Abstract
Since traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a complex mixture of multiple components, the application of methodologies for evaluating single-components Western medicine in TCM studies may have certain limitations. Appropriate strategies that recognize the integrality of TCM and connect to TCM theories remain to be developed. Here we use multiple unique approaches to study the scientific connotation of a TCM formula Dan-hong injection (DHI) without undermining its prescription integrity. The blood circulation improving and healing promoting effects of DHI were assessed by a qi stagnation blood stasis rat model and a mouse model of laser irradiation induced cerebral microvascular thrombosis. By UFLC-PDA-Triple Q-TOF-MS/MS and relevance analysis between chemical characters and biological effects, 82 chemical constituents and nine core components, whose blood circulation promoting effects were found comparable to that of whole DHI, were successfully identified. What’s more, the rationality of DHI prescription compatibility could be reflected not only in the maximum efficacy of the original ratio, but also in the interactions of compounds from different ingredient herbs, such as complementary activities and facilitating tissues distribution. This study provides scientific evidences in explanation of the clinical benefits of DHI, and also gives a good demonstration for the comprehensive evaluation of other TCM.
Highlights
It has been well claimed that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) elicits effects via a multi-compounds mechanism and fits well for the requirement in the therapy of complex diseases[1,2,3,4]
The qi stagnation and blood stasis rat model was generated by placing rats into ice water during the interval between adrenaline (Adr) injections, which led to the disturbance of whole body blood circulation
Erythrocyte aggregation index (EAI) and red corpuscle electrophoresis index (RCEI) both reflect the degree of aggregation among red blood cell (RBC)
Summary
It has been well claimed that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) elicits effects via a multi-compounds mechanism and fits well for the requirement in the therapy of complex diseases[1,2,3,4]. The studies of TCM use the experience of western medicine researches for reference and achieved certain successes on discovery of new drugs[5]. The integrity of TCM and connection with TCM theories have been somewhat overlooked, which impose constraints on the explanation of some key problems, such as how to define TCM’s pharmacodynamic characteristics, how to identify the chemical material basis and pharmacologically active components, and how to clarify the rationality of TCM prescription composition rules. Pharmacodynamic characteristics provide the basis for the rational therapeutic use of TCM and its further scientific researches. The pharmacodynamic characteristics of TCM should be evaluated by model that reflects multi-system changes and parameters represent the general functional state. Behind the specific pharmacodynamic characteristic of TCM are the bioactivities of many chemical compounds. The therapeutic effects of TCM are produced by complex interactions among its hundreds of chemical compounds[7]. The bioactive components should be explored by regarding the herb or TCM formula as an organic whole in which different compounds interact
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