Mechanism of blood-activating and mass-dissipating Chinese patent medicine against hyperplasia of mammary glands and use with other medicine: a review / 中国中药杂志

Caused by endocrine disorder, hyperplasia of mammary glands(HMG) tends to occur in the young with increasing incidence, putting patients at the risk of cancer and threatening the health of women. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of HMG is attracting more and more attention. Amid the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), many scholars have found that Chinese patent medicine has unique advantages and huge potential in treatment of endocrine disorder. Particularly, Chinese patent medicine with the function of blood-activating and mass-dissipating, such as Xiaojin Pills and Xiaozheng Pills, has been commonly used in clinical treatment of HMG, which features multiple targets, obvious efficacy, small side effect, and ease of taking and carrying around. Clinical studies have found that the combination of Chinese patent medicine with other medicine can not only improve the efficacy and relieve symptoms such as hyperplasia and pain but also reduce the toxic and side effects of western medicine. Therefore, based on precious pharmacological research and clinical research, this study reviewed the mechanisms of blood-activating mass-dissipating Chinese patent medicine alone and in combination with other medicine, such as regulating levels of in vivo hormones and receptors, promoting apoptosis, inhibiting angiogenesis, improving hemorheology indexes, enhancing immunity, and boosting antioxidant ability. In addition, limitations and problems were summarized. Thereby, this study is expected to lay a theoretical basis for the further study and clinical application of blood-activating mass-dissipating Chinese patent medicine alone or in combination with other medicine against HMG.

Anti-tumor Mechanism of Xihuangwan and Research Progress on Its Combined Use in Anti-tumor Treatment / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Xihuangwan is composed of four Chinese medicines： Bovis Calculus， Olibanum， Myrrha， and Moschus. Modern pharmacology studies have shown that Xihuangwan has anti-inflammatory， antibacterial， anti-tumor， anti-mammary gland hyperplasia effect， and can enhance the body's immune function. Cancer seriously endangers public health and safety-of-life， and is a major cause of mortality of Chinese citizens. It is a disease with intricate etiopathogenesis caused by the joint action of circumstances and hereditary factors. At present， anti-tumor chemotherapy drugs in clinical application not only have toxic and side effect， but also affect clinical efficacy and prognosis of patients. Long-term use will also lead to drug resistance of tumors. As a traditional classic anti-cancer prescription， Xihuangwan has been used more and more in tumor research with the rise of Chinese medicine culture. It is provided with remarkable inhibitory effect on liver cancer， gastric cancer， carcinoma of the lungs， mammary gland， colorectal carcinoma and other malignant tumors. In clinical practice， Xihuangwan ， mostly used as adjuvant drugs in combined use with chemotherapy drugs for anti-tumor effect， can reduce the side effect of chemotherapy drugs and the untoward reaction of sufferers， improve the survivability of patients to chemotherapy， reduce or delay postoperative tumor recurrence， enhance the body's immune function， and reverse the tolerance of tumor cells. Based on the anti-tumor research of Xihuangwan， we summarized its mechanisms in inducing cell apoptosis， regulating amino acid metabolism， reversing drug resistance， interfering with cell cycle， resisting tumor metastasis and invasion， regulating immune function， improving tumor microenvironment， and regulating signal pathways， as well as its clinical combination with chemotherapeutic anti-tumor drugs， analyzed the current anti-tumor research status of Xihuangwan's research， and put forward the shortcomings and unresolved problems in order to provide theoretical basis for further research and clinical application of Xihuangwan.