Interactions of thiamine monophosphate (TMP) with one- and two-dimensional polymeric halogenomercurate anions. Crystal structures of (TMP)(Hg2Br5)center dot 0.5H(2)O and (TMP)(2)(Hg3I8)

An investigation into the interactions between thiamine monophosphate (TMP) and anions has resulted in the preparation and X-ray characterization of the compounds (TMP)(Hg2Br5).0.5H(2)O (1) and (TMP)(2)(Hg3I8) (2). In each compound the TMP molecule exists as a monovalent cation in the usual F conformation. The halogenomercurate anions occur in two-dimensional (2-D) network in 1 or one-dimensional (1-D) chain in 2. In both 1 and 2, the structures consist of alternating cationic sheets of the hydrogen-bonded TMP molecules and anionic sheets of the polymeric halogenomercurate anions. The TMP molecule binds to the polymeric anions through the characteristic 'anion bridge I', C(2)-H..X...pyrimidinium (X = Br in 1 and 1 in 2), and electrostatic interactions between electropositive S(1) and halogen atoms. The 'anion bridge II' of the type N(4'1)-H...X...thiazolium (X = phosphate group) plays a role in stabilizing the molecular conformation. The biological implication of the host-guest-like complexation between TMP and polymeric anions is discussed.

Metal ion and anion coordination in the thiamine-[Pt-II(NO2)(4)](2-) system. Structures of a metal complex, Pt(thiamine)(NO2)(3), and two salts, (H-thiamine)[Pt(NO2)(4)]center dot 2H(2)O and (thiamine monophosphate)(2)[Pt(NO2)(4)]center dot 2H(2)O

Reaction of thiamine or thiamine monophosphate (TMP) with K2Pt(NO2)(4) afforded a metal complex, Pt(thiamine)(NO2)(3) (1), and two salt-type compounds, (H-thiamine)[Pt(NO2)(4)]. 2H(2)O (2) and (TMP)(2)[Pt(NO2)(4)]. 2H(2)O (3), which were structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction. In 1, the square-planar Pt2+ ion is coordinated to the pyrimidine N(1'), a usual metal-binding site, and three NO2- groups. The thiamine molecule exists as a monovalent cation in 1 and a divalent cation in 2 while the TMP molecule is a monovalent cation in 3. In each compound, thiamine or TMP adopts the usual F conformation and forms two types of host-guest-like interactions with anions, which are of the bridging forms, C(2)-H . . . anion . . . pyrimidine-ring and N(4'1)-H(...)anion(...)thiazolium-ring. In 3, there is an additional anion-bridging interaction between the pyrimidine and thiazolium rings of TMP, being of the form C(6')-H . . . anion . . . thiazolium-ring. The salts 2 and 3 show similar hydrogen-bonded cyclic dimers of thiamine or TMP between which the anions are held. Results are compared with those of the other thiamine-platinum complexes. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Cleavage of nucleotides by Ce4+ and the lanthanide metal complexes

The cleavage of adenosine-5'-monophosphate (5'-AMP) and guanosine-5'-monophosphate (S-GMP) by Ce4+ and lanthanide complex of 2-carboxyethylgermanium sesquioxide (Ge-132) in acidic and near neutral conditions was investigated by NMR, HPLC and measuring the liberated inorganic phosphate at 37 degrees C and 50 degrees C, The results showed that 5'-GMP and 5'-AMP was converted to guanine (G), 5'-monophosphate (depurination of 5'-GMP), ribose (depurination and dephosphorylation of 5'-GMP), phosphate and adenine (A), 5'-monophosphate (depurination of 5'-AMP), ribose (depurination and dephosphorylation of 5'-AMP), phosphate respectively by Ce4+. In presence of lanthanide complexes, 5'-GMP and 5'-AMP were converted to guanosine (Guo) and phosphate and adenosine (Ado) and phosphate respectively. The mechanism of cleaving 5'-GMP and 5'-AMP is hydrolytic scission.

Lanthanide ions for the hydrolysis of 5'-mononucleotides and 3'-mononucleotides

Cleavage of adenosine-5'-monophosphate (5'-AMP), guanosine-5'-monophosphate (5'-GMP), adenosine-3'-monophosphate (3'-AMP) and guanosine-3'-monophosphate (3'-GMP) by lanthanides was investigated by NMR and the method of measuring the liberated phosphates. Rapid cleavage of both 5'-mononucleotides and 3'-mononucleotides by Ce-III and Ce-IV under air at pH 9 and 37 degrees C was observed. Other lanthanides showed less efficiency for hydrolyzing 5'-mononucleotides but 3'-mononucleotides were catalyzed by a range of lanthanide ions. The mechanism for hydrolyzing 3'-mononucleotides by lanthanides was:investigated. The notable difference in reactivity between Ce-III and the other lanthanide ions under air was further studied showing that the cleavage is enhanced with increasing molar fraction of Ce-IV. The fast cleavage of mononucleotides by Ce-III under air at pH 9 is ascribed to the resultant Ce-IV in the reaction mixture. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

ELECTROCHEMICAL CONTROLLED-RELEASE OF ADENOSINE-TRIPHOSPHATE

Polypyrrole (PPy) film was synthesized by anodic polymerization of pyrrole onto the surface of platinum electrode in the solution of sodium p-toluene sulfonate (NaTsO). When this film was oxidized anodically in an aqueous solution of adenosine triphosphatle (ATP), the ATP anions were incorporated into the film. Release of ATP From the film could be accomplished by reduction of the film in aqueous electrolyte solution. The total amount of ATP released from the film was determined by UV spectroscopic method.

ELECTROCHEMICALLY CONTROLLED RELEASE OF ADENOSINE 5'-TRIPHOSPHATE FROM POLYPYRROLE FILM

Polypyrrole (PPy) film is synthesized by anodic polymerization of pyrrole onto the surface of a platinum electrode in the presence of toluene-p-sulfonate and the film is used for the controlled release of the neurotransmitter, adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP).

Spectroscopic and structural properties of YbF3-doped fluorophosphate glasses

Compositional influences on the spectroscopic properties of Yb3+ and the structural variations with the introduction of YbF3 were studied in fluorophosphate glasses. Emission cross-section (sigma(emi)) and gain coefficient (sigma(emi) x tau(f)) were calculated which exhibit maximum at RF2 = 33 mol%. YbF3 has an important effect on the glass forming ability of fluorophosphate glasses when RF2 is over 36 mol%. The study of Raman spectra showed big differences on the glass structure between non-Yb3+ and Yb3+ -doped glasses. The main building units in Yb3+-doped samples are metaphosphate groups, pyrophosphate groups (P-2(O,F)(7), PO3F), Al[F-6] +Al[O,F](6) and F3Al-O-AlF3 while those of the non-Yb3+-doped glasses are monophosphate group P(O,F)(4), little pyrophosphate group, Al[F-4] + Al[F-6] + Al[O,F](4) + Al[O,F](6) and F3Al-O-AlF3, which means Yb3+ ions contribute to a better glass polymerization and network uniformity. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Special effects of YbF3 on the structural changes for fluorophosphate glass

From Raman and IR spectra, obvious differences of the glass structure were observed in non-Yb3+-doped and Yb3+ -doped fluorophosphate glasses. Results showed that Yb3+ ions can induce, in a better glass, polymerization and network uniformity. Compared with the monophosphate-mastered Yb3+-free glass, Yb3+-doped glass has a pyrophosphate environment. The main building blocks in Yb3+ -doped samples are metaphosphate groups, pyrophosphate groups (P-2(O,F)(7),PO3F), Al[F-6]+Al[O,F](6) and F3Al-O-AlF3 while those of the Yb3+ -free glasses are monophosphate groups P(O,F)(4), little pyrophosphate groups, Al[F-4]+Al[F-6]+Al[O,F](4)+Al[O,F](6) and F3Al-O-AlF3. The DSC analysis also showed a slight increase in crystallization stability. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

拟南芥有性生殖模式和叶片特性对大气CO2浓度变化的响应

预计到本世纪末，大气CO2浓度将会增加到540～970ppm，大气CO2浓度升高所引起的全球气候变化已经受到广泛的关注。植物生长依赖CO2，并且对大气CO2浓度升高在结构和生理上产生响应。目前已有大量报道，从生态系统、群落、种群、个体、器官、组织、生理以及生化等水平上研究高浓度CO2所对植物产生的影响。但是有关高浓度CO2对植物有性生殖影响的报道却很少，同时多数实验均建立在短期的生殖响应，忽视了植物在长期高CO2浓度下具有的反馈作用和CO2浓度变化对植物的驯化作用。植物有性生殖与其生态适应性和农作物籽粒产量的关系极为密切;同时，植物有性生殖特性的变化，也可作为预测植物对全球气候变化响应的重要指标之一。为此，利用高浓度CO2对植物进行长期选择实验将很有必要。研究结果将为预测未来大气CO2浓度增加的条件下陆地生态系统的演变趋势、全球变化对植物有性生殖响应的方式和机制提供新的思路和有效方法。 　　在本研究中，我们以模式植物拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)作为实验材料，利用370和700ppm CO2对其进行连续8个世代处理，首先研究高浓度CO2对每一个世代的拟南芥有性生殖特性的影响，然后比较各个世代中各种生殖特性指标变化的规律，从细胞、组织和个体尺度上揭示拟南芥有性生殖对全球变化的响应模式。此外，在700ppm CO2处理下，我们对拟南芥叶片生理、生化以及结构的变化进行了相关研究。两部分研究结果及主要结论如下： 　　首先，在每一个世代中，与370ppm CO2相比较，700ppm CO2处理显著促进了拟南芥开花，缩短生长周期，增加花、角果及种子等生殖的产量，降低种子N含量，提高种子C/N比、种子千粒重以及生殖生物量所占总生物量的比例等，而对种子萌发率、角果所含种子数目以及角果长度则无显著影响。但是， 通过对相同CO2浓度处理条件下，不同世代之间的研究结果比较发现，不同世代之间相关的生殖生物学指标并无显著差异。 　　其次，高浓度CO2显著降低叶片气孔密度、气孔指数、气孔导度以及蒸腾速率。在高浓度CO2处理下，叶肉细胞中叶绿体数目、叶绿体宽度和表观面积、淀粉粒大小和数量、叶片和细胞壁厚度等都显著增加，但是基粒内囊体膜的数量却显著下降。叶片中碳水化合物如可溶性总糖、淀粉以及纤维素含量在高浓度CO2下分别显著增加71.9%、78.7% 和 22.3%。此外，在高浓度CO2处理下，叶片中多数激素如如吲哚乙酸(indole-3-acetic acid, IAA)、赤霉素(gibberellin, GA)、玉米素核苷(zeatin riboside, ZR)、二氢玉米素核苷(dihydrozeatin riboside, DHZR)和异戊烯基腺苷(isopentenyl adenosine, iPA)均都显著地增加，而脱落酸(abscisic acid, ABA)含量却有所下降。最后，叶片中各种矿物质元素含量如N、P、K、Ca和Mg等含量在高浓度CO2处理下也都显著下降，而C/N比增加24.8％。 　　以上结果表明： 　　(1) 在每一个世代中，700ppm CO2处理对拟南芥各种有性生殖特性具有显著的影响，但是高浓度CO2处理对植物所引起的效应在多个世代以内并不能够传递给后代，所以在多个有性生殖世代内，高浓度CO2处理对植物生长、生殖没有驯化作用。 　　(2) 在高浓度CO2处理下，拟南芥叶片中叶绿体超微结构的变化，可能主要是由于叶绿体中淀粉粒数量和体积大小显著增加而引起。 　　(3) 在高浓度CO2处理下，由于拟南芥叶片内与促进细胞分裂与伸长的激素含量显著增加，从而对拟南芥植株生长发育速率的提高起了重要的作用。 　　(4) 拟南芥生长在高浓度CO2条件下，其叶片中各种矿质元素含量（如N、P、K、Ca和Mg）均显著降低，究其原因可能是，第一由于叶片中碳水化合物含量的显著增加而对矿物质元素具有稀释作用;第二由于蒸腾速率下降，引起矿质元素从根部随着蒸腾流运输到地上部分的含量相应减少。 　　

Genetic diversity of Chinese native pigs inferred from protein electrophoresis

We examined protein polymorphism of 20 native pig breeds in China and 3 introduced pig breeds. Thirty loci have been investigated, among which six loci were found to be polymorphic. Especially, the polymorphism of malate dehydrogenase (MDH), adenylate kinase (AK), and two new alleles of adenosine deaminase (ADA) had not been reported in domestic pigs and wild pigs. The percentage of polymorphic loci (P), the mean heterozygosity (H), and the mean number of alleles (A) are 0.200, 0.065, and 1.300, respectively. The degree of genetic variability of Chinese pigs as a whole was higher than that of goats, lower than that of cattle and horses, and similar to that of sheep. Using the gene frequencies of the 30 loci, Nei's genetic distance among the 20 native breeds in China and 3 introduced pig breeds was calculated by the formula of Nei. The program NEIGHBOR in PHYLIP 3.5c was chosen to construct an UPGMA tree and a NJ tree. Our results show that, of the total genetic variation found in the native pig breeds in China, 31% (0.31) is ascribable to genetic differences among breeds. About 69% of the total genetic variation is found within breeds. Most breeds are in linkage disequilibrium. The patterns of genetic similarities between the Chinese native pig breeds were not in agreement with the proposed pig type classification.

Adaptive evolution of energy metabolism genes and the origin of flight in bats

Bat flight poses intriguing questions about how flight independently developed in mammals. Flight is among the most energy-consuming activities. Thus, we deduced that changes in energy metabolism must be a primary factor in the origin of flight in bats. The respiratory chain of the mitochondrial produces 95% of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) needed for locomotion. Because the respiratory chain has a dual genetic foundation, with genes encoded by both the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes, we examined both genomes to gain insights into the evolution of flight within mammals. Evidence for positive selection was detected in 23.08% of the mitochondrial-encoded and 4.90% of nuclear-encoded oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) genes, but in only 2.25% of the nuclear-encoded nonrespiratory genes that function in mitochondria or 1.005% of other nuclear genes in bats. To address the caveat that the two available bat genomes are of only draft quality, we resequenced 77 OXPHOS genes from four species of bats. The analysis of the resequenced gene data are in agreement with our conclusion that a significantly higher proportion of genes involved in energy metabolism, compared with background genes, show evidence of adaptive evolution specific on the common ancestral bat lineage. Both mitochondrial and nuclear-encoded OXPHOS genes display evidence of adaptive evolution along the common ancestral branch of bats, supporting our hypothesis that genes involved in energy metabolism were targets of natural selection and allowed adaptation to the huge change in energy demand that were required during the origin of flight.

EFFECTS OF IRON ON PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF Microcystis wesenbergii (Kom.) Kom. (Cyanobacterium)

Iron is an essential trace element for biological requirements of phytoplankton. Effects of iron on physiological and biochemical characteristics of Microcystis wesenbergii were conducted in this study. Results showed that 0.01 mu M [Fe3+] seriously inhibited growth and chlorophyll synthesis of M. wesenbergii, and induced temporary increase of ATPase activities, however, NR. ACP and ALP activities were restrained by iron limitation. Interestingly, iron addition on day 8 resulted in the gradual restoration of structures and functions of above enzymes and resisted a variety of stresses from iron limitation. M. wesenbergii in 10 mu M [Fe3+] treatment group grew normally. enzymes maintained normal levels, and residual phosphate contents in cultures first sharply decreased, then smoothly as M. wesenbergii has a characteristic of luxury consumption of phosphorus. Above parameters in 100 mu M [Fe3+] treatment group were almost same with those in 10 mu M [Fe3+] treatment group except for NR, ACP and ALP activities. In 100 mu M [Fe3+] treatment group, activities of ACP and ALP had temporary increase because phosphate and ferric iron could form insoluble compound - ferric phosphate (Fe3PO4) through adsorption effect. resulting in lack of bioavailable phosphate in culture media. The experiment suggested that too low or too high iron can affect obviously physiological and biochemical characteristics of M. wesenbergii.

Effects of dietary ascorbic acid supplementation on the growth performance, immune and stress response in juvenile Leiocassis longirostris Gunther exposed to ammonia

This experiment was designed to investigate the effect of dietary supplemental ascorbic acid (AA) on the feed intake, growth, serum lysozyme, hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) and handling stress response in Chinese longsnout catfish (Leiocassis longirostris Gunther) exposed to three levels of unionized ammonia nitrogen (UIA-N). Juvenile Chinese longsnout catfish were reared in 54 fibreglass tanks with a 3 x 3 factorial design treatment consisting of three supplemental AA levels in ascorbyl 2-monophosphate (38, 364 and 630 mg AA equivalent kg(-1) diet) and three UIA-N concentrations [0.004 (the control), 0.037 and 0.292 mg L-1]. The fish were sampled on the 11th, 32nd and 60th day. On the 62nd day, the remaining fish were subjected to an acute stress by being held in a dipnet out of water for 60 s, and sampled at 30 min post handling. The results showed that the specific growth rate (SGR) in 32 days significantly decreased with increased water UIA-N (P=0.0476) but was not affected by dietary supplemental AA (P > 0.05). After 60 days, SGR, feeding rate (FR) and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) significantly increased with increased dietary supplemental AA (P < 0.001) while remaining unaffected by water UIA-N (P > 0.05). There was no significant interaction between dietary AA and UIA-N for growth responses (P > 0.05). The serum lysozyme activity on the 11th day and the hepatic SOD activity on the 32nd day were significantly affected at high (0.292 mg L-1) water UIA-N. On the 62nd day, the increase in cortisol resulting from acute stress significantly decreased by higher UIA-N (P=0.038). It is suggested that Chinese longsnout catfish displayed an adaptive response after long-term UIA-N exposure, and AA had beneficial effects on the growth and feed intake of catfish and alleviated the negative effects of chronic ammonia stress. A chronically higher ammonia level shows a tendency to inhibit the cortisol response to another acute stressor.

Intercellular calcium wave propagation in linear and circuit-like bone cell networks

In the present study, the mechanism of intercellular calcium wave propagation in bone cell networks was identified. By using micro-contact printing and self-assembled monolayer technologies, two types of in vitro bone cell networks were constructed: open-ended linear chains and looped hexagonal networks with precisely controlled intercellular distances. Intracellular calcium responses of the cells were recorded and analysed when a single cell in the network was mechanically stimulated by nano-indentation. The looped cell network was shown to be more efficient than the linear pattern in transferring calcium signals from cell to cell. This phenomenon was further examined by pathway-inhibition studies. Intercellular calcium wave propagation was significantly impeded when extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the medium was hydrolysed. Chemical uncoupling of gap junctions, however, did not significantly decrease the transferred distance of the calcium wave in the cell networks. Thus, it is extracellular ATP diffusion, rather than molecular transport through gap junctions, that dominantly mediates the transmission of mechanically elicited intercellular calcium waves in bone cells. The inhibition studies also demonstrated that the mechanical stimulation-induced calcium responses required extracellular calcium influx, whereas the ATP-elicited calcium wave relied on calcium release from the calcium store of the endoplasmic reticulum.

几种中药材的化学成分及其定性定量检测方法研究

本论文由四部分组成。第一部分报道了佛手参提取物的化学成分研究，建立了活性成分含量测定的高效液相测定和指纹图谱研究，采用液质联用技术鉴定了主要色谱峰；第二部分报道了丹参及其复方制剂的特征图谱研究；第三部分探讨了两面针生物碱的电喷雾质谱裂解规律，并采用液质联用技术分离鉴定了提取物中的多种生物碱。第四部分概述了液质联用在药物代谢研究中的运用。 第一部分包括第一、第二和第三章。第一章针对佛手参（Gymnadeniaconopsea）块茎的甲醇提取物，采用大孔树脂和反相硅胶柱层析等各种分离方法，共分离鉴定出4 个化合物，通过波谱分析将它们的结构确定为dactylorhin B (1)、loroglossin (2)、dactylorhin A (3)和militarine (4)。这4 个化合物均是首次从佛手参中分离得到的琥珀酸葡萄糖苷类成分。第二章采用高效液相色谱法对西藏、四川、河北、青海和尼泊尔等不同地区产的十个佛手参样品进行腺嘌呤核苷和对羟基苯甲醇的定量分析，结果表明这2 个成份可视为佛手参的特征成分，但也注意到产地不同该2 个特征成分的含量也有所不同。第三章采用标准中药指纹图谱相似度计算软件，以10 个佛手参样品HPLC 图谱的平均值为相似性评价对照模板，对10 个样品进行了相似度评价，并经液质联用分析指认了7 个共有峰，分别为腺嘌呤核苷(1)、对羟基苯甲醇(2)、对羟基苯甲醛(3) 、dactylorhin B(4) 、loroglossin(5)、dactylorhin A(6)和militarine(7)。 第二部分包括第四、第五、第六和第七章。第四章运用电喷雾质谱检测了对照药材和五个不同产地的丹参药材中脂溶性和水溶性成分，系统地探讨了多种成分的电喷雾质谱规律，并以对照药材为标准建立了特征指纹图谱。五个产地的药II材通过与对照药材相对比，采用聚类分析的方法，得到了定性的鉴别与判断。并采用液质联用技术对丹参药材提取液中的化学成份进行分析，推测了九个特征峰，并对六样品的液相色谱图进行了聚类分析。第五章探讨了三七皂苷的电喷雾质谱电离和裂解规律，并采用电喷雾质谱法对三七标准药材，血通片中的皂苷成分进行了分析。第六章运用电喷雾质谱研究复方丹参片提取液的特征图谱，并和单味药材丹参和三七的特征图谱进行了对比研究。并运用HPLC-ESI MSn 分析鉴定了复方丹参片提取液中的化学成分，推测了12 个色谱峰。第七章总结了电喷雾质谱和液质联用技术在丹参药材，三七药材及复方丹参制剂中的运用的优势和局限性。 第三部分（第八章）研究了两面针生物碱中二氢白屈菜红碱(1)、二氢两面针碱(2)、8-酮基二氢白屈菜红碱(3)、8-丙酮基二氢两面针碱(4)、两面针碱(5)、和1,3-二(8-二氢两面针碱)丙酮(6)等六个苯并菲啶型生物碱的电喷雾质谱裂解规律，其中二氢两面针碱和二氢白屈菜红碱，8-丙酮基二氢两面针碱和8-酮基二氢白屈菜红碱是两对二个甲氧基分别在C-9 和C-10，C-10 和C-11 的同分异构体。实验结果表明，在相同的碰撞能下，这类位置异构体的ESI MS2 质谱二级碎片离子的相对峰度存在很大差异，这可以用于区分该类同分异构体，采用液-质联用可以对两面针的总生物碱提取物中的这些同分异构体加于区分。同时在本实验采用的液相色谱条件下，多种生物碱得到较好的分离，通过和对照品的保留时间，紫外吸收光谱及电喷雾质谱图对照，鉴定了11 个主要色谱峰。 第四部分（第九章）对液质联用技术在药物代谢中的运用进行了综述。 This dissertation consisted of four sections. The first two sections elaborated thephytochemical investigation of the rhizomes Gymnadenia conopsea R. Br., methoddevelopment for rapid identifying and qutifying the chemical condtituent of thistibetant medicine, and the chemical fingerprint analysis of rhizomes of G. conopsea,Salviae miltiorrhiza and P. notoginseng. The third section studied the fragmentationmechanism of six alkaloids from Zanthoxylum nitidium and method development forrapid identifying varieties of alkaloids from the extract of this herbal medicine. Thefourth section reviewed HPLC- MS method in drug metabolism studies. The first section consisted of chapters 1, 2, 3. Chapter 1 elaborated the phytochemicalinvestigation of Gymnadenia conopsea R. Br. Four succinate derivative esters wereisolated from the methanol extract of the rhizomes of G. conopsea through repeatedcolumn chromatography on normal and reversed phase silica gel, their structures weredetermined by ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR evidence. They were firstly discoveredfrom this species. In chapter 2, a high-performance liquid chromatography.diodearray detection (HPLC-DAD) method has been firstly developed for quantitation oftwo characteristic constituents, adenosine and 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, from theextract of rhizomes of G. conopsea. All 10 samples of G. conopsea contained differentamount of adenosine and 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol. Adenosine and the4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol can be applied in identification and quality control for theroots of G. conopsea. In chapter 3, a high-performance liquid chromatography.diodearray detection.tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MSn) method has been firstly developed for chemical fingerprint analysis of rhizomes of G. conopsea andrapid identification of major compounds in the fingerprints. Comparing the UV andMS spectra with those of authentic compounds, seven main peaks in the fingerprintswere identified as adenosine, 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, 4-hydroxybenzyl aldehyde,dactylorhin B, loroglossin, dactylorhin A and militarine. The Computer AidedSimilarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of TraditionalChinese Medicine (CASES) was employed to evaluate the similarities of 10 samplesof the rhizomes of G. conopsea collected from Sichuan, Qinghai and Hebei provincesand Tibet autonomous region of China, and Nepal. These samples from differentsources had similar chemical fingerprints to each other. The second section consisted of chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7. In chapter 4，both thecharacteristic spectra of liposoluble tanshinones and aqueous-soluble salvianolic acidswere established by the electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS)technique and the differences between standard and crude rhizomes of Salviaemiltiorrhiza Bge. from 5 sources were analyzed. The law of electrospray ion trap mass(ESI ITMS) of typical tanshinones and salvianolic acids is studied.The analysis of the chemical constituent of rhizomes of Salviae miltiorrhiza Bge. byliquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrum (LC/MS) technique wasestablished，and the distances among standard herb and crude herb from 5 sourceswere calculated by clustering analysis. According the DAD spectra and MS2 data，9tanshinones could be speculated. In chapter 5, the character spectra of total saponinsin P. notoginseng extracts were established by ESI ITMS and selective ion monitoring(SIM) technology. The law of notoginsenosides by ESI MS2 was studied. In chapter 6,the characteristic spectra of Compound Danshen Tablet established and compared byESI-MS and HPLC/DAD/MS, 6 known tanshinones and 3 saponins were speculated.In chapter 7, the advantage and disadvantage of the strategy, using the ESI ITMS andLC/MS techniques for study of characteristic spetra of danshen and Compound Danshen Tablet, were summerized. The third section (chapter 8) studied the fragmentation mechanism of six alkaloids,dihydronitidine, dihydrochelerythrine, 8-acetonyl dihydronitidine,8-acetonyldrochelerythrine, nitidine and 1,3-bis (8-dihydronitidinyl)-acetone, by ESIMSn. Tandem mass spectrometry experiments indicated that different substitutionsites of the methoxyl groups at C-9 and C-10 or at C-10 and C-11 determined thedifferent abundances of the MS2 fragmentation ions using the same collision energy.According to the different abundances of MS2 product ions, positional isomericbenzo[c] phenanthridine alkaloids can be differentiated. Moreover, ten constituents inthe crude alkaloids extract from the roots of Zanthoxylum nitidium were rapidlyidentified by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem massspectrometry (HPLC-MSn), through comparing the retention times and ESI MSn spectra with the authentic standards. The fourth section (chapter 9) is a review on HPLC-MS method development in drug metabolism studies.