Abstract
Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) are widely used in China and have long been a powerful method to treat diseases in Chinese people. Bioactive ingredients are the main components extracted from herbs that have therapeutic properties. Since artemisinin was discovered to inhibit malaria by Nobel laureate Youyou Tu, extracts from natural plants, particularly bioactive ingredients, have aroused increasing attention among medical researchers. The bioactive ingredients of some CHMs have been found to target various non-coding RNA molecules (ncRNAs), especially miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs, which have emerged as new treatment targets in numerous diseases. Here we review the evidence that, by regulating the expression of ncRNAs, these ingredients exert protective effects, including pro-apoptosis, anti-proliferation and anti-migration, anti-inflammation, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-infection, anti-senescence, and suppression of structural remodeling. Consequently, they have potential as treatment agents in diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, nervous system disease, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, infectious diseases, and senescence-related diseases. Although research has been relatively limited and inadequate to date, the promising choices and new alternatives offered by bioactive ingredients for the treatment of the above diseases warrant serious investigation.
Highlights
Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) were the main treatment method used in ancient times by the Chinese to combat disease
The theoretical concepts of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) act as the basis for scientific research into CHM today, including identification of the bioactive ingredients and underlying mechanisms of CHMs that could be of benefit internationally—a gift from the Chinese people to the world (Tu, 2011, 2016)
We became convinced that study of the bioactive ingredients of CHMs is an effective way to reveal their potential mechanisms of action and further broaden their clinical application
Summary
Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) were the main treatment method used in ancient times by the Chinese to combat disease. H. Chen, a traditional herb was initially used to stop bleeding, promote blood circulation and ease pain, was recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica. A traditional herb was initially used to stop bleeding, promote blood circulation and ease pain, was recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica It is commonly used in cases of trauma and cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular diseases. Recent studies (Feng et al, 2015; Tian F. et al, 2017; Zhou Y. et al, 2017) have revealed that some miRNA, lncRNA, circRNA, and ceRNA crosstalk can be regulated by bioactive ingredients from CHMs, which often have multiple targets (Table 1). By influencing regulatory mechanisms, including pro-apoptosis (Feng et al, 2015), anti-proliferation and anti-migration (Liu T. et al, 2017), anti-inflammation (Fan et al, 2016), anti-atherosclerosis (Han et al, 2018), anti-infection (Liu et al, 2016), anti-senescence (Zhang J. et al, 2017), and suppression of structural remodeling (Liu L. et al, 2017), these ingredients exert protective functions in cancer, cardiovascular disease, nervous system disease, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, infectious diseases, and senescence-related diseases
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