Fresh-cut processing constitutes a pivotal technique in the origin processing of Chinese medicinal materials， with a long history documented in multiple materia medica. In recent years， it has garnered national policy support for its ability to prevent component loss and low processing efficiency associated with traditional drying-before-cutting methods. As of August 2025， 26 provinces and municipalities nationwide have cumulatively published 789 species for fresh-cut processing. Among these， 78 were included in the 2025 edition of the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. However， the practice continues to face common challenges and difficulties， including ambiguous scientific understanding， fragmented standards， limited quality control approaches， and poor process stability. Based on this， this paper synthesises years of research findings to systematically elucidate the core mechanisms of fresh-cut processing. These encompass alterations to herbal tissue structure during cutting， post-processing changes in constituents， and physiological-biochemical processes such as plant stress responses and shifts in endogenous enzyme activity. It also summarises influencing factors， including inherent herbal properties， cutting timing and methods， and environmental conditions like temperature， humidity， and microbial presence. Based on this overview of fresh-cutting mechanisms， subsequent research should advance in four directions：Clarifying the scientific principles of fresh-cutting， overcoming technical bottlenecks， upgrading intelligent equipment， and establishing quality standards and evaluation systems. This study provides a theoretical foundation and scientific basis for future research on fresh-cutting in traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）， promoting its deeper practical application within the industry and contributing to the high-quality development of TCM industry and the modernization of TCM.

OBJECTIVES: To report the development, validation, and findings of the Multi-dimensional Attention Rating Scale (MARS), a self-report tool crafted to evaluate six-dimension attention levels. METHODS: The MARS was developed based on Classical Test Theory (CTT). Totally 202 highly educated healthy adult participants were recruited for reliability and validity tests. Reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability. Structural validity was explored using principal component analysis. Criterion validity was analyzed by correlating MARS scores with the Toronto Hospital Alertness Test (THAT), the Attentional Control Scale (ACS), and the Attention Network Test (ANT). RESULTS: The MARS comprises 12 items spanning six distinct dimensions of attention: focused attention, sustained attention, shifting attention, selective attention, divided attention, and response inhibition.As assessed by six experts, the content validation index (CVI) was 0.95, the Cronbach's alpha for the MARS was 0.78, and the test-retest reliability was 0.81. Four factors were identified (cumulative variance contribution rate 68.79%). The total score of MARS was correlated positively with THAT (r = 0.60, P < 0.01) and ACS (r = 0.78, P < 0.01) and negatively with ANT's reaction time for alerting (r = -0.31, P = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS The MARS can reliably and validly assess six-dimension attention levels in real-world settings and is expected to be a new tool for assessing multi-dimensional attention impairments in different mental disorders.
Humans ; Adult ; Male ; Attention/physiology* ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Reproducibility of Results ; Young Adult ; Psychometrics

OBJECTIVES: To explore the efficacy of DSA-guided intrathecal drug delivery system combined with Zi Wu Liu Zhu Acupoint Therapy for management of cancer pain and provide reference for its standardized clinical application. Methods and. RESULTS: Recommendations were formulated based on literature review and expert group discussion, and consensus was reached following expert consultation. The consensus recommendations are comprehensive, covering the entire treatment procedures from preoperative assessment and preparation, surgical operation process, postoperative management and traditional Chinese medicine treatment to individualized treatment planning. The study results showed that the treatment plans combining traditional Chinese with Western medicine effectively alleviated cancer pain, reduced the use of opioid drugs, and significantly improved the quality of life and enhanced immune function of the patients. Postoperative follow-up suggested good treatment tolerance among the patients without serious complications. CONCLUSIONS The formulated consensus is comprehensive and can provide reference for clinicians to use DSA-guided intrathecal drug delivery system combined with Zi Wu Liu Zhu Acupoint Therapy. The combined treatment has a high clinical value with a good safety profile for management of cancer pain.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Cancer Pain/therapy* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Pain Management/methods* ; China

Objective To observe the difference of bone micro-structure in different regions of proximal femur,micro-CT scanning was performed on 30 proximal femur specimens to explain the mechanism of proximal femur fracture and to provide anatomical basis for prosthesis design.Methods Totally 30 intact proximal femur specimens were obtained from 60-80 year-old cadavers.Micro-CT scanning was used to measure the trabecular thickness(Tb.Th),trabecular number(Tb.N),trabecular space(Tb.Sp),connectivity(Conn)and bone mineral density(BMD)and other parameters in 7 regions of proximal femur,including proximal pressure trabecular(PPT),distal pressure trabecular(DPT),femoral head-neck junction(FHNJ),head and neck of femoral neck(HNFN),the base of femoral neck(BPFN),intertrochanteric line(IL)and greater trochanter(GT).Results The bone mineral density of IL and GT were higher than those of BPFN,FHNJ,DPT and PPT.The trabecular thickness of GT was the largest,followed by IL,BPFN and HNFN,and the smallest was FHNJ,DPT and PPT.The trabecular space of IL was larger than that of GT,and the data of both were larger than those of other parts,among which DPT and PPT were the smallest.The trabecular number of IL and GT were the smallest,BPFN,HNFN and FHNJ were larger,and DPT was the largest.The volume fraction of IL was the smallest,BPFN and HNFN were larger,DPT and PPT were the largest.Conclusion The bone density,trabecular thickness,bone volume,and total volume of GT and IL in the proximal femur of elderly patients are all relatively large,so the reason for the high incidence of fractures is not due to weak internal bone microstructure;The bone density,trabecular thickness,and trabecular gap at the proximal and distal ends of the vertical trabecular bone are relatively small.If it is necessary to perform core decompression for prosthesis filling at this location,the design should be conducive to the mechanical conduction of the prosthesis and the regeneration of surrounding bone tissue.

Pharmacokinetics of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)is a discipline that adopts pharmacokinetic research methods and techniques under the guidance of TCM theories to elucidate the dynamic changes in the absorption,distribution,metabolism and excretion of active ingredients,active sites,single-flavour Chinese medicinal and compounded formulas of TCM in vivo.However,the sources and components of TCM are complex,and the pharmacodynamic substances and mechanisms of action of the majority of TCM are not yet clear,so the pharmacokinetic study of TCM is later than that of chemical medicines,and is far more complex than that of chemical medicines,and its development also confronts with challenges.The pharmacokinetic study of TCM originated in the 1950s and has experienced more than 70 years of development from the initial in vivo study of a single active ingredient,to the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study of active ingredients,to the pharmacokinetic study of compound and multi-component of Chinese medicine.In recent years,with the help of advanced extraction,separation and analysis technologies,gene-editing animals and cell models,multi-omics technologies,protein purification and structure analysis technologies,and artificial intelligence,etc.,the pharmacokinetics of TCM has been substantially applied in revealing and elucidating the pharmacodynamic substances and mechanisms of action of Chinese medicines,research and development of new drugs of TCM,scientific and technological upgrading of large varieties of Chinese patent medicines,as well as guiding the rational use of medicines in clinics.Pharmacokinetic studies of TCM have made remarkable breakthroughs and significant development in theory,methodology,technology and application.In this paper,the history of the development of pharmacokinetics of TCM and the progress of cutting-edge research was reviewed,with the aim of providing ideas and references for the pharmacokinetics of TCM and related research.

Aim To investigate the effect of Toddalia asiatica(TA)on bone destruction in rheumatoid ar-thritis(RA)and its possible mechanism by network pharmacology and in vitro experiments.Methods The active components and targets of TA against RA bone damage were analyzed by network pharmacology.Mo-lecular docking was performed by using AutoDock and PyMOL software pairs.MC3T3-e1 cells were cultured in vitro,and the effect of Toddalia asiatica alcohol ex-tract(TAAE)on cell viability was detected by CCK-8,and appropriate drug concentration and intervention time were screened.The osteoblast model was induced by osteogenic induction medium,and the osteogenic differentiation was detected by ALP staining,activity detection and alizarin red staining.The expression of pathway-related proteins Wnt3a and β-catenin was de-tected by Western blot,and the pathway inhibitor DKK-1 was used to further verify whether TAAE regulated osteoblast differentiation through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.Results A total of 158 anti-RA bone destruction targets and 56 core targets were se-lected.The enrichment of KEGG signaling pathway mainly included cancer pathway,phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B signaling pathway and cAMP signaling pathway.The results of CCK-8 showed that 1 g·L-1 TAAE could significantly improve cell survival rate.The results of ALP staining and ALP activity de-tection showed that TAAE could significantly increase the staining positive rate and ALP activity of cells in-duced by osteogenic induction medium.Western blot showed that TAAE could increase the expression of Wnt3a and β-catenin.The expression of these proteins decreased after DKK-1 inhibitors were used.Conclu-sion TAAE can regulate osteoblast differentiation through Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to treat os-teodestruction in rheumatoid arthritis.

Plant polysaccharides are effective components that widely present in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), exhibiting rich biological activities. However, as most plant polysaccharides cannot be directly absorbed and utilized by the human digestive system, it is now believed that their mode of action mainly involves interaction with intestinal microbiota, leading to the production of functional small molecules. The efficacy of Astragalus polysaccharide(APS) is extensive, including weight loss, improvement of fatty liver, reduction of blood lipids, and enhancement of insulin sensitivity, which may also be related to the regulation of intestinal microbiota. Adipose tissue senescence is an important characteristic of the physiological aging process in the body, often occurring prior to the aging of other important organs. Its main features include the accumulation of senescent cells and exacerbation of inflammation within the tissue. Therefore, to explore the potential protective effects of APS on aging, the improvement of adipose tissue aging phenotype in naturally aging mice was observed using APS, and combined with metagenomic metabolomics, corresponding microbial metabolic functional molecules were identified. Furthermore, functional tests in cell aging models were conducted. The results showed that APS significantly improved the adipocyte aging characteristics of naturally aging mice: specifically reducing aging-induced adipocyte hypertrophy; decreasing the protein expression of aging markers cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21(P21) and multiple tumor suppressor 1(P16); lowering the tissue inflammation reaction. Metagenomic metabolomic analysis of serum from mice in each group revealed that APS significantly increased the content of indole-3-lactic acid(ILA) in naturally aging mice. Further in vitro studies showed that ILA could improve the aging of 3T3-L1 mouse embryonic fibroblasts induced by bleomycin, reduce the protein expression of the aging marker P21, alleviate inflammation, and enhance the ability of preadipocytes to mature. Therefore, APS had the efficacy of protecting naturally aging mice, and its action may be related to the increase in the intestinal microbiota metabolite ILA. This study suggested that TCM may serve as an important entry point for explaining the mechanism of action of TCM by regulating intestinal microbiota and their functional metabolites.
Animals ; Mice ; Aging/drug effects* ; Adipose Tissue/metabolism* ; Polysaccharides/pharmacology* ; Indoles/pharmacology* ; Male ; Astragalus Plant/chemistry* ; 3T3-L1 Cells ; Humans ; Adipocytes/cytology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Cellular Senescence/drug effects* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects*

Humans ; Chondrosarcoma, Mesenchymal/pathology* ; Chondrosarcoma/surgery* ; Muscle, Skeletal/pathology* ; Bone Neoplasms/pathology*

In this study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS) were combined with non-targeted metabonomic analysis based on multivariate statistics analysis, and the content of five indicative components in nardosinone was determined and compared by UPLC. The main chemical components of Nardostachyos Radix et Rhizoma with imitative wild cultivation and wild Nardostachyos Radix et Rhizoma were comprehensively analyzed. The results of multivariate statistical analysis based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS) and GC-MS were consistent. G1 and G2 of the imitative wild cultivation group and G8-G19 of the wild group were clustered into category 1, while G7 of the wild group and G3-G6 of the imitative wild cultivation group were clustered into category 2. After removing the outlier data of G1, G2, and G7, G3-G6 of the imitative wild cultivation group were clustered into one category, and G8-G19 of the wild group were clustered into the other category. Twenty-six chemical components were identified according to the positive and negative ion modes detected by LC-MS. The content of five indicative components(VIP>1.5) was determined using UPLC, revealing that chlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic acid A, isochlorogenic acid C, linarin, nardosinone, and total content in the imitative wild cultivation group were 1.85, 1.52, 1.26, 0.90, 2.93, and 2.56 times those in the wild group, respectively. OPLS-DA based on GC-MS obtained 10 diffe-rential peaks. Among them, the relative content of α-humulene and aristolene in the imitative wild cultivation group were extremely significantly(P<0.01) and significantly(P<0.05) higher than that in the wild group, while the relative content of 7 components such as 5,6-epoxy-3-hydroxy-7-megastigmen-9-one, γ-eudesmol, and juniper camphor and 12-isopropyl-1,5,9-trimethyl-4,8,13-cyclotetrade-catriene-1,3-diol was extremely significantly(P<0.01) and significantly(P<0.05) lower than that in the wild group, respectively. Therefore, the main chemical components of the imitative wild cultivation group and wild group were basically the same. However, the content of non-volatile components in the imitative wild cultivation group was higher than that in the wild group, and the content of some volatile components was opposite. This study provides scientific data for the comprehensive evaluation of the quality of Nardostachyos Radix et Rhizoma with imitative wild cultivation and wild Nardostachyos Radix et Rhizoma.
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

OBJECTIVE: To examine the anti-inflammatory effect of grape seed extract (GSE) in animal and cellular models and explore its mechanism of action. METHODS: This study determined the inhibitory effect of GSE on macrophage inflammation and Th1 and Th17 polarization in vitro. Based on the in vitro results, the effects and mechanisms of GSE on multiple sclerosis (MS)-experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice model were further explored. The C57BL/6 mice were intragastrically administered with 50 mg/kg of GSE once a day from the 3rd day to the 27th day after immunization. The activation of microglia, the polarization of Th1 and Th17 and the inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF- α), interleukin-1 β (IL-1 β), IL-6, IL-12, IL-17 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) secreted by them were detected in vitro and in vivo by flow cytometry, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence staining and Western blot, respectively. RESULTS: GSE reduced the secretion of TNF-α, IL-1 β and IL-6 in bone marrow-derived macrophages stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (P<0.01), inhibited the secretion of TNF-α, IL-1 β, IL-6, IL-12, IL-17 and IFN-γ in spleen cells of EAE mice immunized for 9 days (P<0.05 or P<0.01), and reduced the differentiation of Th1 and Th17 mediated by CD3 and CD28 factors (P<0.01). GSE significantly improved the clinical symptoms of EAE mice, and inhibited spinal cord demyelination and inflammatory cell infiltration. Peripherally, GSE downregulated the expression of toll-like-receptor 4 (TLR4) and Rho-associated kinase (ROCKII, P<0.05 or P<0.01), and inhibited the secretion of inflammatory factors (P<0.01 or P<0.05). In the central nervous system, GSE inhibited the infiltration of CD45⁺CD11b⁺ and CD45⁺CD4⁺ cells, and weakened the differentiation of Th1 and Th17 (P<0.05). Moreover, it reduced the secretion of inflammatory factors (P<0.01), and prevented the activation of microglia (P<0.05). CONCLUSION GSE had a beneficial effect on the pathogenesis and progression of EAE by inhibiting inflammatory response as a potential drug and strategy for the treatment of MS.
Mice ; Animals ; Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental/pathology* ; Grape Seed Extract/therapeutic use* ; Interleukin-17 ; Interleukin-1beta ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Th1 Cells ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Interferon-gamma/therapeutic use* ; Th17 Cells/metabolism* ; Interleukin-12/therapeutic use* ; Cytokines/metabolism*