ABSTRACT
"Taking drugs for a long term" is a qualitative expression of medication method based on the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicine, and the study on it is conducive to the full utilization of the efficacy and rational use of drugs. There are 148 drugs that can be taken for a long time recorded in Shen Nong's Classic of Materia Medica, accounting for 41% of the total drugs. This paper analyzed three-grade classification, natural qualities, four properties and five flavors, and efficacy features of the "long-term taking" drugs(LTTD), thus exploring the herbal source of traditional Chinese medicine health care and the rationality of effect accumulation by long-term taking. It was found that there were more than 110 top-grade LTTD in Shen Nong's Classic of Materia Medica, most of which were herbs, with sweet flavor, flat property, and no toxicity. The efficacies were mainly making body feel light and agile(Qingshen) and prolonging life. Eighty-three LTTD were included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition). In the modern classification, tonic LTTD accounted for the most, followed by damp-draining diuretic LTTD and exterior-releasing LTTD. Twenty LTTD were included in the "List of Medicinal and Edible Products" and 21 were in the "List of Products Used for Health-care Food", involving in various modern health care effects, such as enhancing immunity, assisting in reducing blood lipids, and anti-oxidation. Shen Nong's Classic of Materia Medica is the classic source of traditional Chinese medicine health care, and its medication thought of taking drugs for a long term to accumulate effects has guiding significance for the regulation of sub-health and chronic diseases nowadays. The efficacy and safety of LTTD have been examined in practice for a long time, and some of the drugs are edible, which is unique in the whole cycle of health-care service, especially in line with the health-care needs in the aging society under the concept of Big Health. However, some records in the book are limited by the understanding of the times, which should be scientifically studied according to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and the related regulations and technical requirements, under the attitude of eliminating falsifications and preserving the truth and keeping the right essence, so as to achieve further improvement, innovation, and development.
Subject(s)
Humans , Delivery of Health Care , Materia Medica , Medicine, Chinese TraditionalABSTRACT
To study the effects of combination of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata( Fuzi) with Trichosanthis Fructus( Gualou) on cardiac function,electrocardiogram,inflammatory response and myocardial fibrosis in pressure overload( PO) rats,and further explore the mechanism based on β2-AR/PKA signaling. PO rat model was established by constricting the abdominal aorta. Twelve weeks after the operation,these rats were randomly divided into model goup( PO),low dose Fuzi group( FL,5. 4 g·kg-1·d-1),Gualou group( GL,5. 4 g·kg-1·d-1),Fuzi and Gualou combination group( FG,5. 4 g·kg-1·d-1+5. 4 g·kg-1·d-1) and high dose Fuzi group( FH,10. 8 g·kg-1·d-1). At the same time,sham operation group was set. After intervention for 6 weeks,carotid blood pressure,cardiac function,electrocardiogram and heart mass index were measured. HE staining was used to observe the inflammatory response in the rat heart and kidney. Masson staining was used to determine the myocardial fibrosis. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of β2-AR and PKA. As compared with sham operation group,the blood pressure and heart mass index were obviously increased in PO model group,but there was no significant difference in various treatment groups in the above indexes. As compared with PO model group,FH treatment significantly increased the ejection fraction( EF) and GL treatment effectively enhanced the cardiac output( CO),but other treatment groups had no significant effect on these parameters. Moreover,FG treatment can synergistically attenuate QT and QTc internal prolongation,but it also aggravated inflammatory response in the heart and kidney tissues and promoted myocardial fibrosis as compared to FZ or GL alone treatment,with toxic effects equivalent to FH treatment group. Following FG and FH treatment,simultaneously,β2-AR and PKA protein levels were significantly elevated,indicating that the increasing toxicity of FG could be associated with activation of β2-AR/PKA signaling. These results suggested that combination of FZ and GL could synergistically enhance toxicity of FZ in special pathological states such as pressure overload,and caution should be taken in clinical application.
Subject(s)
Animals , Rats , Aconitum , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Fibrosis , Fruit , Signal TransductionABSTRACT
The quality control of traditional Chinese medicine provides the premise of its modernization and globalization. Currently, the dual quality control based on chemical benchmark and effect benchmark has been recognized domestically and internationally. Research efforts have lead to establishment of a series of effective quality control methods based on chemical components, medicinal properties, microscopic characteristics, material constituents and pharmacodynamic targets. In the study of quality control based on chemical benchmarks, fruitful results on fingerprints, DNA barcodes, and quality markers have been achieved. However, due to a variety of factors, such as growth period, origin, growth environment and preparation process of traditional Chinese medicine, the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine based on chemical benchmarks remains difficult to fully reflect the quality of traditional Chinese medicine. At present, there is still a dispute on how to accurately reflect the quality of traditional Chinese medicines based on chemical benchmarks. For example, the index components selected in the Chinese medicine quality standards are difficult to totally reflect all the components of Chinese medicine, and the relevance between the index components versus therapeutic effect is not yet clear. In view of the complex signal network by cascade reaction and crosstalk of multi-signaling pathways within an organism, and the coordinated regulation of multi-components and multi-targets of traditional Chinese medicine, there may be different components regulating the same signal network or situations where the amount of certain chemical components within a range is not sufficient to cause a change in the signal network. Therefore, the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine based on the effect benchmark may be a useful supplement to the quality standard of traditional Chinese medicine. This paper proposes a Q-biomarker research strategy based on the effect benchmark in order to provide a methodological reference for the quality control research of traditional Chinese medicine.
ABSTRACT
Cor pulmonale rat models were induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of monocrotaline(MCT), and the sham group received a single intraperitioneal injection of normal saline. After the model rats received intragastric administration of Qishen Yiqi droplet(QS) for 6 weeks, the contents of adenylate(ATP, ADP and AMP) in right myocardial tissues were measured by HPLC, and then the metabolism changes in myocardium of cor pulmonale rats with QS were investigated. The results showed that ATP, ADP, and AMP were well separated, with a good linearity within a certain range of concentration; and the recovery rates were within the range of 90%-108%. As compared with model group, the level of ATP was significantly elevated in high-dose treatment group; ADP contents showed an increasing trend and AMP contents showed a decreasing trend, indicating that QS could significantly improve energy metabolism system in myocardium. By using the HPLC, a qualitative and quantitative analysis method was given for the determination of ATP, ADP and AMP contents in myocardium, providing a method for energy metabolism measurement in biological samples.
ABSTRACT
The incompatibility of Chinese materia medica (CMM) has always been one of the important scientific issues of CMM safety research. Extensive researches about CMM incompatibility have been carried out represented by "eighteen-antagonisms", mainly focused on the safety evaluation, toxic effects of substances, toxicology, toxicokinetics, drug interactions, toxicity mechanisms, etc. However, due to lack of system design on research ideas, model and methods, many key issues still lacked reliable conclusions, and did not reach a consensus within the industry. We completed the toxicity-effect characterization of the anti-drugs about "Pinelliae Rhizoma, Trichosanthis Fructus, Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus, Ampelopsis Radix, and Bletillae Rhizoma attack Aconiti Radix" and proposed that the serious adverse reactions caused by related anti-drug combination therapy were because of the "toxicity" of CMM incompatibility. The formation of CMM incompatibility was closely related to its composition, dose, compatibility environment, etc, wherein the disease and symptom are the key factors of incompatibility. Eventually, the research model of toxicity-effect characterization of CMM incompatibility based on the desease and symptom was formed, it was viable to provide new strategies and methods for the clinical drug safety of CMM compatibility.