ABSTRACT
Since many patients are still dying from asthma and COPD, developing more effective drugs with little side-effect which can be taken for a long time, is very important. Clinical usage of herbal medicines for chronic airway diseases has been increasing. Bakumondo-to is a useful herbal medicine with little side-effect for the treatment of chronic airway diseases. There are some similarities of pharmacological profile of herbal medicines to those of glucocorticoids. Although the regulation of gene expression by glucocorticoids has been clarified, that of Bakumondo-to is not well known. Elucidation of the mechanism of Bakumondo-to will be helpful in establishing a more effective treatment of chronic airway diseases. This article focuses on the regulation of gene expression by Bakumondo-to in airway epithelial cells, and describes the increase in mRNA expression for β-adrenergic receptors by Bakumondo-to and in glucocorticoid-sensitive promoter activity. We also discuss the mechanisms of the regulatory action of Bakumondo-to.
ABSTRACT
Objective: Bakumondo-to (Mai men dong tang, B), a traditional Chinese blended medicine, has notable antitussive activity in bronchitic guinea-pigs. In this study, we examined whether or not B was effective in treating postinfectious cough.<br>Methodology: Consenting, non-smoking patients who met the following diagnostic criteria were selected as subjects: (1) those who had been coughing continuously for more than two weeks postinfectiously; (2) who did not use angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors orally; (3) who had no history of nasal and/or paranasal disease, chronic pulmonary disease, atopy or gastroesophageal reflux disease; and (4) who had normal chest X-rays, respiratory function, peripheral eosinophil counts, levels of C-reactive protein, and serum IgE concentrations. Subjects were randomized into two groups: those given a daily dose of 9g of B extract granules orally for one week, and those given a daily dose of 60mg dextromethorphan hydrobromide (D) orally for one week. Using a cough diary (in which cough was scored from 0 to 9 points), we compared and studied the antitussive effects between the two groups.<br>Results: Group B was comprised of thirteen patients, and Group D, twelve. There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to age, sex, cough scores at the time of hospital visits, duration of continuous coughing, and test results. Significant antitussive effects were seen in both groups. However, cough scores decreased significantly from the second day for the B group, and on the third, sixth and seventh day for the D group. Compared with the D group subjects, those in the B group showed higher antitussive effects on the second days (P<0.05). No serious side effects were observed for either group.<br>Conclusion: In this randomized open trial, we concluded that Bakumondo-to is an effective treatment in non-smoking patients with postinfectious cough, and it appears to demonstrate an antitussive action immediately after administration.