Pub Date : 2022-03-16DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X22500264
Da-Eun Yoon, In-Seon Lee, Younbyoung Chae
The dose-response relationship is a hallmark of pharmacological studies. However, this relationship has not been fully established in acupuncture research. This systematic review aims to provide the characteristics of the dose-response relationship in acupuncture research. We further summarized the differences in acupuncture effects according to dose components. Dose components of acupuncture were categorized into three groups: number of needles, stimulation intensity, and total number/frequency of treatments. The PubMed database was used to identify studies examining the effects of different doses of acupuncture from the establishment of the database to August 13, 2020. Dose components and responses were extracted from each study, and the results of low- and high-dose conditions were compared. Fourteen studies were included in this study. Of the included studies, 37.5% showed statistically significant enhanced responses to acupuncture treatment under high-dose conditions compared to low-dose conditions. Significant differences between high- and low-dose conditions were observed most frequently in studies that used various stimulation intensities (four out of six studies), followed in order by studies that used various numbers of needles (two out of seven studies), and those that used various numbers or frequencies of treatment (none of the three studies). Responses were categorized into symptom changes, physiological changes, experimentally induced pain/stimuli perception, and needling sensation. Stimulation intensity, which is considered one of the most important needling components, might indeed have a great impact on clinical responses to acupuncture.
{"title":"Identifying Dose Components of Manual Acupuncture to Determine the Dose-Response Relationship of Acupuncture Treatment: A Systematic Review.","authors":"Da-Eun Yoon, In-Seon Lee, Younbyoung Chae","doi":"10.1142/S0192415X22500264","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X22500264","url":null,"abstract":"The dose-response relationship is a hallmark of pharmacological studies. However, this relationship has not been fully established in acupuncture research. This systematic review aims to provide the characteristics of the dose-response relationship in acupuncture research. We further summarized the differences in acupuncture effects according to dose components. Dose components of acupuncture were categorized into three groups: number of needles, stimulation intensity, and total number/frequency of treatments. The PubMed database was used to identify studies examining the effects of different doses of acupuncture from the establishment of the database to August 13, 2020. Dose components and responses were extracted from each study, and the results of low- and high-dose conditions were compared. Fourteen studies were included in this study. Of the included studies, 37.5% showed statistically significant enhanced responses to acupuncture treatment under high-dose conditions compared to low-dose conditions. Significant differences between high- and low-dose conditions were observed most frequently in studies that used various stimulation intensities (four out of six studies), followed in order by studies that used various numbers of needles (two out of seven studies), and those that used various numbers or frequencies of treatment (none of the three studies). Responses were categorized into symptom changes, physiological changes, experimentally induced pain/stimuli perception, and needling sensation. Stimulation intensity, which is considered one of the most important needling components, might indeed have a great impact on clinical responses to acupuncture.","PeriodicalId":94221,"journal":{"name":"The American journal of Chinese medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42518596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stroke has become a major cause of death and disability worldwide. The cellular recycling pathway autophagy has been implicated in ischemia-induced neuronal changes, but whether autophagy plays a beneficial or detrimental role is controversial. Hydroxysafflor Yellow A (HSYA), a popular herbal medicine, is an extract of Carthamus tinctorius and is used to treat ischemic stroke (IS) in China. HSYA has been shown to prevent cardiovascular and cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in animal models. However, the specific active ingredients and molecular mechanisms of HSYA in IS remain unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of HSYA treatment on autophagy in a rat model of IS. IS was induced in rats by middle cerebral artery occlusion. Rats were treated once daily for 3 days with saline, HYSA, or the neuroprotective agent Edaravone. Neurobehavioral testing was performed on days 1, 2, and 3 post-surgery. Brains were removed on day 3 post-surgery for histological evaluation of infarct area, morphology, and for qRT-PCR and western blot analysis of the expression of the autophagy factor LC3 and the signaling molecules HIF-1[Formula: see text], BNIP3, and Notch1. Molecular docking studies were performed in silico to predict potential interactions between HSYA and LC3, HIF-1[Formula: see text], BNIP3, and Notch1 proteins. The result showed that HSYA treatment markedly alleviated IS-induced neurobehavioral deficits and reduced brain infarct area and tissue damage. HSYA also significantly reduced hippocampal expression levels of LC3, HIF-1[Formula: see text], BNIP3, and Notch1. The beneficial effect of HSYA was generally superior to that of Edaravone. Molecular modeling suggested that HSYA may bind strongly to HIF-1[Formula: see text], BNIP3, and Notch1 but weakly to LC3. In conclusion, HSYA inhibits post-IS autophagy induction in the brain, possibly by suppressing HIF-1[Formula: see text], BNIP3 and Notch1. HSYA may have utility as a post-IS neuroprotective agent.
{"title":"Hydroxysafflor Yellow A Alleviates Ischemic Stroke in Rats via HIF-1[Formula: see text], BNIP3, and Notch1-Mediated Inhibition of Autophagy.","authors":"Yuliang Zhang, Yi Liu, Q. Cui, Zitong Fu, Haoyu Yu, Ao-lei Liu, Jingjing Liu, Xiude Qin, Shaoqin Ge, Guoshan Zhang","doi":"10.1142/S0192415X22500331","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X22500331","url":null,"abstract":"Stroke has become a major cause of death and disability worldwide. The cellular recycling pathway autophagy has been implicated in ischemia-induced neuronal changes, but whether autophagy plays a beneficial or detrimental role is controversial. Hydroxysafflor Yellow A (HSYA), a popular herbal medicine, is an extract of Carthamus tinctorius and is used to treat ischemic stroke (IS) in China. HSYA has been shown to prevent cardiovascular and cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in animal models. However, the specific active ingredients and molecular mechanisms of HSYA in IS remain unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of HSYA treatment on autophagy in a rat model of IS. IS was induced in rats by middle cerebral artery occlusion. Rats were treated once daily for 3 days with saline, HYSA, or the neuroprotective agent Edaravone. Neurobehavioral testing was performed on days 1, 2, and 3 post-surgery. Brains were removed on day 3 post-surgery for histological evaluation of infarct area, morphology, and for qRT-PCR and western blot analysis of the expression of the autophagy factor LC3 and the signaling molecules HIF-1[Formula: see text], BNIP3, and Notch1. Molecular docking studies were performed in silico to predict potential interactions between HSYA and LC3, HIF-1[Formula: see text], BNIP3, and Notch1 proteins. The result showed that HSYA treatment markedly alleviated IS-induced neurobehavioral deficits and reduced brain infarct area and tissue damage. HSYA also significantly reduced hippocampal expression levels of LC3, HIF-1[Formula: see text], BNIP3, and Notch1. The beneficial effect of HSYA was generally superior to that of Edaravone. Molecular modeling suggested that HSYA may bind strongly to HIF-1[Formula: see text], BNIP3, and Notch1 but weakly to LC3. In conclusion, HSYA inhibits post-IS autophagy induction in the brain, possibly by suppressing HIF-1[Formula: see text], BNIP3 and Notch1. HSYA may have utility as a post-IS neuroprotective agent.","PeriodicalId":94221,"journal":{"name":"The American journal of Chinese medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48146812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dietary capsaicin (CAP), the main irritant component in pepper, can reduce the incidence of diabetes, while metformin (MET) is a first-line oral hypoglycemic drug. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether CAP on the hypoglycemic effect of MET is pertinent to gut microbiota. The glucose and insulin tolerance of diabetic rats were monitored. The glycolipid metabolism was analyzed by detecting blood biochemical parameters. Liver pathological changes were observed by Hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining. The inflammatory cytokines and intestinal tight junction proteins were detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot. 16S rRNA sequencing was employed to analyze gut microbiota profiles. The results showed that CAP and MET co-treatment could significantly reduce fasting blood glucose, improve glucose tolerance, lessen liver injury and inflammatory infiltration, down-regulate inflammatory cytokines and up-regulate intestinal tight junction proteins in diabetic rats by comparing it with MET monotherapy. Moreover, CAP and MET co-treatment altered gut microbiota profiles by regulating microbials' abundances such as Akkermansia. In conclusion, CAP showed the significant hypoglycemic effect of MET and remodulated gut microbiota profiles in diabetic rats.
{"title":"Effects of Capsaicin on the Hypoglycemic Regulation of Metformin and Gut Microbiota Profiles in Type 2 Diabetic Rats.","authors":"Zhiqiang Kang, Jingui Hu, Manyun Chen, Yu Mao, Lili Xie, Nianyu Yang, Tao Liu, Wei Zhang, Weihua Huang","doi":"10.1142/S0192415X22500355","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X22500355","url":null,"abstract":"Dietary capsaicin (CAP), the main irritant component in pepper, can reduce the incidence of diabetes, while metformin (MET) is a first-line oral hypoglycemic drug. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether CAP on the hypoglycemic effect of MET is pertinent to gut microbiota. The glucose and insulin tolerance of diabetic rats were monitored. The glycolipid metabolism was analyzed by detecting blood biochemical parameters. Liver pathological changes were observed by Hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining. The inflammatory cytokines and intestinal tight junction proteins were detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot. 16S rRNA sequencing was employed to analyze gut microbiota profiles. The results showed that CAP and MET co-treatment could significantly reduce fasting blood glucose, improve glucose tolerance, lessen liver injury and inflammatory infiltration, down-regulate inflammatory cytokines and up-regulate intestinal tight junction proteins in diabetic rats by comparing it with MET monotherapy. Moreover, CAP and MET co-treatment altered gut microbiota profiles by regulating microbials' abundances such as Akkermansia. In conclusion, CAP showed the significant hypoglycemic effect of MET and remodulated gut microbiota profiles in diabetic rats.","PeriodicalId":94221,"journal":{"name":"The American journal of Chinese medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42718674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-10DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X22500343
Guo-Dong Wu, An Pan, Xu Zhang, Yuan-Yuan Cai, Qi Wang, Feng-Qing Huang, Raphael N. Alolga, Jing Li, Lian-Wen Qi, Qun Liu
Dysbiotic gut microbiota has been identified as a primary mediator of inherent inflammation that underlies the pathogenesis of obesity. Cordyceps comprises the larval body and the stroma of Cordyceps sinensis (BerK.) Sacc. parasiting on Hepialidae larvae of moths (H. pialusoberthur) with potent metabolic regulation functions. The underlying anti-obesity mechanisms, however, remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the water extract of Cordyceps attenuates glucose and lipid metabolism disorders and its associated inflammation in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and microbiomic analysis showed that Cordyceps reduced the amounts of Enterococcus cecorum, a bile-salt hydrolase-producing microbe to regulate the metabolism of bile acids in the gut. Importantly, E. cecorum transplantation or liver-specific knockdown of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a bile acid receptor, diminished the protective effect of Cordyceps against HFD-induced obesity. Together, our results shed light on the mechanisms that underlie the glucose- and lipid-lowering effects of Cordyceps and suggest that targeting intestinal E. cecorum or hepatic FXR are potential anti-obesity and anti-inflammation therapeutic avenues.
{"title":"Cordyceps Improves Obesity and its Related Inflammation via Modulation of Enterococcus cecorum Abundance and Bile Acid Metabolism.","authors":"Guo-Dong Wu, An Pan, Xu Zhang, Yuan-Yuan Cai, Qi Wang, Feng-Qing Huang, Raphael N. Alolga, Jing Li, Lian-Wen Qi, Qun Liu","doi":"10.1142/S0192415X22500343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X22500343","url":null,"abstract":"Dysbiotic gut microbiota has been identified as a primary mediator of inherent inflammation that underlies the pathogenesis of obesity. Cordyceps comprises the larval body and the stroma of Cordyceps sinensis (BerK.) Sacc. parasiting on Hepialidae larvae of moths (H. pialusoberthur) with potent metabolic regulation functions. The underlying anti-obesity mechanisms, however, remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the water extract of Cordyceps attenuates glucose and lipid metabolism disorders and its associated inflammation in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and microbiomic analysis showed that Cordyceps reduced the amounts of Enterococcus cecorum, a bile-salt hydrolase-producing microbe to regulate the metabolism of bile acids in the gut. Importantly, E. cecorum transplantation or liver-specific knockdown of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a bile acid receptor, diminished the protective effect of Cordyceps against HFD-induced obesity. Together, our results shed light on the mechanisms that underlie the glucose- and lipid-lowering effects of Cordyceps and suggest that targeting intestinal E. cecorum or hepatic FXR are potential anti-obesity and anti-inflammation therapeutic avenues.","PeriodicalId":94221,"journal":{"name":"The American journal of Chinese medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44944670","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-10DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X22500252
Jing Wang, Fangyi Zhu, Wei Huang, Zhengyi Chen, Ping Zhao, Yanting Lei, Yumei Liu, Xi-jun Liu, Bo Sun, Hulun Li
Autoimmune diseases (AIDs) are conditions arising from abnormal immune reactions to autoantigens, which can be defined as the loss of immune tolerance to autoantigens, causing the production of autoantibodies and subsequent inflammation and tissue injury. The etiology of AIDs remains elusive, which may involve both genetic and environmental factors, such as diet, drugs, and infections. Despite rapid progress in the treatment of autoimmune diseases over the past few decades, there is still no approach that can cure AIDs. As an alternative approach, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) such as acupuncture has been used in an attempt to treat AIDs including multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and the results have proven to be quite promising, despite the fact that its mechanism is still not fully understood. In this review, the present knowledge regarding mechanisms of acupuncture in the treatment of AIDs has been summarized, and deeper insights will be provided in order to better understand how acupuncture may regulate immune responses during AIDs.
{"title":"Therapeutic Effect and Mechanism of Acupuncture in Autoimmune Diseases.","authors":"Jing Wang, Fangyi Zhu, Wei Huang, Zhengyi Chen, Ping Zhao, Yanting Lei, Yumei Liu, Xi-jun Liu, Bo Sun, Hulun Li","doi":"10.1142/S0192415X22500252","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X22500252","url":null,"abstract":"Autoimmune diseases (AIDs) are conditions arising from abnormal immune reactions to autoantigens, which can be defined as the loss of immune tolerance to autoantigens, causing the production of autoantibodies and subsequent inflammation and tissue injury. The etiology of AIDs remains elusive, which may involve both genetic and environmental factors, such as diet, drugs, and infections. Despite rapid progress in the treatment of autoimmune diseases over the past few decades, there is still no approach that can cure AIDs. As an alternative approach, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) such as acupuncture has been used in an attempt to treat AIDs including multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and the results have proven to be quite promising, despite the fact that its mechanism is still not fully understood. In this review, the present knowledge regarding mechanisms of acupuncture in the treatment of AIDs has been summarized, and deeper insights will be provided in order to better understand how acupuncture may regulate immune responses during AIDs.","PeriodicalId":94221,"journal":{"name":"The American journal of Chinese medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42770855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-10DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X22500306
Xiang-Jun Kong, Kun-Meng Liu, Hua-Li Zuo, Hsien-Da Huang, Yuanjia Hu
Artemisinin and its derivatives (ARTs), due to their potent antimalarial activities, are widely used as frontline antimalarials across the world. Although the large-scale deployment of ARTs has significantly contributed to a substantial decline in malaria deaths, the global malaria burden is still high. New antimalarial treatments need to be developed to manage the growing artemisinin resistance. Understanding the status of ART development is crucial for developing strategies for new alternatives and identifying opportunities to develop ART-based treatments. This study sampled ART clinical trials from the past two decades to gain an overview of the global ART-development landscape. A total of 768 trials were collected to analyze the disease focuses, activity trends, development status, geographic distribution, and combination treatment profiles of ART trials. The findings highlighted the constant focus of ARTs on malaria, the evolving combination research focus, the distinctions between ART development preferences across global regions, the urgent demands for treatments for artemisinin-resistant malaria, and the unavoidable need to consider ART combinations in the development of new antimalarials.
{"title":"The Changing Global Landscape in the Development of Artemisinin-Based Treatments: A Clinical Trial Perspective.","authors":"Xiang-Jun Kong, Kun-Meng Liu, Hua-Li Zuo, Hsien-Da Huang, Yuanjia Hu","doi":"10.1142/S0192415X22500306","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X22500306","url":null,"abstract":"Artemisinin and its derivatives (ARTs), due to their potent antimalarial activities, are widely used as frontline antimalarials across the world. Although the large-scale deployment of ARTs has significantly contributed to a substantial decline in malaria deaths, the global malaria burden is still high. New antimalarial treatments need to be developed to manage the growing artemisinin resistance. Understanding the status of ART development is crucial for developing strategies for new alternatives and identifying opportunities to develop ART-based treatments. This study sampled ART clinical trials from the past two decades to gain an overview of the global ART-development landscape. A total of 768 trials were collected to analyze the disease focuses, activity trends, development status, geographic distribution, and combination treatment profiles of ART trials. The findings highlighted the constant focus of ARTs on malaria, the evolving combination research focus, the distinctions between ART development preferences across global regions, the urgent demands for treatments for artemisinin-resistant malaria, and the unavoidable need to consider ART combinations in the development of new antimalarials.","PeriodicalId":94221,"journal":{"name":"The American journal of Chinese medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44250091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-10DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X22500367
D. Wang, Jia-mei Wang, Fuhong Zhang, F. Lei, Xin Wen, Jia Song, Guang-zhi Sun, Zhi Liu
Our previous study has revealed that malonyl-ginsenosides from Panax ginseng (PG-MGR) play a crucial role in the treatment of T2DM. However, its potential mechanism was still unclear. In this study, we investigated the anti-diabetic mechanisms of action of PG-MGR in high fat diet-fed (HFD) and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice and determined the main constituents of PG-MGR responsible for its anti-diabetic effects. Our results showed that 16 malonyl ginsenosides were identified in PG-MGR by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. PG-MGR treatment significantly reduced fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and improved insulin resistance and glucose tolerance. Simultaneously, PG-MGR treatment improved liver injury by decreasing aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) expression. Furthermore, Western blot analysis demonstrated that the protein expression levels of p-PI3K/PI3K, p-AKT/AKT, p-AMPK/AMPK, p-ACC/ACC and GLUT4 in liver and skeletal muscle were significantly up-regulated after PG-MGR treatment, and the protein expression levels of p-IRS-1/IRS-1, Fas and SREBP-1c were significantly reduced. These findings revealed that PG-MGR has the potential to improve glucose and lipid metabolism and insulin resistance by activating the IRS-1/PI3K/AKT and AMPK signal pathways.
{"title":"Ameliorative Effects of Malonyl Ginsenoside from Panax ginseng on Glucose-Lipid Metabolism and Insulin Resistance via IRS1/PI3K/Akt and AMPK Signaling Pathways in Type 2 Diabetic Mice.","authors":"D. Wang, Jia-mei Wang, Fuhong Zhang, F. Lei, Xin Wen, Jia Song, Guang-zhi Sun, Zhi Liu","doi":"10.1142/S0192415X22500367","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X22500367","url":null,"abstract":"Our previous study has revealed that malonyl-ginsenosides from Panax ginseng (PG-MGR) play a crucial role in the treatment of T2DM. However, its potential mechanism was still unclear. In this study, we investigated the anti-diabetic mechanisms of action of PG-MGR in high fat diet-fed (HFD) and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice and determined the main constituents of PG-MGR responsible for its anti-diabetic effects. Our results showed that 16 malonyl ginsenosides were identified in PG-MGR by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. PG-MGR treatment significantly reduced fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and improved insulin resistance and glucose tolerance. Simultaneously, PG-MGR treatment improved liver injury by decreasing aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) expression. Furthermore, Western blot analysis demonstrated that the protein expression levels of p-PI3K/PI3K, p-AKT/AKT, p-AMPK/AMPK, p-ACC/ACC and GLUT4 in liver and skeletal muscle were significantly up-regulated after PG-MGR treatment, and the protein expression levels of p-IRS-1/IRS-1, Fas and SREBP-1c were significantly reduced. These findings revealed that PG-MGR has the potential to improve glucose and lipid metabolism and insulin resistance by activating the IRS-1/PI3K/AKT and AMPK signal pathways.","PeriodicalId":94221,"journal":{"name":"The American journal of Chinese medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43494446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-10DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X22500288
Fangfang Xu, Wan-ping Cai, Ting Ma, Huimei Zeng, Xiaolan Kuang, Wei-Ying Chen, Bo Liu
Pogostemonis Herba (PH) is the dried aerial parts of Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth, which is mainly distributed and used in Asian countries. PH is an aromatic damp-resolving drug in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is usually used for the treatment of vomiting, chest tension, tiredness, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and headache. In this review, the summary of chemical constituents in the aerial parts, biological activities, history of uses, quality control methods, industrial applications, pharmacokinetics and network pharmacology are reported. By collating the chemical constituents of various parts of PH, a total of 174 components were identified, including 66 terpenes, 6 pyrones, 40 flavonoids, 21 phenylpropanoids, 9 steroids, 4 polysaccharides and 28 others. Pharmacological research has found that PH possesses multi-pharmacological activities, including regulating the gastrointestinal tract, inhibition of pathogenic microorganisms, and anti-inflammation, which provide more scientific interpretation for the clinical usage of PH. In addition, the shortcomings of the current research on PH and the recommendation of future studies on PH are analyzed. We hope this review can provide some insight for further research and applications of PH in future.
{"title":"Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Quality Control, Industrial Application, Pharmacokinetics and Network Pharmacology of Pogostemon cablin: A Comprehensive Review.","authors":"Fangfang Xu, Wan-ping Cai, Ting Ma, Huimei Zeng, Xiaolan Kuang, Wei-Ying Chen, Bo Liu","doi":"10.1142/S0192415X22500288","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X22500288","url":null,"abstract":"Pogostemonis Herba (PH) is the dried aerial parts of Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth, which is mainly distributed and used in Asian countries. PH is an aromatic damp-resolving drug in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is usually used for the treatment of vomiting, chest tension, tiredness, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and headache. In this review, the summary of chemical constituents in the aerial parts, biological activities, history of uses, quality control methods, industrial applications, pharmacokinetics and network pharmacology are reported. By collating the chemical constituents of various parts of PH, a total of 174 components were identified, including 66 terpenes, 6 pyrones, 40 flavonoids, 21 phenylpropanoids, 9 steroids, 4 polysaccharides and 28 others. Pharmacological research has found that PH possesses multi-pharmacological activities, including regulating the gastrointestinal tract, inhibition of pathogenic microorganisms, and anti-inflammation, which provide more scientific interpretation for the clinical usage of PH. In addition, the shortcomings of the current research on PH and the recommendation of future studies on PH are analyzed. We hope this review can provide some insight for further research and applications of PH in future.","PeriodicalId":94221,"journal":{"name":"The American journal of Chinese medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43070367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acupuncture has been used to treat numerous diseases such as obesity in China for thousands of years. Several mechanisms of acupuncture on obesity have been surveyed based on metabolomics, but the effects of acupuncture on the alterations in the gut flora are still unclear. In this study, an integrated approach based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) metabolic profiling was conducted to investigate the effects of acupuncture on high-fat-diet-induced obesity through the regulation of the relative abundances of gut microbiota and their relationships with biomarker candidates. A total of 10 significantly altered bacterial genera and 11 metabolites were recognized, which recovered to normal levels after electroacupuncture treatment. The relative abundances of the bacterial families Muribaculaceae,Lachnospiraceae,Desulfovibrionaceae,Helicobacteraceae, Prevotellaceae,Ruminococcaceae,Rikenellaceae,Deferribacteraceae,Bacteroidaceae andTannerellaceaewere remarkedly changed among the three groups. Potential biomarkers, including LysoPC(0:0/16:0) ([Formula: see text]1),PC(0:0/18:0) ([Formula: see text]2),Cholic acid([Formula: see text]3),LysoPC(16:0) ([Formula: see text]4), 3[Formula: see text],6[Formula: see text],7[Formula: see text]-Trihydroxy-5[Formula: see text]-cholanoic acid([Formula: see text]5), 5beta-Cyprinolsulfate([Formula: see text]6),PC(18:0/0:0) ([Formula: see text]7), 1-Nitro-5-hydroxy-6-glutathionyl-5,6-dihydronaphthalene([Formula: see text]8),Glycocholic acid([Formula: see text]9),[Formula: see text]-Arginine([Formula: see text]10) andGulonic acid([Formula: see text]11), were involved in several metabolic pathways, such as the glycerophospholipid metabolism and primary bile acid biosynthesis. Interestingly, there was a strong correlation between the perturbed gut flora in Bilophila and Bifidobacterium and the altered intestinal metabolite of 3[Formula: see text],6[Formula: see text],7[Formula: see text]-Trihydroxy-5[Formula: see text]-cholanoic acid and Cholanoic acid and [Formula: see text]-Arginine. This finding suggested that the effects of electroacupuncture might change the proportions of Bilophila and Bifidobacterium by regulating the constituents of the functional metabolite of 3[Formula: see text],6[Formula: see text],7[Formula: see text]-Trihydroxy-5[Formula: see text]-cholanoic acid and Cholanoic acid and [Formula: see text]-Arginine. These results indicated that the effects of electroacupuncture focused on custom metabolic pathways as well as depend on the changes in the gut microbiota in obesity. These findings suggest that the 16S rRNA gene sequencing and HPLC-MS-based metabolomics approach can be applied to comprehensively assess the effects of traditional Chinese medicines.
{"title":"Integrative Analysis of the Gut Microbiota and Metabolome in Obese Mice with Electroacupuncture by 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing and HPLC-MS-based Metabolic Profiling.","authors":"Yuan-Cheng Si, Chenchen Ren, Er-Wei Zhang, Zhao-xia Kang, Xiaowei Mo, Qing-qing Li, Bo Chen","doi":"10.1142/S0192415X22500276","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X22500276","url":null,"abstract":"Acupuncture has been used to treat numerous diseases such as obesity in China for thousands of years. Several mechanisms of acupuncture on obesity have been surveyed based on metabolomics, but the effects of acupuncture on the alterations in the gut flora are still unclear. In this study, an integrated approach based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) metabolic profiling was conducted to investigate the effects of acupuncture on high-fat-diet-induced obesity through the regulation of the relative abundances of gut microbiota and their relationships with biomarker candidates. A total of 10 significantly altered bacterial genera and 11 metabolites were recognized, which recovered to normal levels after electroacupuncture treatment. The relative abundances of the bacterial families Muribaculaceae,Lachnospiraceae,Desulfovibrionaceae,Helicobacteraceae, Prevotellaceae,Ruminococcaceae,Rikenellaceae,Deferribacteraceae,Bacteroidaceae andTannerellaceaewere remarkedly changed among the three groups. Potential biomarkers, including LysoPC(0:0/16:0) ([Formula: see text]1),PC(0:0/18:0) ([Formula: see text]2),Cholic acid([Formula: see text]3),LysoPC(16:0) ([Formula: see text]4), 3[Formula: see text],6[Formula: see text],7[Formula: see text]-Trihydroxy-5[Formula: see text]-cholanoic acid([Formula: see text]5), 5beta-Cyprinolsulfate([Formula: see text]6),PC(18:0/0:0) ([Formula: see text]7), 1-Nitro-5-hydroxy-6-glutathionyl-5,6-dihydronaphthalene([Formula: see text]8),Glycocholic acid([Formula: see text]9),[Formula: see text]-Arginine([Formula: see text]10) andGulonic acid([Formula: see text]11), were involved in several metabolic pathways, such as the glycerophospholipid metabolism and primary bile acid biosynthesis. Interestingly, there was a strong correlation between the perturbed gut flora in Bilophila and Bifidobacterium and the altered intestinal metabolite of 3[Formula: see text],6[Formula: see text],7[Formula: see text]-Trihydroxy-5[Formula: see text]-cholanoic acid and Cholanoic acid and [Formula: see text]-Arginine. This finding suggested that the effects of electroacupuncture might change the proportions of Bilophila and Bifidobacterium by regulating the constituents of the functional metabolite of 3[Formula: see text],6[Formula: see text],7[Formula: see text]-Trihydroxy-5[Formula: see text]-cholanoic acid and Cholanoic acid and [Formula: see text]-Arginine. These results indicated that the effects of electroacupuncture focused on custom metabolic pathways as well as depend on the changes in the gut microbiota in obesity. These findings suggest that the 16S rRNA gene sequencing and HPLC-MS-based metabolomics approach can be applied to comprehensively assess the effects of traditional Chinese medicines.","PeriodicalId":94221,"journal":{"name":"The American journal of Chinese medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41886907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-02DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X22500148
Yun Huang, Wei Zhou, Jing Sun, Guoliang Ou, N. Zhong, Zhigang Liu
The development of anti-COVID-19 drugs has become the top priority since the outbreak of the epidemic, and Traditional Chinese medicine plays an important role in reducing mortality. Here, hesperidin and its glycosylation product, glucosyl hesperidin were selected to determine their antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 due to their structural specificity as reported. To be specific, their binding ability with ACE2, M, S, RBD and N proteins were verified with both in silico and wet lab methods, i.e., molecular docking and binding affinity tests, including biolayer interferometry assay (BLI) and isothermal titration calorimetry assay (ITC). Moreover, systematic pharmacological analysis was conducted to reveal their pharmacological mechanism in treating COVID-19. Finally, their antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 was determined in vitro in a biosafety level 3 (BSL3) laboratory. The results demonstrated their outstanding binding affinity with ACE2, M, S and RBD proteins, while showed barely unobserved binding with N protein, indicating their key roles in influencing the invasion and early replication phase of SARS-CoV-2. In addition, both hesperidin and glucosyl hesperidin were shown to have a great impact on immune, inflammation and virus infection induced by COVID-19 according to the systematic pharmacological analysis. Moreover, the IC50s of hesperidin and glucosyl hesperidin against SARS-CoV-2 were further determined (51.5 [Formula: see text]M and 5.5 mM, respectively) with cell-based in vitro assay, suggesting their great anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. All in all, present research was the first to verify the binding ability of hesperidin and glucosyl hesperidin with SARS-CoV-2 proteins with both in silico and wet-lab methods and proposed the possibility of applying hesperidin and glucosyl hesperidin to treat COVID-19.
{"title":"Exploring the Potential Pharmacological Mechanism of Hesperidin and Glucosyl Hesperidin against COVID-19 Based on Bioinformatics Analyses and Antiviral Assays.","authors":"Yun Huang, Wei Zhou, Jing Sun, Guoliang Ou, N. Zhong, Zhigang Liu","doi":"10.1142/S0192415X22500148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X22500148","url":null,"abstract":"The development of anti-COVID-19 drugs has become the top priority since the outbreak of the epidemic, and Traditional Chinese medicine plays an important role in reducing mortality. Here, hesperidin and its glycosylation product, glucosyl hesperidin were selected to determine their antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 due to their structural specificity as reported. To be specific, their binding ability with ACE2, M, S, RBD and N proteins were verified with both in silico and wet lab methods, i.e., molecular docking and binding affinity tests, including biolayer interferometry assay (BLI) and isothermal titration calorimetry assay (ITC). Moreover, systematic pharmacological analysis was conducted to reveal their pharmacological mechanism in treating COVID-19. Finally, their antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 was determined in vitro in a biosafety level 3 (BSL3) laboratory. The results demonstrated their outstanding binding affinity with ACE2, M, S and RBD proteins, while showed barely unobserved binding with N protein, indicating their key roles in influencing the invasion and early replication phase of SARS-CoV-2. In addition, both hesperidin and glucosyl hesperidin were shown to have a great impact on immune, inflammation and virus infection induced by COVID-19 according to the systematic pharmacological analysis. Moreover, the IC50s of hesperidin and glucosyl hesperidin against SARS-CoV-2 were further determined (51.5 [Formula: see text]M and 5.5 mM, respectively) with cell-based in vitro assay, suggesting their great anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. All in all, present research was the first to verify the binding ability of hesperidin and glucosyl hesperidin with SARS-CoV-2 proteins with both in silico and wet-lab methods and proposed the possibility of applying hesperidin and glucosyl hesperidin to treat COVID-19.","PeriodicalId":94221,"journal":{"name":"The American journal of Chinese medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45331615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}