Water management impacts the soil microbial communities and total arsenic and methylated arsenicals in rice grains.

The bioavailability of the metalloid arsenic (As) in paddy soil is controlled by microbial cycling of As and other elements such as iron (Fe) and sulfur (S), which are strongly influenced by water management in paddy fields. In this study, we evaluated how water management affects As bioavailability by growing rice plants in a geogenic As-contaminated soil. We determined As speciation in soil porewater and the diversity of the associated microbial community.

Improved stability and oral bioavailability of Ganneng dropping pills following transforming lignans of herpetospermum caudigerum into nanosuspensions.

The present study was designed to improve storage stability and oral bioavailability of Ganneng dropping pills (GNDP) by transforming lignans of Herpetospermum caudigerum (HL) composed of herpetrione (HPE) and herpetin (HPN) into nanosuspension (HL-NS), the main active ingredient of GNDP, HL-NS was prepared by high pressure homogenization and lyophilized to transform into solid nanoparticles (HL nanoparticles), and then the formulated HL nanoparticles were perfused into matrix to obtain NS-GNDP by melting method. For a period of 3 months, the content uniformity, storage stability and pharmacokinetics test in vivo of NS-GNDP were evaluated and compared with regular GNDP at room temperature. The results demonstrated that uniformity of dosage units of NS-GNDP was acceptable according to the criteria of Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2015J.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 4-anilinoquinoline derivatives as novel potent tubulin depolymerization agents.

A series of novel 4-anilinoquinoline derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activities. Among them, 14h exhibited the most potent cytotoxic activity with IC values ranging from 1.5 to 3.

First Report of Gray Mold of Rhizoma paridis Caused by Botrytis cinerea in China.

Rhizoma paridis is a perennial, traditional Chinese medicinal herb. In May 2013, a disease was observed in an approximately 10 ha cultivated field in Enshi, Hubei Province, China. Approximately 80% of plants in the field were affected.

Effective protein extraction protocol for proteomics studies of Jerusalem artichoke leaves.

Protein extraction is a crucial step for proteomics studies. To establish an effective protein extraction protocol suitable for two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) analysis in Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.), three different protein extraction methods-trichloroacetic acid/acetone, Mg/NP-40, and phenol/ammonium acetate-were evaluated using Jerusalem artichoke leaves as source materials.

First Report of Root Rot on Atractylodes macrocephala (Largehead Atractylodes Rhizome) Caused by Ceratobasidium sp. in China.

Atractylodes macrocephala is a perennial herbaceous plant (family Asteraceae) native to China. The biennial root, Largehead Atractylodes Rhizome (LAR), is the most commonly used Chinese herbal medicine to prevent early pregnancy loss due to miscarriage. From summer 2010 to spring 2012, symptoms of root rot were observed on LAR in Xianfeng county, Enshi city, Hubei Province, China.

Neuroprotective effects of Tanshinone IIA on permanent focal cerebral ischemia in mice.

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether Tanshinone IIA (TSA) was neuroprotective in permanent focal cerebral ischemia and to determine the possible mechanisms of its neuroprotection. Mice were subjected to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion. The neuroprotection of TSA was investigated with respect to neurological deficit scores and infarct volume.

Beta-escin, a natural triterpenoid saponin from Chinese horse chestnut seeds, depresses HL-60 human leukaemia cell proliferation and induces apoptosis.

Beta-escin, a natural triterpenoid saponin isolated from the seed of the horse chestnut, is known to generate a wide variety of biochemical and pharmacological effects. The purpose of the present study was to examine the apoptotic and antiproliferative activity of beta-escin in HL-60 human acute myeloid leukaemia cells. Antiproliferative activity was examined by soft agar colony assay and the trypan blue exclusion method.

Comparison of cardioprotective effects of salvianolic acid B and benazepril on large myocardial infarction in rats.

In the present study, we compared cardioprotective effects of salvianolic acid B (Sal B) and the angiotension-converting enzyme inhibitor, benazepril, in rats with large myocardial infarction (MI). The large MI was produced by coronary artery ligation for 4 weeks in rats. The rats were divided into the following groups: sham operation; MI; MI + Sal B (100 mg/kg by a gavage, once a day for 4 weeks) and MI + benazepril (1 mg/kg by a gavage, once a day for 4 weeks).

Cardioprotective effects of hydroxysafflor yellow A on diabetic cardiac insufficiency attributed to up-regulation of the expression of intracellular calcium handling proteins of sarcoplasmic reticulum in rats.

Depressed sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA2a) and Ca(2+)-release channels (ryanodine receptor RyR2) are involved in diabetic cardiomyopathy, however, the implication of intracellular calcium handling proteins in SR is undefined. It was hypothesized that the down-regulation of the intracellular calcium handling proteins of SR is closely related to an up-regulated endothelin (ET) system. Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) is expected to ameliorate cardiac insufficiency which is mediated by the depressed intracellular calcium handling system in diabetic rat heart.

Comparison of cardioprotective effects using salvianolic acid B and benazepril for the treatment of chronic myocardial infarction in rats.

The aim of this study was to compare the cardioprotective effects of salvianolic acid B (Sal B) and the angiotension-converting enzyme inhibitor, benazepril, in rats with chronic myocardial infarction (MI) that resulted from a coronary artery ligation for 4 weeks. The rats were divided into four groups: those undergoing a sham operation; a MI group; a MI+SalB group (100 mg/kg by a gavage, once a day for 4 weeks); a MI+benazepril group (10 mg/kg by a gavage, once a day for 4 weeks). The following parameters were measured: echocardiographic, hemodynamic and hemorheological changes, angiogenesis, infarct size and cardiac remodeling and the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) of vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF).

Cardioprotective effect of salvianolic acid B on large myocardial infarction mediated by reversing upregulation of leptin, endothelin pathways, and abnormal expression of SERCA2a, phospholamban in rats.

Aim: To study the cardioprotective effect of salvianolic acid B (Sal B) on cardiac dysfunction. We hypothesized that hyperleptinemia may correlate with abnormal expression of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum ATPase 2a (SERCA2a), phospholamban (PLB) and endothelin-reactive oxygen species (ET-ROS) pathways in rats with large myocardial infarction (MI).

Methods: Large MI was produced by coronary artery ligation for 4 weeks in rats.

The correlation between angiogenesis and abnormal expression of SERCA2a, phospholamban and the endothelin pathway in heart failure, and improvement by puerarin.

Emerging evidence indicates that angiogenesis may be a potential new target in treating heart failure (HF). It was hypothesized that a lack of angiogenesis would correlate with an abnormal expression of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum ATPase 2a (SERCA2a) and phospholamban (PLB), and the activated endothelin (ET) pathway and oxidative stress in HF. If this is the case, such normal changes could be reversed by puerarin.

[Studies of soil embryological characteristics of the Salvia miltiorrhiza of Zhongjiang].

Objective: To study the characteristics of the SiO2/R2O3 in non-zonal purple soil in the light of the difference between the high yield and low yield of Salvia miltiorrhiza.

Method: Both the high yield and low yield drugs developed from the same parental material (k1cy) were chosen in the ecology area in Zhongjiang county, Sichuan Province. By using the air-dried drugs as sample, quadrat sampling method was used to calculat the production.