Pharmacokinetics of (-)Epicatechin 3-O-Gallate, Glycyrrhetic Acid and Rhein in Healthy Male Volunteers after a Single Dose Administration of TJ-8117 (Unpito), a Japanese Traditional Medicine for Renal Failure

Aims: Unpito, an herbal medicine extracted from a mixture of five crude medicines (Rhei Rhizoma, Glycyrrhizae Radix, Ginseng Radix, Zingiberis Rhizoma and Aconiti Tuber), has been developed as a drug for chronic renal failure. In general, it is difficult to estimate the absorption and excretion of herbal medicines due to the presence of a wide variety of components. The purpose of the current study was to examine the systemic pharmacokinetics and elimination of Unpito in healthy volunteers as part of the clinical study of the medicine. Methods: Three compounds, (-)epicatechin 3-O-gallate (ECG), glycyrrhetic acid (GA) and rhein (RH) were selected as markers, to examine the clinical pharmacokinetics of Unpito based on their levels in this medicine. The disposition of each compound was evaluated in 32 healthy volunteers receiving single oral doses (2, 4, 8, and 12 capsules). Results: After a single oral administration, ECG and RH exhibited linear pharmacokinetics in AUC and C max, while GA did not exhibit linear pharmacokinetics. A cross-over study was conducted to evaluate the effect of food at a single dose of 4 capsules. The effect of food was observed for the plasma concentrations of ECG and RH, while not for GA. The potential accumulations of δ-(3,4- dihydroxyphenyl)-γ-valerolactone (VL-2), a metabolite of ECG and RH were not observed. GA was not detected in urine. Conclusions: This is the first study presenting pharmacokinetics of ECG, GA and RH derived from Unpito, an herbal medicine, in healthy volunteers after single dose administration.出版者照会後に全文公

EGUIDE project and treatment guidelines

Aim: Although treatment guidelines for pharmacological therapy for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder have been issued by the Japanese Societies of Neuropsychopharmacology and Mood Disorders, these guidelines have not been well applied by psychiatrists throughout the nation. To address this issue, we developed the ‘Effectiveness of Guidelines for Dissemination and Education in Psychiatric Treatment (EGUIDE)’ integrated education programs for psychiatrists to disseminate the clinical guidelines. Additionally, we conducted a systematic efficacy evaluation of the programs. Methods: Four hundred thirteen out of 461 psychiatrists attended two 1‐day educational programs based on the treatment guidelines for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder from October 2016 to March 2018. We measured the participants’ clinical knowledge of the treatment guidelines using self‐completed questionnaires administered before and after the program to assess the effectiveness of the programs for improving knowledge. We also examined the relation between the participants’ demographics and their clinical knowledge scores. Results: The clinical knowledge scores for both guidelines were significantly improved after the program. There was no correlation between clinical knowledge and participant demographics for the program on schizophrenia; however, a weak positive correlation was found between clinical knowledge and the years of professional experience for the program on major depressive disorder. Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that educational programs on the clinical practices recommended in guidelines for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder might effectively improve participants’ clinical knowledge of the guidelines. These data are encouraging to facilitate the standardization of clinical practices for psychiatric disorders

Effect of Si on the stability of NbCr2 Laves phase in Cr-Mo-Nb system

An experimental study on a part of the Cr-Nb-Mo-Si quaternary phase diagram associated with the NbCr2 Laves phase is conducted. It is found that most of the Si added to 50Cr-30Mo-20Nb alloys is distributed in the NbCr2 Laves phase and that the amount of Mo in the Laves phase increases with increasing Si addition. The Laves phase in Cr-Mo-Nb alloys with higher Si addition is found to be more stable. Electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory are performed to examine the effects of Mo and Si co-doping on the formation enthalpy of NbCr2. It is found that the co-doping effectively increases the stability of the Laves phase. This result is consistent with the effect of the atomic size ratio D-A/D-B on the stability of the AB(2) Laves phase, where D-A and D-B are the average atomic diameters of atoms occupying the A and B sites of the AB(2) structure, respectively