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Objective: Realgar possesses important medical properties. This article aims to evaluate realgar and emerging artificially optimized realgar to ensure safe clinical use. Methods: Multiple techniques were employed to test natural realgar and artificially optimized realgar. Soluble arsenic content in representative samples were measured. Natural realgar and artificially optimized realgar were administered to KM mice via gavage for 28 days, and the extent of liver and kidney tissue damage, arsenic accumulation and form of arsenic were measured. Results: Natural realgar and artificially optimized realgar can be distinguished by their physical properties or spectral signatures. ICP-MS and EPMA identified different contents of elements between two groups. In simulated gastric and intestinal fluids, only As (III) and As (V) were detected. Toxicity experiments in vivo demonstrate that both groups caused minimal liver and kidney damage at a dose of 30 mg·kg−1. At a dose of 180 mg·kg−1, artificially optimized realgar caused significantly greater liver and kidney damage. Conclusion: The differences between natural realgar and artificially optimized realgar were successfully distinguished through several methods. In vitro experiments showed that As is the main component exerting their medicinal effects. In vivo toxicity tests demonstrated that at higher dose, artificially optimized realgar exhibited significantly higher toxicity, suggesting that natural and artificially optimized realgar have different toxic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction – The beneficial health effects of traditional Chinese medicines are often attributed to their potent antioxidant activities, usually established in vitro. However, these wet chemical methods for determining antioxidant activities are timeconsuming, laborious, and expensive. Objectives – This study was conducted to establish a rapid determination of antioxidant activity of Radix Scutellariae using nearinfrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy. Material and methods – Antioxidant capabilities were evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrazyl (DPPH) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. The total flavonoid contents (TFCs) of Radix Scutellariae were measured by the aluminium chloride colorimetric method. The same sample was then scanned using NIR and MIR spectroscopy. Chemometrics analysis using partial least-squares (PLS) regression was performed to establish the models for predicting the antioxidant activities of Radix Scutellariae. Results – A better predictive performance was achieved using PLS models based on NIR data. The determination coefficient (R2) and the residual predictive deviation (RPD) for the validation set were 0.9298 and 2.84 for DPPH, and 0.9436 and 2.66 for TFCs, respectively.MIR-PLS algorithms gave a slightly lower reliability (R2 = 0.9090 and 0.9374, RPD = 2.01 and 2.42, for DPPH and TFC, respectively). Very comparable results for ORAC were obtained with the two methods. Conclusion – The developed spectroscopic method can be successfully applied in high-throughput screening of the antioxidant capability of Radix Scutellariae samples. It can also be a viable and advantageous alternative to laborious chemical procedures. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze constituents of traditional Chinese medicine galamina, and provide basis for the quality control of galamina., Method: Polarization microscope and electron probe were adopted for a qualitative and quantitative analysis on microscopic appearance and micro-area constituents of galamina. Fourty-two elements contained in galamina were determined by the plasma mass-spectrometric method. Zinc oxide, the major constituent of galamina samples, was detected using the pharmacopeia method., Result: The micro-area analysis on galamina samples showed that galamina is mainly constituted by various mineral particulates such as hydrozincite, smithsonite, zinc oxide and dolomite in a loose texture. It is also found that there are many counterfeit galamina sold in the market, marked by a high lead content in natural galamina samples., Conclusion: Galamina is a mineral aggregation of multiple natural mineral substances, but those sold in the market has many quality problems. Therefore, a fast method shall be established to identify the authenticity of galamina and a standard shall be set to control harmful elements contained in galamina. It is suggested to conduct in-depth studies on excessive harmful elements contained in galamina medicinal materials.

Objective: To investigate the effects of refining temperatures and amounts of sheep's oil used in processing Epimedii Folium on Kedney-yang deficiency rats., Method: The corticosterone was subcutaneous injected to establish the kidney yang deficiency rat model. With the temperatures and amounts of sheep's oil were 250 degrees C/30%, 120 degrees C/30% and 120 degrees C/20% respectively, the crude drug and three kinds of pressed Epimedii Folium were extracted by water and used as examined samples while total flavonoid of Epimedii Folium was used as positive control. After examined samples and control samples were intragastirc administrated, the pharmacologic action was analyzed., Result: As compared to crude drug, all of the aqueous extracts of processed Epimedii Folium have stronger effect of warming kidney and enhancing yang, especially the Epimedii Folium processed by sheep's oil with refining temperatures 120 degrees C and amounts of sheep's oil 30%. Its mechanism might be related to improving the insufficiency of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-thymus (HPAT) axis suppression., Conclusion: The refining temperature of sheep's oil can affect the quality of excipients and processed drugs. The results may be useful in explaining the mechanism of Epimedii Folium processing and establishment of pharmaceutical standard of sheep's oil used as processing excipients.

Objective: To search new effective compounds, the different hemostatic effects of Flos Sophorae, Flos Sophorae Carbonisatus and principal constituent were observed., Method: Using the bleeding time (BT) and the recalcification time (RT) as the specificity indicators for the hematischesis function, the hemostatic effects of the following were observed. Flos Sophorae, Flos Sophorae Carbonisatus, characteristic value extraction thing A and B (SCE A and B) and the principal constituent after orally administered in normal rats in order to analyze the new hemostatic compounds., Result: Flos Sophorae, and Flos Sophorae Carbonisatus can obviously reduce BT and RT in rats, in which the effect of Carbonisatus is stronger than the crude. Otherwhile, SCE A and SCE B can also obviously reduce BT and RT in rats, in which the effects of SCE B surpassed those of SCE A. Furthermore, two characteristic compounds extracted from SCE B (kaikasaponin I called compound 1 and isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside named called 2) and other nominated principal constituents (rutin, tannin), can obviously shorten BT and RT in rats, among which compound 2 is most superior., Conclusion: The Flos Sophorae, Flos Sophorae Carbonisatus and their character compounds can shorten! the BT and RT in rats. The compound 2 from SCE B has the most superior effect. Study showed that compound 2 should be the new hemostatic compounds after Flos Sophorae carbonized. The results also indicated that the increase of hemostatic effect after Flos Sophorae carbonized should be related with the coordination of various kinds of ingredient.

Objective: To investigate the chemical constituents of lipid-soluble and water-soluble extracts in Flos Sophorae Carbonisatus., Method: The compounds were isolated by means of solvent extraction and column chromatography, and their structures were determined by spectral analysis., Result: Two compounds from petroleum ether extract and ten from n-BuOH extract were isolated and identified as sophoradiol (1), beta-sitosterol (2), 3 beta, 22 beta, 24-trihydroxy-olean-12-ene (soyasapogenol B) (3), daucosterol (4), kaikasaponin I (5), quercetin (6), isorhamnetin (7), 2-O-methyl-insitol (8), isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside (9), isoquercitrin (10), orobol-7-O-beta-D-glucoside (11), rutin (12), respectively., Conclusion: Compound 3, 8-11 were isolated from Flos Sophorae Carbonisatus for the first time. The results could be basic foundation for further study on processing mechanism of Flos Sophorae Carbonisatus.

Objective: To study and establish the optimal technology for the preparation of evodiae juice., Method: The contents of evodiamine, rutaecarpine and evodin were simultaneously determined with HPLC, and each yield of the three compounds were chosen as the evaluating indicator. The orthogonal test coupled with the weighted coefficient method were adopted to acquire the optimal technology for the preparation of evodiae juice., Result: The study showed that the optimal technology for the preparation of evodiae juice was as follows: decocted three times while the first time was with 12-fold of water socked 30 minutes and decocted 45 minutes, the second time was with 8-fold of water decocted 20 minutes and the third time was with 6-fold of water decocted 20 minutes., Conclusion: This method is simple and accurate. The optimal technology is suitable for industry manufacture of evodiae juice.

Objective: To compare the hemostatic effect of Flos Sophorae in crude, parched and carbonized forms and its extracts, including rutin, quercetin and tannin., Methods: All the testing samples were orally administered to the experimental animals for 5 days, then the bleeding time (BT), coagulation time (CT), platelet count and capillary permeability (CP) in the treated mice were tested, and the prothrombin time (PT), fibrinogen (FBG) content and platelet aggregation rate (PAR) in the treated rats were determined., Results: All the samples could lower the CP, BT and CT in mice and also decrease the plasma PT in rats. All three forms of Flos Sophorae could increase FBG in rats, while the three extracts of it could inhibit the PAR in rats obviously. In addition, rutin had the effect of raising the platelet count., Conclusion: All the three forms and three extracts of Flos Sophorae have hemostatic effect, the effect of parched and carbonized form is higher than that of crude drug. The mechanism of the hemostatic effect of the six kinds of sample might be various.