Medication rules of traditional Chinese medicine compounds for pain / 中国中药杂志

The present study collected data on traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) compounds effective in relieving pain from the patent database of the State Intellectual Property Office(SIPO), sorted out the TCM compounds against pain in patents, and analyzed the medication rules to provide references for the research and development of new TCM drugs against pain. The data were subjected to frequency statistics, association rules, cluster analysis, and complex network analysis by IBM SPSS Modeler 18.3 and SPSS Statistical 26.0. The results showed that among the 101 oral prescriptions included in the statistics, the top 5 drugs were Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Paeoniae Radix Alba, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, and Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, and among the 49 external prescriptions included in the statistics, the top 5 drugs were Myrrha, Olibanum, Angelicae Dahuricae Radix, Borneolum Syntheticum, and Chuanxiong Rhizoma. Whether oral or external prescriptions, the drugs were mainly warm in nature, and bitter, pungent, and sweet in flavor. According to TCM complex network analysis, the core drugs were Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Paeoniae Radix Alba, and Chuanxiong Rhizoma in oral prescriptions, and Olibanum, Myrrha, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, and Angelicae Sinensis Radix in external prescriptions. Overall, the therapeutic principles of oral prescriptions were mainly replenishing Qi, nourishing blood, and promoting Qi and blood circulation, while those of external prescriptions were activating blood, resolving stasis, promoting Qi flow, and relieving pain on the basis of the oral prescriptions. In the future research and development of TCM compounds against pain, the prescriptions should be modified with mind-tranquilizing and depression-relieving drugs. With the modernization of TCM, the development of new pain-relieving TCM compound patents based on ancient methods and clinical experience adhering to the guidance of TCM treatment based on syndrome differentiation can meet the new demand for pain treatment in the current society and give full play to the advantages of TCM in pain treatment.

A new cembranoid diterpene from Olibanum / 中国中药杂志

Five compounds were isolated from the alcohol extract of Olibanum by MCI, silica gel, ODS, and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). On the basis of spectral data and literature data, the compounds were identified as:(1S,3R,4S,7R,11S,12R)-1:12,4:7-diepoxisonane-8(19)-ene-3,11-diol(1), boscartin A(2),(+)-resinolin(3),(+)-5-hydroxy-3,4-dimethyl-5-pentylfuran-2(5H)-one(4), and acerogenin A(5). Compound 1 is a new compound, and compounds 3-5 were isolated from Olibanum for the first time. The structure of compound 1 was determined by spectroscopic analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds 1 and 2 were tested for PC12 neurotoxicity, and the results showed that they were both safe compounds.

Ant i-inflammatory mechanism of active components in Olibanum and Myrrha based on network pharmacology and cell experiments / 中国中药杂志

Two terpenes, 3-keto-tirucalla-8,24-dien-21-oic acid(KTDA) and 2-methoxy-5-acetoxy-furanogermacr-1(10)-en-6-one(FSA), are isolated from Olibanum and Myrrha respectively, which are characterized by high yield and easy crystallization during the preparation. The present study explored the regulatory targets and anti-inflammatory mechanism of KTDA and FSA based on network pharmacology and cell viability assay. First, the drug-likeness of KTDA and FSA was predicted by Swiss ADME. The target prediction of active components was carried out by Swiss Target Prediction and Pharmmapper. TTD, Drug Bank, and Gene Cards were searched for inflammation-related target genes of KTDA and FSA. Protein-protein interaction(PPI) analysis was performed on the inflammatory targets of KTDA and FSA by STRING, and Cytoscape was used to conduct topological analysis of the interaction results and construct the PPI network. GO function and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses of inflammatory targets of KTDA and FSA were carried out by DAVID, and a " component-target-pathway" network was constructed. Finally, lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced RAW264. 7 cells were treated with KTDA and FSA at different concentrations, and nitric oxide(NO) concentration and protein and m RNA expression levels were detected. The results showed that both KTDA and FSA showed good drug-likeness. A total of 157 and 142 inflammation-related targets of KTDA and FSA were screened out. PPI network analysis showed that MAPK1, AKT1, MAPK8, PIK3 CA,PIK3 R1, EGFR, etc. might be the key proteins for the anti-inflammatory effect. PI3 K/AKT and MAPK signaling pathways were obtained by KEGG and GO-BP enrichment. Cell experiment results showed that KTDA and FSA could exert anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting NO production, reducing the phosphorylation levels of JNK, p38, and AKT proteins, and down-regulating the m RNA expression of interleukin(IL)-1β and IL-6. Meanwhile, FSA could also inhibit ERK phosphorylation. The results indicated that KTDA and FSA had significant anti-inflammatory activity, which provided a scientific basis and important support for the further research,development, and utilization of Olibanum and Myrrha.

Mechanism of Olibanum-Myrrha in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis based on network pharmacology and molecular docking / 中国中药杂志

In this paper, network pharmacology method and molecular docking technique were used to investigate the target genes of Olibanum and Myrrha compatibility and the possible mechanism of action in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(RA). Our team obtained the main active components of Olibanum-Myrrha based on literatures study, relevant traditional Chinese medicine systematic pharmacological databases and literature retrieval, and made target prediction of the active components through SwissTargetPrediction database. At the same time, RA-related targets were collected through DrugBank, GeneCards and Therapeutic Target Database(TDD) databases; and VENNY 2.1 was use to collect intersection targets to map common targets of drug and disease of Venn diagram online. The team used STRING database to construct PPI protein interaction network diagram, and screen out core targets according to the size of the interaction, and Cytoscape 3.6.0 software was used to construct network models of "traditional Chinese medicine-component-target" "traditional Chinese medicine-component-target-disease" and core target interaction network model. The intersection target was analyzed by using DAVID 6.8 online database for GO function analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, and Pathon was used to visualization. AutoDock Vina and Pymol were used to connect the core active components with the core targets. Sixteen active components of Olibanum-Myrrha pairs were found and collected in the laboratory, and 320 relevant potential targets, 468 RA-related targets and 62 intersection targets were obtained through the Venn diagram. It mainly acted on multiple targets, such as IL6, TNF, IL1 B and MAPK1, involving TNF signaling pathway and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway in RA treatment. Finally, in this study, possible targets and signaling pathways of Olibanum-Myrrha compatibility therapy for RA were discussed, and molecular docking between core targets and core active components was conducted, which could provide scientific basis for the study on the mechanism of Olibanum-Myrrha compatibility.

GC-MS analysis of volatile oil components of Mastiche and Olibanum and study on antibacterial activity of Helicobacter pylori / 中国中药杂志

The volatile oil from Mastiche and Olibanum medicinal materials was extracted by steam distillation, and the chemical components of the volatile oil were analyzed by GC-MS technology. The differences of the volatile oil components were compared and study on the Helicobacter pylori in vitro antimicrobial activitiy was conducted. The results showed that the yields of the volatile oil from Mastiche and Olibanum were 11.93% and 2.40%, respectively. A total of 46 compounds(91.31%) were identified from the volatile oil from Mastiche annd 35 compounds(92.49%) from Olibanum. The classification and comparison study of the components showed that the content of monoterpenes in the volatile oil from Mastiche was the highest(40.69%), followed by alcohols(28.48%); while the content of alcohols in the volatile oil from Olibanum was the highest(35.81%), followed by esters(24.92%). There were significant differences in the components of volatile oil from Mastiche and Olibanum, which might be one of the reasons for the difference in efficacy and application. In vitro bacteriostatic experiments showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) of the volatile oil from Mastiche against H. pylori was 1 mg·mL~(-1), and the MIC of the volatile oil from Olibanum against H. pylori was more than 1 mg·mL~(-1). In combination with the results of the oil yield experiment, Mastiche had the advantage of inhibiting H. pylori activity. The research results provide scientific basis for the rational application of Mastiche and Olibanum.

Efficacy of olibanum and propolis medicinal extracts versus metronidazole in Giardia lamblia experimentally infected mice

Giardiasis is a common intestinal infection, recently included by the World Health Organization in the 'Neglected Diseases Initiative'. Despite the efficacy of nitroimidazoles; the main antigiardial chemotherapeutics, adverse effects and resistance enforced developing non-chemical alternatives. The present study aimed to assess the therapeutic efficacy of ethanol extract of olibanum (OL), propolis (PR), and their combination versus metronidazole (MTZ) against G. lamblia infection. Sixty Swiss male albino mice were randomly divided into 6 groups; 10 mice each,: Group I: normal control (non-treated; non-infected). Group II: infected with G. lamblia cysts, non-treated. On the 6th day postinfection (dPI), the remaining 4 infected groups were treated orally with: Group III: (OL). Group IV: (PR). Group V: combination of (OL+PR). Group VI: (MTZ). These mice were subjected to direct parasitological diagnosis of Giardia trophozoite in intestinal exudate, immunochromatographic test for antigen detection and histopathological studies. After 7 days therapy, complete clearance of Giardia trophozoites were in the combination of (OL+PR) and MTZ groups therapy. Lower percentages of reduction (91%) & (83%) were recorded in PR and OL-treated groups, respectively. Histopathological examination showed marked healing of intestinal mucosa using non-chemical combination and different degrees of dysplasia using MTZ, while partial healing was observed using olibanum and propolis separately. Olibanum, propolis and their combination were proved to enhance the clearance of Giardia trophozoites; with progressive improvement of the histopathological changes of jejunal mucosa, making good non-chemical alternative antigiardial therapeutics sidestepping the obstacles of metronidazole like dysplasia and teratogenicity

Herbalogical study on olibanum(Ruxiang) / 中国中药杂志

As a representative foreign medicinal material, olibanum(Ruxiang) was imported to China since the Qin and Han Dynasties. Olibanum was first described as a medicinal by the name "Xunluxiang" in Miscellaneous Records of Famous Physicians(Ming Yi Bie Lu). This study investigated historical records on olibanum and conducted the herbalogical study. It was found that olibanum came from the resin mainly obtained from the bark of Pistacia lenticus before the Tang Dynasty. With the prosperity of the Maritime Silk Road, instead, the resin obtained from the bark of Boswellia carterii was mainly used as olibanum. In ancient time, the oleo-gum-resin secreted from the cut bark was collected in spring and summer, and the quality was judged based on transparency and shape. The processing methods of olibanum went through many evolutions, which changed from simple methods such as grinding and frying to complex methods such as levigating and grinding with wine, and now to frying and processing with vinegar. The usage of olibanum included alchemy, folk and religious incense, bathing, cosmetic and medicinal since ancient times. From the Song Dynasty, olibanum had been mainly used as medicinal because of its good effect to treat wounds. In traditional Chinese medicine, olibanum unblocks menstruation, relieves pain and reduces swelling and generated muscles. The medicinal efficacy of olibanum is not much different from ancient to modern. Only the efficacy of replenishing energy and promoting the movement of Qi was rarely mentioned in modern reference. In this article, the historical evolutions of olibanum about original plants, processing and medicinal efficacy were sorted out. The results could provide historical basis for the further development and clinical utilization of olibanum.

Combination of musk and olibanum promotes proliferation of prostate stem cells in mice: An experimental study / 中华男科学杂志

Objective@#To study the effects of muskolibanum combination on the proliferation and differentiation of prostate stem cells.@*METHODS@#We cultured prostate epithelial cells and urogenital sinus mesenchymal (UGSM) cells from 7－10 d old C57BL/6 mice and 16－18 d old pregnant C57BL/6 mice, transplanted the mixed suspension of the two types of cells under the kidney envelope of SCIDCB.17 male mice, and harvested the transplants 30 days later. We randomly divided the SCIDCB.17 mice into four groups to be treated intragastrically with musk (n = 8), olibanum (n = 8), musk+olibanum (n = 7), and normal saline (blank control, n = 8)) respectively, all for 14 days. Then we collected the kidney tissue for observation of the morphology of the glandular tubes and differentiation of different subsets of stem cells by HE staining and determination of the expressions and distribution of P63, CD133, CD117 and Sca1 by immunohistochemistry and Western blot.@*RESULTS@#A system was successfully established for the isolation and mixed culture of Sca1 Lin+ CD49f+ (LSC) cells of prostate stem cells and UGSM cells of the mouse embryonic prostate. Immunohistochemistry showed positive expressions of P63, CD133, Sca1, and CD117 in the prostatic acinar epithelia and proved the presence of prostatic acinar epithelial structure in the transplants. Compared with the blank control group, the expressions of CD133, Sca1 and CD117 were significantly increased in the musk, olibanum, and musk+olibanum groups (P< 0.05), higher in the musk+olibanum than in the musk or olibanum group (P< 0.05), and their protein expressions were even more elevated in the musk+olibanum group (P< 0.01), with statistically significant difference from the olibanum group (P< 0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#The combination of musk and olibanum can improve the proliferation and differentiation of prostate stem cells.

Effects of the combination of musk and olibanum on the expressions of tight junction proteins in the prostate epithelial cells of rats / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of the combination of musk and olibanum on the tight junction protein expressions in prostatic epithelial cells of normal and chronic prostatitis (CP) rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eighty male SD rats were randomly divided into 8 groups of equal number: normal control, normal musk, normal olibanum, normal musk + olibanum, CP model control, CP model musk, CP model olibanum, and CP model musk + olibanum. At 60 days after modeling, the rats in the control, musk, olibanum, and musk + olibanum groups were treated intragastrically with normal saline, musk (0.021 g per kg body weight per day), olibanum (1.05 g per kg body weight per day), or musk + olibanum respectively, all for 3 days. Then, all the rats were sacrificed and their prostate tissues harvested for detection of the expressions of the tight junction proteins Claudin-1, Claudin-3, Occludin, and ZO-1 in the prostatic epithelial cells by immunohistochemical staining.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the CP models, only the expression of Claudin-1 was significantly increased. In the normal rats, the expression of Claudin-1 was remarkably upregulated after treated with musk (824.6 ± 393.3, P < 0.05), olibanum (982.0 ± 334.0, P < 0.05), and musk + olibanum (1088.1 ± 640.2, P < 0.01); that of Claudin-3 was elevated markedly by olibanum (1 009.5 ± 243.6, P < 0.05) and insignificantly by musk (597.5 ± 80.7), but the increasing effect of olibanum was reduced by musk + olibanum (678.4 ± 255.1). No statistically significant differences were found in the expression of Occludin among the rats treated with musk (693.0 ± 424.8), olibanum (732.1 ± 302.0), and musk + olibanum (560.2 ± 202.3), or in that of ZO-1 in the animals treated with musk (290.0 ± 166.8) and olibanum (419.7 ± 108.1), but the latter was markedly decreased in the musk + olibanum group (197.7 ± 98.2, P < 0.05). In the CP rat models, both the expressions of Claudin-1 (823.0 ± 100.1, P < 0.01) and Occludin (1160.0 ± 32.2, P < 0.05) were significantly increased. The expression of Claudin-1 was remarkably down-regulated by musk (764.9 ± 179.0), olibanum (468.4 ± 220.4), and musk + olibanum (335.1 ± 204.0) (all P < 0.05), but that of Claudin-3 up-regulated by musk (744.6 ± 94.5) and olibanum (700.1 ± 223.7) (both P < 0.05). The expression of Occludin was reduced by musk (615.0 ± 221.0), olibanum (749.6 ± 321.7), and musk + olibanum (505.8 ± 523.7), while that of ZO-1 increased by olibaum (443.2 ± 44.9) and decreased by musk + olibanum (213.5 ± 24.9, P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In physiological and pathological conditions, the combination of musk and olibanum acts on the expressions of tight junction proteins in prostate epithelial cells in a selective and dual-targeting manner, promoting their permeability by down-regulating the expression of ZO-1 and maintaining their structural stability by regulating the expressions of Claudin-1, Claudin-3, and Occludin.</p>

Mechanisms of musk and olibanum regulating inflammatory cascade reaction triggered by chemotactic and activated monocytes / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effects of drug plasma of musk and olibanum (DP-M&O) on the release of inflammatory cytokines from monocytes and the expressions of the proteins associated with inflammation of prostatic or endothelial cells induced by prostate antigen (PAg) stimulation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We prepared DP-M&O using SD rats and monocytes and PAgs using BALB/c mice. We pre-treated the monocytes with DP-M&O at the gradient concentrations of 0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20% for 1 hour, activated them with PAgs, and then cultured them for 96 hours, followed by detection of the release of inflammatory cytokines. We co-cultured the prostate RWPE-1 cells with the endothelial EA. hy926 cells, pre-treated them with the same gradient concentrations of DP-M&O as above for 1 hour, activated with PAgs, and cultured for 96 hours. Then we determined the expression levels of the proteins associated with inflammation of RWPE-1 and EA. hy926 cells by Western blot.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>DP-M&O decreased the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, and IL-8 and increased that of IL-10 in a concentration-dependent manner. Significant differences were found between the 20% P-M&O and PAg groups in the release of the inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha (70.8 +/- 22.3 vs. 277.1 +/- 65.5, P < 0.01) , IL-113 (277.5 +/- 22.6 vs. 630.4 +/- 89.7, P <0.01), IL-6 (232.7 +/- 62.7 vs. 994.2 vs. 182.3, P < 0.01), IL-8 (227.3 +/- 79.2 vs. 769.3 +/- 284.1, P < 0.01), and IL-10 (640.2 +/- 201.2 vs. 271.1 +/- 55.8, P < 0.01). Compared with the PAg group, the 10 and 20% P-M&O groups showed remarkable decreases in the protein expression of MCP-1/CCL2 in the RWPE-1 cells (1.12 +/- 0.34 vs. 0.56 +/- 0.11 and 0.34 +/- 0.08) and that of VCAM-1 in the EA. hy926 cells (0.94 +/- 0.22 vs. 0.52 +/- 0.17 and 0.38 +/- 0.12) (P < 0.05 or 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The compatibility of musk and olibanum can decrease the expression of MCP-1/CCL2 in prostate cells and VCAM-1 in vascular endothelial cells, blocking the adhesion of leucocytes and suppressing inflammatory response.</p>

Cardioprotective and antioxidant effects of oleogum resin "Olibanum" from Bos Boswellia carteri Birdw. (Bursearceae) / 中国天然药物

One of the leading causes of death worldwide is cardiovascular disease, hence searching for a cure is an important endeavor. The totally safe, edible, and inexpensive Boswellia plant exudate, known as olibanum or frankincense, is considered to possess diverse medicinal values in traditional medicine and from recent biological studies. Investigating the cardioprotective and antioxidant activities of olibanum from a Boswellia species, family Bursearaceae, namely Boswellia carteri Birdw. was the aim of this study. Cardioprotective activity was evaluated using a model of myocardial infarction induced by isoprenaline (ISO), while antioxidant activity was tested adopting nitric oxide scavenging (NOS) and azino-bis-3-ethyl benzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assays. The results revealed a mild cardioprotective effect and weak antioxidant activity.