Association between improved dysphagia and increased trunk muscle mass in older patients with stroke undergoing convalescent rehabilitation.

Objective: The association between dysphagia and activities of daily living in patients with stroke has been reported, but the effect of improved dysphagia on the increase in trunk muscle mass is not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between improved dysphagia and increased trunk muscle mass in older patients with stroke.

Research Methods & Procedures: This retrospective, case-control study enrolled patients with stroke aged ≥65 years.

Quantitative Determination of Carthamin in Carthamus Red by 1H-NMR Spectroscopy.

Carthamus Red is a food colorant prepared from the petals of Carthamus tinctorius (Asteraceae) whose major pigment is carthamin. Since an authentic carthamin standard is difficult to obtain commercially for the preparation of calibration curves in HPLC assays, we applied (1)H-NMR spectroscopy to the quantitative determination of carthamin in commercial preparations of Carthamus Red. Carthamus Red was repeatedly extracted in methanol and the extract was dissolved in pyridine-d(5) containing hexamethyldisilane (HMD) prior to (1)H-NMR spectroscopic analysis.

New lignan glycosides from Chinese medicinal plant, Sinopodophillum emodi.

Two new podophillotoxin glucosides, L-picropodophillotpxin 7'-O-(beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside) (2) and L-picropodophillotpxin 7'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3), were isolated from Chinese medicinal plant, Sinopodophillum emodi, together with 4 known compounds, podophillotoxin (1), podorhizol 4'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (4), deoxypodophillotoxin (5), and dehydropodophillotoxin (6). The structures of 2 and 3 were finally determined by the extensive decouping and nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) experiments in NMR spectra and circular dichroism (CD) spectra. Compound 2 is the second example of podophillotoxin diglucoside, and both the first one and 2 were isolated from S.