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This article discusses the characteristics of cmmunity herbal monographs for traditional herbal medicinal products and its establishment procedure. It also reviews the new development of cmmunity traditional herbal monographs. The purpose is to clarify the relationship between cmmunity herbal monographs and simplified registration for traditional herbal medicinal product in European Union and provide reference to the registration of taditional Chinese mdicinal products in Europe.

The effects of Dioscorea opposita (huai shan yao, HSY) on dexamethasone-induced insulin resistance were investigated in vitro and in vivo. D. opposita extract reduced significantly the blood insulin and glucose levels in dexamethasone-induced diabetic rats. In vitro, HSY significantly enhanced insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Moreover, HSY increase the mRNA expression of GLUT4 glucose transporter in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. These data suggest that D. opposita has insulin sensitivity that is associated with the regulation of GLUT4 expression.

A dose-dependent and significant (P<0.01) antiproliferative effect of Goldfussia psilostachys ethanolic extract was observed on K562 cells. The IC(50) is ca. 0.5 microg/ml. The extract markedly increases the proportion of cell in G2/M phases and decreases the population of cells in G0/G1 phases. Moreover, the antimitotic effect is correlated with polymerization of microtubule assembly. These results indicate that G. psilostachys ethanolic extract inhibits the proliferation of K562 cells and disrupts the normal dynamic of microtubules during mitosis.

Two new phenanthroquinolizidine alkaloids, boehmeriasins A and B, were isolated from the aqueous ethanolic extract of Boehmeria siamensis Craib (Urticaceae) by bioassay-guided fractionation. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral evidence. Boehmeriasin A possesses cytotoxic activity against 12 cell lines from 6 panels of cancer including lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, kidney cancer and leukemia with GI (50) between 0.2 and 100 ng/mL, whereas boehmeriasin B showed lower activity.