[Construction and immunogenicity of hCG chimeric peptides (CP1 and CP10) containing three self- B cell epitopes and six foreign T cell epitopes].

Two bio-synthesizing chimeric peptide (CP) immunogens named CP1 and CP10 have been designed, which consist of three linear B cell epitopes (BCE) of human chorionic gonadotropin beta subunit (beta-hCG) and six foreign T cell epitopes including two "promiscuous" TCEs from hepatitis B surface antigen and tetanus toxoid. Two artificial genes encoding CP1 and its derivative CP10 were synthesized, which could be expressed in E. coli at the level of about 1% of the total cell proteins when inserted into the thermo-induction vector respectively.

Chemical and biological assessment of a chinese herbal decoction containing Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis: Determination of drug ratio in having optimized properties.

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese medicinal decoction that is commonly used as a dietary supplement in treating woman with menopausal irregularity, contains two herbs: Radix Astragali (Huangqi) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui). The ratio of Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis used in DBT should be 5:1 as described in China in 1247 A.D.

Chemical and biological assessment of a traditional chinese herbal decoction prepared from Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis: orthogonal array design to optimize the extraction of chemical constituents.

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT) is a simple decoction, having about 800 years of usage in China to treat menopausal irregularity in women, which contains two herbs: Radix Astragali (Huangqi) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui). Traditionally, boiling water has been used for preparing DBT; however, the optimized conditions of extraction have not yet been determined. Here, the amounts of Radix Astragali-derived astragaloside IV, calycosin, formononetin, and Radix Angelicae Sinensis-derived ferulic acid and ligustilide were determined in DBT, which were extracted according to an orthogonal array experimental design having three variable parameters: extraction time, extraction volume and number of repeats of the extraction.

Chemical assessment of roots of Panax notoginseng in China: regional and seasonal variations in its active constituents.

Root of Panax notoginseng (Radix Notoginseng, Sanqi) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine and is mainly cultivated in Wenshan of Yunnan, China. The active constituents include saponin, dencichine, flavonoid, and polysaccharide; however, the levels of these components vary in different geographical regions of growth and also show a seasonal variation. By using high-performance liquid chromatography and spectrophotometry, the contents of notoginsenoside R1, ginsenoside R(g1), R(b1), R(d), dencichine, flavonoid, and polysaccharide were determined and compared with Radix Notoginseng collected from different regions of growth in China, as well as from different seasons of harvest and market grades.

Phylogeny of Astragalus in China: molecular evidence from the DNA sequences of 5S rRNA spacer, ITS, and 18S rRNA.

Radix Astragali (root of Astragalus; Huangqi) is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used as an immunostimulant, hepatoprotective, diuretic, antidiabetic, analgesic, expectorant, and sedative drug. Although the species of Radix Astragali have been defined as Astragalus membranaceus and A. membranaceus var.

A polysaccharide isolated from Cordyceps sinensis, a traditional Chinese medicine, protects PC12 cells against hydrogen peroxide-induced injury.

Cordyceps sinensis, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, possesses activities in anti-tumour, anti-oxidation and stimulating the immune system; however, the identity of active component(s) is not determined. By using anti-oxidation activity-guided fractionation, a polysaccharide of molecular weight approximately 210 kDa was isolated from cultured Cordyceps mycelia by ion-exchange and sizing chromatography. The isolated polysaccharide, having strong anti-oxidation activity, contains glucose, mannose and galactose in a ratio of 1 : 0.