Liuweidihuang Wan (LW), initially a well-known formula for curing “wu chi wu ruan”, is commonly used nowadays for clinical treatment of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis (PO), but the identity of the effective substance(s) remains unclear. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of morroniside and loganin isolated from LW on the proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of MC3T3-E1 cells, as well as the possible mechanism of action. Morroniside and loganin had no effects on the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells, but both susbtances could improve the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and increase the contents of collagen type I and osteocalcin. Simultaneously, the mRNA expression of caspase-3, capase-9, RANKL was down-regulated and that of bcl-2 was up-regulated, which partially explains the anti-osteoporosis mechanism in MC3T3-E1 cells. In conclusion, morroniside and loganin may directly promote the differentiation and inhibit the apoptosis of MC3T3-E1 cells, and accordingly indirectly reduce bone resorption, which makes them promising natural drugs leads for treating PO in the near future.

Background: The risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in young and middle-aged people have not yet been determined. We conducted a meta-analysis to find the risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, in order to provide guidance for the prevention of diseases in the young and middle-aged population. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library from the establishment of the database to Mar 2022. We included case-control or cohort studies reporting risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease in young and middle-aged adults. We excluded repeated publication, research without full text, incomplete information or inability to conduct data extraction and animal experiments, reviews and systematic reviews. STATA 15.1 was used to analyze the data. Results: The pooled results indicated that increased systolic blood pressure was significantly associated with increased risk of any stroke, ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. Body Mass Index (BMI), current smoking, hypertension, and diabetes were significantly associated with increased risk of any stroke and ischemic stroke. Atrial fibrillation was only significantly associated with increased risk of any stroke. Increased total cholesterol was significantly associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke, whereas increased triglycerides were significantly associated with a decreased risk of ischemic stroke. In addition, increased hypertension was also significantly associated with an increased risk of acute coronary syndrome. Conclusion: Our pooled results show that BMI, current smoking, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, systolic blood pressure, and total cholesterol can be used as risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in young people, while triglycerides can be used as protective factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in young and middle-aged adults.

Non-clinical pharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulae plays a crucial role in elucidating their therapeutic mechanisms. With the integration of cutting-edge disciplines such as systems biology, big data, and artificial intelligence, the research depth and breadth in this field continue to expand. However, technical standards for non-clinical pharmacology research on TCM formulae have not yet been established. To address this, technical guidelines for non-clinical pharmacology research of TCM formulae were formed, aiming to scientifically standardize research content, elevate research quality, and facilitate the mutual translation between clinical and basic research. Guided by integrative pharmacology of TCM and driven by clinical value, these guidelines employ multi-dimensional qualitative pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) studies alongside quantitative "PK-PD" studies of key components. This approach enables the transition from panoramic description to precise mechanistic research, establishing a complete evidence chain system for the effectiveness of TCM formulae and demonstrating their holistic action characteristics of "multi-component, multi-pathway, multi-target". Meanwhile, the guidelines emphasize that animal models for TCM research should ensure stability and reproducibility. Additionally, pharmacodynamic evaluation is characterized by its measurability and quantifiability. The mechanisms of action at the molecular level should be in-depth and interpretable. These aspects collectively provide guidance for basic non-clinical pharmacology research on TCM formulae and the development of new TCM drugs. The formulation of these guidelines leveraged the research strengths of the drafting units' teams, incorporated literature review findings, and achieved consensus through extensive discussions among multidisciplinary experts. Broad expert opinions from universities, research institutes, and enterprises engaged in new drug development were solicited, ensuring the guidelines' practicality, standardization, scientific rigor, and feasibility.

Although there are differences in the appearance of Mountain-Cultivated Ginseng (MCG) and Garden-Cultivated Ginseng (GCG), it is very difficult to distinguish them when the samples are processed to slices or powder. Moreover, there is significant price difference between them, which leads to the widespread adulteration or falsification in the market. Thus, the authentication of MCG and GCG is crucial for the effectiveness, safety, and quality stability of ginseng. In the present study, a headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) coupled with chemometrics approach was developed to characterize the volatile component profiles in MCG and GCG with 5-,10-,15-growth years, and subsequently to discover differentiating chemical markers. As a result, we characterized, for the first time, 46 volatile components from all the samples by using the NIST database and the Wiley library. The base peak intensity chromatograms were subjected to multivariate statistical analysis to comprehensively compare the chemical differences among the above samples. MCG_{5-,10-,15-years} and GCG_{5-,10-,15-years} samples were mainly divided into two groups by unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA), and 5 potential cultivation-dependent markers were discovered based on orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). Moreover, MCG_{5-,10-,15-years} samples were divided into three blocks, and 12 potential growth-year-dependent markers enabled differentiation. Similarly, GCG_{5-,10-,15-years} samples were also separated into three groups, and six potential growth-year-dependent markers were determined. The proposed approach could be applied to directly distinguish MCG and GCG with different growth years and to identify the differentiation chemo-markers, which is an important criterion for evaluating the effectiveness, safety, and quality stability of ginseng.

Traditional Chinese medicine has shown great safety and efficacy in the treatment of heart failure (HF), whereas the mechanism remains unclear. In this study, the protective effect of Yixin‐shu (YXS) capsules, a conventional medicine for various cardiovascular diseases, against myocardial ischemia‐induced HF in rats was systematically investigated by RNA‐seq technology. HF rats treated with YXS (0.8 or 1.6 g/kg/d, ig) for 6 weeks had significantly decreased brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and collagen III and attenuated cardiac structure rupture and collagen deposition. Additionally, YXS treatment decreased the levels of interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), interleukin 6 (IL‐6), tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and TUNEL‐positive rate and the nitrotyrosine staining, but increased levels of glutathione (GSH), total antioxidant capacity (T‐AOC) activity, and mitochondrial membrane potential. Further experiments demonstrated that YXS restored Trx2 and inhibited the phosphorylation of JNK and p38, thereby improving cardiac function in the rats with HF. Silencing Trx2 decreased the protection of YXS in the response to H₂O₂ as evidenced by the increase of caspase‐3 activity and decrease of GSH level. Thus, YXS enhanced heart function and decreased myocardial damage through restoring Trx2 and inhibiting JNK and p38 activation in ischemia‐induced HF.