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Prunella vulgarisplants (full-bloom stage) were subjected to short-term (15 days) UV-B radiation in a growth chamber. UV-B radiation was effective at enhancing morphological and biomass characteristics and decreasing chlorophyll contents ofP. vulgaris. Treatment ofP. vulgariswith artificial UV-B radiation significantly increased peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) activities compared to the control treatment. UV-B radiation significantly increased the levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline in leaves ofP. vulgariscompared to those of control plants. In addition, the contents of total flavonoids, rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid and hyperoside significantly increased under UV-B radiation. The total phenolic levels also increased under UV-B treatment. These results demonstrated that short-term UV-B radiation can enhance production of secondary metabolites inP. vulgaris, resulting in increased spica yield compared to that of control plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different drying methods, including drying in the sun, sulphur fumigation, hot air drying, microwave drying, infrared drying and various coupling techniques,were used to dry fresh Gastrodiae Rhizoma. Characteristics, extracts and the contents of active components of all samples were compared to investigate the effects of different drying methods on quality of Gastrodiae Rhizoma. The results showed that the characteristics of the samples would be better with use of sulphur fumigation, hot air drying, and hot air-microwave drying. Different drying methods had little effects on extracts. Among them, the extract content was higher after hot air drying. The stilbene glycosides would transformation and the contents of Gastrodiae Rhizoma polysaccharides would decline with use of sulphur fumigation, microwave drying and infrared drying. In the comprehensive analysis of characteristics, content of active components, production cost and other factors, hot air drying or hot air-microwave drying was recommended as the first choice., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Objective: To determine the differentially expressed serum proteins in patients with hepatoma carcinoma and identify a putative diagnostic marker., Method: The isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) labeling method and LC-MALDI-TOF/TOF MS detection method were used to quantify serum proteins in hepatocellular carcinoma patients (n =20) and healthy individuals (n =20). Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to verify the differentially expressed proteins by analyzing the corresponding mRNA expression levels in the hepatic carcinoma and healthy hepatocyte samples, as well as in 30 pairs of patient-matched hepatic carcinoma and adjacent normal tissue samples. Western blot analysis was used to verify the protein expression in hepatic carcinoma cells., Result: Fifty-one proteins were significantly differentially expressed between the hepatic carcinoma group and healthy controls. The iTRAQ protein profile showed that the serum level of clusterin was significantly lower in hepatoma carcinoma patients. The mRNA level of clusterin was 20-fold lower in hepatic carcinoma cells than in healthy hepatocytes, and was 2.38-fold lower in hepatoma tissues than that in adjacent normal tissues. The clusterin protein levels were significantly lower in hepatic carcinoma cells (8.06 vs normal hepatocytes: 27.81; P less than 0.01)., Conclusion: The serum expression of clusterin is significantly decreased in both serum and tissues of hepatic carcinoma patients. The relationship between hepatic carcinoma and clusterin should be evaluated in future studies.