Rapid Determination of Saponins in the Honey-Fried Processing of Rhizoma Cimicifugae by Near Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy.

ObjectiveA model of Near Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIR-DRS) was established for the first time to determine the content of Shengmaxinside I in the honey-fried processing of Rhizoma Cimicifugae.MethodsShengmaxinside I content was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the data of the honey-fried processing of Rhizoma Cimicifugae samples from different batches of different origins by NIR-DRS were collected by TQ Analyst 8.0. Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis was used to establish a near-infrared quantitative model.ResultsThe determination coefficient R² was 0.9878. The Cross-Validation Root Mean Square Error (RMSECV) was 0.0193%, validating the model with a validation set. The Root Mean Square Error of Prediction (RMSEP) was 0.1064%. The ratio of the standard deviation for the validation samples to the standard error of prediction (RPD) was 5.5130.ConclusionThis method is convenient and efficient, and the experimentally established model has good prediction ability, and can be used for the rapid determination of Shengmaxinside I content in the honey-fried processing of Rhizoma Cimicifugae

Sino-European Transcontinental Basic and Clinical High-Tech Acupuncture Studies—Part 2: Acute Stimulation Effects on Heart Rate and Its Variability in Patients with Insomnia

This second part of a series of Sino-European high-tech acupuncture studies describes the first clinical transcontinental teleacupuncture measurements in patients with insomnia. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) measurements in 28 patients (mean age ± SD: 41.9 ± 14.6 years) were performed under standardized conditions in Harbin, China, and the data analysis was performed in Graz, Austria. Similar to the first part of the series, the electrocardiograms (ECGs) were recorded by an HRV Medilog AR12 system during acupuncture of the Shenmen point (HT7) on the left hand. HR decreased significantly (P < 0.001) during and after acupuncture stimulation of the HT7 acupuncture point. Total HRV increased significantly (P < 0.05) immediately after acupuncture stimulation, but there was no long-lasting effect. The values of the low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) band increased significantly after the stimulation compared to baseline values; however, the LF/HF ratio showed no significant changes. Together with the results of previous studies, the present results can serve as a solid basis for further development of acupressure or acupuncture stimulation equipment for complementary use in treating insomnia

Biomedical Teleacupuncture between China and Austria Using Heart Rate Variability, Part 1: Poststroke Patients

Background. Acupuncture has been reported to affect the human autonomic system. Within this pilot study, teleacupuncture between China and Austria is used for the first time for quantifying the effects of heart rate variability (HRV) in poststroke rehabilitation. Methods. In 29 Chinese post-stroke patients (15 f, 14 m; mean age ± SD 64.7 ± 11.3 years; range 40–80 years) electrocardiographic signals before, during, and after acupuncture at the acupoint Tongli (HT 5) were recorded in Harbin and analyzed in Graz using teleacupuncture via internet. HRV data were analyzed in the time and frequency domain, and a protocol from Austria was sent to the team in China immediately after the treatment and recording session. Results. Acupuncture does not change heart rate in the post-stroke patients; however, total HRV increased significantly (P < .05) during and 5–10 minutes after acupuncture. In addition, balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity (low frequency/high frequency HRV ratio) changes markedly during treatment. Conclusions. Based on innovative HRV analysis, it could be demonstrated that teleacupuncture between China/Harbin and Austria/Graz over a distance of about 8,500 km is no longer a future vision; it has become reality

Biomedical Teleacupuncture between China and Austria Using Heart Rate Variability—Part 2: Patients with Depression

It has been shown in previous studies that the autonomic nervous system can be affected by acupuncture. Within this study, teleacupuncture between China and Austria is used for quantifying the effects of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) in 33 Chinese patients (27 females, 6 males; mean age ± SD 49.5 ± 13.1 years; range 22–72 years) suffering from depression. Electrocardiographic signals before, during, and after acupuncture at the acupoint Baihui (GV20) were recorded in Harbin and analyzed in Graz using teleacupuncture. HRV data were analyzed in the time and frequency domain. Mean HR decreased significantly (P < 0.05) during and after acupuncture, whereas total HRV increased significantly after the third acupuncture stimulation period (P < 0.05) and also 5–10 minutes after (P < 0.05) acupuncture. The study shows that HRV could be a useful parameter for quantifying clinical effects of acupuncture on the autonomic nervous system

Serum, spleen metabolomics and gut microbiota reveals effect of catalpol on blood deficiency syndrome caused by cyclophosphamide and acetylphenylhydrazine

Catalpol (CA), extracted from Rehmannia Radix, holds extensive promise as a natural medicinal compound. This study employed 16S rRNA gene sequencing and combined serum and spleen metabolomics to profoundly investigate the therapeutic effects of CA on blood deficiency syndrome (BDS) and the underlying mechanisms. Notably, CA exhibited effectiveness against BDS induced by cyclophosphamide (CP) and acetylphenylhydrazine (APH) in rats-CA substantially elevated levels of crucial indicators such as erythropoietin (EPO), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Additionally, CA could alleviate peripheral blood cytopenia. Furthermore, the analysis of 16S rRNA revealed that CA had the potential to reverse the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio associated with BDS. Through comprehensive serum and spleen metabolomic profiling, we successfully identified 22 significant biomarkers in the serum and 23 in the spleen, respectively. Enrichment analysis underscored Glycerophospholipid metabolism and Sphingolipid metabolism as potential pathways through which CA exerts its therapeutic effects on BDS