Context: Pain-relieving plaster (PRP) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that has been widely used with satisfactory results in the treatment of some diseases related to inflammation, such as bruises, chronic arthritis. Objective: The mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory actions of PRP are investigated in this study for the first time. Materials and methods: The anti-inflammatory effects of PRP extracts were evaluated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or calcium ionophore A23187-treated murine peritoneal macrophages (PMs). Tumor necrosis factor-αÎł (TNF-αÎł), interleukin-1βÎø (IL-1βÎø), prostaglandin E<sub>2</sub> (PGE<sub>2</sub>), and leukotrienes B<sub>4</sub> (LTB<sub>4</sub>) were evaluated by ELISA assays. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot analysis were used to detect the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX). Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κÎðB)--DNA-binding activity was determined by gel mobility shift assay. Results: PRP extracts were found to inhibit the production of TNF-αÎł, IL-1βÎø, and PGE<sub>2</sub>, reduce the expressions of COX-2 at the mRNA and protein levels induced by LPS, and reduced the production of LTB<sub>4</sub> induced by A23187. Furthermore, PRP extracts significantly attenuated LPS-induced NF-κÎðB--DNA-binding activity. Discussion and conclusion: The anti-inflammatory effects of PRP possibly are related to reduction of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-αÎł and IL-1βÎø), inducible inflammatory enzyme (COX-2), and its metabolite PGE<sub>2</sub> via NF-κÎðB signal pathway. Moreover, PRP extracts also notably inhibited the production of LTB<sub>4</sub>, indicating that PRP inhibited the 5-LOX pathway, which may be the other mechanism for its anti-inflammatory action.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Prevailing literature explains how depression, compulsion, and mindfulness affect heroin use; however, there is no comprehensive framework that explains their overall relationships. We therefore proposed and examined a hypothetical depression-compulsion-heroin use and mindfulness (DCHm) model.
METHODS:
We recruited 234 male heroin users. Self-reported levels of depression, mindfulness, compulsion to use, and severity of heroin use were measured. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the proposed DCHm model.
RESULTS:
Compulsion was a mediator between depression and heroin use. In addition, the DCHm model had satisfactory model fit indices. Depression indirectly affected heroin use through compulsion to use. The moderating effects of mindfulness in the two competing models were compared between the high- and low-mindfulness groups. The DCHm model in the high-mindfulness group had more favorable model fit indices than it did in the low-mindfulness group.
CONCLUSIONS:
Through learned emotional regulation strategies, addicted people with higher mindfulness were less likely to compulsively take drugs because of a depressive mood than were those with lower mindfulness. Furthermore, effective emotion-regulation strategies should be developed and examined in future studies.
SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE:
These results raise questions about the effect of compulsion on heroin use disorders. Mindfulness-based approaches to emotional regulatory strategies should be developed based on these findings. Further experimentation and prospective studies are needed to more fully examine the moderating role of mindfulness on depression and compulsion.
Unprecedented levels of nitrogen (N) have entered terrestrial ecosystems over the past century, which substantially influences the carbon (C) exchange between the atmosphere and biosphere. Temperature and moisture are generally regarded as the major controllers over the N effects on ecosystem C uptake and release. N-phosphorous (P) stoichiometry regulates the growth and metabolisms of plants and soil organisms, thereby affecting many ecosystem C processes. However, it remains unclear how the N-induced shift in the plant N:P ratio affects ecosystem production and C fluxes and its relative importance. We conducted a field manipulative experiment with eight N addition levels in a Tibetan alpine steppe and assessed the influences of N on aboveground net primary production (ANPP), gross ecosystem productivity (GEP), ecosystem respiration (ER), and net ecosystem exchange (NEE); we used linear mixed-effects models to further determine the relative contributions of various factors to the N-induced changes in these parameters. Our results showed that the ANPP, GEP, ER, and NEE all exhibited nonlinear responses to increasing N additions. Further analysis demonstrated that the plant N:P ratio played a dominate role in shaping these C exchange processes. There was a positive relationship between the N-induced changes in ANPP (ΔANPP) and the plant N:P ratio (ΔN:P), whereas the ΔGEP, ΔER, and ΔNEE exhibited quadratic correlations with the ΔN:P. In contrast, soil temperature and moisture were only secondary predictors for the changes in ecosystem production and C fluxes along the N addition gradient. These findings highlight the importance of plant N:P ratio in regulating ecosystem C exchange, which is crucial for improving our understanding of C cycles under the scenarios of global N enrichment.
A new isoquinoline alkaloid (6), along with nine known ones (1-5, 7-10), was isolated from the plateau plant Corydalis hendersonii, which is used as a traditional Tibetan medicine. The structure of the new compound was elucidated as 9-methyldecumbenine C by spectroscopic evidence.
Three new alkaloids, N-hexacosanoylanthranilic acid (1), N-octacosanoylanthranilic acid (2) and N-eicosanoyltyramine (3), along with 19 known compounds, were isolated from the seeds of Notopterygium incisum, whose rhizomes are used as a traditional Tibetan medicine. Their structures were elucidated by 1D, 2D NMR spectra and ESI-MS spectrometer evidence.
Three new alkaloids, N-hexacosanoylanthranilic acid (1), N-octacosanoylanthranilic acid (2) and N-eicosanoyltyramine (3), along with 19 known compounds, were isolated from the seeds of Notopterygium incisum, whose rhizomes are used as a traditional Tibetan medicine. Their structures were elucidated by 1D, 2D NMR spectra and ESI-MS spectrometer evidence.
<P>Nitrogen (N) availability is a key regulator of carbon (C) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Anthropogenic N input, such as N deposition and fertilization, increases N availability in soil, which has important implications for an ecosystem’s C storage and loss. Soil respiration (Rs), which is the second largest C flux from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere, plays an important role in terrestrial C cycles. The direction and magnitude of the responses of Rs and its components to N addition have been widely evaluated, but it remains unclear how these processes change across multiple N addition levels. Here we conducted a two-year field experiment to examine the changes of Rs and its autotrophic respiration (Ra) and heterotrophic respiration (Rh) components along a gradient of eight N levels (0, 1 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 g m<SUP>−2</SUP> yr<SUP>−1</SUP>) in a Tibetan alpine steppe, and used structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the relative contributions of biotic and abiotic variables and their direct and indirect pathways regulating the Ra and Rh. Our results indicated that both Rs and Ra exhibited first increasing and then subsequent decreasing trends at the threshold of 8 g N m<SUP>−2</SUP> yr<SUP>−1</SUP>. In contrast, the Rh declined linearly with the N addition rate continuously increasing. SEM analysis revealed that, among various environmental factors, soil temperature was the most important one modulating Rs, which not only had a direct effect on the two Rs components, but also indirectly regulated the Ra and Rh via root and microbial biomass. These findings suggest that the nonlinear response patterns of Rs should be considered for better predicting terrestrial C balance, given that anthropogenic N input to the terrestrial ecosystems is increasing continuously.</P>
Traditional Tibetan medicine provides an abundant source of knowledge on human ailments and their treatment. As such, it is necessary to explore their active single compounds used to treat these ailments to discover lead compounds with good pharmacologic properties. In this present work, animal medicine, Osteon Myospalacem Baileyi extracts have been separated using a two-dimensional preparative chromatographic method to obtain single compounds with high purity as part of the following pharmacological research. Five high-purity cyclic dipeptides from chromatography work were studied for their dihydroorotate dehydrogenase inhibitory activity on recombinant human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase enzyme and compound Fr. 1-4 was found to contain satisfying inhibition activity. The molecular modeling study suggests that the active compound Fr. 1-4 may have a teriflunomide-like binding mode. Then, the energy decomposition study suggests that the hydrogen bond between Fr. 1-4 and Arg136 can improve the binding mode to indirectly increase the van der Waals binding energy. All the results above together come to the conclusion that the 2, 5-diketopiperazine structure group can interact with the polar residues well in the active pocket using electrostatic power. If some proper hydrophobic groups can be added to the sides of the 2, 5-diketopiperazine group, it is believed that better 2, 5-diketopiperazine dihydroorotate dehydrogenase inhibitors will be found in the future.
DMNG-3(3β-Methyl-[2-(4-nitrophenoxy)ethyl]-amino]con-5-enine), is a new and the potentially most potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitor recently obtained from conessine by N-demethylation and nucleophilic substitution reaction. In the present study, a step-down passive avoidance test was used to investigate whether DMNG-3 could modulate impairment of learning and memory induced by scopolamine, and a high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) method for the determination of DMNG-3 in biological samples was applied to study its pharmacokinetics and tissues distribution. Separation was achieved on C18 column using a mobile phase consisting methanol-water (70:30, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0ml/min. The intra- and inter-day precisions were good and the RSD was all lower than 1.30%. The mean absolute recovery of DMNG-3 in plasma ranged from 88.55 to 96.45 %. Our results showed oral administration of DMNG-3(10,25,50 mg/kg/day) can significantly improve the latency and number of errors and had a positive effect of improvement of learning and memory in mice in passive avoidance tests. The elimination half-life (T1/2) was 14.07±1.29, 15.87±1.03h, and the total clearance (CL) values were 0.70±0.11, 0.78±0.13 L/h/kg, respectively. The pharmacokinetic studies showed that DMNG-3 has a slowly clearance and large distribution volume in experimental animals, and its disposition is linear over the range of doses tested. The liver, small intestine, stomach, and large intestine were the major distribution tissues of DMNG-3 in mice. It was found that DMNG-3 could be detected in brain, suggesting that DMNG-3 can cross the blood-brain barrier. The present study shows that DMNG-3 can be possible developed as a new drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease in the future.
Langerhans cell sarcoma (LCS) is an extremely rare malignant disease with multi-organ involvement and a poor prognosis. LCS involvement of tonsil has not been previously reported. However, we present herein a 10-year-old Tibetan boy distressed by LCS arising on the pharyngeal tonsil. Owing to local traditions and customs, he endured a long period of treatment with traditional Tibetan medicine which provided only slight relief at best that delayed an accurate diagnosis and scientific medical treatment. Subsequently, based on CT and MRI scans, combined with pathology features positive immunophenotype for the CD1a and S-100 proteins confirmed the diagnosed of LCS. We performed a surgical resection along with a regimen of E-CHOP chemotherapy was prescribed as new protocols. As a result the patient complete remission symptoms and without relapse has been 20 months.
Although the rhizomes of Rheum nobile Hook. f. et Thoms (Polygonaceae) are widely used in Tibetan medicine, no previous investigations regarding the biological activities and rarely chemical constituents of this plant have been reported. As part of an ongoing search for novel bioactive agents, a phytochemical investigation of R. nobile led to the isolation of two new compounds Rheumone B (1) and piceatannol-4'-O-β-D-(6″-O-acetyl)-glucoside (2), together with 15 known compounds by gel filtration over Sephadex LH-20 and preparative HPLC. Their structures were determined by combined spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1-10 were evaluated for their ability to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydzyl (DPPH) radical and compounds 7-10 showed relatively strong scavenging abilities with IC50 values from 2.76 μM to 11.80 μM. In conclusion, naphthalene glycosides, stilbene glycosides, flavanols, especially anthraquinones are main chemical constituents of this plant. The ability to scavenge DPPH radical of compound 8 was the highest among compounds 1-10.
Although the rhizomes of Rheum nobile Hook. f. et Thoms (Polygonaceae) are widely used in Tibetan medicine, no previous investigations regarding the biological activities and rarely chemical constituents of this plant have been reported. As part of an ongoing search for novel bioactive agents, a phytochemical investigation of R. nobile led to the isolation of two new compounds Rheumone B (1) and piceatannol-4'-O-β-D-(6″-O-acetyl)-glucoside (2), together with 15 known compounds by gel filtration over Sephadex LH-20 and preparative HPLC. Their structures were determined by combined spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1-10 were evaluated for their ability to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydzyl (DPPH) radical and compounds 7-10 showed relatively strong scavenging abilities with IC50 values from 2.76 μM to 11.80 μM. In conclusion, naphthalene glycosides, stilbene glycosides, flavanols, especially anthraquinones are main chemical constituents of this plant. The ability to scavenge DPPH radical of compound 8 was the highest among compounds 1-10.
Inclusion complexation between veronicafolin, 3,5,4′-trihydroxy-6,7,3′-trimethoxyflavone, and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) was investigated by using ¹H NMR, IR, X-ray diffraction, thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), and elemental analysis in the solid state. The elemental analysis showed that the complex (1:1) of flavonol-β-CD·20H₂O with C 39.58% and H 5.75% has been formed. The phase solubility profile of the favonol by UV-Vis in solution in the presence of hydroxypfropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) was classified as A<sub>L</sub>-type, indicating the formation of 1:1 inclusion complex. And the calibration equation <i>y</i>=24148<i>x</i>+0.0075 (<i>r</i>=0.9999) and phase-solubility diagram y=0.4738x-2.0×10<sup>-7</sup> (r=0.9490) were obtained. Stability constant K<sub>s</sub> was calculated from the phase solubility diagram (K<sub>s</sub>=4.5×10⁶). Solubility of the veronicafolin was enhanced in the presence of HP-β-CD.
It was estimated that about 428 species of genus Corydalis are distributed all worldwide, with about 298, especially 10 groups and 219 species being uniquely spread in China. The genus Corydalis have been widely employed as folk medicines in China, especially as traditional Tibetan medicines, for treatment of fever, hepatitis, edema, gastritis, cholecystitis, hypertension and other diseases. The phytochemical studies revealed that isoquinoline alkaloids are its major bioactive ingredients. The extensive biological researches suggested its pharmacological activities and clinic applications against cardiovascular diseases and central nervous system, antibacterial activities, analgesic effects, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation and anti-injury for hepatocyte, and so on. As an effort in promoting the research of pharmacodynamic ingredients, this article presents an overview focusing on the distribution, phytochemical and pharmacological results of Corydalis species that have been applied in traditional Tibetan medicinal, hopefully to provide a reference for the new Tibetan medicine development from Corydalis plant resource.
The herbs used as the material for traditional Chinese medicine are mostly planted at mountain areas where there is appropriate weather condition. Due to the complex terrain condition in mountain area, the planting at such places is always associated with a scattered pattern, which inevitably bring difficulty to the work of accurate measurement for the planting area. Advanced research about monitoring the planting area for medicine-herb under complex environmental condition is so critical and meaningful for developing the medicine-herb planting to a large scale and an industry. Therefore, this research, taking the planting of Herpetospermum pedunculosum in Luding county as an example, utilizes RS&GIS: using the image data from TM and ETM datum as the remote sensing information source, integrating GPS data from quadrat survey on the spots, and analyzing on a GIS platform, to extract the planting area of H. pedunculosum in Luding county. The results indicate that: (1) the method and technology used to estimate the planting area of H. pedunculosum are feasible and can be applied to monitoring the planting area of medicine-herb at mountain area under complex environmental conditions: (2) the planting area of H. pedunculosum in Luding county is estimated to be 857. 246 acres by the methods utilized in this research, which is closed to the value from local statistical data with an error range less than 5%; (3) in consideration of those inevitable errorrs generating from the procedures such as remote sensing data acquisition, data preprocessing, data interpretation, and so on, and the fact that the classification of remote sensing data, which must be implemented by those above procedures, was used directly to extract the herb type, the accuracy of area estimation for the herb is significantly influenced by the accuracy of classification for herb type, and the estimated area is inevitably associated with some error.
High-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was successfully applied for the first time to isolate and purify four cis-trans isomers of coumaroylspermidine analogs from Safflower. HSCCC separation was achieved with a two-phase solvent system composed of chloroform-methanol-water (1:1:1, v/v/v) with the upper phase as the mobile phase. In a single run, a total of 1.3mg of N(1), N(5), N(10)-(E)-tri-p-coumaroylspermidine (EEE), 4.4mg of N(1)(E)-N(5)-(Z)-N(10)-(E)-tri-p-coumaroylspermidine (EZE), 7.2mg of N(1)(Z)-N(5)-(Z)-N(10)-(E)-tri-p-coumaroylspermidine (ZZE), and 11.5mg of N(1),N(5),N(10)-(Z)-tri-p-coumaroylspermidine (ZZZ) were obtained from 100mg of crude sample. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis showed that the purities of these four components are 95.5%, 98.1%, 97.5% and 96.2%, respectively. The chemical structures were identified by ESI-MS, (1)H NMR and (13)C NMR.
PURPOSE: A growing number of cancer survivors suffer high levels of distress, depression and stress, as well as sleep disturbance, pain and fatigue. Two different mind-body interventions helpful for treating these problems are Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery (MBCR) and Tai Chi/Qigong (TCQ). However, while both interventions show efficacy compared to usual care, they have never been evaluated in the same study or directly compared. This study will be the first to incorporate innovative design features including patient choice while evaluating two interventions to treat distressed cancer survivors. It will also allow for secondary analyses of which program best targets specific symptoms in particular groups of survivors, based on preferences and baseline characteristics.METHODS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The design is a preference-based multi-site randomized comparative effectiveness trial. Participants (N=600) with a preference for either MBCR or TCQ will receive their preferred intervention; while those without a preference will be randomized into either intervention. Further, within the preference and non-preference groups, participants will be randomized into immediate intervention or wait-list control. Total mood disturbance on the Profile of mood states (POMS) post-intervention is the primary outcome. Other measures taken pre- and post-intervention and at 6-month follow-up include quality of life, psychological functioning, cancer-related symptoms and physical functioning. Exploratory analyses investigate biomarkers (cortisol, cytokines, blood pressure/Heart Rate Variability, telomere length, gene expression), which may uncover potentially important effects on key biological regulatory and antineoplastic functions. Health economic measures will determine potential savings to the health system.
Rannasangpei (RSNP) is used as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, and neurodegeneration in China; however, its potential use in the treatment of vascular dementia (VD) was unclear. In this study, our aim was to examine the neuroprotective effect of RSNP in a VD rat model, which was induced by permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (2VO). Four-week administration with two doses of RSNP was investigated in our study. Severe cognitive deficit in the VD model, which was confirmed in Morris water maze (MWM) test, was significantly restored by the administration of RSNP. ELISA revealed that the treatments with both doses of RSNP could reinstate the cholinergic activity in the VD animals by elevating the production of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and reducing the acetylcholinesterase (AChE); the treatment of RSNP could also reboot the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and decrease malondialdehyde (MDA). Moreover, Western blot and quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) results indicated that the RSNP could suppress the apoptosis in the hippocampus of the VD animals by increasing the expression ratio of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) to Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax). These results suggested that RSNP might be a therapeutic agent in the treatment of vascular dementia in the future.
Zha-xun is widely used in Tibetan medicine and is also an international traditional medicine. This article would summarize the use status and research progress of Zha-xun by various ethnic groups all over the world, and the results show that it has various synonyms but most of them imply its most characteristic feature-outflow from the rock; Zha-xun resources are distributed in various places of the world, and its bearing spots are closely related to the geological structure; there are sharp arguments on the origins of Zha-xun, mainly including the minerals origin, biological fossils origin, biological origin, etc. Zha-xun has multiple functions and is mainly used to treat stomach disease, liver disease and rheumatoid arthritis in China, and premature ejaculation, impotence, vaginitis embolism in foreign countries. "Iron" Zha-xun is used into medicines both at home and abroad. According to ancient materia medica texts, it was mainly classified into five types, including gold Zha-xun, silver Zha-xun, copper Zha-xun, iron Zha-xun and lead Zha-xun mainly based on the predominance of color rather than the minerals contained. It is commonly believed by the domestic and foreign scholars that humic acid is the main medicinal part of Zha-xun, and their studies have found that it has a variety of pharmacological activities such as anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory, liver protection, analgesia, immune regulation, increasing sexual desire and fertility, antioxidation, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antiepileptic, antipsychotic, etc. This paper provides a scientific basis for the rational utilization of Zha-xun resources.
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