Shenfu injection: a review of pharmacological effects on cardiovascular diseases.

Shenfu injection (SFI), composed of ginseng and aconite, is a Chinese patent developed from the classic traditional prescription Shenfu Decoction created more than 700 years ago. SFI has been widely used in China for over 30 years for treating cardiovascular diseases. The main components in it include ginsenosides and aconitum alkaloids. In recent years, the role of SFI in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases has attracted much attention. The pharmacological effects and therapeutic applications of SFI in cardiovascular diseases are summarized here, highlighting pharmacological features and potential mechanisms developments, confirming that SFI can play a role in multiple ways and is a promising drug for treating cardiovascular diseases.

Role of Licochalcone A in Potential Pharmacological Therapy: A Review.

Licochalcone A (LA), a useful and valuable flavonoid, is isolated from Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. ex DC. and widely used clinically in traditional Chinese medicine. We systematically updated the latest information on the pharmacology of LA over the past decade from several authoritative internet databases, including Web of Science, Elsevier, Europe PMC, Wiley Online Library, and PubMed. A combination of keywords containing "Licochalcone A," "Flavonoid," and "Pharmacological Therapy" was used to help ensure a comprehensive review. Collected information demonstrates a wide range of pharmacological properties for LA, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-parasitic, bone protection, blood glucose and lipid regulation, neuroprotection, and skin protection. LA activity is mediated through several signaling pathways, such as PI3K/Akt/mTOR, P53, NF-κB, and P38. Caspase-3 apoptosis, MAPK inflammatory, and Nrf2 oxidative stress signaling pathways are also involved with multiple therapeutic targets, such as TNF-α, VEGF, Fas, FasL, PI3K, AKT, and caspases. Recent studies mainly focus on the anticancer properties of LA, which suggests that the pharmacology of other aspects of LA will need additional study. At the end of this review, current challenges and future research directions on LA are discussed. This review is divided into three parts based on the pharmacological effects of LA for the convenience of readers. We anticipate that this review will inspire further research.

Develop an ADR prediction system of Chinese herbal injections containing Panax notoginseng saponin: a nested case-control study using machine learning.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop an adverse drug reactions (ADR) antecedent prediction system using machine learning algorithms to provide the reference for security usage of Chinese herbal injections containing Panax notoginseng saponin in clinical practice. DESIGN: A nested case-control study. SETTING: National Center for ADR Monitoring and the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. PARTICIPANTS: All patients were from five medical institutions in Sichuan Province from January 2010 to December 2018. MAIN OUTCOMES/MEASURES: Data of patients with ADR who used Chinese herbal injections containing Panax notoginseng saponin were collected from the National Center for ADR Monitoring. A nested case-control study was used to randomly match patients without ADR from the EMR system by the ratio of 1:4. Eighteen machine learning algorithms were applied for the development of ADR prediction models. Area under curve (AUC), accuracy, precision, recall rate and F1 value were used to evaluate the predictive performance of the model. An ADR prediction system was established by the best model selected from the 1080 models. RESULTS: A total of 530 patients from five medical institutions were included, and 1080 ADR prediction models were developed. Among these models, the AUC of the best capable one was 0.9141 and the accuracy was 0.8947. According to the best model, a prediction system, which can provide early identification of patients at risk for the ADR of Panax notoginseng saponin, has been established. CONCLUSION: The prediction system developed based on the machine learning model in this study had good predictive performance and potential clinical application.

Curcuma's extraction attenuates propranolol-induced psoriasis like in mice by inhibition of keratin, proliferating cell nuclear antigen and toll-like receptor expression.

Curcuma was the dried rhizomes of Curcuma kwangsiensis S.G. Lee et C.F. Liang (Chinese name: e zhu), have been used in China for thousands of years. There are some reports have shown that curcumin, the major component of curcuma, has a good curative effect on psoriasis, but the mechanism is still unknown, so the present study was designed to investigate the effect of curcuma's extraction on psoriasis-like mouse, and to explore the mechanisms of therapy. First, we observed that curcuma's extractions effect on mitosis of mouse vaginal epithelial cells; then making psoriasis like model and measuring the score of skin damage on days 7 and 14; finally, we observed the expression of immune factors (CK14, CK16, CK17, PCNA, TLR-2, TLR-4, TLR-9) in propranolol induced psoriasis like rats. Curcuma's extraction prohibited the mitosis of mouse vaginal epithelial cells; curcuma's extractions have a significantly efficacy and dose dependent inhibition on imiquimod induced psoriasis like rats; and the expression of immune factors (CK14, CK16, CK17, PCNA, TLR-2, TLR-4, TLR-9) was decreasing in the curcuma's extraction treated groups compared with normal groups. Our research proved that curcuma's extractions have a significantly efficacy on psoriasis like rats, thus, curcuma's extractions can be a potential novel treatment for psoriasis. Furthermore, the expression of immune factors was decreasing after treatment with curcuma's extraction suggest us cytokines has strong relation with the mechanism of therapy for psoriasis. Our results contribute towards validation of curcuma in the treatment of psoriasis and other joint disorders.

A validated LC-MS/MS method for the determination of senkyunolide I in dog plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic and bioavailability studies.

Senkyunolide I is one of the major bioactive components in the herbal medicine Ligusticum chuanxiong. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a fast, simple and sensitive LC-MS/MS method for the determination of senkyunolide I in dog plasma. The plasma samples were processed with acetonitrile and separated on a Waters Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm). The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid aqueous and acetonitrile was delivered at a flow rate of 0.3 mL min-1 . The detection was achieved in the positive selected reaction monitoring mode with precursor-to-product transitions at m/z 225.1 → 161.1 for senkyunolide I and at m/z 349.1 → 305.1 for an internal standard. The assay was linear over the tested concentration range, from 0.5 ng mL-1 to 1000 ng mL-1 , with a correlation coefficient >0.9992. The mean extraction recovery from dog plasma was within the range of 85.78-93.25%, while the matrix effect of the analyte was within the range of 98.23-108.89%. The intra- and inter-day precisions (RSD) were <12.12% and the accuracy (RR) ranged from 98.89% to 104.24%. The validated assay was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic and bioavailability studies of senkyunolide I in dogs. The results demonstrated that (a) senkyunolide I showed short elimination half-life (<1 h) in dog, (b) its oral bioavailability was >40% and (c) senkyunolide I showed dose-independent pharmacokinetic profiles in dog plasma over the dose range of 1-50 mg kg-1 .