Mangiferin exerts neuroprotective activity against lead-induced toxicity and oxidative stress via Nrf2 pathway

Objective:The study was designed to assess the beneficial role of mangiferin(MGN)in lead(Pb)-induced neurological damages in the activation of Nrf2-governed enzymes,genes and proteins.Methods:A total of 96 weaned Wistar rats(48 males and 48 females,26-to 27-day-old),weighing50-80 g were used.The experiment was performed in six groups:normal group(control,n=16),model group(chronic Pb exposed,n=16),Dimercaptosuccinic acid(DMSA)-treated group(positive control,Pb+DMSA,n=16),three MGN-treated groups with different doses(Pb+MGN,n=48).Normal group freely had access to purified water.DMSA-treated group was given DMSA,which was clinically used as the standard treatment for moderate Pb poisoning,at 50 mg/kg(2 m L suspension with purified water)by intragastric gavage(ig)4 continual days a week for 4 weeks,MGN-treated groups were given MGN at 50,100,or 200 mg/kg(2 m L suspension with purified water)by ig daily for 4 weeks.At the end of the treatment,all rats were sacrificed and the brain samples were collected.The haematoxylin and eosin(H&E)staining was used for observation of histopathology.Commercial kit,real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-q PCR),Western-blot and immunohistochemistry(IHC)detection were used to detect the m RNA and protein expression.Results:Eight weeks exposure to Pb-containing water resulted in pathological alterations,anti-oxidative system disorder in the brain,all of which were blocked by MGN in a Nrf2-dependent manner.Nrf2 downstream enzymes such as HO-1,NQO1,γ-GCS were activated.Nrf2,GCLC,GCLM,HO-1 m RNA and total Nrf2,Nuclear Nrf2,γ-GCS,HO-1 protein expression were affected too.Conclusion:MGN ameliorated morphological damage in the hippocampus.Its neuroprotective effects were achieved by the activation of the Nrf2 downstream genes.The data from this in vitro study indicates that MGN targeting Nrf2 activation is a feasible approach to reduce adverse health effects associated with Pb exposure.Thus,MGN could be an effective candidate agent for the Pb-induced oxidative stress and neurotoxicity in the human body.

Chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of durian shells in ASEAN countries:A review

Durio zibethnus is mainly distributed in Southeast Asia.Traditional Chinese medicine believes that durian shells have the effects of clearing heat and purging fire,nourishing yin and moisturizing dryness.Therefore,it is often used as a pharmaceutic food in the Chinese folk to assist treating diseases.At present,the chemical constituents isolated from durian shell include phenolic acids,phenolic glycosides,flavonoids,coumarins,triterpenes,simple glycosides and other compounds.Modern pharmacological studies show that durian shell has many pharmacological activities,such as antioxidant,antiinflammatory,regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism.The chemical composition and pharmacological effects of durian shells are summarized in order to provide references for the further research and application of durian shell.

Research Progress on the Intervening Effects of Active Components of Chinese Herbs on Amyloid-Beta-Induced Injury of Neural Cells

Alzheimer's disease is a common clinical central nervous system degenerative disease. From 1906, it has not yet been clearly revealed the pathogenesis, and there are no clinically safe and effective drugs. Amyloid-beta (Aβ) cascade reaction theory is currently recognized as the pathogenesis. Aβ deposition of neurotoxicity is an important part of the pathogenesis. There are Aβ-induced inflammation of the central nervous and oxidative stress-induced apoptosis induced by a variety of ways leading to neuronal dysfunction and death. This article summarizes the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine that has a protective effect on Aβ toxicity in recent years. Traditional Chinese medicine mainly through the antiapoptosis, antioxidation, and anti-inflammatory reduces Aβ production and deposition of Aβ on the protection of nerve cell injury.

Analysis on oral medication rules of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions for prevention of COVID-19

Objective:To analyze the medication rules of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)preventive oral prescriptions for COVID-19.Methods:The preventive oral prescriptions for COVID-19 published by national and provincial health and wellness committees,administrations of TCM,medical institutions at all levels,medical masters and Chinese medicine experts were collected to establish a database,manual screening was carried out according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,and frequency statistics,association rule analysis.The mutual information method,entropy hierarchical clustering and other methods were improved through Excel and the TCM inheritance auxiliary platform V2.5 to mine the rules and characteristics of medication.Results:The selected 157 prescriptions contained a total of 130 TCMs.The top five TCMs with the highest use frequency were Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma(86),Astragali Radix(80),Lonicerea Japonicae Flos(70),Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma(62),Saposhnikoviae Radix(60).In accordance with TCM efficacy classification,most of them were medicines for qi-tonifying(279),followed by medicines for clearing heat and drying dampness(163),dispelling pathogenic wind-cold(126),resolving dampness(111),as well as dispelling pathogenic wind-heat(99).The characteristics of four-natures of the selected medicines are as follows:most of them were cold(59),followed by warm(38)and mild(21).In terms of fivetaste,most of them were sweet(26)and acrid-and-bitter(24),followed by sweet-and-bitter(20),bitter(20)and acrid(15).For the meridian attribution,the five-zang organs and six-fu organs were all involved,most of them attributed to lung meridian(80),followed by stomach meridian(57)and spleen meridian(40).Based on association rule analysis,12 commonly used medicine combinations with two or three TCMs were found.The commonly used medicinal pairs included Astragali Radix and Saposhnikoviae Radix(51),Astragali Radix and Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma(46),Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Saposhnikoviae Radix(43),Astragali Radix and Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Saposhnikoviae Radix(38),Forsythiae Fructus and Astragali Radix(37),and so on.In addition,14 core combinations of medicines were obtained by complex system entropy cluster analysis,on this basis,six new prescriptions were screened out based on unsupervised entropy hierarchical clustering analysis.According to The Catalogue of Edible Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials,Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials for Health Food,and New Resources of Food published by National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China,there are 35 species belonging to the group of edible traditional Chinese medicinal materials,20 species belonging to the group of new resources of food,31 species belonging to the group of traditional Chinese medicinal materials for health food,19.11%of the preventive oral prescriptions for COVID-19 were composed of the medicines belonging to the above three groups.Besides,there are 11 toxic species,and 24.84%of the preventive oral prescriptions for COVID-19 contained toxic TCMs.Conclusion:We found that invigorating qi and resolving dampness were the main treatment used to prevent for COVID-19,combined with the methods for strengthening vital energy and eliminating pathogenic factors.Most of the preventive oral prescriptions for COVID-19 were treated in lung,spleen and stomach meridians.In the process of selecting prescriptions and using TCMs to prevent for COVID-19,the safety of preventive medicines was also emphasized.And the theory of"Preventive Treatment of Disease"was embodied in these preventive oral prescriptions for COVID-19.For the prescriptions containing toxic TCMs,special attention should be paid to their safety in clinical application.

Analysis on application law of dampness-removing traditional Chinese medicines in treatment of coronavirus disease 2019

Objective:Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19)has been diagnosed as an epidemic disease characterized by cold and dampness pathogens in TCM clinic.Due to many Chinese medicines with different functions were used in the treatment of COVID-19,it is very important to find the law of application of dampremoving traditional Chinese medicine with high frequency application,with view to providing a reference for the use and research of Chinese medicine to further control the pandemic.Methods:The publicly released diagnosis and treatment programs issued by the National Health Commission and Health Commission of provinces,autonomous regions and municipalities,and Chinese herbs prescription information in these were collected,a database was established,and Excel and Graphpad 8.0 software were used to analyze the frequency of use of various Chinese medicines,the frequency and property characters including five flavors(bitter,pungent,sweet,sour,and salty)and four natures(warm,hot,cool,and cold)and channel tropisms of Chinese medicine for removing dampness.Results:A total of 137 prescriptions of Chinese medicine for treating COVID-19 were collected,including178 TCMs showing functions of resolving phlegm,relieving cough and asthma,resolving dampness,clearing damp and inducing dieresis,clearing heat,tonifying deficiency,and relieving exterior syndrome,in which the TCMs with the first four functions that we called the dampness-removing TCMs,accounted for 35.78%.Also a number of TCMs in the rest functions showed removing-dampness.The first four functions were divided into subfunctions including aromatic resolving dampness,clearing heat and drying dampness,drying dampness and tonifying spleen qi,drying dampness and removing phlegm,inducing diuresis and relieving swelling,inducing diuresis and relieving exterior syndrome.Among them,the most frequently used TCMs was Ephedrae Herba,followed by Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium,Pogostemonis Herba,Pinelliae Rhizoma,Poria,Scutellariae Radix,and Atractylodis Rhizoma.The property character analysis in the dampness-removing TCMs showed that bitter and pungent were largely present and sour and astringent were absent,warm and hot were dominant;And the lung,spleen,stomach,large intestine,bladder were main channel tropisms.Conclusion:Dampness-removing TCMs are the first important type of traditional Chinese medicine to be considered in the treatment of COVID-19 in Chinese medicine.The application of dampness-removing TCMs in the treatment of COVID-19 needs to be combined with its application law.This study may provide meaningful and useful information on further research to investigate the effective compounds from the dampness-removing Chinese medicine with high frequency application,and also provide a reference for the clinical treatment of COVID-19 accurately against dampness evil with dampness-removing traditional Chinese medicines.