Gain deeper insights into traditional Chinese medicines using multidimensional chromatography combined with chemometric approaches

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) possess a rich historical background, unique theoretical framework, remarkable therapeutic efficacy, and abundant resources. However, the modernization and internationalization of TCMs have faced significant obstacles due to their diverse ingredients and unknown mechanisms. To gain deeper insights into the phytochemicals and ensure the quality control of TCMs, there is an urgent need to enhance analytical techniques. Currently, two-dimensional (2D) chromatography, which incorporates two independent separation mechanisms, demonstrates superior separation capabilities compared to the traditional one-dimensional (1D) separation system when analyzing TCMs samples. Over the past decade, new techniques have been continuously developed to gain actionable insights from complex samples. This review presents the recent advancements in the application of multidimensional chromatography for the quality evaluation of TCMs, encompassing 2D-gas chromatography (GC), 2D-liquid chromatography (LC), as well as emerging three-dimensional (3D)-GC, 3D-LC, and their associated data-processing approaches. These studies highlight the promising potential of multidimensional chromatographic separation for future phytochemical analysis. Nevertheless, the increased separation capability has resulted in higher-order data sets and greater demands for data-processing tools. Considering that multidimensional chromatography is still a relatively nascent research field, further hardware enhancements and the implementation of chemometric methods are necessary to foster its robust development.

Screening of Inhibitors against Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Few-shot Machine Learning and Molecule Docking based Drug Repurposing

INTRODUCTION

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic progressive disorder and is diagnosed as post-COVID fibrosis. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis has no effective treatment because of the low therapeutic effects and side effects of currently available drugs.

AIM

The aim is to screen new inhibitors against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis from traditional Chinese medicines.

METHODS

Few-shot-based machine learning and molecule docking were used to predict the potential activities of candidates and calculate the ligand-receptor interactions. In vitro A549 cell model was taken to verify the effects of the selected leads on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

RESULTS

A logistic regression classifier model with an accuracy of 0.82 was built and, combined with molecule docking, used to predict the activities of candidates. 6 leads were finally screened out and 5 of them were in vitro experimentally verified as effective inhibitors against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

CONCLUSION

Herbacetin, morusin, swertiamarin, vicenin-2, and vitexin were active inhibitors against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Swertiamarin exhibited the highest anti-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis effect and should be further in vivo investigated for its activity.

Recent advances towards natural plants as potential inhibitors of SARS-Cov-2 targets

CONTEXT

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is still ongoing and currently the most striking epidemic disease. With the rapid global spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants, new antivirals are urgently needed to avert a more serious crisis. Inhibitors from traditional medicines or natural plants have shown promising results to fight COVID-19 with different mechanisms of action.

OBJECTIVES

To provide comprehensive and promising approaches to the medical community in the fight against this epidemic by reviewing potential plant-derived anti-SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors.

METHODS

Structural databases such as TCMSP (http://lsp.nwu.edu.cn/tcmsp.php), TCM Database @ Taiwan (http://tcm.cmu.edu.tw/), BATMAN-TCM (http://bionet.ncpsb.org/batman-tcm/) and TCMID (http://www.megabionet.org/tcmid/), as well as PubMed, Sci Finder, Research Gate, Science Direct, CNKI, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched for relevant articles on TCMs and natural products against SARS-CoV-2.

RESULTS

Seven traditional Chinese medicines formulas have unique advantages in regulating the immune system for treating COVID-19. The plant-derived natural compounds as anti-SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors were identified based on 5 SARS-CoV-2 key proteins, namely, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), 3 C-like protease (3CLpro), papain-like protease (PLpro), spike (S) protein, and nucleocapsid (N) protein.

CONCLUSIONS

A variety of natural products, such as flavonoids, terpenoids, phenols, and alkaloids, were identified, which could be used as potential SASR-Cov-2 inhibitors. These shed new light on the efficient discovery of SASR-Cov-2 inhibitors from natural products.

Exploration of Fuzheng Yugan Mixture on COVID-19 based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

After the World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as a global pandemic, global health workers have been facing an unprecedented and severe challenge. Currently, a mixturetion to inhibit the exacerbation of pulmonary inflammation caused by COVID-19, Fuzheng Yugan Mixture (FZYGM), has been approved for medical institution mixturetion notification. However, the mechanism of FZYGM remains poorly defined. This study aimed to elucidate the molecular and related physiological pathways of FZYGM as a potential therapeutic agent for COVID-19. Active molecules of FZYGM were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP), while potential target genes of COVID-19 were identified by DrugBank and GeneCards. Compound-target networks and protein-protein interactions (PPI) were established by Cytoscape_v3.8.2 and String databases, respectively. The gene ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed. Finally, a more in-depth study was performed using molecular docking. Our study identified 7 active compounds and 3 corresponding core targets. The main potentially acting signaling pathways include the interleukin (IL)-17 signaling pathway, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, Th17 cell differentiation, and coronavirus disease-COVID-19. This study shows that FZYGM can exhibit anti-COVID-19 effects through multiple targets and pathways. Therefore, FZYGM can be considered a drug candidate for the treatment of COVID-19, and it provides good theoretical support for subsequent experiments and clinical applications of COVID-19.

Recent Insights Into the Protective Mechanisms of Paeoniflorin in Neurological, Cardiovascular, and Renal Diseases

ABSTRACT

The monoterpene glycoside paeoniflorin (PF) is the principal active constituent of the traditional Chinese herbal medicines, Radix Paeoniae Alba and Radix Paeoniae Rubra, which have been used for millennia to treat cardiovascular diseases (eg, hypertension, bleeding, and atherosclerosis) and neurological ailments (eg, headaches, vertigo, dementia, and pain). Recent evidence has revealed that PF exerts inhibitory effects on inflammation, fibrosis, and apoptosis by targeting several intracellular signaling cascades. In this review, we address the current knowledge about the pharmacokinetic properties of PF and its molecular mechanisms of action. We also present results from recent preclinical studies supporting the utility of PF for the treatment of pain, cerebral ischemic injury, and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Moreover, new evidence suggests a general protective role of PF in heart attack, diabetic kidney, and atherosclerosis. Mechanistically, PF exerts multiple anti-inflammatory actions by targeting toll-like receptor-mediated signaling in both parenchymal and immune cells (in particular, macrophages and dendritic cells). A better understanding of the molecular actions of PF may lead to the expansion of its therapeutic uses.

Effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicines for pulmonary heart disease: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Previous review indicate that the effect of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) on pulmonary heart disease (PHD) remains uncertainty. Therefore, we designed this study to systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of TCM in the treatment of PHD.

METHODS

Nine online databases will be searched from inception to October 01, 2021, and we will not restrict the language on included trials. Randomized controlled trials that included patients with PHD receiving TCM therapy vs a control group will be included. Two of us will perform independently the selection of studies, risk of bias assessment, and data extraction. The RevMan V.5.2 software with fixed effects model or random effects model will be used to syntheses the data, according to the heterogeneity test to conduct the data synthesis. The dichotomous data and the continuous data will be presented with risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals and weighted mean differences or standardized mean differences with 95% confidence intervals. And we will use the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system to evaluate the evidence quality.

RESULT

This study will assess effects and safety for TCM on PHD.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion of this study will provide evidence to prove the safety and effectiveness of TCM on PHD.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

INPLASY2020120024.

Effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicines for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: Protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Previous reviews indicate that the effect of Traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains uncertainty. The study results published in the past 8 years may change this situation, but there is no updated systematic review. Therefore, we designed this study to systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of TCM in the treatment of NAFLD.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will search nine online databases from inception to October 01 2019, and the language will not be restricted on included trials. Randomized controlled trials that included patients with NAFLD receiving TCM therapy versus a control group will be included. Two researcher will perform independently the selection of studies, risk of bias assessment and data extraction. We will use the RevMan V.5.2 software with fixed effects model or random effects model according to the heterogeneity test to conduct the data synthesis. We will present the dichotomous data and the continuous data with risk ratios with 95% CIs and weighted mean differences or standardized mean differences with 95% CIs. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system will be used to evaluate the evidence quality with low risk, unclear risk, and high risk.

RESULTS

This study will demonstrate an evidence-based review of TCM for NAFLD.

CONCLUSION

The study will provide clear evidence to assess the effectiveness and side effects of TCM for NAFLD.

Different effects of total flavonoids from Arachniodes exilis on human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in vitro

Traditional Chinese medicines are used in promotion of fractured bone healing and bone diseases. Some studies reported total flavonoids from plant can be used as an auxiliary source of exogenous.Use different methods to identify and verify effects of total flavonoids from Arachniodes exilis (TFAE) on human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUCMSCs) in vitro.Concentrations of 1 and 5 μg/mL TFAE significantly increased ALPase activity in HUCMSCs compared to the other concentrations at days 3 and 7 (P < .05). RT-PCR showed that expression levels of osteogenic genes (Col1a1, OPN, Runx2 and Osx) were remarkably enhanced in HUCMSCs following treatment with different concentrations of TFAE for 9 days compared with 0 μg/mL TFAE group (control). The results showed that concentration < 5 μg/mL of TFAE induced osteogenic differentiation in HUCMSCs Alizarin red staining assays revealed that both TFAE and S1191 was significantly decreased (7.80 ± 0.66) compared with the TFAE group (16.00 ± 0.97) (P < .01). ALPase activity on days 3 and 7 was relatively lower in HUCMSCs grown in media supplemented with both S1191 and TFAE than that of in TFAE group only. The results indicated that osteogenic markers (Col1a1, OPN, Runx2 and Osx) were significantly downregulated in the TFAE + S1191 group in comparison to the control group. The expressions of Col1a and OPN in the TFAE + S1191 group decreased significantly (P < .01) by Western blotting.TFAE promotes the odonto/osteogenic differentiation of human UCMSCs via activation of ER.

Efficacy and safety of Chinese medicines for vitreous hemorrhage: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Vitreous hemorrhage (VH) is a common ophthalmic disease with a high rate of blindness, which will seriously affect the quality of life of patients and bring great burden to patients' families and society. The treatment for VH contains medical therapy, lasers, and surgery. At present, there is no recognized western medicine with definite curative effect and little side effect for the treatment of VH. In most cases, PRP is not available to treat VH; intravitreal injection or surgical treatment is adopted as the primary therapy. However, in the long-term treatment, the effect of the above-mentioned treatment is not satisfactory, so many patients choose oral Chinese medicines, which has been widely used in China to treat VH. Numerous clinical trials have demonstrated that Chinese medicines can promote the absorption of VH and improve the visual function of patients. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicines in the treatment of VH and inform a decision aid for the clinical encounter between patients and clinicians. Besides, it is beneficial to establish a future research agenda.

METHODS

The systematic review will include all of the randomized controlled trials on the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicines for VH. Nine electronic databases, namely PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, China Science and Technology Journal database (VIP), and CBM, will be searched normatively on the basis of the rule of each database from the inception to August 31, 2019. We will also search registers of clinical trials, potential gray literature, and conference abstracts. There are no limits on language and publication status. The literature screening, data extraction, and quality assessment will be conducted by 2 reviewers independently. The reporting quality and risk of bias will be assessed by other 2 researchers. Standard of curative effect and total treatment efficacy rate were assessed as the primary outcome. The secondary outcomes will include the curative effect of single symptom and sign, the improvement rate of single auxiliary examination, withdrawal and reduction of western medicines in a course of treatment, maintenance of western medicines after the course of treatment, laboratory efficacy indexes. Meta-analysis will be performed using RevMan5.3 software provided by the Cochrane Collaboration.

RESULTS

This study will provide a comprehensive review based on current evidence of Chinese medicines treatment for VH in several aspects, including standard of curative effect, total treatment efficacy rate, the curative effect of single symptom and sign, the improvement rate of single auxiliary examination, withdrawal and reduction of western medicines in a course of treatment, laboratory efficacy indexes, total treatment efficacy, and safety, among others.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion of this study will provide evidence to determine whether Chinese medicines are an effective and safe intervention for patients with VH.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

It is not necessary to obtain ethical approval for this study. The systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, presented at conferences and will be shared on social media platforms.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

PROSPERO CRD42020152321.

Targeting Cancer Metabolism to Resensitize Chemotherapy: Potential Development of Cancer Chemosensitizers from Traditional Chinese Medicines

Cancer is a common and complex disease with high incidence and mortality rates, which causes a severe public health problem worldwide. As one of the standard therapeutic approaches for cancer therapy, the prognosis and outcome of chemotherapy are still far from satisfactory due to the severe side effects and increasingly acquired resistance. The development of novel and effective treatment strategies to overcome chemoresistance is urgent for cancer therapy. Metabolic reprogramming is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Cancer cells could rewire metabolic pathways to facilitate tumorigenesis, tumor progression, and metastasis, as well as chemoresistance. The metabolic reprogramming may serve as a promising therapeutic strategy and rekindle the research enthusiasm for overcoming chemoresistance. This review focuses on emerging mechanisms underlying rewired metabolic pathways for cancer chemoresistance in terms of glucose and energy, lipid, amino acid, and nucleotide metabolisms, as well as other related metabolisms. In particular, we highlight the potential of traditional Chinese medicine as a chemosensitizer for cancer chemotherapy from the metabolic perspective. The perspectives of metabolic targeting to chemoresistance are also discussed. In conclusion, the elucidation of the underlying metabolic reprogramming mechanisms by which cancer cells develop chemoresistance and traditional Chinese medicines resensitize chemotherapy would provide us a new insight into developing promising therapeutics and scientific evidence for clinical use of traditional Chinese medicine as a chemosensitizer for cancer therapy.

Efficacy and safety of Chinese medicines for asthma: A systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND

Asthma is a complex disease associated with many factors such as immunologic, environmental, genetic, and other factors. Common medicines used to treat asthma include β-agonist and glucocorticoid. However, in the long-term treatment, the effect of the above-mentioned drugs is not satisfactory, so many patients choose oral Chinese medicines instead of western medicines. The introduction of Chinese medicines therapies, a rapid proliferation of the literature on management of asthma in general, call for novel ways of evidence synthesis in this area. This systematic review is to systematically summarize and evaluate a large number of evidences for Chinese herbal interventions for asthma. Evaluate the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicines in the treatment of asthma and inform a decision aid for the clinical encounter between patients and clinicians. In addition, it helps to establish a future research agenda.

METHODS

Five English databases (PubMed, Web of science, EBASE, Springer Cochrane Library, and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform) and 4 Chinese databases (Wanfang Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database) will be searched normatively according to the rule of each database from the inception to the present. The literature screening, data extraction, and quality assessment will be conducted by 2 researchers independently. Data will be synthesized by either the fixed-effects or random-effects model according to a heterogeneity test. Asthma control test symptom score will be assessed as the primary outcome. The curative effect of single symptom and sign; Withdrawal and reduction of western medicines in a course of treatment, including: time, type, and quantity; Maintenance of western medicines after the course of treatment, including: type, quantity; Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire; laboratory efficacy indexes as the secondary outcome. General physical examination; routine examination of blood, urine, and stool; electrocardiogram; liver and kidney function examination; possible adverse reactions and related detection indicators as the security indexes. Meta-analysis will be performed using RevMan5.3.5 software provided by the Cochrane Collaboration.

RESULTS

This study will provide high-quality synthesis based on current evidence of Chinese medicines treatment for asthma in several aspects, including asthma control score, side effects and laboratory examination such as lung-function test, serum total immunoglobulin, and so on.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study will provide updated evidence for whether Chinese medicines is an effective and safe intervention for asthma.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

PROSPERO CRD42019136074.

Evidence of ERalpha and ERbeta selectivity and partial estrogen agonism in traditional Chinese medicine

The use of complementary and alternative medicine and herbal products, especially traditional Chinese medicines, is progressively rising for both adults and children. This increased use is based on the popular belief that these medicines are safe and harmless. In this report, we describe the results of a bedside-to-bench study that involved a short-statured 4-year-old boy with deficiencies in growth hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, and adrenocorticotropic hormone due to an ectopic posterior pituitary gland and invisible pituitary stalk. Although the boy was given replacement therapy with hydrocortisone and L-thyroxin, the parents refused to treat him with growth hormone and consulted a naturopath who prescribed a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to stimulate the boy's growth. From the age of 20 months, the child's growth was regularly monitored while he was being treated with hydrocortisone, thyroxin, and the TCM. Over a 36-month period, the child's growth velocity accelerated (3 cm/year to 8 cm/year), his height increment substantially increased (-2 SD to -0.8 SD), and his bones matured. In the laboratory investigation, estrogen receptor (ER)alpha and ERbeta reporter cell lines were used to characterize the estrogenic activity of the TCM medicine and its 18 components, and the results established that the medicine and some of its components have estrogen receptor ERalpha and ERbeta selectivity and partial estrogen agonism. Partial estrogenic activity of the TCM was confirmed using whole-cell competitive binding, cell proliferation, and endogenous gene expression assays in the ERalpha-positive breast cancer cell lines. Although the presence of evidence is not always evidence of causality, we have concluded that this traditional Chinese medicine contains ingredients with estrogenic activity that can sustain bone growth and maturation without affecting other estrogen-dependent tissues.

Recent developments and contributions from Chinese scientists in multidimensional separations for proteomics and traditional Chinese medicines

The most basic task in proteomics remains the detection and identification of proteins from a biological sample, and the most traditional way to achieve this goal consists in protein separations performed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE). Yet the 2-D PAGE-mass spectrometry (MS) approach has its drawbacks with regard to automation, sensitivity, and throughput. Consequently, considerable effort has been devoted to the development of non-gel-based proteome separation technologies in an effort to alleviate the shortcomings of 2-D PAGE. In addition, traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), due to their long period of clinical testing and reliable therapeutic efficacy, are attracting increased global attention. However, hundreds or even thousands of components are usually present in TCMs, which results in great difficulties of separation. As a mainstream separation tool, multidimensional liquid separation systems have shown powerful separation ability, high peak capacity, and excellent detectability in the analysis of complex samples including biological samples and TCMs, etc. Therefore, this review emphasizes the most recent advances in multidimensional liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis-based separation techniques, and the corresponding applications in proteomics and TCMs. In view of the significant contributions from Chinese scientists, this review focuses mainly on the work of Chinese scientists in the above fields.

SARS-CoV protease inhibitors design using virtual screening method from natural products libraries

Two natural products databases, the marine natural products database (MNPD) and the traditional Chinese medicines database (TCMD), were used to find novel structures of potent SARS-CoV protease inhibitors through virtual screening. Before the procedure, the databases were filtered by Lipinski's ROF and Xu's extension rules. The results were analyzed by statistic methods to eliminate the bias in target-based database screening toward higher molecular weight compounds for enhancing the hit rate. Eighteen lead compounds were recommended by the screening procedure. They were useful for experimental scientists in prioritizing drug candidates and studying the interaction mechanism. The binding mechanism was also analyzed between the best screening compound and the SARS protein.