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Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo (D. officinale) is a famous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A mixture of D. officinale and American ginseng has been shown to enhance cell-mediated immunity, humoral immunity, and monocyte/macrophage functions in mice. Here, the effects of a D. officinale and American ginseng mixture on the structure of gut microbial community in dogs were examined using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The data revealed that while the mixture did not change the diversity of gut microbial community significantly, differences among individuals were significantly reduced. Furthermore, the mixture-responsive operational taxonomic units (OTUs) exhibited a phase-dependent expression pattern. Fifty-five OTUs were found to exhibit a mixture-induced expression pattern, among which one third were short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing genera and the others were probiotic genera included Lactobacillus spp., Sutterella, Alistipes, Anaerovorax, Bilophila, Coprococcus, Gordonibacter, Oscillibacter, among others. By contrast, 36% of the OTUs exhibiting a mixture-repressed expression pattern were disease-associated microorganisms, and six genera, namely Actinomyces, Escherichia/Shigella, Fusobacterium, Slackia, Streptococcus and Solobacterium, were associated with cancer. In addition, five genera were closely associated with diabetes, namely Collinsella, Rothia, Howardella, Slackia and Intestinibacter. Our results indicate that this D. officinale and American ginseng mixture may be used as a prebiotic agent to enhance SCFA-producing genera and prevent gut dysbiosis.
RESUMO
Objective::To observe the clinical efficacy of Gandouling decoction on hepatic function of patients with phlegm and blood stasis type Wilson's disease. Method::From January 2015 to December 2017, totally 72 cases of phlegm and blood stasis type Wilson's disease admitted to Encephalopathy Center in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine were randomly divided into treatment group and control group, with 36 cases in each group. Patients in both groups were injected with sodium dimercaptopropane sulfonate for routine treatment. At the same time, patients in control group received Hugan Tablets, and patients in treatment group received Gandouling decoction for a total of 6 treatment courses. Before and after treatment, traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome effective rate, serum enzyme index [alanine aminotransferase(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase(AKP)], bilirubin metabolism index [total bilirubin(TBIL)], liver fibrosis index [laminin(LN), hyaluronic acid(HA), collagen type IV(CⅣ), procollagen type Ⅲ peptide(PⅢP)]and blood coagulation index [fibrinogen (FBG), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT) ]were observed. Result::TCM syndrome effective rates of treatment group and control group were 86.11%(31/36) and 63.98%(23/36) respectively, with a significant difference between two groups (P<0.05). ALT, AST, AKP, TBIL decreased in two groups after treatment (P<0.01), and the effects of ALT, AST, AKP, TBIL in treatment group were significantly better than those in control group (P<0.01), liver fibrosis index decreased in both groups after treatment (P<0.01), and the effect in treatment group was significantly better than that in control group (P<0.01). Blood coagulation indexes were improved to different degrees in both groups (P<0.05, P<0.01), and there were significant differences between treatment group and control group in decreasing PT, APTT, TT levels (P<0.05, P<0.01) and increasing FBG level (P<0.01). Conclusion::Gandouling decoction can significantly improve hepatic function of patients with phlegm and blood stasis type Wilson's disease, which is manifested in improving serum enzymes and bilirubin indexes, reversing liver fibrosis, promoting clotting factors and reducing bleeding tendency, in order to delay the progress of the disease and improve the life quality of patients.
RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effects of ginseng and Ligustrazine drug containing serum on the proliferation, vitality, and extracellular-signal-responsive kinase (ERK) pathway in neural stem cells undergoing in vitro oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation culture.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The cultured neural stem cells were randomly divided into 5 groups, i.e., the normal control group (Group A), the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation group (Group B), the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation +ginseng serum group (Group C), the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation + Ligustrazine serum group (Group D), and oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation +ginseng and Ligustrazine drug serum group (Group E).The protein expression levels of ERK and phosphorylated ERK (p-ERK) were observed using immunoblotting. The proliferation of neural stem cells was observed using 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation assay. The vitality of neural stem cells was detected using methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) colorimetry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The p-ERK level increased transiently at 10 min and 30 min after reoxygenation, but it decreased to the normal level at 4 h, 6 h, and 1 day, respectively. Compared with Group B, the p-ERK level at 6 h after reoxygenation could be elevated in Group C, D, and E. The proliferation and the vitality of neural stem cells at 1 day after reoxygenation could be enhanced. Furthermore, the effects of combination of ginseng and Ligusticum were better than those of using ginseng or Ligusticum alone.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Combination of ginseng and Ligusticum could promote the proliferation and vitality of rats' neural stem cells undergoing oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation culture through ERK signal pathway. Its effects was better than that of using ginseng or Ligusticum alone.</p>