ObjectiveBased on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS）， network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques， to explore the pharmacodynamic material basis and mechanism of Renshen Wuweizi Tang in treating spleen-lung Qi deficiency syndrome. MethodsThe chemical components in the decoction of Renshen Wuweizi Tang were systematically characterized and identified by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS， and network pharmacology was used to screen potential active ingredients， collect component targets and gene sets related to spleen-lung Qi deficiency syndrome， and obtain protein interaction relationships through STRING. Cytoscape 3.9.1 was used to construct a "formula-syndrome" association network and calculate topological feature values. Gene ontology（GO） function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis were performed on core genes to explore potential pharmacodynamic links， the average shortest path between the formula-drug target network and the pharmacodynamic link gene network was calculated to discover dominant pharmacodynamic links， and MCODE plugin was used to identify core gene clusters from the dominant pharmacodynamic links， which were validated using Gene Expression Omnibus（GEO）， and molecular docking was performed between key components and core targets. ResultsOne hundred and thirty-seven components were identified in the negative ion mode， and eighty components were identified in the positive ion mode. After deduplication， a total of 185 components were identified， mainly composed of triterpenoid saponins（49） and flavonoids（54）. Based on the "formula-syndrome" correlation network analysis， energy metabolism was determined to be the dominant pharmacodynamic link of Renshen Wuweizi Tang in the treatment of spleen-lung Qi deficiency syndrome. The results of molecular docking showed that 7 components（adenosine， atractylenolide Ⅱ， atractylenolide Ⅲ， ginsenoside Rg₁， glycyrrhizin B₂， glycyrrhizin E₂ and campesterol） from 4 medicinal materials（Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma， Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma， Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Poria） in this formula might regulate energy metabolism by acting on 6 targets， namely cyclic adenosine monophosphate-response element binding protein 1（CREB1）， glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase（GAPDH）， interleukin（IL）-6， nuclear transcription factor（NF）-κB1， peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α（PPARα）， and tumor necrosis factor（TNF）， thus improving the symptoms of diseases related to spleen-lung Qi deficiency syndrome. ConclusionThis study established a UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS for rapid characterization and identification of chemical components in the decoction of Renshen Wuweizi Tang， expanding the understanding of the material composition of this formula， and found that 7 components might act on the key advantageous pharmacodynamic link "energy metabolism" through 6 targets to improve the related symptoms of spleen-lung Qi deficiency syndrome. This can provide a reference for the subsequent exploration of the material benchmark and mechanism of the famous classical formula.

ObjectiveTo improve the quality standard of Yuanhu Zhitong oral liquid in order to strengthen the quality control of this oral liquid. MethodThin layer chromatography（TLC） was used for the qualitative identification of Corydalis Rhizoma and Angelicae Dahuricae Radix in Yuanhu Zhitong oral liquid by taking tetrahydropalmatine， corydaline reference substances and Corydalis Rhizoma reference medicinal materials as reference， and cyclohexane-trichloromethane-methanol（5∶3∶0.5） as developing solvent， Corydalis Rhizoma was identified using GF254 glass thin layer plate under ultraviolet light（365 nm）. And taking petroleum ether（60-90 ℃） -ether-formic acid（10∶10∶1） as developing solvent， Angelicae Dahuricae Radix was identified using a silica gel G TLC plate under ultraviolet light（305 nm）. High performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） was performed on a Waters XSelect HSS T3 column（4.6 mm×250 mm， 5 μm） with acetonitrile（A）-0.1% glacial acetic acid solution（adjusted pH to 6.1 by triethylamine）（B） as the mobile phase for gradient elution（0-10 min， 20%-30%A； 10-25 min， 30%-40%A； 25-40 min， 40%-50%A； 40-60 min， 50%-60%A）， the detection wavelength was set at 280 nm， then the fingerprint of Yuanhu Zhitong oral liquid was established， and the contents of tetrahydropalmatine and corydaline were determined. ResultIn the thin layer chromatograms， the corresponding spots of Yuanhu Zhitong oral liquid， the reference substances and reference medicinal materials were clear， with good separation and strong specificity. A total of 12 common peaks were identified in 10 batches of Yuanhu Zhitong oral liquid samples， and the peaks of berberine hydrochloride， dehydrocorydaline， glaucine， tetrahydropalmatine and corydaline. The similarities between the 10 batches of samples and the control fingerprint were all >0.90. The results of determination showed that the concentrations of corydaline and tetrahydropalmatine had good linearity with paek area in the range of 0.038 6-0.193 0， 0.034 0-0.170 0 g·L^-1， respectively. The methodological investigation was qualified， and the contents of corydaline and tetrahydropalmatine in 10 batches of Yuanhu Zhitong oral liquid samples were 0.077 5-0.142 9、0.126 1-0.178 2 g·L^-1， respectively. ConclusionThe established TLC， fingerprint and determination are simple， specific and reproducible， which can be used to improve the quality control standard of Yuanhu Zhitong oral liquid.

ObjectiveThe mechanisms underlying therapeutic efficacies of Detumescence Analgesic Plaster was analyzed based on "effect-target" associations. MethodBased on CNKI and PubMed databases， the chemical components of Artemisia seed， bastard speedwell， and menthol in Detumescence Analgesic Plaster were collected. The capacity of transdermal absorption was predicted based on the Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine （ETCM 2.0）. Golden Triangle of compounds with Accepted used for candidate target prediction based on the Integrative Pharmacology-based Research Platform of Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCMIP v2.0）according to the similarity of chemical structures. At the same time， the SoFDA data platform was employed to collect the symptoms related to the efficacy of Detumescence Analgesic Plaster and its related genes information. In addition， based on the interaction between the above-mentioned candidate targets and their efficacy-related genes， the "effect-target" interaction network of Detumescence Analgesic Plaster was constructed. The key targets by topological features calculation， and functional mining was carried out to explain the efficacy mechanism of Detumescence Analgesic Plaster. ResultA total of 165 candidate targets were obtained based on ETCM 2.0 and TCMIP v2.0 databases， and symptoms related to the efficacy of clearing heat， detumescence， and relieving pain， as well as 1 744 related genes were collected based on the SoFDA database. Network construction and analysis showed that the core effect targets of Detumescence Analgesic Plaster were mainly involved in regulating the "immune-inflammation" balance of the body and maintaining the homeostasis of material and energy metabolism， blood circulation， and nervous system functions， and they were closely related to the efficacy of this prescription in clearing heat， reducing detumescence， and relieving pain. Among them， the heat clearing group of Detumescence Analgesic Plaster had the functions of heat clearing， detoxifying， antibacteria， and anti-inflammation. The biological function of its key effect target group was related to correcting the imbalance of "immune-inflammation" induced by pathogens. The detumescence group of Detumescence Analgesic Plaster had the functions of reducing water and swelling and resolving hard lumps， and the biological function of its core effect target group was related to improving microcirculation disturbance. The pain relieving group of Detumescence Analgesic Plaster had the functions of removing stasis， promoting blood circulation， and relieving pain， and its core effect target group was related to correcting the nervous system and the disorder of material and energy metabolism. ConclusionThe heat clearing， swelling reducing， and pain relieving effects of Detumescence Analgesic Plaster may be closely related to its act on related candidate targets， so as to correct the imbalance of "nerve-immunity-vascular-axis"， regulate neuronal excitability and inflammatory response， and intervene in material and energy metabolism. The relevant research results lay a theoretical foundation for clarifying the advantages of Detumescence Analgesic Plaster and assisting its clinical precise positioning.

ObjectiveA rapid method for identification of chemical constituents in Baoyuantang reference sample was established in order to clarify the material basis of this formula. MethodBased on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS） and self-established database information， the chemical components in Baoyuantang were systematically characterized and identified. The chromatography was performed on a Waters ACQUITY UPLC HSS T3 column（2.1 mm×100 mm， 1.8 μm） with mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution（A）-0.1% formic acid acetonitrile solution（B） for gradient elution（0-3 min， 2%-19%B； 3-8 min， 19%B； 8-8.1 min， 19%-22%B； 8.1-14 min， 22%-29%B； 14-16 min， 29%B； 16-32 min， 29%-45%B； 32-32.1 min， 45%-90%B； 32.1-35 min， 90%-95%B； 35-36 min， 95%-98%B； 36-37 min， 98%-2%B； 37-40 min， 2%B）. Based on electrospray ionization（ESI）， continuum data format was collected in both positive and negative ion modes with a scanning range of m/z 50-1 500. Chemical constituents in the decoction of Baoyuantang were systematically analyzed by UNIFI 1.9.4 software matching， control comparison， The Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine（ETCM） database search and literature reports. ResultA total of 229 components were identified under negative ion mode and 181 under positive ion mode， with a total of 322 components after removing duplicates， including 116 triterpene saponins， 66 flavonoids， 19 organic acids， 6 gingerphenols， 6 gingerols， 5 gingerones， 10 amino acids， 7 saccharides， 5 coumarins and 82 other components. Among them， 83， 141， 39， 35 and 38 components were attributed to Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma， Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma， Astragali Radix， Cinnamomi Cortex and Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens， respectively. ConclusionIn this study， the rapid characterization and identification of multi-class components in Baoyuantang was realized， and it was confirmed that the material basis of this formula was mainly triterpenoid saponins， flavonoids， gingerols and organic acids， and the chemical composition was attributed and analyzed， which provided a reference for the subsequent quality control research.

ObjectiveTo elucidate the underlying mechanism of the efficacy of Levo-tetrahydropalmatine （l-THP） in alleviating chronic pain and identify the key metabolites and metabolic pathways for l-THP regulation. MethodA classical chronic constrictive injury （CCI） model was built in rats’ bodies， and the pain intensity was evaluated by detecting the mechanical withdrawal threshold. On the sixth day after surgery， oral administration of l-THP （64 mg·kg^-1） and positive control drug pregabalin （Pre， 30 mg·kg^-1） was performed on rats. After the last administration following consecutive five times of administration， ipsilateral spinal cord tissues were collected for widely-targeted metabonomics， with eight rats in each group. Differential metabolites （DEMs） were identified according to the standard of VIP>1.0 and P<0.05， and functional enrichment and interaction analyses of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） were performed to obtain the key metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with the analgesic effects of l-THP. ResultIn behavioral science， administration of both l-THP and Pre significantly improved mechanical hyperalgesia in CCI rats （P<0.01）， thus mitigating pain. Metabonomic analysis results revealed that l-THP administration corrected the aberrant metabolic profile in the spinal cord of CCI rats. Meanwhile， 53 DEMs were called back， including several classical pain biomarkers such as sphingosine-1-phosphate （S1P）， cyclic adenosine monophosphate （cAMP）， acetylcholine， and glutamate. Functional enrichment analysis of the DEMs indicated the involvement of metabolic pathways such as ferroptosis， autophagy， neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions， phospholipase D and cAMP-related signaling pathways， glutathione metabolism， and cofactor biosynthesis in mediating the effects of l-THP on the metabolic profile of the spinal cord. Further analyses on the relative metabolite abundance and metabolic pathways indicated that by significantly decreasing the relative levels of glutamate （P<0.01） and glycine （P<0.01） in the spinal cord， l-THP can promote the synthesis of reduced glutathione （GSH） and increase the ratio of reduced/oxidized GSH （P<0.05）. Additionally， it can relieve oxidative stress in the spinal cord of CCI rats and significantly reduce the acetyl-CoA level （P<0.01） to finally inhibit ferroptosis occurrence. Conclusionl-THP may exert analgesic effects by regulating multiple metabolic pathways including GSH metabolism， ferroptosis， cofactor biosynthesis， and amino acid synthesis to correct the aberrant metabolic profile in the spinal cord of CCI rats. Ferroptosis and GSH metabolism may be the key pathways for l-THP regulation， with glutamate， glycine， glutathione， and acetyl-CoA as the key metabolites.

Background Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is one of the most commonly used plasticizers, and has been found to relate to allergic asthma. However, mechanisms behind the phenomenon linking DBP and allergic asthma are still not well comprehended. Objective To investigate the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in DBP-exacerbated allergic asthma. Methods Thirty-two male mice were divided into four groups at random, eight mice in each group: control group, allergic asthma model group (ovalbumin, OVA), OVA+40 mg·kg⁻¹ DBP exposure group (OVA+DBP), and OVA+40 mg·kg⁻¹ DBP+50 mg·kg⁻¹ 4-phenyl butyric acid (4-PBA) group (OVA+DBP+4-PBA). The control group mice were treated with saline via intraperitoneal injection on day 21, 35, 42, and 49, and atomized saline for 30 min per day from day 54 to 60. The OVA group mice were injected with 0.3 mL OVA sensitizing solution via intraperitoneal injection on day 21, 35, 42, and 49, and atomized with 1% OVA solution from day 54 to 60. The OVA+DBP group was treated in the same way as the OVA group to build an allergic asthma model, and was orally exposed to 40 mg·kg⁻¹ DBP from day 1 to 53, plus atomized with 1% OVA solution from day 54 to 60. In order to verify the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in DBP-exacerbated allergic asthma, 4-PBA was injected intraperitoneally every 2 d from day 1 to 53 in the OVA+DBP+4-PBA group mice. The pathological changes such as airway remodeling, inflammatory cell infiltration, and airway mucous hyperplasia in lung tissues were observed after hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining. The contents of total immunoglobulin E (T-IgE) and ovalbumin immunoglobulin E (OVA-IgE) levels in serum, and interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-13, and IL-17A in alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were detected by Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay(ELISA). The expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins including inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α), protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), and activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6) were detected by immunohistochemistry. Results Compared to the control mice, the OVA mice showed significant asthma-like symptoms, including inflammatory cell infiltration, increased inflammatory cytokines, airway remodeling, and mucous hyperplasia. Compared to the OVA group, long-term exposure to DBP aggravated airway pathological changes in the OVA+DBP mice, and increased the serum T-IgE and OVA-IgE levels (P<0.01), the Th2 (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13) and Th17 (IL-17A) cytokines in BALF (P<0.01), and the expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins IRE1α, PERK and ATF-6 (P<0.01). In addition, after the 4-PBA treatment, it was found that compared with the OVA+DBP group, the expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins (IRE1α, PERK and ATF-6) were down-regulated in the OVA+DBP+4-PBA group (P<0.01), the levels of cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and IL-17A) in BALF and T-IgE and OVA-IgE in serum were decreased (P<0.01), and airway remodeling and mucous hyperplasia were significantly alleviated. Conclusion Long-term exposure to DBP could aggravate allergic asthma by activating the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway. This worsening effect is accompanied by the increase of immunoglobulin IgE levels and the release of Th2 and Th17 cytokines, which in turn leads to lung histopathological changes that affect lung function.

OBJECTIVE To establish the specific chromatogram of Qianghuo Shengshi Tang(QHSS) reference sample, clarify the key quality attributes of QHSS, providing reference for the quality evaluation of QHSS reference sample. METHODS The SilGreen C18 column(4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm) was used. The mobile phase consisted acetonitrile and 0.2% formic acid aqueous solution. The detection wavelength was 328 nm. Established an HPLC characteristic spectrum analysis method for the reference sample of QHSS. A variety of chromatographic columns and different instruments were applied to investigate the adaptability of the system. HPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS was used to identify the specific peaks of the QHSS reference samples in positive ion mode. RESULTS There were 14 peaks in the specific chromatogram, which belonged to Notopterygii Rhizoma Et Radix, Angelicae Pubescentis Radix, Ligustici Rhizoma Et Radix, Chuanxiong Rhizome, Viticis Fructus, respectively. Ferulic acid(peak 3) was reference peak. A total of 22 compounds were identified by mass spectrometry, including coumarin and flavonoids. CONCLUSION The established specific chromatogram method of QHSS is simple, stable and reproducible. The material basis of QHSS reference sample is basically determined, providing a reference for the development and quality control of QHSS.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of Renshen Guben oral liquids（RGOL） in treatment of mice with renal fibrosis based on metabolomics and network pharmacology. MethodC57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control group， model group and RGOL group， 12 mice in each group. Except for the control group， mice in the other groups were induced into unilateral ureteral obstruction（UUO） model by UUO. After preparation of the model， an aqueous solution of 4.2 g·kg^-1 extract powder was administered by gavage to RGOL group for 14 d， and an equal amount of distilled water was administered by gavage to the control and model groups. After the last administration on the 14^th day， urine was collected and detected by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry（UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS） with 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution as mobile phase A， and acetonitrile-isopropanol（70∶30） as mobile phase B for gradient elution（0-1 min， 5%B； 1-5 min， 5%-30%B； 5-9 min， 30%-50%B； 9-11 min， 50%-78%B； 11-13.5 min， 78%-95%B； 13.5-14 min， 95%-100%B； 14-16 min， 100%B； 16-16.1 min， 100%-5%B； 16.1-18 min， 5%B）， column temperature of 40 ℃， flow rate of 0.4 mL·min^-1， electrospray ionization（ESI）， collection range of m/z 50-900. Through network pharmacology， the targets of components in RGOL and the targets of renal fibrosis were analyzed interactively， and the key components and key targets were screened by network topology analysis， and DAVID platform was used to predict the signaling pathways of RGOL for the treatment of renal fibrosis. ResultA total of 7 differential metabolites involving 8 metabolic pathways were identified in RGOL for the treatment of renal fibrosis. The network pharmacology revealed that 36 key components in RGOL were related to 7 differential metabolites， mainly ginsenosides， notoginsenosides and nucleotides. Based on the herbs-components-targets-pathways network， a total of 23 key targets related to the treatment of renal fibrosis by RGOL were highlighted， which together with the differential metabolites were involved in linoleic acid metabolism， arginine biosynthesis， tricarboxylic acid cycle（TCA）， arginine and proline metabolism and other pathways. ConclusionBased on metabolomics and network pharmacology， this study preliminarily identified 7 differential metabolites， 36 potential pharmacodynamic components and 23 key targets and 4 key pathways in RGOL for the treatment of renal fibrosis， providing an experimental basis for the clinical application and mechanism study of this preparation.

The famous classical formulae are epitomes of the clinical practice experience created by doctors in history， as an important symbol of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） theory and clinical treatment approaches， it has been given a new concept connotation and become one of the breakthroughs for the development of TCM in the new era. Due to the limitations of historical literature and different cognitive perspectives of literature research， there are still common problems in determination of the dosage， original materials， processing and decocting method for the famous classical formulae， which hinder its development and registration process. In the history of more than 2 000 years， famous classical formulae have been developed in the continuous clinical application of practice. This paper systematically reviewed the evolution of the concept and history of the famous classical formulae， and introduced the evolution of the famous classical formulae in terms of name， composition， medicine， dosage， decocting method and clinical functions， including the stability of basic prescription composition， differentiation of drug bases， the progress of processing methods， the characteristics of dosages in different historical periods and the expansion of functions. In view of the research of the key information for famous classical formulae， the paper puts forward the suggestion of paying more attention to the evolution of prescriptions in the past dynasties. In textual research， we should combine the changes of medicinal resources， habits of drug use and production technology of the past dynasties， so as to bridge the ancient and modern. As to the dosage selection， we should be based on the weights and measures of all dynasties and current clinical practice to select rational dosage and decocting method. On the basis of inheriting the essence， follows the ancient but not be bounded by it， and solves the common problems in the textual research of key information from the perspective of history and development.

Existing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-related databases are still insufficient in data standardization, integrity and precision, and need to be updated urgently. Herein, an Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine version 2.0 (ETCM v2.0, http://www.tcmip.cn/ETCM2/front/#/) was constructed as the latest curated database hosting 48,442 TCM formulas recorded by ancient Chinese medical books, 9872 Chinese patent drugs, 2079 Chinese medicinal materials and 38,298 ingredients. To facilitate the mechanistic research and new drug discovery, we improved the target identification method based on a two-dimensional ligand similarity search module, which provides the confirmed and/or potential targets of each ingredient, as well as their binding activities. Importantly, five TCM formulas/Chinese patent drugs/herbs/ingredients with the highest Jaccard similarity scores to the submitted drugs are offered in ETCM v2.0, which may be of significance to identify prescriptions/herbs/ingredients with similar clinical efficacy, to summarize the rules of prescription use, and to find alternative drugs for endangered Chinese medicinal materials. Moreover, ETCM v2.0 provides an enhanced JavaScript-based network visualization tool for creating, modifying and exploring multi-scale biological networks. ETCM v2.0 may be a major data warehouse for the quality marker identification of TCMs, the TCM-derived drug discovery and repurposing, and the pharmacological mechanism investigation of TCMs against various human diseases.