Vascular protective effects of aqueous extracts of Tribulus terrestris on hypertensive endothelial injury

Angiotensin Ⅱ(Ang Ⅱ) is involved in endothelium injury during the development of hypertension. Tribulus terrestris(TT) is used to treat hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and post-stroke syndrome in China. The present study aimed to determine the effects of aqueous TT extracts on endothelial injury in spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHRs) and its protective effects against Ang Ⅱ induced injury in human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs). SHRs were administered intragastrically with TT(17.2 or 8.6 g·kg^(-1)·d^(-1)) for 6 weeks, using valsartan(13.5 mg·kg^(-1)·d^(-1)) as positive control. Blood pressure, heart rate, endothelial morphology of the thoracic aorta, serum levels of Ang Ⅱ, endothelin^(-1)(ET^(-1)), superoxide dismutase(SOD) and malonaldehyde(MDA) were measured. The endothelial injury of HUVECs was induced by 2 × 10–6 mol·L^(-1) Ang Ⅱ. Cell Apoptosisapoptosis, intracellular reactive oxygen species(ROS) was assessed. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase(eN OS), ET^(-1), SOD, and MDA in the cell culture supernatant and cell migration were assayed. The expression of hypertension-linked genes and proteins were analyzed. TT decreased systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, mean arterial pressure and heart rate, improved endothelial integrity of thoracic aorta, and decreased serum leptin, Ang Ⅱ, ET^(-1), NPY, and Hcy, while increased NO in SHRs. TT suppressed Ang Ⅱ-induced HUVEC proliferation and apoptosis and prolonged the survival, and increased cell migration. TT regulated the ROS, and decreased mR NA expression of Akt1, JAK2, PI3Kα, Erk2, FAK, and NF-κB p65 and protein expression of Erk2, FAK, and NF-κB p65. In conclusion, TT demonstrated anti-hypertensive and endothelial protective effects by regulating Erk2, FAK and NF-κB p65.

Effects of Feiwei granules in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis:a randomized and placebo-controlled trial

OBJECTIVE： To document the therapeutic effects of Feiwei granules （FGs） for idiopathic pulmonary fi-brosis （IPF）.METHODS： One hundred cases with IPF were ran- domized into the treatment group （80） and control group （20）. Both groups were given basic treat- ment with prednisone. The treatment group was given FGs, and the control group was given Jinshui- bao capsules （JCs）. Treatment lasted for 6 months. The Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale （MRCDS）, the Saint George＇s Hospital Respiratory Questionnaire （SGHRQ）, pulmonary function, the Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Score （TC- MSS）, 6-min walking test （6MWT） and blood gas analyses were recorded before the study as well as 3 months and 6 months after treatment.RESULTS： FGs showed greater efficacy than the control in certain parameters between before the study and 6 months, and between 3 months and 6 months, in the MRCDS, some indicators in the SGHRQ, and the TCMSS. There were no significant differences between the treatment group and con- trol group in the remainder of the indices evaluat- ed. In the treatment group, there were significant differences in before and after treatment in the MRCDS, SGHRQ, TCMSS and 6MWT.