Liuwei Dihuang, a traditional Chinese herbal formula, suppresses chronic inflammation and oxidative stress in obese rats / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress, and adipokine-ameliorating effects of Liuwei Dihuang (LWDH), a traditional Chinese herbal formula, in obese rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>After 2 weeks of acclimation with free access to regular rodent chow and water, obese-prone-caesarean-derived (OP-CD) rats were fed a modified AIN-93G diet containing 60% energy from fat. Treatment was performed twice daily by gavage feeding with 500, 1 500, or 3 500 mg/kg body weight LWDH suspended in water (n=12 rats per group). Twelve obese-resistant-CD (OR-CD) rats were fed the atherogenic diet and gavaged with water, and served as the normal control. Blood biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress and adiponectin were measured post-sacrifice and used to determine the treatment effect of LWDH and assess the suitability of OR/OP-CD rats for studying these parameters.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After 9 weeks of treatment, LWDH lowered serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels. Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels showed a tendency towards reduction, but were not significantly different from the OP-CD control. Liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was increased in response to all three doses of LWDH, while the levels of reduced (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were unchanged. Serum adiponectin levels were increased in response to oral administration of LWDH at the dose of either 500 or 1 500 mg/kg body weight. In addition, comparisons between OR-CD and OP-CD rats revealed differential, and for some biomarkers, conflicting characteristics of high-fat diet-fed OP-CD rats in reference to obese human subjects in terms of inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers and circulating adiponectin levels.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results show, for the first time, the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress and adiponectin-ameliorating effects of LWDH in obese rats. The suitability of the OR/OP-CD rat model as a research tool to study inflammation, oxidative stress, and adipokine production requires further investigation.</p>

Liuwei Dihuang, a traditional Chinese herbal formula, suppresses chronic inflammation and oxidative stress in obese rats / 中西医结合学报

To investigate the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress, and adipokine-ameliorating effects of Liuwei Dihuang (LWDH), a traditional Chinese herbal formula, in obese rats.

Screening of pancreatic lipase and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors from Chinese dietary herbs / 中国中药杂志

The present study was conducted to develop new inhibitors of pancreatic lipase and alpha-glucosidase from Chinese dietary herbs. Sixty-three dietary herbs from 39 taxonomic families were selected and extracted with aqueous ethanol or water. The extracts were then tested with in vitro enzyme assays for their ability to inhibit pancreatic lipase and alpha-glucosidase activities. Orlistat and acarbose were used as two positive controls. The extracts of Nelumbo nucifera, Curcuma longa, Piper longum and Morus alba showed strong pancreatic lipase inhibitory effects with IC50 at (28.00 +/- 5.51), (5.24 +/- 0.51), (14.76 +/- 2.58), (4.78 +/- 0.58), (3.41 +/- 0.67) mg x L(-1), respectively. These extracts also showed potent alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities with IC50 at (1.98 +/- 0.13), (0. 18 + 0.007), (0.71 +/- 0.08), (0.077 +/- 0.005), (0.089 +/- 0.006) g x L(-1), respectively. The results provide useful information for developing new drugs or natural health products for hyperlipidemia and hypoglycemia from Chinese dietary herbs.

Studies on the Chemical Constituents of Montane Spicebush (Lindera reflexa ) / 中草药

Seven Compounds were isolated from dry Radix of Lindera reflexa.They were identified as lauuobine (Ⅰ ), lindcarpinc (Ⅱ), laurolitsiuc (Ⅲ), ?pinostrobin (Ⅳ), ?pinocembrin (Ⅴ),octacosanoic acid (Ⅵ) and ?-sitosterol (Ⅶ ) on the basis of chemical and spectral aualyses.