Herbal Formula, Baogan Yihao (BGYH), Prevented Dimethylnitrosamine(DMN)-Induced Liver Injury in Rats.

Preclinical Research Baogan Yihao (BGYH) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of chronic liver diseases. In this study, the effects of BGYH on dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced liver fibrosis were investigated using a rat model. BGYH alleviate liver damage, as indicated by decreased levels of AST, ALT, γ-GT, and AKP. BGYH also prevented collagen deposition and reduced pathological tissue injury in liver tissue. In fibrosis, high levels of α-SMA and TGF-ß in liver tissue were markedly attenuated by BGYH. The inhibitory effect of BGYH on HSC-T6 proliferation demonstrated that BGYH exhibited significant hepatoprotective and antifibrogenic effects on DMN-induced liver injury. These findings suggest that BGYH may have therapeutic potential in the prevention and therapy of liver fibrosis. Drug Dev Res 78 : 155-163, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The triglyceride glucose index is associated with the cerebral small vessel disease in a memory clinic population.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Insulin resistance (IR) has been associated with the cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD). However, as the surrogate marker of IR, there is little known about the relationship between the triglyceride glucose (TyG) index and cSVD. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between the TyG index and cSVD in a memory clinic population and explore the value of TyG index to improve the risk stratification of cSVD. METHODS: We included participants who attended our memory clinic from January 2016 to December 2020. TyG index was determined as ln [fasting triglyceride (mg/dL) × fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL)/2]. We assessed lacunes, microbleeds, white matter hyperintensity (WMH) and enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVS) on MRI and calculated the total cSVD burden. RESULTS: A total of 297 subjects were included (median age: 65 years, male sex: 64.98%). In the adjusted model, when dividing TyG index into quartiles, subjects with TyG index in the top quartile, compared with those in the bottom quartile, were more likely to have lacunes (P = 0.035), moderate-severe WMH (P = 0.001), a higher grade of deep WMH (P = 0.004), a higher grade of PVWMH (P = 0.032), a higher grade of EPVS (P = 0.002), and a higher cSVD score (P < 0.001). When introducing TyG index into traditional risk factors to predict moderate to severe cSVD, both area under the curve (0.745 vs 0.802, P = 0.003) and integrated discrimination index (0.080, 95% CI 0.050-0.110, P < 0.001) displayed an improvement from TyG index. CONCLUSIONS: The TyG index is correlated with cSVD and may have the potential to be a surrogate marker of insulin resistance and optimize the risk stratification.

A review on structure, extraction, and biological activities of polysaccharides isolated from Cyclocarya paliurus (Batalin) Iljinskaja.

Cyclocarya paliurus is essential and only living specie of the genus Cyclocarya Iljinskaja. The leaves of this plant have been extensively used as food in the form of tea and green vegetable. Many compounds have been isolated from this plant, and their useful aspects explored, including the polysaccharides. Studies conducted on leaves show that different methods of extraction have been used, as well as a combination of different techniques that have been applied to isolate polysaccharides from the leaves. Their structure has been elucidated because the activity of polysaccharides mainly depends upon their composition. It has been reported that different activities exhibited by the isolated crude, purified as well as modified polysaccharides include, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-hyperlipidemic and anti-diabetic activities. In some studies, a comparison of crude extract, as well as purified polysaccharide, has been performed. In this review, we have summarized all the available literature available on the methods of extraction, structure, and biological activities of polysaccharides from the leaves of C. paliurus and indicated the potential research areas that should be focused on future studies. We believe that this review will provide an up to date knowledge regarding polysaccharides of C. paliurus for the researchers.