The identification of species primordium has been one of the hot issues in the identification of traditional Chinese medicine. Sea snake is one of the most valuable Chinese medicinal materials in China. In order to understand the origin and varieties of sea snake in the market, we studied the molecular identification of 46 sea snakes by cytochrome B(Cytb). After comparison and manual correction, the sequence length was 582 bp, and the content of A+T(58.9%) was higher than that of G+C(41.1%). There exist 197 variable sites and 179 parsimony-informative sites of the sequence. There are 44 kinds of sequence alignment with consistency equal to 100%, and 2 kinds equal to 96%. A total of 408 Cytb effective sequences were downloaded from GenBank database, with a total of 68 species. Phylogenetic tree of a total of 454 sea snake sequences with the samples in this study were constructed by neighbor-joining trees and Bayesian inference method, respectively, which can identify 42 samples of medicinal materials, while 4 samples can not be identified because of their low node support. The results showed that the species of the sea snake medicine were at least from 2 genera and 5 species, namely, Aipysurus eydouxii, Hydrophis curtus, H. caerulescen, H. curtus, H. ornatus and H. spiralis. This study suggested that the original species of commercial sea snake are very complex and can provide insight into the identification of sea snakes.
Animals ; Bayes Theorem ; China ; Cytochromes b/genetics* ; Hydrophiidae ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Phylogeny

Molecular pharmacognosy is a science of classification and identification, cultivation and protection, and production of active ingredients of graduated drugs at the molecular level. The proposal of molecular pharmacognosy allows the research of crude drugs to advance from the microscopic level to the genetic level. Pueraria lobata root, as a medicinal and edible plant, has high application value and economic value. There are many varieties that are easy to cause confusion, and it is not easy to distinguish and identify according to traditional identification methods. Moreover, the research of P. lobate root at the genetic level is still relatively shallow. the study received extensive attention of scholars. This article reviews recent research on molecular identification of P. lobate, transcriptome sequencing, cloning and synthesis of functional genes of P. lobate root in recent years in order to provide references for further promoting the development and utilization of P. lobate root and its active ingredients.
Pharmacognosy ; Plant Roots/genetics* ; Pueraria

Objective:To compare the chemical constituents of Puerariae Flos from three different varieties of Pueraria montana var. lobata， P. montana var. thomsonii and P. montana var. montana. Method:Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q-TOF-MS） was used with the mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution （A）-acetonitrile （B） for gradient elution （0-20 min， 10%-30%B； 20-30 min， 30%-55%B； 30-35 min， 55%-95%B； 35-37 min， 95%B； 37-40 min， 95%-10%B）， the flow rate was 0.25 mL·min^-1. Electrospray ionization （ESI） was used to scan and collect MS data in positive and negative ion modes with scanning range of m/z 50-1 500. The chemical components from different sources of Puerariae Flos were identified in combination with the chemical composition database and literature information. After the obtained data were normalized by MarkerView^TM 1.2.1， they were imported into SICMA-P 14.1 software for principal component analysis （PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis （OPLS-DA） to select the main differentiated components among the three different varieties. Result:A total of 35 compounds were identified from three different varieties of Puerariae Flos， including 22 isoflavones， 6 flavonoids and 7 saponins. The flowers of P. lobata， P. montana var. thomsonii and P. montana var. montana contained 32， 35， 33 compounds， respectively. And 18 differential compounds were screened under the positive and negative ion modes， including kakkalide， tectoridin， 6″-O-xylosyl-tectoridin， 4'-methyltectorigenin-7-glucoside， glycitin， 6″-O-xylosyl-glycitin， irisolidone， kaikasaponin Ⅲ， 6″-O-malonylglycitin， kakkalidone， tectorigenin， rutin， soyasaponin BB， vitexin， biochanin A， genistin， kakkatin， azukisaponin Ⅱ. Conclusion:This research is the first to systematically study the chemical constituents of the flower of P. montana var. montana， although the flower of P. montana var. montana is used as adulterants， it has high contents of tectoridin and 6″-O-xylosyl-tectoridin， which has great potential for development. The efficacy components such as kakkalide and tectoridin in Puerariae Flos from the three sources of varieties are obviously different， and it is necessary to carefully consider the application of these three varieties as Puerariae Flos.

Daturae Flos is a traditional antitussive and antiasthmatic medicine， its flowers and leaves are rich in a variety of compounds， including withanolides， alkaloids， terpenes， flavonoids and amides. Because of its antiasthmatic， antitussive， antispasmodic and analgesia effect， it is traditionally used for the treatment of asthma， cough， cold pain in abdominal cavity， rheumatic arthralgia， infantile chronic eclampsia， and can also be used as raw material for surgical anesthesia. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that in addition to the traditional efficacy， Daturae Flos also has anti-inflammatory， immunosuppression， anti-convulsion and other effects， and is often used in the treatment of psoriasis， Parkinson's disease， epilepsy， rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. At present， the chemical constituents of Daturae Flos are mainly focused on withanolides and alkaloids. At the same time， there is a lack of clear classification of chemical components and the distribution of chemical components in medicinal parts of this medicine， and little information is available for the pharmacological effects of polysaccharides. Based on this， this paper systematically searched relevant literature of Daturae Flos， and summarized and analyzed its chemical composition， pharmacological effect and clinical application， in order to provide reference for further development and utilization of Daturae Flos.

AIM:To investigate the changes of cardiac structure and function in rats with type 2 diabetic melli-tus(T2DM),and to explore the mechanisms underlying diabetic cardiomyopathy.METHODS:The cardiac structure and function were measured by echocardiography in Zucker diabetic fatty(ZDF)rats and their control Zucker lean(ZL)rats. The size of the cardiomyocytes was determined by wheat germ agglutinin staining.The protein expression of atrial natriuretic peptide(ANP),β-myosin heavy chain(β-MHC), receptor for advanced glycation end products(RAGE), L-type cal-cium channel α1C subunit(CaV1.2)and Orai1 was assessed by Western blot.RESULTS:Compared with the ZL control rats,the thickness of left ventricular wall,ejection fraction(EF),fractional shortening(FS)and the sizes of cardiomyo-cytes were significantly increased,and diastolic function was decreased in the ZDF rats(P<0.05).The protein expression of β-MHC, ANP, RAGE and Orai1 was increased, while the expression of Ca V1.2 was decreased in ZDF rats(P <0.05).CONCLUSION:T2DM rats show the prominent features including cardiomyocyte hypertrophy,ventricular hyper-trophy and compensatory enhancement of cardiac function, and the Ca2+handling and increase in RAGE expression may play important roles in the processes.

Objective To study the electric shock protection requirements of in vitro diagnostic equipment and to help manufacturers understand the relevant requirements in order to design products reasonably. Methods The requirements of IEC 61010-1:2010 were analyzed, the electric shock protection measures were explored, and the principles for protecting ground impedance against electric shock were described. An example was taken to study the electric shock protection measures for the sampling needle of the automatic bio-chemical analyzer, so that the existence of electric shock hazard could be determined. Results The sampling needle proved its rationality in structure design by avoiding the risk for being electriferous in case of failed basic insulation, although the requirements for protective earthing, double insulation or reinforced insulation were not met efficiently. Conclusion The requirements for electric shock protection can be determined based on comprehensive understanding of the standard, determination of electriferous components of the equipment as well as analysis on electric shock protection measures.

Ongoing study on the chemical constituents of the roots of Macleaya microcarpa led to the isolation of eight compounds of derivatives of triterpenes and organic acids in addition to some previously identified benzophenanthridines. The eight compounds were identified by spectroscopic methods as well as comparison with literature values as 1-oxo-2, 22 (30)-hopandien-29-oic acid (1), 3-oxo-12-oleanen-30-oic acid (2), 3α-hydroxy-12-oleanen-30-oic acid (3), 3β-hydroxy-12-oleanen-30-oic acid (4), ferulic acid (5), ferulic acid 4-O-β-D-glucoside (6), 3-O-feruloylquinic acid (7), and methyl 3-O-feruloylquinate (8). Of which, 1 is a new triterpenoid of hopanes and 2-8 are isolated from M microcarpa for the first time. In order to discover natural active compounds as potential agents of anti-ulcerative colitis (UC), an in vitro drug high-throughput screening model targeted x-box-binding protein 1 (xbp1) was employed to evaluate the activity of the major chemical constituents of M microcarpa. The result confirmed that two dihydrobenzophenanthridines, dihydrosanguinarine (9) and dihydrochelerythrine (10), showed a certain activity on activating the transcription of xbpl, a transcription factor (TF) associated with the occurrence, development, and potential treatment of UC, with their relative activating ratios being 1.76 and 1.77 times, respectively, as compared with control group.
Anti-Ulcer Agents ; chemistry ; Benzophenanthridines ; chemistry ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; Isoquinolines ; chemistry ; Papaveraceae ; chemistry ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Regulatory Factor X Transcription Factors ; Transcription Factors ; genetics ; Transcription, Genetic ; Triterpenes ; chemistry

Taking application of some isolation and purification technologies, including crushing, solvent extraction, preliminary solvent isolation, column chromatographies over silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 gel and preparative HPLC, 8 compounds were obtained from the seeds of Jufeng grape sourced from market. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic methods and comparison with literature values as Catechin (1), Epicatechin (2), quercetin (3), ethylgallate (4), rel-(2S, 3R) -2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) -3- (hydroxymethyl)-5-(3-hydroxypropyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-7-ol (5), rel-(2α, 3β)-7-O-methylcedrusin (6), rel-(1R,2S)-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) -2-(4-(3-hydroxypropyl) -2-methoxyphenoxy) propane-1,3-diol (7), and (+) -isolariciresinol (8), respectively. Compounds 5-8 were serial lignans isolated from the seeds of grape for the first time. Structurally, 5 and 6 belong in benzofuran-8,3'-neolignans, 7 in 8,4'-oxyneolignan, and 8 in 8,8' :2,7'-cyclolignan. According to in vitro activity evaluation conducted in cell model, compound 6 showed significant anti-oxidative ability, with the activity of RAW264. 7 cell superoxide dismutase being raised evidently in the test as compared with the positive anti-oxidative agents, compounds 1 and 2.
Antioxidants ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Seeds ; chemistry ; Vitis ; chemistry

Coptisine hydrochloride, as a natural protoberberine alkaloid quaternary ammonium salt, can be found in many species of Ranunculaceae and Papaveraceae plants. Despite no in-depth studies on coptisine hydrochloride, some literatures have reported that coptisine hydrochloride has such pharmacological activities as inhibition of monoamine oxidase of type A, selective inhibition and double inhibition against vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, inhibition of differentiation and function of osteoclasts, selective regulation of multidrug-resistant and drug-resistant proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells, anti-fungus, protection of gastric-mucous membrane, cytotoxicity, and myocardial protection. Given to the fact of the lack of systematic review and summary of studies on coptisine hydrochloride, we summarize and analyze the study literatures on the pharmacological activity of coptisine hydrochloride published in recent years, so as to provide information for studies on new drugs of coptisine hydrochloride on the basis of the pharmacological activity.
Animals ; Berberine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Humans

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the application value of magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) combined with routine T2WI sequence in the determination of pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer.

METHODSClinical data of 51 cases with locally advanced mid-low rectal cancer undergoing neoadjuvant therapy plus radical resection in the Rectal Cancer Center at The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from June 2012 to April 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. Magnetic resonance DWI and T2WI sequences scanning were performed within 1 week before neoadjuvant therapy and within 1 week before operation. Routine single T2WI sequence and DWI combined with T2WI sequence were used separately to predict the residual tumor and to compare with postoperative pathological examination. The prediction values of two methods were compared.

RESULTSOf 51 patients, 12 cases had pathological complete response (pCR). Prediction of DWI combined T2WI sequence was correct in 8 cases of pCR, whose sensitivity and specificity were higher than those of routine single T2WI sequence (66.7%, 94.9% vs. 33.3%, 84.6%). Prediction value of DWI combined T2WI sequence for pCR was significantly higher as compared to routine single T2WI sequence (AUC, 0.808 vs. 0.590, P=0.001).

CONCLUSIONCompared with the routine single T2WI sequence, DWI combined with T2WI sequence can improve the prediction accuracy of pathological complete response.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Rectal Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity