Detection of Total Aflatoxins in Herbal Medicines Based on Lateral Flow Assay with Contamination Ratio Model.

In this study, we developed a colloidal gold immunochromatographic strip (CGIS) method that used the matrix-matched calibration curves of contamination ratio models to quantitatively determine the total aflatoxin in five herbal medicines. This approach addresses issues related to false results and poor accuracy associated with conventional methods. The CGIS was analyzed using a Vertu touch reader, and the matrix-matched calibration was established based on the absorbance ratios of the T and C lines, as well as the logarithmic values of the total aflatoxin concentrations.

Effects of typical plant growth regulator chlormequat chloride on alkaloidal compounds in Corydalis yanhusuo and molecular mechanisms.

The effects of chlormequat chloride, a typical plant growth regulator, on the medicinal herb Corydalis yanhusuo were investigated. A standardized field experiment was conducted to investigate the molecular mechanisms and variations in active compounds resulting from chlormequat chloride treatment. Samples of C.

Niche-specific evolution and gene exchange of Salmonella in retail pork and chicken.

Salmonella exhibits extensive genetic diversity, facilitated by horizontal gene transfer occurring within and between species, playing a pivotal role in this diversification. Nevertheless, most studies focus on clinical and farm animal isolates, and research on the pangenome dynamics of Salmonella isolates from retail stage of the animal food supply chain is limited. Here, we investigated the genomes of 950 Salmonella isolates recovered from retail chicken and pork meats in seven provinces and one municipality of China in 2018.

The pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of curcumin following inhalation administration in rats-A comparative analysis with oral and intravenous routes.

A sensitive and simple method using ultra-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed and validated to determine the concentration of curcumin in rat plasma and tissue samples. Emodin was selected as the internal standard (IS), and biological samples were pretreated with simple one-step acetonitrile precipitation. The calibration curves exhibited linearity within the range of 1-1000 ng/ml for both rat plasma and tissue samples.

Microstructure and digestive behaviors of inner, middle, and outer layers of pork during heating.

To investigate the effects of heat treatment on the microstructure and digestive behaviors of pork, meat samples were subjected to a 100 °C water bath for 26 min. The inner, medium, and outer layers were assigned and analyzed according to the temperature gradient. Compared to the raw samples, significant changes were observed in the microscopic structure of pork.

Discovery of baicalein derivatives as novel inhibitors against human pancreatic lipase: Structure-activity relationships and inhibitory mechanisms.

Human pancreatic lipase (hPL) is a vital digestive enzyme responsible for breaking down dietary fats in humans, inhibiting hPL is a feasible strategy for preventing and treating obesity. This study aims to investigate the structure-activity relationships (SARs) of flavonoids as hPL inhibitors, and to find potent hPL inhibitors from natural and synthetic flavonoids. In this work, the anti-hPL effects of forty-nine structurally diverse naturally occurring flavonoids were assessed and the SARs were summarized.

MIST: A microbial identification and source tracking system for next-generation sequencing data.

The Professional Committee of Microbiology of the National Pharmacopoeia Commission organized the drafting of the Technical Guidelines for Microbial Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), aiming to standardize the method process and technical indicators of microbial WGS and ensure the accuracy of sequencing and identification. On the basis of the Guidelines, we developed an integrated microbial identification and source tracking (MIST) system, which could meet the needs of microbial identification and contamination investigation in food and drug quality control. MIST integrates three analysis pipelines: 16S/18S/internal transcribed spacer amplicon-based microbial identification, WGS-based microbial identification, and single-nucleotide polymorphism-based microbial source tracking.

Rapid determination of 111 anti-infective drugs possibly added in cosmetics using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with scheduled multiple reaction monitoring.

Rationale: Illegal addition of anti-infective drugs to cosmetics at low concentrations has been found. The illicit addition of anti-infective drugs encompasses a wide variety of medications. The current sample purification methods are inadequate to detect all these compounds.

[Impurity profile analysis of amphotericin B using on-line two-dimensional high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry].

Amphotericin B (AmB) is a polyene-macrolide antimicrobial drug with a broad antibacterial spectrum and remarkable efficacy against deep fungal infections. It binds to ergosterol on the fungal cell membrane and alters its permeability, thereby destroying the membrane. AmB is a multicomponent antimicrobial medication that contains a wide range of impurities, rendering quality analysis extremely difficult.

Development of a Triphenylmethyl Alkylation Pre-Column Derivatization Method for HPLC Quantitative Analysis of Chemically Unstable Halogenated Compounds.

The primary limitations of the quantitative analysis of thermally labile halogenated compounds by traditional gas chromatography (GC) are the inadequacy of identifying the insufficiently volatile impurity (often with a high boiling point) and the difficulty in obtaining a standard substance with a reliable standardized assay. Taking the 4-(Chloromethyl)-5-methyl-1,3-dioxol-2-one (DMDO-Cl, ) as an example, we reported a triphenylmethanamino-derivatization method to overcome the challenges of the assay determination of such species. During the quantification of , the presence of GC-undetectable polymeric impurity poses a critical challenge in assessing the material quality.

Simultaneous Screening of 172 Veterinary Drugs by Modified QuEChERS-LC-MS/MS in TCM Galli Gigerii Endothelium Corneum.

An analytical method was developed for the screening of 172 veterinary drugs in traditional Chinese medicine Galli Gigerii Endothelium Corneum by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The samples were pretreated by a modified QuEChERS method. A Zorbax Eclipse plus C18 column (1.

A comprehensive technology strategy for microbial identification and contamination investigation in the sterile drug manufacturing facility-a case study.

Objective: A comprehensive strategy for microbial identification and contamination investigation during sterile drug manufacturing was innovatively established in this study, mainly based on MALDI-TOF MS for the identification and complemented by sequencing technology on strain typing.

Methods: It was implemented to monitor the bacterial contamination of a sterile drug manufacturing facility, including its bacterial distribution features and patterns. In three months, two hundred ninety-two samples were collected covering multiple critical components of raw materials, personnel, environment, and production water.

A novel alternative for pyrogen detection based on a transgenic cell line.

Pyrogen, often as a contaminant, is a key indicator affecting the safety of almost all parenteral drugs (including biologicals, chemicals, traditional Chinese medicines and medical devices). It has become a goal to completely replace the in vivo rabbit pyrogen test by using the in vitro pyrogen test based on the promoted 'reduction, replacement and refinement' principle, which has been highly considered by regulatory agencies from different countries. We used NF-κB, a central signalling molecule mediating inflammatory responses, as a pyrogenic marker and the monocyte line THP-1 transfected with a luciferase reporter gene regulated by NF-κB as an in vitro model to detect pyrogens by measuring the intensity of a fluorescence signal.

Description of Nesterenkonia aerolata sp. nov., an actinobacterium isolated from air of manufacturing shop in a pharmaceutical factory.

During our studies on the microorganism diversity from air of manufacturing shop in a pharmaceutical factory in Shandong province, China, a Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, cocci-shaped bacterium, designated LY-0111, was isolated from a settling dish. Strain LY-0111 grew at temperature of 10-42 °C (optimum 35 °C), pH of 5.0-10.

Preliminary comparative genomics analysis among Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii complex necessitates a reassessment of precise species associated with mastitis.

Aims: This study aimed to characterize the first complete genome of Corynebacterium parakroppenstedtii and clarify the evolutionary relationship in the Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii complex (CKC) by using comparative genomics analysis.

Methods And Results: The genome of isolate yu01 from a breast specimen was sequenced, and 35 CKC genomes were collected. Analysis of 16S rRNA, rpoB, and fusA suggested ambiguous identification, whereas ANI analysis assigned isolate yu01 as Coryne.

Species discrimination of multiple botanical origins of Fritillaria species based on infrared spectroscopy, thin layer chromatography-image analysis and untargeted metabolomics.

Background: Fritillaria Bulbus (FB), a precious medicinal herb renowned for its heat-clearing, lung-moistening, cough-relieving and phlegm-eliminating effects. In pursuit of profits, unscrupulous merchants have engaged in the substitution or adulteration of valuable varieties with cheaper alternatives. It is, therefore, urgent to develop effective technical approaches to identify FBs from adulterants.

Early-Life Exposure to Paraquat Aggravates Sex-Specific and Progressive Abnormal Non-Motor Neurobehavior in Aged Mice.

Early-life exposure to environmental neurotoxicants is known to have lasting effects on organisms. In this study, we aim to investigate the impacts of PQ exposure during early developmental stages and adult re-challenge in aged mice on non-motor neurobehavior. Two mouse models, which were exposed once during early life stage and re-exposure at adulthood, were created to explore the long-term effects of PQ on non-motor neurobehavior.

Specific biomarker mining and rapid detection of complex by recombinase polymerase amplification.

Objective: To mine specific proteins and their protein-coding genes as suitable molecular biomarkers for the Complex (BCC) bacteria detection based on mega analysis of microbial proteomic and genomic data comparisons and to develop a real-time recombinase polymerase amplification (rt-RPA) assay for rapid isothermal screening for pharmaceutical and personal care products.

Methods: We constructed an automatic screening framework based on Python to compare the microbial proteomes of 78 BCC strains and 263 non-BCC strains to identify BCC-specific protein sequences. In addition, the specific protein-coding gene and its core DNA sequence were validated with a self-built genome database containing 158 thousand bacteria.

Targeted trace ingredients coupled with chemometric analysis for consistency evaluation of Panax notoginseng saponins injectable formulations.

Evaluating the consistency of herb injectable formulations could improve their product quality and clinical safety, particularly concerning the composition and content levels of trace ingredients. Panax notoginseng Saponins Injection (PNSI), widely used in China for treating acute cardiovascular diseases, contains low-abundance (10%-25%) and trace saponins in addition to its five main constituents (notoginsenoside R, ginsenoside Rg, ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rb, and ginsenoside Rd). This study aimed to establish a robust analytical method and assess the variability in trace saponin levels within PNSI from different vendors and formulation types.

Isolation and identification of a novel vardenafil analogue, propoxy-vardenafil, found as an adulterant in a health supplement.

Background: A novel vardenafil analogue was detected from a health wine claimed to be anti-impotence during a special inspection in an online store.

Methods: The unknown compound was found by using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF MS). The characteristic product ions were similar to those of vardenafil.

Separation and structural characterization of unknown impurity in vancomycin by two-dimensional preparative liquid chromatography, LC-MS and NMR.

Vancomycin is an effective antibiotic used for the treatment of Gram-positive bacterial infections. During the analysis of vancomycin, an unknown impurity at the level of 0.5% was detected by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Isolation and characterization of a new oxyphenisatin analogue, oxyphenisatin propionate, from a processed plum intended as a weight loss product.

A new oxyphenisatin analogue was detected from a processed plum claiming to be a weight loss product without any side effects during the daily inspecting and monitoring of illegal adulterants in health supplements. An abundant peak caused our interest firstly owing to its identical fragments of m/z 224 and 196 in the MS/MS experiments with those of oxyphenisatin acetate. The chemical structure of the unknown compound was characterized by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography equipped with diode array detector and quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-DAD-Q-TOF/MS), followed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy experiments.