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Pulsatilla saxatilis L. Xu & T.G. Kang, sp. nov., Figs. 1���3. Type:��� CHINA. Liaoning, Fengcheng, Baiyun Mountain, on rocky cliffs, ca. 1100 m, 26 May 2015, L. Xu et al. 210682150526013 LY (holotype LNCM, isotypes IFP, IMD, LNCM, PE). Fig. 1. Diagnosis: From its putative closest ally, Pulsatilla chinensis (Fig. 4), the new species P. saxatilis is distinguishable by having light blue, whitish-blue or white (vs. violet) sepals and persistent styles 2���2.5 cm (vs. 3.5���6.5 cm) long (see Table 1). Description:���Perennial herb, 9���20 cm tall. Rhizome 0.5���1 cm in diameter. Basal leaves 6���11, leaf blade ovate, 2���3.5 �� 1.5���3 cm, 3���foliolate or ternate-pinnate. Central leaflet long petiolulate, 0.5���2 cm long, cordate, 3���foliolate, central segment stipitate and deeply 3���lobed, ultimate lobes cuniform, 0.3���0.6 cm wide, apically 2���or 3���toothed, abaxially sparsely long pilose, adaxially glabrous; petiole 2���7.5 cm, densely white villose. Scapes solitary or 2, occasionally 3, erect, white villose. Involucral bracts 3 or 4, 1��� 2.4 cm long, connate and tubular at base, apically palmately 3���lobed, apical palmate lobes lanceolate, abaxially densely long pilose. Flowers solitary, erect, 2���4 cm in diameter; sepals 6���11, light blue, whitish���blue or white, oblong-ovate, 1.5���2.5 �� 0.4���1.4 cm, abaxially puberulent; stamens numerous, ca. 1/2 as long as sepals; carpels numerous, style yellow-green, stigma pale violet. Achenes 2.5���3 mm long, long pilose. Persistent styles 2���2.5 cm long, sparsely long pilose. Phenology:���Flowering in May; fruiting in June. Pollen morphology:���Pollen grains of Pulsatilla saxatilis are spheroidal and pantoporate, having 9���12 apertures (Fig. 5A, B). The pollen surface is rough and spinulate, and the spinules are unevenly distributed. The bases of the spinules are cushion-like, and the tops are acuminate. The spinules in the apertures are larger than those on the surface. In its putative closest ally, P. chinensis, pollen grains are tricolpate (Fig. 5C, D). Pollen morphology, therefore, lends strong support for the description of P. saxatilis as new. Distribution and habitat:��� Pulsatilla saxatilis is currently known only from its type locality, i.e. Baiyun Mountain in Fengcheng, Liaoning province, north-east China (Fig. 6). It grows on rocky cliffs at an altitude of ca. 1100 m. Etymology:���The specific epithet, ��� saxatilis ���, which means ���dwelling or found among rocks���, refers to the habitat of the new species. Additional specimens examined (paratypes):��� CHINA. Liaoning, Fengcheng, Baiyun Mountain, ca. 1100 m, on rocky cliffs, 22 May 2016, L . Xu et al. 210682160522032 LY (PE); the same locality, 22 May 2016, L . Xu et al. 210682160522032 LY (IFP, IMD, LNCM). Conservation status:��� Pulsatilla saxatilis is currently known only from its type locality, with its distribution area being very small, although the population we observed in 2015 consisted of numerous individuals, and the habitat was in good condition, not disturbed by human activities. The conservation status of P. saxatilis may better be considered as ���Endangered��� (IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee 2019)., Published as part of Zhang, Ting-Ting, Zhang, Shu-Mei, Xu, Liang & Kang, Ting-Guo, 2022, Pulsatilla saxatilis (Ranunculaceae), a new species from north-east China, pp. 195-202 in Phytotaxa 539 (2) on pages 195-200, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.539.2.6, http://zenodo.org/record/6358199

The plant Gastrodia elata is a type of the orchid plant Gastrodia elata Bl. which contains glycosides, phenols, polysaccharides, sterols, and organic acids and a variety of active ingredients are proved to have certain pharmacological activities. To understand the process in the body of Gastridua elata, we used HPLC to study pharmacokinetics and tissue distributions of adenosine, 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol and Parishin C in rats. The results showed that the three ingredients could be detected in plasma and different organizations at various time points. There was no significant difference in systemic clearance at three ingredients and it may be show that the three ingredients distributed (0.475±0.025, 0.518±0.033, 0.699±0.051) quickly and eliminated (5.37±0.87, 4.54±0.69, 5.34±0.82) slowly in plasma. There was the highest content of adenosine in spleen, followed by liver and lung. The highest content of 4-hydroxybenzylacohol in liver, and was higher in spleen. Parishin C was highest in heart, followed by liver and spleen. It is obvious that the contents of three ingredients are all higher in liver. The trends of the three ingredients' contents in G. rhizome extract were consistent with the contents in the plasma after intravenous administration.

Background: Polygonum multiflorum and Achyranthes bidentate are traditional Chinese herbs, which show significant antiosteoporosis (OP) effect. These two herbs are commonly used as a combination in traditional Chinese medicine. Materials and Methods: In this study, the left humerus section of the mice were stained with hematoxylin and eosin staining to establish the spectrum-effect relationships between the high-performance liquid chromatography fingerprint of different solvent extracts and the anti-OP effect. Finally, we analyzed the correlation between the content of main compounds of different solvent extracts and the anti-OP effect. Results: The compatibility had obvious therapeutic effect on OP induced by retinoic acid. The results of pharmacodynamic analysis showed that the extract had a certain effect on the bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, the level of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b (TRACP-5b), and estrogen 2 and had a great influence on TRACP-5b especially. The results of spectrum-effect relationships and correlation analysis showed that the level of β-ecdysterone and tetrahydroxystilbene is negatively correlated with bone resorption index and TRACP-5b. The higher the content of the two compounds in the combination, the better the effect of treating mouse OP induced by retinoic acid. Conclusion: It is suggested that the compatibility of P. multiflorum and A. bidentata can be used to treat OP, and their mechanism of action is through reducing osteoclastic effect. β-ecdysterone and tetrahydroxystilbene may be the active components of combination of Polygoni multiflori-A. bidentate.

The pharmacokinetic profile of arctiin, the major active lignan in fruits of Arctium lappa L., was investigated. Its main meta“bolite arctigenin was identified by an LC-MS method, and an HPLC-UV technique was developed for the simultaneous quantification of the metabolite and arctiin in plasma and organs. Chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent™ C 18 HPLC column with acetonitrile and water by linear gradient elution. Arctiin and arctigenin were identified on-line by LC-MS. The pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of arctiin and arctigenin were determined for the first time by using a simple, selective, and accurate HPLC method. The AUC 0-t values of arctigenin were larger compared with arctiin after oral administration of arctiin. The concentration of the metabolite was significantly higher than the concentration of arctiin in the stomach and small intestine in rats after oral administration of arctiin, indicating that the stomach and small intestine were the major organs of arctiin metabolism. These findings could provide support for the clinical studies conducted with Fructus Arctii.

Absolute alcohol, stress, pyloric ligation and others are well-rounded experimental gastric ulcer models widely used to evaluate the anti-ulcer activity of drugs (Wang et al., 2007; Zhang et al., 2007; Huang et al., 2004; Oyagi et al., 2010). In the model evaluation process, ulcer index is a more important indicator. So in this experiment, the absolute alcohol gastric ulcer model is taken as an example to discuss a model of gastric ulcer index, which can be used as a new method to calculate the reduction of the systematic errors that exist in the experiment. The oral ethanol approach was used to establish an absolute alcohol gastric ulcer model, and impose certain medication, while traditional methods and the establishment of grayscale image analysis methods were used for calculating its ulcer index respectively, before comparing the differences between the two methods. Grayscale image analysis methods and traditional methods have significant correlation (r = 0.819, Pi¼œ0.01) and similarity (r = 0.951). A grayscale image analysis method not only proves to be a more scientific approach to measure rat gastric ulcer area, but also provide a new method to evaluate drug efficacy to some extent. Key words: Gastric ulcer, ulcer index, gray-scale image analysis, image J.