Effect of herbal medicine Juzentaihoto on hepatic and intestinal heat shock gene expression requires intestinal microflora in mouse

AIM： To evaluate the role of intestinal microflora in the effects of multi-herbal medicine on gene expression in the gut and liver. METHODS： The multi-herbal medicine Juzentaihoto （JTX） was administered to five germ-free mice and regular mice for 2 wk. Among the results of the comprehensive gene chip analysis of the intestine and liver, we featured heat shock proteins （HSPs） 70 and 105 because their gene expression changed only in the presence of microflora. Real-time RT-PCR was performed to confirm the expression levels of these HSP genes. To determine whether JTX acts directly on the HSP genes, sodium arsenite （SA） was used to induce the heat shock proteins directly. To examine the change of the intestinal microflora with administration of JTX, the terminal restriction fragment polymorphism （T-RFLP） method was used. To identify the changed bacteria, DNA sequencing was performed.documented by gene chip and real-time RT-PCR, changed with the administration of JTX in the regular mice but not in the germ-free mice. JTX did not suppress the direct induction of the HSPs by SA. T-RFLP suggested that JTX decreased unculturable bacteria and increased Lactobacillus johnsoni. These data suggested that JTX changed the intestinal microflora which, in turn, changed HSP gene expression.CONCLUSION： Intestinal microflora affects multi-herbal product JTX on the gene expression in the gut and liver.

Effect of Juzentaihoto/Shi-Quan-Da-Bu-Tang on Malignant Progression and Metastasis of Tumor Cells

A Japanese herbal(Kampo,汉方)medicine,十全大补汤(juzentaihoto/Shi-Quan-Da-Bu-Tang),is one of the nourishing agents, a so-called"补剂(Hozai/Bu-Ji)," that is used for improving disturbance and imbalances in the homeostatic condition of the body. This formulation is orally administered to patients in various weakened states, including postsurgery patients and patients with chronic illness, where it can alleviate general symptoms such as extreme fatigue, pale complexion, loss of appetite, dry or scaly skin, night sweating, and dryness of the mouth.Recently, juzentaihoto/Shi-Quan-Da-Bu-Tang has been shown to have a variety of biological activities, including activation of natural killer cells and macrophages, cytokine induction, antibody production, antitumor effects in combination with surgical excision or other drugs, and protection against the adverse effects of anticancer drugs and radiation, including immunosuppression and bone marrow toxicity. This article focuses on the antitumor and antimetastatic properties of some Kampo medicines and mainly describes the effects of juzentaihoto and its related formulations on tumor development, progression, and metastasis in vivo. We also discuss the inhibitory mechanism of action and the importance of the prescription and constituent crude drugs in determining the efficacy.