Rhubarb is an important herbal medicine for the treatment of constipation, inflammation, and cancer. In this study, a facile method based on liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry has been established for the analysis of bioactive phenolic compounds in rhubarbs. From six rhubarb species, official (Rheum officinale, R. palmatum, and R. tanguticum) and unofficial (R. franzenbachii, R. hotaoense, and R. emodi), a total of 107 phenolic compounds were identified or tentatively characterized based on their mass spectra. These compounds include sennosides, anthraquinones, stilbenes, glucose gallates, naphthalenes, and catechins. Ion chromatograms for the identified compounds of different rhubarbs were then compared. Consistent with previous reports, sennosides and rhein were only detected in official rhubarbs. Unexpectedly, we found that R. officinale contained very different phenolic compounds from the other two official species. Sennoside A, which has been considered as the major purgative component of rhubarb, was only detected in R. officinale, while its close isomers were observed in R. palmatum and R. tanguticum. In addition, the predominant anthraquinone glycosides in R. officinale were found to be rhein 8-O-glucoside and emodin 1-O-glucoside, whereas those in R. palmatum and R. tanguticum were rhein 1-O-glucoside and emodin 8-O-glucoside. Stilbenes, which are the major constituents of unofficial rhubarbs, were also different among the species. Our results clarify the chemical composition of rhubarbs comprehensively for the first time. Due to the significant differences in chemical components of rhubarbs, we suggest that different Rheum species be used separately in clinical practice. (J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2007, 18, 82-91)

BackgroundPresently, the matter of pregnancy outcomes of patients with pregnancy related AKI (PR-AKI) were disputed. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of PR-AKI on pregnancy outcomes.MethodWe systematically searched MEDLINE, Embase, VIP, CNKI and Wanfang Databases for cohort or case-control studies in women with PR-AKI and those without AKI as a control group to assess the influence of PR-AKI on pregnancy outcomes and kidney outcome. Reduction of odd ratio (OR) was calculated by a random-effects model.ResultsOne thousand one hundred fifty two articles were systematically reviewed, of those 11 studies were included, providing data of 845 pregnancies in 834 women with PR-AKI and 5387 pregnancies in 5334 women without AKI. In terms of maternal outcomes, women with PR-AKI had a greater likelihood of cesarean delivery (OR, 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.37 to 1.61), hemorrhage (1.26; 1.02 to 1.56), HELLP syndrome (1.86; 1.41 to 2.46), placental abruption (3.13; 1.96 to 5.02), DIC (3.41; 2.00 to 5.84), maternal death (4.50; 2.73 to 7.43), but had a lower risk of eclampsia (0.53; 0.34 to 0.83). Women with PR-AKI also had a longer stay in ICU (weighted mean difference, 2.13 day [95% CI 1.43 to 2.83 day]) compared with those without PR-AKI. As for fetal outcomes, higher incidence of stillbirth/perinatal death (3.39, 2.76 to 4.18), lower mean gestational age at delivery (−0.70 week [95% CI -1.21 to −0.19 week]) and lower birth weight (−740 g [95% CI -1180 to 310 g]) were observed in women with PR-AKI. The occurrence of kidney outcome, defined as ESRD requiring dialysis, in women with PR-AKI was 2.4% (95% CI 1.3% to 4.2%).ConclusionsPR-AKI remains a grave complication and has been associated with increased maternal and fetal mortality.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12884-017-1402-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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BackgroundHsp70, an early-response protein induced when organisms are confronted with simple or complicated environmental stresses, can act as either a cellular protector or a danger signal.ObjectivesThe goal of this study was to evaluate levels of lymphocyte and/or plasma Hsp70 as biomarkers for assessing exposure response to complex coke oven emissions (COEs).MethodsWe recruited 101 coke oven workers and determined levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure, urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), genotoxic damage by comet assay and micronuclei test, and other markers of damage, including plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). These were compared to levels of lymphocyte (intra-cellular) and plasma (extracellular) Hsp70 using Western blots and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), respectively.ResultsWe observed a COEs-related dose-dependent increase in levels of DNA damage, micronuclei rate, MDA concentration, and LDH activity. Lymphocyte Hsp70 levels increased in the intermediate-exposure group (1.39 ± 0.88) but decreased in the high-exposure group (1.10 ± 0.55), compared with the low-exposure group. In contrast, plasma Hsp70 levels progressively increased as the dose of exposure increased. Negative correlations were seen between lymphocyte Hsp70 levels and olive tail moment and LDH activity in the intermediate- and high-exposure groups. However, we observed positive correlations between plasma Hsp70 levels and LDH activity in the low and intermediate groups.ConclusionsIn workers exposed to COEs, high lymphocyte Hsp70 levels may provide protection and high plasma Hsp70 levels may serve as a danger marker. Larger validation studies are needed to establish the utility of Hsp70 as a response marker.