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Yunnan Baiyao is a famous Chinese patent medicine in Yunnan Province. However, its mechanism for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis is not fully explained. Our study used metabonomics technology to reveal the regulatory effect of Yunnan Baiyao on small molecular metabolites in promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, and exploring the related urine biomarkers. The coagulation function, blood rheology, and pathological results demonstrated that after Yunnan Baiyao treatment, the pathological indexes in rats with epinephrine hydrochloride-induced blood stasis syndrome improved and returned to normal levels. This is the basis for the effectiveness of Yunnan Baiyao. UPLC-G2Si-HDMS was used in combination with multivariate statistical analysis to conduct metabonomic analysis of urine samples. Finally, using mass spectrometry technology, 28 urine biomarkers were identified, clarifying the relevant metabolic pathways that play a vital role in the Yunnan Baiyao treatment. These were used as the target for Yunnan Baiyao to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. This study showed that metabolomics strategies provide opportunities and conditions for a deep and systematic understanding of the mechanism of action of prescriptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geophagy is common in extant nonhuman primate species, but the exact reasons for it across species remain unclear. Previous diet studies on Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) were only focused on organic materials (plants and small animals). There are no reports on R. bieti exhibiting geophagy in the field before this study. This study was carried out at Xiangguqing in the Baimaxueshan Nature Reserve from June 2008 to May 2009. We recorded the behavior of geophagy and collected samples of soil consumed by the monkeys there and analyzed their content in a laboratory. We identified a total of eight sites where the monkeys consumed soil in the home range during the study period. The total time spent ingesting soil was 13,690 seconds. 20 adult males, 34 adult females except lactating mothers, and 12 immatures without infants were seen to eat soil throughout this study. Average time spent in soil-eating bouts differed significantly among age/sex classes. This study suggests that particular age/sex classes or individuals in certain states of society and health will predictably display a behavioral pattern of geophagy. Our data indicate that geophagy in R. bieti is best explained as a response to nutrient deficiency, as soil consumed by the monkeys was significantly higher in calcium, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, and sodium. Although R. bieti consumes ironrich soil, control samples that were not consumed also had high levels of iron, suggesting that high altitude alone is not a sufficient explanation for geophagy in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amomum tsaoko is a perennial herb belonging to Zingiberaceae. Its dried ripe fruit is an important food additive, spice and materia medicai in Southeast Asia. For hundreds of years of cultivation, morphological variations have existed. The essential oil is one of the major active products of the A. tsaoko fruit and seed. In this study, we collected 12 populations in Yunnan province, and the correlation analysis of compounds was focused on the essential oil of A. tsaoko seed and its fruit morphological characteristics, geographical conditions, and locality of growth. The results showed that the difference in morphological characteristics between populations is greater than the difference within the population. High altitude areas are beneficial for biomass accumulation. Another interesting finding is that selecting specific functional or odor type materials could reference the morphologies of A. tsaoko fruit and seed. Furthermore, the qualitative and quantitative analysis of compounds in essential oil could be used to distinguish the producing area of the A. tsaoko fruit. These results are crucial in realizing the determination of botanical origin and evaluating the quality of A. tsaoko fruit. Meanwhile, it makes clear that various other studies on this plant deserve more attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruidian geothermal field is a treasure trove of geothermal resources in Southwest China. This paper probes deep into the hydro-chemical features and isotopic features of geothermal fluids in the geothermal field, and discusses the evolution of the hydro-chemical features. The main results are as follows: the geothermal fluids were recharged by the same source, and mixed with cold water through a simple process, that is, the fluids originated from the same high-temperature deep reservoir. The leading hydro-chemical features in Ruidian geothermal field are HCO3·Cl-Na. The Cl- content peaked at 200mg/L, and the δ18O drifted positively by 1.5% to 2.5%. The water-rock interaction in the geothermal fluids is not in the equilibrium state. A good portion of the fluids is surface water. To a certain extent, the underground geothermal fluids have an open circulation condition. The hydro-chemical components mainly come from granite dissolution, the alteration of the magma and hydrothermal fluid, and the mixing with groundwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]