Abstract
Raw gypsum (RG) and calcined gypsum (CG) are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). RG is usually taken orally to resolve heat and diminish inflammation, while CG is only used externally to treat ulcerations and empyrosis. Calcination at different temperatures, three phase CG structures, namely, bassanite, anhydrite III, and anhydrite II, may be generated. We herein investigated the relationship between the phase structure and the efficacy of CG and the optimum phase structure for CG. RG has a compact structure, small pore size, weak anti-inflammatory effect, but no antibacterial effect, and has almost no effect on the repair of scalds. CG150 (bassanite) has a loose texture, large pore size and specific surface area, and certain antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, but it has a poor repair effect on scalds. CG750 (anhydrite II) has a compact structure, small pore size and specific surface area, and low antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, but it has a certain repair effect on scalds. Only CG350 (anhydrite III) has good performance in texture, pore size, specific surface area, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and scald repair. Our research has proved that the mineral properties and biological activities of CG are different due to different phase structures. CG350, namely, anhydrite III, is considered by our research to be the optimal phase structure as CG.
Highlights
IntroductionReferred to as “Shi Gao” in Chinese, it has been used as a mineral medicine in China for thousands of years
On treatment with 100, 250, or 500 mg/ml, the cell viability was above 90%, implying that raw gypsum (RG), CG150, CG350, and CG750 did not produce harmful toxicity. e LD50 of the RG group was 2853 mg/ml, that of the CG150 group was 1933 mg/ml, that of the CG350 group was 1304 mg/ml, and that of the CG750 group was 1685 mg/ ml
All samples had inhibitory effects on nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells (P < 0.01). e inhibitory effects of CG150 and CG350 on the release of NO were stronger than those of RG and CG750 (P < 0.01), and there was no significant difference between the effects of CG150 and CG350 (P > 0.05)
Summary
Referred to as “Shi Gao” in Chinese, it has been used as a mineral medicine in China for thousands of years. According to Chinese Pharmacopeia requirements, CG should be calcined at a high temperature until it is crispy and crushed. Studies have shown that three different phase structures, namely, bassanite, anhydrite III, or anhydrite II [5,6,7], will be produced when calcined at different temperatures. Previous studies only focused on changes of Ca2+ or whether the crystal water was utterly removed before and after calcination [8]. As far as we know, the changes of mineral properties of CGs with different phase structures or their antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and scald treatment effects have never been studied hitherto
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