Four iridoid glucosides, shanzhiside methyl ester, phloyoside II, chlorotuberside, and penstemonoside, were isolated and purified from an herbal medicinal plant for the first time by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) using a two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate-n-butanol-water (5:14:12, v/v/v). A total of 37mg of shanzhiside methyl ester, 29mg of phloyoside II, 27mg of chlorotuberside, and 21mg of penstemonoside with the purity of 99.2%, 98.5%, 97.3%, and 99.3%, respectively, were obtained in one-step separation within 4h from 150mg of crude extract. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of separation and purification of iridoid glucosides from natural sources by HSCCC. The chemical structures of all the four compounds were identified by ESI-MS, (1)H NMR, and (13)C NMR.
BACKGROUND: This review aims to rate the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations in high-quality systematic reviews of non-drug therapies. Hypertensive patients who are resistant or non-adherent to antihypertensive drugs may be easier to manage if they choose alternative non-drug therapies for hypertension, based on this review.METHODS: P: Adults (>18 years), except pregnant women, with essential hypertension. I: Cupping, moxibustion, acupuncture, acupoint stimulation, yoga, meditation, tai chi, Qi gong, Chinese massage, massage, spinal manipulation, biofeedback, device-guided breathing therapy, aromatherapy, music therapy, and relaxation approaches. C: 1. No treatment. 2. Sham therapy. 3. Conventional treatment, including antihypertensive drugs and lifestyle modification (e.g., exercise). O: 1. Change in the incidence of cardiovascular death. 2. Change in the incidence of myocardial infarction. 3. Change in the incidence of stroke. 4. Change in blood pressure (BP). 5. Efficacy rate of BP lowering. 6. Adverse effects (review specific). S: Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials, including meta-analyses and assessments of the methodological quality/risk of bias.
INFORMATION SOURCES: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, Cochrane library, PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Chinese Scientific Journal Database were searched. The bibliographies of the included articles were also searched for relevant systematic reviews. GRADE criteria were used to rate the quality of evidence in systematic reviews considering 6 factors, including risk of bias.
RESULTS: This review ultimately included 13 systematic reviews of 14 non-drug therapies (acupuncture, wet cupping, Baduanjin, blood letting, auricular acupuncture, music, massage, Qi gong, moxibustion, relaxation therapies, biofeedback, device-guided breathing, yoga and tai chi) based on the inclusion criteria. The quality of evidence was generally low, and weak recommendations were given for most therapies except massage and acupuncture plus antihypertensive drug. Based on the analyzed evidence, massage and acupuncture plus antihypertensive drug could benefit people who want to lower their BP and do not have contraindications for massage and acupuncture plus antihypertensive drug.
DISCUSSION/STRENGTH: The GRADE approach makes this review a unique reference for people who are considering the grade of quality of evidence in systematic reviews, the balance of desirable and undesirable consequences and the strength of recommendations to decide which intervention should be used to reduce BP.
LIMITATIONS: Many non-drug therapies were excluded due to the low methodological quality of their systematic reviews, and only 14 therapies were evaluated in this review. As no patient-important outcomes were reviewed, surrogate outcomes were used to rate the strength of recommendations. This approach may cause a decrease in evidence quality according to GRADE, but we argue that this is appropriate in the context of this review.
Introduction - Radix Gentianae Macrophyllae, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been frequently used to dispel rheumatism and ease pain. There are four species of <i>Gentiana </i>(<i>G</i>. <i>macrophylla</i>, <i>G</i>. <i>straminea</i>, <i>G</i>. <i>dahurica</i> and <i>G</i>. <i>crassicaulis</i>) recorded as herbal drugs in the <i>Chinese Pharmacopoeia </i>and two other <i>Gentiana</i> species (<i>G</i>. <i>officinalis</i> and <i>G</i>. <i>siphonantha</i>) are often used as substitutes. Currently, the LC fingerprint comparison among different species and evidence for the equivalent application of these herbs are lacking.<br>Objective - To develop an HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of four iridoid and secoiridoid glycosides and a comparative study of six species of <i>Gentiana</i>.<br>Methodology - HPLC analysis was performed on a C<sub>18</sub> column (Phenomenex, 150 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm particle size) with gradient elution using 0.4% aqueous phosphoric acid and methanol at 242 nm.<br>Results - The proposed method was precise, accurate and sensitive enough for simultaneous quantitative evaluation of four iridoid and secoiridoid glycosides (loganic acid, swertiamarin, gentiopicroside and sweroside) in the six species of <i>Gentiana</i>. Contents of the four marker compounds varied from each other even among the samples from the same species and the LC chromatograms of the six species of <i>Gentiana</i> showed high similarities.<br>Conslusion - The close similarity of LC chromatograms and chemical composition of the four genuine <i>Gentiana</i> species explain their popular usage as Radix Gentianae Macrophyllae in Chinese medicine. By comparing the four genuine <i>Gentiana</i> species, it is suggested that the two substitutes could be used as Radix Gentianae Macrophyllae to relieve the scarcity of resources. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.<br>An HPLC method has been developed for simultaneous determination of four iridoid and secoiridoid glycosides and the fingerprints of the six <i>Gentiana</i> species was analyzed and compared. The close similarity of LC chromatograms and chemical composition of the four <i>Gentiana</i> species (<i>G. macrophylla</i>, <i>G. straminea</i>, <i>G. dahurica</i> and <i>G. crassicaulis</i>) explain their popular usage as Radix Gentianae Macrophyllae in Chinese medicine. By comparing the four genuine <i>Gentiana</i> species, it is suggested that <i>G. officinalis</i> and <i>G. siphonantha</i> could be used as Radix Gentianae Macrophyllae to relieve the scarcity of resources.
A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method with diode array detection was established to simultaneously determine the seven bioactive lignans in <i>Herpetospermum caudigerum</i>, namely ent-isolariciresinol (<b>1</b>), dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (<b>2</b>), herpetrione (<b>3</b>), herpetin (<b>4</b>), herpetetrone (<b>5</b>), herpetotriol (<b>6</b>) amd herpetal (<b>7</b>). The HPLC assay was performed on a Restek Pinnacle DB C<sub>18</sub> column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) with gradient elution of acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid within 65 min. The detection wavelength was 240 nm. The flow-rate was 1.0 mL/min. All calibration curves showed good linearity (<i>r</i>² > 0.9998) within test ranges. The method was reproducible with intra- and inter-day variation of less than 1.98%. The method provided good accuracy with recoveries in the range 95.19-102.64% with RSDs less than 1.52%. The method was successfully applied to the quantification of seven constituents in 15 <i>H. caudigerum</i> samples collected from different cities. The results indicated that the developed assay could be considered as a suitable quality control method for <i>H. caudigerum</i>. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A chemometrics-assisted excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence method is presented for simultaneous determination of umbelliferone and scopoletin in Tibetan medicine Saussurea laniceps (SL) and traditional Chinese medicine Radix angelicae pubescentis (RAP). Using the strategy of combining EEM fluorescence data with second-order calibration method based on the alternating trilinear decomposition (ATLD) algorithm, the simultaneous quantification of umbelliferone and scopoletin in the two different complex systems was achieved successfully, even in the presence of potential interferents. The pretreatment is simple due to the "second-order advantage" and the use of "mathematical separation" instead of awkward "physical or chemical separation". Satisfactory results have been achieved with the limits of detection (LODs) of umbelliferone and scopoletin being 0.06ngmL(-1) and 0.16ngmL(-1), respectively. The average spike recoveries of umbelliferone and scopoletin are 98.8±4.3% and 102.5±3.3%, respectively. Besides, HPLC-DAD method was used to further validate the presented strategy, and t-test indicates that prediction results of the two methods have no significant differences. Satisfactory experimental results imply that our method is fast, low-cost and sensitive when compared with HPLC-DAD method.
Context: Standardized myrtol, an essential oil containing primarily cineole, limonene and α-pinene, has been used for treating nasosinusitis, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Objective: To investigate the effects of standardized myrtol in a model of acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS).Materials and methods: Male BALB/c mice were treated with standardized myrtol for 1.5 h prior to exposure of atomized LPS. Six hours after LPS challenge, lung injury was determined by the neutrophil recruitment, cytokine levels and total protein concentration in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in the lung tissue. Additionally, pathological changes and NF-κB activation in the lung were examined by haematoxylin and eosin staining and western blot, respectively.Results: In LPS-challenged mice, standardized myrtol at a dose of 1200 mg/kg significantly inhibited the neutrophile counts (from 820.97 ± 142.44 to 280.42 ± 65.45, 103/mL), protein concentration (from 0.331 ± 0.02 to 0.183 ± 0.01, mg/mL) and inflammatory cytokines level (TNF-α: from 6072.70 ± 748.40 to 2317.70 ± 500.14, ng/mL; IL-6: from 1184.85 ± 143.58 to 509.57 ± 133.03, ng/mL) in BALF. Standardized myrtol also attenuated LPS-induced MPO activity (from 0.82 ± 0.04 to 0.48 ± 0.06, U/g) and pathological changes (lung injury score: from 11.67 ± 0.33 to 7.83 ± 0.79) in the lung. Further study demonstrated that standardized myrtol prevented LPS-induced NF-κB activation in lung tissues.Discussion and conclusion: Together, these data suggest that standardized myrtol has the potential to protect against LPS-induced airway inflammation in a model of ALI.
With the application of artificial fertilizers and pesticides, the quality of the artificial medicinal plants has been found to be in a marked decline. The present paper focuses on the separation of endophytes from wild <i>Angelica sinensis</i> and the effects of endophytes on the growth of <i>A. sinensis</i> and synthesis of secondary metabolites. In this study, the endophytes, namely actinomycetes, fungi, and bacteria, were isolated. Z-ligustilide and ferulic acid were analyzed by HPLC. Our results confirmed that the contents of Z-ligustilide and ferulic acid showed an obvious increase on adding the endophytic fungi, but the additions of the endophytic actinomycetes and bacteria had shown inhibiting effects. Compared with the control group, the contents of Z-ligustilide and ferulic acid in the fungi group increased by 4.12- and 6.53-fold, respectively. This work demonstrates the fact that endophytic fungi can enhance the growth of plants and the production of natural products in <i>A. sinensis.</i>
OBJECTIVE: To study the heat processing technics of Nanhanshuishi.METHOD: To find the best processing technic, the single factor experiments and orthogonal experiments were designed basing on the processing technics summarized by consulting documents, scriptures and investigating some Tibetan hospitals, meanwhile, the content of Ca, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu in the processed Nanhanshuishi in single factor experiments and orthogonal experiments were detected.
RESULT: The best processing technic of Nanhanshuishi was as follows: Nanhanshuishi was crashed to 10-20 mm in diameter, the ratio of the weight of Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix and potassium nitrate was 1: 2, and the boiling time was 3 h.
CONCLUSION: The work in this article provided a basic processing technic data for clarifying the mechanism of processing and establishing the perfect processing technics of Nanhanshuishi.
INTRODUCTION: Qigong exercise offers a potentially safe, low-cost and effective mind-body rehabilitative intervention for mitigating the problem of gait interruption among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) who have frequent freezing of gait (FOG) episodes. However, its clinical effects have not been established. This paper describes the trial protocol of evaluating the clinical efficacy of a newly developed Integrated Qigong in improving gait among patients with PD who have FOG.METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A single-blind randomised controlled trial is designed to compare Integrated Qigong and balance training with an attention control. Participants will be patients with mild to moderate PD who experience FOG and are recruited from local communities in Shanghai, China. Participants will be randomly allocated to one of the three groups: Integrated Qigong group, a balance exercise intervention group, or control group. The total number of participants will be 126, and masked assessments will be made at baseline, 12 weeks (end of intervention) and 12-week follow-up. Both Integrated Qigong group and balance training group will receive a group-based exercise intervention that meets three times per week, 60 min in duration, for 12 weeks. The control group will receive a 60 min weekly group session and monthly health education. The primary outcomes are gait parameters (stride length, gait velocity, stride time variability) and occurrence of FOG. The secondary outcomes are postural instability, walking disability, falling, fear of falling and quality of life.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanghai University of Sport and registered at China Clinical Trial Registry. Participants will sign informed consent prior to the participation of the trial. The findings of the study will be published in peer-reviewed academic journals and disseminated to PD support groups, medical community and media.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR1800016570.
Four different extracts of Oxytropis falcata, including the aerial aqueous extract, and the underground aqueous extract, the aerial lipophilic extract, and the underground lipophilic extract were prepared and then administrated orally to mice at the maximum dose (50 g x kg(-1) x d(-1) calculated by raw material) for fifteen days respectively. Compared with the control group, which was administrated of 1.0% tween-80, the treatment groups did not show significant differences in appearance and behavior. However, the organcoefficient, blood biochemical indicator and pathological section results showed that the lipophilic extracts of the aerial and underground parts of O. flacata showed mild injury to the liver of mice, while the aerial and underground aqueous extracts and the underground lipophilic extract showed mild toxicity to the kidney of male mice. Chemical analysis showed that the lipophilic extracts of the aerial and underground parts, especially aerial lipophilic extract, consisted of large amount of flavonoid aglycones with little amount of polysaccharides and proteins, while the aqueous extracts contained much polysaccharides and proteins with almost no flavonoid aglycones detected.
Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) practice is currently intentionally applied in clinical populations, especially those with cardiovascular diseases because of its potential benefits on the autonomic nervous system. The long-term effect of TCC practice on heart rate variability (HRV) remains largely unknown. In this study, we recruited 23 TCC practitioners whose experience averaged approximately 21 years and 19 controls matched by age, sex and education to examine the effect of TCC practice on the autonomic nervous system during a resting state and during an abdominal breathing state. HRV was measured by traditional electrocardiogram (ECG) recording. The results showed that the low frequency, total power frequency, and normalized low frequency components and the low-frequency/high-frequency ratio were significantly higher, whereas the normalized high frequency was significantly lower in the TCC practitioners relative to controls during the abdominal breathing state. However, we did not detect any significant difference in the HRV measures during the resting state between the two groups. Additionally, TCC experience did not correlate with HRV components either in the abdominal state or the resting state in the TCC group. Considering all of these findings, we suggest that TCC improves vagal activity and the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity during the relaxation state. This study also provides direct physiological evidence for the role of TCC practice in relaxation.
ObjectiveTo provide scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of forest bathing as a natural therapy for human hypertension.
Methods
Twenty-four elderly patients with essential hypertension were randomly divided into two groups of 12. One group was sent to a broad-leaved evergreen forest to experience a 7-day/7-night trip, and the other was sent to a city area in Hangzhou for control. Blood pressure indicators, cardiovascular disease-related pathological factors including endothelin-1, homocysteine, renin, angiotensinogen, angiotensin II, angiotensin II type 1 receptor, angiotensin II type 2 receptor as well as inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor α were detected. Meanwhile, profile of mood states (POMS) evaluation was used to assess the change of mood state of subjects. In addition, the air quality in the two experimental sites was monitored during the 7-day duration, simultaneously.
Results
The baselines of the indicators of the subjects were not significantly different. Little alteration in the detected indicators in the city group was observed after the experiment. While subjects exposed to the forest environment showed a significant reduction in blood pressure in comparison to that of the city group. The values for the bio-indicators in subjects exposed to the forest environment were also lower than those in the urban control group and the baseline levels of themselves. POMS evaluation showed that the scores in the negative subscales were lowered after exposure to the forest environment. Besides, the air quality in the forest environment was much better than that of the urban area evidenced by the quantitative detection of negative ions and PM10 (particulate matter <10μm in aerodynamic diameter).
Conclusion
Our results provided direct evidence that forest bathing has therapeutic effects on human hypertension and induces inhibition of the renin–angiotensin system and inflammation, and thus inspiring its preventive efficacy against cardiovascular disorders.
Two novel organic amide alkaloids, 4-[(<i>E</i>)-<i>p</i>-coumaroylamino]butan-1-ol (<b>1</b>) and 4-[(<i>Z</i>)-<i>p</i>-coumaroylamino]butan-1-ol (<b>2</b>), together with a rare pyridoindole alkaloid, hippophamide (<b>3</b>), were isolated from the seed residue of <i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> Linn. subsp. <i>sinensis</i> Rousi. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic means. The results show that compounds <b>1</b> and <b>2</b> are (<i>E</i>/<i>Z</i>)<i>-</i>isomers, compound <b>3</b>, a pyridoindole alkaloid concerted with <i>γ</i>-lactam ring.
Liver fibrosis is a severe health problem, threatening the life quality and causing death, raising great concerns worldwide. Shi-Wei-Gan-Ning-Pill (SWGNP) is a traditional Tibetan recipe used to treat hepatic injuries; however, its hepatoprotective mechanism has not yet fully clarified. In this study, histological staining, biochemical assays, and elements determination were applied to evaluate the anti-fibrotic efficacy of SWGNP on a carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced hepato-fibrosis rat model. NMR-based metabolomics combined with orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), canonical regression analysis, and correlation networks analysis was used to characterize the potential biomarkers as well as metabolic pathways associated with the hepatoprotective activity of SWGNP. The results showed that SWGNP could significantly attenuate the pathological changes and decrease the levels of fibrosis markers (ColIV, HA, LN, and PCIII), and regulate the disordered elements distribution. Multivariate analysis and correlation network analysis revealed that SWGNP could protect rats against CCl4-induced liver fibrosis through anti-oxidation, repairing the impaired energy metabolisms and reversing the disturbed amino acids and nucleic acids metabolisms. In conclusion, this integrated metabolomics approach provided new insights into the mechanism of the hepatoprotective effect of SWGNP in liver fibrosis disease.
Around 70-80% of drugs used in traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) come from Qinghai Tibet Plateau, the majority of which are plants. The biological and medicinal culture diversity on Qinghai Tibet Plateau are amazing and constitute a less tapped resource for innovative drug research and development. Meanwhile, the problem of the exhausting Tibetan medicine resources is worrying. Here, the latest awareness, as well as the gaps of the traditional Tibetan medicinal plant issues in drug development and clinical usage of TTM compounds, was systematically reviewed and highlighted. The TTM resource studies should be enhanced within the context of deeper and more extensive investigations of molecular biology and genomics of TTM plants, phytometabolites and metabolomics and ethnopharmacology-based bioactivity, thus enabling the sustainable conservation and exploitation of Tibetan medicinal resource.
Around 70-80% of drugs used in traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) come from Qinghai Tibet Plateau, the majority of which are plants. The biological and medicinal culture diversity on Qinghai Tibet Plateau are amazing and constitute a less tapped resource for innovative drug research and development. Meanwhile, the problem of the exhausting Tibetan medicine resources is worrying. Here, the latest awareness, as well as the gaps of the traditional Tibetan medicinal plant issues in drug development and clinical usage of TTM compounds, was systematically reviewed and highlighted. The TTM resource studies should be enhanced within the context of deeper and more extensive investigations of molecular biology and genomics of TTM plants, phytometabolites and metabolomics and ethnopharmacology-based bioactivity, thus enabling the sustainable conservation and exploitation of Tibetan medicinal resource.
Around 70–80% of drugs used in traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) come from Qinghai Tibet Plateau, the majority of which are plants. The biological and medicinal culture diversity on Qinghai Tibet Plateau are amazing and constitute a less tapped resource for innovative drug research and development. Meanwhile, the problem of the exhausting Tibetan medicine resources is worrying. Here, the latest awareness, as well as the gaps of the traditional Tibetan medicinal plant issues in drug development and clinical usage of TTM compounds, was systematically reviewed and highlighted. The TTM resource studies should be enhanced within the context of deeper and more extensive investigations of molecular biology and genomics of TTM plants, phytometabolites and metabolomics and ethnopharmacology-based bioactivity, thus enabling the sustainable conservation and exploitation of Tibetan medicinal resource.
This paper is in order to discussion with the composition and characteristics of Tibetan medicine plant resources, and promote the reasonable protection and utilization of the resources of Tibetan materia medica. Statistical analysis of species, distributions, and others of Chinese endemic seed plant from Tibetan medicine plants and usually used in the clinic of Tibetan medicine. The results showed that there are 523 species (25%) of Chinese endemic seed plant, belonging to 65 families and 162 genera, in about 2 000 varieties of Tibetan medicine plants recorded in relevant literatures. There are 180 Chinese endemic seed plant species (28%) belonging to 42 families and 72 genera from 625 medicine plants usually used in the clinic of Tibetan medicine. Specifically, the most of these Chinese endemic seed plant species are characteristic crude drug used in Tibetan medicine, and mainly or only distributed in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. And a few species of them were intersected with traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) and other ethnic medicines. In addition, about 10% are listed in China Species Red List. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the most abundant areas of Areal-types of the Chinese endemic seed plant. This is the biological and ecological reason formation the characteristics of Tibetan medicine plant resources. Therefore, strengthen the research of Chinese endemic seed plants used in Tibetan medicine is great significance for the reasonable protection and utilization of Tibetan medicine plant resources.
A new triterpenoid, namely myricarin C (compound 1), together with three known compounds myricarin A (compound 2) and myricarin B (compound 3), 3α-hydroxy-D-friedoolean-14-en-28-oic acid (compound 4), was isolated from the overground part of Myricaria squamosa. Compound 2 and compound 3 existed in the solution by the form of cis-trans isomers. Their structures were elucidated by means of extensive spectroscopic methods, including 1D-NMR, 2D-NMR, and HR-ESI-MS. The antioxidant properties of all compounds were calculated based on the DPPH radical scavenging activities. Results showed that myricarin A and myricarin C had general antioxidant activities with EC50 values of 40.90 μg/ml, 42.22 μg/ml, respectively, compared to the control, rutin (5.17 μg/ml). The EC50 values of myricarin B was 195.81 μg/ml. Compound 4 had no antioxidant activities.
Two new compounds, deacetylisowortmins A (1) and B (2), were isolated from Talaromyces wortmannii LGT-4. Their structures were established by 1D and 2D NMR spectra, as well as comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectra. Monoamine oxidase and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities of 1 and 2 were also evaluated.
Two new compounds Talaromycin A (1) and Talaromycin B (2) were isolated from a liquid culture of Talaromyces aurantiacus. The structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated by IR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectra and comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectra. Additional known compounds (3-6) were also isolated. These compounds were tested for monoamine oxidase, acetylcholinesterase and PI3K inhibitory activity, but showed only weak activity.
Most species of <ce:italic>Gentianaceae</ce:italic> in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are traditional Tibetan medicines which were used for stabilizing liver functions and improving the gallbladder. They were used for curing hepatitis, cholecystitis and other diseases. We have studied the chemical composition of 12 species of Gentianaceae and extracted 17 xanthone glycosides. Nine of them are new natural products. Pharmacological studies showed that xanthone C-glycosides is beneficial to the gallbladder and that xanthone O-glycosides is the effective component in curing hepatitis.
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