The present study aims to clarify the inhibitive effect of the compounds from Rheum palmatum L. on the SARS-3CL protease. The SARS-CoV 3CL gene was amplified from RNA of the SARS virus by PCR. The SARS-CoV 3CL protease was purified from a colon bacillus recombinant. Drugs and 3CL protease were incubated together. The inhibition rate and IC(50) were calculated based on absorbance. Components fro...

Rhei Rhizoma (Dahuang in Chinese) is widely known as a purgative and antiinflammatory agent. In the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, Rhei Rhizoma is prescribed for four Rheum species, Rheum palmatum, R. tanguticum, R. officinale, and R. coreanum, while the first three species are prescribed for Dahuang in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Due to the morphologic similarity of the aerial parts and frequent occur...

Rheum palmatum, one of the source plants of the traditional Chinese medicine rhubarb, is anendemic and endangered species. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the chromosome number and karyotype of this species. Sectioning combined with micrography was used to analyze the karyotype. The following results were obtained: R. palmatum had a stable chromosome number 2n = 22; the basic numb...

BACKGROUND Chinese medicine theory shows that "lung being connected with large intestine", and the modern western medicine also shows that the lung and intestinal tract affect each other in physiological and pathological conditions. If the lung ventilation dysfunction is caused by inflammatory exudate or secretions obstruction of the small airway ventilation, blood gas partial pressure is incre...

Rheum palmatum has been used most frequently in the weight-reducing formulae in traditional Chinese medicine. However, the components of Rheum palmatum that play the antiobesity role are still uncertain. Here, we tested the weight-reducing effect of two major Rheum palmatum compounds on db/db mouse. We found that rhein (100 mg kg(-1) day(-1)), but not emodin, reduced the fat weight in db/db mou...

AIMS Rheum palmatum complex comprises all taxa within section Palmata in the genus Rheum, including R. officinale, R. palmatum, R. tanguticum, R. tanguticum var. liupanshanense and R. laciniatum. The identification of the taxa in section Palmata is based primarily on the degree of leaf blade dissection and the shape of the lobes; however, difficulties in species identification may arise from th...

In this paper, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was applied to the extraction of anthraquinones (aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol and physcion) from Rheum palmatum L. The five anthraquinones were quantified and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with UV detection (HPLC-UV). The extraction solvent, extraction temperature and extraction time parameters, the thr...

BACKGROUND The long term use of Rheum palmatum for the treatment of diseases associated with chronic hepatitis and renal failure can lead to liver and kidney damage. To reduce the toxicity of R. palmatum and alleviate any symptoms of decanta and celialgia, the raw material has been subjected to a specific process prior to its use for hundreds of years. Despite its extensive use in medicine, ver...