To investigate the protective effect of Dahuang Fuzi Decoction (DHFZD), a traditional Chinese prescription, at alleviating sepsis-induced inflammation and gut barrier damage in rats.
Forty ...clean-grade male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly into three groups: normal control group (NCG, n = 10), model control group (MCG, n = 15) and DHFZD-treated group (DHFZDG, n = 15). NCG rats were sham operated on and used as the controls, whereas MCG and DHFZDG rats were used to replicate the rat sepsis model using cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The DHFZDG rats received DHFZD by gavage (4.5 mg/g of body weight) 2 h prior to CLP and after its successful induction, while the NCG and MCG rats received equivalent amounts of sterilized water by gavage. All rat groups were starved and had free access to water. At 24 h post-experimental set up, the mortality of rats in each group was recorded, and peritoneal inflammation assessment and pathological changes related to the intestinal mucosal injury index (IMII) in the surviving rats were evaluated. D-lactic acid, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 peripheral blood concentrations, along with secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) in the intestinal mucosa were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Gut microbes were detected using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
DHFZD reduced sepsis-related mortality in the rats. Moreover, it alleviated peritoneal inflammation and pathological changes according to the IMII. DHFZD reduced serum procalcitonin, TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations, but not the IL-10 concentration. It also reduced serum D-lactic acid and increased sIgA concentrations in intestinal mucosa. Notably, DHFZDG restored gut microbiota diversity and regulated the decrease in Bacteroidetes induced by sepsis, compared with the MCG rats.
DHFZDG may play a protective role in sepsis by alleviating sepsis-induced inflammation and gut barrier damage in rats.
Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl, a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal herb used in the treatment of gastric disease, is distinguished as the first of the “nine immortal grasses”. Dendrobium ...chrysotoxum Lindl and the traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions containing Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl are often prescribed clinically to treat chronic gastritis and precancerous lesions of gastric cancer (PLGC), showing favorable clinical effects and medicinal value in the prevention of gastric cancer. However, the effective ingredients and pharmacological mechanisms through which Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl prevents and treats PLGC have not been adequately identified or interpreted.
The present study aimed to evaluate the effective ingredients and pharmacological mechanisms of Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl in the prevention and treatment of PLGC using network pharmacology. In addition, in vitro verification was performed to evaluate the mechanism of action of Erianin, the main active ingredient in Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl, providing experimental evidence for the clinical use of Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl in the treatment of PLGC.
Using network pharmacology methods, the main ingredients in Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl were screened from the ETCM, BATMAN-TCM, and TCMID databases, and their potential targets were predicted using the Swiss Target Prediction platform. The targets related to PLGC were retrieved through the GeneCard database, and the targets common to the main ingredients of Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl and PLGC were analyzed. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was obtained via the STRING database and analyzed visually using Cytoscape 3.7.2. The underlying mechanisms of the common targets identified through gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were analyzed using DAVID online. The “component-target-pathway” networks of Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl and Erianin were visually constructed by Cytoscape 3.7.2. The biological activity evaluation of Erianin's effect on PLGC was carried out using MC cell lines, the PLGC cell model established using MNNG to induce damage in normal gastric mucosal epithelial cell (GES-1). After the intervention of different concentrations of Erianin, MC cell viability was explored using the MTT assays, cell migration was determined by wound healing assays, the cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed using flow cytometry, and the expression levels of related proteins and their phosphorylation in the HRAS-PI3K-AKT signaling pathway were detected by Western blot.
The “component-target-pathway” network constructed in this study showed 37 active ingredients from Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl and 142 overlapping targets related to both Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl and PLGC. The targets were associated with a variety of cancer-related signaling pathways, including Pathways in cancer, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, Rap1 signaling pathway, Focal adhesion, Ras signaling pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway. Notably, the network showed that Erianin, the primary active ingredient from Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl and the component associated with the most targets, could regulate Pathways in cancer, PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, Focal adhesion, Rap1 signaling pathway, cell cycle, and RAS signaling pathway in the treatment of PLGC. Verification through in vitro experiments found that Erianin can significantly inhibit MC cell viability, inhibit cell migration, block the cell cycle in the G2/M phase, and induce cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The results of the Western blot experiment further showed that Erianin can significantly decrease the protein expression levels of HRAS, AKT, p-AKT, MDM2, Cyclin D1, and p-Gsk3β, and increase the protein expression level of p21, which suggests that Erianin can treat PLGC by regulating the HRAS-PI3K-AKT signaling pathway.
This study explained the positive characteristics of multi-component, multi-target, and multi-approach intervention with Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl in the treatment of PLGC. Our results suggest that Erianin may be a promising candidate in the development of prevention and treatment methods for PLGC. This study provided experimental evidence for the clinical use of Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl to treat PLGC and prevent gastric cancer.
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Anxiety disorder is a common psychiatric illness. Medicinal herbs have become a field of interest in the treatment of anxiety. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the efficacy and acceptability ...of all possible medicinal herbs for the treatment of anxiety.
A Bayesian network meta-analysis was conducted for adults with diagnosed or subthreshold anxiety in randomized controlled trials identified in PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, searched between Jan 1, 1987, and Dec 31, 2021. The outcomes included efficacy (measured by endpoint Hamilton Anxiety Scale HAMA Scores) and acceptability (discontinuation by ineffectiveness, worsening of the symptoms, or adverse events).
A total of 29 trials were reviewed, comparing 12 medicinal herbs. Silexan (mean difference MD: −3.84, 95% credible interval CrI: −6.31 to −1.34) displayed a significant effect on anxiety, and possibly benefitted the treatment of depression (standard mean difference SMD: −0.37, 95% confidence interval CI: −0.53 to −0.20) and insomnia (SMD: −0.48, 95% CI: −0.76 to −0.21). Kava was found to be an effective anxiolytic (MD: −2.46, 95% CrI: −4.47 to −0.32) but possibly ineffective in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (MD: −0.17, 95% CrI: −2.55 to −1.97). Ginkgo biloba (MD: −4.63, 95% CrI: −9.01 to −0.23) and Withania somnifera (MD: −4.90, 95% CrI: −9.70 to −0.17) were efficacious, as measured by HAMA scores but the trials were limited by their small sample sizes. Galphimia glauca (MD: −1.23, 95% CrI: −4.68 to 2.23) and Manasamitravn Vataka (MD: −1.35, 95% CrI: −7.39 to 4.68) exhibited the same anxiolytic effect as standard treatments, but both were absent from trials that were rated low risk, highlighting that confidence in their ability to provide an anxiolytic effect requires additional study. Conversely, although Passionflower (MD: −4.20, 95% CrI: −8.82 to 0.16) and Saffron (MD: −2.71, 95% CrI: −6.06 to 0.57) did not reduce HAMA scores significantly in the summary network, both were worthy of further study because of support from separate networks. There was insufficient evidence to confirm the effectiveness of Valerian (MD: 0.95, 95% CrI: −6.57 to 8.42) in standard-controlled estimation or the ineffectiveness of Chamomile (MD: 0.54, 95% CrI: −5.13 to 6.25) compared with a placebo for anxiety. Gamisoyo-san (MD: −0.98, 95% CrI: −6.48 to 4.54) and L-theanine (MD: −0.49, 95% CrI: −6.54 to 5.57) did not outperform a placebo for the treatment of anxiety in terms of statistical certainty. All medicinal herbs were well-tolerated and exhibited a good safety profile compared with control groups. When all herbs were compared, there was no statistical evidence to suggest any comparison significantly reduced HAMA scores except Ginkgo biloba vs Kava (MD: −4.41, 95% CrI: −8.32 to −0.35), although Ginkgo biloba was ranked as worst due to its poor tolerability.
Medicinal herbs may be promising for the treatment of anxiety. However, these results should be considered preliminary because of the unconvincing sample sizes, together with the potential effectiveness of placebos.
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WeiChang’An Pill (WCAP) is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to clinically treat diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D); however, the underlying pharmacological mechanisms ...are unclear to date.
To explore the mechanism underlying the therapeutic action of WCAP in IBS-D using a network pharmacology approach and in vivo experiments.
The active compounds of WCAP were selected from the TCM Systems Pharmacology Database and TCM Integrated Database, and the potential targets were identified using the Swiss Target Prediction and Similarity Ensemble Approach (SEA) databases. The targets related to IBS-D were mined from the Therapeutic Target Database (TTD), National Center for Biotechnology Information Search database (NCBI), DrugBank database, and DisGeNET database. The intersecting protein-protein interactions (PPIs) of the drug-disease crossover genes were analysed, and the central PPI network was constructed using the String database, version 11.0, and Cytoscape version 3.7.2. Following Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses, the gene-pathway network was constructed for identifying the key target genes and pathways. Based on the results and existing evidence, it was selected the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signalling pathway for further validation using in vivo experiments.
A total of 872 targets were identified from the 77 active compounds in WCAP, which shared 78 targets that were predicted to be related to IBS-D. Twenty-one core targets were identified from the PPI network, which was constructed from the common targets. The results of enrichment analysis revealed that HRT2B, ADRA1A, ADRA1D, and CHRM2 could be the key targets of WCAP in IBS-D, and 11 signalling pathways, including the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, calcium signalling, and cAMP signalling pathways, were identified as crucial for the therapeutic activity of WCAP in IBS-D. We also identified the possibility of several interactions and crosstalk between the different pathways. Subsequent molecular biology experiments revealed that the expression levels of cAMP, phospho-(Ser/Thr) protein kinase A substrates (p-PKA), 5-hydroxytryptamine, and proteins in the cAMP signalling pathway, including G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), adenylyl cyclase 5 (AC5), and cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB), were significantly upregulated in rat models of IBS-D following treatment with WCAP (P < 0.05). However, a reverse trend was observed in the expression of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) (P < 0.05), which could be attributed to the low-grade inflammation that occurs in IBS-D.
We demonstrated that WCAP may alleviate the symptoms of diarrhoea and visceral sensitivity in IBS-D by regulating the cAMP signalling pathway.
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Moluodan concentrated pill (MLD) is a traditional herbal formula used in China for the treatment of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). However, its pharmacological mechanism of action remains unclear.
...The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect and mechanism of action of MLD in the treatment of CAG using network pharmacology and in vivo experiments.
The active compounds of MLD were determined using network pharmacology, utilizing various Chinese medicine databases such as the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform, Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database, Integrative Pharmacology-based Research Platform of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and a comprehensive database of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Immuno-Oncology. The compounds found in the root of Anemone altaica Fisch. were extracted from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure literature database. Additionally, the Swiss Target Prediction database and Similarity Ensemble Approach were employed to identify the potential targets of these components. CAG-related targets were gathered from the GeneCards and DisGeNET databases. Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) of the genes associated with the drug-disease crossover were examined, and a core PPI network was constructed using the STRING database (version 11.5) and Cytoscape (version 3.7.2). A gene-pathway network was established to identify significant target genes and pathways through Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Finally, based on these findings and existing data, the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway was selected for further validation through in vivo experiments.
A total of 724 active molecules in MLD yielded 961 identified target genes, of which 179 were found to be potentially associated with CAG. From the common targets, a PPI network revealed ten core targets. Enrichment analysis suggested that MLD may primarily target TNF and AKT in the treatment of CAG. Essential signaling pathways, such as the PI3K-AKT and TNF pathways, were found to be crucial for the therapeutic effects of MLD on CAG. Furthermore, potential interactions and crosstalk between these pathways were identified. Moreover, we confirmed that MLD effectively improved gastric mucosa atrophy and cellular ultrastructural damage, while increasing pepsinogen secretion and decreasing gastrin, somatostatin, and motilin levels. Subsequent molecular biology studies in rat models of CAG demonstrated that MLD treatment significantly reduced the expression levels of TNF-α, phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase (PI3K), and phosphorylated Akt (P < 0.05). Notably, the expression of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) exhibited a contrasting trend (P < 0.05), potentially associated with the crucial tumor suppressor role of NF-κB p105.
This study provides evidence that MLD effectively alleviates stomach mucosal atrophy through modulation of the TNF/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. These findings establish a solid theoretical foundation for the practical management of CAG.
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•A rat model of chronic atrophic gastritis was established by the MNNG multifactorial modeling method.•The efficacy and mechanism of Moluodan for chronic atrophic gastritis were revealed in vivo experiments for the first time.•Moluodan exerts gastric mucosal protective effects via the TNF/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
Dietary indices are widely used in diet quality measurement, and the index-based dietary patterns are related to gastric cancer risk. To evaluate the relationship between different kinds of ...index-based dietary patterns and gastric cancer risk, we systematically searched four English-language databases and four Chinese-language databases. The quality of studies was assessed by the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Meta-analyses were performed to estimate the association between gastric cancer incidence and different types of index-based dietary patterns. The OR and hazard ratios (HR) of gastric cancer incidence were calculated by regression models in case–control studies and prospective cohort studies, respectively. The studies were pooled in the random effects model to calculate the summarised risk estimate of the highest quantile interval of dietary indices, taking the lowest as the referent. The dietary indices included different versions of Mediterranean diet score (MDS) and dietary inflammatory index (DII), healthy eating index, Chinese Food Pagoda score and food index score. The meta-analysis was carried out for studies on MDS and DII. The combined OR of gastric cancer for the highest MDS v. the referent was 0·42 (95 % CI 0·2, 0·86), and the combined HR was 0·89 (95 % CI 0·68, 1·17). The combined OR for DII was 2·11 (95 % CI 1·41, 3·15). Higher Mediterranean dietary pattern consumption might reduce gastric cancer risk, while higher inflammatory diet pattern consumption might increase gastric cancer risk.
The proportion of application of acupuncture for chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) is increasing over time. We will conduct this study to explore the efficacy and safety of acupuncture as a treatment ...method for CAG.
We will go through domestic and foreign databases until July 2019 to identify related randomized controlled trials that explored the effectiveness of acupuncture for CAG. RevMan (V.5.3) and test sequential analysis (V.0.9) will be used for mata-analysis and trial sequential analysis.
This study will update previous evidence summaries of acupuncture and determine the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for CAG based on clinical effectiveness rate, clearance of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection, and quality of life and symptom scores.
This study will determine the evidence for judging whether acupuncture provides benefits in the treatment of CAG, and will support the application of acupuncture in the recovery of patients with CAG.
CRD42019127916.
Aging caused by a deficiency syndrome can be found in ancient and modern traditional Chinese medicine literature. Qi deficiency syndrome (QDS) is a vital factor in the aging process. This study aimed ...to establish a full-scale trial to evaluate the prevalence, symptom severity, frequency, and distribution of QDS in different age groups and varying health status to elucidate the role of qi deficiency in the aging process and deterioration of health.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in four hospitals in China, and data from 1220 participants were included. The participants, aged between 20 and 79 years, completed questionnaires that recorded prevalence of QDS and severity or frequency of relevant symptoms, then were interviewed by investigators. We used frequency analysis and chi-squared tests to perform comparative analysis of prevalence in different age and health groups; we used a rank-sum tests for quantitative analysis of symptoms severity and frequency scores; we performed a regression analysis of correlation between syndrome occurrence and potential factors using non-conditional binary logistic stepwise regression of numerical variables. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Prevalence, symptom severity and frequency scores of QDS showed a rising trend when physical condition worsened, rather than when age increased. Health status, fatigue, shortness of breath or no desire to talk, spontaneous sweating, swollen tongue with teeth marks on side, and deficient and weak pulse, rather than increasing age were contributing factors to this syndrome. Distribution of QDS in certain health and age stages showed remarkable irregularities.
Qi deficiency may be a contributing factor for sub-health (sub-optimal health) and chronic diseases rather than aging. It may play a crucial role in chronic disease pathogenesis of young and middle-aged people, and in sub-health pathogenesis of older adults. Recognition of the warning signs and symptoms of QDS may lead to early intervention and prevention of sub-health, and chronic diseases.
Chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) is the precancerous stage of gastric carcinoma. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been widely used in treating CAG. This study aimed to reveal core pathogenesis ...of CAG by validating the TCM syndrome patterns and provide evidence for optimization of treatment strategies.
This is a cross-sectional study conducted in 4 hospitals in China. Hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and complex system entropy clustering analysis (CSECA) were performed, respectively, to achieve syndrome pattern validation.
Based on HCA, 15 common factors were assigned to 6 syndrome patterns: liver depression and spleen deficiency and blood stasis in the stomach collateral, internal harassment of phlegm-heat and blood stasis in the stomach collateral, phlegm-turbidity internal obstruction, spleen
deficiency, internal harassment of phlegm-heat and spleen deficiency, and spleen
deficiency. By CSECA, 22 common factors were assigned to 7 syndrome patterns:
deficiency,
stagnation, blood stasis, phlegm turbidity, heat,
deficiency, and
deficiency.
Combination of
deficiency,
stagnation, blood stasis, phlegm turbidity, heat,
deficiency, and
deficiency
play a crucial role in CAG pathogenesis. In accord with this, treatment strategies by TCM herbal prescriptions should be targeted to regulating
, activating blood, resolving turbidity, clearing heat, removing toxin, nourishing
, and warming
. Further explorations are needed to verify and expand the current conclusions.
Purpose. There is a lack of research on the relationship between symptoms and dietary factors of chronic gastritis (CG) patients, and the contribution of dietary management in relieving symptoms of ...CG patients has not attracted enough attention. This study aimed to identify the associations between different symptoms and dietary factors. Patients and Methods. All CG patients in this cross-sectional study were recruited from 3 hospitals in Beijing, China, from October 2015 to January 2016. Association Rule Mining analysis was performed to identify the correlations between gastrointestinal symptoms and dietary factors (including eating habits and food preferences), and subgroup analysis focused on gender differences. Results. The majority of patients (58.17%) reported that their symptoms were related to dietary factors. About 53% reported that they had the habit of “eating too fast,” followed by “irregular mealtimes” (29.66%) and “eating leftover food” (28.14%). Sweets (27.57%), spicy foods (25.10%), and meat (24.33%) were the most popular among all participants. Stomachache and gastric distention were the most common symptoms and were both associated with irregular mealtimes, irregular meal sizes, eating out in restaurants, meats, barbecue, fried foods, sour foods, sweets, snacks, and salty foods (support >0.05 and lift >1.0). Their most strongly associated factors were irregular meal sizes, barbecues, and snacks (lift >1.2). In addition, irregular mealtimes, salty foods, and sweet foods may be important diet factors influencing the symptoms in CG patients (support >0.05 and lift >1.0), as they were associated with almost all dyspeptic symptoms in the whole group and subgroup analyses. Furthermore, alcohol, barbecue, and spicy foods were associated with almost all symptoms for males (support >0.05 and lift >1.0), but sweets were the only dietary factor associated with all symptoms for females (support >0.05 and lift >1.0). Conclusion. This study has provided new data for the association of symptoms with eating habits and food preferences in CG patients. The role of individual daily management schemes, such as dietary or lifestyle programs, needs more attention.
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