Chinese Compound Research Articles

Fluorescent Properties of Hymecromone and Fluorimetric Analysis of Hymecromone in Compound Dantong Capsule

Fluorescence spectra of hymecromone (4MU) aqueous solutions are investigated at different pHs. Two fluorescent species of 4MU, neutral molecular form and anion form, are considered to be the main fluorescent forms. Quantum yields of the two forms are measured to be 0.74 at pH 5.98 and 0.95 at pH 9.75, respectively. The ionization constant of 7-hydroxyl proton of 4MU is determined to be by a pH-fluorescence method. Addition of methanol into 4MU aqueous solution leads to a blue shift of maximum emission wavelength from 445 nm to 380 nm, and a decrease in fluorescence intensity. 3D fluorescence spectra of Chinese patent drug Compound Dantong Capsule (CDC) and its four component herbal drugs are also investigated. Based on their fluorescent properties, a novel fluorimetric method is proposed for the selective determination of 4MU in CDC without preseparation. The new method is suitable for the routine quality evaluation of CDC.

The Use of Integrative Therapies in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Shanghai, China

Objective. To investigate the current use of integrative therapies (IT) in the treatment of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods. A cross-sectional, multicenter clinical epidemiological survey was conducted in 12 hospitals in Shanghai. We investigated the type and frequency of IT use and determined whether the use of IT correlated with demographic, social, or disease-specific characteristics in our patient population. Results. A total of 231 (89.5%) of 258 patients with ALS were eligible for the study and 229 (99% of all) of 231 reported the use of at least one IT for the treatment of ALS. Vitamins and Chinese herb decoctions, Chinese herb compounds, massage therapy, and acupuncture were the 5 most commonly used therapies. There was a strong association between education level, income, and use of IT. A household income of more than 75,000 RMB ($49,995) correlated with multiple IT use, and married patients used IT more often than single individuals. The main reasons for using IT were to treat weakness and fatigue, muscle atrophy, the development of ALS, depression, insomnia, limb pain or numbness, and side effects associated with Riluzole. Conclusion. The use of IT is common in patients with ALS in Shanghai. Vitamins and TCM are the most used additional therapies and the widespread and largely unexamined use of IT for ALS requires more attention.

Electrophysiological correlates of morphological processing in Chinese compound word recognition

The present study investigated the electrophysiological correlates of morphological processing in Chinese compound word reading using a delayed repetition priming paradigm. Participants were asked to passively view lists of two-character compound words containing prime-target pairs separated by a few items. In a Whole Word repetition condition, the prime and target were the same real words (e.g., , manager-manager). In a Constituent repetition condition, the prime and target were swapped in terms of their constituent position (e.g., , the former is a pseudo-word and the later means nurse). Two ERP components including N200 and N400 showed repetition effects. The N200 showed a negative shift upon repetition in the Whole Word condition but this effect was delayed for the Constituent condition. The N400 showed comparable amplitude reduction across the two priming conditions. The results reveal different aspects of morphological processing with an early stage associated with N200 and a late stage with N400. There was also a possibility that the N200 effect reflect general cognitive processing, i.e., the detection of low-probability stimuli.

Tongxinluo Improves Cardiac Function and Ameliorates Ventricular Remodeling in Mice Model of Myocardial Infarction through Enhancing Angiogenesis

Background. Myocardial infarction (MI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Tongxinluo (TXL) is a traditional Chinese compound prescription which has cardioprotective functions. The present study was aimed to determine the effect of TXL on postischemic cardiac dysfunction and cardiac remodeling and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Methods and Results. MI was performed by ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) in male adult mice. Mice were randomly divided into four groups: (1) sham group (Sham); (2) MI-control group (Control); (3) MI-low dose TXL group (TXL-L); and (4) MI-high dose TXL (TXL-H) group. Compared with the control group, TXL treatment restored cardiac function, increased revascularization, attenuated cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and reduced interstitial fibrosis. TXL treatment increased the phosphorylation of Akt, extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK), and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS); the expression of phosphatidylinositol3-kinase (PI3K), hypoxia-inducible factors 1α (HIF-1α), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF); and the DNA binding activity of HIF-1α after MI. Conclusion. TXL may improve cardiac function and ameliorate cardiac remodeling by increasing neovascularization through enhancing the phosphorylation of Akt and ERK, the expression and activity of HIF-1α, and the protein level of VEGF and p-eNOS.

Efficacy of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization combined with ganfule on advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with a Chinese compound preparation of ganfule on advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

FMRI evidence for the interaction between orthography and phonology in reading Chinese compound words

Compound words make up a major part of modern Chinese vocabulary. Behavioral studies have demonstrated that access to lexical semantics of compound words is driven by the interaction between orthographic and phonological information. However, little is known about the neural underpinnings of compound word processing. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we asked participants to perform lexical decisions to pseudohomophones, which were constructed by replacing one or both constituents of two-character compound words with orthographically dissimilar homophonic characters. Mixed pseudohomophones, which shared the first constituent with the base words, were more difficult to reject than non-pseudohomophone non-words. This effect was accompanied by the increased activation of bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and left angular gyrus. The pure pseudohomophones, which shared no constituent with their base words, were rejected as quickly as non-word controls and did not elicit any significant neural activation. The effective connectivity of a phonological pathway from left IPL to left IFG was enhanced for the mixed pseudohomophones but not for pure pseudohomophones. These findings demonstrated that phonological activation alone, as in the case of the pure pseudohomophones, is not sufficient to drive access to lexical representations of compound words, and that orthographic information interacts with phonology, playing a gating role in the recognition of Chinese compound words.

Antihyperglycemic effect of the traditional Chinese scutellaria–coptis herb couple and its main components in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Ethnopharmacological relevanceScutellaria–coptis herb couple (SC) is the main herb couple in many traditional Chinese compound formulas used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, which has been used to treat diabetes mellitus for thousands of years in China. In this study we provide experimental evidence for the clinical use of SC in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Aim of the studyTo confirm the anti-diabetic effect of SC extract and its main components, and to explore its mechanism from the effect on intestinal disaccharidases by in vivo and in vitro experiment. Materials and methodsSC extract was prepared and the main components (namely berberine and baicalin) contained in the extract were assayed with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). And diabetic model rats were induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ). After grouped randomly, diabetic rats were administered SC extract, berberine, baicalin, berberine+baicalin, acarbose and vehicle for 33d, respectively. Body weight, food intake, urine volume, urine sugars, fasting plasma glucose and fasting plasma insulin were monitored to evaluate the antidiabetic effects on diabetic rats. Intestinal mucosa homogenate was prepared and the activities of intestinal disaccharidases were assayed. Moreover, oral sucrose tolerance test (OSTT) was performed and the inhibitory effects of SC extract and its main components (berberine and baicalin) on the maltase and sucrase in vitro was evaluated. ResultsAfter the treatment of SC extract and its main components, the body weight and the fasting plasma insulin level were found to be increased while food intake, urine volume, urine sugars and fasting plasma were decreased. OSTT showed that SC extract and its main components could lower the postprandial plasma glucose level of diabetic rats. Furthermore, SC extract and its main components could inhibit the activities of intestinal disaccharidases in diabetic rats, whereas only SC extract and berberine could inhibit the activity of maltase in vitro. ConclusionsAccording to our present findings, scutellaria–coptis herb couple (SC) possessed potent anti-hyperglycemic effect on STZ-induced diabetic rats. And SC extract and its main components exerted anti-hyperglycemic effect partly via inhibiting the increased activities of intestinal disaccharidases and elevating the level of plasma insulin in diabetic rats induced by STZ.

Awareness of derivation and compounding in Chinese–English biliteracy acquisition

This study examines the intra- and inter-lingual relationships between first and second language morphological awareness and reading comprehension among grade 6 Chinese learners of English as a foreign language in China. Morphological awareness measures covered compounding as well as derivation. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that within both Chinese and English, compound and derivational awareness independently and significantly predicted reading comprehension. Cross-linguistically, Chinese compound awareness explained a unique proportion of variance in English reading comprehension, over and above English vocabulary knowledge, English compound awareness, and other related variables. Such a cross-linguistic effect, however, was not found of English compound awareness on Chinese reading comprehension. Derivational awareness in one language did not show a significant cross-linguistic relationship with reading comprehension in the other language, when other variables were considered. These results are discussed in light of the importance of morphological awareness to reading comprehension, cross-linguistic transfer of morphological awareness and a possible linguistic distance effect on such transfer, and the context of Chinese–English biliteracy acquisition.

Fuzheng Huayu inhibits carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis in mice through activating hepatic NK cells

Aim of the studyFuzheng Huayu (FZHY) is a Chinese compound herbal preparation which consists of six Chinese herbs. This study examines the preventative effects of FZHY on liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and explores its possible mechanisms of action. Materials and methodsLiver fibrosis was induced in male C57BL/6N mice by injecting a 10% CCl4 solution intraperitoneal twice a week for six weeks. After 6 weeks of treatment, serum ALT and AST assay, liver tissue histological examination and immunostaining were carried out to examine the liver function and fibrosis degree. The expression levels of alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA) were measured by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot. Hepatic natural killer (NK) cells were isolated from liver and evaluated by FACS. ResultsUpon pathological examination, the FZHY-treated mice showed significantly reduced liver damage. The expression of α-SMA increased markedly upon treatment with CCl4 and the increase was reversed by FZHY treatment. FZHY treatment also enhanced the activation of hepatic NK cells and the production of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). The protective effects of FZHY were reversed in the mice that were depleted of NK cells by anti-ASGM-1 Ab treatment. ConclusionsFZHY can efficiently inhibit CCl4-induced liver fibrosis. Furthermore, the depletion of NK cells attenuates the protective effects of FZHY. We conclude that FZHY could be an effective drug for liver fibrosis, and its mechanism of action involves the activation of hepatic NK cells.

Current development of rapid high-throughout determination technology for total components of traditional Chinese medicines and formula and synthetic immunity chip method

The qualitative and quantitative analysis on traditional Chinese medicine and formula components can be made by chemical and instrumental analysis methods. Of both, the instrumental analysis methods play a dominant role, including HPLC, HPLC-MS, HPLC-NMR, GC, GC-MS, biochemical and biological effect. But because traditional Chinese medicines and formula have complicated components, chemical methods are so unspecific that they shall be used less or with caution. While instrumental analysis methods are so specific that they are appropriate for analyzing complicated single component. The analysis techniques for multiple components of traditional Chinese medicines and formula focus on fingerprints, but all of these analysis techniques are limited by the pre-requisite of separation and the lack of general-purpose detectors and therefore being hard to realize the determination of all components of traditional Chinese medicines and formula. In the natural world, however, organisms identify native and alien components through specificity and non-specificity of clusters decided by antigens and antibodies. For example, components of traditional Chinese medicines are directly or indirectly synthesized into antigens and injected into animals, in order to generate specific antibodies and then collect cross reaction information of these components to specific antibodies. As for components without cross reaction, their contents shall be directly read out on the basis of the inhibition rate curve of competitive reaction for specificity of antigens and antibodies. Besides, a cross inhibition rate matrix shall be established first, and them a multiple regression linear equation between cross component concentration or concentration logarithm and inhibition rate by labeling the immunity competitive reaction between antibodies and haptens of traditional Chinese medicine and compound components, and then solved to obtain concentration of each component. The two results are combined to establish the synthetic immunity chip method for traditional Chinese medicine and formula components.

Morphological awareness in biliteracy acquisition: A study of young Chinese EFL readers

This study examined contribution of morphological awareness to reading comprehension in two typologically diverse languages, focusing on young Chinese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) readers in China. It was particularly interested in how cross-linguistic similarities and variations in morphological awareness affected its transfer in Chinese–English biliteracy acquisition. Grades 5 and 6 children were measured in compound awareness and reading comprehension in English, and compound awareness, radical awareness, and reading comprehension in Chinese. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that compound awareness contributed to reading comprehension within both Chinese and English. In addition, over and above English compound awareness and Chinese reading comprehension, Chinese compound awareness, but not radical awareness, explained a unique amount of variance in English reading comprehension. After Chinese compound awareness was controlled for, English compound awareness, however, did not make a significant contribution to Chinese reading comprehension. These findings were discussed in light of the common and language/script-dependent aspects of morphological awareness in Chinese and English and the context of biliteracy acquisition.

Effect of Huannao Yicong Prescription (还脑益聪方) extract on β-Amyloid precursor protein metabolic signal transduction-related protein in brain tissue of dementia model transgenic mouse

To observe the effect of Huannao Yicong Prescription (, HNYC, a Chinese medical compound) extract on β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) metabolic signal transduction related protein kinase C (PKC), tyrosine amyloid protein kinase (TrKA), and glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) in brain tissue of transgenic mouse dementia model induced by APP. Sixty dementia model transgenic 3-month-old mice induced by APP695V717I were randomly allocated in four groups: the model group (A), the Donepezil (0.65×10(-3) g·kg(-1)·(-1))-treated group (B), and the two HNYC-treated groups (C and D) with high dosage (2.8 g·kg(-1)·(-1)) and low dosage (1.4 g·kg(-1)·(-1)) of HNYC extract, respectively, 15 mice in each group. Besides, a normal control group was set up with 15 C57BL/6J mice with the same age and genetic background as the model mice. The drugs for treatment were administered once a day by dissolving in equal-volume distilled water through gastric infusion, continued for 6 months, to mice in group A and to normal control group equal-volume distilled water was administered instead. Spatial learning and memory capacity of mice were observed by Morris water maze; their one-time escape response memory capacity was tested by diving platform; and changes of PKC, TrkA, and GSK-3 levels in hippocampus and cortex of brain were detected by Western blotting. HNYC extract showed significant effects on increasing the time of model mice for swimming through the flat roof and the swimming time and path in the fourth quadrant P<0.05 or P<0.01). Diving platform test showed that the latent times in Groups B and C were longer than that in Group A significantly (P <0.05 and P<0.01). Compared with the normal control group, PKC and TrkA protein expression levels in hippocampus and cortex of model mice's brain lowered significantly (P<0.01), while GSK-3 protein expression increased significantly (P<0.01); compared with Group A (the model group), hippocampal and cortical levels of PKC protein expression in the intervened groups (B-D) as well as those of TrkA in Group C were higher (P<0.01 or P<0.05), while hippocampal levels of GSK-3 in intervened groups were lower (P<0.01). HNYC extract could obviously increase the protein expressions of PKC and TrkA and decrease the expression of GSK-3 protein in brain tissue of transgenetic mice model of dementia, and regulate APP metabolic signal transduction path, and thus to suppress the production of Aβ, which is one of the dominant mechanisms for improving learning/memory capacity of dementia model animals.

Quantitatively analyze composition principle of Ma Huang Tang by structural equation modeling

Ethnopharmacological relevanceIn Chinese classic formulas, Ma Huang Tang (MHT), composed of Ephedra, Cassia twig, Bitter apricot kernel and Prepared licorice, has been widely used to treat cold, influenza, acute bronchitis, bronchial asthma and other pulmonary diseases. However, there is no quantitative interpretation about composition principle of MHT as well as other Chinese compound prescriptions. This study was aimed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to decipher ‘monarch, minister, assistant and guide’ which is the unique and integrated composition principle of Chinese compound recipes, by taking MHT for instance. Materials and methodsSixteen prescriptions of different dose ratios were combined orthogonally from four herbal drugs of MHT, then their diaphoretic, antispasmodic and analgesic effects were assessed by the indicators of the rat sweating point number, the spasmolysis percentage of guinea pig trachea and the murine writhing number, respectively. Basing on SME, the systematology analysis method to complex causality, path diagrams for herbal drugs were drawn with the Amos software and the relationships of the four herbal ingredients and therapeutic effects were measured. ResultsSixteen recipes induced SD rats sweating, remitted spasm of guinea pig trachea smooth muscle, and relieved ICR mouse pain due to acetic acid in comparison with animal model group or normal control groups. Three different SME models were specified and the relevant relationship was analyzed. According to the results of measured standardized path coefficients, Ephedra exerts the greatest contribution to the integral potency, so it acts as the monarch drug in MHT; Cassia twig is slightly weakly effective than Ephedra, and has the most significant interaction with Ephedra, which shows that it is the minister drug; the direct effects of Bitter apricot kernel and Prepared licorice on the integral potency are non-significant, while these two drugs have very significant synergetic effect with Ephedra or Cassia twig, thus they can be interpreted as subordinate drugs to strengthen the therapeutical effects of the monarch and minister drugs; the higher interaction values of Bitter apricot kernel suggest that it is the assistant drug, and Prepared licorice is the guide drug with lower values. ConclusionSME can be used to quantitatively analyze the composition principle of Chinese compound prescriptions like MHT, which demystifies the ancient and classical system theory of traditional Chinese medicine from a totally new viewpoint.

Research of flavonoids in the extract of traditional Chinese medicine Xiasangju

Objective To study the chemical composition of traditional Chinese medicine Xiasangju compound extract.Methods The ethanol extract of different organic solvent extraction,silica gel column chromatography,chromatography separation and purification technology for the separation of compounds,the structures were elucidated by chemical and spectral data.Results Six fiavonoid components were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract,respectively, kaempferol( Ⅰ ),quercetin( Ⅱ ),luteolin( Ⅲ ),quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucoside (Ⅳ),luteolin-7-O-β-D-glucoside ( Ⅴ ) and rutin (Ⅵ).Conclusion The obtained compounds were isolated from compound Xiasangju for the first time. Key words: Xiasangju compound; Chemical composition; Flavonoids

Linguistic distance effect on cross-linguistic transfer of morphological awareness

ABSTRACTThis study examined transfer facilitation effect of first language morphological awareness on second language lexical inference ability among Grade 6 Chinese-speaking English as a foreign language learners in China. A set of paper and pencil tests was administered to measure children's morphological awareness and lexical inference ability in both Chinese and English. Results showed that the contribution of Chinese morphological awareness to English morphological awareness was larger for compound words than for derived words. In addition, the indirect effect of Chinese compound awareness on English compound word meaning inference was significant, but that of Chinese derivational awareness on English derived word meaning inference did not achieve significance. These findings confirmed that cross-linguistic transfer of Chinese morphological awareness was responsive to the linguistic distance between Chinese and English.

Chinese medicine single-walled carbon nanotube targeting compound for antitumor therapy: A feasible way?

Malignant cancer is the leading cause of death in man, exceeding cerebrovascular disease and heart disease. More than half of the total mortality due to malignant cancer is from lung, liver, intestinal and gastric cancer. Chemotherapy is one of the effective treatments for cancer. However, the great majority of Western anticancer medicines have considerable side effects. Herbal medicines offer many more advantages than synthesized compounds because they are made from purely natural compounds and have less adverse effects. However, the single administration methods used as standard in herbal medicine, and deficient drug targeting, severely limit their anticancer activity. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can be used as drug carriers. They have been modified to form Chinese anticancer medicine-SWNT compounds which can specifically target tumors, thereby significantly increasing the therapeutic effectiveness of these medicines. Water-soluble SWNTs have high stability. As a drug carrier, SWNTs functional modification of the anticancer medicine may improve the targeting and killing of tumor cells. SWNTs have been attached to the Chinese antitumor medicines paclitaxel and plumbagin and have achieved excellent therapeutic effects. Furthermore, choosing the best administration methods such as internal iliac arterial infusion, intravesical infusion and embedment of a hypodermic chemotherapeutic pump, may also improve the anticancer effects of Chinese medicine.

Dingxin Recipe (定心方) prevents ischemia/reperfusion-induced arrhythmias via up-regulating prohibitin and suppressing inflammatory responses

To identify the underlying mechanisms of the protective effects of Dingxin Recipe (: , DXR), a Chinese compound prescription that has been used clinically in China for more than 20 years, on ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced arrhythmias in rat model. A total of 30 rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham group, I/R group, and DXR-pretreated I/R (DXR-I/R) group. Rats in the DXR-DXRI/R group were intragastrically administrated with DXR (12.5 g/kg per day) for consecutive 7 days, while rats I/in the sham and I/R groups were administrated with normal saline. Arrhythmias were introduced by I/R and electrocardiograms (ECG) were recorded. Two-dimensional (2-D) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and matrix-matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) were used to identify assisted differentially expressed proteins. Immunohistochemistry, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-RQPCR), Western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were performed to analyze proteins PCR), obtained in the above experiments. DXR significantly reduced the incidence and mean duration of ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation and dramatically decreased the mortality, as well as arrhythmia score, compared with those of the I/R group. Among successfully identified proteins, prohibitin (PHB) and heart fatty acid binding protein (hFABP) were up-regulated in DXR-pretreated I/R rats compared with those of the I/R rats. In addition, compared with the I/R group, the level of glutathione (GSH) was elevated accompanied by reduced expressions of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and neutrophil infiltration in I/R rats with DXR pretreatment. DXR could alleviate I/R-induced arrhythmias, which might be related to increased expression of PHB. The enhanced expression of PHB prevented against the depletion of GSH and consequently inhibited apoptosis of cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, up-regulation of PHB might ameliorate I/R-induced cell death and leakage of hFABP by suppressing neutrophil infiltration and IL-6 expressions.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing Chinese patent medicines Compound Danshen Dripping Pills and Di’ao Xinxuekang in treating angina pectoris

Chinese patent medicines Compound Danshen Dripping Pills (DSP) and Di'ao Xinxuekang (DXK) capsules were both found effective in treating angina pectoris. However, there is no systematic review comparing their efficacy. This systematic review aims to compare the efficacy of DSP and DXK in treating angina pectoris based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing their efficacy. RCT reports published between 1994 and 2011 were retrieved from databases including China Doctoral Dissertations Full-text Database, Chinese Journal Full-text Database, China Master's Theses Full-text Database, Wanfang Data, Cochrane Library, Excerpts Medica Database, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE (EBSCOhost) and PubMed. The last retrieval was performed on April 7, 2011. RCT reports comparing the effects of DSP and DXK were included, regardless publishing language. Included RCT reports were assessed for their study quality by using the Jadad scale and the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Data including overall effect and electrocardiography (ECG) improvements were extracted from the included RCTs for meta-analysis. The effect sizes based on overall and ECG diagnosis were measured by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were also performed. Nine RCT reports with 926 participants were included. Eight were scored 2 and the other one was scored 4 by using the Jadad scale. The OR between DSP and DXK based on overall diagnosis was 2.06 (95% CI: 1.03-4.12; P(overall)=0.04). Six out of the nine included RCTs reported ECG data. The OR between DSP and DXK based on the ECG diagnosis was 1.92 (95% CI: 1.23-3.00; P(ECG)=0.004). The OR results were stable under subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis. DSP was consistently more effective than DXK according to meta-analysis, which was verified by subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis. However, more RCTs of higher quality are needed for further confirmation.

The Evaluation of Chinese Therapeutic Food for the Treatment of Moderate Dyslipidemia

The clinical efficacy of the Chinese therapeutic food (specifically hawthorn fruit and Chinese kiwifruit-extract compound) on dyslipidemia was evaluated in this placebo-controlled, double blind, paired clinical trial conducted in Melbourne, Australia. Forty-three participants diagnosed with moderate dyslipidemia and met the study criteria were randomly assigned to Group A or B, with baseline characteristics matched. Twenty-seven participants completed all the tests, the blood lipid profile including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and triglycerides (TG) was analysed. The traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis was made based on participants' symptoms and signs. The results indicate that a four-week intake of the compound increased the serum HDL-c levels by 5% (P = 0.026) and decreased the ratios of TC/HDL-c and LDL-c/HDL-c (P = 0.012 and P = 0.044, resp.). The placebo intake did not significantly change the blood lipid profile. In the initial 43 participants with dyslipidemia, 76.7% of them were diagnosed with “Spleen deficiency” and 58.1% with “Liver qi stagnation.” The intake of hawthorn fruit and Chinese kiwifruit extract compound may increase the serum levels of HDL-c and decrease the ratios of TC/HDL-c and LDL-c/HDL-c, therefore, may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Analysis of major herbs in Chinese herbal formula Jianpi Huoxue Decoction for improving intestinal permeability based on uniform design

To investigate the herbal medicines which play a main role in Chinese herbal formula Jianpi Huoxue Decoction for improving intestinal permeability and protect alcohol-induced liver injury and intestine damage, and to explore the analysis method for the material base of pharmacological effects of the Chinese herbal compound. Sprague Dawley rats were given Lieber-DeCarli ethanol liquid diet once daily for 6 weeks to induce alcoholic liver injury. In step one, U(17)(17(16)) table of uniform design was adopted to design the experiment and the eight herbs of Jianpi Huoxue Decoction were screened to seek the herbs which play the main role. Three and a half hours before the rats were killed, each rat was administered lipopolysaccharide once, then blood sample was collected from portal vein and endotoxin content in plasma was detected as the index of intestinal permeability. The data were analyzed by stepwise regression to find the herbal drugs which had the best effects and the compatibility ratio of these drugs. In step two, the rats with Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet-induced liver injury were divided into four groups to test and verify the results. According to the obtained regression equation, Rasux Paeonia Alba (Baishao), Rhizoma Alismatis (Zexie) and Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis (Wuweizi) were the main herbal drugs in Jianpi Huoxue Decoction in improving intestinal permeability, and the doses for rats were 1.33, 0.50 and 0.17 g/kg respectively. In the verification experiment, combination of Baishao, Zexie and Wuweizi significantly decreased the endotoxin level in plasma of rats with Lieber-DeCarli-induced liver injury and showed reliability. Baishao, Zexie and Wuweizi are the major herbs of Jianpi Huoxue Decoction for improving intestinal permeability. Uniform design is efficient in screening the major herbs or their optimal combination in a certain Chinese compound.