In this study, exosomes were extracted from human malignant melanoma cell A375. Folic acid (FA) receptor was used as target and triptolide (TPL) was used as model drug to prepare exosome targeted drug delivery system, FA-Exo/TPL. The physicochemical properties and antitumor effect were evaluated in vivo and in vitro. Gradient centrifugation method was applied to collect exosomes. Then, exosome was modified with FA for loading TPL. The particle sizes of the FA-Exo/TPL were about 100 nm with a double-layer membrane structure like a tray. It is characteristic of high encapsulation efficiency and drug loading. In vitro experiments showed that FA-Exo/TPL could be effectively uptaken by A375 cells, thus significantly inhibiting proliferation and promoting apoptosis the cells. In vivo experiment results showed that FA-Exo/TPL could effectively inhibit the growth of tumor tissue, prolong the model mice life cycle, and significantly reduce the systemic toxicity of the free drug, playing a synergistic and toxic role. Animal welfare and experimental procedures follow the regulations of the Animal Ethics Committee of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. This study provides a new strategies and methods for the preparation of TPL against malignant melanoma.

ZSP1601, a novel pan-phosphodiesterase inhibitor is in development for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. A physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was developed to predict the pharmacokinetics of ZSP1601 in human. The PBPK model following intravenous and oral dose of ZSP1601 in rats and dogs was firstly built using preclinical in vitro and in vivo data. The PBPK model in human was then built based on models in animal. The in vitro-in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) method and some allometric scaling methods were used to predict the clearance in human, respectively. The PBPK models using IVIVE and allometry of unbound CL plus the rule of exponents methods predicted the pharmacokinetics of ZSP1601 in healthy Chinese subjects successfully. The predicted parameters C_max and AUC following single oral dose administration were within 0.5-2 folds of the observed data. The model was optimized and the final model was used to predict the pharmacokinetics of ZSP1601 in North European Caucasian, Geriatrics, Obese and Morbidly Obese, respectively. Animal studies were approved by the Animal Management and Use Committee of Suzhou AppTec Inc., and the approved No. is SZ20140916.

Aconitum pendulum is a Tibetan medicine that is rich in bioactive compounds such as aconitine-type C₁₉-diterpenoid alkaloids. To investigate the key enzymes in the aconitine biosynthesis pathway, roots, leaves and flowers of Aconitum pendulum were subjected to a high-throughput transcriptomic sequencing analysis by Illumina HiSeq^TM2000. Trinity de novo assembly yielded 47 264 unigenes with an average length of 1 140 bp and N50 of 1 678 bp, of which 30 231 unigenes (63.96%) were annotated. In the KEGG database, 542 unigenes were implicated in 17 secondary metabolic pathways; the analysis showed that 44 genes encoded 20 key enzymes in the diterpene skeleton of aconitine biosynthesis and 12 BAHD acyltransferase genes were related to the acetylation modification, with differential expression among three organs. For example, ApTPS8 was the only committed enzyme in the upstream aconitine biosynthetic pathway. The high expression level of ApTPS8 in root indicated that it is the main tissue for the production of precursors of diterpene alkaloids. Consistent with the accumulation of aconitine, we propose that ApBAHD1/2/8 is involved in the biosynthesis of 2-hydroxyaconitine, dehydrated 14-benzoylaconitine, 8-O-methyl-14-benzoylaconine, benzoyldeoxyaconitine and benzoylaconitine, and ApBAHD10 is involved in the biosynthesis of acontine, lucidusculine, 14-O-acetylneoline and 14-O-acetylvirescenin. Comparative transcriptome analysis of A. pendulum and A. carmichaeli indicates significant gene loss in the family of diterpene synthases and acyltransferases in A. pendulum, which is in accordance with the significantly fewer type and quantity of aconitine compounds in this species. Therefore, A. pendulum has proved to be an ideal material for the study of the aconitine biosynthesis pathway. This work provides basic scientific data for further study of aconitine biosynthesis, the discussion of molecular mechanisms of toxicity, and the synthesis of genuine medicinal materials.

Metformin, as a first-line drug in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, is widely used in clinic with definite efficacy and few adverse reactions. In recent years, other effects besides hypoglycemia have been found, such as a possible therapeutic effect on mental disorders (e.g., anxiety disorder, Alzheimer's disease), cancer, and cardiovascular disease. It also has regulatory effects on intestinal microbiota. The purpose of this review is to summarize the recent investigations of metformin on mental disorders, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and intestinal microbiota.

Fifteen alkaloid compounds were isolated from the 70% aqueous alcohol extract of Stephania tetrandra S. Moore by silica gel, reversed phase silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography and semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography. They were identified as tetrandraside A (1), (Z)-N-formyl-nornuciferin (2), (E)-N-formyl-nornuciferin (3), salutaridine (4), salutaridine N-oxide (5), (E)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-N-[2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)ethyl]-2 propenamide (6), dauriporphine (7), sinomenine (8), liriodenine (9), α-magnoflorine (10), (1S)-4'-β-glucosylcoclaurine (11), tetrandrine (12), fangchinoline (13), tetrandrine 2'-β-oxide (14), and tetrandrine 2'-α-oxide (15), respectively, by MS, NMR and single crystal diffraction. Among them, compound 1 is a new alkaloid glycoside. Compounds 2-11 were obtained from this plant for the first time. These compounds showed obvious cytotoxic activity against drug-resistant lung cancer cell line H1299, and compound 9 had the best activity, with an IC₅₀ of 5.38 μmol·L^-1.

A quantitative analysis method for ten principal components (phenylethanol, iridoids and triterpenes) of raw Ligustri Lucidi Fructus and its wine-steamed product was developed using liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-QQQ-MS) to study their pharmacokinetic behavior in vivo. The results of methodological investigation were in accord with the criteria of biological analysis. After a single administration to rats of the water extracts of Ligustri Lucidi Fructus and its wine-steamed product, the plasma concentration of each component at different time points was measured and the pharmacokinetic parameters were determined. The AUC_{0-24 h} and C_max of the phenylethanol components (salidroside, tyrosol, hydroxytyrosol) were the greatest, suggesting that these components are the main pharmacological substances of Ligustri Lucidi Fructus. In addition, the t_max values of the eight major components were even lower with administration of the wine-steamed product, suggesting that these components are rapidly absorbed. However, the t_max values of specnuezhenide and oleanolic acid were greater with administration of the wine-steamed product, indicating that these two components were more slowly absorbed. A secondary peak phenomenon of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol were observed in two sample groups, whereas the secondary peak phenomenon of salidroside occurred only with the wine-steamed product. This result suggests that the effect of wine-steamed product could persist for a long period. Meanwhile, the relative bioavailability of specnuezhenide and oleanolic acid was greater than 100% with administration of the wine-steamed product, consistent with the Traditional Chinese Medicine theory of the wine-steamed product being more effective than the raw material. The results reveal the different pharmacokinetic parameters and relative bioavailability of each component of Ligustri Lucidi Fructus and its wine-steamed product, and also demonstrate the variation and correlation of various components in vivo and in vitro, providing an experimental basis for the selection of quality control indexes, mechanisms of processing and the metabolic rule in vivo of Ligustri Lucidi Fructus. These experiments were approved by the Ethics Committee of Institute of Basic Theory for Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medicine Science.

According to the commonly used tablet compressibility, compactability and tabletability equation, the influence of pressure range on the fitting results and parameters of different compression equations was studied, and the optimal pressure range of different equations was determined. Plastic material microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) PH102, brittle material spray dried lactose and Chinese medicine Sanqi were used as experimental objects, the compression curves of tablets were obtained by the combination of dies with different diameters. For Heckel equation, the shape of Heckel section of different materials is not uniform, and the specified linear fitting range cannot be obtained, therefore, different distances between fitting pressure starting point and starting point were set to observe the influence of pressure range on R² of Heckel equation. The Kawakita equation, Gurnham equation, Ryshkewitch-Duckworth (R-D) equation and Power equation are fitted in three different pressure ranges of 15-200, 15-300 and 15-400 MPa, respectively. In order to find the best linear region of Heckel equation, the 3D scatter diagram of "starting point of pressure, pressure range and R²" is drawn. The best linear pressure ranges of Heckel curves of MCC, lactose and Sanqi were 20-170, 20-220 and 10-90 MPa, respectively. It is proved that the 3D scatter diagram is an effective method to find the linear range of Heckel equation. The change of pressure range has little influence on the curve fitting effect and compression parameters of Kawakita equation, Gurnham equation and Ryshkewitch-Duckworth equation. The low pressure range of 15-200 MPa can meet the fitting requirements of Kawakita equation, Gurnham equation, R-D equation and Power equation for different materials. Therefore, only by optimizing the pressure range, can the good fitting effect be ensured and the obtained compression parameters be more reliable and interpretable.

We explored the mechanism of patchouli oil in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) based on network pharmacology and differentially expressed genes in macrophages. The chemical composition of patchouli oil was detected by GC-MS, targets for active components were collected through TCMSP and Swiss Target Prediction platform, and targets for treatment of IBD were retrieved from DrugBank, GeneCards, OMIM, PharmGkb, and TTD databases. The intersection targets were merged, Cytoscape software was used to construct the "component-to-intersection target" network, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was drawn with String platform. The intersection targets were enriched for GO and KEGG enrichment analysis on Metascape platform, and the molecular docking of AutoDock Vina was used to verify the analysis results. The macrophage chip data was downloaded, and the differential genes were obtained by using R software. KEGG signaling pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes were performed by DAVID platform. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to verify the screened components in the cell model in vitro. The 14 main components of patchouli oil corresponded to 112 targets, and the intersection obtained 97 common targets of patchouli oil for IBD treatment. GO enrichment analysis yielded 53 items. Eighteen items were obtained by KEGG enrichment analysis, involving cAMP signaling pathway, Notch signaling pathway, adhesion connection, Th17 cell differentiation and other signaling pathways. Molecular docking showed that the selected active components of patchouli oil had good binding activity with the targets. Differentially expressed genes were enriched in inflammatory pathways such as Toll-like receptors, JAK-STAT and NF-κB signaling pathways. q-PCR showed that patchouli oil, patchouli alcohol, pogostone can reduce the mRNA levels of cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-23) and up-regulate the mRNA levels of tight junction proteins (occludin and claudin-1) in the inflammatory model of NCM460 normal colon epithelial cells. Patchouli alcohol can significantly reduce the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β inflammatory factors in RAW264.7 macrophages induced by LPS. This study revealed the multi-component, multi-target and multi-pathway of patchouli oil, and confirms the anti-inflammatory effect of patchouli oil and its main components in the inflammatory cell model in vitro and the protection of intestinal epithelial barrier integrity function, which provides a theoretical basis for further elucidating the mechanism of patchouli oil in the treatment of IBD.

Febuxostat, as a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, is a classic anti-gout drug with significant therapeutic effects and good tolerability. The structures of febuxostat and its derivatives can be divided into two parts: a substituted phenyl ring and a five-membered or six-membered heterocyclic ring with a carboxyl substitution. This paper reviewed the research progress of febuxostat derivatives in recent ten years and classified the structure-activity relationships of various febuxostat derivatives. Exploring the action mechanisms and structure-activity relationships of xanthine oxidase inhibitors might be significant for the rational design and development of new anti-gout chemical entities.

The quality evaluation of compound Chinese medicines is an important but challenging issue in this research field, which has been paid much controversial due to the constrained association with clinical efficacy. Developing a methodology for quality evaluation of compound Chinese medicines related to clinical efficacy is an important measure in research on Chinese material medica quality to ensure clinical effectiveness and safety. Therefore, based on the research concept that "originating from clinic-testing in experiment-returning to clinic", and taking Xiaoke prescription as an example, the characteristic information of metabolome, proteome and microbiome are discussed from the clinical aspect, and the integrated markers associated with clinical efficacy constructed with artificial intelligence technology. Taking the integrated markers as the link and indication are connecting the clinical and basic, the main pharmacodynamic substances and key targets of Xiaoke prescription that are related to clinical efficacy are explained. Clinical samples are used for validation. Based on the main pharmacodynamic substances and key targets, methods and key technologies for chemical and biological evaluation of the quality of Xiaoke prescription are established, providing a methodology for quality evaluation of compound Chinese medicines, including clinical efficacy response indicators (related to clinic), main pharmacodynamic substances (chemical evaluation), and key targets (biological evaluation), to provide new ideas and methods for improving the quality evaluation of compound Chinese medicines.