Autophagy plays a pro-apoptotic role in arsenic trioxide-induced cell death of liver cancer.

Objective: The effects of arsenic trioxide (AsO) on hepatocellular carcinoma have been documented widely. Autophagy plays dual roles in the survival and death of cancer cells. Therefore, we investigated the exact role of autophagy in AsO-induced apoptosis in liver cancer cells.

Discrimination of Baphicacanthis Cusiae Rhizoma et radix and its adulterant species and establishment of an assay method for quality control.

Background: Baphicacanthis Cusiae Rhizoma et Radix, commonly known as Nan-Ban-Lan-Gen (NBLG), is an essential traditional Chinese medicine that possesses diverse bioactivities, particularly noteworthy for its antiviral properties. Although NBLG has been listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia as an independent Chinese medicine, the establishment of a comprehensive quality standard for NBLG remains elusive. The absence of assay for marker compound in its quality standards has led to the lack of corresponding quality control measures for NBLG-containing preparations, and its discrimination from adulterant species in the market which thereby can significantly impact the efficacy and safety of NBLG-containing products.