Mechanisms of ginsenosides exert neuroprotective effects on spinal cord injury: A promising traditional Chinese medicine.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). It is mainly caused by trauma and reduces the quality of life of the affected individual. Ginsenosides are safe and effective traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), and their efficacy against SCI is being increasingly researched in many countries, especially in China and Korea. This systematic review evaluated the neuroprotective effects of ginsenosides in SCI and elucidated their properties. Methods: All experimental information and summaries used in this review were acquired from peer-reviewed articles in the relevant fields. The PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases were searched for relevant articles. Information on the manual classification and selection of ginsenosides that protect against SCI is included in this review. Results: A literature survey yielded studies reporting several properties of ginsenosides, including anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, anti-oxidative stress, and inhibition of glial scar formation. Conclusion: In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of action of different ginsenosides that exert neuroprotective effects in SCI. These results suggest that after further verification in the future, ginsenosides may be used as adjunctive therapy to promote neurological recovery.

Ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry for rapid separation and identification of main constituents in Chinese herbal formula Xuan Hu Suo San.

Xuan Hu Suo San (XHSS) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been extensively applied in the treatment of osteoarthritis for many years, however, its chemical composition has not yet been elucidated. Thus, a rapid, efficient, and precise method based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was applied in both positive- and negative-ion modes to rapidly separate and identify the main chemical ingredients in XHSS for the first time. Finally, with the optimised separation and detection method, a total of 57 compounds were simultaneously separated within 13 min, among which 14 compounds were confirmed by comparing retention time and MS data with reference standards and others were tentatively identified by comparing with reference literatures. This rapid and sensitive approach is highly useful for the identification and characterisation of chemical constituents, and provides fundamental and extensive information supporting further metabolic and pharmacokinetic studies of XHSS.

Medium-chain fatty acids as ligands for orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPR84.

Free fatty acids (FFAs) play important physiological roles in many tissues as an energy source and as signaling molecules in various cellular processes. Elevated levels of circulating FFAs are associated with obesity, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. Here we show that GPR84, a previously orphan G protein-coupled receptor, functions as a receptor for medium-chain FFAs with carbon chain lengths of 9-14. Medium-chain FFAs elicit calcium mobilization, inhibit 3',5'-cyclic AMP production, and stimulate [35S]guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) binding in a GPR84-dependent manner. The activation of GPR84 by medium-chain FFAs couples primarily to a pertussis toxin-sensitive G(i/o) pathway. In addition, we show that GPR84 is selectively expressed in leukocytes and markedly induced in monocytes/macrophages upon activation by lipopolysaccharide. Furthermore, we demonstrate that medium-chain FFAs amplify lipopolysaccharide-stimulated production of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-12 p40 through GPR84. Our results indicate a role for GPR84 in directly linking fatty acid metabolism to immunological regulation.