Effect on platelet aggregation activity: extracts from 31 Traditional Chinese Medicines with the property of activating blood and resolving stasis

Tetrahydropalmatine promotes random skin flap survival in rats via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Flap necrosis is the most common complication after flap transplantation, but its prevention remains challenging. Tetrahydropalmatine (THP) is the main bioactive component of the traditional Chinese medicine Corydalis yanhusuo, with effects that include the activation of blood circulation, the promotion of qi, and pain relief. Although THP is widely used to treat various pain conditions, its impact on flap survival is unknown.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To explore the effect and mechanism of THP on skin flap survival.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, we established a modified McFarlane flap model, and the flap survival rate was calculated after 7 days of THP treatment. Angiogenesis and blood perfusion were evaluated using lead oxide/gelatin angiography and laser Doppler, respectively. Flap tissue obtained from zone II was evaluated histopathologically, by hematoxylin and eosin staining, and in assays for malondialdehyde content and superoxide dismutase activity. Immunofluorescence was performed to detect interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3, caspase-9, SQSTM1/P62, Beclin-1, and LC3 expression, and Western blot to assess PI3K/AKT signaling pathway activation and Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. The role played by the autophagy pathway in flap necrosis was examined using rapamycin, a specific inhibitor of mTOR.

RESULTS

Experimentally, THP improved the survival rate of skin flaps, promoted angiogenesis, and improved blood perfusion. THP administration reduced the inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in addition to inhibiting autophagy via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Rapamycin partially reversed these effects.

CONCLUSION

THP promotes skin flap survival via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Integrating Full-Length and Second-Generation Transcriptomics to Reveal Differentially Expressed Genes Associated with the Development of Corydalis yanhusuo Tuber

Corydalis yanhusuo is a medicinal herb in China that has been widely used to treat various kinds of pain. The tuber is the main organ of C. yanhusuo used for medicinal purposes, but changes in related genes during the development of the tuber have rarely been reported. To identify the differentially expressed genes during tuber development, C. yanhusuo full-length transcriptomic sequencing was performed using single-molecule real-time technology, and tubers at three development stages were selected for comparative transcriptome analysis. A total of 90,496 full-length non-chimeric transcripts were obtained, and 19,341 transcripts were annotated in at least one public database. A total of 9221 differentially expressed genes were identified during the swelling process of C. yanhusuo tuber. A Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes associated with a "starch and sucrose metabolism pathway", "phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway", "isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis pathway", "zeatin biosynthesis pathway", and "brassinosteroid biosynthesis pathway" were predominantly enriched. In addition, the genes involved in cell wall metabolism were potentially associated with tuber swelling. These processes regulated and were involved in C. yanhusuo tuber development. The results provide a foundation for further research on tuber formation in medicinal plants.

The composition, pharmacological effects, related mechanisms and drug delivery of alkaloids from Corydalis yanhusuo

Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang, also known as yanhusuo, yuanhu, yanhu and xuanhu, is one of the herb components of many Chinese Traditional Medicine prescriptions such as Jin Ling Zi San and Yuanhu-Zhitong priscription. C. yanhusuo was traditionally used to relieve pain and motivate blood and Qi circulation. Now there has been growing interest in pharmacological effects of alkaloids, the main bioactive components of C. yanhusuo. Eighty-four alkaloids isolated from C. yanhusuo are its important bioactive components and can be characterized into protoberberine alkaloids, aporphine alkaloids, opiate alkaloids and others and proper extraction or co-administration methods modulate their contents and efficacy. Alkaloids from C. yanhusuo have various pharmacological effects on the nervous system, cardiovascular system, cancer and others through multiple molecular mechanisms such as modulating neurotransmitters, ion channels, gut microbiota, HPA axis and signaling pathways and are potential treatments for many diseases. Plenty of novel drug delivery methods such as autologous red blood cells, self-microemulsifying drug delivery systems, nanoparticles and others have also been investigated to better exert the effects of alkaloids from C. yanhusuo. This review summarized the alkaloid components of C. yanhusuo, their pharmacological effects and mechanisms, and methods of drug delivery to lay a foundation for future investigations.

Improving Chuanxiong Rhizoma quality standards using an effect-constituent index based bioassay

Chuanxiong Rhizoma is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that is used to promote blood circulation. We set out to improve Chuanxiong Rhizoma quality standards using a bioassay-based Effect-constituent Index (ECI). We performed high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis to determine the chemical constituents of 10 Chuanxiong Rhizoma samples from different locations. We then constructed a direct bioassay method to investigate each sample's antiplatelet aggregation effects. To screen for active ingredients that promote antiplatelet aggregation, we carried out Pearson correlation analyses between biopotency and compounds identified in the HPLC data. We developed an ECI of platelet aggregation inhibition using a multi-indicator synthetic evaluation method based on the integration of biopotency and active constituents. To further assess the biopotency-based Chuanxiong Rhizoma quality evaluation result accuracy, we compared the ECI with the chemical indicator' method. Eight common chemical fingerprints peaks indicated notable content variation among samples. Biological evaluation showed that all 10 samples could inhibit platelet aggregation, although they had significantly different biological potencies. Using spectrum-effect relationships, we determined that Ligustilide was the significant active constituent responsible for antiplatelet aggregation. Using correlation analysis, we found that ECI correlated with the Chuanxiong Rhizoma extract's platelet aggregation inhibitory effect. Additionally, ECI proved to be a good indicator of Chuanxiong Rhizoma quality, whereas chemical indicators failed to distinguish and predict the biopotency-based quality grade. This work indicates that ECI is a useful tool for associating sample quality with chemical markers linked to TCM clinical effects. ECI also provides a paradigm for improving the quality control of other TCMs that invigorate blood circulation.

The effectiveness of blood-activating and stasis-transforming traditional Chinese medicines (BAST) in lung cancer progression-a comprehensive review

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Blood-activating and stasis-transforming traditional Chinese medicines (BAST) are a class of herbs that have the effect of dilating blood vessels and dispersing stagnation. Modern pharmaceutical research has demonstrated that they are capable of improving hemodynamics and micro-flow, resist thrombosis and promote blood flow. BAST contain numerous active ingredients, which can theoretically regulate multiple targets at the same time and have a wide range of pharmacological effects in the treatment of diseases including human cancers. Clinically, BAST have minimal side effects and can be used in combination with Western medicine to improve patients' quality of life, lessen adverse effects and minimize the risk of recurrence and metastasis of cancers.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

We aimed to summarize the research progression of BAST on lung cancer in the past five years and present a prospect for the future. Particularly, this review further analyzes the effects and molecular mechanisms that BAST inhibit the invasion and metastasis of lung cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Relevant studies about BSAT were collected from PubMed and Web of science.

RESULTS

Lung cancer is one of the malignant tumors with the highest mortality rate. Most patients with lung cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage and are highly susceptible to metastasis. Recent studies have shown that BAST, a class of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with the function of opening veins and dispersing blood stasis, significantly improve hemodynamics and microcirculation, prevent thrombosis and promote blood flow, and thereby inhibiting the invasion and metastasis of lung cancer. In the current review, we analyzed 51 active ingredients extracted from BAST. It was found that BAST and their active ingredients contribute to the prevention of invasion and metastasis of lung cancer through multiple mechanisms, such as regulation of EMT process, specific signaling pathway and metastasis-related genes, tumor blood vessel formation, immune microenvironment and inflammatory response of tumors.

CONCLUSIONS

BSAT and its active ingredients have showed promising anticancer activity and significantly inhibit the invasion and metastasis of lung cancer. A growing number of studies have realized their potential clinical significance in the therapy of lung cancer, which will provide substantial evidences for the development of new TCM for lung cancer therapy.

Integration of Chinese Herbal Medicine into Routine Care Was Related to Lower Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Population-Based Nested Case-Control Study in Taiwan

Objective

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are frequently used as the first-line agents for the symptomatic relief of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but it may insidiously provoke the onset of renal diseases, especially chronic kidney disease (CKD). While Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has become an increasingly popular adjunctive therapy among RA groups, there are currently no available data on the effect of CHM use towards risk of CKD. This study aimed to explore on a population-level whether CHM use decreases sequent CKD risk among them.

Methods

In this nested case-control study retrieved from the nationwide insurance database of Taiwan from 2000 to 2012, we looked at the association between CHM use and the likelihood of developing CKD, with a focus on usage intensity. Cases with CKD claims were defined and matched to one randomly selected control case. Conditional logistic regression was then applied to estimate odds ratio (OR) of CKD from CHM treatment measured before the index date. For each OR, we calculated a 95% confidence interval for CHM use relative to the matched control.

Results

This nested case-control study included 5464 patients with RA, where after matching comprised 2712 cases and 2712 controls. Among them, there were 706 and 1199 cases that ever received CHM treatment, respectively. After the adjustment, CHM use in RA individuals was related to a lower likelihood of CKD, with an adjusted OR of 0.49 (95% CI: 0.44-0.56). Additionally, a dose-dependent, reverse association was found between the cumulative duration of CHM use and risk of CKD.

Conclusion

Integrating CHM into conventional therapy may reduce the likelihood of developing CKD, which could be a reference in instituting novel preventive strategies to improve treatment outcomes and reduce related fatalities for RA subjects.

Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine conventional surgery combined with traditional Chinese medicinal retention enema for tubal obstructive infertility: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Chinese medicinal retention enemas have gradually attracted the attention of clinicians as an alternative approach for tubal obstructive infertility. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of conventional surgery combined with traditional Chinese medicinal retention enemas for the treatment of tubal obstructive infertility.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Eight electronic databases were searched from their inception to November 30, 2022. To assess the efficacy and safety of different treatments, following outcomes were measured: clinical pregnancy rate, clinical total effective rate, incidence of ectopic pregnancy, the improvement of Traditional Chinese Medicinal (TCM) symptoms, the improvement of the signs of obstructive tubal infertility and side effects.

RESULTS

A total of 23 Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) with 1909 patients met the inclusion criteria. The pooled results showed a higher pregnancy rate in the experimental group than in the control group (RR 1.75, 95% CI [1.58, 1.94], Z = 10.55, P<0.00001). The clinical total effective rate in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group (RR 1.28, 95% CI [1.23, 1.34], Z = 11.07, P<0.00001). The incidence of ectopic pregnancy in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group (RR 0.40, 95% CI [0.20, 0.77], Z = -2.73, P = 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Based on current evidence, we concluded that conventional surgery combined with traditional Chinese medicinal retention enema for tubal obstructive infertility was superior to conventional surgery alone in improving the clinical pregnancy rate, improving clinical total effective rate, improving TCM symptoms, improving the signs of obstructive tubal infertility and lowering the incidence of ectopic pregnancy. However, further clinical trials with high-quality methodologies need to be conducted.

Danshensu prevents thrombosis by inhibiting platelet activation via SIRT1/ROS/mtDNA pathways without increasing bleeding risk

BACKGROUND

Coronary thrombosis and its correlated disorders are main healthcare problems globally. The therapeutic effects of current treatments involving antiplatelet drugs are not fully satisfactory. Danshensu (DSS) is an important monomer obtained from Salvia miltiorrhiza roots that have been widely employed for vascular diseases in medicinal practices. Nonetheless, the underlying mechanisms of DSS are not fully unraveled.

PURPOSE

The objective of this study was to penetrate the antithrombotic and antiplatelet mechanisms of DSS.

METHODS

Network pharmacology assay was used to forecast the cellular mechanisms of DSS for treating thrombosis. The work focused the impacts of DSS on platelet activation by analyzing aggregation and adhesion in vitro. Flow cytometry, western blotting, CM-H2DCFDA staining and mitochondrial function assays were performed to reveal the molecular mechanisms. The model of common carotid artery thrombus induced by ferric chloride was established. The wet weight of thrombus was measured, and the thrombosis was observed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, in order to support the inhibitory effect of DSS on thrombosis.

RESULTS

Data mining found the antithrombotic effect of DSS is related to platelet activation and the core target is silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1). We confirmed that DSS dose-dependently inhibited platelet activation in vitro. DSS was further demonstrated to induce the expression of SIRT1 and decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) burden and thereby prevented mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondrial function tests further indicated that DSS prevented mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) release, which induced activation of platelet in a dendritic cell specific intercellular-adhesion-molecule-3 grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN)-dependent manner. In carotid artery injury model induced by ferric chloride, DSS inhibited the development of carotid arterial thrombosis. More encouragingly, in tail bleeding time assay, DSS did not augment bleeding risk.

CONCLUSION

These findings indicated that DSS effectively inhibited platelet activation by depressing the collection of ROS and the release of platelet mtDNA without arousing hemorrhage risk. DSS might represent a promising candidate drug for thrombosis and cardiovascular disease therapeutics.

Research Advances in Cardio-Cerebrovascular Diseases of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort

Cardio-cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs) are a serious threat to human health and account for 31% of global mortality. Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. (CX) is derived from umbellifer plants. Its rhizome, leaves, and fibrous roots are similar in composition but have different contents. It has been used in Japanese, Korean, and other traditional medicine for over 2000 years. Currently, it is mostly cultivated and has high safety and low side effects. Due to the lack of a systematic summary of the efficacy of CX in the treatment of CVDs, this article describes the material basis, molecular mechanism, and clinical efficacy of CX, as well as its combined application in the treatment of CVDs, and has been summarized from the perspective of safety. In particular, the pharmacological effect of CX in the treatment of CVDs is highlighted from the point of view of its mechanism, and the complex mechanism network has been determined to improve the understanding of CX's multi-link and multi-target therapeutic effects, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and endothelial cells. This article offers a new and modern perspective on the impact of CX on CVDs.

Mechanism of Improving Aspirin Resistance: Blood-Activating Herbs Combined With Aspirin in Treating Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases

Atherosclerotic thrombotic disease continues to maintain a high morbidity and mortality rate worldwide at present. Aspirin, which is reckoned as the cornerstone of primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVDs), has been applied in clinics extensively. However, cardiovascular events continue to occur even though people utilize aspirin appropriately. Therefore, the concept of aspirin resistance (AR) was put forward by scholars, which is of great significance for the prediction of the clinical outcome of diseases. The pathogenesis of AR may be incorporated with low patient compliance, insufficient dose, genetic polymorphism, increased platelet transformation, inflammation, and the degenerative changes and calcification of platelets. The improvement of AR in the treatment of ASCVDs has gradually become a research hot spot in recent years. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) regards individuals as a whole and treats them from a holistic view, which has been found to have advantages in clinical studies on the treatment of AR. Many kinds of blood-activating TCM have the effect of improving AR. The potential mechanism for the improvement of AR by blood-activating herbs combined with aspirin was explored. The combination of blood-activating herbs and aspirin to improve AR is likely to turn into a hot topic of research in the future.

Screening of Potential Thrombin and Factor Xa Inhibitors from the Danshen-Chuanxiong Herbal Pair through a Spectrum-Effect Relationship Analysis

In this study; a spectrum–effect relationship analysis combined with a high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analysis was established to screen and identify active components that can inhibit thrombin and factor Xa (THR and FXa) in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma–Chuanxiong Rhizoma (Danshen–Chuanxiong) herbal pair. Ten potential active compounds were predicted through a canonical correlation analysis (CCA), and eight of them were tentatively identified through an LC–MS analysis. Furthermore; the enzyme inhibitory activity of six available compounds; chlorogenic acid; Z-ligustilide; caffeic acid; ferulic acid; tanshinone I and tanshinone IIA; were tested to verify the feasibility of the method. Among them; chlorogenic acid was validated to possess a good THR inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ of 185.08 µM. Tanshinone I and tanshinone IIA are potential FXa inhibitors with IC₅₀ of 112.59 µM and 138.19 µM; respectively. Meanwhile; molecular docking results show that tanshinone I and tanshinone IIA; which both have binding energies of less than −7.0 kcal·mol⁻¹; can interact with FXa by forming H-bonds with residues of SER214; GLY219 and GLN192. In short; the THR and FXa inhibitors in the Danshen–Chuanxiong herbal pair have been successfully characterized through a spectrum–effect relationship analysis and an LC–MS analysis.

Bioactive constituents and the molecular mechanism of Curcumae Rhizoma in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

BACKGROUND

Curcumae Rhizoma (CR) has a clinical efficacy in activating blood circulation to dissipate blood stasis and has been used for the clinical treatment of qi stagnation and blood stasis (QSBS) primary dysmenorrhea for many years. However, its molecular mechanism is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to demonstrate the multicomponent, multitarget and multipathway regulatory molecular mechanisms of CR in the treatment of QSBS primary dysmenorrhea.

METHODS

Observations of pathological changes in uterine tissues and biochemical assays were used to confirm that a rat model was successfully established and that CR was effective in the treatment of QSBS primary dysmenorrhea. The main active components of CR in rat plasma were identified and screened by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS). The component-target-disease network and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of CR were constructed by a network pharmacology approach. Then, we performed Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. Molecular docking was adopted to verify the interactions between the core components and targets of CR to confirm the accuracy of the network pharmacology prediction results. Furthermore, we evaluated the bioactive constituents of CR and molecular mechanism of by which CR promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis via platelet tests in vivo and in vitro and Western blot analysis.

RESULTS

The results of HE staining and biochemical assays of PGF2α, TXB2 and Ca2+ showed that CR was effective in the treatment of QSBS primary dysmenorrhea. A total of 36 active components were identified in CR, and 329 common targets were obtained and used to construct the networks. Of these, 14 core components and 10 core targets of CR in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea were identified. The GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that the common targets were involved in multiple signaling pathways, including the calcium, cAMP, MAPK, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways, as well as platelet activation, which is closely related to platelet aggregation. The molecular docking results showed that the 14 core components and 10 core targets could bind spontaneously. Two core targets (MAPK1 and CCR5) and 7 core components (Isoprocurcumenol, Curcumadione, Epiprocurcumenol, (+)-Curdione, Neocurdione, Procurcumenol, and 13-Hydroxygermacrone) were closely related to CR in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea. Furthermore, the in vivo platelet test showed that CR clearly inhibited platelet aggregation. Five core components ((+)-Curdione, Neocurdione, Isoprocurcumenol, Curcumadione and Procurcumenol) obviously inhibited platelet aggregation in vitro. In addition, based on the relationships among the signaling pathways, we confirmed that CR can effectively inhibit the expression of MAPK and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway-related proteins and decrease the protein expression levels of ERK, JNK, MAPK, PI3K, AKT and CCR5, thereby inhibiting platelet aggregation.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated the bioactive constituents and mechanisms of CR in promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis and its multicomponent, multitarget and multipathway treatment characteristics in primary dysmenorrhea. The results provide theoretical evidence for the development and utilization of CR.

Characterization of thrombin/factor Xa inhibitors in Rhizoma Chuanxiong through UPLC-MS-based multivariate statistical analysis

BACKGROUND

The dry root and rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort., or Chuanxiong, has been used as a blood-activating and stasis-removing traditional Chinese medicine for 1000 years. Our previous studies have shown the inhibitory activity on platelet and thrombin (THR) of Chuanxiong. THR and factor Xa (FXa) play significant roles in the coagulation cascade and their inhibitors are of valuable in the treatment of thromboembolic diseases. The aim of the present study is to screen THR and FXa inhibitors from Chuanxiong.

METHODS

Four extracts [ethyl acetate (EA), butanol (BA) and remained extract (RE) from 75% ethanol extract, and water extract (WE)] of Chuanxiong were prepared, and their THR/FXa inhibitory activities were assessed in vitro. Following silica-gel column chromatography (SC), the active EA extract and BA extract was further partitioned, respectively. Their active fractions (EA-SC1 to EA-SC5; BA-SC1 to BA-SC5) were obtained and analyzed by LC-MS. After modeling by the principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA), the specific marker compounds were predicted and identified. Their enzyme inhibitory was assessed in vitro and interactions with THR/FXa were investigated by molecular docking analysis.

RESULTS

Chuanxiong EA extract showed strong activity against THR and BA extract was more effective in inhibiting FXa activity, and their fractions exhibited obvious difference in enzyme inhibitory activity. Furthermore, marker compounds a-h were predicted by PCA and OPLS-DA, and their chemical structures were identified. Among them, senkyunolide A, Z-ligustilide, ferulic acid and senkyunolide I (IC50 was determined as 0.77 mM) with potential THR inhibitory activity, as well as isochlorogenic acid A with FXa inhibitory activity were screened out. It was found that the four components could interact with the active site of THR, and the binding energy was lower than - 5 kcal/mol. Isochlorogenic acid A were bound to the active site of FXa, and the binding energy was - 9.39 kcal/mol. The IC50 was determined as 0.56 mM.

CONCLUSIONS

THR/FXa inhibitory components in different extracts of Chuanxiong were successfully characterized by the method of enzyme inhibition activity assays with ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry-based multivariate statistical analysis.

Interactions of antithrombotic herbal medicines with Western cardiovascular drugs

Thrombotic events act as a critical factor that interferes with Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs), and antithrombotic herbal medicine is a long-standing controversial issue. Although a dispute is involved in their clinical application, all parties unanimously agree that herbal products have been widely used in folk medicine, and their interactions with conventional drugs are of high concern. This study aims to investigate how antithrombotic herbal medicines interact with Western cardiovascular drugs on the molecular level by taking an example of the most frequently used herbal pair, Danshen-Chuanxiong (DS-CX), and to discover more scientific evidence on their potential herb-drug interactions. Network pharmacology (NP), as an analytical approach of a complex system, is used to visualize and compare target profiles of DS-CX and Western cardiovascular drugs, which can be applied to predict common herb-drug targets and to construct a solid context for discussing herb-drug interactions. These interactions are further validated by in vitro assays, while in vivo zebrafish model employed for evaluating an overall pharmacological efficacy of herbal pairs in specific combination ratios. The study finds that DS could react directly to the Western cardiovascular drug targets relevant to antithrombotic pathways (i.e., thrombin, coagulation factor Xa and cyclooxygenase-1), whereas CX could not react directly and can synergistically affect antithrombotic effects with DS in specific combination ratios. Moreover, it is indicated that DS-CX may generate wide biological functions by a complicated mechanism of "neuro-immune-metabolism/endocrine" (NIM), which can further cause multiple direct and indirect interactions with Western cardiovascular drugs. From the clinical perspective, herb-drug interactions should be given high attention, especially when multiple herbs are used simultaneously.

Haemostatic Nanoparticles-Derived Bioactivity of from Selaginella tamariscina Carbonisata

High-temperature carbonisation is used to prepare many traditional Chinese medicine charcoal drugs, but the bioactive haemostatic substances of these medicines and their mechanisms are still unknown. This study developed and evaluated nanoparticles (NPs) derived from Selaginella pulvinate Carbonisata (STC) for the first time. The haemostatic effect of STC-NPs prepared at 300, 350, and 400 °C were investigated in mouse tail amputation and liver scratch experiments. STC-NPs obtained at 400 °C had the strongest haemostatic effect, and were accordingly characterised by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. STC-NPs averaged 1.4-2.8 nm and exhibited a quantum yield of 6.06% at a maximum excitation wavelength of 332 nm and emission at 432 nm. STC-NPs displayed low toxicity against mouse monocyte macrophage RAW 264.7 cells by CCK-8 assay, and STC-NP treatment significantly shortened bleeding time in rat and mouse models. Coagulation assays showed that the haemostatic effects of STC-NPs were related to improving the fibrinogen and platelet contents, as well as decreasing the prothrombin time that resulted from stimulating extrinsic blood coagulation and activating the fibrinogen system. The STC-NPs had remarkable haemostatic effects in the tail amputation and liver scratch models; these effects may be associated with the exogenous coagulation pathway and activation of the brinogen system, according to the evaluation of the mouse coagulation parameters. This novel evaluation supports the material basis of STC use in traditional Chinese medicine, and this article is worthy of study by authors of clinical pharmacy.

Fecal medicines used in traditional medical system of China: a systematic review of their names, original species, traditional uses, and modern investigations

In China, the medical use of fecal matter (fresh fecal suspension or dry feces) can be dated back to the fourth century, approximately 1700 years ago. In long-term clinical practice, Chinese doctors have accumulated unique and invaluable medical experience in the use of fecal materials. In view of their good curative effect and medicinal potential, fecal medicines should be paid much attention. This study aimed to provide the first comprehensive data compilation of fecal medicines used in various Chinese traditional medical systems by bibliographic investigation of 31 medicine monographs and standards. A total of 54 fecal medicines were found to be used in 14 traditional Chinese medical systems. Their names, original species, medicinal forms, and traditional uses were described in detail. These fecal medicines were commonly used to treat gastrointestinal, nervous system, skin, and gynecological diseases. Commonly used fecal medicines include Wu-Ling-Zhi, Jiu-Fen and Hei-Bing-Pian. The information summarized in this study can provide a good reference for the development and utilization of fecal medicines. Further studies are necessary to prove their medicinal value, identify their active ingredients, and elucidate their mechanisms of action so that more people can accept these special medicines.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Direct Data Merging Strategy in Long-Term and Large-Scale Pharmacometabonomics

Because of the extended period of clinic data collection and huge size of analyzed samples, the long-term and large-scale pharmacometabonomics profiling is frequently encountered in the discovery of drug/target and the guidance of personalized medicine. So far, integration of the results (ReIn) from multiple experiments in a large-scale metabolomic profiling has become a widely used strategy for enhancing the reliability and robustness of analytical results, and the strategy of direct data merging (DiMe) among experiments is also proposed to increase statistical power, reduce experimental bias, enhance reproducibility and improve overall biological understanding. However, compared with the ReIn, the DiMe has not yet been widely adopted in current metabolomics studies, due to the difficulty in removing unwanted variations and the inexistence of prior knowledges on the performance of the available merging methods. It is therefore urgently needed to clarify whether DiMe can enhance the performance of metabolic profiling or not. Herein, the performance of DiMe on 4 pairs of benchmark datasets was comprehensively assessed by multiple criteria (classification capacity, robustness and false discovery rate). As a result, integration/merging-based strategies (ReIn and DiMe) were found to perform better under all criteria than those strategies based on single experiment. Moreover, DiMe was discovered to outperform ReIn in classification capacity and robustness, while the ReIn showed superior capacity in controlling false discovery rate. In conclusion, these findings provided valuable guidance to the selection of suitable analytical strategy for current metabolomics.

Potential target-related proteins in rabbit platelets treated with active monomers dehydrocorydaline and canadine from Rhizoma corydalis

BACKGROUND

Dehydrocorydaline (DHC) and canadine (THB) are two active alkaloid compounds in Corydalis yanhusuo (Y.H. Chou & Chun C. Hsu) W.T. Wang ex Z.Y. Su & C.Y. Wu (Papaveraceae) (Rhizoma Corydalis). DHC and THC were previously shown to exert anti-platelet aggregation effect dose-dependently, but their exact mechanisms had not yet been addressed. Therefore, it is essential to study the mechanisms of DHC and THB affecting on platelet's function.

PURPOSE

To investigate the anti-platelet effects and corresponding signal cascades of DHC and THB on platelet aggregation.

METHODS

Firstly, in vitro anti-platelet aggregation of DHC and THB induced by different agonists including thrombin (THR), adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and arachidonic acid (AA) were determined through turbidimetry method. Then the possible target-related platelet proteins after treated with DHC/THB were separated and identified by two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and MALDI-TOF-MS/MS analysis, respectively. Finally, the signal cascades network induced by DHC/THB were predicted through functional analysis of these proteins along with the determination of platelet DAG concentration.

RESULTS

The platelet aggregation stimulated by THR, ADP and AA were inhibited by DHC and THB dose-dependently to a certain degree. Meanwhile, DHC and THB had the strongest effect on ADP- and THR-induced platelet aggregation respectively. In addition, treatment of these two compounds caused regulations of about sixty proteins in platelet, including cytoskeleton proteins, cell signaling proteins, proteins related to material energy metabolism, etc. CONCLUSIONS: Using proteomic analysis combined with platelet aggregation test and ELISA, this study was successful in exploring the possible mechanisms of DHC/THB on platelet aggregation. DHC might inhibit platelet aggregation by a mechanism involving the ADP receptors P2Y1 and P2Y12, and the effect of THB on platelet function may be related to its binding to THR receptor PAR1 for mediated Gi signaling pathway. These results provide fundamental information for the anti-thrombotic effect of RC.

Comparing coagulation activity of Selaginella tamariscina before and after stir-frying process and determining the possible active constituents based on compositional variation

CONTEXT

Selaginella tamariscina (P. Beauv.) Spring (Selaginellaceae) (ST) has been widely used in China as a medicine for improving blood circulation. However, its processed product, S. tamariscina carbonisatus (STC), possesses opposite haemostatic activity.

OBJECTIVE

To comprehensively evaluate the activity of ST and STC on physiological coagulation system of rats, and seek potential active substances accounting for the activity transformation of ST during processing.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The 75% methanol extracts of the whole grass (fine powder) of ST and STC were prepared, respectively. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: control group, model group, model + ST group, model + STC group and positive control group (model + Yunnanbaiyao). The duration of intragastric administration was 72 h at 12 h intervals. Haemorheology parameters were measured using an LB-2 A cone-plate viscometer and the existed classic methods, respectively. SC40 semi-automatic coagulation analyzer was employed to determine coagulation indices. Meanwhile, HPLC and LC-MS were applied for chemical analyses of ST and STC extracts.

RESULTS

STC shortened tail-bleeding time, increased whole blood viscosity (WBV) and plasma viscosity (PV), decreased erythrocyte sedimentation rate blood (ESR), reduced activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and increased the fibrinogen (FIB) content in the plasma of bleeding model rats. Although ST could shorten APTT and TT, the FIB content was significantly decreased by ST. Dihydrocaffeic acid with increased content in STC vs. ST showed haemostatic activity for promoting the platelet aggregation induced by collagen and trap-6, and reducing APTT and PT significantly with a concentration of 171.7 μM in vitro. Amentoflavone with reduced content in STC vs. ST inhibited ADP and AA-induced platelet aggregation significantly with a concentration of 40.7 μM.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

As the processed product of ST, STC showed strong haemostatic activity on bleeding rat through regulating the parameters involved in haemorheology and plasma coagulation system. Two active compounds, dihydrocaffeic acid and amentoflavone, might be partially responsible for the haemostatic and anticoagulant activity of STC and ST, respectively.

An ultrafiltration and high performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector and mass spectrometry approach for screening and characterizing thrombin inhibitors from Rhizoma Chuanxiong

Thrombin (THR) plays a significant role in thromboembolic diseases, direct THR inhibitors are a class of important clinical anticoagulant drugs. This study established a THR in-solution based biospecific extraction combined with ultrafiltration and high performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector and mass spectrometry analysis (TUA) method to screen and identify ligands for THR in Rhizoma Chuanxiong. After evaluating the reliability of the present TUA method using positive (argatroban) and negative (adenosine, tirofiban, ticagrelor) control drugs, this method was successfully applied to detect eight potential active compounds in Rhizoma Chuanxiong. Two new THR-targeted compounds isochlorogenic acid C and senkyunolide I with high THR inhibitory activity (IC50 206.48 and 197.23μM, respectively) were identified by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and enzyme inhibitory activity test finally. They were reported with direct THR inhibition activity for the first time and their ligand-THR interactions were explored by in silico molecular docking research. In addition, based on the TUA screening result, four compounds gained similar structure with the two hit compounds were also investigated as promising candidates targeting THR with high binding energy (>5.0kcal/mol). These results may prove that the proposed method could effectively screen THR inhibitors in complex mixtures.