Effects of Shiwei Longdanhua formula on LPS induced airway mucus hypersecretion, cough hypersensitivity, oxidative stress and pulmonary inflammation.

Shiwei Longdanhua Granule (SWLDH) is a classic Tibetan medicine (TM) ranking in the top 20 Chinese patent medicines in prescription rate to treat respiratory diseases like pneumonia, acute and chronic tracheobronchitis, acute exacerbation of COPD and bronchial asthma in solution of inflammation, cough and phlegm obstruction in clinical practice. However, its systematic pharmacological mechanisms have not been elucidated yet. Here, we studied the therapeutic efficacy of SWLDH in treatment of acute respiratory diseases in BALB/c mice by comprehensive analysis of airway inflammation, oxidative stress, mucus hypersecretion, cough hypersensitivities and indicators associated with the development of chronic diseases. Our results show that SWLDH might exhibit its inhibitory effects on pulmonary inflammation by interference with arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism pathways. Oxidative stress that highly related to the degree of tissue injury could be alleviated by enhancing the reductive activities of glutathione redox system, thioredoxin system and the catalytic activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) after SWLDH treatment. In addition, SWLDH could significantly abrogate the mucus hypersecretion induced bronchiole obstruction by inactivate the globlet cells and decrease the secretion of gel-forming mucins (MUC5AC and MUC5B) under pathological condition, demonstrating its mucoactive potency. SWLDH also showed reversed effects on the release of neuropeptides that are responsible for airway sensory hypersensitivity. Simultaneously observed inhibition of calcium influx, reduction in in vivo biosynthesis of acetylcholine and the recovery of the content of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) might collaboratively contribute to cause airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) relexation. These findings indicated that SWLDH might exhibited antitussive potency via suppression of the urge to cough and ASMCs contraction. Moreover, SWLDH might affect airway remodeling. We found SWLDH could retard the elevation of TGF-ß1 and α-SMA, which are important indicators for hyperplasia and contraction during the progression of the chronic airway inflammatory diseases like COPD and asthma.

The transnational Sowa Rigpa industry in Asia: New perspectives on an emerging economy.

This article advances the hypothesis that "traditional" Asian pharmaceutical industries are rapidly growing in size and prominence in contemporary Asia, and identifies a lack of empirical data on the phenomenon. Addressing this gap, the article provides a quantitative outline and analysis of the Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan, Mongolian and Himalayan medicine) pharmaceutical industry in China, India, Mongolia and Bhutan. Using original data gathered through multi-sited ethnographic and textual research between 2014 and 2019, involving 232 industry representatives, policy makers, researchers, pharmacists and physicians, it assembles a bigger picture on this industry's structure, size and dynamics. Revealing a tenfold growth of the Sowa Rigpa pharmaceutical industry in Asia between 2000 and 2017, the study supports its initial hypothesis. In 2017, the industry had a total sales value of 677.5 million USD, and constituted an important economic and public health resource in Tibetan, Mongolian and Himalayan regions of Asia. China generates almost 98 percent of the total sales value, which is explained by significant state intervention on the one hand, and historical and sociocultural reasons on the other. India has the second largest Sowa Rigpa pharmaceutical industry with an annual sales value of about 11 million USD, while sales values in Mongolia and Bhutan are very low, despite Sowa Rigpa's domestic importance for the two nations. The article concludes with a number of broader observations emerging from the presented data, arguing that the Sowa Rigpa pharmaceutical industry has become big enough to exert complex transformative effects on Tibetan, Mongolian and Himalayan medicine more generally. The quantitative and qualitative data presented here provide crucial foundations for further scholarly, regulatory, and professional engagement with contemporary Sowa Rigpa.

Qualitative Exploration of the Potential Causes of Serious Reduction in Availability of Medicinal Plants in the Qinghai-Tibetan High Plateau.

In the last ten years, there has been a dramatic reduction in medicinal plants in Tibet. This situation has attracted the attention of many researchers from different professional backgrounds, yet very few documents have been published on the general theoretical context and the actual process of herb collection as it occurs at different levels in clinics in Tibet. This article begins with a systematic review of the general principles of medicinal plant collection methods as set out in the ancient traditional medical system. Because the demand for plants is generated by the need to make Tibetan medicines, it is necessary to consider the original context of Tibetan medicine to understand pharmacological needs and the principles behind collecting medicinal plants to develop a strategy that might guarantee sustainable development of the plant supply. After considering the wider context of this study, the article presents research mainly based on case studies with the intention of understanding different stakeholders' experiences and social relationships in the contemporary herb collection process in order to discover behavioral patterns within the dynamic social roles involved in this process as these inform policy formation and to seek to promote appropriate methods in the future.

The tibetan uterotonic zhi byed 11: mechanisms of action, efficacy, and historical use for postpartum hemorrhage.

Objective. To explore evidence for the traditional Tibetan medicine, Zhi Byed 11 (ZB11), for use as a uterotonic. Methods. The eleven ingredients in ZB11 were chemically analyzed by mass spectroscopy. A review was conducted of Western allopathic literature for scientific studies on ZB11's individual components. Literature from Tibetan and other traditional paradigms were reviewed. Results. Potential mechanisms of action for ZB11 as a uterotonic include laxative effects, a dose-dependant increase in smooth muscle tissue peristalsis that may also affect the uterus smooth muscle, and chemical components that are prostaglandin precursors and/or increase prostaglandin synthesis. A recent RCT demonstrated comparable efficacy to misoprostol in reducing severe postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) (>1000 mL) and greater effect than placebo. Historical and anecdotal evidence for ZB11 and its ingredients for childbirth provide further support. Discussion. ZB11 and its ingredients are candidates for potentially effective uterotonics, especially in low-resource settings. Further research is warranted to understand the mechanisms of action and synergy between ingredients.

Sexual Differentiation in Tibetan Medical and Buddhist Perspectives.

Classical Tibetan medicine is closely related to Buddhist philosophy. This article describes how the study and meaning of sexual differentiation in Tibetan medicine is deeply rooted in Buddhist texts and philosophy. The article pays particular attention to the Buddhist theory of mutual dependence of birth and death and on the medical ways of explaining the determining of sex. While Tibetan medicine approaches sexual differentiation by examining its various determinant factors, thus aiming to improve understanding of the human body and diseases, which manifest differently in men and women, in Buddhist philosophy sexual differentiation is perceived as a fundamental, natural phenomenon of human life that forms a key in Tantric practices to comprehend the nature of mind and thence attaining the highest state of mind. The article consists of a translation of the first chapter of a Tibetan medical book on obstetrics, including a newly written introduction to the Buddhist interpretive frame employed in the chapter.