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Colla corii asini (CCA) is a widely used animal-derived traditional medicine and nutritional supplement in China that has a variety of bioactive effects, especially anti-anaemic effects. To date, the effective substances in CCA are still unclear, thus limiting the evaluation of the quality and consistency of CCA. In this study, a microcalorimetry-based bioassay method was established to assess the quality of CCA by investigating its effects on the growth and metabolism of Escherichia coli, and ten biothermodynamic parameters were employed to characterize the biothermal changes. A principal component analysis (PCA) of these parameters showed that CCA significantly promotes the heat production of E. coli compared to that in the control group, and CCA showed an obvious dose–effect relationship from 0.625 to 20 mg mL−1. Then, the effects of 12 batches of CCA from three different manufacturers were studied at a concentration of 5 mg mL−1, which had a good effect and showed good intraday and daytime reproducibility. The results revealed distinctive characteristics among different manufacturers and good consistency within the same manufacturer according to the scores of the first principal component. In summary, the method based on microcalorimetric has good prospects in the evaluation of the quality of CCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zingiberis Rhizoma is a typical Chinese herb in 'hot' property. Nowadays, increasing attention has been aroused for its essential role in both health care and treatment of 'cold' syndrome. And research about characteristics of Zingiberis Rhizoma is able to provide an important reference for its deeper understand and successful clinic application. However, cognition level about the 'hot' property of Zingiberis Rhizoma is superficial, and mechanism behind the 'hot' presentation is still elusive and unclear. In this study, the 'hot' property of Zingiberis Rhizoma was investigated at a monomer level with assistance of microcalorimetry, an objective and sensitive method in evaluating biological activity. Three bioactive compounds including 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol and 6-shogaol were selected, and their thermal activities were explored with mitochondria as target. The power-time curves were recorded, and five thermal parameters ( k, P , T , Q and P ) were obtained. With PCA, P was calculated to be the main parameter to measure the bioactivities of 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol and 6-shogaol. Finally, the bioactivities of three subjects were compared with sequence to be 6-gingerol > 8-gingerol > 6-shogaol. Generally, our study is promising to offer a reference to the research about characteristics of Zingiberis Rhizoma or other herbs and is of great interest for clinic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a healthcare-associated pathogen with the resistance to anti-bacterial agent, P. aeruginosa has caused prevalent public burden and should not be ignored. Facing the realistic situation, developing novel anti- P. aeruginosa agents is urgent. Leaves of Dracontomelon dao were extensively used in southern China to treat various infectious diseases 1000 years ago. And in the study, the heat flow power-time (HFP-time) curves generated by P. aeruginosa which were disturbed by the five fractions (PE, CHCl, EtOAc, n-BuOH and Vestiges fraction) from them were investigated through microcalorimetry, and then, some thermal kinetic parameters were obtained from the curves to characterize the metabolism of P. aeruginosa. The parameters were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA), and the anti- P. aeruginosa activities of the five fractions were systematically compared and evaluated. The results showed that five fractions all expressed respective anti- P. aeruginosa effects in a dose-dependent manner and especially the performance of EtOAc fraction with half-inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 18.06 μg mL. Simultaneously, the prospective performance of EtOAc fraction was confirmed by turbidimetry. Based on the promising anti- P. aeruginosa activities of EtOAc fraction, it could be developed as a novel anti-bacterial agent used in practice for treating certain infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) injections have been used as valuable preparations of herbal medicines. However, minor quality variation of TCM injections in the storage and transportation often results in adverse drug reactions and adverse drug events. In this study, biothermal dynamic test combined with chemical analysis was applied to monitor the consistency and stability of TCM injections. Shuang- huang- lian freeze-dried powder for injection (SHLPI) was selected as a representative herbal injection. Ten batches of normal samples and nine batches of artificially abnormal samples were collected. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprinting was frequently used to characterize the chemical composition of TCM injections. However, it could not monitor minor quality fluctuation of the samples under special conditions such as lighting, high temperature, and bacterial contamination. The biological activity of SHLPI on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus was detected and then analyzed with chemometric methods including similarity evaluation and partial least-squared discriminant analysis. The similarity of abnormal samples in HPLC fingerprinting was > 0.99, whereas most of the abnormal samples in biological fingerprinting was 0.943-0.652, demonstrating the greater discriminating ability of biological fingerprinting. Our study demonstrated that biological fingerprinting is effective to monitor the quality fluctuation of TCM injections and could improve the quality control of herbal medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The root of Wikstroemia indica has been widely used in China as folk medicine for the treatment for arthritis, whooping cough, cancer, and bacillosis. However, the constituents which have antibacterial activity were not clarified yet. In this study, the antibacterial effect of five extracts from W. indica on Escherichia coli was evaluated by microcalorimetry coupled with agar dilution method. The ethanol extract of W. indica was isolated with organic solvents of different polarities including petroleum (P.E.) extract, chloroform (CHCl) extract, ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extract, n-butylalcohol (nBuOH) extract, and residue extract. The metabolic profiles of E. coli growth at 37 °C were measured by microcalorimetry. According to the principal component analysis, k, k, and P were obtained from heat flow power-time (HFP-time) curve. The agar dilution method was performed to verify the results of thermodynamics. The results of microcalorimetric experiment indicated that EtOAc fraction demonstrated the strongest antibacterial activity with half-inhibitory concentration of 92.4 μg mL. Meanwhile, similar results were gained from the common method of agar diffusion, which suggested that EtOAc extract could be further developed as antibacterial bioactive fraction of W. indica. Altogether, microcalorimetry is a useful technique to provide sufficient quantitative information and evaluate the antimicrobial effect with its sensitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (ALRP) is commonly used traditional Chinese medicine in clinic, and it is usually in compatibility with ginger including Zingiberis Rhizoma (ZR), Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens (ZRR), and Zingiberis Rhizoma Praeparatum (ZRP) for treatment of diseases. In this paper, microcalorimetry and Cold/Hot plate differentiating technology (CHPD) were employed to explore the hot property differences of ALRP, together with its compatibility with different ginger processed products. By means of principal component analysis (PCA), the heat power of the second peak ( P) and the total heat output ( Q) which were the main parameters affecting the E. coli metabolism from the power-time curves were obtained. The results showed that the hot property of ALRP in compatibility with different processed ginger was in order of ZR + ALRP > ZRR + ALRP > ZRP + ALRP > ALRP. Meanwhile, the oxygen consumption and remaining rate (RR) in mice on warm plate suggested that the hot property of ALRP was totally different. The relationships between the main parameters ( P and Q) values and the observation indexes from CHPD were investigated with canonical correlation analysis. The correlation coefficient showed that parameter Q had a marked correlation with the observation indexes ( R > 0.85). Altogether, based on bio-thermodynamics, the hot property differences of ALRP and its compatibility with different ginger processed products followed the order of ZR + ALRP > ZRR + ALRP > ZRP + ALRP > ALRP. This could provide guidance for clinical use of ALRP combining with different ginger processed products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fact that mitochondria still have metabolic activity and can live for a week with appropriate nutrients after isolated from the rat liver provides us a useful means to investigate the metabolic process of mitochondria influenced by chemicals. Using the TAM air isothermal microcalorimeter, the HP-time curves of the metabolic activity of mitochondria were measured. The effects of five Aconitum L. plants, Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata (RALP), Radix Aconiti (RA), Radix Aconiti Kusnezoffii (RAK), Radix Aconiti Brachypodi (RAB), and Radix Aconiti Singularis (RAS) on the metabolic activity of mitochondria were investigated, respectively. The quantitative information, such as k, Q, P, T, T, and P obtained from the HP-time curves, were accumulated for analysis. With the help of PCA method, P was selected as the standard for comparing the different effects of five Aconitum L. plants on metabolic activity of mitochondria. The potential sequence of efficiency was RAS > RAK > RAB > RA > RALP, and the EC were separately 1.43, 2.31, 1.10, 1.61, and 2.56 mg mL. The results demonstrated that the five Aconitum L. plants had different bioeffects on the mitochondria metabolism. Meanwhile, this study indicated that microcalorimetry was a powerful tool to evaluate the drugs' efficiency on living system, providing some useful references for the application of five Aconitum L. plants in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the prevalence resistance of Staphylococcus aureus to antibacterial agents, developing novel antibacterial agents is urgent. Recently, plant extracts have got more focus. In this study, the power-time curves produced by S. aureus under the action of the four extracted fractions (PE, CHCl, EtOAc, and n-BuOH fractions) from the leaves of Dracontomelon dao were determined by microcalorimetry, and then some quantitative parameters, such as growth rate constant k, total heat output Q, maximum heat-output power P, and the appearance time t were obtained. By analyzing the parameters using principal component analysis, the anti- S. aureus effects of the four fractions were systematically evaluated and compared. Meanwhile, the total flavonoid contents in these fractions were analyzed. The results have evidenced that different fractions using various extraction solvents expressed various anti- S. aureus effects, and the inhibitory effects were presented in a flavonoid content-dependent manner. The EtOAc fraction with the highest total flavonoid content (41.86 %) expressed the strongest anti- S. aureus effect with half-inhibitory concentration (IC) of 83.93 μg mL, which might be applied as a novel antibacterial agent in practice for some infectious diseases. In addition, the microcalorimetric method should be strongly suggested in screening for novel antibacterial agents for fighting against pathogenic bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microcalorimetry is an important analytical tool continuously measuring the heat output generated in the physical, chemical or biological processes. Here, the microcalorimetric method was used to evaluate the bio-activity differences of seven medicinal animal horns and shells on splenic lymphocytes. The cells were placed in the 20-mL glass ampoules containing RPMI-1640 and the test drugs (10 mg mL), and the heat output and motility of the cells were examined with an isothermal microcalorimeter. From the measured power-time curves, some quantitative thermokinetic parameters were obtained. By analyzing these parameters using principal component analysis, two main parameters, the maximum heat-output power P and total heat output Q, were optimized, through which the effects of the seven drugs on splenic lymphocytes were quickly evaluated: 10 mg mL of Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum showed stronger promotion effect than Cornu Cervi on the growth and proliferation of splenic lymphocytes, whereas the other five horns and shells animal drugs including Cornu Saigae Tataricae, Cornu Caprae Hircus, Cornu Bubali, Squama Manis and Carapax Trionycis at 10 mg mL all inhibited the growth of splenic lymphocytes, and Cornu Saigae Tataricae expressed the strongest inhibitory effect. The result of hierarchical clustering analysis on the quantitative parameters indicated that the drugs with promotion effect on splenic lymphocytes clustered into one group and the other drugs with inhibitory effect consisted of another group. The results have highlighted the bio-activity differences of the seven horns and shells animal drugs referring to immune functions from the cell level, providing meaningful references for the clinical use of the valuable drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For quality control of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), an attempt on fingerprint-efficacy study of Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata ( Fuzi) was developed in this paper. The fingerprints of Fuzi from various sources were determined by UPLC and hierarchical clustering analysis. Some quantitative thermo-kinetic parameters such as the heat-flow maximum power ( P) and its time corresponding to t, which obtained from the thermogenic curves of mitochondria metabolic activity affected by Fuzi were analyzed using principal component analysis. The fingerprint-efficacy relationship of chemical fingerprint and promoting effect of Fuzi were established using canonical correlation analysis. Our results showed that the sources and places of production of Fuzi had some significant influence on the chemical fingerprints and promoting metabolic effects of this CHM. Fingerprint-efficacy study provided a powerful way and some references for the quality control of Fuzi and other CHMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anti- Escherichia coli activities of four extracts in leaves of Dracontomelon dao, a traditional folk herb in China were investigated and compared by microcalorimetry. The four extracts are PE fraction, CHCl fraction, EtOAc fraction, and n-BuOH fraction. The heat flow power-time (HFP-time) curves of E. coli growth in the presence of the four extracts were measured using an ampoule method. Then the nine thermal kinetic parameters were obtained from the curves. From the result of principal component analysis, it can be seen that parameters k, k, P, and Q might be the main parameters in evaluating the anti- E. coli effects. In the presence of CHCl fraction, EtOAc fraction, and n-BuOH fraction, k, Q of E. coli decreased with increasing concentrations of the extracts. The EtOAc fraction was observed to have the strongest anti-bacterial activity with half-inhibitory concentration IC50 of 98.5 μg mL. So, it can be concluded that EtOAc fraction can be further developed as anti-bacterial bioactive fraction of leaves of Dracontomelon dao. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A powerful microcalorimetric method based on the cell heat production was applied to evaluate the effects of two Panax species on mice splenic lymphocytes growth. Some qualitative and quantitative information, such as the metabolic power-time curves, growth rate constant k, maximum heat-output power P, appearance time for the highest peak t, total heat production Q for all the metabolic progress of mice splenic lymphocytes were obtained to present the effects of Panax ginseng and American Ginseng on these cells. Coupled with principal component analysis (PCA) on these quantitative thermokinetic parameters, the effects of the two Panax species on mice splenic lymphocytes could be quickly evaluated by analyzing the change of the main parameter k. From the values of k, it could be concluded quickly and accurately that Panax ginseng and American Ginseng both showed strong inhibitory effects on mice splenic lymphocytes, and the inhibitory effects was strengthened with increasing concentration of the two Panax species in the concentration range of 0-3.2 mg mL. Panax ginseng with IC of 1.38 mg mL showed stronger inhibitory effect on mice splenic lymphocytes growth than American Ginseng with IC of 2.08 mg mL. This study indicates that microcalorimetry is a powerful tool for evaluating the drugs' efficiency on living system, providing some useful references for the application of Panax ginseng and American Ginseng in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese Medicine Injections (CMIs) are powerful preparations, but adverse drug reactions can hardly be avoided. Incorrect drug combination is a major cause. Recently, insoluble particulate matter test, pH measurement, and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint have been recommended as potential strategies for prediction of drug-incompatible reactions. However, these methods were complex to manipulate, subjective to judge, or were of poor relevance and low sensitivity. In this study, a novel application for the detection of compatibility of combination of CMIs based on isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) has been proposed. Qingkailing Injection (QKL) was selected as a representative drug to blend with Potassium Chloride Injection (KCl) and Calcium Chloride Injection (CaCl). The type of reactions between them was intuitively manifested by the thermodynamic parameters including Gibbs free energy change (Δ G), enthalpy change (Δ H), and entropy change (Δ S). The results indicated that when QKL mixed with CaCl, Δ G < 0, and |Δ H| > T|Δ S|, which meant chemical changes happened between them and ADRs might happen in clinic. On the contrary, the reactions between QKL and KCl existed solely as physical processes, indicating that it was relatively safe. Meanwhile, HPLC fingerprint was also applied, but no significant difference was found. It is hard to distinguish whether incompatible reactions have happened during HPLC. The study suggested that with the advantages of convenience, sensitivity, and reliability, ITC could serve as an essential tool in the detection of incompatible reactions of drug combination. The described method could be used for early prediction of adverse drug reactions, which would be helpful to ensure the rationality of drug combination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A challenging method for sterility test which was rapid and reliable had been established to assess the adaptability and robustness of the microbial under different conditions. There were material and energy metabolism or exchange with microbial on microcalorimetry, as a result this method can be served as one of the optimization of thermodynamics sterility test. Thermal power-time curves under various environmental conditions (including processing temperature, storage time, and drugs inhibition) were determined. Typical microbial growth thermal power-time curves were obtained. The curves were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by similarity values of bio-profiles and thermodynamics parameters, such as the exponential growth rate constant ( k), detection time ( T). The similarity showed that microbial growth curves of low processing temperature, short storage time (1 month), and Traditional Chinese Medicine injection (Shuanghuanglian, contained native compounds) inhibiting were match better with the normal than other circumstance. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that the microcalorimetric method could detect the positive bacteria within 18 h (less than 10 cfu), and more quickly identify the different states of the bacterium growth and metabolism than routine sterility. In conclusion, characterized by of the specific and strong two-dimensional information, microcalorimetry could supply thermograms as biological profiles to describe the microbial activity under different conditions, which were not only used as a rapid and reliable identification of microbial, but also as a method for sterility test of microcalorimetry optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antibacterial effect of Curcumin on Staphylococcus aureus growth was evaluated by microcalorimetry. The heat flow power-time curves and nine quantitative parameters of the S. aureus growth were applied to investigate the inhibitory effect with Curcumin. By analyzing these curves and some quantitative parameters using multivariate analytical methods, similarity analysis and principal component analysis, the antibacterial activity of Curcumin on S. aureus could be accurately evaluated from the change of the two main parameters, the second exponential growth rate constant k and the maximum heat flow power P. The main two thermal parameters played more important role in the evaluation: at low concentration (0-10.5 μg mL), Curcumin hardly influence the growth of S. aureus, while at high concentration (10.5-43.4 μg mL) it could notably inhibit the growth. All these illustrated that the antibacterial activity of Curcumin on S. aureus was enhanced with the increase of the concentration of this compound. This study might provide an useful method and idea accurately evaluate the antibacterial effects of Curcumin, which provides some useful methods for evaluate the nature antibacterial agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, microcalorimetry combined with chemometric analysis was used to investigate the effects of angle and nail animal valuable drugs on Bacillus subtilis ( B. subtilis) growth. The power-time curves of the growth metabolism of B. subtilis affected by Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum, Cornu Cervi Elaphi, Cornu Saigae Tataricae, cornu caprae hircus, Cornu Bubali, Squama Manis, and Carapax Trionycis were determined using a thermal activity monitor (TAM) air isothermal microcalorimeter, ampoule mode, at 37 °C. By analyzing these curves and some quantitative parameters using principal component analysis, the effects of the seven animal drugs on B. subtilis could be quickly evaluated from the change of the two main parameters, the maximum heat-flow power P and total heat output Q: Cornu Saigae Tataricae, cornu caprae hircus, Cornu Bubali, Squama Manis, and Carapax Trionycis inhibited the growth of B. subtilis, while Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum and Cornu Cervi Elaphi promoted the growth of B. subtilis. Further, the result of hierarchical clustering analysis showed that the drugs which promoted the growth of B. subtilis gathered in one cluster, the other drugs which inhibited the growth of B. subtilis gathered in the other cluster. All these illustrated that the internal characteristics of the seven animal drugs were different though they had similar resources and these drugs could be well clustered according the effects of them on B. subtilis growth with the help of chemometric methods. This study provided an useful idea of the combination of microcalorimetry and chemometric analysis for studying the effects of drugs on organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using microcalorimetry, the characteristic metabolic heat flow power-time curves of S. aureus growth affected by Ursodesoxycholic acid and Hyodeoxycholic acid were measured at 37 °C. The thermal-kinetic parameters such as, growth rate constant k, the maximum power output ( P), the time corresponding to the maximum power output ( t), total heat-production Q, half inhibitory concentration of the drugs ( IC) were calculated from the growth curves. For both HDCA and UDCA, with the increasing of concentration, k, P, and Q decreased, meanwhile, k- c fit a linear equation, t was prolonged correspondingly. Principle component analysis, the results indicated t might be the main parameter in evaluating the antibacterial activity of HDCA and UDCA in microcalorimetric method. Combining with t and IC, the results revealed that the differences and trends of antibacterial activity of these bile acid derivatives were: HDCA > UDCA. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis showed that the α-OH at C-3 and C-6 position at equal pace on the steroid nucleus enhanced the hydrophilicity of HDCA, which led to a stronger antibacterial effect than UDCA. In this study, a useful tool was provided to accurately evaluate the antibacterial effects of bile acid derivatives. The thermolysis curve recorded by microcalorimetry could provide a lot of kinetic and thermodynamic information for the study of growth process of living microbial, which could be helpful in the screening of high efficacy antibacterial agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhizoma Coptidis consists mainly of protoberberine alkaloids (PAs), and has been used for many years as a traditional medicine. Recent research revealed the toxicity of Rhizoma Coptidis, but studies focusing on the relationships between the structures of PAs and their toxicities are lacking. The toxic effects of four PAs from Rhizoma Coptidis on the growth of Tetrahymena thermophila BF were investigated by microcalorimetry. The power-time curves of T. thermophila BF with and without PAs were obtained; the extent and duration of toxic effects on the metabolism of this organism were evaluated by studying thermokinetic parameters and the half-inhibitory ratio ( IC). All the thermokinetic parameters showed regular variations with alteration of PA concentrations. The magnitude of the toxic effects of PAs was ascertained from IC values: palmatine > jateorhizine > berberine ≈ coptisine. The structure-function relationship of PAs indicated that the C2 and C3 positions contributed more to the toxic effect of PAs. That is, when substituted with methoxyl groups, the toxic effect would be increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curcumin (CUR), a frequently-used food additive and flavorings, has been reported to be safe at a wide dose range. Bacillus subtilis ( B. subtilis) is commonly found in soil and decomposing organic matter, and it was reported beneficial for humans when ingested. Up to now, there have been no contraindication of B. subtilis except for the avoidance of the drug combination with antibiotics, and the interaction of food and B. subtilis drug is blank. In this study, the interaction of CUR and B. subtilis was investigated. Microcalorimetry was applied to evaluate the effect of CUR on B. subtilis growth. By analyzing the main parameters extracted from the heat-flow power-time curves, it was concluded that CUR could inhibit the growth of B. subtilis, and the 50% inhibiting concentration (IC) valued 109.9 μg mL. The results revealed that it is unreasonable to take CUR and B. subtilis at the same time, and it also provided a new way for the investigation of the interaction between food and drug. Meanwhile, this study indicated that the safety of CUR should be re-evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power-time curves of mice splenic lymphocytes growth at 37 °C affected by ginsenoside Rh were determined by microcalorimetry using a 3114/3236 TAM air bioactivity monitor with ampoule mode. Then, the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Rh on splenic lymphocytes growth was determined by serial dilution method. From factor analysis (FA) on six quantitative thermokinetic parameters from the power-time curves, the activity of Rh on splenic lymphocytes could be quickly evaluated by analyzing the changes in the two main parameters: growth rate constant k, and maximum heat-output power, P. The results showed that Rh had strong inhibitory activity on splenic lymphocytes growth, and this inhibitory activity was strengthened with increasing concentration of Rh in the concentration range of 1.0-32.0 μg mL. This strong inhibitory also could be confirmed from the MIC of 50.0 μg mL of Rh on splenic lymphocytes growth in RPMI-1640 culture medium. This study illustrated that microcalorimetry could not only offer a useful method for evaluating the activity of drugs, but also serve as a quantitative, sensitive, and simple analytic tool for the evaluation of drugs on cell growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]