Journal of ethnopharmacology
-
The process of liver fibrogenesis includes a number of common and etiology-dependent or independent mechanisms and events. Up to now, there are still insufficient approved biological or chemical therapies directly targeting and reversing advanced fibrosis. The key is that once liver fibrosis is triggered, it presents a complex network control model with the activation of HSCs as the core, resulting in poor efficacy of treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has unique advantages in treating hepatic fibrosis because of its syndrome differentiation and treatment and comprehensive pharmacological effects of multi-channel, multi-level and multi-target. However, TCM's advantages were rarely discussed as previous reviews focused on the active ingredients of TCM and single Chinese Medicine. Therefore, this paper focuses on TCM herbal formulae's pharmacological role, target and related mechanisms in the treatment of liver fibrosis. ⋯ According to the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment, Liver fibrosis patients with different syndromes are treated with different herbal formula, which increases the difficulty of clinical efficacy research. YCHD and XYXD research lack randomized and controlled clinical trials. XCHT, YGJ and HQD research has small sample sizes despite randomized and controlled clinical trials. In contrast, most modern herbal formulae have randomized and controlled clinical trials. For instance, FZHY and ALHX recently published the research results of the combination of entecavir in the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. Compared to anti-viral treatment with entecavir alone, this method has improved the reversion rate of liver fibrosis but still needs syndrome classification therapy of TCM. TCM Herbal formulae have a good prospect in treating liver fibrosis, but its composition of multiple drugs and a wide range of targets intensify the difficulty of studying their anti-hepatic fibrosis mechanisms. Future research needs to further study the anti-hepatic fibrosis mechanisms and select corresponding TCM herbal formula to treat patients with different syndromes of liver fibrosis or the same patient with different syndromes at different stages to achieve better curative results.
-
Review
Traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of Persicaria orientalis (L.) Spach - A review.
Persicaria orientalis (L.) Spach (internationally accepted and only valid name; synonym: Polygonum orientale L.; family: Polygonaceae), which is named Hongcao in China, is a Chinese herbal medicine that has a wide range of pharmacological effects including treatment to rheumatoid arthritis, coronary heart disease, hernia, carbuncle sore, enhance immunity, antimicrobial, osteogenic and dilated bronchiectasis. ⋯ P. orientalis is a valuable source with therapeutic potential on a wide range of diseases especially cardiovascular-system disorders. Though most traditional uses of P. orientalis are supported by in vitro/vivo pharmacological studies, however, there is still a lack of researches on active pharmacodynamic ingredients as well as in-depth and in-vivo mechanistic studies. Therefore, isolation and identification of more active compounds (especially flavonoids), their structure-activity relationship and studies on pharmacodynamic mechanisms by more elaborative in-vivo studies on P. orientalis may be focused on in order to confirm efficacy of reported therapeutic effects of P. orientalis and help explore it's therapeutic potentials. Furthermore, research designs of pharmacological studies based on traditional uses of anti-rheumatoid arthritis through cell lines and animal models should also be considered as key research topics.
-
Salvia divinorum Epling & Játiva is a Mexican plant used not only in rituals but also in traditional medicine for pain relief. One of the most known bioactive compounds is salvinorin A, which acts centrally in kappa-type opioid receptors. ⋯ Data provide evidence of the potential of this species, where salvinorin A is in part responsible bioactive constituent involving participation of the opioids and/or 5-HT1A serotonin receptors depending on the kind of pain model explored.
-
Arenga pinnata (Wurmb) Merr. is a medicinal and edible plant belonging to family Palmae. The fruits of this plant were used in traditional folk medicine due to its analgesia and anti-inflammatory activities. This study aimed to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties and the mechanism of the ethanol extract of A. pinnata (Wurmb) Merr. fruit (EAF) on different experimental models. ⋯ For the first time, this study provides pharmacological evidence for the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of EAF and the underlying mechanism, suggesting that EAF might be a potential candidate for reducing pain and inflammatory disorders.
-
Sophora alopecuroides L., which is called Kudouzi in China, is a medicinal plant distributed in Western and Central Asia, especially in China, and has been used for decades to treat fever, bacterial infection, heart disease, rheumatism, and gastrointestinal diseases. ⋯ As an important traditional Chinese medicine, modern pharmacological studies have demonstrated that S. alopecuroides has prominent bioactivities, especially on gynecological inflammation and hepatitis B, and anticancer activities. These activities provide prospects for novel drug development for cancer and some chronic diseases. Nevertheless, the comprehensive evaluation, quality control, understanding of the multitarget network pharmacology, long-term in vivo toxicity, and clinical efficacy of S. alopecuroides require further detailed research.