Baihuasheshecao(Hedyotis diffusa) is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine derived from the whole herb of H. diffusa and has been widely utilized in folk medicine. It possesses anti-tumor, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties, making it one of the frequently used herbs in TCM clinical practice. However, Shuixiancao(H. corymbosa) and Xianhuaercao(H. tenelliflora), species of the same genus, are often used as substitutes for Baihuasheshecao. To substantiate the medicinal basis of Baihuasheshecao, this study systematically reviewed classical herbal texts and modern literature, examining its nomenclature, botanical origin, harvesting, processing, properties, meridian tropism, pharmacological effects, and clinical applications. The results indicate that Baihuasheshecao was initially recorded as "Shuixiancao" in Preface to the Indexes to the Great Chinese Botany(Zhi Wu Ming Shi Tu Kao). Based on its morphological characteristics and habitat description, it was identified as H. diffusa in the Rubiaceae family. Subsequent records predominantly refer to it as Baihuasheshecao as its official name. In most regions, Baihuasheshecao is recognized as the authentic medicinal material, distinct from Shuixiancao and Xianhuaercao. Baihuasheshecao is harvested in late summer and early autumn, and the dried whole plant, including its roots, is used medicinally. The standard processing method involves cutting. It is known for its effects in clearing heat, removing toxins, reducing swelling and pain, and promoting diuresis to resolve abscesses. Initially, it was mainly used for treating appendicitis, intestinal abscesses, and venomous snake bites, and later, it became a treatment for cancer. The excavation of its clinical value followed a process in which overseas Chinese introduced the herb from Chinese folk medicine to other countries. After its unique anti-cancer effects were recognized abroad, it was reintroduced to China and gradually became a crucial TCM for cancer treatment. The findings of this study help clarify the historical and contemporary uses of Baihuasheshecao, providing literature support and a scientific basis for its rational development and precise clinical application.
Humans ; China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Hedyotis/classification* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/history*

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanisms of mitochondrial dynamics and metabolic reprogramming in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy （DN） by Shenxiao Tongluo prescription via the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α （PGC-1α）/sirtuin-3 （SIRT3）/hypoxia-inducible factor-1α （HIF-1α） signaling pathway. MethodsSixty-five SD rats were randomized into a sham group （10 rats） and a modeling group （55 rats）， and the modeling rats underwent left nephrectomy and intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin （35 mg·kg^-1） to prepare a DN model. After successful modeling， the rats were randomized into model， empagliflozin （10 mg·kg^-1）， and low-， medium-， and high-dose （7.656， 15.312， 30.624 g·kg^-1， respectively） Shenxiao Tongluo prescription groups. The urine microalbumin （UmAlb）， blood urea nitrogen （BUN）， and serum creatinine （SCr） levels of rats in each group were assessed after continuous gavage for 8 weeks. The corresponding kits were used to measure the levels of lactate， superoxide dismutase （SOD）， and malondialdehyde （MDA） in the kidney tissue. Hematoxylin-eosin staining， Masson staining， and periodic acid-Schiff staining were performed to observe the pathological changes in the kidney tissue. Transmission electron microscopy was employed to observe mitochondrial morphology. Immunohistochemistry was employed to determine the expression levels of dynamin-related protein 1 （DRP1） and pyruvate kinase M2 （PKM2） in the kidney tissue. Western blot was adopted to assess the protein levels of PGC-1α， SIRT3， HIF-1α， dynamin-related protein 1 （Drp1）， optic atrophy 1 （OPA1）， hexokinase 2 （HK2）， and pyruvate kinase M2 （PKM2） in the kidney tissue. ResultsCompared with the sham group， the model group showed elevated levels of UmAlb， BUN， SCr， lactate， and MDA， decreased SOD level （P<0.05）， glomerular hypertrophy， thickening of the mesangial basement membrane， vacuolar degeneration of renal tubular epithelial cells， and infiltration of renal interstitial inflammatory cells， oval mitochondria with disordered， blurred or disappearing cristae， down-regulated protein levels of PGC-1α， SIRT3， and OPA1， and up-regulated protein levels of HIF-1α， DRP1， HK2， and PKM2 （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the treatment in all the groups increased the body weight， lowered the levels of GLU， UmAlb， BUN， and MDA， raised the level of SOD， alleviated the pathological damage in the kidney tissue and mitochondrial damage， up-regulated the expression of PGC-1α， SIRT3， and OPA1， and down-regulated the expression of HIF-1α， DRP1， and PKM2 （P<0.05）. Empagliflozin and Shenxiao Tongluo prescription at medium and high doses lowered the levels of SCr and lactate and down-regulated the expression of HK2 （P<0.05）， which had no statistical significance in the low-dose Shenxiao Tongluo prescription group. ConclusionShenxiao Tongluo prescription may regulate mitochondrial dynamics and metabolic reprogramming by activating the PGC-1α/SIRT3/HIF-1α pathway， thereby alleviating oxidative damage in the kidney tissue and delaying the progression of DN.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanisms of mitochondrial dynamics and metabolic reprogramming in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy （DN） by Shenxiao Tongluo prescription via the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α （PGC-1α）/sirtuin-3 （SIRT3）/hypoxia-inducible factor-1α （HIF-1α） signaling pathway. MethodsSixty-five SD rats were randomized into a sham group （10 rats） and a modeling group （55 rats）， and the modeling rats underwent left nephrectomy and intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin （35 mg·kg^-1） to prepare a DN model. After successful modeling， the rats were randomized into model， empagliflozin （10 mg·kg^-1）， and low-， medium-， and high-dose （7.656， 15.312， 30.624 g·kg^-1， respectively） Shenxiao Tongluo prescription groups. The urine microalbumin （UmAlb）， blood urea nitrogen （BUN）， and serum creatinine （SCr） levels of rats in each group were assessed after continuous gavage for 8 weeks. The corresponding kits were used to measure the levels of lactate， superoxide dismutase （SOD）， and malondialdehyde （MDA） in the kidney tissue. Hematoxylin-eosin staining， Masson staining， and periodic acid-Schiff staining were performed to observe the pathological changes in the kidney tissue. Transmission electron microscopy was employed to observe mitochondrial morphology. Immunohistochemistry was employed to determine the expression levels of dynamin-related protein 1 （DRP1） and pyruvate kinase M2 （PKM2） in the kidney tissue. Western blot was adopted to assess the protein levels of PGC-1α， SIRT3， HIF-1α， dynamin-related protein 1 （Drp1）， optic atrophy 1 （OPA1）， hexokinase 2 （HK2）， and pyruvate kinase M2 （PKM2） in the kidney tissue. ResultsCompared with the sham group， the model group showed elevated levels of UmAlb， BUN， SCr， lactate， and MDA， decreased SOD level （P<0.05）， glomerular hypertrophy， thickening of the mesangial basement membrane， vacuolar degeneration of renal tubular epithelial cells， and infiltration of renal interstitial inflammatory cells， oval mitochondria with disordered， blurred or disappearing cristae， down-regulated protein levels of PGC-1α， SIRT3， and OPA1， and up-regulated protein levels of HIF-1α， DRP1， HK2， and PKM2 （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the treatment in all the groups increased the body weight， lowered the levels of GLU， UmAlb， BUN， and MDA， raised the level of SOD， alleviated the pathological damage in the kidney tissue and mitochondrial damage， up-regulated the expression of PGC-1α， SIRT3， and OPA1， and down-regulated the expression of HIF-1α， DRP1， and PKM2 （P<0.05）. Empagliflozin and Shenxiao Tongluo prescription at medium and high doses lowered the levels of SCr and lactate and down-regulated the expression of HK2 （P<0.05）， which had no statistical significance in the low-dose Shenxiao Tongluo prescription group. ConclusionShenxiao Tongluo prescription may regulate mitochondrial dynamics and metabolic reprogramming by activating the PGC-1α/SIRT3/HIF-1α pathway， thereby alleviating oxidative damage in the kidney tissue and delaying the progression of DN.

Salvia miltiorrhiza is a perennial herb of the genus Salvia(Lamiaceae). As one of the earliest medicinal plants to undergo molecular biology research, it has gradually become a model plant for molecular biology of medicinal plants. With the gradual analysis of the genome of S. miltiorrhiza and the biosynthetic pathways of its main active components tanshinone and salvianolic acids, the transcriptional regulation mediated by transcription factors and related regulatory proteins has gradually become a new research focus. Due to the lack of scientific and unified naming of transcription factors and different research indexes in different literature, this paper systematically sorted out the transcription factors in different literature with the genomes of DSS3 from selfing for three generations and bh2-7 from selfing for six generations as reference. In total, 73 transcription factors and related regulatory proteins belonging to 13 gene families were identified. The effects of overexpression or gene silencing experiments on tanshinone and salvianolic acids were also analyzed. This study unified the identified transcription factors, which laid a foundation for further constructing the regulatory networks of secondary metabolites and insect or stress resistance and improving the quality of medicinal materials by using global transcriptional regulation engineering.
Salvia miltiorrhiza/chemistry* ; Plant Proteins/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Transcription Factors/metabolism* ; Abietanes/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical efficacy of Zhuangdan Yanshi Decoction combined with dapoxetine hydrochloride in the treatment of premature ejaculation with cholestasis and phlegm disturbance. METHODS: A total of 120 patients diagnosed with premature ejaculation and treated in the Andrology Outpatient Department of Shaanxi Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from March to December in 2022 were selected and randomly divided into treatment group and control group, with 60 cases in each group. The incubation period of intravaginal ejaculation (IELT), the Diagnostic Scale of Premature Ejaculation (PEDT), the Premature Ejaculation Assessment Scale (PEP), the 5-item Sexual Function Evaluation of Chinese Premature Ejaculation Patients (CIPE-5) and the improvement of traditional Chinese medicine symptom scores were compared before and after the treatment. And the adverse reactions were recorded as well. RESULTS: A total of 105 cases were ultimately included, with 55 cases in the treatment group and 50 cases in the control group. Measurable improvements in IELT, PEDT scores, PEP scores, CIPE scores and TCM symptom scores had been found after treatment in both of two groups (P<0.05). Moreover, the improvement in the treatment group was superior to that in the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate in the treatment group was 89.1%, which was higher than that(84%) in the control group, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the treatment group was 9.1%, which was 24% in the control group. There was significantly difference between two groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSION The combination therapy with Zhuangdan Yanshi Decoction and dapoxetine hydrochloride for premature ejaculation associated with cholestasis and phlegm disturbance syndrome is definite, and it can reduce the side effects of drugs, which is better than oral dapoxetine hydrochloride alone.
Humans ; Premature Ejaculation/drug therapy* ; Benzylamines/therapeutic use* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Male ; Naphthalenes/therapeutic use* ; Cholestasis/complications* ; Adult ; Benzyl Compounds/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Treatment Outcome

Single-cell metabolite analysis at the small molecule level reveals intercellular heterogeneity and molecular diversity,especially living cell metabolite analysis which can provide more accurate biochemical information.In this study,a comprehensive single-cell metabolomics mass spectrometry analysis platform was constructed based on continuous ultrasonic sample introduction,aiming to improve the utilization rate of single cells and the efficiency of mass spectrometry detection.This platform utilized mechanical motion generated by a miniaturized ultrasound module,which minimally affected cell integrity and viability,enabling cell suspension and dispersion for up to 60 min,with cell viability exceeding 70%.By comparing cell suspension densities and the cell number of mass spectrometry detections between static and ultrasound groups,the results showed that the ultrasound treatment significantly reduced cell sedimentation rate and increased single-cell mass spectrometry detection efficiency.Applying this platform to single-cell analysis of cell line of mouse cerebellar astrocytes(C8D1A)and mouse glioma(GL261)cells achieved clustering and differential analysis of different cell types,demonstrating the method's potential in analyzing cellular heterogeneity and identifying cells.This approach promised to provide new insights and solutions for single-cell analysis.

Objective To investigate the infection status and changing trend of hepatitis C virus(HCV)infection in hospitalized patients in medical institutions,and provide reference for formulating HCV infection prevention and control strategies.Methods HCV infection surveillance results from cross-sectional survey data reported to China Healthcare-associated Infection(HAI)Surveillance System in 2020 were summarized and analyzed,HCV positive was serum anti-HCV positive or HCV RNA positive,survey result was compared with the survey results from 2003.Results In 2020,1 071 368 inpatients in 1 573 hospitals were surveyed,738 535 of whom underwent HCV test,4 014 patients were infected with HCV,with a detection rate of 68.93％and a HCV positive rate of 0.54％.The positive rate of HCV in male and female patients were 0.60％and 0.48％,respectively,with a statistically sig-nificant difference(x2=47.18,P＜0.001).The HCV positive rate in the 50-＜60 age group was the highest(0.76％),followed by the 40-＜50 age group(0.71％).Difference among all age groups was statistically signifi-cant(x2=696.74,P＜0.001).In 2003,91 113 inpatients were surveyed.35 145 of whom underwent HCV test,resulting in a detection rate of 38.57％;775 patients were infected with HCV,with a positive rate of 2.21％.In 2020,HCV positive rates in hospitals of different scales were 0.46％-0.63％,with the highest in hospital with bed numbers ranging 600-899.Patients'HCV positive rates in hospitals of different scales was statistically signifi-cant(X2=35.34,P＜0.001).In 2020,12 provinces/municipalities had over 10 000 patients underwent HCV-rela-ted test,and HCV positive rates ranged 0.19％-0.81％,with the highest rate from Hainan Province.HCV posi-tive rates in different departments were 0.06％-0.82％,with the lowest positive rate in the department of pedia-trics and the highest in the department of internal medicine.In 2003 and 2020,HCV positive rates in the depart-ment of infectious diseases were the highest,being 7.95％and 3.48％,respectively.Followed by departments of orthopedics(7.72％),gastroenterology(3.77％),nephrology(3.57％)and general intensive care unit(ICU,3.10％)in 2003,as well as departments of gastroenterology(1.35％),nephrology(1.18％),endocrinology(0.91％),and general intensive care unit(ICU,0.79％)in 2020.Conclusion Compared with 2003,HCV positive rate decreased significantly in 2020.HCV infected patients were mainly from the department of infectious diseases,followed by departments of gastroenterology,nephrology and general ICU.HCV infection positive rate varies with gender,age,and region.

AIM To establish a quantitative analysis of multi-components by single-marker(QAMS)method for the simultaneous content determination of gastrodin,parishin E,syringin,parishin B,parishin C,ferulic acid,parishin A,buddleoside,harpagoside and cinnamic acid in Tianma Toufengling Capsules.METHODS The analysis was performed on a 30℃thermostatic GL Science InertsilTM ODS-3 column(150 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of acetonitrile-0.1%phosphoric acid flowing at 1.0 mL/min in a gradient elution manner,and the detection wavelengths were set at 220,280 nm.Syringin was used as an internal standard to calculate the relative correction factors of the other nine constituents,after which the content determination was made.RESULTS Ten constituents showed good linear relationships within their own ranges(r≥0.999 7),whose average recoveries were 98.53%-102.22%with the RSDs of 1.26%-2.68%.The result obtained by QAMS approximated those obtained by external standard method.CONCLUSION This accurate and specific method can be used for the quality control of Tianma Toufengling Capsules.

Cells are the fundamental structural and functional units of biological organisms,with inherent differences in composition and interactions with exogenous substances,known as cellular heterogeneity.Single cell inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry(SC-ICP-MS)allows for the high-throughput introduction of individual cells,enabling the highly sensitive detection and quantification of elements within a single cell,thus effectively providing information on cellular heterogeneity.This review outlined the SC-ICP-MS sample preparation process for different types of cells(single-cell systems,aggregation-prone and adherent cell systems,animal tissues,and plant tissues),including steps such as separation,washing,and fixation,as well as the advantages and existing issues of the current sample introduction systems and quantification methods.The recent applications of SC-ICP-MS in detecting endogenous substances(endogenous elements and proteins),exogenous substances(heavy metals,metal-based drugs and nanoparticles),and the simultaneous detection of both endogenous and exogenous substances were summarized.Finally,the perspectives on the future development of SC-ICP-MS in analytical methods and application fields were presented,including the optimization of single-cell sample preparation,transport efficiency,evaluation standards of ionization efficiency,and the establishment of multiparametric cell analysis platforms.

Objective To explore the incidence of long CO VID symptoms in patients infected with Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2).Methods According to the inclusion and exclu-sion criteria of literatures,relevant studies without language restrictions published up to 2024 were retrieved from both Chinese and English databases.The Chinese databases were China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),Wanfang Database,and VIP databases,and the foreign databases were PubMed,Embase,and Web of Science.Three-step screening was used to select literatures,and Stata 17.0 software was used for analysis.Results The incidence of at least one sequelae in patients infected with Omicron variant was 29.62％.The most common symptoms included fatigue(19.10％),joint or muscle pain(11.06％),memory loss(9.71％),brain fog(8.80％),cough(8.42％),headache(7.26％),and sore throat(6.68％).Subgroup analysis results showed that with the extension of follow-up(3 months vs 6 months),the incidence of smell or taste changes was significantly re-duced(7.22％vs 0.78％).The higher the proportion of women(＜50％vs 50％-65％vs＞65％),the higher the incidence of joint or muscle pain(1.09％vs 4.62％vs 19.53％);the greater the median age(≥45 years vs＜45 years),the higher the incidence of chest pain or chest distress(0.90％vs 3.86％),all with statistically significant differences(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Incidence of long COVID in Omicron-infected patients is high and can cause various symptoms.Follow-up time,median age and gender proportion have significant impacts on the incidence of some symptoms.