Effects of Dayuanyin decoction on lung injury and gut microbiota in mice with RSV-Hanshi yufei syndrome / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To study the effects of Dayuanyin decoction （DYY） on lung injury and gut microbiota in mice with RSV-Hanshi yufei syndrome. METHODS Thirty-six BALB/c mice were divided into the normal group （NC group）， model group （MC group）， positive control group （LBM group， 57.59 mg/kg ribavirin）， DYY low-dose， medium-dose and high-dose groups （LDYY，MDYY，HDYY groups，1.67，3.34，6.68 g/kg，calculated by crude drug）， with 6 mice in each group. Except for NC group， RSV-Hanshi yufei syndrome model was induced by “Hanshi modeling+RSV infection”； after the second cold and wet stimulation， RSV solution was dripped into the nasal cavity at 50% tissue culture infectious dose， once a day， for 3 consecutive days； each administration group was given corresponding solution intragastrically 4 hours after each nasal drip， once a day， for 5 consecutive days. The levels of motilin （MTL） and gastrin （GAS） in serum， the levels of IL-6 and IL-1β in supernatant of lung tissue， and the percentage of peripheral blood lymphocytes were all determined. The pathological changes of lungs were observed， and the changes of gut microbiota were analyzed. RESULTS Compared with MC group， the levels of MTL in serum （except for HDYY group）， and the levels of IL-6 and IL-1β in supernatant of lung tissue were all decreased significantly in DYY groups， while the level of GAS （except for HDYY group） in serum was increased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The pathology of lung tissue was improved， the percentage of T lymphocytes in LDYY group and the percentages of T lymphocyte and B lymphocyte in MDYY group were all increased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with the NC group， Bacteroidetes， Actinobacteria， Bacteroides， Alistipes， Bacteroidota， Bacteroides acidfaciens and Alloprevotella were expressed in high abundance， while Firmicutes， Proteobacteria， Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 group， Kineothrix and Clostridiales unclassified were expressed in low abundance. After the intervention of medium-dose DYY， the relative abundance of each microbiota tended to be adjusted back， with different species including Lachnospiraceae_UCG-Ruminococcus， etc. CONCLUSIONS Dayuanyin decoctioncan reduce the lung injury caused by RSV， the mechanism of which may be associated with relieving inflammation， regulating gastrointestinal hormone levels， the percentage of lymphocytes and the abundance of beneficial and harmful bacteria in the intestinal tract.

Rapid Characterization of Chemical Constituents in Dayuanyin by UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo characterize the chemical constituents of Dayuanyin based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/electrostatic field orbitrap mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS）. MethodThe detection was performed on a Thermo Acclaim™ RSLC 120 C18 column（2.1 mm×100 mm， 2.2 μm）， the mobile phase was acetonitrile（A）-0.1% formic acid aqueous solution（B） for gradient elution （0-7.5 min， 10%-19%A； 7.5-12 min， 19%-22.5%A； 12-23 min， 22.5%-27%A； 23-27 min， 27%-56%A； 27-35 min， 56%-84%A； 35-36 min， 84%-90%A）， the flow rate was 0.3 mL·min-1， and the column temperature was 30 ℃. The data were collected in the positive and negative ion modes by heated electrospray ionization（HESI）， and the detection range was m/z 80-1 200. Combining the retention time of the reference substance， fragment ions， databases such as PubChem and related literature， Xcalibur 3.0 was used to identify the chemical constituents of Dayuanyin. ResultA total of 161 compounds were identified， including 14 alkaloids， 60 flavonoids， 16 terpenoids， 26 saponins， 18 phenylpropanoids， 16 organic acids and 11 others. ConclusionThe established method can effectively and quickly identify the chemical components in Dayuanyin， and clarify its chemical composition， which can provide a basis for the development of compound preparations of this famous classical formula.

The preventive effect and mechanism of Dayuanyin in hypoxic pulmonary hypertension through NF-κB signaling pathway / 药学学报

Dayuanyin (DYY) has been shown to reduce lung inflammation in both coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and lung injury. This experiment was designed to investigate the efficacy and mechanism of action of DYY against hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH) and to evaluate the effect of DYY on the protection of lung function. Animal welfare and experimental procedures are approved and in accordance with the provision of the Animal Ethics Committee of the Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Science. Male C57/BL6J mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: control group, model group, DYY group (800 mg·kg-1), and positive control sildenafil group (100 mg·kg-1). The animals were given control solvents or drugs by gavage three days in advance. On day 4, the animals in the model group, DYY group and sildenafil group were kept in a hypoxic chamber containing 10% ± 0.5% oxygen, and the animals in the control group were kept in a normal environment, and the control solvent or drugs continued to be given continuously for 14 days. The right ventricular systolic pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy index, organ indices and other metrics were measured in the experimental endpoints. Meantime, the expression levels of the inflammatory factors in mice lung tissues were measured. The potential therapeutic targets of DYY on pulmonary hypertension were predicted using network pharmacology, the expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway-related proteins were measured by Western blot assay. It was found that DYY significantly reduced the right ventricular systolic pressure, attenuated lung injury and decreased the expression of inflammatory factors in mice. It can also inhibit hypoxia-induced activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. DYY has a protective effect on lung function, as demonstrated by DYY has good efficacy in HPH, and preventive administration can slow down the disease progression, and its mechanism may be related to inhibit the activation of NF-κB and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) by DYY.

Experience in Treatment of COVID-19 by Elimination of Pathogens Through Purgation and Diuresis / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks were spreading rapidly around the world in early 2020. This disease is within the category of "damp epidemic" and "damp toxin epidemic" in traditional Chinese medicine, with lung and spleen as the lesion focuses, while dampness and toxin as especially prominent properties. Through clinical observation, we found that dampness would often transform into damp heat during the development and evolution of the disease, and the "triple energizer" treatment was an important therapeutic method, eliminating pathogens through purgation and diuresis: for those with damp-heat accumulation toxin diffused to the triple energizer, we could use Ganlu Xiaodudan as primary prescription, which can spread the upper part, smooth the middle part and infiltrate the lower part, so as to provide a way out for the pathogenic factors and regulate Qi movement. For those with damp-heat in Shaoyang channel, we could use Haoqin Qingdantang to clear heat and promote diuresis, harmonize Shaoyang, eliminate damp-heat and epidemic pathogenic factor. For those with pathogen hidden in membrane source dampness trapping and hidden heat, we could use Dayuanyin to eliminate pathogens between interior and exterior parts, and regulate Qi movement. At the same time we shared three typical cases treated in Wuhan, and conducted an in-depth analysis in this study. Clinically, the method of elimination of pathogens through purgation and diuresis is mainly used in the early and middle stage of this disease. When the disease is still located in Qi system, it also can be applied to mild, ordinary patients and severe patients that have accurate syndrome differentiation. In such cases, it can effectively improve symptoms, reduce pathogenic toxin, truncate and reverse the course of disease, give way to pathogen, and avoid disease aggravating.

Exploring active compounds of Da-Yuan-Yin in treatment of COVID-19 based on network pharmacology and molecular docking method / 中草药

Objective: To explore the active compound of Da-Yuan-Yin for treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: Based on traditional Chinese medicine system pharmacology platform (TCMSP), the chemical composition and targets of Arecae Semen, Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex, Tsaoko Fructus, Anemarrhenae Rhizoma, Paeoniae Radix Alba, Scutellariae Radix, and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma were screened. The targets of corresponding gene were searched through UniProt, GeneCards databases, and then Cytoscape3.2.1 was used to build compound-targets (genes) networks. The enrichment of gene ontology (GO) function analysis by DAVID and the pathway enrichment analysis by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were carried out, the mechanism of its action was predicted. Results: The compound-target network contained 141 compounds and 267 corresponding targets, and the key targets involved PTGS2, HSP90AA1, ESR1, AR, NOS2, etc. The function enrichment analysis of GO was 522 (P < 0.05), of which there were 421 biological processes (BP) items, and 38 related items of cell composition (CC),and 63 molecular function (MF) items. There were 25 signal pathways (P < 0.05) in the KEGG pathway enrichment screening, involving small cell lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and T cell receptor signaling pathways, etc. The results of molecular docking showed that the affinity of quercetin, kaempferol, baicalin and other core compounds was similar to recommended drugs recommended in the treatment of COVID-19. Conclusion: The active compounds in Da-Yuan-Yin may regulate multiple signaling pathways by binding angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2) and acting on targets such as PTGS2, HSP90AA1 and ESR1 to inhibit COVID-19.