OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of acupuncture therapy on dysphagia in patients with Parkinson's disease. METHODS: This randomized controlled study lasted 42 days and included 112 patients with Parkinson's disease and dysphagia. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (56 cases each group) using the completely randomized design, all under routine treatment. The experimental group was given acupuncture therapy. The primary outcome was Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS). The secondary outcomes were (1) Standardized Swallowing Assessment (SSA), and (2) nutritional status including body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, prealbumin, and hemoglobin. Adverse events were recorded as safety indicators. RESULTS: One participant quitted the study midway. There were no significant differences in baseline assessment (P>0.05). After treatment, both groups showed significant improvement in PAS, SSA and nutritional status except for BMI of the control group. There were significant differences between the two groups in the PAS for both paste and liquid, SSA (25.18±8.25 vs. 20.84±6.92), BMI (19.97±3.34 kg/m²vs. 21.26 ±2.38 kg/m²), serum albumin (35.16 ±5.29 g/L vs. 37.24 ±3.98 g/L), prealbumin (248.33 ±27.72 mg/L vs. 261.39 ±22.10 mg/L), hemoglobin (119.09±12.53 g/L vs. 126.67±13.97 g/L) (P<0.05). There were no severe adverse events during the study. CONCLUSION: The combination of routine treatment and acupuncture therapy can better improve dysphagia and nutritional status in patients with Parkinson's disease, than routine treatment solely. (registration No. CLINICALTRIAL gov NCT06199323).
Humans ; Parkinson Disease/therapy* ; Deglutition Disorders/physiopathology* ; Acupuncture Therapy/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Nutritional Status ; Body Mass Index

The leaves of sea buckthorn(Hippophae rhamnoides), considered as common food raw materials, have records of medicinal use and diverse pharmacological activities, showing a potential medicinal value. However, the active substances in the sea buckthorn leaves and their mechanisms of action remain unclear. In addition, due to the extensive source and large variety variations, the quality evaluation criteria of sea buckthorn leaves remain to be developed. To solve the problems, this study predicted the main active components, core targets, key pathways, and potential pharmacological effects of sea buckthorn leaves by network pharmacology and molecular docking. Furthermore, ultra-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection(UPLC-DAD) was employed to determine the content of active components and establish the chemical fingerprint, on the basis of which the quality markers of sea buckthorn leaves were predicted and then verified by the enzyme activity inhibition method. The results indicated that sea buckthorn leaves had potential therapeutic effects on a variety of digestive tract diseases, metabolic diseases, tumors, and autoimmune diseases, which were consistent with the ancient records and the results of modern pharmacological studies. The core targets of sea buckthorn leaves included PTPN11, AKT1, PIK3R1, ESR1, and SRC, which were mainly involved in the PI3K-AKT, MAPK, and HIF-1 signaling pathways. In conclusion, the active components of sea buckthorn leaves are associated with the rich flavonoids and tannins, among which quercitrin, narcissoside, and ellagic acid can be used as the quality markers of sea buckthorn leaves. The findings provide a reference for the quality control and further development and utilization of sea buckthorn leaves as medicinal materials.
Hippophae/chemistry* ; Network Pharmacology ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Flavonoids/analysis* ; Fruit/chemistry*

Medicinal plants have provided numerous medicinal active ingredients for thousands of years and these ingredients have been used in Chinese medicine (CM) and traditional pharmacologies worldwide. Recently, the exploitation and utilisation of medicinal plant resources has increased significantly. The results of the studies have led to the identification of many active components, such as steroidal alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, and glycosides, in various medicinal plants with different evolutionary levels. Moreover, research on the chemical classification, molecular phylogeny, and pharmacological activity of medicinal plants is increasing in popularity. Pharmacophylogeny is an interdisciplinary topic that studies the correlation between plant phylogeny, chemical composition, and curative effects (pharmacological activity and the traditional curative effect) of medicinal plants. In addition, it provides the basic tools to enable research and development of CM resources. This literature review, based on the genetic relationship between phytogroup and species, highlights the formation process, research content, applications, and future directions of pharmacophylogeny.
Alkaloids ; Glycosides ; Plant Extracts/chemistry* ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry* ; Saponins ; Terpenes

Sea buckthorn(Hippophae rhamnoides) is widely distributed, with abundant resources, a long history of application, and rich nutrition and high medicinal value. Therefore, it has attracted extensive attention from researchers at home and abroad. The focus of attention is mainly on sea buckthorn fruit, but with weak research and development of sea buckthorn leaves. In order to develop and utilize abundant resources of sea buckthorn leaves, this paper systematically reviewed domestic and foreign literatures and summarized the current application, harvesting and processing, chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of sea buckthorn leaves. Sea buckthorn leaves have a wide development and utilization value in food raw materials(like a substituting-for-tea plant), pharmaceutical raw materials and animal feed. Modern studies have shown that the leaves of sea buckthorn are rich in polysaccharides, flavonoids, polyphenols, triterpenes and steroids, as well as vitamins(especially vitamin C), proteins, amino acids and mineral elements. It has various pharmacological effects, such as anti-obesity, hypoglycemia, anti-oxidation, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-cardiovascular diseases. Domestic and foreign studies have showed that sea buckthorn leaves have important development and utilization prospects, and are worth further study and development.
Animals ; Flavonoids ; Fruit ; Hippophae ; Plant Leaves ; Polyphenols

Stilbenes is a class of natural polyphenols with 1,2-diphenylethylene as the skeleton structure which have structural and active diversity. However, there are fewer studies on their metabolic process, which limits the in-depth research and development of such components. An UPLC-MS/MS method simultaneously determining contents of ten stilbenes was firstly established in this study and applied to study the ten stilbenes of peony seed coats in the serum of C57 mice.Piceatannol was the internal standard, and methanol was used for protein precipitation, UPLC-MS/MS with negative ion mode was used for analysis, and the method was validated.The serum samples were collected and detected after mice being oral administered with 800 mg·kg~(-1) peony seed coat extracts for 8 weeks. The results showed that suffruticosol A, suffruticosol B, suffruticosol C, trans-ε-viniferin, cis-gnetin H, trans-suffruticosol D and trans-gnetin H were detected in serum samples, and the highest is suffruticosol A. The method is simple and quick with high specificity and sensitivity, and it is suitable for quantitative determination of ten stilbenes in the serum of mice.
Animals ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Mice ; Paeonia ; Reproducibility of Results ; Seeds ; chemistry ; Stilbenes ; analysis ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Background: The effect and mechanism of Saccharomyces boulardii (Sb) in inflammatory bowel disease are unclear. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of Sb on intestinal mucosal barrier and intestinal flora in a colitis mouse model. Methods: Forty C57BL/6J male mice were randomly assigned to five groups: normal control group (A), pathologic control group (B), Sb treatment group (C), mesalazine treatment group (D), and Sb combined with mesalazine treatment group (E). Colitis was induced by the addition of 2.5% (wt/vol) dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in the drinking water ad libitum for 7 days. The general condition, weight change, stool property, and bloody stool level of mice were observed to evaluate the disease activity index. The expression of zona occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin in intestinal tissue were measured by immunohistochemistry. The level of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL)-8 in plasma was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Inter-cellular tight junctions were observed by transmission electron microscopy. The feces and intestinal contents were collected sterilely, and intestinal flora was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Results: Compared with group B, Sb reduced the disease activity index and histological score of group C (disease activity index: group B 2.708 ± 0.628, group C 1.542 ± 0.616, P_BC = 0.005; histological score: group B 9.875 ± 3.271, group C 4.750 ± 1.832, P_BC = 0.005) in DSS-induced colitis in mice. Sb exerted a protect effect on the expression of ZO-1 (group B 2.075 ± 1.176, group C 4.225 ± 1.316, P_BC = 0.019) and occludin (group B 2.200 ± 0.968, group C 3.525 ± 1.047, P_BC = 0.023). Compared with group B, Sb decreased the level of TNF-α and IL-8 of group C (TNF-α: group B 716.323 ± 44.691 ng/L, group C 521.740 ± 90.121 ng/L, P_BC = 0.001; IL-8: group B 128.992 ± 11.475 pg/mL, group C 106.283 ± 15.906 pg/mL, P_BC = 0.012). Treatment with Sb preserved the tight junctions and ameliorated microvilli and inter-cellular space. Treatment with Sb also showed its own characteristics: a higher percentage of Bacteroidetes and a lower percentage of Firmicutes, with significant differences or a significant trend. The proportion of the S24-7 family was increased significantly in the Sb treatment group. Conclusions Sb shows an anti-inflammatory effect and has a protective effect on the intestinal mucosal mechanical barrier. Sb may up-regulate the abundance of family S24-7 specifically, and maybe a mechanism underlying its function.

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of vaginal hysterectomy and uterine scar repair in the treatment of type Ⅱ cesare-an scar pregnancy. Methods A total of 157 patients with type Ⅱ cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) admitted to our obstetrics and gynecology department of our hospital from July 2016 to July 2017 were selected as research subjects. They were divided into ultrasound curettage group (n =87) and vaginal repair group(n =70) according to different surgical methods. The surgical bleeding volume, operative time, hospital stay and human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG) level before and after operation,the time of blood β-HCG returning to normal level,hemoglobin (HB) level before and after operation,menstrual recovery time,stress response, inflammatory response and surgical complications were compared between the two groups. Results The intraoperative blood loss volume, operative time and hospital slay in ultrasound curettage group were lower than those in vaginal repair group,the difference was significant(P ＜0.05). The time of blood β-HCG returning to normal level in vaginal repair group after operation was shorter than that in ultrasound curettage group, the difference was significant (P ＜ 0. 05). There was no significant difference in the HB level between the two groups(P＞0.05). The menstrual recovery time in vaginal repair group was shorter than that in ultrasound curettage group,the difference was significant(P ＜0. 05). The levels of postoperative epinephrine (E) and Cortisol (Cor) in vaginal repair group after operation were lower than those in ultrasound curettage group, while the level of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was higher than that in ultrasound curettage group,the difference was significant(P ＜0.05). The levels of IL-2, IL-6 and IL-8 in vaginal repair group after operation were lower than those in ultrasound curettage group while the level of C-reactive protein (CRP) was higher than that in ultrasound curettage group,the difference was significant(P ＜0.05). The incidence rate of postoperative complications in ultrasound curettage group was higher than that in vaginal repair group(P ＜0. 05). Conclusion Vaginal repair is more beneficial to shortern the time of blood β-HCG returning to normal level and menstrual recovery time, promote the inflammatory factor and hormone recovery to a normal level, and reduce the incidence of complication.

Objective To investigate the prevalence of major parasitic diseases and related knowledge,attitude and practice among rural residents in Liyang City,so as to provide the evidence for formulating appropriate preventive strategies and mea-sures.Methods Three villages were selected from three towns as survey sites,and the residents who were above three years old and had been in the village for over six months were investigated.The Kato-Katz technique was applied to detect intestinal para-site eggs in residents'feces,and the cellophane anal swab was used to detect Enterobius vermicularis eggs among children aged 3-6 years. The iodine liquid smear and saline smear methods were used to examine intestinal protozoa cysts or trophozoites. Hookworm species were identified by the tube filter paper culture method.A structured questionnaire was used to collect the in-formation on residents'knowledge,attitude and practice of the prevention and control of major parasitic diseases.Results To-tally 759 residents were investigated and tested at the three rural survey sites,and only 2 cases were detected of parasitic infec-tion and the total infection rate was 0.26%.Both cases were mild infections without mixed infection.The total awareness rate of knowledge on ascariasis,trichuriasis and ancylostomiasis was 37.9%,while the awareness rate of knowledge on clonorchiasis was 13.8%.The age and educational level were important factors of the knowledge on prevention and control of parasitic diseases among the residents.The formation rates of washing hands before meal and after using the toilet,and never drinking unboiled wa-ter were 83.8% and 92.1%,respectively. Totally 11.6% of the residents usually ate raw or half-cooked freshwater fishes and shrimps,and 53.0% had not the behavior to prepare raw and cooked food using the different chopping boards.The proportions of residents using fresh feces as manure and working in the field with bare feet were 13.8% and 22.8% respectively.The proportions of residents who thought they could,could not,or were not sure to change the risk behaviors and habits of parasitic infections were 40.2%,28.5% and 31.4%,respectively.Conclusions The infection rate of major parasitic diseases among the rural resi-dents in Liyang City is low,and the awareness rate of knowledge on preventing parasitic diseases is also low. Therefore,the health education on the prevention and control of parasitic diseases should be strengthened to guide them to develop good hy-giene,diet and farming habits.The environmental sanitation should be continuously improved to block the endemic of parasitic infection.

Aim To investigate the effects of gastrodin on SH-SY5Y cell autophagy induced by methamphet-amine (METH) and the underlying mechanisms. Methods SY5Y cells were treated by METH with the concentration of 0.5,1.0,1.5,2.0,2.5,3.0 mmol·L-1for 24 h. The morphological changes were ob-served by microscopy,the expression of LC3-Ⅱ,Bec-lin-1,Akt,p-Akt,mTOR and p-mTOR were detected by Western blot. Gastrodin was added to the medium 1 h before METH treatment. Results The SY 5 Y cells were morphologically featured by shrinkage and den-drite disruption after exposed to METH(0~3 mmol· L-1),and autophagic vacuoles occurred in cytoplasm. The expression of LC3-Ⅱ increased over METH dose. Confocal results showed that LC3-Ⅱsignificantly in-creased in METH group as compared with control, while decreased in METH+ Gastrodin group. The ex-pression levels of LC3-Ⅱand Beclin-1 significantly in-creased (P<0.01) in METH group, p-mTOR and p-Akt decreased, and mTOR and Akt showed no signifi-cant difference as compared with control. However, the gastrodin could decrease the expression of LC3-Ⅱand Beclin-1 and increase the expression of mTOR,p-mTOR,Akt and p-Akt as compared with METH-trea-ted groups. Conclusions METH can induce SY5Y cells autophagy. The protective effect of gastrodin a-gainst METH-induced autophag may be related to gast-rodin regulation mTOR and Akt signaling pathway.

The purpose of this study was to combine morphological, microscopic, UHPLC multiple-component assay and fingerprinting studies in order to evaluate the quality of Moutan Cortex (MC) systematically. The root system of Paeonia suffruticosa was measured to compare the morphological variation and the chemical composition of different grades of MC was discussed according to previous studies. The difference between the main microscopic features of MC powder and the xylem powder is dramatic, the MC powder contains great amount of starch granules and clusters of calcium oxalate, while the xylem powder displays considerable vessels. Interestingly, the growth rings of P. suffruticosa was first reported in the xylem of the root transection, this can help to determine the growth years of the plant. Moreover, through the assay of 16 component, MC produced in Tongling and Bozhou in Anhui province were compared, content of PGG in MC produced in Bozhou was significantly higher than MC produced in Tongling (<0.01). MC with different growth years, MC with xylem and unprocessed MC and MC decoction pieces were compared respectively by combining the results of 16 compounds assay and fingerprinting. It is proposed that the quality evaluation standard include the assay of paeoniflorin. Above all, the holistic quality difference can be evaluated more comprehensively by combining multiple analytical methods.