Ethanol extract of Herpetospermum caudigerum Wall ameliorates psoriasis-like skin inflammation and promotes degradation of keratinocyte-derived ICAM-1 and CXCL9.

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether the ethanol extract of Herpetospermum caudigerum Wall (EHC), a Xizang medicinal plant traditionally used for treating liver diseases, can improve imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining were used to determine the effects of topical EHC use in vivo on the skin pathology of imiquimod-induced psoriasis in mice. The protein levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-17A (IL-17A) in mouse skin samples were examined using immunohistochemical staining. In vitro, IFN-γ-induced HaCaT cells with or without EHC treatment were used to evaluate the expression of keratinocyte-derived intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and chemokine CXC ligand 9 (CXCL9) using Western blotting and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide and proteasome inhibitor MG132 were utilized to validate the EHC-mediated mechanism underlying degradation of ICAM-1 and CXCL9. RESULTS: EHC improved inflammation in the imiquimod-induced psoriasis mouse model and reduced the levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-17A in psoriatic lesions. Treatment with EHC also suppressed ICAM-1 and CXCL9 in epidermal keratinocytes. Further mechanistic studies revealed that EHC suppressed keratinocyte-derived ICAM-1 and CXCL9 by promoting ubiquitin-proteasome-mediated protein degradation rather than transcriptional repression. Seven primary compounds including ehletianol C, dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol, herpetrione, herpetin, herpetotriol, herpetetrone and herpetetrol were identified from the EHC using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry. CONCLUSION: Topical application of EHC ameliorates psoriasis-like skin symptoms and improves the inflammation at the lesion sites. Please cite this article as: Zhong Y, Zhang BW, Li JT, Zeng X, Pei JX, Zhang YM, Yang YX, Li FL, Deng Y, Zhao Q. Ethanol extract of Herpetospermum caudigerum Wall ameliorates psoriasis-like skin inflammation and promotes degradation of keratinocyte-derived ICAM-1 and CXCL9. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(6): 584-592.

Efficacy and safety of Xiyanping injection in the treatment of COVID-19: A multicenter, prospective, open-label and randomized controlled trial.

Xiyanping (XYP) is a Chinese herbal medicine used in the clinic to treat respiratory infection and pneumonia. Recent evidence identified XYP as a potential inhibitor of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, implying XYP as a possible treatment for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Here, we conducted a prospective, multicenter, open-label and randomized controlled trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of XYP injection in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. We consecutively recruited 130 COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms from five study sites, and randomized them in 1:1 ratio to receive XYP injection in combination with standard therapy or receive standard supportive therapy alone. We found that XYP injection significantly reduced the time to cough relief, fever resolution and virus clearance. Less patients receiving XYP injection experienced disease progression to the severe stage during the treatment process. No severe adverse events were reported during the study. Taken together, XYP injection is safe and effective in improving the recovery of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. However, further studies are warranted to evaluate the efficacy of XYP in an expanded cohort comprising COVID-19 patients at different disease stages.

Chemical constituents from the rhizome of Polygonum paleaceum and their antifungal activity.

A new compounds neopaleaceolactoside (1), along with nine known compounds phyllocoumarin (2), quercetin (3), quercitrin (4), quercetin-3-methyl ether (5), vincetoxicoside B (6), isoquercitrin (7), kaempferol (8), (-)-epicatechin (9), and chlorogenic acid (10), was isolated from Polygonum paleaceum Wall. Their chemical structures were established based on one-dimensional and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, mass spectrometry and by comparison with spectroscopic data reported. Some selected compounds were screened for their antifungal activity. Quercetin (3), vincetoxicoside B (6), kaempferol (8), and (-)-epicatechin (9) showed synergistic antifungal activities with the FICI values <0.5. A preliminary structure-activity relationship could be observed that free 3-OH in the structure of flavonoids was important for synergistic antifungal activity.

[Chemical Constituents from Polygonum paleaceum].

Objective: To isolate and identify the chemical constituents from Polygonum paleaceum. Methods: Chemical constituents were isolated and purified by column chromatography on silica gel,Sephadex HL-20 and macroporous resin etc. The chemical structures were identified by MS,NMR and spectral analysis. Results: Ten compounds were isolated and their structures were elucidated as ethyl chlorogenate( 1),methyl chlorogenate( 2), kaempferol-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside( 3), (-)-epicatechin( 4), paleaceolactoside( 5), protocatechuic acid( 6), kaempferol( 7), gallic acid( 8), chlorogenic acid( 9) and isoquercitrin( 10). Conclusion: Compounds 1,3,6,7 and 10 are isolated from this plant for the first time.