[EMG signal analysis based on fuggy and neural network]

Recognizing methods of EMG signal based on the fuzzy and neural network, applying to a gamma model network is trained for EMG signal of artificial-limbs, compared with assemble-category analysis. The results demonstrated that identification rate is being the better.

[Isozyme electrophoresis of Fritillaria puqiensis during bulb organogenesis in vitro]

OBJECTIVE

Inquiring into the mechanism of bulb organogenesis of Fritillaria puqiensis.

METHOD

Time course studies of the soluble protein, peroxidase and esterase were performed during the new bulb organogenesis by electrophoresis.

RESULT

The atlas of electrophoresis changed greatly during the phase of differentiation and the formation of the new bulb.

CONCLUSION

Different enzymes are associated with organogenesis and express activity at different times.

In vitro corrosion resistance of titanium made using different fabrication methods

The corrosion of cast or milled ASTM Grade II CP titanium with different surface conditions was studied by potentiodynamic anodic polarization and immersion testing. Specimens were fabricated using three dental titanium casting systems and from machined titanium. Three surface conditions were tested: (1) sandblasted with surface reaction layers remaining; (2) polished surface without surface reaction layers; and (3) sandblasted surface without surface reaction layers. An acidic saline solution (0.1 M lactic acid/0.1 M NaC1 [pH = 2]) and an artificial saliva were used as the corrosion media. Anodic polarization was performed starting at 50 mV below the rest potential and terminating at +2250 mV vs Ag/AgCl. Two surface conditions (sandblasted with the surface reaction layers and polished without such layers) were examined in the immersion test. Specimens were immersed in the corrosion media at 37 degrees C for six months. The recovered solution was analyzed by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer for titanium dissolution. A distinctive passive region on the polarization diagram, ranging from approximately 0 to approximately +1300 mV, was observed for all specimens in both media. Great similarity was observed for all the sandblasted specimens which had larger primary passive current densities and passive regions compared to the polished ones. A current density peak at approximately +1600 mV seen for all the specimens with sandblasted surfaces was less well defined for the polished specimens. Immersion testing in the acidic saline solution revealed no significant differences among the polished specimens. A significant increase (P < 0.05) in titanium dissolution was found for the sandblasted specimens with surface reaction layers remaining on the surfaces made with phosphate-bonded SiO2/Al2O3 investment compared to the polished ones. Significant differences were also found between sandblasted specimens with the surface reaction layers resulting from different investment materials and different casting methods. Measurable amounts of titanium were not found for all specimens in the artificial saliva after six months. It is evident that the corrosion behavior of cast CP titanium is similar to that of machined titanium. The surface roughness appears to be a more prominent factor than do the surface reaction layers on the polarization behavior of the CP titanium under the present experimental conditions. Surface roughness and the presence of the surface reaction layers both affect the dissolution of titanium.

[The surgical treatment of tetralogy of fallot in 136 adults]

OBJECTIVE

To summarize the experience of surgical treatment of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) in adults.

METHOD

From April 1975 to December 1997, 136 adult patients underwent total corrective repair of tetralogy of Fallot. The patient age ranged from 14 to 52 years old. The ventricular septal defects were closed with Dacron patch in 112 patients, with pericardial patch in 24 patients. A right ventricular outflow patch was required to eliminate right ventricular outflow tract obstruction in 126 patients.

RESULT

Five patients died during hospitalization, with a hospital mortality of 3.68%. Four early postoperative deaths were due to severe low cardiac output syndrome.

CONCLUSION

In view of current improved and standardized techniques, we conclude that the total corrective repair of TOF may have an excellent result in adult patients.

Requirements for stimulating naive CD8+ T cells via signal 1 alone

In the absence of costimulation, TCR recognition of peptide/MHC complexes is generally considered to be nonimmunogenic. In agreement with this view, naive TCR transgenic CD8+ cells failed to respond to specific peptides presented by MHC class I (Ld) molecules bound to mouse RBC. However, peptide/Ld complexes presented by cell-sized beads or bound to plastic led to overt proliferative responses in the absence of added cytokines. Significantly, equivalent strong proliferative responses occurred when mouse RBC were fixed with glutaraldehyde before Ld coupling. The implication therefore is that the intensity of signaling via the TCR is a reflection of the mobility of the ligand being recognized; TCR signaling is weak when the ligand can move laterally on the cell membrane but strong when the ligand is immobilized.

[Nontypical limited resection of the lung]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the role of limited resection in the treatment of lung disease.

METHOD

From 1989 to 1996, 46 limited resections were performed on 35 patients with lung diseases. All patients were followed up for 0.5 to 7 years (mean 29.3 months).

RESULT

There were no operative deaths and operative complications. In 16 patients with benign lung diseases, no recurrences and late complications were found. In 5 patients with primary lung cancers, 2 died 1.5 and 2 years after operation, respectively, and 3 are still living well for 2.5, 4 and 5 years postoperatively. In 14 patients with metastatic lung diseases (10 with bilateral multiple metastases), 216 metastatic lesions were excised. 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 78.5%, 50% and 21.4% respectively.

CONCLUSION

Limited lung resection could be an additional option and a surgical alternative to conventional lung resection for some compromised patients.

X-ray imaging and microspectroscopy of plants and fungi

X-ray fluorescence microscopy and microspectroscopy with micrometre spatial resolution and unprecedented capabilities for the study of biological and environmental samples are reported. These new capabilities are a result of both the combination of high-brilliance synchrotron radiation and high-performance X-ray microfocusing optics and the intrinsic advantages of X-rays for elemental mapping and chemical-state imaging. In this paper, these capabilities are illustrated by experimental results on hard X-ray phase-contrast imaging, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) imaging and microspectroscopy of mycorrhizal plant roots and fungi in their natural hydrated state. The XRF microprobe is demonstrated by the simultaneous mapping of the elemental distributions of P, S, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu and Zn with a spatial resolution of approximately 1 x 3 micron and with an elemental sensitivity of approximately 500 p.p.b. Microspectroscopy with the same spatial resolution is demonstrated by recording near-edge X-ray absorption (XANES) spectra of Mn at a concentration of approximately 3 p.p.m.

Analysis of human breast adenocarcinoma MCF7 resistance to tumor necrosis factor-induced cell death. Lack of correlation between JNK activation and ceramide pathway

Considerable progress has been made in the understanding of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling; however, the molecular and biochemical basis of tumor resistance to the cytotoxic action of TNF are still not definitively identified yet. Although a role of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway has been suggested as an effector in TNF signaling, its exact relative contribution and its interaction with ceramide pathway and tumor resistance to TNF remain unknown. The relationship between JNK activation and human breast adenocarcinoma MCF7 resistance acquisition to the cytotoxic action of TNF was therefore investigated. We demonstrate that TNF triggers JNK activation in both TNF-sensitive MCF7 cells and its resistant derivative, RA1/1001. In addition, when MCF7 cells were stably transfected with mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 (MKK4) dominant-negative cDNA or transiently transfected with a dominant-negative c-Jun mutant (TAM 67), their susceptibility to the cytotoxic action of TNF remains comparable with control cells. We also demonstrated that JNK activation does not require ceramide generation since in MCF7 cells transfected with a dominant-negative derivative of FADD (FADD-DN), which are resistant to the cytotoxic action of TNF, TNF induced JNK activation in the absence of ceramide generation. Furthermore, our data indicate that exogenous permeable synthetic ceramide C-6 induced the killing of MCF7 cells transfected with MKK4 dominant-negative cDNA. These results provide strong evidence indicating that tumor acquisition of resistance to the cytotoxic action of TNF may occur either independently or at a level downstream of JNK activation and suggest that JNK activation is not linked to ceramide pathway in TNF-mediated apoptosis.

Probing the activation requirements for naive CD8+ T cells with Drosophila cell transfectants as antigen presenting cells

Activation of T cells involves multiple receptor-ligand interactions between T cells and antigen presenting cells (APC). At least two signals are required for T-cell activation: Signal 1 results from recognition of MHC/peptide complexes on the APC by cell surface T-cell receptors (TCR), whereas Signal 2 is induced by the interactions of co-stimulatory molecules on APC with their complementary receptors on T cells. This review focuses on our attempts to understand these various signals in a model system involving the 2C TCR. The structural basis of Signal 1 was investigated by determining the crystal structure of 2C TCR alone and in complex with MHC/peptide. Analysis of these structures has provided some basic rules for how TCR and MHC/peptide interact; however, the critical question of how this interaction transduces Signal 1 to T cells remains unclear. The effects of Signal 1 and Signal 2 on T-cell activation were examined with naive T cells from the 2C TCR transgenic mice, defined peptides as antigen and transfected Drosophila cells as APC. The results suggest that, except under extreme conditions, Signal 1 alone is unable to activate naive CD8 T cells despite the induction of marked TCR downregulation. Either B7 or intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 can provide the second signal for CD8 T-cell activation. However, especially at low MHC/peptide densities, optimal activation and differentiation of CD8 T cells required interaction with both B7 and ICAM-1 on the same APC. Thus, the data suggest that at least two qualitatively different co-stimulation signals are required for full activation of CD8 T cells under physiological conditions.

Surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation with maze procedure by radiofrequency ablation

OBJECTIVE

To compare the results of treatment of atrial fibrillation (Af) with maze procedure by radiofrequency in 25 patients undergoing mitral valve replacement operation (MVRO) (treatment group) with those in 25 patients undergoing MVRO only (control group).

METHODS

The maze procedure modified was completed by radiofrequency ablation with macroscopy during MVRO in the treatment group, whereas the patients in the control group underwent MVRO only. No one in the two groups took antiarrhythmic drugs before and after operation.

RESULTS

The heart rhythm became stable sinus rhythm in 22 of 25 patients of the treatment group after operation and the success rate was 88.0%. Af recurred in none of the 22 patients during the follow-up for 3-24 months. In the control group, 5 patients showed transient sinus rhythm, but Af recurred when they left hospital.

CONCLUSIONS

Maze procedure by radiofrequency ablation is an effective method to cure Af and its success rate was the same as that of surgical incision and cryolesion. But the former took 10-15 minutes only with light damage of atrial muscle and no bleeding, whereas the latter took 1-1.5 hours.

Intrauterine hypoxia-ischemia alters nitric oxide synthase expression and activity in fetal and neonatal rat brains

The effects of intrauterine hypoxia-ischemia (HI) on nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and on expression of NOS isoforms were investigated in fetal and neonatal rat brains. Rat fetuses were subjected to either a 30-min intrauterine HI insult or a sham operation (SH) on gestational day 17 (G17). NOS activity in the homogenate of the rat brain was detectable on G17 and increased with age. NOS activity in the HI group was 20-30% higher than in the SH group from 6 to 48 h after the HI, but was 30% lower than in the SH group from postnatal day 8 to 14. Expression of the inducible NOS (iNOS) mRNA, as examined by RT-PCR, was increased as compared to the SH group from 6 to 24 h after the HI surgery. Expression of the constitutive neuronal NOS (nNOS) mRNA was reduced in the HI group from 24 h after the HI surgery up to postnatal day 14. Immunoblotting data have shown that alterations in NOS isoform protein expression caused by the intrauterine HI were consistent with the mRNA expression data. The overall results indicate that prenatal HI has long-lasting effects on function and expression of NOS in fetal and neonatal rat brains and that the altered NOS activity may be associated with prenatal HI-induced neurological abnormalities.

[Time resolved photoluminescence of PPV derivatives/C60 combination system]

We report the integrated and picosecond time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) measurement from two kinds of combination films: Poly(2-methoxy-5-(4-butenyloxy)phenylene vinylene) (MB-PPV)/C60 and Poly (2-methoxy-5-(4'-bromo-butoxy) phenylene vinylene) (MBB-PPV)/C60. Comparing with the pure MBB-PPV film, PL weakening and quenching of MBB-PPV were observed in the multilayer and mixed MBB-PPV/C60 films respectively. From TRPL spectra, the change of PL decay lifetime could be clearly seen, those could be attributed to the excitation transfer (ET) process between the excited MBB-PPV molecule and C60 molecule. Further measurements indicate that there is no noticeable dependence of the ET process on the temperature in the combination films.

Regulation of major histocompatibility complex class I expression by NF-kappaB-related proteins in breast cancer cells

Downregulation of MHC Class I antigens has been observed in many cancers and usually results from a decreased gene transcription. A reporter CAT gene dependent on the MHC Class I kappaB site or on a longer promoter is transactivated by NF-kappaB complexes containing p65 or RelB. p100 as well as IkappaB-alpha are potent inhibitors of this transcription and p100 sequesters RelB and p65 complexes in the cytoplasm of breast cancer cells. However, although p100 is highly expressed in a number of breast cancer cell lines, MHC Class I antigen expression was observed on all the cell lines we analysed and could be further induced by stimulation with the cytokines IFN-gamma or TNF-alpha. Stable transfection of a unresponsive mutated IkappaB-alpha Ser 32-36 expression vector showed that TNF-alpha induced MHC Cl I expression in an NF-kappaB-dependent way while IFN-gamma did it independently of any NF-kappaB activation.

Expression of a knocked-in AML1-ETO leukemia gene inhibits the establishment of normal definitive hematopoiesis and directly generates dysplastic hematopoietic progenitors

The t(8;21)-encoded AML1-ETO chimeric product is believed to be causally involved in up to 15% of acute myelogenous leukemias through an as yet unknown mechanism. To directly investigate the role of AML1-ETO in leukemogenesis, we used gene targeting to create an AML1-ETO "knock-in" allele that mimics the t(8;21). Unexpectedly, embryos heterozygous for AML1-ETO (AML1-ETO/+) died around E13.5 from a complete absence of normal fetal liver-derived definitive hematopoiesis and lethal hemorrhages. This phenotype was similar to that seen following homozygous disruption of either AML1 or CBFbeta. However, in contrast to AML1- or CBFbeta-deficient embryos, fetal livers from AML1-ETO/+ embryos contained dysplastic multilineage hematopoietic progenitors that had an abnormally high self-renewal capacity in vitro. To further document the role of AML1-ETO in these growth abnormalities, we used retroviral transduction to express AML1-ETO in murine adult bone marrow-derived hematopoietic progenitors. AML1-ETO-expressing cells were again found to have an increased self-renewal capacity and could be readily established into immortalized cell lines in vitro. Taken together, these studies suggest that AML1-ETO not only neutralizes the normal biologic activity of AML1 but also directly induces aberrant hematopoietic cell proliferation.

Increased serum midkine levels during hemodialysis using heparin in chronic renal failure

The heparin-binding growth factor midkine (MK) has been implicated in neuron growth, angiogenesis, and inflammation. In this study, to elucidate the involvement of MK in the development of pathologies associated with uremia, we examined the serum MK levels in patients receiving hemodialysis (HD) by a highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunoassay. Although no significant difference was found between control serum and serum before dialysis in HD patients, serum MK levels increased significantly at the early stage of HD sessions using heparin and gradually decreased after dialysis. In normal controls, intravenous administration of heparin induced a similar sudden increase of MK, but the subsequent decrease was also rapid. In an in vitro study, MK was released in time- and heparin-dose dependent manner from cultured vessels, but not from peripheral leukocytes. These results indicate that, in HD patients, MK is released mainly from endothelial cells immediately after administration of heparin during HD and disappears gradually from blood due to renal impairment. This phenomenon might affect some complications associated with HD.

[Early postoperative intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy for advanced colorectal cancer]

OBJECTIVE

To study the effect of early postoperative intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy (IPPC) on the prevention of peritoneal recurrence and liver metastasis in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

METHODS

From 1990 through 1997, 102 patients with advanced colorectal cancer were admitted. The tumor invaded the intestinal serosa with elevated CEA in the peritoneal fluid. Fifty-four of the 102 patients, beginning from the operation day, were given IPPC, once per day for 6 days, with warm(43-45 degrees C) sterile double distilled water containing 1 g 5-Fu and 10 mg MMC. The other 48 patients, as control, received 1 g 5-Fu and 8 mg MMC by i.v. infusion, once per day for 6 days. In addition, oral tegafur was given to all patients with a total dose of 40 g.

RESULTS

In patients treated with IPPC, peritoneal recurrence developed in 2 patients, liver metastasis in 2 patients whereas 12 cases had peritoneal recurrence and 6 had liver metastasis in patients treated by i.v. infusion. No complication developed in any of the treated patients.

CONCLUSION

IPPC is effective in preventing tumor recurrence in the peritoneal cavity and metastasis to the liver in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. The treatment procedure is simple and safe.

Half-embryo cocultivation technique for estimating the susceptibility of pea (Pisum sativum L.) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) cultivars to Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Longitudinally sliced embryonic axes from pea and lentil mature seeds cocultivated with A. tumefaciens carrying a gus reporter gene in its T-DNA provided a convenient means to evaluate the efficiency of gene transfer to tissues in different cultivars and cocultivation conditions. Use of this technique demonstrated wide variation in susceptibility to Agrobacterium among several pea and lentil commercial genotypes.

Experimental studies on traumatic facial nerve injury

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the outcome of different injuries to the facial nerve.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Six patterns of injuries (exposure, compression, crushing, stretching, division and post-division anastomosis) were produced in the buccal branches of the facial nerve in 60 rabbits. Electroneuronography (ENoG) and histology at definite time were used to evaluate the results.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Exposure and compression injuries produced a neuropraxic injury and rapid recovery. Crushing and stretching injuries resulted in axonotmesis and whilst complete recovery can take place it may be very slow. Division and post-division anastomosis fall into neurotmesis injury and do not completely recover within six months; the former recovers slower and later than the latter.

Ab Initio Study of the Electronic Spectrum of the SiN Radical

The potential energy curves of the SiN radical for the low-lying electronic states correlating up to the fourth dissociation channel have been calculated at the internally contracted multireference configuration interaction (CMRCI) level with Dunning's correlation-consistent polarization valence triple zeta (cc-pVTZ) basis set. The equilibrium bond length (re), harmonic frequency (omegae), first- and second-order anharmonicity constants (omegaexe, omegaeye), rotational constant (Be), centrifugal distortion constant (De), and rotation-vibrational and centrifugal coupling constants (alphae and betae, respectively), as well as the dipole moment (&mgr;0), excitation (Te), and dissociation energies (D0) for the 11 bound doublet states X2Sigma+, A2Pi, B2Sigma+, C2Pi, D2Sigma-, E2Delta, F2Pi, G2Delta, H2Sigma+, I2Phi, and J2Pi and 10 bound quartet states a4Sigma+, b4Pi, c4Delta, d4Sigma-, e4Sigma+, f4Sigma-, h4Delta, i4Sigma+, j4Pi, and k4Delta have been calculated at the CMRCI level with Dunning's correlation-consistent polarization valence quadruple zeta (cc-pVQZ) basis set. Our calculations imply that the D2Pi and L2Pi states in the literature should be reassigned as C2Pi and F2Pi, respectively. Where available, our results are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

Solution structure of P22 transcriptional antitermination N peptide-boxB RNA complex

We have determined the solution structure of a 15-mer boxB RNA hairpin complexed with a 20-mer basic peptide of the N protein involved in bacteriophage P22 transcriptional antitermination. Complex formation involves adaptive binding with the N peptide adopting a bent alpha-helical conformation that packs tightly through hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions against the major groove face of the boxB RNA hairpin, orienting the open opposite face for potential interactions with host factors and/or RNA polymerase. Four nucleotides in the boxB RNA hairpin pentaloop form a stable GNRA like tetraloop structural scaffold on complex formation, allowing the looped out fifth nucleotide to make extensive hydrophobic contacts with the bound peptide. The guanidinium group of a key arginine is hydrogen-bonded to the guanine in a loop-closing sheared G.A mismatch and to adjacent backbone phosphates. The identified intermolecular contacts account for the consequences of N peptide and boxB RNA mutations on bacteriophage transcriptional antitermination.

Prenatal ethanol exposure enhances glutamate release stimulated by quisqualate in rat cerebellar granule cell cultures

Effects of prenatal ethanol exposure on extracellular glutamate accumulation stimulated by glutamate receptor agonists were studied in rat cerebellar granule cell cultures. The prenatal exposure to ethanol was achieved via maternal consumption of a Sustacal liquid diet containing either 5% ethanol or isocaloric sucrose (pair-fed) substituted for ethanol from gestation d 11 until the day of parturition. Neither the basal level of extracellular glutamate nor the increased accumulation of glutamate stimulated by KCl (40 mM) or by ionotropic glutamate receptor agonists, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) or kainate (KA) (100 microM each), in cells prepared from the ethanol-fed group was significantly different from that in cells prepared from the pair-fed group. Glutamate accumulation stimulated by quisqualate (QA, 100 microM) or by trans-(+/-)-1-amino-1,3-cyclopentanedicarboxylic acid (t-ACPD, 250 microM) in the ethanol-fed group was higher than that in the pair-fed group by 116 and 36%, respectively. In the presence of 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX, 100 microM), an ionotropic QA receptor antagonist, the QA-induced accumulation of glutamate in the ethanol-fed group was still higher than that in the pair-fed group. In the presence of MK-801 (5 microM), an antagonist of the NMDA receptor, the enhanced accumulation of glutamate stimulated by either QA or t-ACPD was still observable in the ethanol-fed group as compared to the pair-fed group. Addition of (RS)-alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (MCPG, 500 microM), a selective antagonist of the metabotropic glutamate receptor, abolished the enhanced accumulation of glutamate stimulated by either QA or t-ACPD in the ethanol-fed group. Although immunoblotting of mGluR1 and mGluR2/3 did not show apparent differences between the pair-fed and the ethanol-fed groups, the overall results suggest that the effect of prenatal ethanol exposure was selectively through a pathway mediated by the metabotropic glutamate receptor.

[RP-HPLC determination of water-soluble active constituents and oleanolic acid in the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum Ait. collected from various areas]

The contents of p-hydroxyphenethyl-beta-D-glucoside, specnuezhenide and oleanolic acid in the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum collected from various areas in China were determined by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. The results could be used to evaluate the quality of the crude drug more comprehensively.

Accumulation of the p53 protein allows recognition by human CTL of a wild-type p53 epitope presented by breast carcinomas and melanomas

The p53 protein is accumulated in tumor cells of many human cancers and can elicit in vivo humoral and proliferative responses. Rare reports about p53-mediated tumor recognition by CTLs have remained questioned. We therefore studied a panel of breast tumor and melanoma cell lines that we assayed for the presence of accumulated p53 and surface HLA-A2 and for the presentation of p53 epitopes. From PBMC of a healthy donor, we have generated a CTL line, D5/L9V, directed against HLA-A2-restricted peptide 264-272 from wild-type p53. It efficiently lysed breast adenocarcinomas MCF-7, MCF7/RA1, and MDA-MB-231, and melanoma M8, which all accumulate the p53 protein. Using competition assays, we made sure that tumor lysis by D5/L9V was due to recognition of endogenously produced p53 peptide 264-272 associated with the HLA-A2.1 molecule on the surface of these tumor cells. Cells with undetectable levels of wild-type p53, such as lymphoblastoid cells and melanoma M74, were not recognized by D5/L9V. Neither were breast tumor cell line MCF7/ADR nor melanoma line M44 because of HLA loss. This study therefore shows that it is possible to obtain in vitro CTL lines that specifically recognize a p53 epitope spontaneously presented by a variety of HLA-A2+ transformed cell lines provided they display abnormal patterns of p53 expression. This work points out that breast tumors and melanomas share a p53 epitope, and raises hopes for future immunotherapeutic approaches.

Quantitative determination of salidroside and specnuezhenide in the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum Ait by high performance liquid chromatography

An accurate RP-HPLC method for the quantitative determination of two water-soluble biologically active compounds, salidroside (p-hydroxyphenethyl-beta-D-glucoside) and specnuezhenide in the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum Ait (a crude drug in Chinese traditional medicine) was developed. The reversed-phase column was Nova-Pak C18, saturated with water before the injection of the samples and eluted with a mobile phase of methanol:water (4:6, v/v). The detection wavelength was 230 nm. The recoveries of the two compounds were 96.1 and 97.0%, respectively. The contents of salidroside and specnuezhenide in the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum Ait and two traditional Chinese patent medicines in which this crude drug was an important component, Erzhi Pills and Anshenbuxin Pills, were determined.