Angelica sinensis isolate SBD.4: composition, gene expression profiling, mechanism of action and effect on wounds, in rats and humans.

This report characterizes an aqueous isolate (SBD.4) of one of the most broadly used Chinese medicinal herbs, Angelica sinensis, from the perspective of its application in skin and wound care. SBD.4 has been chemically defined and was found to increase the strength of healed wounds in retired breeder (older) rats. Furthermore, the mechanism of action of this Angelica sinensis isolate was tested in the zebrafish angiogenesis model, and in human skin substitutes by DNA microarray, revealing a bioactivity profile consistent with skin repair and regeneration. When combined with several types of wound dressings, SBD.4 increased type I collagen production in human dermal fibroblasts, and when formulated in nanosilver hydrocolloid dressing, it was found effective in chronic ulcer management in humans, demonstrating that botanical high-tech wound dressings can be successfully developed to improve the treatment of chronic lesions in humans.

Anti-diabetic activity of a mineraloid isolate, in vitro and in genetically diabetic mice.

Type II diabetes is a metabolic disease mediated through multiple molecular pathways. Here, we report anti-diabetic effect of a standardized isolate from a fossil material - a mineraloid leonardite - in in vitro tests and in genetically diabetic mice. The mineraloid isolate stimulated mitochondrial metabolism in human fibroblasts and this stimulation correlated with enhanced expression of genes coding for mitochondrial proteins such as ATP synthases and ribosomal protein precursors, as measured by DNA microarrays. In the diabetic animal model, consumption of the Totala isolate resulted in decreased weight gain, blood glucose, and glycated hemoglobin. To our best knowledge, this is the first description ever of a fossil material having anti-diabetic activity in pre-clinical models.