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An integrated strategy was developed for the systematic chemical fingerprint and chemometrics analysis for the quality assessment of Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. The ultra-performance liquid chromatography fingerprint was established, and all common peaks were tentatively identified by using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography hyphenated with quadrupole–orbitrap-high-resolution mass spectrometry. Afterwards, the datasets of common peaks were subjected to hierarchical cluster analysis, principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis to holistically compare the differences. The results revealed that the samples were predicted to fall into four clusters, which were related to four different geographical locations. Using the proposed strategy, aloesin, aloin A, aloin B, aloeresin D and 7-O-methylaloeresin A were rapidly determined to be the potential characteristic quality markers. Finally, five screened compounds in 20 batches of samples were simultaneously quantified, and their total contents were ranked as follows: Sichuan province > Hainan province > Guangdong province > Guangxi province, which suggests that geographical origins may be an important factor affecting the quality of A. vera (L.) Burm. f. This new strategy can not only be used to explore possibly the latent active substance candidates for pharmacodynamic studies, but it is also an efficient analytical strategy for other complex traditional Chinese medicine systems.

To explore latent classes of Yingyangbao(YYB) consumption among infants and young children in impoverished areas of Henan Province, and to analyze the relationship between these classes and anemia status.We recruited 4433 children aged 6 to 24 months by multi-stage random sampling in 14 poverty-stricken counties of Henan Province between June and September 2018. We conducted hemoglobin concentration measurement among children and questionnaire survey among their caregivers. Then we used latent class analysis to classify the characteristics of YYB consumption among the children and two-level Logistic regression was used to explore relationship between YYB consumption and anemia status.The prevalence of anemia was 15.1% in poor areas of Henan Province in 2018. There were two latent classes of YYB consumption among children: the one was "effective consumption", latent class probability was 0.889; the other called "ineffective consumption", latent class probability was 0.111. Compared with effective consumption, children who never have consumed YYB(odds ratio(OR)=1.365, Plt;0.001) or were in "ineffective consumption" class(OR=1.265, P=0.034) were both positive related to anemia.Prevalence of anemia among children in impoverished areas has been significantly reduced since the launch of Program of Childrenapos;s Nutrition Improvement in Impoverished Areas. Effective consumption is a key to ensuring YYBapos;s anemia intervention effect.

Schizonepeta annua (Pall.) Schischk. is an endemic annual plant from the Lamiaceae family and it has been employed to cure tra-cheitis in traditional herbal medicine. Its essential oil exhibited a strong antimicrobial and antioxidative effect. Next, high-performance thin-layer chromatography—bioautography was applied for investigation of the bioactive compounds of S. annua, and gas chromatography—quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to perform subsequent targeted identification of compounds. Three active components were characterized, and two of them were tentatively identified as thymol and carvacrol. S. annua has the potential to be a good alternative for synthetic disinfectants and antioxidants.

To identify the relationship between fever and diarrhea 2-week prevalence and Yingyangbao(YYB) effective consumption among infants and young children.A total of 2952 infants and young children aged from 6 to 24 month in 10 impoverished counties of Henan province were selected by multi-stage random sampling between June and September 2017. To acquire 2-week prevalence information of infants and young children, their caregivers were investigated by self-made questionnaire. The structural equation model was utilized in multi-factor analysis.After adjusting potential confounders, YYB effective consumption reduced2-week prevalence of fever(β=-0. 279, P=0. 001) and diarrhea(β=-0. 182, P=0. 042) among infants and young children. Nutrition knowledge and YYB benefit cognition of caregivers reduced2-week prevalence of fever(γ=-0. 002, 95%CI-0. 004～-0. 001, P=0. 003) and diarrhea(γ=-0. 001, 95%CI-0. 003～0. 000, P=0. 049) indirectly through chain mediation path of "nutrition knowledge-YYB benfit cognition-YYB effective consumption-fever/diarrheal".YYB effective consumption can reduce 2-week prevalence of fever and diarrhea among infants and young children. Nutrition knowledge and YYB benefit cognition can improve YYB effective consumption and thus reduce 2-week prevalence of fever and diarrhea indirectly.

Background Imbalance of circulating factors related to angiogenesis plays a central role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia (PE). Objective The aim of this study was to discover and validate a cutoff value of pigment epithelium–derived factor (PEDF)/vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) ratio for early prediction of PE before 20 weeks of gestation. Study design This prospective multicenter study was performed in mainland China, and was divided into 3 phases to discover, develop, and validate a cutoff value of PEDF/VEGF ratio that could predict PE prior to diagnosis in pregnant women at high risk of PE (12 weeks 0 days to 19 weeks 6 days of gestation). We estimated PEDF/VEGF ratio at 5 visits: from visit 0 (baseline) to the postpartum visit. Results In the discovery phase (200 women), we found that antiangiogenic PEDF was higher and angiogenic VEGF was lower in the PE group than in the control group before 20 weeks of gestation. In the development phase (650 women), we found that a cutoff value of 800 for PEDF/VEGF ratio demonstrated a preferably predictive value. Subsequently, in the validation phase (additional 900 women), we found that the negative predictive value of PEDF/VEGF ratio ≤800 at the visit 1 was 98.6% (95% CI, 97.3–99.4), at the visit 2 was 96.9% (95% CI, 95.1–98.1) and at the visit 3 was 95.1% (95% CI, 93.0–96.7). ORs were 4.40, 6.27, and 5.73, respectively. Conclusions PEDF/VEGF ratio ≤800 may have some predictive value for early diagnosis of PE. Further multicenter studies with larger sample sizes are necessary to confirm our findings.

Diabetes is a chronic, progressive disease that has become an increasing epidemic that threatens global public health. The process of the industrialization of human society has shown how mechanization has gradually replaced manual labor, which leads to the transition of lifestyles. When various factors such as social environments, diet quality and quantity, and individual nutrients converge, changes in people's epidemiology occurred, shown in the appearance of pandemic obesity. Obesity and being overweight were considered crucial factors contributing to type 2 diabetes. Emerging evidence from preventive medical studies and clinical trials indicates that an intensive diet and exercise program were effective in preventing type 2 diabetes. Therefore, analyzing food compositions and metabolic mechanisms are important in the prevention and management of diabetes. Traditionally, consuming foods based agrarian diet such as legumes, coarse grains, and vegetables are universal dietary patterns; nearly all those foods are low-glycemic index and come from nature. But today, the globe's diet is shift to excessive consume processed foods, sweet foods, animal source foods, all those belong to high-calorie foods may be delicious but may be unhealthy. It is also necessary to find a balance between health and tasty foods. Chickpea is the world's third most essential food legume, and major consumption and cultivation is seen greatly in the developing countries. Chickpea is one of the food candidates to prevent metabolic syndrome and management of diabetes.

Ethnopharmacological relevance For more than ten scores years, the leaves and fruits of Nitraria sibirica have been used as a natural remedy for indigestion, irregular manes, and hypertension in the Middle East and Central Asia, especially, are recommended for hypertension treatment in the northwest region, China. Aim of the study we aimed to support the traditional usage of N. sibirica leaves as pharmaceuticals or dietary supplements in treatment of hypertension by investigating their chemical constituents and anti-hypertensive activity. Methods We identified the chemical composition of N. sibirica leaves ethanolic purified extract (NSL-EPE) using UHPLC-quadrupole-orbitrap-MS, and quantified the main chemical constituents by an analytical method established and validated. We also evaluated anti-hypertensive activity of NSL-EPE using spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR): blood pressure was measured weekly by non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) measurements; hemodynamic parameters, biochemical and clinical chemistry variables in plasma, serum and kidney tissue were measured after 10 weeks of treatment with NSL-EPE as well. Results UHPLC-quadrupole-orbitrap-MS analysis identified 52 compounds, of which 40 compounds were reported for the first time in N. sibirica. 11 phenolic compounds further quantitatively analyzed, among which the most abundant compound was found to be clovin (8.8%). Systolic blood pressure decreased progressively from the second treatment week compared to that in non-treated SHRs. The plasma endothelin, aldosterone, angiotensin II levels were significantly increased, while the level of NOX was significantly decreased; glutathione to oxidized glutathione ratio, superoxide dismutase and total catalase levels in the kidney tissue were markedly accelerated, while malondialdehyde level was significantly reduced in NSL-EPE treated SHRs. Moreover, the serum cholesterol, triglyceride, blood uria nitrogen and creatinine were attenuated in NSL-EPE treated SHRs (P Conclusion This study screened out leading compounds from N. sibirica and offered a new understanding of the antihypertensive properties of N. sibirica leaves, by which inhibit oxidative stress-induced endothelial dysfunction and improve lipid profiles.

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the value of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in differentiating cardioembolic (CE) stroke from other subtypes of ischemic stroke.We searched the EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Cochrane databases and reference lists of relevant articles published in April 2013. We selected original studies reporting the performance of BNP or N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in diagnosing CE stroke and summarized test performance characteristics using forest plots, hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic curves, and bivariate random-effect models.Data from 2958 patients with ischemic stroke were retrieved from 16 studies. Of these, 1024 (34.6%) patients had a final diagnosis of CE stroke. Overall, the mean diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of BNP for CE stroke was 15.8 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.92-25.20). Even after adjustment for multiple clinical predictors, serum natriuretic peptide levels showed a strong association with CE stroke (pooled adjusted DOR, 12.7; 95% CI: 7.32-22.0). The sensitivity and specificity of BNP for CE stroke were .78 (95% CI: .71-.87) and .83 (95% CI: .77-.87), respectively. A single BNP-negative result may be sufficient to exclude a diagnosis of CE stroke in low-prevalence (20%) settings. Subgroup analysis showed that NT-proBNP had a slightly higher specificity (.87; 95% CI: .77-.93) and better capability for exclusion diagnosis. There was a lack of homogeneity in the timing of measurement and BNP assay method.BNP has reasonable accuracy in the diagnosis of CE stroke and may be a useful marker for the early detection in patients who may benefit from preventive anticoagulation therapy.

A new isoflavane glycoside with a novel structure that we called cicerarietinuoside A (1) in addition to the three known compounds β-daucosterol (2), adenosine (3), and ent-kaurane diterpene glycoside (4) were isolated from seeds of chickpea. Their structures were established based on broad spectral analysis. Compounds 2 and 4 were obtained from chickpea seeds for the first time.

Chickpea is known as a plant that is rich in protein, carbohydrates, and nutrition, and its seeds and sprouts have been processed into various health foods. In the present study, four isoflavones were purified from the seeds and sprouts of chickpea by high speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) using two biphasic solvent systems composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (5:5:5:5, v/v) and ethyl acetate-water (1:1 v/v). The results indicated that 14.2 mg of formononetin, 15.7 mg of biochanin A, 9.1 mg of ononin, 11.3 mg of biochanin A-7-O-β-D-glucoside were obtained from 150 mg of sprout extracts with the purity of 92.26%, 95.86%, 95.32%, and 96.56%, respectively. Compared with the sprouts, separation of seed extracts yielded less amounts of biochanin A-7-O-β-D-glucoside and biochanin A with lower purity. The results indicate that four main isoflavones in chickpea, i.e., isoflavones, formononetin, biochanin A, ononin, and biochanin A-7-O-β-D-glucoside, are substantially increased by biosynthesis during the seed germination.

The total alkaloids from Nitraria sibirica leaves have been confirmed to exhibit significant protective effects against inflammatory renal injury, hypertension and albuminuria in angiotensin II-salt hypertension. In the present study, a separation method of pH-zone-refining counter-current chromatography was established for separation of the alkaloids from N. sibirica. The separation was performed with a solvent system of MtBE-n-BuOH-H2O (2:2:5, v/v) at a flow rate of 2.0mL/min. And 15mM triethylamine (TEA) was added to the upper organic phase, while 10mM hydrochloric acid was added to the lower aqueous phase. As a result, a new alkaloid, schobemine (5.6mg), and a known alkaloid, nitraramine (5.0mg), together with fractions A and B were obtained from the total alkaloids of N. sibirica. The fractions A and B were further purified by means of pH-zone-refining counter-current chromatography with solvent systems of n-hexane-n-BuOH-H2O (1.5:3.5:5, v/v) and (2:3:5, v/v), respectively. TEA (10mM) was added to the upper phase, and 10mM of HCl was added to the lower phase in above two solvent systems, respectively. As a result, a known alkaloid, schoberidine (5.0mg), and a new alkaloid, schoberimine (3.0mg) were obtained from fractions A and B, respectively. The purities of the compounds were measured by HPLC-ELSD, and their structures were identified by ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR.

Objective The relationship between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and oxidative stress has not been fully elucidated. This study examined the association between biomarkers of oxidative stress and GDM. Methods We conducted a case-control study which included 36 women presenting with GDM and 36 asymptomatic matched control subjects who visited Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Centre, China, from June 2012 to December 2012. Pregnant women were prospectively recruited to the study, and blood samples were collected at the time of a routine oral glucose tolerance test. These samples were then analyzed for levels of endocrine and surrogate markers of oxidative stress. Results Compared to control subjects, women with GDM exhibited elevated values for plasma glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance (IR), and showed reduced HOMA pancreatic β-cell function (HOMA-B), insulin sensitivity index (ISI), insulinogenic index, and corrected insulin response at 24–28 weeks gestation. A bivariate logistic regression analysis showed that levels of high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP) and high fluorescence reticulocytes at fasting, and hs-CRP in a 1-h OGTT, were significantly associated with GDM. A linear regression analysis showed that levels of hs-CRP (P = 0.003) and reticulocytes (P = 0.029) at fasting were associated with IR, and levels of hs-CRP (P = 0.002) and monocytes (P = 0.006) in a 1-h OGTT were associated with ISI. Conclusions Pregnant women with GDM developed a pathological IR and exhibited β-cell dysfunction. Their decreased ability to compensate for oxidative stress was associated with increased IR and a reduced ISI, which might be important factors in GDM.

Objective The present study evaluated maternal plasma protein profiles before the onset of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) to assess the relationship between maternal plasma tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and HDP before 20 weeks gestation and to evaluate the discriminatory performance of plasma TRAIL levels for HDP. Methods A 2-phase discovery/validation study was designed. In the discovery phase, a nested case-controlled study was performed using plasma sampled at 8 to 20 weeks gestation from 20 women who later developed HDP and from 20 age- and gestational week-matched controls. Plasma was analyzed using a human protein microarray technology designed to simultaneously detect 507 proteins. The functional annotation and clustering of the differentially expressed proteins were performed using DAVID and the GO database. TRAIL levels were further validated in an independent study using plasma obtained at 8 to 20 weeks gestation from 53 women who later developed HDP and from 106 matched controls, and 62 clinical risk factors were investigated. Results In the protein microarray analysis, 23 proteins were differentially expressed between the two groups. The ELISA showed that women who later developed HDP had significantly lower TRAIL levels compared to women with uncomplicated pregnancies. The multivariable Cox regression analysis identified the following three factors that were entered into the final Cox regression model: gravidity (OR = 2.02, 95% CI 1.00–4.09), pre-pregnancy BMI (OR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.21–1.76) and TRAIL levels (OR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.94–0.99). The model had a significantly better discriminatory power (AUC = 0.83, 95% CI 0.75–0.88) compared to TRAIL alone as an independent predictor of HDP (AUC = 0.59, 95% CI 0.51–0.67). Conclusion Twenty-three differentially expressed proteins before 20 weeks gestation might be associated with the pathogenesis of HDP. Plasma TRAIL levels were associated with the development of HDP, and the combination of plasma TRAIL levels with pre-pregnancy BMI and gravidity had a good discriminatory performance for HDP before 20 weeks gestation.

Object This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of placenta-derived macrophage-stimulating protein α-chain (MSP-α) before the 20th week of gestation for the early diagnosis of preeclampsia (PE). Methods and Materials Two parts of this nested case-control study were simultaneously executed, and 1500 pregnant women were recruited. A total of 124 pregnant women were included in the plasma analysis part of this study. The MSP-α plasma level was measured before the 20th week of gestation, and the participants were followed until delivery. A case group of 62 women with PE and a control group of 62 women matched by gestational age, maternal age, and pre-pregnancy BMI (with normotensive pregnancies) were evaluated. In the placenta analysis part of this nested case-control study, the placentas of 34 pregnant women were randomly obtained. The placental levels of MSP were measured in 17 individuals with PE (case group) and in 17 women with a normotensive pregnancy matched by gestational age and maternal age (control group). Results The plasma level of MSP-α was higher in the PE group than in the control group before the 20th week of gestation (p < 0.001). In addition, compared to the women with severe features in the PE group, those without severe features had a significantly higher plasma MSP-α level before the 20th week of gestation (p < 0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of MSP-α before the 20th week of gestation was 0.905 (95% CI, 0.811–0.962) for the women with early-onset PE without severe features. With regard to the placenta, the PE group (accumulated optical density, IOD [SUM] = 8862.37 ± 2064.42) exhibited increased MSP staining (more intense MSP staining or more extensive staining) compared with the control group (normal pregnancies (IOD [SUM] = 447.92 ± 114.72, P < 0.001). Furthermore, increased MSP staining was detected among the women without severe features compared with those with severe features in the PE group (IOD [SUM]: 12192.65 ± 5325.56 vs. 4104.83 ± 2383.06, P = 0.021). Conclusion According to the findings of this study, the plasma level of MSP-α may be associated with PE, and MSP-α may be considered a candidate protein for further analysis in studies of PE. Multicenter studies with larger sample sizes must be performed in the future to obtain accurate results regarding the predictive value of MSP-α in combination with other protein factors for the early diagnosis of PE.

Objective To establish a highly sensitive screening method for phytoestrogen active constituents and to primarily screen the phytoestrogenic active constituents from the chickpea extractions by the method. Method Human ERalpha cDNA was cloned using MCF-7 total RNA as the template by RT-PCR and then was constructed into a pcDNA3 and named as pERalpha. The cell line MCF-7 was co-transfected with pERalpha and the reporter plasmid pERE-Luc which carrying the estrogen response element (ERE) plus the luciferase reporter gene. The luciferase activity was then assayed. The model was optimized by changing the ratio of two plasmids. The feasibility of the optimized model was further proved by the several known phytoestrogen compounds including fermononetin, biochanin A and genistein, et al. As an application of the model, the phytoestrogen activity of the extracts of the chickpea was assayed. Result The recombinant plasmid (pERalpha) can enhance luciferase activities of pERE-Luc transfected MCF-7 cells. The highest transfection efficiency and luciferase activity were found at the ratio of 10:1 (pERE-Luc: pERalpha), the luciferase activity was improved five times as high as the unique pERE-Luc transfection. The co-transfection screening model also indicated that fermononetin, biochanin A and genistein could induce ERE-driven luciferase activity and ICI 182,780 suppressed the induced transcription. As the application of the model, the results showed that the ethanol (70%) total extraction, the ethyl acetate extraction and the ligarine extraction of the chickpea can induce ERE-driven luciferase activity. Concurrent treatment with ICI 182,780 abolished the induced luciferase activity. Conclusion A phytoestrogen active constituent screening mode have been established based on co-transfection method. It is sensitive to assay the phytoestrogen active constituents and can be applied to screen the active component of phytoestrogens.