Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 Hi All, See recent Medline Herbal Hits: Asano T, Fujii Y, Numao N, Kageyama Y, Kihara K. The efficiency of Sairei-to for retroperitoneal fibrosis: two case reports. Hinyokika Kiyo. 2006 Jul;52(7):543-7. Department of Urology, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University. The conventional approach for management of retroperitoneal fibrosis (RF), an inflammatory process of retroperitoneal fibro-adipose tissue, leading to the compression and obstruction of the ureters and other adjacent organs is ureterolysis with omental wrapping, and an effective alternative to surgery is immunosupressive medication such as oral corticosteroids. Sairei-to (TJ-114; Chai-Ling-Tang) is a traditional herbal medicine used to Tx RF in Japan. It has both anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects. Here we report two cases of RF successfully treated with Sairei-to. One case was idiopathic and the other was caused by artificial graft-induced vasculitis. Both cases were treated with Sairei-to following the decompression of uremia by precutaneous nephrostomy or indwelling ureteral stents. There was hardly any ureteral obstruction three months after the administration of Sairei-to. They have been doing well for 12 and 26 months. Sairei-to rarely causes side effects such as immunodeficiency, gastro-duodenal ulcer and osteoporosis that often accompany long-term administration of corticosteroids. Sairei-to is a safe and effective medicine for the treatment of RF. We therefore recommend Sairei-to as an alternative for corticosteroid therapy. PMID: 16910587 [PubMed - in process] Suo YP, Wang BY, Hong Z, Yin RT, Wang DQ, Peng ZL. [Comparative study of that synergistic effect of cisplatin combined with compound herbal medicinal prescription for tonic quality and activating blood circulation is on SKOV3 cell proliferation and apoptosis][Article in Chinese] Sichuan Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban. 2006 Jul;37(4):542-6. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the synergistic effects on cell apoptosis and growing restriction of SKOV3 cells by the combination of compound herbal medicinal prescription (CHMP) with cisplatin (DDP). METHODS: Cisplatin and two CHMP for tonic quality(CHMP1) and activating blood circulation (CHMP2), which was medicated serum, were prepared and used to treat the human ovarian carcinoma cell line SKOV3. By serum pharmacologic method, the growth and apoptosis of SKOV3 cell were observed at different time points(24,48,72, 96 h) with different concentrations of medicated serum. Coefficient of drug interaction (CDI) between CHMP, and CHMP2 was studied by MTT method. The effects of control group(A group),CHMP1 group(B group),CHMP2 group (C group), DDP group(D group), CHMP1 + DDP group(E group), CHMP2 + DDP group(Fgroup)to SKOV3 cell were studied by flow cytometry; and the cell apoptosis was observed by agarose electrophoresis; the expressions of TNFR1, caspase-8 on each group were analyzed by Western blot method. RESULTS: Synergistic effects were found between herbal medicinal mixtures and DDP, Restraining rate of SKOV3 and CHMP serum concentration was not in a dose-dependent manner as DDP was. CDI between CHMPI and CHMPS was found to be significant difference (CDI of CHMP1, CHMP2 and DDPwas 0.66, 0.58 respectively). It showed that the combined treatment was able to get better effect than single drug treatment. The performed agarose electrophoresis revealed the extracted DNA to show a typical ladder patterns for cell apoptosis. The analysis results of western blot showed the increased expressions of TNFR1 and caspase-8 after combined using of medicine, which were accord to the rates of apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: CHMP drug granules show the synergistic effects with DDP, and the suppressing functions in the course of cell proliferation, and the inducing effect on apoptosis of human ovarian carcinoma cell line SKOV3 in vitro. And this mechanism is showed to be sponsored by the activation of TNFR1 and Caspase-8. PMID: 16909597 [PubMed - in process] Mensah AY, Houghton PJ, Dickson RA, Fleischer TC, Heinrich M, Bremner P. In Vitro evaluation of effects of two ghanaian plants relevant to wound healing. Phytother Res. 2006 Aug 14; [Epub ahead of print] Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. Commelina diffusa and Spathodea campanulata are used as wound-healing agents in Ashanti traditional medicine in Ghana. The methanol extracts of Commelina diffusa herb and Spathodea campanulata bark showed some level of antimicrobial activity with C. diffusa exhibiting selective antifungal activity against Trichophyton species. The extracts reduced the peroxidation of bovine brain extract with an IC(50) value of 1.39 mg/mL and 0.24 mg/mL, respectively. In addition the extracts also exhibited significant antioxidant activity by protecting MRC-5 cells from hydrogen peroxide induced oxidant injury at concentrations between 1 microg/mL and 10 microg/mL. The extracts showed no inhibition of NF-kappaB at 100 microg/mL. The antioxidant activities and antimicrobial activities suggest that the use of the plants in wound healing may be based on antioxidant and antiseptic effects of its constituents. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 16909445 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] Jacobo-Herrera NJ, Vartiainen N, Bremner P, Gibbons S, Koistinaho J, Heinrich M. F-kappaB modulators from Valeriana officinalis. Phytother Res. 2006 Aug 14; [Epub ahead of print] Centre for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, The School of Pharmacy, University of London, UK. Valeriana officinalis (Valerianaceae) has been of great interest for its therapeutic uses for treating mild nervous tension and temporary sleeping problems. In traditional European medicine it has been also reported as an antiinflammatory remedy. This study reports that the EtOAc extract of the underground parts of V. officinalis showed inhibitory activity against NF-kappaB at 100 microg/mL in the IL-6/Luc assay on HeLa cells and provided protection against excitotoxicity in primary brain cell cultures at micromolar concentrations. Bioassay- guided fractionation of the EtOAc extract led to the isolation of three known sesquiterpenes: acetylvalerenolic acid (1), valerenal (2) and valerenic acid (3), 1 and 3 were active as inhibitors of NF-kappaB at a concentration of 100 microg/mL. Acetylvalerenolic acid (1) reduced NF- kappaB activity to 4%, whereas valerenic acid (3) reduced NF-kappaB activity to 25%. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 16909443 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] Basu S, Hazra B. Evaluation of nitric oxide scavenging activity, In Vitro and Ex Vivo, of selected medicinal plants traditionally used in inflammatory diseases. Phytother Res. 2006 Aug 14; [Epub ahead of print] Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Calcutta 700032, India. Steroidal and non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs, despite their various side effects, are in great demand worldwide. Alternatively, herbal formulations provide relief to a large percentage of the population suffering from inflammatory diseases. Therefore, such practices need to be rationalized through a mechanistic approach. Thus, four traditional medicinal plants, namely Ventilago madraspatana Gaertn., Rubia cordifolia Linn., Lantana camara Linn. and Morinda citrifolia Linn. were selected for a study on the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO(*)), a key mediator in the phenomenon of inflammation, signifying the presence of effective antiinflammatory constituents therein. Plant samples were extracted with different solvents for evaluation of their inhibitory activity on NO(*) produced in vitro from sodium nitroprusside, and in LPS-activated murine peritoneal macrophages, ex vivo. Further, the inhibition of NO(*) synthesis was correlated with the reduction of iNOS protein expression through Western blot. Notable NO(*) scavenging activity was exhibited in vitro by some extracts of V. madraspatana, R. cordifolia and L. camara (IC(50) < 0.2 mg/mL). Most of them showed marked inhibition (60%-80%), ex vivo, at a dose of 80 microg/mL without appreciable cytotoxic effect on the cultured macrophages. Immunoblot analysis confirmed that the modulatory effect of the samples had occurred through suppression of iNOS protein. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 16909442 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] Kumar V. Potential medicinal plants for CNS disorders: an overview. Phytother Res. 2006 Aug 14; [Epub ahead of print] Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Texas Tech University, Health Sciences Center, School of Pharmacy, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA. Although very few drugs are currently approved by regulatory authorities for treating multi-factorial ailments and disorders of cognition such as Alzheimer's disease, certain plant-derived agents, including, for example, galantamine and rivastigmine (a semi-synthetic derivative of physostigmine) are finding an application in modern medicine. However, in Ayurveda, the Indian traditional system of medicine which is more than 5000 years old, selected plants have long been classified as 'medhya rasayanas', from the Sanskrit words 'medhya', meaning intellect or cognition, and 'rasayana', meaning 'rejuvenation'. These plants are used both in herbal and conventional medicine and offer benefits that pharmaceutical drugs lack. In the present article, an attempt has been made to review the most important medicinal plants, including Ginkgo biloba, St John's wort, Kava-kava, Valerian, Bacopa monniera and Convolvulus pluricaulis, which are widely used for their reputed effectiveness in CNS disorders. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 16909441 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] Du S, Deng Y. Studies on the Encapsulation of Oxymatrine into Liposomes by Ethanol Injection and pH Gradient Method. Drug Dev Ind Pharm. 2006 Aug;32(7):791-7. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. Oxymatrine is the major active alkaloid constituent extracted from TCM herbs Sophora flavescens Ait (Kushen) and Sophora alopecuroides (Kudouzi). In recent years, oxymatrine had been found to posses remarkable hepatoprotective activity and has been used for treating hepatitis B in clinical therapy in China. In this study, we attempted to entrap oxymatrine into liposomes to facilitate the delivery of oxymatrine to the liver and enhance the therapeutic efficiency for hepatitis. Preformulation investigation was performed to obtain the drug physicochemical properties such as solubility, pKa, and logP for rational liposomes preparation design. Liposomes were prepared with soybean lecithin by ethanol injection and pH gradient loading methods. At the same time the factors affecting the entrapment efficiencies were investigated and compared. Ethanol injection method yielded liposomes with entrapment efficiency less than 20%. The lipid composition and aqueous medium had some effects on entrapment efficiency. However, liposomes could be produced with entrapment efficiency above 50% by pH gradient method. The internal pH buffer capacity, the lipid composition, and drug-to-lipid ratio greatly influenced the entrapment efficiency, while the incubation temperature had almost no effect on entrapment efficiency in the active loading procedure. PMID: 16908416 [PubMed - in process] Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2006 Sep;5(5):719-28. Links An evidence-based systematic review of herb and supplement interactions by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration.Ulbricht C, Basch E, Weissner W, Hackman D. Natural Standard Research Collaboration, 1 Broadway, 14th Floor Mailroom, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. questions Reported utilisation of prescription drug use concurrently with herbal or vitamin products have increased, placing an estimated 15 million patients at risk of potential drug-supplement interactions. This systematic review aims to consolidate relevant herb and supplement interactions data available for some of the more common classes of interactions experienced by clinicians. These classes include: hypoglycaemic/hyperglycaemics; hypotensive/hypertensives, diuretics, sedatives, cardiac glycosides, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, laxatives, immunomodulators, agents that may increase the risk of bleeding or clotting, agents that may be hepatotoxic, agents that may have hormonal properties, and agents with cytochrome P450 enzyme activity. The format is designed to promote use as a decision support tool for healthcare providers. PMID: 16907661 [PubMed - in process] Kang SC, Lee CM, Choi H, Lee JH, Oh JS, Kwak JH, Zee OP. Evaluation of oriental medicinal herbs for estrogenic and antiproliferative activities. Phytother Res. 2006 Aug 14; [Epub ahead of print] College of Pharmacy, SungKyunKwan University, Suwon, Gyonggi-Do, South Korea. Herb extracts commercially used in Asia were screened for their estrogenic activity with a recombinant yeast system with both a human estrogen receptor (ER) expression plasmid and a reporter plasmid. Pueraria lobata (flower) had the highest estrogenic relative potency (RP, 17-estradiol = 1.00) (7.8e-3) (RP for + control), followed by Amomum xanthioides (1.3e-3), Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Zingiber officinale, Rheum palmatum, Curcuma aromatica, Eriobotrya japonica, Sophora flavescens, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Polygonum multiflorum and Pueraria lobata (root) (9.5e-4-1.0e-4), and Prunus persica, Lycoppus lucidus and Adenophora stricta (9.0e-5-8.0e- 5). In the antiproliferative assay, five human cancer cell lines representing different tissues (breast, lung and ovary) were used. Eriobotrya japonica showed strong cytotoxicity in ER-negative breast cancer (MDA-MB-231), cervix epitheloid (HeLa) and lung (A549) carcinoma cell lines. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 16906642 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] Kiselova Y, Ivanova D, Chervenkov T, Gerova D, Galunska B, Yankova T. Correlation between the In Vitro antioxidant activity and polyphenol content of aqueous extracts from bulgarian herbs. Phytother Res. 2006 Aug 14; [Epub ahead of print] Department of Preclinical, Clinical Pharmacology and Biochemistry, Varna University of Medicine, 9002 Varna, Bulgaria. The water phase antioxidant activity of extracts from 23 Bulgarian medicinal plants was studied in relation to their polyphenol content in comparison with mate, black tea, honeybush and rooibos foreign species. Antioxidant activity was measured by the ABTS (2,2'- azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) cation radical decolorization assay, and the total polyphenol content was assayed according to the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Five Bulgarian plant extracts exhibited higher antioxidant activity than that of mate, which is 21.7% of all Bulgarian herbs included in this study. These were Alchemilla vulgaris L. (4.79 +/- 0.14 mm), Sambucus ebulus L. (4.03 +/- 0.07 mm), Mentha spicata L. (3.90 +/- 0.03 mm), Fragaria vesca L. (3.74 +/- 0.06 mm), Crataegus monogyna Jacq. (3.63 +/- 0.05 mm). Another eight Bulgarian medicinal plant extracts exhibited an intermediate antioxidant activity - lower than that of mate and higher than that of honeybush, which makes 34.8% of all Bulgarian herbs included in the study. More than half of the herbal extracts included in the present study exhibited antioxidant activity higher than or comparable to the reference foreign plants. A positive correlation (r = 0.92) between antioxidant activity and polyphenol content was found, suggesting that the antioxidant capacity of the aqueous plant extracts is due to a great extent to their polyphenols. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 16906640 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] Gramowski A, Jugelt K, Stuwe S, Schulze R, McGregor GP, Wartenberg-Demand A, Loock J, Schroder O, Weiss DG. Functional screening of traditional antidepressants with primary cortical neuronal networks grown on multielectrode neurochips. Eur J Neurosci. 2006 Jul;24(2):455-65. Division of Cell Biology and Biosystems Technology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein- Strasse, 318059 Rostock, Germany. alexandra.gramowski@uni- rostock.de We optimized the novel technique of multielectrode neurochip recordings for the rapid and efficient screening of neuroactivity. Changes in the spontaneous activity of cultured networks of primary cortical neurons were quantified to evaluate the action of drugs on the firing dynamics of complex network activity. The multiparametric assessment of electrical activity changes caused by psychoactive herbal extracts from Hypericum, Passiflora and Valeriana, and various combinations thereof revealed a receptor-specific and concentration-dependent inhibition of the firing patterns. The spike and burst rates showed significant substance-dependent effects and significant differences in potency. The effects of specific receptor blockades on the inhibitory responses provided evidence that the herbal extracts act on gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) and serotonin (5-HT) receptors, which are recognized targets of pharmacological antidepressant treatment. A biphasic effect, serotonergic stimulation of activity at low concentrations that is overridden by GABAergic inhibition at higher concentrations, is apparent with Hypericum alone and the triple combination of the extracts. The more potent neuroactivity of the triple combination compared to Hypericum alone and the additive effect of Passiflora and Valeriana suggest a synergy between constituent herbal extracts. The extracts and their combinations affected the set of derived activity parameters in a concomitant manner suggesting that all three constituent extracts and their combinations have largely similar modes of action. This study also demonstrates the sensitivity, selectivity and robustness of neurochip recordings for high content screening of complex mixtures of neuroactive substances and for providing multiparametric information on neuronal activity changes to assess the therapeutic potential of psychoactive substances. PMID: 16903853 [PubMed - in process] Chen KZ, Shi JL, Lu MZ, He ZG, Qin RA. [Effects of acupoint thread implantation and Chinese herb on PTH and TGF-beta1 in the rate of chronic renal failure][Article in Chinese] Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2006 Jul;26(7):511-4. Guiyang City Maternity and Infant Health Institute, Guizhou 550003, China. ckz025 OBJECTIVE: To probe into the mechanisms of thread implantation at Zusanli(ST 36) and Chinese herbs in treatment of chronic renal failure(CRF). METHODS: CRF rat model was made by Platt subtotal nephrectomy. They were divided into 5 groups, sham operation group, model group, Chinese herbs group, thread implantation group and thread implantation plus Chinese herbs group. After treatment of 8 weeks, serum parathyroid hormone (PHT), transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1) expression in residual renal cells, malondialdehyde(MDA) content in the residual renal tissue, serum urea nitrogen(BUN) and creatinine(Scr), protein in urine and pathological changes were investigated. RESULTS: The above indexes after treatment by thread implantation at acupoint, Chinese herbs, and acupoint thread implantation plus Chinese herbs showed begin reversion, especially, the most obviously improvement in the acupoint thread implantation plus Chinese herbs treatment group. CONCLUSION: The mechanism of acupoint thread implantation and Chinese herbs in improvement of CRF is related with decrease of PTH, inhibition of TGF-beta1 expression, decrease of MDA content and resisting lesion of renal fibrosis. PMID: 16903606 [PubMed - in process] Gao QT, Cheung JK, Li J, Chu GK, Duan R, Cheung AW, Zhao KJ, Dong TT, Tsim KW. A Chinese Herbal Decoction, Danggui Buxue Tang, Prepared from Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis Stimulates the Immune Responses. Planta Med. 2006 Aug 10; [Epub ahead of print] Department of Biology, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay Road, Hong Kong. Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese medicinal decoction that is used commonly for treating women's ailments, contains Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis. The ratio of Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis used in DBT should be 5 : 1 as described in China in 1247 A.D. In order to verify the efficacy of this ancient formulation in stimulating the immune responses, DBT prepared from different drug ratios was applied onto cultured T-lymphocytes and macrophages. In cultured T-lymphocytes, DBT induced markedly cell proliferation, secretion of interleukin-2 and phosphorylation of extracellular signal- regulated kinase. In addition, the phagocytosis of cultured macrophages was increased by DBT treatment. The immunomodulatory effects of DBT were revealed to be the strongest in the extract derived from the drug ratio of 5 : 1. The current results verified that the ancient formulation of DBT has been optimized in stimulating immune responses. PMID: 16902872 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] Cheng CY, Sue YM, Chen CH, Hou CC, Chan P, Chu YL, Chen TH, Hsu YH. Tetramethylpyrazine Attenuates Adriamycin-Induced Apoptotic Injury in Rat Renal Tubular Cells NRK-52E. Planta Med. 2006 Aug 10; [Epub ahead of print] Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), a compound purified from Rhizoma Ligustici, is a widely used active ingredient in Chinese herbal medicine to treat cardiovascular diseases on account of its vasodilatory actions and antiplatelet activity. Studies have shown that TMP can remove oxygen free radicals and protect rat kidney from ischemia-reperfusion injury. In addition, adriamycin-induced nephrosis in rats is commonly used in pharmacological studies of human chronic renal diseases. Apoptosis of renal tubular cells has been reported in adriamycin-treated rats. To examine the therapeutic potential of TMP on chronic progressive renal diseases, adriamycin-induced injury in rat renal tubular cells NRK-52E has been used to monitor its protective effect. In TUNEL staining, TMP showed a dose-dependent protective effect against adriamycin-induced apoptosis in NRK-52E cells. Pretreatment of the cells with 10 or 100 microM of TMP effectively decreased the reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation induced by adriamycin, as measured in fluorescent assays. TMP was found to reduce the adriamycin-stimulated activities of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9, inhibit adriamycin-induced release of cytochrome C, and elevate the expression of Bcl-x (L). TMP was also able to inhibit the death receptor signaling pathway and suppress the activation of transcription factor NF-kappaB in adriamycin- treated NRK-52E cells. Based on the results of this study, we suggest that TMP can attenuate adriamycin-induced oxidative stress and apoptotic injury in NRK-52E cells, and that it may have therapeutic potential for patients with renal diseases. TMP: tetramethylpyrazine LDH: lactate dehydrogenase ROS: reactive oxygen species DCF: 2',7'- dichlorofluorescein TNF-alpha: tumor necrosis factor-alpha TUNEL: terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end-labeling. PMID: 16902863 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] Qi XM, Wu GZ, Wu YG, Lin H, Shen JJ, Lin SY. Renoprotective Effect of Breviscapine through Suppression of Renal Macrophage Recruitment in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats. Nephron Exp Nephrol. 2006 Aug 10;104(4):e147-e157 [Epub ahead of print] Department of Nephropathy, The First Affiliated Hospital of AnHui Medical University, Hefei, PR China. Background/Aims: Experimental and clinical evidence has consistently demonstrated that renal macrophage infiltration is one of the most important events for the progression of diabetic nephropathy. Breviscapine is a flavonoid extracted from the Chinese herb Erigeron breviscapus. Previously, it was shown that treatment with breviscapine attenuated renal injury in the diabetic rats. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the renoprotective effect of breviscapine is through suppression of renal macrophage recruitment in diabetic rats. Methods: Diabetes was induced bystreptozotocin injection, and breviscapine was administered orally at a dose of 20 mg/kg/day for 8 weeks. Control rats received vehicle or breviscapine with the same schedule. Results: Breviscapine treatment markedly inhibited both an increase of albuminuria and glomeruli hypertrophy and tubulointerstitial injury without modifying mean arterial blood pressure and creatinine clearance. Levels of malondialdehyde and protein kinase C activities were markedly higher and antioxidant enzyme activities such as superoxide dismutase, catalase as well as glutathione peroxidase were significantly lower in the kidneys of diabetic rats than of the control group, breviscapine administration markedly remitted these changes. ED-1-positive cells and expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in glomeruli and tubulointerstitium were all markedly elevated but were significantly reduced by breviscapine. Western blot analysis noted that the expression of transforming growth factor beta1 protein was increased 1.8-fold in the kidney in diabetic rats, breviscapine treatment could reduce increased expression of TGF-beta1 protein by 47%. Conclusion: This study describes a novel mechanism by which breviscapine confers a renoprotective effect. Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel. PMID: 16902319 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] Best regards, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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