Inaugural dissertation (Ph. D.)--Universität Bern, 1902. / Includes bibliographical references.

The aim of this diploma thesis was describe and evaluate individual genotypes of genus Rheum L., which are planted on field of Horticulture Faculty MENDELU in Lednice. Descriptors were evaluated with descriptor list, including laboratory examination of content of ascorb acid, oxalic acid, refractometric dry matter, nitrates (NO3), antioxidant capacity (TAC) and dry matter. Purpose of this work is take care of present collection of genotypes and increase its number with additional promising genotypes. Maintenance of gene pool of rhubarb is needed for preservation not just original genetic resources but also for maintaining overall biodiversity.

The aim of this thesis is to describe the items of the gene pool of the species Rheum L. located in the experimental garden of the Faculty of Horticulture of Mendel University in Lednice, to propose the procedure of relocation of this gene pool and evaluate the results of this relocation and to record the wintering of plants and the overall condition of the gene pool as at 30 March 2016. Included in this thesis is the process of monitoring and evaluation of the items of this gene pool. Descriptors were evaluated upon the basis of the valid classification system for the Rheum L species. A total of 44 items were evaluated. These evaluations were combined with laboratory tests of vitamin C, oxalic acid, mononitrate and fibre contents in stems. Tests for refractive solids, solids and overall antioxidant capacity were carried out. Samples of roots of medicinal species of rhubarb were obtained but laboratory tests for the contents were not carried out due to technical difficulties.

Master of Science / Department of Clinical Sciences / Gregory F. Grauer / Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in cats. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Chinese rhubarb (Rheum officinale) supplementation on the progression of feline CKD. Cats with stable IRIS stage II or III CKD and without certain comorbidities were included in the study. Cats were randomly divided into 3 treatment groups and administered Chinese rhubarb extract (Group 1, Rubenal®, Vetoquinol, Forth Worth, TX; 75 mg tablet by mouth every 12 h), benazepril as a positive control (Group 2, 0.5 mg/kg by mouth every 24 h), or both (Group 3). Cats were fed a commercial renal specific diet and enteric phosphate binder as appropriate. Body weight, laboratory data, and blood pressure were recorded every 3 months. Variables between groups at enrollment and within groups over visits were compared with ANOVA and repeated measures ANOVA, respectively. A treatment by visit interaction term was included in all repeated measures models. Significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Except for body weight there was no significant differences between treatment groups at enrollment. There was no significant change in body weight, hematocrit (Hct), UPC, serum creatinine, or systemic blood pressure over time as compared to baseline within any group. There was no significant difference between groups over time in regards to change in body weight, Hct, UPC, serum creatinine, or systemic blood pressure. The treatment by time interaction was non-significant in all models. Based on easily measured clinical parameters, this study failed to detect a significant difference in cats administered a Chinese rhubarb supplement, benazepril, or both.

All the results showed that TCMs can provide a source for discovering anti-angiogenic agents for the treatment of cancer, and all these experiments in the zebrafish and mammalian models further confirmed the value of zebrafish model in anti-angiogenic drug discovery. / Angiogenesis refers to the formation of new blood capillaries from pre-existing ones, and is essential in a series of normal physiological processes such as embryonic development and pathological responses. However, persistent unregulated angiogenesis causes "angiogenic diseases" such as diabetic retinopathy, tumor growth and metastasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory diseases. The linkage between angiogenesis, tumor growth and metastasis was first hypothesized by Dr. Judah Folkman in the 1970s, and now this controversial idea is widely accepted and the inhibition of angiogenesis, or anti-angiogenesis, is considered as a promising anticancer therapeutic strategy. Bevacizumab (Avastin RTM by Genentech Inc.), the first approved anti-angiogenic drug by U.S. FDA in 2004, is a humanized monoclonal antibody to inhibit endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, advanced breast cancer, glioblastoma, metastatic renal cell cancer. / Anti-angiogenic therapy in cancer treatment has led to the development of compounds designed to control a tumor's growth by blocking its ability to develop a blood supply. The development of agents with different mechanisms of action requires powerful preclinical models for the analysis and optimization of the therapy. Some in vitro and in vivo anti-angiogenic assays are already developed, for example, Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cell (HUVEC) assay, Chorioallantoic Membrane assay, Matrigel plug assay et al. Zebrafish, as a relatively new model organism, is firmly established as a powerful research platform for many areas of biology and drug discovery, allowing the testing of bioactive compounds in a whole organism and in cells undergoing normal cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Many anti- and pro-angiogenic molecules tested in zebrafish demonstrated similar effects to those observed in humans or other mammalian models. Besides providing a powerful platform for drug screening, zebrafish model can also be used for probing biological processes, and generate insights into mechanisms. / Cancer is a generic term for a large group of diseases that can affect any part of the body, which causes a vast medical problem and is a leading cause of death worldwide nowadays. However, for many years the main methods of treating cancer have been surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Among these treatments, chemotherapy has played a major role in cancer therapy for half a century. Despite improving managements and efforts, it is not surprising that the prognosis has not greatly improved because of the limitations of current therapies, such as toxicity, inherent and acquired resistance, and metastatic spread. This calls for novel cancer therapies and new group of anticancer agents for selectively targeting cancers without or with lower toxicity to normal tissues. / Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have long been recognized as a rich source for discovering drugs, and various TCMs and their components have shown anti-angiogenic properties. In this thesis study, as a continuing pursuit for elucidating the anti-angiogenic properties of TCMs, our attention is focused on those with effects of anti-inflammation, anti-rheumatoid arthritis and anti-cancer. On zebrafish screening model, three of the selected TCMs, Rheum palmatum, Alpinia oxyphylla (seeds), and Kaempferia galanga showed potential anti-angiogenic activity, indicating the existence of potent anti-angiogenic components in these herbs. The ethyl acetate fraction of R. palmatum showed strong inhibition of vessel formation in zebrafish embryos. Further testing of the anthraquinones of this herb showed three of them displayed potent anti-angiogenic activities. The most potent compound---rhein could inhibit HUVEC migration and affect the mRNA expression of vegfa, kdr, angiopoietin1/2 and tie1/2; The n-hexane and ethyl acetate fractions of A. oxyphylla and K. galangal showed anti-angiogenic potentials both in zebrafish and HUVEC assays. The n-hexane and ethyl acetate fractions of A. oxyphylla could both inhibit the proliferation, migration and tube formation processes of HUVEC. And the most potential component, trans-ethyl-p-methoxycinnamate from K. galanga, could inhibit HUVEC migration and tube formation, and reduce all gene expressions involved in angiogenesis process except for vegfa. / He, Zhiheng. / Adviser: Wei Ge. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-02, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-108). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

Rheum species are medicinally important plants due to the presence of anthracene derivatives and in this study antioxidative, cytotoxic, apoptotic and chemopreventive characteristics of R. ribes extracts were evaluated. R. ribes shoot and root dry powder samples were prepared and extracted with ethyl acetate, ethanol and water. The extracts were revealed to be a potential scavenger of DPPH radicals and the chemical composition of the extracts was quantified by colorimetric determination of total phenol (GAE) and flavonoid (CAE) contents. HL&ndash / 60 cells were cultured in the presence of various concentrations of extracts up to 72 hr. R. ribes inhibited the surviv al of HL-60 cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, shown by trypan blue and XTT. R. ribes caused HL-60 cells apoptosis via formation of phosphatidylserine externalization, as evidenced by flow cytometry. Exposure of HL-60 cells to higher concentrations of extracts for 72 h resulted in a shift of 87% of the cell population from normal to the early/late apoptotic stage. The R. ribes induced apoptosis may be partially attributed to the activation of caspase-3 and up-regulation of caspase-3 expression was detected in western blot. The significant release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytosol was observed. The mRNA expression ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 was increased. The apoptosis was also demonstrated by DNA ladder and TUNEL. Chemopreventive effects of R.ribes were investigated at the gene level of CYP1B1 and CYP1A1, and GST enzyme activity against cDNB and concluded that R.ribes modulated activities of these enzymes generally at a time dependent level. T h ese findings suggest that Rheum ribes exhibits potential antioxidant and anticancer properties by inducing caspase-dependent cell death in HL-60 cells.

No description available.