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Irinotecan (CPT-11)-induced gastrointestinal toxicity strongly limits its anticancer efficacy. Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., especially flavonoids, has strong anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities. Herein, we investigate the protective effect of the total flavonoids of G. uralensis (TFGU) on CPT-11-induced colitis mice from the perspective of gut microbiota and fecal metabolism. The body weight and colon length of mice were measured. Our results showed that oral administration of TFGU significantly attenuated the loss of body weight and the shortening of colon length induced by CPT-11. The elevated disease activity index and histological score of colon as well as the up-regulated mRNA and protein levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in the colonic tissue of CPT-11-treated mice were significantly decreased by TFGU. Meanwhile, TFGU restored the perturbed gut microbial structure and function in CPT-11-treated mice to near normal level. TFGU also effectively reversed the CPT-11-induced fecal metabolic disorders in mice, mainly call backing the hypoxanthine and uric acid in purine metabolism. Spearman's correlation analysis further revealed that Lactobacillus abundance negatively correlated with fecal uric acid concentration, suggesting the pivotal role of gut microbiota in CPT-11-induced colitis. Since uric acid is a ligand of the NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, TFGU was further validated to inhibit the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome by CPT-11. Our findings suggest TFGU can correct the overall gut microbial dysbiosis and fecal metabolic disorders in the CPT-11-induced colitis mice, underscoring the potential of using dietary G. uralensis as a chemotherapeutic adjuvant., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Yue, Qin, Kang, Tao, Zhou, Chen, Jiang, Tang and Duan.)

Ultrasound (US) has become one of the most important techniques in green chemistry and emerging technologies. Many research investigations documented the usefulness of US in a wide range of applications in food science, nanotechnology, and complementary medicine, where effective extraction of natural products is important. However, as with all novel technologies, US has advantages and limitations that require clarification for full adaptation at an industrial scale. The present review discusses recent applications of US in herbal phytochemistry with the emphasis on US effects on chemical structures of bioactive compounds extracted from herbs and their bioactivities. The impact of different US processing conditions such as frequency, intensity, duration, temperature, and pressure on the effectiveness of the extraction process and the properties of the extracted materials are also discussed. Different frequencies and intensities of US have demonstrated its potential applications in modifying, determining, and predicting the physicochemical properties of herbs and their extracts. US has important applications in nanotechnology where it supports the fabrication of inexpensive and eco-friendly herbal nanostructures, as well as acoustic-based biosensors for chemical imaging of the herbal tissues. The application of US enhances the rates of chemical processes such as hydrolysis of herbal fibers, which reduces the time and energy consumed without affecting the quality of the final products. Overall, the use of US in herbal science has great potential to create novel chemical constructions and to be used as an innovative diagnostic system in various biomedical, food, and analytical applications., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Cinnamomum cassia Presl is a tropical aromatic evergreen tree of the Lauraceae family, commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is also a traditional spice, widely used around the world. This paper summarizes the achievements of modern research on C. cassia , including the traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology. In addition, this review also discusses some significant issues and the potential direction of future C. cassia research. More than 160 chemicals have been separated and identified from C. cassia . The main constituents of C. cassia are terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, glycosides, etc. Modern studies have confirmed that C. cassia has a wide range of pharmacological effects, including antitumour, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, anti-diabetic and anti-obesity, antibacterial and antiviral, cardiovascular protective, cytoprotective, neuroprotective, immunoregulatory effects, anti-tyrosinase activity and other effects. However, the modern studies of C. cassia are still not complete and more in-depth investigations need to be conducted in alimentotherapy, health product, toxicity and side effects, and more bioactive components and potential pharmacological effects need to be explored in the future.

Ginkgo ketoester tablets (GT) and donepezil were a clinically used combination for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of the study was undertaken to investigate the antiamnesic effects of the two drugs alone and in combination through in vivo models of the Morris water maze along with in vitro antioxidants, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE). The potential mechanisms were speculated by the activities of acetylcholine (ACh), AChE, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) and the protein expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tyrosine protein kinase B (TrkB). The combination group showed a concentration-dependent inhibition of cholinesterase and antioxidation. As far as its mechanism was concerned, the combination of two drugs exerted excellent effects on oxidative stress, cholinergic pathway damage, and inactivation of the BDNF-TrkB signaling pathway. Additionally, to elucidate the binding mechanism of GT active ingredients into the structure of AChE, the results of molecular docking studies indicated that hydrogen and/or hydrophobic bonds might play an important role in their binding process. Thus, the combination of drugs could treat AD perfectly and further verify the scientific rationality of clinical medication.

Coreopsis tinctoria flowers, a well-known medicinal and edible plant, have been reported to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. However, its protective effects and underlying mechanisms on liver injury remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanisms by which Coreopsis tinctoria flowers phenolic extract (CTP) alleviated D-galactosamine and lipopolysaccharide (D-GalN/LPS) induced acute liver injury in mice. Our results showed that pretreatment with CTP improved liver histology while decreased levels of serum aminotransferase and malondialdehyde. CTP also increased levels of glutathione in D-GalN/LPS -induced acute liver injury mice by up-regulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). In conclusion, results suggested that CTP protected against D-GalN/LPS -induced acute liver injury by up-regulation of Nrf2, PPARα, and PPARγ., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this research, a new triterpenoid, tirucalla-8,24-diene-3β,11β-diol-7-one ( 1 ), and eupha-8,24-diene-3β,11β-diol-7-one ( 2 ), which was isolated from Euphorbia kansui for the first time, together with twelve other known compounds ( 3 - 14 ), were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of Euphorbia kansui . Their structures were elucidated based on High resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS), Infrared Spectroscopy (IR), 1D and 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) data. Both constituents 1 and 2 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against colon cancer HCT-116, gastric cancer MKN-45 and breast cancer MCF-7., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Background: Danhong injection (DHI) is quite often used in combination with low-dose aspirin (ASA, 75-325mg daily) in clinic, particularly for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Exploring their interaction profile is of great clinical importance., Purpose: The current study aims to explore the interaction between DHI and low-dose ASA in rats., Methods: Sixty four rats were randomly divided into eight groups. Stomach and other four vital organs were collected for histological evaluation. Organs which exhibited histological changes were selected for a further study to evaluate the damage score and mode of action. We tested the protective effect of DHI on gastric mucosal damage in different regimes of administration. COX activity, gastric mucus secretion, pepsin activity, antioxidant activity and ROS level were assayed to reflect the protective effect of DHI on gastric mucosal damage induced by ASA., Results: Stomach was the target organ of interaction when DHI and ASA were used in combination. DHI alleviated gastric mucosal damage by 55.8% when DHI was injected before ASA (Group E) and by 53.5% when DHI was injected 2h after ASA administration (Group F). Additionally, if DHI treatment was appended to the long-term administration of ASA, DHI still decreased the gastric mucosal damage score in 52.0% from 2.50 to 1.20. DHI improved gastric mucus secretion, as well as decreased pepsin activity to maintain the integrity of gastric mucosal barrier (P<0.05). Furthermore, DHI recovered antioxidant activity which was impaired by ASA. In details, DHI decreased gastric mucosal ROS level, increased CAT, GSH-Px and SOD activity, and reduced MDA concentration (P<0.05). When ASA (71.9µM) was used in combination with DHI (23-fold dilution, presented in terms of concentrations of DSS, PA, SaD RA, SaB and SaA were 6.45-6.92, 1.10-1.14, 1.09-1.10, 0.86-0.90, 16.76-19.38 and 1.83-1.94µg/ml, respectively) in vitro, the inhibition rate of ASA increased from 38.6% (ASA alone) to 62.8% (ASA-DHI) on COX-1 and from 28.9% (ASA alone) to 38.8% (ASA-DHI) on COX-2 (P<0.05). DHI strengthened the inhibition activity of ASA on both COX-1 and COX-2, which showed that DHI alleviated ASA induced gastric mucosal damage but not antagonized anti-COX effect of ASA., Conclusions: Gastric protective benefits were clearly produced when DHI and ASA were used in combination, which provided rational guidance for clinical combined application of DHI and ASA., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Many plant extracts and their bioactive substances are well recognized for their potential to exert as chemoprotective agents against common alcoholic liver injury. In this study, the effects of Mulberry water extracts (MWE) treatment in the prevention of alcohol-induced liver injury were investigated in mice. MWE contain many nutrients and bioactive substances, including fifteen types of polyphenols and anthocyanin compounds. The parameters of histopathology, immunohistochemistry, antioxidant defense and proinflammatory mediator demonstrated the inhibitory effect of MWE on alcohol-induced liver injury. Plasma and hepatic content analysis showed that MWE inhibited the levels of liver injury biomarkers (AST, ALT and ALP), triglyceride (TG) and cholesterol (TC). Furthermore, treatment with MWE lessened the expression of lipid synthesis-related proteins, increased the p-AMPK/AMPK ratio and PPAR-α. Fatty acid oxidation and export via microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) were both activated as well as carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT1). These results suggested that MWE prevents alcohol-induced liver injury through the activation of the AMPK and PPAR-α signal. This may be mediated by multiple pathways, including reduced lipid accumulation and lipid synthesis, increased fatty acid transport and fatty acid oxidation responses, decreased oxidative stress and facilitated anti-inflammation., (Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Euphorbia species are widely distributed plants, many of which are used in folk medicine. Over the past twenty years, they have received considerable phytochemical and biological attention. Their diterpenoid constituents, especially those with abietane, tigliane, ingenane skeletons, are thought to be the main toxicant and bioactive factors. In this work, the utility of (13)C-NMR spectroscopy for the structural elucidation of these compounds is briefly discussed.

Background: Determination of batch-to-batch consistency of botanical drugs (BDs) has long been the bottleneck in quality evaluation primarily due to the chemical diversity inherent in BDs. This diversity presents an obstacle to achieving comprehensive standardization for BDs. Basically, a single detection mode likely leads to substandard analysis results as different classes of structures always possess distinct physicochemical properties. Whereas representing a workaround for multi-target standardization using multi-modal data, data processing for information from diverse sources is of great importance for the accuracy of classification. Methods: In this research, multi-modal data of 78 batches of Guhong injections (GHIs) consisting of 52 normal and 26 abnormal samples were acquired by employing HPLC-UV, -ELSD, and quantitative 1H NMR (q1HNMR), of which data obtained was then individually used for Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) calculation and partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Then, a mid-level data fusion method with data containing qualitative and quantitative information to establish a support vector machine (SVM) model for evaluating the batch-to-batch consistency of GHIs. Results: The resulting outcomes showed that datasets from one detection mode (e.g., data from UV detectors only) are inadequate for accurately assessing the product's quality. The mid-level data fusion strategy for the quality evaluation enabled the classification of normal and abnormal batches of GHIs at 100% accuracy. Conclusions: A quality assessment strategy was successfully developed by leveraging a mid-level data fusion method for the batch-to-batch consistency evaluation of GHIs. This study highlights the promising utility of data from different detection modes for the quality evaluation of BDs. It also reminds manufacturers and researchers about the advantages of involving data fusion to handle multi-modal data. Especially when done jointly, this strategy can significantly increase the accuracy of product classification and serve as a capable tool for studies of other BDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nattokinase (NK) is a promising alternative in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases due to its potent fibrinolytic activity. In this study, we investigated the effect of crude nattokinase extract on the healing of acetic acid-induced oral mucositis in mice. Methods: Bacillus subtilis culture media (BSCM) was isolated into the supernatant, named nattokinase crude extract (NCE), and the pellet was named Bacillus subtilis mass (BSM). An oral mucositis model was established in mice by applying 50% glacial acetic acid to the buccal mucosa. According to the treatment conditions, the mice were divided into BSCM, NCE, BSM and phosphate buffered saline (PBS) groups. The weight of the mice, oral mucositis healing score and histopathological examination were used to evaluate the treatment. Results: Fibrinolytic activities of BSCM, NCE and BSM were approximately 8069, 10,800 and 80 U/ml, respectively. The weight gain of mice in the NCE group was significantly different from the PBS group after three days' treatment (p < 0.05). The oral mucositis score of NCE group was significantly higher than other groups (p < 0.05). The differences in histopathology scores between the NCE and other groups were statistically significant (p < 0.01). Conclusions: NCE could possess remarkable potential to reduce pain and promote oral mucositis healing with minimal safety concerns. In this study, we first report that NCE from the supernatant of Bacillus subtilis can promote the healing of oral mucositis, which extends the application scope of NK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of XFZYD for coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods. A comprehensive literature search of randomized controlled trials using XFZYD for CHD was conducted in 10 electronic databases from their establishment to December 20, 2020. The researchers screened the relevant trials in NoteExpress, extracted the data in duplicate independently, assessed the risk of bias in the trials using the Cochrane collaboration tool, and then used Rev Man 5.3 for data analysis. Results. 30 trials with 3126 participants were included for meta-analysis. The results showed that the clinical effects of XFZYD and its combination with chemical drugs (CD) were 1.13 (RR; 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.24) and 1.26 (RR; 1.26; 95% CI, 1.20 to 1.32) times those of CD, respectively. And, it could also improve electrocardiogram effect, which was 1.63 (RR; 1.63; 95% CI, 1.04 to 2.53) times that of CD. XFZYD could not only decrease duration of angina pectoris and improve vascular endothelial function but also obviously reduce the TCM syndrome score. When used in combination with CD, it could also lower AF, correct the dyslipidemia, and reduce the blood viscosity. Conclusion. These results demonstrated that XFZYD had great advantages in treating CHD with no obvious adverse reactions. Therefore, it is believed that XFZYD is more suitable for CHD patients with clinical indicators of dyslipidemia, high blood viscosity, or vascular endothelial dysfunction. This study is the first systematic review and meta-analysis with some unique ways, including its comprehensiveness, large-scale search, the novelty of findings, and transparent approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scutellarin, which is extracted from the dried plant of Erigeron breviscapus, has been reported to protect the neural injury against excitotoxicity induced by ischemia. However, there are a few studies on the protective effects of scutellarein, which is the main metabolite of scutellarin in vivo. Thus, this study investigated the neuroprotective effects of scutellarein on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats by bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO) model, through the analysis of endogenous amino acids using HILIC-MS/MS, and evaluation of Ca2+ concentration together with Ca2+-ATPase activity. The results showed that scutellarein having good protective effects on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion might by decreasing the excitatory amino acids, increasing the inhibitory amino acids, lowing intracellular Ca2+ level, and improving Ca2+-ATPase activity, which suggested that scutellarein might be a promising potent agent for the therapy of ischemic cerebrovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]