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BACKGROUND: Meconopsis horridula Hook (M. horridula) has been used as a traditional Tibetan medicine to relieve heat and pain as well as mobilize static blood, and it is recognized as a good treatment for bruises. This study is the first trial to evaluate the tumor inhibitory activity of M. horridula extract and its underlying mechanism in the hope of providing evidence to support the anticancer function of M. horridula.METHODS AND RESULTS: M. horridula extract was cytotoxic to L1210 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. SEM (scanning electron microscope) observation revealed obvious morphological changes in L1210 cells after M. horridula treatment. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that the extract dose-dependently induced early apoptosis. Additional apoptosis parameters, such as alterations in nuclear morphology and DNA damage, were also observed. Furthermore, M. horridula treatment induced G2/M arrest. M. horridula treatment significantly increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, suggesting that ROS are a key factor in M. horridula-induced apoptosis. Volatile constituent detection found 15 abundant chemicals in M. horridula, which may contribute to its anticancer effect.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, M. horridula extract induced L1210 cell apoptosis and inhibited proliferation through G2/M phase arrest, and ROS were involved in the process.
[This study used a matrix game to explore adolescents' and young adults' flexibility of theory of mind (ToM) and to examine whether prediction could promote a person's ToM reasoning when the opponent's level of ToM changed during the course of the game. A total of 202 participants of different ages (13, 16, 19, and 24 years) were presented with the task. Results showed that the ToM flexibility in prediction and decision making was not significantly different across the age groups. A person's flexibility of ToM was better when the opponent's level was stable than when the level changed. It was even more difficult for a person to adapt when the opponent changed from a higher-order to lower-order level. The results showed prediction to be a kind of information clue that would prompt people to think further. It is both feasible and discriminative to explore even higher levels of ToM with matrix games.]
This study sought to establish a more reliable method of identifying the "monarch" or principal drug Radix inulae and its active component alantolactone (AL) in the Tibetan medicine Manuxitang. Radix inulae and AL in Manuxitang were effectively identified by thin layer chromatography (TLC). AL was quantitatively determined using gas chromatography in the range of 0.1-1.0 mug/mL (r = 0.9998). The precision was 1.20% (n = 6) with an average RSD of 1.74%. Recovery was in the range of 93.5-98.5% with RSD value of 1.85%. The methods established were simple, accurate, and specific and could be used for quality control of Manuxitang.
As a form of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine (TCAM), traditional Tibetan medicine has developed into a mainstay of medical care in Tibet and has spread from there to China and then to the rest of the world. Thus far, research on traditional Tibetan medicine has focused on the study of the plant and animal sources of traditional medicines, study of the histology of those plants and animals, chemical analysis of traditional medicines, pharmacological study of those medicines, and evaluation of the clinical efficacy of those medicines. A number of papers on traditional Tibetan medicines have been published, providing some evidence of the efficacy of traditional Tibetan medicine. However, many traditional Tibetan medicines have unknown active ingredients, hampering the establishment of drug quality standards, the development of new medicines, commercial production of medicines, and market availability of those medicines. Traditional Tibetan medicine must take several steps to modernize and spread to the rest of the world: the pharmacodynamics of traditional Tibetan medicines need to be determined, the clinical efficacy of those medicines needs to be verified, criteria to evaluate the efficacy of those medicines need to be established in order to guide their clinical use, and efficacious medicines need to be acknowledged by the pharmaceutical market. The components of traditional Tibetan medicine should be studied, traditional Tibetan medicines should be screened for their active ingredients, and techniques should be devised to prepare and manufacture those medicines.