Metabolomic profiling of Saposhnikoviae Radix from Mongolia by LC–IT–TOF–MS/MS and multivariate statistical analysis

Journal of Natural Medicines - Saposhnikoviae Radix (SR) is a commonly used crude drug that is obtained from the root and rhizome of Saposhnikovia divaricata which is distributed throughout China,...     

Characterization of metabolites in Saposhnikovia divaricata root from Mongolia

Journal of Natural Medicines - Saposhnikoviae Radix (SR), derived from the dried root and rhizome of Saposhnikovia divaricata, is a popular crude drug used in traditional Chinese and Japanese...     

Lanostane triterpenoids from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fomitopsis officinalis</Emphasis> and their trypanocidal activity

Fomitopsis officinalis is a medicinal fungus, known as ‘Agarikon’, and is used traditionally in the treatment of asthma and rheumatism in Mongolia. The investigation of the chemical constituents of F. officinalis led to the isolation of 4 new lanostane triterpenoids together with 4 known triterpenoids. Inhibitory activity against Trypanosoma congolense, which causes fatal diseases in animals including livestock, was estimated for the isolated compounds. Compounds 2–5 and 8 exhibited moderate inhibition activities with IC₅₀ values ranging from 7.0?27.1 µM.     

Molecular detection of tick‐borne pathogens in bovine blood and ticks from Khentii,Mongolia

Recent studies reported the detection of DNA from tick‐borne pathogens (TBPs) of veterinary relevance such as Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bigemina, Babesia bovis and Theileria orientalis in bovine blood samples from Mongolia. These findings were unexpected, as the known tick vectors of these pathogens are not known to occur in Mongolia. We therefore conducted a study in May and June 2013 in six districts of Khentii province where DNA of the said TBPs was previously found. Ticks collected from the vegetation and rodents, as well as blood samples from cattle, were screened for the presence of TBPs by reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization. Tick larvae collected from rodents were pooled. A total of 310 adult ticks were collected from the vegetation, and 249 tick larvae were collected from 24 rodents. Adult ticks (n = 2,318) and blood samples were collected from 481 heads of cattle. All adult ticks were identified as Dermacentor nuttalli. DNA from Rickettsia raoultii (252/310; 81.3%), an uncharacterized Anaplasma species preliminary named Anaplasma sp. Mongolia (26/310; 8.4%), Candidatus Midichloria sp. (18/310; 5.8%), Theileria equi (16/310; 5.2%), Babesia caballi (5/310; 1.6%), T. orientalis (1/310; 0.3%), Borrelia afzelii (1/310; 0.3%) and Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis (1/310; 0.3%) was detected in ticks collected from the vegetation. DNA of R. raoultii (27/28; 96.4%) and Midichloria sp. (2/28; 7.1%) was detected in the pooled tick larvae. Anaplasma sp. Mongolia, a species related to Anaplasma ovis based on a multi‐locus analysis, was also detected in 153/481 (31.8%) of the bovine blood samples. DNA of B. bovis, B. bigemina and A. marginale was not detected in the ticks or bovine blood samples from Khentii district.     

Experimental Infection of Domestic Pigs with African Swine Fever Virus Isolated in 2019 in Mongolia

African swine fever (ASF) is an infectious viral disease caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV), that causes high mortality in domestic swine and wild boar (Sus scrofa). Currently, outbreaks are mitigated through strict quarantine measures and the culling of affected herds, resulting in massive economic losses to the global pork industry. In 2019, an ASFV outbreak was reported in Mongolia, describing a rapidly progressing clinical disease and gross lesions consistent with the acute form of ASF; the virus was identified as a genotype II virus. Due to the limited information on clinical disease and viral dynamics within hosts available from field observations of the Mongolian isolates, we conducted the present study to further evaluate the progression of clinical disease, virulence, and pathology of an ASFV Mongolia/2019 field isolate (ASFV-MNG19), by experimental infection of domestic pigs. Intramuscular inoculation of domestic pigs with ASFV-MNG19 resulted in clinical signs and viremia at 3 days post challenge (DPC). Clinical disease rapidly progressed, resulting in the humane euthanasia of all pigs by 7 DPC. ASFV-MNG19 infected pigs had viremic titers of 10⁸ TCID₅₀/mL by 5 DPC and shed virus in oral secretions late in disease, as determined from oropharyngeal swabs. Whole-genome sequencing confirmed that the ASFV-MNG19 strain used in this study was a genotype II strain highly similar to other regional strains. In conclusion, we demonstrate that ASFV-MNG19 is a virulent genotype II ASFV strain that causes acute ASF in domestic swine.     

Rice Germ Ameliorated Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress-Induced Depressive-like Behavior by Reducing Neuroinflammation

Stress-induced neuroinflammation is widely regarded as one of the primary causes of depression. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-enriched foods relieve stress and reduce inflammatory reactions. This study aimed to evaluate whether rice germ with 30% GABA (RG) reduced neuroinflammation in mice exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). CUMS mice were administered 40, 90, and 140 mg/kg of RG. CUMS increased serum and hypothalamic pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α and IL-6) levels, which were decreased by RG. In the hypothalamus, CUMS elevated M1-type microglia markers of CD86 and NF-κB, whereas RG lowered these levels. The expression levels of NLRP3 inflammasome complex (NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain, and caspase-1), IL-1β, and IL-18 were increased in the hypothalamus of CUMS mice and decreased by RG. RG attenuated depressive-like behaviors in CUMS mice, as measured by the forced swim test and tail suspension test. In conclusion, RG decreased hypothalamic inflammation-related signals, such as TNF-α, IL-6, M1 polarization, NF-κB, NLRP3 inflammasome complex, caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18, to diminish depressive-like behavior.     

Hypertension,knowledge, attitudes,and practices of primary care physicians in Ulaanbaatar,Mongolia

We examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of primary care doctors in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia using a recently developed World Hypertension League survey. The survey was administered as part of a quality assurance initiative to enhance hypertension control. A total of 577 surveys were distributed and 467 were completed (81% response rate). The respondents had an average age of 35 years and 90.1% were female. Knowledge of hypertension epidemiology was low (13.5% of questions answered correctly); 31% of clinical practice questions had correct answers and confidence in performing specific tasks to improve hypertension control had 63.2% “desirable/correct” answers. Primary care doctors mostly had a positive attitude toward hypertension management (76.5% desirable/correct answers) and highly prioritized hypertension management activities (85.7% desirable/correct answers). Some important highlights included the majority (> 80%) overestimating hypertension awareness, treatment, and control rates; 78.2% used aneroid blood pressure manometers; 15% systematically screened adults for hypertension in their clinics; 21.8% reported 2 or more drugs were required to control hypertension in most people; and 16.1% reported most people could be controlled by lifestyle changes alone. 55% of respondents were not comfortable prescribing more than 1 or 2 antihypertensive drugs in a patient and the percentage of desirable/correct responses to treating various high‐risk patients was low. Most (53%‐74%) supported task shifting to nonphysician health care providers except for drug prescribing, which only 13.9% supported. A hypertension clinical education program is currently being designed based on the specific needs identified in the survey.     

Hypertension knowledge,attitudes, and practices of nurses and physicians in primary care in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia

Increased blood pressure is a leading risk for death globally, and interventions to enhance hypertension control have become a high priority. An important aspect of clinical interventions is understanding the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of differing primary healthcare practitioners. We examined KAP surveys from 803 primary care practitioners in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (response rate 80%), using a comprehensive KAP survey developed by the World Hypertension League (WHL). The WHL KAP survey uniquely includes an assessment of key World Health Organization recommended interventions to enhance hypertension control. There were few substantive differences between healthcare professional disciplines. Primary care practitioners mostly had a positive attitude toward hypertension management. However, confidence and practice in performing specific tasks to control hypertension were suboptimal. A low proportion indicated they systematically screened adults for hypertension and many were not aware of the need to or were confident in prescribing more than two antihypertensive medications. It was the practice of a high proportion of doctors to not pharmacologically treat most people with hypertension who were at high cardiovascular risk. There was a reluctance by physicians to task share hypertension diagnosis, drug prescribing and assessing cardiovascular risk to nurses. The minority of health care professions use a hypertension management algorithm, and few have patient registries with performance reporting functions. There were few substantive differences based on the age, gender, and years of clinical practice of the practitioners. The study findings support the need for standardized education and training of primary care practitioners in Ulaanbaatar to enhance hypertension control.