Although carbapenem antibiotics are effective therapeutic agents against Gram-negative bacteria, the recent emergence of carbapenem- and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDRP) has become a problem. In the present study, we investigated the antimicrobial activity of Coptidis rhizoma against P. aeruginosa and the pathogenic factors it produces. The bacterial strains used include an MDRP strain, as well as reference strains PAO 1 and ATCC 27853. Drug sensitivity testing was performed in accordance with the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines and the microdilution method was used. We compared the antimicrobial effects of the herbal medicine Coptidis rhizoma with imipenem, amikacin, and ciprofloxacin, and investigated the combined use of Coptidis rhizoma and antibiotics using a checkerboard method. The effects of Coptidis rhizoma on swarming motility were also investigated. Biofilm formation was measured using the crystal violet method, and protease production by P. aeruginosa was measured using a skim milk agar assay. The antibacterial activity of combined use of Coptidis rhizoma and aminoglycoside drugs was confirmed. The use of Coptidis rhizoma in combination with antibiotics suppressed swarming motility and inhibited biofilm formation. Protease production by P. aeruginosa was also suppressed, indicating that the activity of aminoglycoside antibiotics was restored. These results reveal the potential of Coptidis rhizoma against P. aeruginosa-associated pathogenesis.

The Japanese Pharmacopoeia Seventeenth Edition defines Oriental Bezoar as a stone formed in the gall sac of Bos taurus Linne var. domesticus Gmelin. It is used for the purpose of alleviation of fever, antispasmodic and cardiotonic effect.

It is a very expensive crude drug. Prices vary considerably depending on production areas and grades, and quality evaluation by origins, grades, color, odor, forms, and weight mainly using the five senses is not easy. It requires technical knowledge and experience; evaluators need long-term training, which causes a lack of skilled sensory evaluators.

It is effective to predict sensory evaluation by fingerprints identified by instrumental analysis to solve this problem. Therefore, we developed a prediction model of sensory evaluation by simpler operations with wildly-used HPLC. We confirmed that this model can assess the quality of Oriental Bezoar like the skilled evaluators.

In Japan, dried rhizome of Atractylodes lancea is used as a crude drug called So-jutsu (Atractylodes lancea rhizome). The demand for So-jutsu in Japan has risen to 800 tons per year; however, currently it is all imported from China. In an effort to establish a sustainable cultivation method for A. lancea in Kochi Prefecture, we focused on the effects of soil type on plant growth rate, essential oil content, and β-eudesmol and atractylodin concentrations in the rhizomes. Five different soil types including Gray Lowland soil, Brown Forest soil, Andosol, Sand dune Regosol and Red soil, were selected based on their proportion and distribution around Kochi Prefecture. Survival rate of the plants during the two-year cultivation period was 100% in Red soil but only 70% in Gray Lowland soil. Growth rate of the rhizomes was highest in Red soil (6.6-fold increase in fresh weight after two years) and lowest in Gray Lowland soil (2.7-fold increase). The essential oil content and concentrations of β-eudesmol and atractylodin were mostly unaffected by soil type. These results indicate that upland fields composed of Red soil are best suited, while paddy rice fields composed of Gray Lowland soil are not suitable for the cultivation of A. lancea in Kochi Prefecture.

We obtained the stolons of Glycyrrhiza uralensis that maintained their orginal complexed structures in polyvinyl chloride tubes after 17 months’ cultivation. The three-dimentional structures, length, diameter and weight of the stolons were analyzed and Glycyrrhizin (GL) content of each 10 cm piece of the stolons was determined by HPLC assay according to JP.

Though the diameter and weight of the stolon does not change along its length, we discovered GL content of stolons increases when they grow downward in the cultivation tubes; on the other hand, it decreases when growing upward to the surface. Moreover, it was revealed the GL content is constant when the stolons keep growing at the same depth.

Endophytic actinomycetes were isolated from the root of Sophora flavescens. These isolated actinomycetes were identified by morphology characterization and analysis of partial 16S rDNA sequences. Micromonospora sp. and Actinomadura sp. isolated as endophytic actinomycetes were cultivated in liquid medium to analyze their metabolites. The results revealed that Micromonospora sp. and Actinomadura sp. produce k4610422 (1), and madurastatin A1 acetone adduct (2) and (‒)-tetrangomycin (3), respectively.