Effects of Bak Foong Pills and Menoease Pills on white blood cell distribution in old age female rats.

This study examined the effects of Bak Foong Pills (BFP) and the new BFP-derived post-menopause formula, Menoease Pills (MBFP), on the distribution of peripheral white blood cells (WBC) between BFP/MBFP-treated and non-treated rats. Eighteen months old female SD rats were used to mimic post-menopausal and old age animal models. The percentage distribution of lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes were measured using flow cytometry with and without treatments of BFP or MBFP. Results showed that WBC distribution in old age rats were significantly different from that of adult rats, suggesting that as the animal aged, their WBC distributions were altered. Old age rats were observed to have much lower percentages of lymphocytes, but higher percentages of granulocytes when compared to the adult rats, indicating possible attenuated immunity. Following treatment with BFP or MBFP, WBC populations were found to be redistributed back into the ranges observed in adult animals. Furthermore, MBFP, was found to alter WBC distribution in a dose-dependent manner. When compared to estrogen (E(2)), a well documented regulator of immune function, results showed that MBFP was able to show significantly greater effects on WBC redistribution compared to E(2). However, in ovariectomised (ovx) old age rats, neither MBFP nor E(2) treated groups showed any changes in WBC redistribution. These results indicate that MBFP may share similarities to E(2). Indeed, the effect of MBFP and E(2) seems to require intact ovaries, which are believed to be necessary for the modulation of WBC distributions and immune functions. Overall, our findings suggest that BFP and MBFP may be able to regulate WBC population in old age female rats, and thus, indicate their potential role on improving the attenuated immunity evident in post-menopausal and elderly women.

Differential effects of Matrigel and its components on functional activity of CFTR and ENaC in mouse endometrial epithelial cells.

Our previous studies have observed an effect of Matrigel, a solubilized basement membrane preparation extracted from the Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm (EHS) mouse sarcoma, on the expression of ion channels in mouse endometrial epithelia; namely the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), a cAMP-dependent Cl(-)channel, and the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). The present study further investigated the effects of Matrigel and its individual components on the functional expression of CFTR and ENaC using the short-circuit current (Isc) technique. The results showed that different components of Matrigel, namely growth factors, laminin and collagen, had differential effects on the functional activity of the two ion channels in murine endometrial epithelium. The information obtained may be useful for designing future in vitro culture models to investigate the functional roles of these ion channels in the endometrium.

Effects of Bak Foong Pill on blood coagulation and platelet aggregation.

The effects of Bak Foong Pill (BFP, also known as Bai Feng Wan), a preparation of crude drugs in wide clinical use for treatment of gynecological disorders, on blood coagulation and platelet aggregation were investigated. The anticoagulant effect of BFP was evaluated by using thrombin time (TT), prothrombin time (PT), and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) assays. Results showed that BFP 70% ethanol extract (BFP-E-ext) significantly prolonged the TT in a dose-dependent manner with values of 17.6, 38.3, and 50.4 s at concentrations of 4.0, 6.0, and 12.0 mg/ml, respectively. Whereas, the BFP-E-ext did not show significant prolonging effect in PT and APTT assays. The results suggest that the anticoagulant effect of BFP is mediated by directly blocking thrombin, the key enzyme in the blood coagulation cascade. BFP-E-ext significantly inhibited platelet aggregation induced by collagen and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) with inhibition percentages of 74 and 52% at a concentration of 6.0 mg/ml, respectively, whereas, it exhibited a weak inhibitory activity on platelet aggregation induced by archidonic acid (AA). Comparing to BFP-E-ext, the effects of BFP aqueous extract (BFP-W-ext) on both anticoagulant and antiplatelet activities were significantly less potent. Moreover, the effects of the 26 ingredients of BFP on blood coagulation and platelet aggregation were separately evaluated with 19 ingredient herbs exhibiting anticoagulant effect and 10 exhibiting antiplatelet effect. The anticoagulant and antiplatelet effects of BFP were collectively demonstrated by in vivo assays showing prolonged bleeding times after BFP treatment for two weeks. The results of the present studies may provide explanations for beneficial effects of BFP on the circulation and indicate its potential use for cardiovascular diseases.