Anti-platelet and anti-thrombotic effect of a traditional herbal medicine Kyung-Ok-Ko.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Kyung-Ok-Ko (KOK), a traditional herbal prescription, contains six main ingredients; Rehmannia glutinosa var. purpurae, Lycium chinense, Aquillaria agallocha, Poria cocos, Panax ginseng, and honey. KOK has been widely taken as a traditional oriental medicine for improving blood circulation or age-related symptoms, such as dementia and stroke. However, the effect of KOK on platelet activity has not been clarified. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To evaluate the effect of KOK on platelet function, we evaluated its effect on functional markers of platelet activation such as aggregation and shape change. As a mechanism study for the effect of KOK, we examined its effect on granule secretion, intracellular Ca(2+) increase, and PLCγ and Akt activation. To investigate the effect of orally administered KOK (0.5, 1, 2 g/kg), we examined its ex vivo effect on platelet aggregation in rat, and its in vivo anti-thrombotic effect in mice thromboembolism model. Furthermore, the effect of KOK on bleeding time was examined to estimate its potential side effect. RESULTS: KOK (0.3, 1, 3, 10 mg/ml) inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation and shape change in rat platelets in a concentration-dependent manner. The mechanism for the anti-platelet effect of KOK seems to involve the inhibition of ATP release, intracellular Ca(2+) elevation, and the phosphorylation of PLCγ and Akt. In rat ex vivo study, KOK (2 g/kg, p.o. for 1 day, and 0.5, 1, 2 g/kg, p.o. for 7 days) also had significant inhibitory effects on collagen-induced platelet aggregation. In addition, KOK showed a significant protective effect against thrombosis attack in mice. The prolongation of bleeding time by KOK was much less than that by ASA, suggesting a beneficial potential of KOK than ASA in view of side effect. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that KOK elicits remarkable anti-platelet and anti-thrombotic effects with less side effect of bleeding, and therefore, it may have a therapeutic potential for the prevention of platelet-associated cardiovascular diseases.

Effect of a Traditional Herbal Prescription, Kyung-Ok-Ko, on Male Mouse Spermatogenic Ability after Heat-Induced Damage.

Kyung-Ok-Ko (KOK), a well-known traditional Korean medicinal formula, has long been used to invigorate the essential qi. This use of KOK may be associated with reproductive ability as a more modern concept. The protective effect of KOK was evaluated against deterioration of testicular function induced by heat exposure in male mice. Male fertility was disrupted by scrotal heat stress at 43°C for 5 weeks. KOK (0.25, 0.50, and 2.00 g/kg/day) was administered orally at 3 h after the stress. To evaluate the protective effect of KOK, body weight, testicular weight, sperm count, sperm motility, and histopathological changes in the testes were evaluated. KOK-treated mice significantly recovered their general health, as evidenced by body weight. KOK-treated mice also showed significantly higher testes weights, sperm counts, and sperm motility than did the heat stress group. KOK-treated mice significantly recovered the morphological appearance of the seminiferous tubules and seminiferous epithelium. Furthermore, KOK-treated mice significantly increased antioxidant enzyme activities and reduced the protein expressions of apoptosis in the testes. KOK significantly protects against heat-induced damage to testicular function in male mice by inhibiting oxidative stress and apoptosis, indicating that KOK may be an effective agent for treatment of heat-induced male infertility.

Neuroprotective effects of a traditional herbal prescription on transient cerebral global ischemia in gerbils.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Kyung-Ok-Ko (KOK), a traditional herbal prescription composed of Rehmannia glutinosa var. purpurae, Panax ginseng, Poria cocos, Lycium chinense, Aquillaria agallocha and honey, has been used to treat age-related symptoms, such as amnesia or dementia, and has been shown to ameliorate scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice. However, the effects of KOK on transient cerebral global ischemia-induced brain damage are unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Transient cerebral global ischemia was induced by occluding the bilateral common carotid artery for 5 min followed by reperfusion for 7 days. KOK (0.25, 0.5, 1, or 2 g/kg) was administered orally immediately after reperfusion and once a day over the next 7 days. Y-maze or novel object recognition tasks were to analyze learning and memory capabilities at 4 or 5 days after reperfusion, respectively. Histochemistry and immunohistochemistry were used for evaluation of the effect of KOK on neuronal degeneration. RESULTS: Histochemical studies showed that KOK increased the number of viable cells detected by Nissl staining and decreased the number of degenerated neuronal cells detected by Fluoro-Jade B staining in the hippocampal CA1 region. In the immunohistochemical study, the sub-chronic KOK administration attenuated the ischemia-induced activation of microglia and astrocytes and the increase of cytokine IL-1ß (P<0.05). In addition, KOK administration significantly attenuated the ischemia-induced cognitive impairments observed in the Y-maze and novel object recognition tasks (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the neuroprotective effects of KOK may be mediated by its anti-inflammatory activities, resulting in the attenuation of memory impairment.