Role of Salvia miltiorrhiza for Modulation of Th2-derived Cytokines in the Resolution of Inflammation

Immunomodulatory Effects of Plant Extracts from Salvia deserta Schang. and Salvia sclarea L

Medicines, their safety, effectiveness and quality are indispensable factors of national security, important on a global scale. The COVID-19 pandemic has once again emphasized the importance of improving the immune response of the body in the face of severe viral infections. Plants from the Salvia L. genus have long been used in traditional medicine for treatment of inflammatory processes, parasitic diseases, bacterial and viral infections. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of plant extracts LS-1, LS-2 from Salvia deserta Schang. and LS-3, LS-4 from Salvia sclarea L. plants growing in southern Kazakhstan by conventional and ultrasonic-assisted extraction, respectively. The cytotoxic effects of the named sage extracts on neonatal human dermal fibroblasts (HDFn) were evaluated using the MTT assay. Immunomodulatory effects of the studied extracts were compared by examining their influence on pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion and phagocytic activity of murine immune cells. Depending on the physiological state of the innate immune cells, sage extracts LS-2 and LS-3 had either a stimulating effect on inactivated macrophages or suppressed cytokine-producing activity in LPS-activated macrophages. The greatest increase in TNF-α secretion was found after treatment of spleen T lymphocytes with sage extract LS-2, obtained by ultrasonic-assisted extraction.

Fermentation products of Danshen relieved dextran sulfate sodium-induced experimental ulcerative colitis in mice

With the increased incidence and recognition, ulcerative colitis (UC) has become a global public health problem in the world. Although many immunosuppressant and biological drugs have been used for UC treatment, the cure rate is still very low. It is necessary to find some safe and long-term used medicine for UC cure. Recently, the Chinese traditional herb Danshen has been investigated in the treatment of UC. However, it is a limitation of Danshen that many of the active components in Danshen are not easily absorbed by the human body. Probiotics could convert macromolecules into smaller molecules to facilitate absorption. Thus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus (F-B4-1) and Bacillus subtillis Natto (F-A7-1) were screened to ferment Danshen in this study. The fermented Danshen products were gavaged in the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC model mice. Danshen had better results to attenuate symptoms of DSS-induced UC after fermented with F-B4-1 and F-A7-1. Loss of body weight and disease activity index (DAI) were reduced. The abnormally short colon lengths and colonic damage were recovered. And fermented Danshen had the better inhibitory effect than Danshen itself on pro-inflammatory cytokine expression during DSS-induced UC. The results indicated that compared with Danshen, fermented Danshen relieved DSS-induced UC in mice more effectively. Danshen fermented by probiotics might be an effective treatment to UC in clinic stage in the future.

Phytotherapy in endometriosis: an up-to-date review

Endometriosis is a benign gynecological disease which symptoms can provide a severe impact on patient's quality of life with subsequent impact on psychological well-being. Different therapeutic strategies are available to treat this disease, such as surgery, hormonal therapies, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Nevertheless, the efficacy of conventional medical treatments is limited or intermittent in most of the patients due to the associated side effects. Therefore, a woman with endometriosis often search for additional and alternative options, and phytotherapy might be a promising alternative and complementary strategy. Different medicinal plants, multicomponent herbal preparations, and phytochemicals were investigated for pharmacological proprieties in endometriosis therapy. In most of the cases, the effect on endometriosis was related to phenolic compounds, such as flavonoids and phenolic acids reporting anti-inflammatory, proapoptotic, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory functions. Moreover, some phytochemicals have been related to a strong phytoestrogenic effect modulating the estrogen activity. Although promising, available evidence is based on in vitro and animal models of endometriosis with a limited number of well-performed clinical studies. There are almost none randomized control trials in this area. Therefore, properly constructed clinical trials are mandatory to achieve more conclusive results about the promising role of phytotherapy in the management of endometriosis.

Plant-derived medicines for treatment of endometriosis: A comprehensive review of molecular mechanisms

Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent disease with inflammatory lesions at extra-uterine sites, causing pelvic pain and fertility reduction. Conventional therapies primarily focus on reducing systemic levels of estrogens; however, they do not have desirable effectiveness and possess considerable side effects. Therefore, there is a growing interest in the use of herbal medicine for the treatment of endometriosis. In this paper, electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane library and Google Scholar were searched to obtain any studies evaluating any herbal products in the management of endometriosis. Data were collected from 1980 to 2018. Most of studies investigating the effect of herbal medicines in endometriosis were in vitro and animal and only three clinical trials were found; one on Pinus pinaster bark extract (Pycnogenol) and two on Chinese herbal formulas. The studies on phytochemicals had mostly focused on polyphenolic compounds (epigallocatechin-3-gallate, genistein) and sesquiterpenes (β-caryophyllene, parthenolide). Various molecular mechanisms of action have been involved in beneficial effects of herbal medicines and phytochemicals including anti-inflammatory (via reduction of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin -1, interleukin -6, interleukin -8, transforming growth factor-beta, tumor necrosis factor-α, nuclear factor-kappa B, growth factors, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1), antioxidant (through downregulation of hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde, reactive oxygen species and upregulation of superoxide dismutase), anti-proliferative and apoptotic (via enhancing Bcl-2-associated X protein/ B-cell lymphoma-2 and caspase3, 8 and 9 activity), anti-angiogenic (by downregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors/ vascular endothelial growth factor), anti-invasive (via decreasing expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and matrix metalloproteinases), immunomodulatory, and estrogen modulating activities. So, medicinal plants seem to be a valuable source for identifying new drugs for treatment of endometriosis; however, since most of studies are preclinical, further clinical trials are required to achieve more conclusive results.

Salvia miltiorrhiza: Traditional medicinal uses, chemistry, and pharmacology

Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (SM) is a very popular medicinal plant that has been extensively applied for many years to treat various diseases, especially coronary heart diseases and cerebrovascular diseases, either alone or in combination with other Chinese plant-based medicines. Although a large number of studies on SM have been performed, they are scattered across a variety of publications. The present review is an up-to-date summary of the published scientific information about the traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological effects, side effects, and drug interactions with SM, in order to lay the foundation for further investigations and better utilization of SM. SM contains diverse chemical components including diterpenoid quinones, hydrophilic phenolic acids, and essential oils. Many pharmacological studies have been done on SM during the last 30 years, focusing on the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular effects, and the antioxidative, neuroprotective, antifibrotic, anti-inflammatory, and antineoplastic activities. The research results strongly support the notion that SM has beneficial therapeutic properties and has a potential of being an effective adaptogenic remedy.

Multitargeted inhibition of hepatic fibrosis in chronic iron-overloaded mice by Salvia miltiorrhiza

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM, also known as Danshen) is a well-known Chinese medicinal herb, which has shown hepatoprotective effects with anti-fibrotic, anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties. To explore the effects and potential mechanism of SM against hepatic fibrosis induced by chronic iron overload in mice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sixty male mice were randomized into five groups (n=12 in each group): control (saline), iron overload, iron overload with low-dose SM (3g/kg/day), iron overload with high-dose SM (6g/kg/day) and iron overload with deferoxamine (100mg/kg/day) groups. The iron overload model was established by intraperitoneal injection with iron dextran at 50mg/kg body weight/day, and the entire course lasted for 7 weeks. The major constituents of SM injection were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography. Changes of hepatic iron, hydroxyproline (Hyp), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were assayed by standard procedures. Protein expression levels of type I collagen, type III collagen, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1α (IL-1α) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry, and mRNA levels of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), matrix metal proteinase-9 (MMP-9) and caspase-3 were detected by RT-PCR. Morphological changes were observed with Prussian blue, Masson's trichrome and hematoxylin-eosin staining.

RESULTS

Treatment of chronic iron-overloaded mice with SM dose-dependently ameliorated changes in hepatic morphology and coefficient, reduced iron deposition and Hyp content, suppressed overexpression of type I collagen and type III collagen, downregulated expression of TGF-β mRNA, and upregulated expression of MMP-9 mRNA in the liver. Moreover, SM treatment contributed to decreased MDA content, increased SOD activity and GSH content, while it reduced expression of TNF-α, IL-1α and caspase-3.

CONCLUSIONS

SM displayed anti-fibrotic activity in the liver induced by chronic iron overload, which may be attributed to multitargeted inhibition of iron deposition and collagen accumulation, as well as oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis.

The Salvia miltiorrhiza monomer IH764-3 induces apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells in vivo in a bile duct ligation-induced model of liver fibrosis

During the process of liver fibrosis, hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a critical role in the excessive production of extracellular matrix (ECM). Previous studies have indicated that the monomer IH764-3, one of the major bioactive components of Salvia miltiorrhiza, is able to inhibit HSC proliferation and induce the apoptosis of activated HSCs in vitro. In the current study, we used a rat model of liver fibrosis induced by bile duct ligation (BDL) to investigate the effect of the monomer IH764-3 on the induction of apoptosis in HSCs in vivo. The rat model of liver fibrosis was established by BDL. Immunohistochemical staining of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) was performed to detect HSC activation and proliferation and HSC apoptosis was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and α-SMA immunohistochemical double staining. In addition, the protein expression levels of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), p-FAK (Tyr397), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p-ERK and the mRNA expression levels of FAK and ERK were measured by western blotting and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respectively. The monomer IH764-3 was associated with a significant decrease in intrahepatic fibrogenesis and collagen deposition and attenuated the liver fibrosis induced by BDL. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that the expression of α-SMA in the IH764-3 group was significantly decreased compared with that in the model group (12.92±2.45 vs. 22.65±2.16%, P<0.01). TUNEL and α-SMA immunohistochemical double staining also confirmed that IH764-3 increased the apoptotic rate of the activated HSCs (34.8±4.5 vs. 4.72±0.37%, P<0.01). Moreover, the results revealed that IH764-3 downregulated the expression levels of FAK, p-FAK (Tyr397), ERK and p-ERK in the liver tissue of rats with liver fibrosis. The monomer IH764-3 ameliorates experimental liver fibrosis by inhibiting HSC proliferation and inducing HSC apoptosis, warranting its use as a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of liver fibrosis.

IL-37 (IL-1F7) the newest anti-inflammatory cytokine which suppresses immune responses and inflammation

Cytokines such as interleukins, chemokines and interferons are immunomodulating and inflammatory agents, characterized by considerable redundancy, in that many cytokines appear to share similar functions. Virtually all nucleated cells, but especially epithelial cells and macrophages, are potent producers of cytokines. The objective of this study is to review the detailed mechanism of action and the biological profiles of IL-37, the newest anti-inflammatory cytokine. This review focuses on IL-37, a key cytokine in regulating inflammatory responses, mainly by inhibiting the expression, production and function of proinflammatory cytokines: IL-1 family pro-inflammatory effects are markedly suppressed by IL-37.