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This study assessed the modulating effects of liquiritin against cognitive deficits, oxidative damage, and neuronal apoptosis induced by subsequent bilateral intrahippocampal injections of aggregated amyloid-β1–42 (Aβ1–42). This study also explored the molecular mechanisms underlying the above phenomena. Liquiritin was orally administered to rats with Aβ1–42-induced cognitive deficits for 2 weeks. The protective effects of liquiritin on the learning and memory impairment induced by Aβ1–42 were examined in vivo by using Morris water maze. The rats were then euthanized for further studies. The antioxidant activities of liquiritin in the hippocampus of the rats were investigated by biochemical and immunohistochemical methods. The apoptosis of the neurons was assessed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end-labeling assay. Liquiritin at doses of 50–100 mg/kg significantly improved the cognitive ability, restored the abnormal activities of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, and decreased the levels of malondialdehyde，8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine and protein carbonyl in the hippocampus of rats with Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, neural apoptosis in the hippocampus of Aβ1–42-treated rats was reversed by liquiritin. Liquiritin can significantly ameliorate Aβ1–42-induced spatial learning and memory impairment by inhibiting oxidative stress and neural apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the process of treating cashmere fibers with papain, the speed of hydrolysis surface scales equal with the globular protein, got the uniform treatment effect, and there was no "rotten core" phenomenon ,and the anti-felting performance increased 26. 47% , indicated that the treatment had a certain effect. When we pretreated cashmere with KMnO4, and then used papain to treat it, through single-factor analysis got the optimized condition was time 60 mm, temperature 50 °C concentration 4% (owf), sodium bisulfite 4% (owf) , pH value 7.5 ,and the felting ball volume was 18. 609 cm3, breaking strength was 3.70 cN, elongation rate was 34.00% , weight loss was 4. 19%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The result of the shrinkage effect is not very clear when treated cashmere with separate Savinase protease. In this paper, we pretreated cashmere with KMnO4 , and then used Savinase protease to treat it. Through single-factor analysis got the optimized condition was temperature 40 °C , concentration 4% (owf) , time 25 min, pH value 8.5, the finished cashmere's felting ball volume was 18.70 cm³, breaking strength was 3.77 cN, elongation rate was 35. 99% , weight loss 4. 17%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The result of the shrinkage effect is not very clear when treated cashmere with separate neutral protease, and there will lead to a slight "rotten core" phenomenon. In this paper, we pretreated cashmere with KMnO4, and then used neutral protease to treat it. Through single-factor analysis, it got the optimized condition was temperature 40 °C, concentration 6% (owf), time 45 min, pH value 7. 5, and the felting ball volume 18. 201 cm3, breaking strength 3.79 cN, elongation rate 35. 81%, weight loss 4. 08%. The result of the shrinkage effect was clear, illustrate that the pre-KMnO4-neutral protease composite process was a viable treatment process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The felting property of wool with different lengths and mixed with cashmere was examined by using felting ball test method. The test results showed that with the increase of the temperature and the time, the volume felting ball of decreased, and with the shorter of the fiber, the volume of felting ball increased. About the mixture of wool and cashmere, with the ratio of wool to cashmere decreased, the volume first increased, and then decreased. When the ratio of wool to cashmere equal to 1:2, the mixture of wool and cashmere had the biggest volume, and the ratio of wool to cashmere equal to 1 : 1, the mixture of 1/2 length wool and 1/3 length wool respectively with cashmere had the biggest volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: KMnO4 has strong oxidizing properties in highlyacid, which is used for the shrink-proof treatment of cashmere. A more uniform effect can be achieved by adding sodium pyrophosphate as chelating agent to control the reaction rate. In this paper, the included angle cosine method is used to determine the empowerment weight, and the fuzzy orthogonal design theory and method to analyze the figures. The empowerment weight worked with the figures determines the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation values, which is then used for the objective function. By direct-viewing analysis of the orthogonal results obtained by fuzzy mathematical, the optimum conditions is: temperature 40 °C , time 40 mm, KMnO4 2 g/L, pH value 2, pyrophosphate 4 g/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the scales on the cashmere fiber surface, the using process will lead to the phenomenon of fabric shrinkage, shape instability and reduce the wearability. In order to test the performance of the regular felting, in this paper, shrink-ball method was used to test white cashmere fiber, purple cashmere fiber, shrink cashmere fiber, dyed cashmere fiber' s felting degree. The experiment showed that the volume of the fiber felting body was gradually smaller with the increase of the temperature and time, when the soap temperature exceeded 30 °C , time longer than 30 mm, white cashmere had a serious felting. Shrink-proof treatment of the white cashmere significantly reduced the degree of felting, cashmere fiber's staining had no effect on the extent of its shrinkage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer poses a serious threat to human health and overall well-being. Conventional cancer treatments predominantly encompass surgical procedures and radiotherapy. Nevertheless, the substantial side effects and the emergence of drug resistance in patients significantly diminish their quality of life and overall prognosis. There is an acute need for innovative, efficient therapeutic agents to address these challenges. Plant-based herbal medicines and their derived compounds offer promising potential for cancer research and treatment due to their numerous advantages. Solanum nigrum ( S. nigrum) , a traditional Chinese medicine, finds extensive use in clinical settings. The steroidal compounds within S. nigrum , particularly steroidal alkaloids, exhibit robust antitumor properties either independently or when combined with other drugs. Many researchers have delved into unraveling the antitumor mechanisms of the active components present in S. nigrum , yielding notable progress. This literature review provides a comprehensive analysis of the research advancements concerning the active constituents of S. nigrum . Furthermore, it outlines the action mechanisms of select monomeric anticancer ingredients. Overall, the insights derived from this review offer a new perspective on the development of clinical anticancer drugs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Zhang, Lv, Zheng and Li.)

This study was to investigate the mechanism of safflower yellow injection for regulating inflammatory response against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury( MIRI) in rats. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham operation group,model group,Hebeishuang group,safflower yellow injection high,medium and low dose groups. MIRI model was established by ligating left anterior descending coronary artery. Myocardial histopathological changes were observed by HE staining; myocardial infarct size was detected by TTC staining; content and changes of tumor necrosis factor-α( TNF-α) and interleukin-6( IL-6),serum creatine kinase( CK),aspartate aminotransferase( AST),and lactate dehydrogenase( LDH) were detected by biochemical method or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay( ELISA). Western blot assay was used to detect the protein expression of Toll-like receptor 4( TLR4) and nuclear factor-κB( NF-κB p65) in myocardial tissues. The results showed that as compared with the sham operation group,the myocardial arrangement of the model group was disordered,with severe edemain the interstitial,significantly increased area of myocardial infarction,increased activities of AST,CK and LDH in serum,and significantly increased contents of TNF-α and IL-6; the expression levels of TLR4 and NF-κB( p65) protein in myocardial tissues were also increased. As compared with the model group,the myocardial tissues were arranged neatlyin the Hebeishuang group and safflower yellow injection high,medium and low dose groups; the edema was significantly reduced; the myocardial infarct size was significantly reduced; the serum AST,CK,LDH activity and TNF-α,IL-6 levels were significantly decreased,and the expression levels of TLR4 and NF-κB( p65) protein in myocardial tissues were decreased. As compared with the Hebeishuang group,the myocardial infarct size was larger in the safflower yellow injection high,medium and low dose groups; the activities of AST,CK and LDH in serum and the contents of TNF-α and IL-6 in serum were higher,but there was no statistically significant difference in the expression levels of TLR4 and NF-κB( p65) protein in tissues. It is suggested that safflower yellow injection has a significant anti-MIRI effect,and its mechanism may be related to the regulation of TLR-NF-κB pathway to inhibit inflammatory response.

The blending end-point determination of Angong Niuhuang Wan (AGNH) is a key technology problem. The control strategy based on quality by design (QbD) concept proposes a whole blending end-point determination method, and provides a methodology for blending the Chinese materia medica containing mineral substances. Based on QbD concept, the laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was used to assess the cinnabar, realgar and pearl powder blending of AGNH in a pilot-scale experiment, especially the whole blending end-point in this study. The blending variability of three mineral medicines including cinnabar, realgar and pearl powder, was measured by moving window relative standard deviation (MWRSD) based on LIBS. The time profiles of realgar and pearl powder did not produce consistent results completely, but all of them reached even blending at the last blending stage, so that the whole proposal blending end point was determined. LIBS is a promising Process Analytical Technology (PAT) for process control. Unlike other elemental determination technologies such ICP-OES, LIBS does not need an elaborate digestion procedure, which is a promising and rapid technique to understand the blending process of Chinese materia medica (CMM) containing cinnabar, realgar and other mineral traditional Chinese medicine. This study proposed a novel method for the research of large varieties of traditional Chinese medicines.., 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: Isoliquiritigenin (ISL), a licorice chalconoid, is considered to be a bioactive agent with chemopreventive potential. This study investigates the mechanisms involved in ISL-induced apoptosis in human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells., Methods: Cell viability was evaluated using a 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry using an Annexin V-FITC Apoptosis Detection Kit. The intracellular ROS levels were assessed using a 2, 7-dichlorofluorescein probe assay. The mitochondrial membrane potential was measured with the dual-emission potential-sensitive probe 5, 5', 6, 6'-tetra-chloro-1, 1', 3, 3'-tetraethyl-imidacarbocyanine iodide (JC-1). The degradation of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) protein, the phosphorylation of PKR-like ER kinase (PERK), the phosphorylation of the α-subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2α), the expression of the 78 kD glucose-regulated protein (GRP 78), and the activation of caspase-12 were analyzed via western blot analysis., Results: ISL significantly inhibited the proliferation, the increase in ROS levels and apoptotic rates of HeLa cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, ISL induced mitochondrial dysfunction, caspase activation, and PARP cleavage, which displayed features of mitochondria dependent on apoptotic signals. Besides, exposure of HeLa cells to ISL triggered endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, as indicated by the increase in p-eIF2α and GRP78 expression, ER stress-dependent apoptosis is caused by the activation of ER-specific caspase-12., Conclusion: The findings from our study suggest that ISL-induced oxidative stress causes HeLa cell apoptosis via the mitochondrion-dependent and the ER stress-triggered signaling pathways., (Copyright © 2013 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.)

This study is to investigate the mechanism of human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells proliferation induced by alteronol in vitro. Human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells cultured in vitro were treated with different concentrations of alteronol. Inhibition rate was detected by SRB assay. Cellular morphological changes were observed by Hoechst and AO/EB (acridine orange/ethidium bromide dye) staining. The apoptosis rate was determined by Annexin V-FITC/PI assay. Cell cycle distribution was determined by flow cytometry. Western blotting analysis was carried out to determine the cell cycle related proteins. The proliferation of HL-60 cells treated with alteronol was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner. Based on cell viability assay, observation on cell morphology and apoptosis rate, it confirmed that alteronol played an obvious role in proliferation inhibition of human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells, but it did not induce apoptosis in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells in different concentrations groups. Alteronol could effectively inhibit the proliferation of human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells inducing cell cycle arrest at G1 phase, as well as, alteration expression of cell cycle proteins level of CyclinD1 and pRb.

Objective: To find out the mechanisms of redifferentiation and reversion of malignant human gastric cancer cells induced by ascorbic acid., Methods: Human gastric cancer cells grown in the laboratory were used. The Trypan blue dye exclusion method was used to determine the cell doubling time. The electrophoresis rate and colonogenic potential were the indices used to measure the rate of redifferentiation. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was measured using the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and the content of H202 were evaluated by spectrophotography., Results: Six mmol/L ascorbic acid was used as a positive control. Human gastric cancer cells were treated with 75 microm hydrogen peroxide, which alleviated many of the malignant characteristics. For example, the cell surface charge obviously decreased and the electrophoresis rate dropped from 2.21 to 1.10 microm x s(-1) x V(-1) x cm(-1). The colonogenic potential, a measure of cell differentiation, decreased 90.2%. After treatment with ascorbic acid, there was a concentration- and time-dependent increase in hydrogen peroxide (H202) and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD). However, the activity of catalase (CAT) resulted in a concentration- and time-dependent decrease. SOD and 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (AT) exhibited some effects, but there were statistically significant differences between the SOD and AT group and the H202 group., Conclusions: Ascorbic acid induces growth inhibition and redifferentiation of human gastric cancer cells through the production of hydrogen peroxide.

Objective: Ixeris chinesis (Thunb.) Ankai has been used as a Chinese folk medicine, but only scanty information is available on the physiological and biochemical functions of the compounds extracted from I. chinesis. In the present study the effects of apigenin-7-glucoside (APIG) isolated from I. chinesis against liver injury caused by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) were investigated., Methods: The contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), and reduced glutathione (GSH) were evaluated by spectrophotography. The content of 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was measured with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with electrochemical and UV detection methods. The antioxidant activity of APIG was evaluated using chemiluminescence single photon counting technology., Results: CCl4 significantly increased the enzyme activities of GPT and GOT in blood serum, as well as the level of MDA and 8-OHdG in liver tissue, and decreased the levels of GSH. Pretreatment with APIG was able not only to suppress the elevation of GPT, GOT, MDA and 8-OHdG, and inhibit the reduction of GSH in a dose-dependent manner in vivo, but also to reduce the damage of hepatocytes in vitro. On the other hand, we also found that APIG had strong antioxidant activity against reactive oxygen species (ROS) in vitro in a concentration-dependent manner., Conclusion: The hepatoprotective activity of APIG is possibly due to its antioxidant properties, acting as scavengers of ROS. These results obtained in vivo and in vitro suggest that APIG has protective effects against hepatic oxidative injury induced by chemicals. Further studies on the pharmaceutical functions and immunological responses of APIG may help its clinical application.

Objective: To explore the effects and mechanisms of ascorbic acid (AA) and sodium selenite (SS) on growth inhibition and redifferentiation in human gastric cancer cells., Methods: In the present study, trypan blue dye exclusion method was used to determine the cell growth curve and mitotic index, cell electrophoresis and colonogenic potential were used as the indexes of redifferentiation. In order to find out the mechanisms of redifferentiation, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and catalase (CAT) were assayed, the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and H2O2 were evaluated., Results: After treatment with AA 3 mol/L + SS 2 mu mol/L, the growth rate and mitotic index of human gastric cancer cells (MGc-803) decreased remarkably. The indexes related with cell malignancy were alleviated. For example, cell surface charge was obviously decreased, the electrophoresis rate was dropped from 2.21 to 1.15 mu m.s-1.V-1.cm-1. The indexes related with cell redifferentiation were promoted. For example, the colonogenic potential was decreased to 93.5%. These results indicated that redifferentiation of human gastric cancer cells was successfully induced by AA + SS. The activities of SOD and GPX were significantly higher, while the activity of CAT was slower in treated group than that in the control. The content of MDA was slightly decreased, GSH was sharply decreased, and H2O2 content was dramatically increased., Conclusion: These results indicated that combination of ascorbic acid and sodium selenite may induce the redifferentiation of human gastric cancer cells and inhibit cell growth by virtue of enhancing the activities of antioxidative enzymes and inducing the formation of H2O2, and altering the cell redox status. Combination of ascorbic acid and sodium selenite may be a potent anticancer agent for human gastric cancer.