from anesthesia.
Humans ; Anesthesia, General ; Brain/metabolism* ; Dopaminergic Neurons/physiology* ; Dopamine/physiology* ; Animals

Objective:To understand the etiology,clinical characteristics and prognosis of secondary hemophagocytic syndrome(HLH),so as to improve the understanding of HLH and reduce the rates of misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis of HLH.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the cause,clinical characteristics,laboratory findings,therapy and outcomes of 75 adult patients with secondary HLH admitted to our hospital from January 2015 to December 2021.Follow-up continued until the last discharge time.Results:Among 75 patients,infection-related HLH was the most common(45.33％),followed by lymphoma-related HLH(17.33％).Fever was the most common clinical manifestation(97.67％).Laboratory indicators such as NK cell activity(98.31％low or absent),sCD25(93.22％increased),and serum ferritin(94.44％elevated)had higher sensitivity in diagnosis.By comparing the clinical manifestations and laboratory indicators of HLH patients with different causes,sex,lymph node enlargement and bone marrow morphology were more valuable for the diagnosis of primary disease(all P＜0.05).By comparing the treatment and clinical outcomes of HLH patients with different causes,the highest clinical remission rate(83.3％)was achieved in patients with autoimmune disease-related HLH treated with hormone+cyclosporine(P＜0.05).The overall 12-month survival rate of all patients was 26.7％,in which the infection-related HLH was the lowest(14.7％)while autoimmune disease-related HLH was the highest(63.6％).Conclusion:The causes and clinical characteristics of adult secondary HLH are varied,with poor prognosis and heterogeneity in disease severity.It is important to identify HLH cause early for diagnosis and needed to further understand HLH.

Objective:To investigate the impact of the progesterone concentration on human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) trigger day in fresh cycles versus thawed transfer cycles (the freeze-all strategy) with an antagonist protocol, and to compare the differences in clinical outcomes.Methods:This retrospective cohort study included a total of 2 165 cycles conducted at Henan Provincial People′s Hospital with cleavage-stage embryo (at least one top-quality) transfer between January 2017 and December 2023, with serum progesterone levels on hCG trigger day all≤6.34 nmol/L (i.e. 2 ng/ml). Multivariate logsitic regression analysis and curve fitting were performed based on different serum progesterone levels on hCG trigger day [≤3.17 nmol/L (i.e. 1 ng/ml) or 1-2 ng/ml].Results:Multivariate regression analysis, by using cycle type (either fresh or frozen-thawed cycle) as the exposure variable, showed that the clinical pregnancy rate (≤1 ng/ml: OR=0.93, 95% CI: 0.75-1.14; 1-2 ng/ml: OR=1.05, 95% CI: 0.58-1.87) and live birth rate (≤1 ng/ml: OR=0.90, 95% CI: 0.71-1.13; 1-2 ng/ml: OR=1.53, 95% CI: 0.79-3.00) had no statistically significant differences in group of progesterone concentration ≤1 ng/ml or in group of 1-2 ng/ml. Using serum progesterone levels on hCG trigger day as a continuous variable for curve fitting analysis, the clinical pregnancy rate in fresh or thawed cycles showed no significant changes with increasing progesterone levels. Conclusions:In the antagonist protocol with cleavage-stage embryo transfer (at least one top-quality), when the serum progesterone level on hCG day is ≤2 ng/ml, there are no significant differences in clinical outcomes between thawed cycles and fresh cycles, including clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate. Transferred in fresh cycles or choosing the freeze-all strategy could be selected based on the actual situation of the patients.

The rare-earth-elements-doped upconversion nanoparticles NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+were synthesized by solvothermal method,and NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2 were prepared by coating SiO2 on the surface of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+by inverse microemulsion method in this work.Based on the fluorescence quenching principle between NaYF4∶Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2 and SQA-Fe3+,a NaYF4∶Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2-SQA-Fe3+fluorescence nanosensor was constructed for detection of trace hydrogen peroxide(H2O2).Under optimal conditions,the linear range of this method for detecting H2O2 was 1.8?84.0 μmol/L,with detection limit(3σ)of 0.47 μmol/L.The recoveries of H2O2 spiked in milk were 98.4%?99.7%.This method could be used for detection of H2O2 residue in milk samples,with advantages such as low detection limit,good stability and strong anti-interference ability.

As a major global public health problem, pulmonary diseases threaten human life and health while causing a huge economic burden. The messenger RNA (mRNA)-based inhalation preparation, which effectively targets pulmonary cells can overcome the problems of traditional therapy, such as high side effects, low pulmonary bioavailability, and difficulty in synthesizing target proteins in vitro, thus providing new ideas for the treatment of pulmonary diseases. However, as the lung structure is complex and mRNA has trouble entering cells, researchers have been attempting to develop a suitable nano delivery system for higher delivery efficiency. This review introduces the barriers to pulmonary delivery, discusses the recent research development of the mRNA pulmonary delivery systems, including lipid nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, polypeptides and exosomes, summarizes their limitations and looks forward to the application of mRNA inhalation preparations.

As a key epigenetic regulator, histone deacetylases (HDACs) play a crucial role in cancer development. Small molecule HDAC inhibitors have been shown to inhibit tumor proliferation and induce apoptosis, attracting significant research attention. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of novel saccharin derivatives as HDAC inhibitors. Biological experiments demonstrated that the target compound 9a exhibited superior HDACs inhibition activity to vorinostat and demonstrating promising in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activity against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). All animal experiments in this study were performed in strict accordance with the protocols approved by the Ethical Committee of School of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Shandong University (Approval No. 230094). This work represents an initial exploration of developing saccharin-based HDAC inhibitors, and the active compound 9a could serve as a lead compound for further study.

The study aims to investigate and compare the effects of probiotics and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) with the Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapeutic drug donepezil on the learning cognition and brain damage related indexes in AD mice, and to provide experimental basis for its treatment of AD. All animal experiments were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Henan University of Chinese Medicine (ethics number DWLL2018080003). Fifty male C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to one of five groups: sham-operated, model, donepezil (10 mg·kg^-1), probiotic (2.7×10⁹ CFU·d^-1), and DHA (0.104 g·kg^-1). Except for the sham-operated group, the AD animal model was established by injecting Aβ_25-35 (200 μmol·L^-1) in the lateral ventricle, followed by gavage administration for 4 weeks. In all mouse groups, learning memory ability, neuronal morphology in the hippocampus, apoptosis of primary hippocampal cells, and immune cell levels were detected. The levels of Aβ_1-42, Aβ_1-40, p-Tau, AchE, Ach, oxidative stress, glial cell activation, and the inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-10, and TNF-α in the brain tissue of mice were also detected. 16S rDNA sequencing was used to further investigate the effects of donepezil and probiotics on AD. Donepezil, probiotics and DHA improved cognitive deficits and enhanced learning memory in Aβ_25-35-induced mice by increasing locomotion time, locomotion distance, autonomic alternation rate, and shortening the time to reach the plateau; it significantly attenuated Aβ_25-35-induced brain injury and neuroinflammation in mice by decreasing Aβ_1-42, Aβ_1-40, p-Tau, AchE, IL-1β, TNF-α, and MDA and increasing the levels of Ach, IL-10, GSH-Px, and T-SOD in brain tissues, as well as decreasing the activation of glial cells, and had a modulatory effect on immune cells. 16S rDNA sequencing shows that both donepezil and probiotics restore flora homeostasis and that differential bacteria are strongly associated with cognition, AD pathology, and neuroinflammation. Combining all indicators, donepezil and probiotics were more effective than DHA. All in all, donepezil, probiotics and DHA ameliorate Aβ_25-35-induced cognitive dysfunction and brain damage in mice by modulating immune cells, reducing the number of apoptotic cells and glial cell activation in the brain, and decreasing the levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory factor expression, among which the effects of donepezil and probiotics were better than those of DHA, and the therapeutic effects of donepezil and probiotics on AD were closely related to the modulation of gut microbiome.