Property theory of Chinese materia medica: Clinical pharmacodynamics of traditional Chinese medicine

The property theory of Chinese materia medica is one of the foundations of traditional Chinese medicine.The property of Chinese materia medica(PCMM)is a multi-dimensional expression of the effect of Chinese materia medica(CMM),and it is related to the clinical prescription that fully reflects the clinical effect evaluation of CMM in a holistic,systematic,and scientific way.This paper discusses the source,development,and application of the PCMM by considering not only the five dimensions that constitute the PCMM but also the recognition of the human body and disease as given in traditional Chinese medicine.This paper aims to provide theoretical guidance for the rational use and development of CMM.

Based on FP-Growth Algorithm to Excavate Medication Rule of Chinese Materia Medica for Radiation Esophagitis

Objective:To find the medication rule of Chinese materia medica for treating radiation esophagitis through FP-Growth algorithm.Methods:By searching the three major literature databases such as Chinese Journal Full-text Database,VIP Chinese Sci-tech Journals Database,Wanfang Data,etc.from the database establishment to May 10,2020,88 effective documents and 91 prescriptions were screened.The medication frequency of prescription in the paper was extracted and sorted.Results:The frequency of medicinal property from high to low were:slightly cold,cold,balance,warm,cool,slightly warm,and great cold.The frequency of medicinal taste from high to low were:sweet,bitter,pungent,slightly bitter,salty,slightly pungent,sour,light,astringent.The frequency of channel tropism from high to low were:lung,stomach,liver,heart,spleen,etc.,and 10 herbal combinations with clinical significance were obtained.There was one prescription with good correlation strength in the clinical treatment of radiation esophagitis.Conclusion:The medication rule of Chinese materia medica for the treatment of radiation esophagitis is based on the principles of clearing away heat and detoxification,benefiting Qi(气)and nourishing Yin(阴),and stopping bleeding and removing phlegm.Heat-clearing medicine,tonic medicine,phlegmresolving,cough–relieving medicine and asthma-relieving medicine,blood-activating and stasis removing medicine were highly frequent used.The high-frequency association rules are nourishing Yin–clearing heat–generating fluid,removing toxin–cooling blood–benefiting Qi,benefiting Qi–invigorating spleen–stopping bleeding.It is stable and feasible to use FP-Growth algorithm to mine traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)to treat diseases.

First ISO International Standard on Chinese Materia Medica

ISO 18662-1:2017,Traditional Chinese medicine--Vocabulary--Part 1:Chinese Materia Medica(CMM)was officially released recently.The standard is the first terminology standard published by ISO/TC 249,Traditional Chinese medicine,which provides an important basis to standardize and uniform the terminology of traditional Chinese medicine in the

Characterization and Comparison Analysis of WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants and Iso Standards of Chinese Materia Medica

Medicinal plants or Chinese materia medica(CMM)are now attracting worldwide attention as they have increasingly prominent advantages over chemical drugs in disease treatment and healthcare.Since the 1990s,World Health Organization(WHO)and International Organization for Standardization established the Technical Committee of Traditional Chinese Medicine(ISO/TC 249)have carried out the development of quality standards on medicinal plants or CMMs respectively,and a considerable number of monographs and international standards have been published.Since the two international organizations adhere to different principles,the standards they develop naturally have different emphasis.Driven by market demand and international trade,ISO mainly takes quality,efficacy and safety into consideration when developing standards,while WHO pays more attention to clinical practice,quality control and medication guidance.Up to now,there is a lack of comparative analysis on the records,background,principles,basic content,and main requirements of quality standards on medicinal plants or CMMs respectively published by WHO and ISO.Therefore,based on international standards of CMM developed by ISO/TC 249 platform and WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants,this paper systematically compares the purposes,selected principles,standard-developing process,basic content,and main quality requirements to summarize their similarities and differences,and find their merits,aiming to serve as a reference to the development of international standards for CMMs that helps them go global.

Application of Connectivity Map Database to Research on Chinese Materia Medica

The connectivity map（CMAP） database is established initially to connect biology, chemistry, and clinical conditions, which helps to discover the connection of disease-gene-drug. The CMAP approach has been applied in the field of drug discovery and development, which is widely recognized. In recently years, CMAP analysis has been applied in the research on Chinese materia medica（CMM）. The study of CMM is facing a wide range of challenges, such as complicated ingredients, multiple targets, multiple pathways of action and complex functioning mechanism. The idea of employing CMAP in the CMM research has brought a new perspective for researchers and provides a systematic method for elucidating the mechanism of CMM.The connectivity map （CMAP） database is established initially to connect biology, chemistry, and clinical conditions, which helps to discover the connection of disease-gene-drug. The CMAP approach has been applied in the field of drug discovery and development, which is widely recognized. In recently years, CMAP analysis has been applied in the research on Chinese materia medica （CMM）. The study of CMM is facing a wide range of challenges, such as complicated ingredients, multiple targets, multiple pathways of action and complex functioning mechanism. The idea of employing CMAP in the CMM research has brought a new perspective for researchers and provides a systematic method for elucidating the mechanism of CMM.

Feature Extraction of Chinese Materia Medica Fingerprint Based on Star Plot Representation of Multivariate Data

Objective To study a novel feature extraction method of Chinese materia medica(CMM) fingerprint.Methods On the basis of the radar graphical presentation theory of multivariate,the radar map was used to figure the non-map parameters of the CMM fingerprint,then to extract the map features and to propose the feature fusion.Results Better performance was achieved when using this method to test data.Conclusion This shows that the feature extraction based on radar chart presentation can mine the valuable features that facilitate the identification of Chinese medicine.

Rapid determination of pesticide residues in Chinese materia medica using QuEChERS sample preparation followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Pesticide residue analysis plays an important role in the quality control of Chinese materia medica.This paper reports the development and validation of an analytical method for the quantitative determination of the residues of 39 pesticides in 12 different matrices of Chinese materia medica.Sample preparation utilized the QuEChERS method with acetonitrile:1% aqueous acetic acid(9:1,v/v)as extraction solvent followed by sample clean-up by dispersive solid phase extraction using primary secondary amine sorbent and graphitized carbon black.Extracts were then analysed by gas chromatography coupled with electron impact mass spectrometry in the selected ion monitoring mode.Limit of detection(LOD)and limit of quantitation(LOQ)values were in the ranges 0.5-50 ng/g and 1-100 ng/g,respectively.The recoveries of the 39 pesticides were in the range 75-112% with precision(as relative standard deviation,RSD)<15%.The results show that the modified QuEChERS method allows rapid and sensitive analysis of multiple pesticide residues in Chinese materia medica.

New sensor technologies in quality evaluation of Chinese materia medica:2010–2015

New sensor technologies play an important role in quality evaluation of Chinese materia medica(CMM) and include near-infrared spectroscopy,chemical imaging,electronic nose and electronic tongue.This review on quality evaluation of CMM and the application of the new sensors in this assessment is based on studies from 2010 to 2015,with prospects and opportunities for future research.

Research and Development of New Chinese Materia Medica for Treatment of Refractory Hematopathy by Establishment and Application of Multiple Technique Platforms

Research Objective and Overview It is necessary to find effective Chinese materia medica （CMM） for the treatment of refractory hematopathy as commonly used prednisone, androgen and immune suppression agents of tendemonstrate poor efficacy and serious side effects.

Development and Application of Network Toxicology in Safety Research of Chinese Materia Medica

Network toxicology that is an important branch of the network pharmacology emerges on the basis of network biology. It refers to study on the toxicological features of a constructed network model which is used to analyze toxic substances and their interaction and regulation in biological systems, particularly investigate the toxic effects of drugs and/or compatibility of medicines on body, and clarify the mechanism of toxicity. Network toxicology currently develops rapidly in safety prediction of Chinese materia medica （CMM）. The application of network toxicology to safety and toxicology study on CMM is extremely beneficial to identify the toxic components and potential incompatibility of CMM. Since CMM is a complex system with multi-components, multi-targets, and multi-interactions, the network toxicology in safety prediction of CMM faces three great challenges, including integration studies of bioinformatics, innovation of methods, and tools and risk assessment in future development of the network toxicology in CMM research. In this paper, relevant database, approaches and tools that network toxicology utilized in the safety study of CMM were carefully reviewed. Based on the progress made, the scientific development and modernization of CMM will be greatly enhanced.

Application and prospect of toxicity quality markers of Chinese materia medica based on metabolomics

In view of the problem that the quality evaluation indicators divorced from effectiveness and safety in Chinese materia medica（CMM）, Prof. Chang-xiao Liu et al have put forward a concept of quality markers（Q-markers） of CMM, which provided a new thought for improving the CMM quality control method. The toxicity Q-markers of CMM are described as follows, the early toxicity prediction of CMM, the discovery, formation and susceptibility research of toxicity Q-markers of CMM. Metabolomics is a systematic biology approach, closely related to the toxicity phenotype of organism, has unique advantages in toxicity Q-markers research. The toxicity Q-markers of CMM are explained from the following four aspects in this review： 1） the establishment of toxicity prediction model of CMM, which is based on metabolomics,pattern recognition, and other techniques; 2） the discovery of toxicity Q-markers of CMM based on metabolomic, which is meaning that the toxicity Q-markers are interpreted regarding to the chemical composition analysis of CMM, preliminary screening and verification of the toxicity Q-markers and toxicity mechanism research; 3） the research on the formation of toxicity Q-markers based on metabolomics,which is described from biosynthetic pathway analysis and the secondary metabolites analysis of toxicity Q-markers; and 4） the susceptibility study of toxicity Q-markers based on metabolomics, namely, the key targets, and metabolic pathways of toxicity Q-markers are explained according to the target organ toxicity susceptibility caused by CMM, and then the toxicity susceptibility mechanism of CMM is clarified. Therefore, the application of metabolomics helps to systematically and comprehensively discover the quality control indicators related to the CMM safety, which further provides a rational evidence for the clinical application of toxicity of CMM.

Systems Biology Application in Research on Sustainable Utilization of Chinese Materia Medica Resources

This paper reviews the progress of systems biology applied to researching on sustainable utilization of Chinese materia medica （CMM） resources in the following aspects： identification and evaluation of CMM resources, analysis of biosynthesis and their regulation of active ingredients in medicinal plants, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology research of medicinal plants, and molecular breeding of medicinal plants. Development of systems biology is currently leading to extremely broad applications in the field of CMM resources, and systems biology wiil become a significant approach for the sustainable utilization of CMM resources.

Identification of Chinese Materia Medicas in Microscopic Powder Images

This paper describes an identification system for Chinese Materia Medicas （CMMs） in microscopic powder images. The imaging processing of the microscopic powder image is very complex because of the low contrast, blurry boundaries, overlapping objects, and messy background. Therefore, the object detection must segment the significant microscopic structures from the complex image. The objects are detected in these images using an adaptable interactive method. After identifying the significant microscopic structures, the system identifies 14 features belonging to three main characteristics. These features form a 14-dimensional vector that represents the microscopic structures. The multi-dimensional vector is then analyzed using a feature assignment algorithm that picks the most notable features to construct a decision tree with thresholds. The identification system consists of a coarse classifier based on the decision tree and a fine classifier using similarity measurements to rank the possible results. Tests on 528 images from 24 different kinds of microscopic structures show the system effectiveness and applicability.

Philosophy and Philology:Two Approaches of Commentating the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing(Shen Nong's Classic of the Materia Medica)in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

This paper tests the hypothesis that the commentary trend of the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing(Shen Nong’s Classic of the Materia Medica)arises alongside the fashionable philology of the time,or the aversion against the Jin-Yuan medical philosophy.After surveying 12 major commentaries,it is concluded that the situation is more complicated than a simple assertion.The seemingly opposite philosophy and philology approaches have been used eclectically to innovate the understanding of ancient traditional Chinese medicine texts.

Metabolism of Chinese Materia Medica in Gut Microbiota and Its Biological Effects

The drug metabolism in gut microbiota draws increasing attentions. After interacting with the gut bacteria, the biological effects of drugs might be altered, leading to toxicity or detoxification, production of potential bioactivities, regulating intestinal absorption, etc. In this review, we will focus on the metabolism of Chinese materia medica（CMM） in mammal gut microbiota and its biological effects to learn the interaction between gut bacteria and drugs through oral route in CMM.

Natural ingredients from Chinese materia medica for pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension(PH)is a severe pathophysiological condition characterized by pulmonary artery remodeling and continuous increases in pulmonary artery pressure,which may eventually develop to right heart failure and death.Although newly discovered and incredible treatment strategies in recent years have improved the prognosis of PH,limited types of effective and economical drugs for PH still makes it as a life-threatening disease.Some drugs from Chinese materia medica(CMM)have been traditionally applied in the treatment of lung diseases.Accumulating evidence suggests active pharmaceutical ingredients(APIs)derived from those medicines brings promising future for the prevention and treatment of PH.In this review,we summarized the pharmacological effects of APIs derived from CMM which are potent in treating PH,so as to provide new thoughts for initial drug discovery and identification of potential therapeutic strategies in alternative medicine for PH.

Targeting Tumor-Associated Macrophages by Anti-tumor Chinese Materia Medica

Tumor-associated macrophages（TAMs） play a key role in all stages of tumorigenesis and tumor progression. TAMs secrete different kinds of cytokines, chemokines, and enzymes to affect the progression, metastasis, and resistance to therapy depending on their state of reprogramming. Therapeutic benefit in targeting TAMs suggests that macrophages are attractive targets for cancer treatment. Chinese materia medica（CMM） is an important approach for treating cancer in China and in the Asian region. According to the theory of Chinese medicine（CM） and its practice, some prescriptions of CM regulate the body＇s internal environment possibly including the remodeling the tumor microenvironment（TME）. Here we briefly summarize the pivotal effects of TAMs in shaping the TME and promoting tumorigenesis, invasion, metastasisand immunosuppression. Furthermore, we illustrate the effects and mechanisms of CMM targeting TAMs in antitumor therapy. Finally, we reveal the CMM＇s dual-regulatory and multi-targeting functions on regulating TAMs, and hopefully, provide the theoretical basis for CMM clinical practice related to cancer therapy.

Toxicity Classification and Detoxification Strategies of Chinese Materia Medica

In recent years, more and more poison incidents of Chinese Materia Medica(CMM) were reported by China and other countries, which made people to doubt about the safety of CMM, especially for the toxic CMM. In this review, the toxicity of CMM and the toxicity classification of CMM were introduced. And traditional TCM theory and methods particularly used for control and attenuation of CMM's toxicity were described in detail. The traditional processing technology and CMM drug combination were most important detoxifying measures used in CMM formulation and clinical practice. Finally, some factors that have influence on occurrence of CMM's toxicity were discussed such as different species, producing technology and so on.

What Has Been Overlooked on Study of Chinese Materia Medica in the West?

Chinese materia medica （CMM）, including Chinese herbal, animal, and mineral medicine, has been widely researched in the past century for their biological and pharmacological activities. However, their mechanism and clinical efficacy studies did not always give expected results. For example, the most commonly used Chinese herb for menstrual disorders, Radix Angelicae sinensis, showed neither estrogenic nor progesteronic activity in laboratory and clinical studies. Its efficacy should not be denied simply based on such results, because it is mostly used together with other herbs in formulae. Moreover, its regulation on menstruation may take effect through other mechanisms, such as regulation of blood circulation. The key difference of Chinese medicine （CM） from conventional medicine is its unique holistic view on human body and diseases. CMM is mostly applied in clinic in the form of formulae. Study on individual CMM, simply using methods for development of conventional drugs, is unable to thoroughly reveal the power of CMM formulae. The reason may partly result from improper design due to the lack understanding about application principle of CMMs in CM, and/or to current lack of knowledge about the causes of some symptoms and diseases. This paper will introduce the importance of qi and blood in CM etiology and pathology, Zheng differentiation, formulation of CMMs, and explain why one formula can treat different diseases and one disease can be treated with different formulae. Examples in the paper will demonstrate that proper studies on Zheng and its corresponding clinically proven formulae could help scientists find new direction to explain and treat symptoms and diseases that so far modern medicine has been unable to, provided that the designer properly understands CM theories, etiology and pathology of CM, as well as modern medicine. Strategy suggestions about research methods for CMM and its formulae will be given at the end.

Effect of Chinese Materia Medica with Tonifying Kidney Function on Transplantation of Multipotency Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Human Umbilical Cord in Mice Model of Acute Kidney Injury

Objective Mesenchymal stem cells（MSCs） represent a promising population for supporting new clinical concepts in cellular therapy, and they can be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells（iPSCs） by defined factors. Methods This method opened up a new era of stem cell research, because the transplantation rejection of iPSCs is the bottleneck of its clinical application, so seeking alternative compounds and animal origin diagnostic reagents to achieve full chemical iPSCs is to be done to solve this problem. Results The application of these iPSCs has largely been associated with well known undesirable effects such as the development of cancers in certain experimental models. This has called for the search and use of reprogramming factors that are safe. Chinese materia medica（CMM） with tonifying kidney function（TKF） offers an alternative source. On the other hand, human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells（hUMSCs） are known to be a ＂young＂ source of MSCs, hUMSCs transplantation is an attractive approach for acute kidney injury repair. Therefore, In this study, we investigated whether the treatment of CMM with TKF on hUMSCs could enhance the repair in mice model of acute kidney injury after transplantation. Conclusion Our results showed that the treatment of hUMSCs with kidney tonifying CMM increased their multipotency, improved the renal function of mice and enhanced subsequent homing to the injured kidney in an acute kidney injury mice model.