The American journal of Chinese medicine
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Artemisinin and its derivatives (ARTs), due to their potent antimalarial activities, are widely used as frontline antimalarials across the world. Although the large-scale deployment of ARTs has significantly contributed to a substantial decline in malaria deaths, the global malaria burden is still high. New antimalarial treatments need to be developed to manage the growing artemisinin resistance. ⋯ This study sampled ART clinical trials from the past two decades to gain an overview of the global ART-development landscape. A total of 768 trials were collected to analyze the disease focuses, activity trends, development status, geographic distribution, and combination treatment profiles of ART trials. The findings highlighted the constant focus of ARTs on malaria, the evolving combination research focus, the distinctions between ART development preferences across global regions, the urgent demands for treatments for artemisinin-resistant malaria, and the unavoidable need to consider ART combinations in the development of new antimalarials.
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Meta Analysis
Chinese Medicine for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A GRADE-Assessed Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused enormous public health and socioeconomic burden globally. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicine (CM) against COVID-19. Eleven databases were searched on April 30, 2021, and 52 studies were included. ⋯ Adjunctive effects of CM with lower certainty of evidence were found, including the improvements of symptoms, laboratory findings, and mortality. No or mild adverse events were observed in most of the studies. In conclusion, the current evidence indicates that CM formulae, particularly LHQW, QFPD, and FYYH, have adjunctive effects on the standard treatment of COVID-19.
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Constipation is a very common medical condition worldwide, negatively affecting patients' quality of life and healthcare system. Rhubarb, senna leaf, and aloe are three frequently used herbal medications for achieving regular bowel movement. Rhubarb is also a key ingredient in MaZiRenWan, a Chinese medicine formula used every so often for constipation in oriental countries. ⋯ Anthraquinone, especially its dianthrone compounds such as sennoside A and sennoside B, as natural stimulant laxatives, possesses significant effects to promote gastrointestinal motility and relieve functional constipation. Furthermore, the safety, reported side effects, and other benefits of anthraquinone compounds are presented. To date, many anti-constipation natural products are being used but their research is relatively limited, and thus, more investigations in this field are indeed needed.
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Lotus leaf (Heye), the dry foliage of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn, has been valuable as a dietary herbal medicine for thousands of years. Phytochemical studies indicated that alkaloids and flavonoids are the main components of Heye. Polysaccharides, terpenes, and amino acids are also active ingredients. ⋯ Nowadays, the extracts and active components of Heye demonstrate multiple bioactivities, for instance anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, cardiovascular protective, anticancer, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, antiviral, antimicrobial, as well as hemostatic activities. This review will provide an overview of Heye serving as a typical plant with functions of both medicine and food, including its practical applications in terms of TCM and healthy diet, phytochemistry, pharmacological activity, together with its toxicity. Besides, the new points and prospects of Heye in the overview are also outlined straightforwardly.
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Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), which can lead to renal failure in diabetic patients. At present, the first-line drugs for DN are mainly the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, and the latest approved aldosterone receptor antagonist finerenone, which delay the progression of DN to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), but the therapeutic effect is still not ideal. ⋯ In recently years, the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of TCM prescription, Chinese herbal medicine, and its active components on DN have received extensive attention in new drug development. This paper reviews the research progress of the mechanism of TCM on DN.