OBJECTIVETo detect absorbed bioactive compounds of the water extract whose pharmacodynamic effect was craniocerebral protection for quality control assessment.

METHODSAnthraquinones in water extract of rhubarb (WER), in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and in ipsilateral cortex of TBI rats following oral WER were respectively explored by ultra performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detector (UPLC-PDA) method developed in the present study. The effects of anthraquinones absorbed into injured cortex on superoxidase dismutase (SOD) activity in TBI rats were detected. The antioxidative anthraquinones absorbed into target organ were evaluated for quality control of WER.

RESULTSAnthraquinones in WER were aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol, and physcion. Only the last anthraquinone was found in CSF and in ipsilateral cortex under this chromatographic condition. Physcion increased SOD activity in TBI rats significantly.

CONCLUSIONSPhyscion was the main active compound of rhubarb against craniocerebral injury via antioxidant pathway. According to our strategy, the exploration of physcion suggested the possibility of a novel quality control of WER in treating TBI injury.

Absorption ; drug effects ; Animals ; Anthraquinones ; cerebrospinal fluid ; chemistry ; Biological Products ; analysis ; cerebrospinal fluid ; chemistry ; Brain Injuries ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Chromatography, Liquid ; instrumentation ; methods ; Emodin ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Limit of Detection ; Linear Models ; Male ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reference Standards ; Reproducibility of Results ; Rheum ; chemistry ; Water ; chemistry

Background: A research on the quality and the use of water for living in order to discover solutions to ensure the supply of fresh water is urgent and necessary. It is also a basis to help policy makers to implement the right plan in supplying water for each region. Objectives: This research aims to evaluate the quality and the usage of water for living in several ecological regions of Viet Nam. Subjects and method: A descriptive, cross sectional study conducted in 7 chemical and physical indices and 2 microbiological indices in 1479 samples of waters that are used in 4 ecological regions of Vietnam. Results:The whole of the country has a high coverage of clean water (88.4%), but only 22.8% of sample meets the requirements. Especially, most of the samples do not meet the microbiological requirements. Conclusion: In general, the pollution level of the sources of water is at a medium level. The related factor that affects the clean water standard is the polluted sources under 10m nearby the polluting site.
quality and the use of water ; ecological regions