抗稻瘟霉中草药活性筛选

目的从广西产中草药中筛选具有抗稻瘟霉活性的中草药。方法利用稻瘟霉模型筛选中草药。结果 12个科的 18种中草药呈现出较好的抗稻瘟霉活性。结论抗稻瘟霉模型是一个很好的活性筛选体系 ,可以用于抗癌药物的初筛     

Bioactivity of 247 Traditional Chinese Medicines against Pyricularia oryzae

A bioassay with Pyricularia oryzae as target fungus was used for screening bioactive agents from traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) on a large-scale. In total, 247 species belonging to 85 families were tested with this preliminary bioassay, and 42 TCM showed bioactivity. The screening results indicated that this bioassay is suitable for screening bioactive natural products from TCM.     

The use of herbal medicines in early drug development for the treatment of HIV infections and AIDS

This review systematically assesses the beneficial and harmful effects of herbal medicines in people with HIV infection and AIDS. Based on a Cochrane review and updated searches, the author identifies the available evidence on herbal medicines compared with placebo or antiretroviral drugs in patients with HIV infection, HIV-related disease or AIDS. There are ten randomised controlled trials, involving 571 individuals with HIV infection or AIDS, that met the inclusion criteria. Some herbal medicines, such as IGM-1 seem to be effective in symptom improvement, but generally no significant effect on antiviral or immunity enhancement among reviewed herbs was seen. Combined treatment of Chinese herbal medicine, SH and antiretroviral agents showed increased antiviral benefit compared with antiretrovirals alone. These findings suggest beneficial effects from some of the tested herbs but more evidence from larger studies are needed to support this evidence in the future.     

The use of herbal medicines in early drug development for the treatment of HIV infections and AIDS

This review systematically assesses the beneficial and harmful effects of herbal medicines in people with HIV infection and AIDS. Based on a Cochrane review and updated searches, the author identifies the available evidence on herbal medicines compared with placebo or antiretroviral drugs in patients with HIV infection, HIV-related disease or AIDS. There are ten randomised controlled trials, involving 571 individuals with HIV infection or AIDS, that met the inclusion criteria. Some herbal medicines, such as IGM-1 seem to be effective in symptom improvement, but generally no significant effect on antiviral or immunity enhancement among reviewed herbs was seen. Combined treatment of Chinese herbal medicine, SH and antiretroviral agents showed increased antiviral benefit compared with antiretrovirals alone. These findings suggest beneficial effects from some of the tested herbs but more evidence from larger studies are needed to support this evidence in the future.     

Inhibitory effect of herbal medicines on rotavirus infectivity

The inhibitory effect of some traditional herbal medicines on the infectivity of rotavirus, which predominantly occurs in sporadic diarrhea in infants and young children, was investigated. Among the 34 kinds of herbal medicines tested, the fruit of Citrus aurantium had the most potent inhibitory activity on rotavirus infection. The active components of the fruit of Citrus aurantium were neohesperidin and hesperidin. Their 50% inhibitory concentrations were 25 and 10 microM, respectively.     

Active phytochemicals from Chinese herbs as therapeutic agents for the heart

Naturally occurring plant alkaloids, in particular those identified from herbal medicines, are finding therapeutic use. Heart diseases can be well managed with specific formulations of herbal medicines. The combined action of multiple constituents of herbal medicines works with therapeutic benefits in humans. The established formulations of Traditional Chinese medicines show efficacy in treatment of diseases. However, individual herbal principles seldom show pharmacological activity. Nevertheless, some of the active alkaloids and terpenoids from medicinal herbs have been identified. The pharmacological activities of these herbal compounds have been studied. These active constituents of herbal medicine are also used in nutrient supplements, but the modes of action of the active component remain sketchy. The present review describes the recent development of those active principles from herbal medicines as cardiovascular agents. The study will provide insights into herbal medicines for drug development for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.     

Fecal metabolic activities of herbal components to bioactive compounds

The herbal components should be transformed to bioactive compounds by the intestinal bacteria and then expressed the pharmacological action of herbal medicines. Human fecal enzyme activities related to the metabolism of herbal components were measured. The metabolic activities of puerarin, poncirin, glycyrrhizin, ginsenoside Rb1 and ginsenoside Rb2 to their bioactive compounds were 3.5 +/- 1.18, 333.1 +/-183.64, 95.7 +/- 107.1, 28.6 +/- 10.32 and 20.8 +/- 13.3 micromol/ h/g, respectively. The profile of these metabolic activities of glycyrrhizin and ginsenosides were not changed even if herbal extracts, water extract of Glycyrrhizae Radix and Ginseng Radix, instead of the isolated compounds were used. All the enzyme activities tested were not different between male and female, and between ages. However, the difference of these enzyme activities in individuals was significant. These results suggest that the metabolic activity of herbal components to bioactive compounds may be a factor of constitutional classification, and could be available for constitutional classifications, if the constitutional herbal medicines were used.     

我院2005年“医保”患者中草药用药分析

目的:探讨我院"医保"患者中草药应用的规律性。方法:按4个不同季节时期,对848张处方涉及到的中草药品种、使用频率、用量等进行统计分析。结果:常用的中草药品种比较稳定;不同季节涉及的中草药用量有显著性差异;一些常用品种(茯苓、生甘草、丹参、生当归)的使用频率有显著性差异。结论:中草药用药规律性的探讨,对医院中草药的采购、药房斗谱的配置有一定的指导意义。     

我院2004～2006年不育不孕症患者中草药应用分析

目的:探讨我院不育不孕症患者中草药应用的规律性。方法:对我院2004～2006年不育不孕症患者所用58376剂中草药所涉及到的品种、用药频率、用量等,按性别进行统计分析。结果:所用中草药的品种、用药频率及用量都比较稳定;其药性分布结构符合中医药理论的特征。结论:中草药治疗不育不孕症的技术已较为成熟、功效较确切可靠;对中草药的临床应用,应以中医药理论为指导,突出中医药特色。     

Metabolic activities of ginsenoside Rb1, baicalin, glycyrrhizin and geniposide to their bioactive compounds by human intestinal microflora

To evaluate the pharmacological actions of herbal medicines, metabolic activities of herbal medicine components, ginsenoside Rb1, glycyrrhizin, geniposide and baicalin to their bioactive compounds compound K, 18beta-glycyrrhetic acid, genipin and baicalein by fecal specimens were measured. Their metabolic activities were 646.1+/-591.4, 29.4+/-51.7, 926.3+/-569.6 and 3884.6+/-1400.1 micromol/h/g, respectively. The profiles of these metabolic activities of baicalin and ginsenoside Rb1 were not significantly different to those of water extracts of Scutellariae Radix and Ginseng Radix. None of the metabolic activities tested were different between males and females, or between ages. However, the difference in these metabolic activities in individuals was significant. These results suggest that the human intestinal microflora enzymes that convert herbal components to their bioactive compounds may be used as selection markers of responders to traditional medicines.     

应理性对待含马兜铃酸类中药

目的:引导正确认识及应用含马兜铃酸类中药。方法:查阅、综述、分析近年来关于马兜铃酸及含马兜铃酸类中药的研究文献。结果与结论:对待含马兜铃酸类中药应当持理性态度,实事求是,合理用药。     

Use of herbal medicines by patients receiving warfarin.

BACKGROUND: Patients receiving warfarin therapy are discouraged from taking herbal medicines. Whether patients adhere to this advice and, if they do not, the types of products they use, are not known. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this observational study was to estimate the magnitude of use of herbal medicines among Chinese patients attending the Warfarin Clinic of the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong. METHODS: A medical officer interviewed all patients who attended the Warfarin Clinic during May 2001. Patients were asked about the use of herbal medicines in the preceding week. Demographic data, indication and duration of warfarin therapy, and International Normalised Ratio (INR) value at the time of the visit were also noted. RESULTS: Of 107 patients interviewed, 28 (26%) claimed to have taken herbal medicines during the week prior to the clinic visit. The users of herbal medicines had lower INR values than non-users (mean INR value 2.41 +/- 0.65 vs 2.75 +/- 0.65, p = 0.019), possibly because of a lower warfarin dosage (mean dosage 2.93 mg/day +/- 1.23 vs 3.34 mg/day +/- 1.45; p = 0.185) and because a smaller proportion of such patients had heart valve replacement (21% vs 39%, p = 0.141). 'Herbal soup' (soup made at home from vegetables, meat and certain herbs for consumption with the main meals) and 'cool tea' (herbal decoction for the treatment of 'endogenous heat') were the most popular and were taken by 12 (11%) and 11 (10%) patients, respectively. Four patients took proprietary medicines each containing between one and three different herbs that could potentially enhance or antagonise the effects of warfarin. None of the patients in this study showed any evidence of thromboembolism or bleeding on the day of clinic visit. CONCLUSION: Among Chinese patients treated with warfarin at a Hong Kong clinic, the use of herbal medicines was relatively common. Healthcare professionals play an important role in educating the patients and updating the list of herbal medicines that should be avoided by patients taking warfarin.     

小剂量阿维A联合中药方剂治疗成人扁平疣的疗效观察

目的：探讨小剂量阿维A联合中药方剂治疗成人扁平疣的疗效。方法：将临床诊断为扁平疣的136例患者分为治疗组和对照组,治疗组采用小剂量阿维A联合中药方剂内服,对照组单用中药方剂内服,4周为1个观察疗程。结果：疗程结束时两组的总有效率分别为88.89%和54.68%,差异有统计学意义（P〈0.01）。结论：小剂量阿维A联合中药方剂内服是治疗扁平疣更有效的方法之一。     

Screening of herbal medicines for recovery of acetaminophen-induced nephrotoxicity

This study was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the recovery effects of herbal medicines on acetaminophen-induced nephrotoxicity. In the present study, the recovery effects of 251 herb medicines on HEK 293 cells that had been damaged by acetaminophen were evaluated using an MTS assay. HEK 293 cells were cultured in 96-well plates and then pretreated with or without 20μM acetaminophen (IC(50) value: 17.5±1.9) for 1h. Next, different herbal medicines were added to the wells, after which the cells were reincubated at 37°C for 24h. After the first round of screening, the candidate herbal medicines were selected based on a recovery rate of greater than 20% and their efficacy were then determined by dose response kinetic analysis. Among these extracts, 8 herbal medicines (Ledebouriella divaricata, Sparganium simplex, Panax ginseng, Aster tataricus, Citrus aurantium, Sanguisorba officianlis, Arisaema consanguineum, and Polygonum aviculare) had a strong recovery effect on acetaminophen-induced damage in HEK 293 cells. Dose response non-linear regression analysis demonstrated that P. aviculare showed the best recovery rate (98%), and that its EC(50) (0.1ng/mL) was the smallest among the screened candidate herbal medicines. Additional studies of these herbal medicines should be conducted to determine if they possess novel therapeutic agents for the prevention or treatment of renal disorders.     

Bioactive Equivalence of Combinatorial Components Identified in Screening of an Herbal Medicine

Purpose

To identify bioactive equivalent combinatorial components (BECCs) in herbal medicines. The exact composition of effective components in herbal medicines is often elusive due to the lack of adequate screening methodology. Herein, we propose a hypothesis that BECCs accounting for the whole efficacy of original herbal medicines could be discovered from a complex mixture of constituents.

Methods

We developed a bioactive equivalence oriented feedback screening method and applied it to discover the BECCs from an herbal preparation Cardiotonic Pill (CP). The operations include chemical profiling of CP, followed by an iterative loop of determining, collecting and evaluating candidate BECCs.

Results

A combination of 18 compounds was identified as BECCs from CP, which accounts for 15.0% (w/w) of original CP. We have demonstrated that the BECCs were as effective as CP in cell models and in a rat model of myocardial infarction.

Conclusions

This work answers the key question of which are real bioactive components for CP that have been used in clinic for many years, and provides a promising approach for discovering BECCs from herbal medicines. More importantly, the BECCs could be extended to improve quality control of herbal products and inspire an herbal medicines based discovery of combinatorial therapeutics.     

论草药药品的基本特征及其注册类型

目的与世界草药发展相适应,认识中药的基本特征和上市注册的类型。方法比较世界卫生组织关于草药药品的含义特点,以及欧盟、美国和日本关于草药、植物药和汉方药的注册模式,发现中国官方目前关于中药的定义和注册分类与世界主流的规定存在一定差异。结果与结论中药属于世界卫生组织定义的草药药品;中药与化学药品注册应一体化;根据草药药品的基本特征建立指导原则;进一步考虑经典的传统中药的简化注册。