ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo study the characteristics of imprinting template of flavonoid clusters in four Chinese medicines attributed to the lung meridian， and to establish an in vitro experimental approach for the study of the attribution of Chinese medicines to the lung meridian. MethodBased on 13 Chinese medicines， including Xanthii Fructus， Houttuyniae Herba， Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma， Belamcandae Rhizoma and so on， which only belong to the lung meridian in Chinese Materia Medica（the 13th Five-Year planning textbook of general higher education）， we identified four representative Chinese medicines， namely Houttuyniae Herba， Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma， Belamcandae Rhizoma and Mori Cortex， and set up their fingerprints by high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） and calculated the molecular connectivity indices of various components in the four Chinese medicines， the similarity to their mean value was calculated by included angle cosine method， so as to establish the quantitative relationship of construction versus imprinting ability， and to determine the order of each component in the lung meridian. A total of 7 reference substances， including chlorogenic acid， rutin， quercetin， isoquercitrin， hyperoside， epicatechin， and iridin， were selected to validate the overall conformational relationships of flavonoids of the model， as well as its predictive ability. ResultHouttuyniae Herba， Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma， Belamcandae Rhizoma and Mori Cortex contained a total of 437 chemical components with an average molecular connectivity index similarity of 0.995 6. The four Chinese medicines contained a total of 204 flavonoids with an average molecular connectivity index similarity of 0.978 0， which was second only to the alkaloids with 0.985 1. The retention time（tR） of the 7 reference substances showed a good conformational relationship with the similarity of the molecular connectivity index（tR=831.4×S-790.3， r=0.861 4， P<0.01）， which was applicable to the in vitro attribution study of the position， similarity， and relative similarity with tR of the cluster of 98.04% of flavonoids. Accordingly， the 1st position was kuwanon D， with a similarity of molecular connectivity index of 0.987 7 and a tR of 30.88 min， the 200th position was chlorogenic acid， with a similarity of molecular connectivity index of 0.958 2 and a tR of 6.36 min. The total first-order moment of the four Chinese medicines calculated by total statistical moment method of fingerprint was 24.26 min， ranked 21， which could characterize 99.19% of the whole， and the total first-order moment of the total peak area of the 7 reference substances in the four Chinese medicines was 20.00 min， with a rank of 46， which could characterize 98.68% of the whole. ConclusionFlavonoid clusters are suitable probes for the characterization of imprinting template for the study of the lung meridian， which can be established a quantitative imprinting method for meridian tropism of Chinese medicines in vitro.
ABSTRACT
Eruption as a dermatological disease is often localized, which is not fully explained by Western medicine. However, localization of eruption is interpreted in Kampo medicine according to meridian and collateral theories, and here, we report two cases of successful treatment with Kampo medicine. Case 1 was of a 32-year-old woman who visited our clinic because of localized eruption around her mouth and was diagnosed with acne vulgaris. She was administered rikkunshito effectively. Case 2 was of a 37-year-old man who visited our clinic because of localized eruption in the anterior portion of the neck and was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis. He was administered shin'iseihaito effectively. Rikkunshito and shin'iseihaito are generally not adapted for dermatological diseases but were effective. After treatment we considered meridian and collateral theories. These two cases are depended on stomach meridian of foot-yangming and large intestine meridians of hand-yangming, rikkunshito and shin'iseihaito were consisted of herbs concerning with spleen and lung meridians. Two cases were successfully treated through spleen meridian of greater yin and hand great yin lung meridian, which make exterior and interior with stomach meridian of foot-yangming and large intestine meridians of hand-yangming. Kampo medicine was effective for treating these diseases based on meridian and collateral theories.
ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of bloodletting cupping plus Chinese medication in treating acne vulgaris due to wind-heat invading Lung Meridian.Method Sixty-six patients with acne vulgaris due to wind-heat invading Lung Meridian were randomized into a treatment group and a control group, 33 cases in each group. The treatment group was intervened by bloodletting cupping at Dazhui (GV 14) and Feishu (BL 13) plus Chinese medication; the control group was intervened by Chinese medication alone. The treatment was given 4 weeks sessions as a treatment course, for a total of 3 courses. The clinical efficacy and relapse rate were compared between the two groups.Result The total effective rate was 74.2% in the treatment group versus 96.9% in the control group, and the between-group difference was statistically significant (P0.05); 6 months after the intervention, the relapse rate was 18.8% in the treatment group versus 45.2% in the control group, and the between-group difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).Conclusion Bloodletting cupping plus Chinese medication can produce a more significant efficacy than Chinese medication alone in treating acne vulgaris, with a low long-term relapse rate and fewer adverse effects.
ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture by selecting points from the Lung and Stomach Meridians based on the theory of accumulation in stomach and connection with lung in treating post-infectious cough.Method Ninety patients with post-infectious cough were randomized into treatment group 1, treatment group 2, and a control group. Treatment group 1 was intervened by acupuncture at points from the Lung and Stomach Meridians, treatment group 2 was by puncturing points from the Lung Meridian, and the control group was by oral administration of Compound Methoxyphenamine Capsule. Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) was adopted for observation before and after intervention, and the symptom and clinical efficacies were compared between the groups.Result The total effective rate was 90.0% in treatment group 1, versus 83.3% in treatment group 2, and 80.0% in the control group. The total effective rate of treatment group 1 was significantly different from that in treatment group 2 and the control group (P<0.05). Regarding cough during the daytime, the total effective rate was 93.3% in treatment group 1, versus 83.3% in treatment group 2 and 76.7% in the control group. The total effective rate in treatment group 1 for cough during the daytime was significantly different from that in treatment group 2 and the control group, and the total effective rate in treatment group 2 was significantly different from that in the control group (P<0.05). For cough at night, the total effective rate in treatment group 1 was 86.7%, versus 80.0% in treatment group 2 and 80.0% in the control group. The total effective rate in treatment group 1 for cough at night was significantly different from that in treatment group 2 and the control group (P<0.05). The LCQ score in treatment group 1 was markedly different from that in treatment group 2 and the control group (P<0.05).Conclusion Acupuncture based on lung-stomach theory is an effective approach in treating post-infectious cough, and this method has an advantage of general regulation.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To discovery the central mechanism of acupuncture Heart Meridian precondition myocardial ischemia in gene expression pattern, the authors applied gene chip tech to filter variably expressed genes in hypothalamus. Methods: Rats were seperated into normal, model, acupuncture Heart Meridian group and acup Lung Meridian group randomly. Acute myocardial ischemia rat model was made with ligation left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery. After model succeed, select hypothalamus seperately and mixed the same group together of 3 rats. Then applied Rats U230A genechip refered by Affymetrix Co. to compare the variations between these groups. Results: To compare with normal group, differential expression genes and expression sequence tags (ESTs) in model group were 73 with signal log ratio ≤ 1 and 92 with signal log ratio ≤-1 , mainly included ion channel, calcium/ calmodulin-dependent protein kinase Ⅱ inhibitor, antigen and so on. Similarly, compared with model group, differential expression genes and expression sequence tags (ESTs) were 190 with signal log ratio ≥ 1 and 34 with signal log ratio ≤-1 in acupuncture Heart Meridian group, mainly included 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor, cellular metabolism, fatty, immuno reaction, G-protein coupled receptors, ion transport, signal transductions and so on, while in acupucnture Lung Meridian, the number is 57 and 26 correspondly. Conclusion: There were exactly variations in hypothalamus mechanism that relate to acupuncture Heart and Lung Meridians.