Protective effects of Jing-Si-herbal-tea in inflammatory cytokines-induced cell injury on normal human lung fibroblast via multiomic platform analysis.

Objectives: The protective effects and related mechanisms of Jing-Si herbal tea (JSHT) were investigated in cellular damage mediated by pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α, on normal human lung fibroblast by multiomic platform analysis. Materials and Methods: The in silico high-throughput target was analyzed using pharmacophore models by BIOVIA Discovery Studio 2022 with ingenuity pathway analysis software. To assess cell viability, the study utilized the MTT assay technique. In addition, the IncuCyte S3 ZOOM System was implemented for the continuous monitoring of cell confluence of JSHT-treated cytokine-injured HEL 299 cells. Cytokine concentrations were determined using a Quantibody Human Inflammation Array. Gene expression and signaling pathways were determined using next-generation sequencing. Results: In silico high-throughput target analysis of JSHT revealed ingenuity in canonical pathways and their networks. Glucocorticoid receptor signaling is a potential signaling of JSHT. The results revealed protective effects against the inflammatory cytokines on JSHT-treated HEL 299 cells. Transcriptome and network analyses revealed that induction of helper T lymphocytes, TNFSF12, NFKB1-mediated relaxin signaling, and G-protein coupled receptor signaling play important roles in immune regulatory on JSHT-treated cytokine-injured HEL 299 cells. Conclusion: The findings from our research indicate that JSHT holds promise as a therapeutic agent, potentially offering advantageous outcomes in treating virus infections through various mechanisms. Furthermore, the primary bioactive components in JSHT justify extended research in antiviral drug development, especially in the context of addressing coronavirus.

Clinical course of patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection co-treatment with Jin Si Herbal Tea in Eastern Taiwan: A retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has affected more than 608 million people and has killed 6.5 million people in the world. A few studies showed traditional Chinese medicine can be beneficial for COVID-19 treatment. An herbal preparation Jin Si Herbal Tea (JS) was formulated with herbal extracts known for their potential to decrease spike protein and ACE2 interaction, 3CL, and TRPMSS2 protease activity, and thus aimed to evaluate the clinical course of JS co-treatment along with the usual treatment schedule given for severe COVID-19 patients. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients with severe COVID-19 admitted to Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital between June and July 2021. All the patients were co-treated with JS and the primary outcome was death. The secondary outcomes included laboratory exam, Ct value, clinical course, and hospital stays. There were 10 patients recruited in this study and divided into < 70 years and ≧ 70 years groups (n = 5 in each group). Results: Older patients (≧70 years) had a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index, VACO index, and lower hemoglobin levels than < 70 years patients. The trend of lymphocyte count, LDH, D-dimer, and Ct value of non-survivors was not consistent with previous studies. The death rate was 20% and the recovery rate to mild illness in 14 days was 40%. Conclusion: In conclusion, this is the first clinical study of JS co-treatment in severe COVID-19 patients. JS co-treatment might reduce death rate and recovery time. Further large-scale clinical trials would be expected.

Application of acupuncture in the emergency department for patients with ileus: A pilot prospective cohort clinical study.

Acupuncture can be conveniently used for pain control in patients with a variety of conditions, and it has obvious effects on various acute pains. In 2018, we implemented a program for emergency treatment with Chinese medicine to promote the integration of Chinese and Western medicine at the Emergency Department (ED). Ileus is a common cause of abdominal pain among patients in the ED, and it is an indication for emergency treatment with Chinese medicine. This study investigated the efficacy of acupuncture as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-based treatment method for the treatment of patients with ileus in the ED. We analyzed data of patients with ileus, who visited ED between January and December 2019, and compared the length of ED stay between the Western medicine group and the Western medicine plus acupuncture group. Furthermore, pain intensity was measured by a visual analogue scale before and after acupuncture. We found that the length of ED stay was 10.8 hours lesser in the Western medicine plus acupuncture group than in the Western medicine group (P = .04), and the visual analogue scale score decreased by 2.0 on average from before to after acupuncture treatment (P = .02). Acupuncture treatment was effective and rapid in relieving the symptoms and discomfort in patients with ileus and in reducing their length of stay in the ED.

Artemisia argyi extract induces apoptosis in human gemcitabine-resistant lung cancer cells via the PI3K/MAPK signaling pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Artemisia argyi H. Lév. & Vaniot (Asteraceae), also called "Chinese mugwort", is frequently used as a herbal medicine in China, Japan, Korea, and eastern parts of Russia. It is known as "ai ye" in China and "Gaiyou" in Japan. In ancient China, the buds and leaves of A. argyi were commonly consumed before and after Tomb-sweeping Day. It is used to treat malaria, hepatitis, cancer, inflammatory diseases, asthma, irregular menstrual cycle, sinusitis, and pathologic conditions of the kidney and liver. Although A. argyi extract (AAE) has shown anti-tumor activity against various cancers, the therapeutic effect and molecular mechanism of AAE remains to be further studied in lung cancer. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to demonstrate the anti-tumor effect of AAE and its associated biological mechanisms in CL1-0 parent and gemcitabine-resistant (CL1-0-GR) lung cancer cells. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE: Human lung cancer cells CL1-0 and CL1-0-GR cells were treated with AAE. Cell viability was assessed using the MTT, colony, and spheroid formation assays. Migration, invasion, and immunofluorescence staining were used to determine the extent of epithelial- mesenchymal transition (EMT). JC-1 and MitoSOX fluorescent assays were performed to investigate the effect of AAE on mitochondria. Apoptosis was detected using the TUNEL assay and flow cytometry with Annexin V staining. RESULT: We found that A. argyi significantly decreased cell viability and induced apoptosis, accompanied by mitochondrial membrane depolarization and increased ROS levels in both parent cells (CL1-0) and gemcitabine-resistant lung cancer cells (CL1-0-GR). AAE-induced apoptosis is regulated via the PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling pathways. It also prevents CL1-0 and CL1-0-GR cancer cell invasion, migration, EMT, colony formation, and spheroid formation. In addition, AAE acts cooperative with commercial chemotherapy drugs to enhance tumor spheroid shrinkage. CONCLUSION: Our study provides the first evidence that A. argyi treatment suppresses both parent and gemcitabine-resistant lung cancer cells by inducing ROS, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, and apoptosis, and reducing EMT. Our finding provides insights into the anti-cancer activity of A. argyi and suggests that A. argyi may serve as a chemotherapy adjuvant that potentiates the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents.

Decision Tree-Based Body Constitution Diagnosis System for Traditional Chinese Medicine.

This study aimed to establish a method for fast and accurate determination of body constitution types from the body constitution questionnaire (BCQ) by employing a decision tree model. The model was trained for 4 classes, namely, Yin-Xu, Yang-Xu, Phlegm and Blood Stasis, and Normal, and it achieved 67% accuracy for the testing dataset. The model also reduced the required number of BCQ questions from 44 to 3-6, depending on the responses. Lastly, we developed the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) body constitution online diagnosis system using our model to collect data digitally and use it more practically and efficiently. This system can assist doctors to improve the diagnosis and treatment in TCM practice.

Retrospective evaluation of the curative effect of traditional Chinese medicine on dry eye disease.

Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial illness with an increasingly high global prevalence and multiple risk factors that widely influences patients' daily lives. It is essential to identify treatments with few or no side effects for patients with DED. We have reviewed studies published from 2001 to 2020 that investigated traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and integrated Chinese and Western medicine for DED treatment. Current Chinese medicines used in DED therapy were categorized into four types, namely anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, hormone-like agents, and cell-repairing agents. Compound herbs, including Chi-Ju-Di-Huang-Wan and Qiming granule, can effectively alleviate dry eye symptoms. Moreover, patients with DED who were treated with Western medicine combined with TCM experienced significantly magnified therapeutic effects and reasonable costs of treatment. In conclusion, TCM can be a promising approach for treating DED, and combined treatment with TCM and Western drugs may represent a new strategy for improving the curative effect.