Antioxidant capacities of 56 selected Chinese medicinal plants were evaluated using the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, and their total phenolic content was measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The strong correlation between TEAC value and FRAP value suggested that the antioxidants in these plants possess free radical scavenging activity and oxidant reducing power, and the high positive correlation between antioxidant capacities and total phenolic content implied that phenolic compounds are a major contributor to the antioxidant activity of these plants. The results showed that Dioscorea bulbifera, Eriobotrya japonica, Tussilago farfara and Ephedra sinica could be potential rich sources of natural antioxidants.

In patients presenting with PAD, the TAC score is associated with the stage of disease and it identifies those who are at high risk for amputation better than traditional risk factors and an abnormal ABI.

Objective-Arterial calcification has been associated with matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-mediated elastin degradation.In this study, we investigated whether inhibiting MMP activity could reduce calcium accumulation in rodent models of aortic calcification. Methods and Results-Aortic calcification was first induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by administration of vitamin D 3 .Treatment with doxycycline decreased aortic calcium and phosphorus accumulation, and it reduced aortic gelatinase levels; however, it also prevented the bone resorption associated with high doses of vitamin D 3 . Using an in vivo model of localized aortic calcification, systemic doxycycline treatment reduced aortic calcium accumulation without affecting serum calcium levels, suggesting a more specific effect of doxycycline in the arterial wall. In organ culture, doxycycline limited aortic calcification caused by exposure to alkaline phosphatase and inorganic phosphate. When GM6001, a synthetic and specific inhibitor of MMPs, was used instead of doxycycline, it had a similar effect. In vivo, periadventitial delivery of GM6001 to calcifying arteries significantly reduced calcification compared with controls. Key Words: artery Ⅲ calcification Ⅲ MMPs Ⅲ doxycycline Ⅲ GM6001 Ⅲ rat V ascular calcification occurs pathologically in diabetes and chronic renal disease as well as during the normal aging process. [1][2][3] When calcification is identified in the coronary arteries, it is associated with an increased risk of cardiac events. 4,5 In patients with renal failure, it is associated with significantly shorter survival, 6 and in patients with diabetes, it occurs at an accelerated rate and is a strong predictor of morbidity and mortality. 7 Although vascular calcification is associated with atherosclerosis, recent data suggest that it is independently regulated, and calcifying vessels share features with osteogenesis. 2,8 Consistent with this hypothesis is that diseased human arteries have been shown to express proteins usually seen in bone, including members of the bone morphogenetic protein family, noncollagenous bone matrix proteins, matrix Gla protein, decorin, the osteoblastic regulator osteoprotegrin, and the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). 9 -15 MMPs are involved in multiple processes in the vascular wall. 16 They are upregulated in human atherosclerotic and restenotic lesions, and they are involved in aneurysm formation. [17][18][19][20][21] Inhibiting MMP activity prevents injury-induced arterial remodeling in rodent models. 22,23 Recent studies demonstrated a correlation between MMP-mediated elastin degradation and aortic calcification. Inhibiting elastin degradation with aluminum ions prevented calcification in the aortas of rats after calcium chloride-mediated injury; and mice deficient in MMP-2 and MMP-9 did not develop calcification in a similar model. 24 Additionally, Lee et al demonstrated increased MMP activity associated with increased levels of soluble elastin peptides in a rat subdermal model of elastin calcification. 25 In...

The independent association of HBV infection with ICC, synergy between cirrhosis and HBV infection, and some clinicopathological similarities between HBV-related ICC and hepatocellular carcinoma suggests that both may share similar or common tumorigenic process and may possibly originate from malignant transformation of hepatic progenitor cell.