Insights on the Multifunctional Activities of Magnolol.

Over years, various biological constituents are isolated from Traditional Chinese Medicine and confirmed to show multifunctional activities. Magnolol, a hydroxylated biphenyl natural compound isolated from Magnolia officinalis, has been extensively documented and shows a range of biological activities. Many signaling pathways include, but are not limited to, NF-κB/MAPK, Nrf2/HO-1, and PI3K/Akt pathways, which are implicated in the biological functions mediated by magnolol. Thus, magnolol is considered as a promising therapeutic agent for clinic research. However, the low water solubility, the low bioavailability, and the rapid metabolism of magnolol dramatically limit its clinical application. In this review, we will comprehensively discuss the last five-year progress of the biological activities of magnolol, including anti-inflammatory, antimicroorganism, antioxidative, anticancer, neuroprotective, cardiovascular protection, metabolism regulation, and ion-mediating activity.

Biological activity and health promoting effects of psoralidin.

Psoralidin, a prenylated coumestrol isolated from the seed of a traditional Chinese medicine Psoralea corylifolia L., has been demonstrated to exhibit anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-oxidative, estrogenic, neuroprotective, anti-bacterial, and anti-parasite activities. Due to prenylation, psoralidin exhibits stronger estrogenic activity with no obvious adverse effects and shows a close association with management of osteoporosis and some cancers. However, the hydrophobicity and low bioavailability of psoralidin limit its clinical application, although recent investigation has gained valuable data. This review will discuss the biological activities of psoralidin in health.

[Evaluation on Efficacy and Safety of Jinying Capsule in Treatment of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Patients with Accumulated Damp-heat Syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Jinying Capsule (JC) in treating pelvic inflammatory disease patients with accumulated damp-heat syndrome (ADHS). METHODS: Totally 328 patients were recruited in a prospective, positive drug parallel controlled, and multi-center clinical trial. Of them 213 patients in the treatment group took JC (0.5 g per capsule), 4 capsules each time, 3 times per day, while 115 patients in the control group took Kangfuyan Capsule (KC, 0.4 g per capsule), 3 capsules each time, twice per day. The course of treatment was 4 weeks for all. Scores of Chinese medical syndromes, visual analogue scale (VAS) of the lower abdominal pain, and European quality of life-five dimension scale (EQ-5D) were observed before treatment and after 4 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: There were 204 patients in the treatment group and 109 in the control group who completed this trial. The total effective rate of Chinese medical syndrome was 89.71% (183/204 cases) in the treatment group and 76.15% (83/109 cases) in the control group (P < 0.01). Compared with before treatment in the same group, EQ-5D scores increased, and VAS scores of the lower abdominal pain decreased in the two groups after treatment. EQ-5D scores was 0.857 ± 0.157 in the treatment group, obviously higher than that in the control group (0.753 ± 0.126, P < 0.05). VAS scores of the lower abdominal pain was 2.14 ± 1.23 in the treatment group, lower than that in the control group (2.33 ± 1.24), but with no statistical difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). No adverse reaction occurred in the two groups. CONCLUSION: JC was superior to KC in improving Chinese medical syndrome and quality of life of pelvic inflammatory disease patients with accumulated damp-heat syndrome.

[Study on therapeutic window of opportunity for Panax notoginseng saponins following focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To study the therapeutic window of opportunity for Panax notoginseng saponins (Pns) following focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats. METHODS: Focal cerebral ischemia (2 h)/reperfusion (24 h) model in male rats was induced by transient occlusion and middle cerebral artery (MCA) for 2 h and reperfusion for 24 h. Drugs were administered at 3 h, 4 h, 5 h and 6 h after the onset of ischemia respectively and neurological deficit score, infarct size and brain edema were examined. RESULTS: The administration of Pns at 3-4 h after onset of ischemia significantly reduced neurological deficit score, infarct size and brain edema. When administrating Pns at 5 h after onset of ischemia, the neuroprotection decreased. When administrating Pns at 6 h after onset of ischemia, there are not significant protective effects. CONCLUSION: The therapeutic window of opportunity for Pns following focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats is not more than 5 h after the onset of ischemia.

[Effect of xanthnotoxol on contraction of rabbit thoracic aortic strips].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of xanthnotoxol (XT) on contractility of rabbit thoracic aorta strips and its relationship with Ca2+. METHODS: Routine experimental methods for isolated thoracic aorta strips were adopted. RESULTS: XT and verapamil (Ver) can make the dose-response curve of rabbit thoracic aorta strips induced by NE, KCl, CaCl2 shifed right (the pD'2 of KCl and CaCl2 value was 3.58 +/- 0.07 and 4.12 +/- 0.12) and depressed the maximal responses. Like verapamil (Ver), it is accomplished by calcium antagonism. XT could selectively block the voltage dependence calcium channel (VDC), and have no effect on the receptor operated calcium channel (ROC). CONCLUSION: It suggested XT had selectly blocking effect on voltage dependence calcium channel.