A novel traditional Chinese medicine combination for radiation

Objective:To formulate an efficacious radioprotective combination of Chinese medicines with minimal toxicity.Methods:Aqueous and alcoholic extracts from 38 traditional Chinese herbs were prepared.To produce drugcontaining sera,rats received six doses of each extract via oral gavage at 12-h intervals.Subsequently,human lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells were cultured in these drug-containing sera.The cell viability was assessed after different doses of irradiation to identify the radioprotective effects of Chinese herbal extracts.The efficacy of a selected Chinese herbal extract combination was further confirmed through cell viability analysis via in vitro colony formation and survival rate assessments in C57BL/6 mice post-irradiation.Results:Extracts from Angelicae Sinensis Radix(ASR;two extracts),Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium(CRP),Platycladi Cacumen(PC),Schisandrae chinensis Fructus(SF),Scutellariae Radix(SR),and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizome(GRR)demonstrated radioprotective effects.The combination of the seven Chinese herbal extracts notably increased the survival and viability of the BEAS-2B cells exposed to varying doses of X-rays.Moreover,the group of mice receiving Chinese medicine combination and irradiation exhibited prolonged survival after exposure to 6.5 Gy Xrays with a median survival of(14=2)d compared to(11=2)d in the irradiated group without the herbal treatment.Additionally,the Chinese medicine combination group displayed a significantly higher 28 d survival rate(30%)compared to the irradiation-only group(16.6%,P<0.05).Conclusion:The novel combination of Chinese herbal extracts from ASR,CRP,PC,SF,SR,and GRR has the potential for radiation protection applications.