Prescription patterns of traditional Chinese medicine amongst Taiwanese children: a population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used by Chinese patients and in many other countries worldwide. However, epidemiological reports and prescription patterns on children are few. METHODS: A cohort of 178,617 children aged 18 and under from one million randomly sampled cases of the National Health Insurance Research Database was analyzed for TCM prescription patterns. SAS 9.1 was applied and descriptive medicine utilization patterns were presented. RESULTS: The cohort included 112,889 children treated by TCM, with adolescents (12- to 18-year-olds) as the largest group. In the children's TCM outpatient visits, Chinese herbal remedies were the main treatment. The top three categories of diseases treated with Chinese herbal remedies were respiratory system; symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions; and digestive system. The top three categories using acupuncture were: injury and poisoning, diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, and diseases of the respiratory system. Of the top ten herbal medicines prescribed by TCM physicians, the top nine herbal formulae and the top ten single herbs were associated with diseases of the respiratory system. CONCLUSION: This study identified patterns of TCM prescriptions for children and common disease categories treated with TCM. The results provide a useful reference for health policy makers and for those who consider the usage of TCM for children.

Research Progress in Single-herb Chinese Medicine and Compound Medicine for Knee Osteoarthritis.

Due to an increase in the aging population, osteoarthritis (OA), especially knee osteoarthritis (KOA), has increasingly become one of the diseases affecting the quality of life of the elderly. As the pathogenesis of KOA is still unclear, Western medicine treatment lacks specificity, and surgical treatment is difficult to cover all patients. Therefore, in recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the conservative treatment of KOA has received increasing attention. The advantages of TCM are clear, such as relief of symptoms, fewer adverse reactions, and wider applicability to patients. This paper mainly discusses the research progress in single-herb TCM and TCM compounds for KOA, aiming to demonstrate the effectiveness of TCM in the treatment of KOA. It also provides ideas for future research on the treatment of KOA by TCM and the pathogenesis of knee osteoarthritis.

Mechanisms of single herbs and herbal pairs in the treatment of mammary gland hyperplasia: An integrated review.

Background: The pathogenesis of hyperplasia of mammary glands (HMG) is a complex process, involving multiple links and systems within the body. Current clinical research indicates that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) demonstrates a significant therapeutic effect in treating HMG. Single herbs or herbal pairs (two herbs) are the basic units of preventing and treating HMG. It is of great significance to explore the mechanism of single herbs or herbal pairs in treating HMG for clarifying the mechanism of preventing HMG with TCM. Purpose: This study aimed to review the literature, summarize the known mechanisms of single herbs and herbal pair therapy for treating hyperplasia of mammary glands (HMG), and elucidate the relevant substances involved within and outside the body during these treatments. Study design: In this study, the action mechanism of single herbs or herbal pairs in treating HMG was selected as the research object. English articles were mainly selected and Chinese articles were supplemented. We conducted a literature search in PubMed, CNKI, WanFang Database, etc，including full-text studies published between January 1992 and December 31, 2022. The primary literature was carefully screened, and the mechanism of action was explored by logical analysis. Methods: We conducted a literature review focusing on basic studies that explored the mechanisms underlying the effects of herbal treatments for mammary gland hyperplasia. The literature search was performed in PubMed, CNKI, and WanFang Database, covering full-text articles published from January 1992 to 31 December 2022, using various keywords (e.g., hyperplasia of mammary glands, single herb, herbal pair, effect, mechanism, inclusion criteria). Exclusion criteria were also set. We employed methods such as literature measurement, literature research, and content analysis to logically analyze, induce, and deduce the findings of the collected literature. Results: This review reveals that several distinct mechanisms contribute to the beneficial effects of single herbs or herbal pairs on the recovery of mammary gland hyperplasia. Regarding hormone levels, Chinese herbs can decrease hormones such as Estradiol(E2) and Prolactin(PRL), increase Progesterone(P) levels, balance the E2/P ratio, reduce the expression of sex hormone receptors, and lessen the self-sensitivity of breast tissue under the influence of E2. Histologically, Chinese herbs can inhibit breast neovascularization and alleviate blood viscosity. At the cellular level, Chinese herbs can modulate the expression of apoptosis genes and proteins, decrease cell proliferation activity, and ultimately inhibit or even reverse breast hyperplasia. From a pharmacological perspective, Chinese herbs exhibit analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune-regulating properties. Conclusion: The evidence in this review demonstrates the effectiveness of single herbs or herbal pairs in preventing and treating mammary gland hyperplasia, with precise underlying mechanisms.

The underlying mechanisms of anti-hepatitis B effects of formula Le-Cao-Shi and its single herbs by network pharmacology and gut microbiota analysis.

Formula Le-Cao-Shi (LCS), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been used as folk remedy for treating hepatitis B for a long time. In our previous study, the anti-hepatitis B effects of LCS have been verified. In the present study, the anti-hepatitis B activities of LCS and its three single herbs were investigated in vitro by HepG2.2.15 cellular model, and the mechanisms against hepatitis B were deciphered via network pharmacology and gut microbiota analysis. By network pharmacology method, twelve key compounds that played a vital role in LCS were filtered from 213 ingredients. The targets RORA, CDK2, RELA, AKT1, IKBKG, PRKCß and CASP3 were directly related to hepatitis B pathway, which indicated that LCS could exert anti-hepatitis B effect by co-regulating cell cycle and inflammatory pathways. The interactions between candidate compounds and target proteins that were directly involved in hepatitis B pathway were validated by molecular docking simulation and RT-PCR. By gut microbiota analysis, it was revealed that LCS could alter the disordered microbial composition in the infected ducks towards normal, especially the restoration of three key strains, namely Streptococcus alactolyticus, Enterococcus cecorum and Bacteroides fragilis. The above findings could provide a scientific basis for further development and utilization of LCS against hepatitis B.

Traditional Chinese Medicine in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: molecular insights and therapeutic perspectives.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the world's largest chronic liver disease, while there is still no specific drug to treat NAFLD. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) have been widely used in hepatic diseases for centuries in Asia, and TCM's holistic concept and differentiation treatment of NAFLD show their advantages in the treatment of this complex metabolic disease. However, the multi-compounds and multi-targets are big obstacle for the study of TCM. Here, we summarize the pharmacological actions of active ingredients from frequently used single herbs in TCM compounds. The combined mechanism of herbs in TCM compounds are further discussed to explore their comprehensive effects on NAFLD. This article aims to summarize multiple functions and find the common ground for TCM treatment on NAFLD, thus providing enrichment to the scientific connotation of TCM theories and promotes the exploration of TCM therapies on NAFLD.

Integrating multiple-chromatographic approaches to evaluate chemical consistency of Chang-Kang-Fang preparations from mixed-herb decoction and combined single-herb decoction.

Chang-Kang-Fang formula (CKF), a multi-herbs traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription for treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), has been clinically applied in the traditional form of mixed-herb decoction (MHD), or in the modern form of combined single-herb decoction (cSHD, so called dispensing granule decoction) in the near decades, but the chemical consistency between the MHD and cSHD is still unknown. Herein, a new strategy by integrating multiple-chromatographic approaches to characterize both polysaccharides and small molecules was developed to compare the chemical consistency between MHD and cSHD. Sixteen small molecules were simultaneously qualified and quantified by UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS, the molecular weight distribution of polysaccharides was characterized by HPGPC-ELSD, while the monosaccharide composition and total saccharides content were determined by HPLC-PDA and UV-VIS, respectively. It was found that the molecular weight range and monosaccharide composition of polysaccharides, as well as the composition of small molecules, were identical between MHD and cSHD. However, the contents of berberine, epiberberine, coptisine, palmatine, albiflorin and paeoniflorin in MHD were significantly lower than those in cSHD, whereas the content of polysaccharides in MHD was higher than that in cSHD, indicating that there is a significant difference in the quality between MHD and cSHD, in particular for the relative contents of major small molecules and polysaccharides. Whether or not these quality variations affect the efficacy and safety of CKF deserves further investigation.

Anti-inflammatory effects of Jingshu Keli capsule and its components on human synoviocyte MH7A cells.

BACKGROUND: Jingshu Keli (JSKL), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula consisting of multiple active compounds, has been officially approved by National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for treatment of cervical radiculopathy. It relieves pain, according to TCM theory, by activating blood circulation to dissipate blood stasis. The pain mainly stems from neurogenic inflammation caused by mechanical compression of the cervical nerve root. In addition, inflammation mediators also cause the development of other joint diseases, such as osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of JSKL and identify the biologically active herbs and compounds in vitro. METHODS: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa) was used to determine the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 8 (IL-8), in the culture medium of human MH7A cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS). RESULTS: JSKL and three single-herb capsules, Cinnamomum cassia Presl (C.C.), Angelica Sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (A.S.) and Carthamus tinctorius L. (C.T.), significantly inhibited the secretion of TNF-α. If one of these three herbal components was removed, suppressing effect of the single-herb-deleted JSKL on TNF-α was abolished. Cinnamaldehyde (CIN) from C.C. was the most potent ingredient that inhibited the expression of IL-6 and IL-8 in the culture medium of both LPS-stimulated MH7A cells and primary synovial cells. CONCLUSIONS: JSKL was found to possess anti-inflammatory effect in vitro; C.C., A.S. and C.T. were the principal and essential herbal components responsible for such activity; CIN from C.C. is one the most potent single compound among indicator components of JSKL recorded in 2015 Chinese pharmacopoeia. This study provided scientific evidence for the clinical application of JSKL as an agent for targeted treatment of cervical radiculopathy. Furthermore, CIN has potential to be used for the treatment of some inflammation-related orthopedic diseases, such as rheumatic arthritis and osteoarthritis.

Derivative multiple reaction monitoring and single herb calibration approach for multiple components quantification of traditional Chinese medicine analogous formulae.

In comparison with monotherapy in western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) advocates combinational therapy for treating diseases and TCM formula is a representative for this approach. Despite of extensive clinical applications of TCM formulae, knowledge about their pharmacological activities, mechanisms of action and cellular targets remains limited. A main contributing factor to these unanswered questions is unavailability of chemical compositions and their contents in the formulae. Several challenges hinder global qualitative and quantitative analysis of the formulae, including large quantities of constituents, potential physicochemical changes during decoction and lack of authentic standards. Herein we introduced an integrated strategy based on liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) systems to address such challenges. First, liquid chromatography-ion trap and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-IT/MS and LC-QTOF/MS) were utilized to characterize chemical profiling of the formulae. Meanwhile, MS(2) of IT/MS produced major parameters for derivative multiple reaction monitoring (DeMRM) on liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-TQ/MS), which offered rapid and direct transition design in the quantitative assay. Instead of authentic standards, serial dilutions of single herbs were employed in this study to construct calibration curves necessary for calculating relative concentrations of components. Xiao-Banxia decoction and its four analogous formulae were then taken to exemplify the feasibility of currently proposed methodology. Among the 160 qualitatively identified components, a total of 138 components were semi-quantified for these decoctions. Based on these results, we demonstrated that co-decoction of different herbs could result in concentration variations of components and this effect was more prominent when certain herbs were combined. Our results indicated that the present strategy would significantly contribute to chemical studies on TCM and its utilities could be extended to other research fields, such as metabolomics and comparative chemistry.

Advances in Studies on Chinese Materia Medica for Treatment of Sepsis Based on NF-κB Signal Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Sepsis is a kind of systemic inflammatroy response syndrome (SIRS) induced by severe infection,operation,and trauma,with high mortality rate,treatment cost,and high consumption of medical resources.It has caused a great burden to the medical industry and even the national economy.Therefore,it is urgent to find effective treatment methods for sepsis.At present,the sepsis has been treated with certain drugs pointing at its pathogenesis,such as antibiotics,glucocorticoids,and vasoactive drugs.,but the therapeutic effect is not ideal,with many side effects,poor prognosis,and high clinical mortality.Based on the overall macro-dialectical thinking mode,and with the unique effect and low side effect,traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has attracted the attention from researchers and clinicians around the world for treatment of sepsis.In recent years,some traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions,Chinese patent medicines,single Chinese medicines and active ingredients are increasingly used as new drugs to prevent and treat sepsis.Such treatment methods have been widely recognized and have reduced the mortality and inflammatory indexes of patients to a certain extent,playing an important role in the prevention and treatment of sepsis.In this paper,the actions of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signal pathway in sepsis as well as the advances in research of NF-κB signal pathway-related proteins in Chinese medicine for sepsis were reviewed.

Discussion on Character of Xiaoqinglong Decoction Based on HPLC Fingerprints of Single Herb and Herb-pair / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

Xiaoqinglong decoction,first recorded by Zhang Zhongjing in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) classic text Shang Han Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases),has eight herbal components including Herb Ephedrae (Mahuang),Radix Paeoniae Alba (Shaoyao),Radix Asari (Xixin),Rhizoma Zingiberis (Ganjiang),Glycyrrhiza Uralensis (Gancao),Ramulus Cinnamomi (Cuizhi),Rhizoma Pinelliae (Banxia) and Fructus Schisandrae (Wuweizi).Fingerprints of HPLC for single herb and herb-pair including Mahuang-Gancao,Mahuang-Guizhi,Shaoyao-Guizhi,Shaoyao-Gancao,Wuweizi-Xixin were analyzed.Based on the HPLC of single herb and herbal pair,we discussed the character of the Xiaoqinglong decoction and explored the scientific connotation of the compatibility of medicines in prescription.

Advances in pharmacologic studies on treatments of allergic diseases by Chinese materia medica / 中草药

Clinical evidences demonstrated the effects of Chinese materia medica (CMM) on allergic diseases. However, the bioactive components in CMM and their mechanims of actions remain unkown. The progress of pharmacological studies on the anti-alleric effects of multi-herb formulation, herbal extracts/fraction, and pure compounds of CMM was summerized, which showed the characteristics of multi-component, multi-target, and multi-mechanism of CMM effects. This review provides the information for clinical use of anti-allergic CMM and drug discovery of anti-allergic CMM products.

Advances in studies on Chinese materia medica for treatment of ulcerative colitis based on NF-κB signal pathway / 中草药

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic and relapsing condition of the intestinal inflammation of unknown etiology and remains one of the most intractable gastrointestinal diseases, impairing quality of life and carrying a high risk of colorectal cancer in patients with UC. Currently, aminosalicylic acid, steroid hormone, and immunosuppressor are the main drugs for treating UC. However, all of them can not cure UC once and for all. In recent years, many scholars attempted to find new drugs in the extracts and active compounds from herbs for the prevention and treatment of UC. The paper summarized the status of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signal pathway of UC, and those anti-inflammation Chinese materia medica regarded proteins and enzymes of NF-κB pathway as targets.

Research progress of anti-virus activity and action mechanism of febrifuge and detoxifying herbs / 中国药理学通报

Virus is a kind of pathogen which has greatly threat-ened human lives and is severely harmful to human’ s health. It is featured by rapid transmission and high mortality. At present there is no efficacious anti-virus western medicine. Some kinds of traditional Chinese medicines show certain restrictive effect a-gainst virus as natural materials and become a hot spot. This pa-per proceeds from experimental study on anti-virus activity and action mechanism of febrifuge and detoxifying herbs, and eluci-dates the important role of febrifuge and detoxifying herbs in anti-virus effect to provide evidence for screening anti-virus Chinese medicine in clinic.

Inhibiting Effect of Ultra-micro Powder Qiweibaizhusan on Bacteria in Vitro / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To observe the bacteriostatic effect of single herbs, traditional complex prescription and ultra-micro powder of Qiweibaizhusan. Methods The inhibiting zone and MIC of single herb and compound of Qiweibaizhusan on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Eubacterium aerofaciens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella sp, Saccharomyces cerevisiaes and Candida glabrata were measured by filter paper method. Results The growth of the tested bacteria and yeast except Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella sp were inhibited by ginseng. The antibacterial effect of licorice was the best, and only Pseudomonas aeruginosa’s growth was not inhibited by licorice. The growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Eubacterium aerofaciens were inhibited by Agastache rugosa. The growth of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Eubacterium aerofaciens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were inhibited by Poria cocos. Only Eubacterium aerofaciens’s growth was inhibited by Radix aucklandiae and fried Atractylodes macrocephala. The growth of all the bacteria and yeast were not inhibited by Radix puerariae. The growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Eubacterium aerofaciens and Salmonella sp were inhibited by the traditional decoction and ultra-micro powder of complex prescription of Qiweibaizhusan, and all the MIC of ultra-micro powder were smaller than the traditional decoction. Conclusion The main antibacterial component of Qiweibaizhusan was ginseng and licorice. The inhibiting effect of ultra-micro powder on bacteria was better than traditional decoction of Qiweibaizhusan in vitro.