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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Eleutherococcus nodiflorus (Dunn) S.Y.Hu (Araliaceae), also called Eleutherococcus gracilistylus, Acanthopanax gracilistylus, and Xi-zhu-wu-jia (Wujiapi or Nan Wujiapi) in Chinese, is a widely used traditional Chinese herb with the effects of dispelling pathogenic wind and eliminating dampness, nourishing liver and kidney, diuresis and detumescence, promoting blood circulation for removing blood stasis, and strengthening the bones and tendons according to the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It has been used as medicine for the treatment of paralysis, arthritis, rheumatism, lameness, body asthenia, fatigue, edema, beriberi, and liver diseases. Meanwhile, E. nodiflorus (EN, thereafter) has ginseng-like activities known as "ginseng-like herb"., Aims of the Review: This review aims to present comprehensive information for the research progress of EN, including taxonomic position, botany, traditional usages, phytochemistry, pharmaceutical analysis, pharmacology and toxicology. Among them, phytochemical and pharmacological studies are mainly focused., Materials and Methods: Relevant literature was acquired from scientific databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, SciFinder and Chinese national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI). Monographs and Chinese pharmacopeia were also utilized as references., Results: In the past decade, a great number of phytochemical and pharmaceutical analyses, as well as pharmacological studies on EN have been carried out. Several kinds of chemical compositions have been reported, including essential oil, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, triterpenes, phenylpropanoids, lignans, caffeoyl quinic acids, flavonoids, steroids, fatty acids, ceramides as well as other compounds, among which, diterpenes and triterpenes were considered to be the most active components. The fingerprint chromatography, qualitative and quantitative analysis were used for the methods of quality control of EN. Considerable pharmacological experiments in vitro and in vivo have demonstrated that EN possessed hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-ageing, anti-fatigue, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anti-AChE, anti-BuChE, anti-hyaluronidase, and antiobesity activities., Conclusions: As an important TCM, a large number of investigations have proved that EN and terpenoids isolated from EN have markedly therapeutic efficacy on diabetes, inflammation, and cancer disorders. These research findings provide modern scientific evidence for the traditional uses of EN. Moreover, more novel and active secondary metabolites from EN, as well as the in vivo and clinical in-depth tests are required in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of interest statement We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A total of 33 pesticides have been banned from Chinese medicinal materials and decoction pieces(plants) according to Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition). According to the chemical structures, they are mainly divided into seven categories: organophosphorus compounds, organochlorines, carbamates, amidines, sulfonylureas, phenylpyrazoles, and ethers. These banned pesticides exhibit neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, immune system toxicity, teratogenicity, carcinogenesis, and mutagenesis, seriously damaging human and animal health. They affect not only the quality and safety of traditional Chinese medicines and resulting products, but also their competitiveness in the international market. Due to the numerous varieties of traditional Chinese medicines and their complex substrates, it is necessary to establish a universal and highly sensitive method for pesticide residue detection. This review systematically summarized the residual status, toxicity, and analytical methods of banned pesticides in traditional Chinese medicines, and forecasted the prospects of different analytical techniques, so as to provide reference for further safety and risk assessment of banned pesticide residues in traditional Chinese medicines, thus ensuring the safe production of traditional Chinese medicines.

Eucommiae Cortex is an authentic medicinal material with broad growing areas( such as Hunan and Sichuan provinces in China. It is well-known for its efficacy in tonifying liver and kidney,strengthening muscles and bones,and stabilizing fetus. It has also been proven in pharmacology to possess the functions such as lowering blood pressure and lipids. Hence,Eucommiae Cortex has attracted increasing attention. The current quality standards of Eucommiae Cortex vary in different countries or regions. The quality of Eucommiae Cortex products on the market is affected by mix-ups of non-medicinal parts and insufficient growth years. In view of these problems,this paper summarizes the current quality standards and research progress of Eucommiae Cortex in China and overseas,aiming to provide a reference for the establishment of the quality standards of Eucommiae Cortex.

Forsythiae Fructus is divided into Qingqiao and Laoqiao due to different harvesting periods. So far, the accumulation of heavy metals in the two types of Forsythiae Fructus has not been reported. In this study, the residual levels of copper(Cu), lead(Pb), chromium(Cr), arsenic(As), cadmium(Cd) and mercury(Hg) in 29 batches of Laoqiao and 60 batches of Qingqiao were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS). The samples were collected from Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, and Hebei Provinces. In addition, the diversity and correlation of harmful elements in Qingqiao and Laoqiao were analyzed by multivariate statistical method. Furthermore, principal component analysis(PCA) was used to analyze the harmful elements concentrations of Qingqiao and Laoqiao. The results showed that there was a significant difference on the residual levels of heavy metals and harmful elements between Qingqiao and Laoqiao. Among them, the content of Pb in Laoqiao is significantly higher than that in Qingqiao(P<0.01), while the content of Cu is significantly lower than that in Qingqiao. However, the difference in harmful elements among different producing areas of Forsythiae Fructus is not significant. PCA analysis showed that Qingqiao and Laoqiao were successfully grouped into two categories. This study suggests significant difference in the residual levels of heavy metals and harmful elements between Qingqiao and Laoqiao. Besides, Forsythiae Fructus has a certain enrichment of Pb in the fruit ripening stage(Laoqiao). This study provides a reference for the quality classification and safety of Forsythiae Fructus.

In order to further improve the quality and safety evaluation standards of traditional Chinese medicine compound preparation,Xiaochaihu Tang compound preparations were selected to analyze the pollution level of heavy metals deeply,and the potential health risks were evaluated under taking such kind of compound preparations. In this study,the contents of copper( Cu),arsenic( As),cadmium( Cd),mercury( Hg),and lead( Pb) in different Xiaochaihu Tang compound preparations were determinated by the method of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS). Moreover,combined with target hazard coefficient method and in vitro artificial system,the bioaccessibility and health risk level was investigated in three main consumption ways including powder,decoction and granule. The result was showed that,under the maximum residual limit set by International Standard Organization,only one batch of raw herb was eight times exceeded the Hg MRL,however,in water decoctions and granules,the heavy metal residue rate was reduced to 2. 02%( Hg in granules)-42. 85%( Cd in granules). So,the heavy metal pollutions and health risks can be reduced to safe region in spite of the serious pollution in raw herbs. Besides,the THQ and CR values of the three consumption methods were lower than the standard values of non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of each heavy metal. It can be seen that even if the heavy metals in the raw herbs exceed the standard,the use of Xiaochaihu Tang decoction and granules can reduce the harm of heavy metals to the human body. Above all,the establishment of this health risk assessment model can be provided experimental basis and reference value for improving the safety evaluation standard of other heavy metals contained traditional Chinese medicine( TCM) compound preparations,and further improving the quality control methods of other different toxic compounds in clinical use.

In order to study the pesticide residues of the medicinal Crataegi Fructus,this study aims to establish an analysis method for pesticide residues( mainly containing insecticides and fungicides) suitable for the actual situation of medicinal Crataegi Fructus based on the survey of the pesticides of the Crataegi Fructus base,combined with the blind screening results of the LC-ESI-MS/MS pesticide screening platform established by the research team in the early stage. Then,the pesticide residues in medicinal Crataegi Fructus from Shandong,Hebei,Henan,Shanxi,and Liaoning( main cultivation areas) were analyzed. The samples were pretreated by the modified Qu ECh ERS method,i.e.,extracted with acetonitrile-water( 9 ∶1),purified by PSA,C_(18),GCB,silica gel. The detection of pesticides was performed by LC-MS/MS. The ion source was ESI with positive scanning mode,and the linearity of 11 kinds of pesticides in the range of 5-300 μg·kg~(-1) was acceptable( R~2>0. 996 9). All the recoveries of pesticides were within 70. 02%~(-1)12. 0% in the low,medium and high levels,with RSD≤17%. The results showed that the detection rate of carbendazim,chlorpyrifos and difenoconazole is 79%,82%,56%,respectively. Besides,the prohibition pesticide carbofuran were detected in some of the batches,indicating the security risk. This study provides methodological references and basic data for risk assessment of Crataegi Fructus and government regulation.

To evaluate the safety of heavy metals contaminated Astragalus membranaceus,an appropriate protocol was established to study the heavy metals pollution level by health risk assessment. This study provided a detailed procedure to assess the medicinal herbs in quality control and safety evaluation,and expected to create awareness among the public on the safety of consuming of A. membranaceus or any other kinds of medicinal herbs. The heavy metals content of Cu,As,Cd,Pb and Hg in a total of 45 batches of A. membranaceus were carefully analyzed with a developed inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS). Besides,the heavy metal contamination level was further evaluated through 4 main assessment parameters,including maximum residue limit( MRL) set by International Standard Organization,estimated daily intake( EDI) set by IUPAC,target hazard quotients( THQ) and Total THQ set by USEPA and total THQs in raw herbs of A. membranaceus. In addition,the recommended MRLs of 5 main heavy metals aimed to A. membranaceus were calculated based on the regulated consumption quantity. The result showed that,under the ISO international standard of Chinese medicine-Chinese herbal medicine heavy metals,the unqualified rate was 8. 89% for A. membranaceus,which including 4 batches of A. membranaceus exceeded the MRL of As. Here,the standard THQ value of A. membranaceus was firstly proposed as 0. 02 and 0. 011 25 for adults and children,respectively,which were calculated with the recommended consumption quantity of 30 g and 9 g for adults and children. Furthermore,the values of THQ for As and total THQs in adults and children were exceeded the standard THQ in A. membranaceus,and the recommended MRLs of Pb,Cd,Hg and Cu in above medicinal materials that calculated based on health risk assessment model were higher than the regulated MRLs that set by ISO and Chinese Pharmacopeia. The research showed that the contents of heavy metals in A. membranaceus were not in the safe range and the certain non-carcinogenic risks to human body cannot be neglected. Based on above investigation result,it is easily known that the common evaluation method for raw herbs based on the comparison of MRL of heavy metals was not precise enough,and the international model of health risk assessment should be built for each medicinal herb. Above all,this study provided a more realistic research approach for safety evaluation of any other kinds of heavy metals contaminated medicinal herbs,including the establishment of heavy metals standard limit in a specified medicinal herb under recommended consumption quantity,and it is expected to create awareness among the public on the safety of consuming any other medicinal herbs.

The element speciation analysis for heavy metals in herbal medicines is still in the beginning stage. In this study,the total amount of arsenic( As) in 103 batches of 17 commonly used Chinese medicines( including 16 plant medicines and 1 medicinal fungus) was detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS). Furthermore,based on HPLC-ICP-MS,the simultaneous detection methods of six As speciation kinds in traditional Chinese medicines were established. An AS7 anion exchange column was selected and the As forms in 17 traditional Chinese medicines was systematically analyzed. The results showed that the method of pretreatment of medicinal materials by microwave digestion and the detection of total amount of As by ICP-MS was stable and reliable. As for the speciation analysis of As,the high-speed ultrasonic extraction method was adopted,and it showed that the linear relationship of the six As speciation was satisfied with the correlation coefficient R2>0. 999 9. The LOQ of six kinds of As speciation were 0. 20,0. 10,0. 15,0. 10,0. 25,0. 10 μg·L~(-1) for arsenic betaine( As B),arsenious acid [As( Ⅲ) ],dimethyl arsenic( DMA),arsenic choline( As C),monomethyl arsenic( MMA),arsenic acid[As( Ⅴ) ],respectively. The recoveries were between 84. 24% and 121. 5%,and the relative standard deviations were 2. 7% to 11%. Among the 103 batches of medicinal materials,only one batch of sample As exceeded the Chinese Pharmacopoeia limit standard; As( Ⅲ) and As( Ⅴ) had high detection rate in 103 batches of Chinese herbal medicines,within which As( Ⅴ) was the main detected form,and inorganic As accounted for the ratio reached 80. 90%-98. 73%; some samples detected DMA,MMA and As B,As C was not detected in any batch. This study established an analytical method suitable for the speciation of As in Chinese herbal medicines,and provided basic data for As residual residue in Chinese herbal medicines,which can provide important reference for the risk assessment and quality standards.

Endogenous toxic components have become an important topic in the field of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Since the endogenous toxic components in TCMs are often used as clinical effective components, the safety and effectiveness of endogenous toxic substances has become an important part of the research of TCMs. In this paper, the classification and evaluation criteria of toxic Chinese medicinal materials are described, and the analytical methods of endogenous components in TCMs are summarized and expounded base on with the techniques of chromatography, spectroscopy, immunoassay, and so on. On this basis, the problems in terms of endogenous toxic components are analyzed and discussed. This paper could provide ideas and methods for the evaluation of the validity and safety of TCMs containing endogenous toxic components., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

With the extensive clinical application of Tripterygium wilfordii, there are many counterfeit products on the market. Traditional technology can not effectively identify the authenticity of the traditional Chinese medicine. Therefore, a strategy of accurate identification and quality evaluation of Tripterygium based on DNA barcode and chemical fingerprint spectrum was established. Based on DNA barcode technology, HMMer annotation method of hidden Markov model and K2P model were used to analyze genetic distance.BLAST1, nearest distance and phylogenetic tree (NJ-tree) methods were used to assess the identification efficiency of the ITS2 barcode. The fingerprint of 27 T. wilfordii was established by UPLC-PDA method, and the similarity of the fingerprint of different sources was evaluated. The main components of T. wilfordii were determined by LC-MS/MS. The results revealed that the intraspecific genetic distances of T. wilfordii were lower than the interspecific genetic distances between T. wilfordii and its adulterants. The results of similarity search showed that ITS2 sequence was used to identify T. wilfordii and its adulterants. The clustering of T. wilfordii and its adulterants was clear in the tree of NJ cluster, and 12 of 27 samples were identified as true T. wilfordii.The chemical fingerprint spectrum research indicates that the feature one region can distinguish the false product of tripterygium glycosides more intuitively. The cluster analysis of HCA-thermal map showed that the contents of six active components of T. wilfordii from different habitats were significantly different, which could be used to evaluate the quality of T. wilfordii. This paper is of guiding significance for the accurate identification and quality evaluation of Tripterygium medicinal plants., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Traditional Chinese herbs are readily contaminated by mold that produced mycotoxins which are closly related to the herbs' external factors and external environments during the storage process. In this study, Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium was used as example, and the characteristics of traits, water content, active components (naringin, hesperidin, sinensetin, naringin, tangeretin) and the accumulation of aflatoxins (AFs) were selected as the evaluation indexes. Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium was stored under different environments and packaging materials for 12 months, and then the quality changes and mildew of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium were examined. The results showed that the color of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium was deepened after storage, but without mildew phenomenon. Besides, the sample storage in kraft paper and woven bags had varying degrees of moth phenomenon after 12 months storage, and the water content exceeded the limit of Chinese Pharmacopoeia. In addition, the contents of the five active constituents obviously decreased, especially for hesperidin, which did not meet the pharmacopoeia standard after storage. AFs were not detected in any of the tested samples. According to the results, we conclude that low temperature and humidity environment is more suitable for the storage of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium, and that packaging materials should be further investigated. This study is of great significance for preventing the mold to contaminate the traditional Chinese medicine and ensuring the quality, effectiveness and safety of TCMs., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Aim: To investigate the capability of salvianolic acid B (Sal B) to protect hepatocytes from hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 )/carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 )-induced lysosomal membrane permeabilization., Methods: Cell Counting Kit-8 assay was used to measure cell viability. Apoptosis and death were assayed through flow cytometry. BrdU incorporation was used to detect cell proliferation. Serum alanine aminotransferase activity and liver malondialdehyde (MDA) content were measured. Liver histopathological changes were evaluated using hematoxylin-eosin staining. Lysosomal membrane permeability was detected with LysoTracker Green-labeled probes and acridine orange staining. The levels of protein carbonyl content (PCC), cathepsins (Cat)B/D, and lysosome-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP1) were evaluated through western blotting. Cytosol CatB activity analysis was performed with chemiluminescence detection. The mRNA level of LAMP1 was evaluated through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction., Results: Results indicated that H 2 O 2 induced cell injury/death. Sal B attenuated H 2 O 2 -induced cell apoptosis and death, restored the inhibition of proliferation, decreased the amount of PCC, and stabilized the lysosome membrane by increasing the LAMP1 protein level and antagonizing CatB/D leakage into the cytosol. CCl 4 also triggered hepatocyte death. Furthermore, Sal B effectively rescued hepatocytes by increasing LAMP1 expression and by reducing lysosomal enzyme translocation to the cytosol., Conclusion: Sal B protected mouse embryonic hepatocytes from H 2 O 2 /CCl 4 -induced injury/death by stabilizing the lysosomal membrane., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

The residue of the pesticides affects seriously the quality and safety of traditional Chinese medicine. Pesticide residue has caused ever-growing attention of people at home and abroad. Rapid detection techniques used for rapid screening of pesticide residues have expanded in a fast progress. As one of the fast development methods of rapid detection, visualization test strip based on nanoparticle has received much concern in recent years. This article focused on the classification of detection test strips and key factors on the fabrication of nanoparticle-based visualization test strips used in small molecule pesticides. Moreover, a wide application of nanoparticles-tagged test strips on pesticide residue was reviewed including single residue detection, multi residue detection, as well as quantitative analysis. Finally, the future application of visual test strip for detecting of pesticide residues in traditional Chinese medicine was forecasted, intending to provide the reference for rapid detection techniques on pesticide residues screening in herbal medicine industry., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Aim: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a pathogenic bacterium that causes both hospital- and community-acquired infections, and for which single-drug treatments are becoming less efficient. Rhizoma coptidis has been used for more than two thousand years in China to treat diarrhea, fever, and jaundice. In this study, the anti-MRSA activity of Rhizoma coptidis is examined and its effective components sought., Methods: The mecA and norA genes were determined by PCR amplification and sequencing. Drug susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC43300 was performed using the VITEK2 compact system. The chemical fingerprint of Rhizoma coptidis was investigated using HPLC and preparative liquid chromatography, and the anti-MRSA activity was determined using an improved broth microdilution method., Results: The drug susceptibility test revealed that the penicillin-binding protein phenotype of the strain changed in comparison to penicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. Ten batches of Rhizoma coptidis showed anti-MRSA activity on the norA-negative Staphylococcus aureus strain, as well as the strain that contained a norA gene. The spectrum-effect relationship revealed that the berberine alkaloids were the effective components, within which berberine, coptisine, palmatine, epiberberine, and jatrorrhizine were the major components., Conclusion: This study lays a foundation for in vivo studies of Rhizoma coptidis and for the development of multi-component drugs., (Copyright © 2014 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Context: Various Rhizoma coptidis are commonly used in clinical applications due to their strong antibacterial effect., Objective: The antibacterial effect of various R. coptidis were evaluated by microcalorimetry together with statistical analysis., Materials and Methods: The dried roots of Coptis chinensis Franch, Coptis deltoidea C.Y. Cheng et Hsiao, and Coptis teeta Wall (Ranunculaceae) were identified by Prof. Xiao-He Xiao. The herbs were tested using thermal activity monitor (TAM) air isothermal microcalorimeter, ampoule mode, to evaluate the biological activity. The dynamic energy metabolism information about the Staphylococcus aureus growth at 37°C was analyzed with principal component analysis., Results: From the principle component analysis on quantitative parameters, the action of various R. coptidis on S. aureus growth at 37°C could be easily evaluated by analyzing the change of values of the two main parameters: the growth rate constant of first stage (k(1)) and the maximum heat rating of the first stage (P(1)). And the results of paired t-test show that there were no notable differences between inhibitory ratios calculated with k(1) and that of P(1). Using microdilution method, the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of C. chinensis, C. deltoidea, and C. teeta were detected, and they were 77.8 ± 2, 116.6 ± 4, 93.3 ± 2 μg/mL, respectively., Discussion and Conclusion: This work provided a useful method for the evaluation of antibacterial activity of various R. coptidis.

Objective: Explore contribution of ratio of xylem to phloem(RXP) to evaluate the quality of Radix Isatidis., Methods: Antivirus activity and chemical compositions of xylem, phloem and Radix Isatidis of different RXP were determined by RBC agglutination test and unique chromatogram. Meanwhile, correlation between RXP and bioactivity,components was investigated., Results: the activity of medical material of Radix Isatidis whose RXP was 1:2 or 1:1 is equal to that of phloem sample, while is stronger than that of cylem sample. There was a good consistency among the chemical figureprints of three samples (Radix Isatidis, xylem and phloem). When the RXP was 2:1, the medical material of Radix Isatidi and its xylem had the same activity. But the activity of phloem was not obvious. Their consistency of chemical fingerprint was bad, and the activity of Radix Isatidis which had RXP of 1:2 or 1:1 was better than that formed by xylem and phloem of 2:1. The Radix Isatidis of RXP of 1:2 or 1:1 had less similarity of chemical figureprint with that having RXP of 2:1., Conclusion: The quality of Radix Isatidis made up by the various RXP had significant difference. Radix Isatidis whose RXP is less than 1:1 had good quality and better activity. As a characteristic parameter of biologic morpha, the RXP can be applied to identifying the quality of Radix Isatidis, and also provided a reference to evaluation of other medical material of roots.