The chemical characteristics of Salvia miltiorrhiza , also called "danshen" in China, were investigated on the basis of the simultaneous quantitative determination of 13 hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds, namely, protocatechuic acid, protocatechuic aldehyde, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, isoferulic acid, rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid B, salvianolic acid A, dihydrotanshinone I, przewalskin, cryptotanshinone, tanshinone I, and tanshinone IIA, in 74 samples collected from different locations using ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC). Hierarchical clustering analysis based on 13 investigated compounds and the similarity of the entire chromatographic pattern showed that S. miltiorrhiza was significantly different from Salvia przewalskii , an adulterant of danshen. The chemical characteristics of S. miltiorrhiza collected from different locations in China were revealed, and salvianolic acid B, rosmarinic acid, cryptotanshinone, and tanshinones I and IIA were optimized as markers for the evaluation, which is helpful in the quality control of S. miltiorrhiza.

Acupuncture has been used to treat chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for centuries. In this study, we evaluated the effect of acupuncture at Zusanli (ST36), Zhongwan (CV12), and Pishu (BL20) acupoints on weight changes of rats, histological changes of gastric glands, and expressions changes of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) p65, microRNA- (miR-) 155, miR-21, and miR-146a in CAG rats induced by N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) combined with irregular diet. Consequently, we found that acupuncture treatment elevated body weight of rats significantly when compared to the model group. By observing histological changes, we found that the acupuncture group showed better improvement of gastric mucosa injury than the model group. Our results also demonstrated upregulation of NF-κB p65, miR-155, and miR-21 in gastric tissue of CAG rats and a positive correlation between miR-155 and miR-21. Relatively, expression of miR-146a was downregulated and negative correlation relationships between miR-146a and miR-155/miR-21 in CAG rats were observed. Additionally, expressions of NF-κB p65, miR-155, and miR-21 were downregulated and miR-146a was upregulated after acupuncture treatment. Taken together, our data imply that acupuncture can downregulate NF-κB p65, miR-155, and miR-21 and upregulate miR-146a expression in CAG rats. NF-κB p65, miR-155, miR-21, and miR-146a may play important roles in therapeutic effect of acupuncture in treating CAG.

Conclusively, EA initially aggravates and subsequently ameliorates CC-evoked AD-like earlyphase brain pathogenesis via conversion from pro-inflammatory microglia to anti-inflammatory microglia.

Abstract. Objective: to study the influence of electric acupuncture on factors about cerebral nerve cell apoptosis: B-cell lymphocytic lymphoma-xl gene (Bcl-xl) and aspartic acid proteolytic enzyme-3 including cysteine (Caspase-3) after cerebral ischemia of rats, and discuss the possible mechanism of treating cerebral ischemia and suppressing cell apoptosis with electric acupuncture. Method: 250 healthy and adult male SD rats were chosen as the objects of study, and they were randomly divided into sham-operation group, model group, electric acupuncture group, AG490 group, and AG490 electric acupuncture group. Each group was divided into 5 sub-groups according to time bucket. There were 25 groups in total. Each group included 10 rats. AG490 right ventricle injection was conducted for AG490 group and AG490 electric acupuncture group 20min before the operation. Baihui point and Dazhui point were chosen for electric acupuncture group and AG490 electric acupuncture for electric acupuncture treatment. The number of immune positive cells of cerebral ischemia nidi of rats Bcl-xl and Caspase-3 was observed. Results: sham-operation group has no significant change in each time bucket after the operation. After cerebral ischemia for 2h, Bcl-xl and Caspase-3 expression of rats in each group rises, higher than the rats in the sham-operation group in the same time bucket. For Bcl-xl expression, the model group and the electric acupuncture group are most significant, while the expression of AG490+electric acupuncture group is lower than that of electric acupuncture group (P<0.01). Caspase-3 content has no difference for each intervention group. Bcl-xl expression of rats in each group after ischemia for 1d is basically same with the situation of rats in each group after ischemia for 2d. The electric acupuncture group presents continuous rising trend. Caspase-3 expression of each intervention group continues to rise. The model group and AG490 group are in the high level (P<0.01). AG490+electric acupuncture group is lower than the model group (P<0.05), but AG490+electric acupuncture group has no difference with AG490 group (P>0.05). The electric acupuncture group is lower than the above three groups (P<0.05). After cerebral ischemia for 3d, Bcl-xl expression of rats in each group starts to decline. High-level expression of electric acupuncture group can maintain for a long time, and the content is higher than that of model group (P<0.05). The content of AG490 group and AG490+electric acupuncture group is low (P<0.01). The content of Caspase-3 reaches the peak after cerebral ischemia for 3d. The content of AG490 group is highest (P<0.05), and the content of electric acupuncture group is lowest (P<0.01). The model group and AG490+electric acupuncture group are between the two, and the difference of the two is not significant (P>0.05). After cerebral ischemia for 7d-21d, Bcl-xl and Caspase-3 content of rats in each group continues to drop. After 21d, the differences of rats in each group are not significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: elec...