Inhibitory Effects of Dansam and Dansam-eum on Reflux Esophagitis and Migration of Cancer Cells

Purpose: We examined the effects of Dansam (Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, SM) and Dansam-eum (DSE) on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and reflux esophagitis by comparing the inhibitory effects of SM and DSE with the representative treatment of PPI Omeprazole to determine if the effects of the prescription DSE based on Korean medicine are better than those of a single-use of SM.Methods: We performed experiments using both animal models and cancer cells.Results: Comparison of SM and DSE with PPI in the animal model tests revealed that the effects were superior for SM and DSE than for PPI in all categories (8-OHdG, p-IκB, PAR2, COX-1, cathelicidin, p-JNK, Caspase 3, ATP6V1B1, GRPR, serotonin, and NPY). In three categories (COX-1, serotonin, and NPY), SM and DSE showed superior results over the Controls. In the animal model tests, DSE was superior to SM in all categories except for serotonin. The anti-cancer effects observed in cancer cell tests revealed that SM and DSE had meaningful results in terms of cytotoxicity and cell movement rate, as well as in cancer cell apoptosis.Conclusions: We confirmed that SM and DSE can have effects on reflux esophagitis through the regulation of oxidative stress, inflammation, mucosal protection, apoptosis, proton pumping, and the enteroendocrine system in the stomach and esophagus. We also confirmed that SM and DSE have superior effects to those of PPI on all aspects, especially gastric mucosa protection and enteroendocrine system control. We also confirmed that SM and DSE have anti-cancer effects. Above all, we confirmed that DSE has superior effects on almost all aspects compared to using SM alone.