ABSTRACT
The mild-natured and bitter-flavored traditional Chinese medicines (MB-TCMs) are an important class of TCMs that have been widely used in clinical practice and recognized as safe long-term treatments for chronic diseases. However, as an important class of TCMs, the panorama of pharmacological effects and the mechanisms of MB-TCMs have not been systemically reviewed. Compelling studies have shown that gut microbiota can mediate the therapeutic activity of TCMs and help to elucidate the core principles of TCM medicinal theory. In this systematic review, we found that MB-TCMs commonly participated in the modulation of metabolic syndrome, intestinal inflammation, nervous system disease and cardiovascular system disease in association with promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria Bacteroides, Akkermansia, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Roseburia as well as inhibiting the proliferation of harmful bacteria Helicobacter, Enterococcus, Desulfovibrio and Escherichia-Shigella. These alterations, correspondingly, enhance the generation of protective metabolites, mainly including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), bile acid (BAs), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), indole and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and inhibit the generation of harmful metabolites, such as proinflammatory factors trimethylamine oxide (TAMO) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), to further exert multiplicative effects for the maintenance of human health through several different signaling pathways. Altogether, this present review has attempted to comprehensively summarize the relationship between MB-TCMs and gut microbiota by establishing the TCMs-gut microbiota-metabolite-signaling pathway-diseases axis, which may provide new insight into the study of TCM medicinal theories and their clinical applications.
ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of BP180NC16a-ELISA in the diagnosis of bullous pemphigoid (BP). Methods A multi-center, randomized, double-blind, parallel-controlled study was conducted. Sera were collected from 106 patients with clinically confirmed active BP and 106 control subjects including patients with non-BP bullous diseases, scleroderma, psoriasis or systemic lupus erythematosus,late pregnant women and healthy blood donors. BP180NC16a-ELISA was performed on these sera. The IgG antibody levels measured by ELISA kit were compared with those measured by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) test. Results Of the 106 BP sera, 81 were positive for BP180NC16a-ELISA with a sensitivity of 76.4%,83 for ⅡF test with a sensitivity of 78.3%. Among the 106 control serum samples, 95 were negative for BP180NC16A-ELISA with a specificity of 89.6%, and 102 for ⅡF test with a specificity of 96.2%. There was no significant difference between the two tests in dignostic sensitivity and specificity for BP (both P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion BP180NC16A-ELISA may serve as an adjuvant tool for the diagnosis of BP.