ABSTRACT
Emodin is a common Chinese medicine compound with anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-oxidant and lipid-lowering effects. Modern studies have found that emodin activates adenylate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling molecules and regulates transcriptional factors and biological functions of relevant pathways. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a chronic liver disease with a high incidence in China. With the global prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome, the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is closely related to the expression of the metabolism-related signal molecule AMPK. AMPK is a key enzyme in glycolipid metabolism that can involve different stages of NAFLD development to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) by regulating energy metabolism in the body. In recent years, many studies have suggested that the activation of AMPK signaling molecules is related to the function realization of emodin, and lipid synthesis, fatty acid oxidation, insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial function-related transcription factors affected by AMPK downstream signaling molecules and other biological effects can be interacted with each other. The detailed mechanism of action associated with AMPK activation provides new thought about the treatment of NAFLD by emodin. This paper mainly summarizes the research progress of emodin by participating in the various stages of NAFLD by AMPK-related signaling pathways through literature retrieval and comprehensive analysis. It lays a foundation for further research on the therapeutic effect and mechanism of emodin on NAFLD.
ABSTRACT
Study on the integrated pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) model of rhubarb in rats with yang-deficiency constipation based on the principle of traditional Chinese medicine system. The rat model of yang-deficiency constipation was established using vinegar and ice water containing activated carbon. The blood samples with 0.5 mL were collected from orbital venous plexus at 0, 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, 720, 1 440 min time points after oral administration of rhubarb decoction, and the dosage is equivalent to crude drug 2.5 g·kg-1. The concentration of aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin and chrysophanol in rat plasma were determined by HPLC, and ELISA method was used to detect the activities of motilin (MTL), gastrin (GT), endothelin (ET) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) at different time points in serum. SPSS 21.0 software was used for analysis of component correlation and principal component, and WinNonlin 6.30 software was used to fit PK/PD model. Compared with the pharmacokinetic parameters of normal rats, in addition to emodin in the model rats showed characteristics of good absorption and slow to elimination; the content of MTL in model rats was significantly lower than that in normal rats. The composite values of the concentration and effect obtained by principal component analysis were connected by Sigmoid-Emax model. We established the integrated PK/PD model of rhubarb in treating yang-deficiency constipation to provide a new research direction for the material basis and mechanism of rhubarb treatment of yang deficiency constipation.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the clinical effects and safety of Shencao Tongmai Granule (STG) in treatment of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) (NYHA functional class II - III) of qi deficiency blood stasis and water retention syndrome (QDBSWRS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This was a multi-centered, double blinded, randomized, and placebo parallel controlled study. A total of 280 CHF patients of QDBSWRS were randomly assigned to the trial group and the control group in the ratio of 1:1. All patients received Western medicine (WM) treatment such as ACEI, diuretics, Digoxin Elixirs, and so on. Additionally, patients in the trial group took STG while those in the control group took the placebo. The therapeutic course for all was twelve weeks. The NYHA functional classification, Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome integral, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were compared between the two groups. The safety assessment was also carried out.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Totally 265 patients completed this trial (138 cases in the trial group and 127 cases in the control group). The effective rate of NYHA functional classification and CM syndrome integral were obviously higher in the trial group than in the control group (94.20% vs 55.90%, 97.83% vs 70.08% respectively), showing statistical difference (P < 0.01). There was no statistical difference in LVEF between the two groups before treatment (P > 0.05). The LVEF both increased in the two groups when compared with before treatment (P < 0.05). The post-treatment increment of LVEF was obviously higher in the trial group than in the control group (6.55% +/- 6.23% vs 3.14% +/- 4.99%, P < 0.05). The rate of adverse reaction was 0.71% in the two groups (1/140).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>STG showed good therapeutic effectiveness and safety in treating CHF patients of QDBSWRS.</p>
