China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica, the 1st in the field of TCM, is supervised by China Association for Science and Technology and sponsored by Institute of Chinese Pharmaceutical Association. The journal is China's earliest comprehensive core journal of traditional Chinese medicine, and always maintains the circulation top in the professional areas. The journal publishes the latest research and progress of traditional Chinese medicine and takes a leading position in numbers of articles published, downloads and citations among all journals in this discipline.
Its scope covers new achievements, technologies, methods, experiences and concepts resulting from the research on Chinese materia medica pursuant to Chinese medical and pharmaceutical theories, traditional experiences, and modern science and technology, including medicinal resources and identification, cultivation, processing, preparation, chemistry, pharmacology, theory of Chinese pharmacy and clinical practice, bencaological study.
The journal is included in CA, JST and CSCD.
Honorary Editor-in-Chief Xiao Peigen Editor-in-Chief Wang Yongyan
Associate Editors Zhang Boli, Hu Zhibi, Yao Xinsheng, Li Lianda, Li Dapeng, Yang Baofeng, Zhou Chaofan, Huang Luqi, Chen Shilin, Li He.
Executive Editorial Board Cai Shaoqing, Chen Shilin
The efficacy material base of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) is those constituents absorbed in blood and show the efficacy of TCMs after oral administration of a TCM formula. In TCM, formula consisted of more than one herbal drug is the clinical medication form which corresponding to TCM syndrome. The efficacy material base of TCMs had to be found in the condition of compatibility and efficacy of TCM formula. Therefore, we take the biological characters of TCM syndrome as a research starting point,taking formula as object,through the integration of serum pharmacochemistry of TCM methods and metabolomics technologies,establish a system research methodology of the efficacy material basis in vivo-Chinmedomics. The use of metabolomics technology is used to fully understand nature biology on syndromes or disease,identify biomarkers for disease to bridging disease animal model,establishing the biological evaluation system of traditional Chinese medicine. On the basis of the validity of the premise,the use of serum pharmacochemistry of TCM to analysis in vivo directly substance after oral prescription and dynamic law,combined with changes law of the endogenous disease biomarkers (pharmacodynamic markers of TCM),Though establishing two variable correlation analysis method between Chinese chemical compositions in serum exogenous and endogenous biomarkers,to extract TCM compositions highly correlated with the endogenous marker as potential basis for traditional Chinese medicines,and to biological validation to determine the efficacy material basis of TCM.
Dioscin, a typical saponin, is widely present in the family of Dioscoreaceae, Liliaceae, Caryophyllaceae and Rosaceae, especially in Dioscoreaceae, including Discorea nipponica Makino, Dioscorea zingiberensis C. H. Wright and Dioscorea panthaica Prain et Burkill. Traditional Chinese medicine reported that dioscin plays a role in expectorant, relaxing the muscles and stimulating the blood circulation, aiding digestion and diuresis. With the development of science and technology in recent years, some new extraction and separation techniques and methods have been applied to the study of dioscin, and more and more pharmacological effects were found. Modern pharmacology studies have confirmed that dioscin had some activities on desensitization, anti-inflammatory, lipid-lowering, anti-tumor, hepatoprotection and anti-viral. After oral administration, dioscin is metabolized to diosgenin, which is the true active ingredient and is an important raw material to synthesize steroid hormone drugs. Therefore, the studies on dioscin are valueable and promising. In this review, we make a summary on the researches of dioscin including the extraction technology, separation and preparation, chemical synthesis, drug metabolism, determination and pharmacological researches.
Quality control is one of the key scientific tissues in the modernization of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM). In order to overcome the deficiencies of assessment indexes, including little systematization and quantification, as well as loose association with clinical efficacy and dosage, a new integrated method named controllability pyramid (CP) is first proposed in this paper. In addition, some study cases are used to explain how this model is constructed. We hope the establishment of CP could promote the clinical-oriented integrated innovation research of TCM, and provide control strategy and technology examples for improving the quality of Chinese medicines and clinical efficacy.
This paper briefly analyzed and discussed the current status and major scientific challenges of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulaology research. To promote formulaology research, a new strategy and corresponding technology, network formulaology, were proposed to reveal the complex interaction between functional chemome and biological responses network. The research framework and directions of network formulaology were also summarized and suggested.
Remaining organic and functional damage of ischemia cardio-cerebrovascular disease is always a main trouble puzzling the clinicians. After the discovery of endothelial progenitor cells( EPCs), researchers realize that postnatal angiogenesis is an important biological process,which play a key role to repair the ischemia tissue and improve the function. So a new concept which names therapeutic angiogenesis supply a new treatment way for the ischemia cardio-cerebrovascular disease. Traditional Chinese medicine( TCM) has accumulated rich experience on treating the ischemia disease,studies found that many Chinese medicine prescriptions and effective ingredients can increase the therapeutic angiogenesis, however the mechanisms were not the same,they mainly manifest in regular the secretion of angiogenic factors,increase the proliferation and differentiation etc. In this paper,we review recent studies,summary the Chinese medicine prescriptions and effective ingredients which can increase the therapeutic angiogenesis,and analyze the different pathways. We hope to provide reference for the later researchers.
Different processed products of Coptidis Rhizoma have its unique odor,which is an important assessment index for processed products identification of Coptidis Rhizoma. Objectify odor as an entry point in this study,an electronic nose technology was used,and a suitable method for Coptidis Rhizoma measurement was built firstly. Then different processed products of Coptidis Rhizoma were detected by the method built. Finally,different processed products were identified by combining with chemometrics based on the objective odor information obtained. Electronic nose detection indicated that a significant difference in odor between different processed products was performed. Coptidis Rhizoma processed or not can be distinguished based on statistical quality control (SQC) and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA). Principle component analysis (PCA) model showed that Coptidis Rhizoma and its various processed products discriminated obviously. In addition,in order to identify the processed products of Coptidis Rhizoma, a correct recognition rate of 100% was acquired by discriminant factor analysis (DFA), and the initial identification rate and cross-validation recognition rate of linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is 100%, 94.4% respectively. In conclusion, differentiation in odor of different processed Coptidis Rhizoma was performed by the electronic nose technology used, and different products Coptidis Rhizoma were discriminated by combining with chemometrics. This research can be a reference for objective identification in odor of traditional Chinese medicine, and is good for the inheritance and development of traditional experience in odor identification.
Objective: The study was aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect and mechanism of astragaloside IV( ASI) on the activation of microglial cells. Method: After pre-incubated with ASI for 2 h,microglial cells BV-2 were stimulated with interferon-γ( IFN-γ) for 1. 5 h and 24 h,respectively. Secretion of nitric oxide( NO) in the medium was measured by Griess method. Production of tumor necrosis factor alpha( TNF-α) was detected by ELISA approach. Cellular gene expressions of CD11 b,TNF-α,interleukin 1β( IL-1β) and induced nitric oxide synthase( i NOS) were examined by quantitative-PCR analysis. Total and phosphorylation of STAT1,IκB and NF-κB was analyzed by Western blot method. Result: ASI could significantly inhibit the increased secretion of TNF-α and NO from BV-2 cells upon IFN-γ stimulation( P < 0. 001). Further study showed that ASI significantly down-regulated gene expression of IL-1β and TNF-α( P < 0. 01,P < 0. 05) and exhibited a trend to reduce that of i NOS. IFN-γ and ASI have no obvious effect on gene expression of CD11 b. Moreover,ASI inhibited the phosphorylation of STAT1,IκB and NF-κB elicited by IFN-γ stimulation.Conclusion: ASI could restrain microglial activation through interfering STAT1 / IκB / NF-κB signaling pathway,reducing gene expression of IL-1β and TNF-α,and thus inhibiting the production of proinflammatory mediators such as NO and TNF-α.
The zinc-regulated transporters (ZRT), iron-regulated transporter (IRT)-like protein (ZIP) plays an important role in the growth and development of plant. In this study, a full length cDNA of ZIP encoding gene, designed as DoZIP1 (Gen Bank accession KJ946203), was identified from Dendrobium officinale using RT-PCR and RACE. Bioinformatics analysis showed that DoZIP1 consisted of a 1 056 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoded a 351-aa protein with a molecular weight of 37.57 kDa and an isoelectric point (pI) of 6.09. The deduced DoZIP1 protein contained the conserved ZIP domain, and its secondary structure was composed of 50.71% alpha helix, 11.11% extended strand, 36.18% random coil, and beta turn 1.99%. DoZIP1 protein exhibited a signal peptide and eight transmembrane domains, presumably locating in cell membrane. The amino acid sequence had high homology with ZIP proteins from Arabidopsis, alfalfa and rice. A phylogenetic tree analysis demonstrated that DoZIP1 was closely related to AtZIP10 and OsZIP3, and they were clustered into one clade. Real time quantitative PCR analysis demonstrated that the transcription level of DoZIP1 in D. officinale roots was the highest (4.19 fold higher than that of stems), followed by that of leaves (1.12 fold). Molecular characters of DoZIP1 will be useful for further functional determination of the gene involving in the growth and development of D. officinale.
The change of the effective components (liquiritin, glycyrrhizic acid, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritigenin) contents of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (GRR) before and after compatibilities in Sini decoction was studied in this paper. Taking single GRR decoction, GRR-Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (ALRP) decoction, GRR-Zingiberis Rhizoma (ZR) decoction and Sini decoction as test samples, the contents changing of the four effective components of GRR were measured by HPLC. The results showed that the contents of the four effective components of GRR in the single GRR decoction was higher than that in other samples, and the sequence was single GRR decoction > GRR-ZR decoction > GRR-ALRP decoction > Sini decoction. The contents of liquiritin were 11.18, 9.89, 9.67, 9.17 mg·g −1; the contents of glycyrrhizic acid were 20.76, 15.58, 11.30, 8.52 mg·g −1; the contents of liquiritigenin were 0.66, 0.57, 0.45, 0.24 mg·g −1; the contents of isoliquiritigenin were 0.14, 0.07, 0.03, 0.01 mg·g −1. Therefore, the effective components of GRR decreased obviously after GRR compatibility with ZR providing scientific basis for GRR relieving the strong nature of ZR. The effective components of GRR decreased sharply after GRR compatibility with ALRP providing scientific support for the ma-terial foundation research of GRR reducing the toxicity of ALRP. The effective components of GRR decreased further in Sini decoction indicating that the three medicines in Sini decoction were interactional, which reflecting the scientific connotation of the mutual-restraint/mutual-detoxication, mutual-promotion/mutual-assistance compatibilities in Sini decoction.
To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of compound Danshen injection in treating hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy ( HIE) of newborns. Computer retrievals were made in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China Biology Medicine (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP and Chinainfo ( before May 2014) and relevant literature references, and manual retrievals were made for journals and conference papers, in order to collect randomized or semi-randomized controlled trials concerning compound Danshen injection in the treatment of neonatal HIE. The quality of included references was evaluated according to literatures recommended by Cochrane Handbook. RevMan 5.3 software was applied in the statistical treatment. Finally, a total of 13 randomized controlled trials were included, covering 1211 patients (including 639 patients in the compound Danshen injection-treated group and 572 patients in the control group). Meta-analysis results showed that the routine treatment combined with compound Danshen injection can improve the treatment efficiency of neonatal HIE [RR = 1.28; 95% CI (1.21–1.36)], reduce the mortality rate [RR = 0.42; 95% CI ( 0.23–0.75)]and the incidence of long-term neurological sequelae [RR = 0.48; 95% CI (0.35–0.65)], with statistical differences. No fatal side effect was observed in all of included trials. So far, limited evidences in this study proved that the application of compound Danshen injection in the treatment of neonatal HIE can enhance the clinical efficiency. However, because of the low quality of the included trials, more well-designed and large-scale multi-center randomized controlled trials shall be made in the future.