Cold Herbs Research Articles

Uncovering the role of traditional Chinese medicine in immune-metabolic balance of gastritis from the perspective of Cold and Hot: Jin Hong Tablets as a case study

Chronic gastritis (CG) is a common inflammatory disease of chronic inflammatory lesion of gastric mucosa and in the diagnosis of gastritis in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), CG can be classified into Cold ZHENG (syndrome in TCM) and Hot ZHENG. However, the molecular features of Cold/Hot ZHENG in CG and the mechanism of Cold/Hot herbs in formulae for CG remained unclear. In this study, we collected a transcriptomics data including 35 patients of Cold/Hot ZHENG CG and 3 scRNA-seq CG samples. And 25 formulae for CG and 89 herbs recorded in these formulae were also collected. We conduct a comprehensive analysis based on the combination of transcriptomics datasets and machine learning algorithms, to discover biomarkers for Cold/Hot ZHENG CG. Then the target profiles of the collected formulae and Cold/Hot herbs were predicted to uncover the features and biomarkers of them against Cold/Hot ZHENG CG. These biomarkers suggest that Hot ZHENG CG might be characterized by over-inflammation and exuberant metabolism, and Cold ZHENG CG showed a trend of suppression in immune regulation and energy metabolism. Biomarkers and specific pathways of Hot herbs tend to regulate immune responses and energy metabolism, while those of Cold herbs are more likely to participate in anti-inflammatory effects. Finally, the findings were verified based on public transcriptomics datasets, as well as transcriptomics and ELISA detection, taking Jin Hong tablets as a case study. Biomarkers like leptin and IL-6 together with proportions of immune cells showed significant changes after the intervention. These findings might reflect the mechanism and build a bridge between macro and micro views of Cold/Hot ZHENG as well as Cold/Hot herbs.Graphical abstract

Study on the fourof Pfaffia glomerata based on the metabolomics technology and comparison of Dangshen () in the equivalent substitution prescription.

To explore the four Qiof Pfaffia glomerata (PG) and endow this foreign folk herb with the properties of Chinese medicine, make it Chinese medicinal and localized, and could be used as a Chinese medicine. The normal group, six cold herb groups, six hot herb groups, six cool herb groups, PG prescription group (PGPG), and Dangshen (Radix Codonopsis) prescription group (CPPG) were prepared with corresponding concentrations of water extracts, these herb extracts were administered by gavage to Sprague-Dawley rats, and the 12 h urine at night on the 29th day of the SD rats in each group were collected, Liquid Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer system was used to analyze them, the best discriminant models for the medicinal properties of cold-hot and cold-cool were set up, so as to the medicinal properties of PGPG, CPPG and PG were predicted. Based on the Progenesis QI, Human Metabolome Database, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, MetaboAnalyst 5.0 database, we enriched metabolic pathway and classification mechanism of medicinal properties of cold-cool Chinese herbs and the molecular mechanism of PG prescription. We established a best model of cold-hot herbal discrimination in the positive ion mode, then the probability that PGPG was predicted cold property was 88.9%. Furthermore, a model of cold-cool herbal discrimination was established, then the probability of PGPG containing the cool property was 77.8%. In addition, typical cold and cool herbs mainly affected nine biomarkers such as tyrosine-proline, (R)-3',7-Dihydroxy-2',4'-dimethoxyisoflavane in rats. The regulation trend of PGPG on markers was basically as same as the cool herbs and mainly involved in regulating the two pathways of cytochrome P450 and purine metabolism. The results showed PGPG had a cool medicinal property as same as CPPG, and the regulation trend of PGPG on markers was consistent with cool herbs. Therefore, the medicine properties PG and CP should be consistent, and the Traditional Chinese Medicine property of PG was predicted to be neutral.

Biological Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula and Herbs in Treating Diseases from the Perspective of Cold and Hot

Abstract Cold and Hot syndrome, also known as “ZHENG” in Mandarin, is a fundamental theory in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and plays a pivotal role in the differentiation of diseases in TCM. Diseases are treated with varying formulas according to the specific syndrome differentiations in TCM. A way of the principles followed in TCM medical strategy is “cold herbs for hot syndrome, and hot herbs for cold syndrome.” Therefore, from the perspective of cold/hot syndrome, we summarizes the present research regarding the characteristics and mechanisms of cold/hot herbs (including herbs with cool and warm properties) in digestive system diseases, respiratory diseases, and autoimmune diseases, among others. As novel technologies have advanced, various methods, such as those based on network target, machine learning, and deep learning, have emerged to reveal the mechanisms underlying cold/hot syndrome and cold/hot herbs. With the help of these technologies, it has been found that cold and hot herbs, as well as formulae with cold or hot intentions, have similarities and differences in the treatment of these diseases. In conclusion, cold and cool may have stronger antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory effects, whereas hot and warm herbs may specifically enhance immune regulation. With the assistance of advancing data algorithms, uncovering the mechanisms of cold/hot herbs may accelerate and provide a new research paradigm for further achieving precision in TCM.

The regularity of nourishing-yin prescription for treating ascites due to hepatitis B cirrhosis based on data mining technology.

Clinically, Chinese medicine is mostly used to treat ascites due to hepatitis B cirrhosis by nourishing-yin. We summarize the pattern of prescriptions for nourishing-yin inascites due to hepatitis B cirrhosis based on data mining to better use traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat cirrhotic ascites in hepatitis B. Articles published from 2000 to 2020 on ascites due to hepatitis B cirrhosis were searched in the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database. The results of the search were screened and then treated as the data sources in turn. Based on the data sources, a prescription database of ascites due to hepatitis B cirrhosis was constructed. The data mining was conducted by statistical analysis of frequency and association. Core herbs, including the property and flavor, channel tropism, regularities of medicinal recipes, and core sets, among others, were examined. Through combing 199 articles, a total of 201 prescriptions were selected, involving 138 kinds of herbs. The efficacy of cold herbs was slightly higher than that of warm herbs. The main flavors of herbs were sweet, bitter, and pungent. There were 30 herbs used ≥26 times in 201 prescriptions. The highest frequency of use was Poria cocos, followed by atractylodis macrocephalae, and radix astragali. Ninety-nine commonly used drug combinations were obtained according to the association rules, of which there were 60 associated drug groups with a frequency ≥34, of which the highest frequency was poria cocos-rhizoma atractylodis macrocephalae, poria cocos-oriental water plantain rhizome, poria cocos-radix astragali. Frequent medicinal recipes consisted largely of medicines for tonifying deficiency, including diuretics for eliminating dampness, medicines for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, and supplements for clearing heat and regulating qi. Through data mining, it was found that when TCM treats ascites due to hepatitis B cirrhosis, it attaches importance to using methods of tonifying deficiency and invigorating spleen for diuresis based on nourishing-yin to improve the clinical efficacy, which can provide reference for TCM's clinical use of nourishing-yin to treat ascites due to hepatitis B cirrhosis.

Reveal the Patterns of Prescriptions for Recurrent Respiratory Tract Infections' Treatment Based on Multiple Illustrious Senior Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners.

Recurrent respiratory tract infections (RRTIs) are one of the most common diseases in children and adolescents. The causes of RRTIs are various. In addition to the factors related to infection, basic diseases such as respiratory system, immune system, and digestive system are also involved. The cost of patients' frequent medical treatment and hospitalization has been deemed to be a heavy burden to the society and family. In China, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is commonly used to treat RRTIs. TCM treatment has been appraised to be effective, for reducing the number of hospital stays. Illustrious senior TCM practitioners of pediatrics are recognized as a group of outstanding physicians with significantly better patient outcomes. However, different illustrious senior TCM practitioners can lead to differences in treatment strategies due to factors such as region, prescription theory, and individual differences of patients. This makes it difficult for the experience of illustrious senior TCM practitioners to be popularized. However, there have been no prescription mining studies for the treatment of RRTIs based on different and multiple illustrious senior TCM practitioners. We explored the core prescriptions and drug mechanisms through data mining based on the prescriptions of illustrious senior TCM practitioners treating RRTIs from different clinical settings. This is important to promote the effective treatment of RRTIs with TCM. The objective of this study is to reveal the strategies (core prescriptions) from the prescriptions of multiple illustrious senior TCM practitioners for the treatment of RRTIs. We hope that this core prescription can help all TCM pediatricians to improve RRTIs children's outcome. Meanwhile, it could provide a new way for researchers to study the treatment of RRTIs. In this study, we prospectively collected 400 children's prescriptions with RRTIs receiving TCM treatment from four illustrious senior TCM practitioners in different hospitals. We described and analyzed the characteristics of TCM prescriptions. The prescription regularity was analyzed by hierarchical clustering and association rules. Network pharmacology methods has been used to reveal the pathway mechanism of core prescriptions which have been mined and visualized with the help of SymMap, Genecards, KEGG, Metascape databases, and R. The execution of all methods was completed in May 2022. According to RRTIs multiple clinical syndromes, five new prescriptions were obtained based on illustrious senior TCM practitioners. Among them, the prescription composed of Scutellariae radix (Huangqin), Armeniacae semen amarum (Kuxingren), Peucedani radix (Qianhu), and Pheretima (Dilong) is the core strategy for the treatment of RRTIs. Cold herbs and heat herbs in the core prescription are approximately equal. Scutellariae radix (Huangqin) was dominant, and other herbs exert synergistic effects. The core prescription covered 76 pathways and 226 herb-disease genes. It promotes the differentiation of Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells and the secretion of inflammatory factors through toll-like receptor signaling pathway in the immune system, T cell receptor signaling pathway, and PPAR signaling pathway in the endocrine system, thereby exerting immune regulation and anti-inflammation. In this study, we revealed the prescription regularity of TCM in the treatment of RRTIs and analyzed the mechanism of core prescriptions, which provided new ideas for the treatment of RRTIs.

Network Pharmacology and Data Mining Approach Reveal the Medication Rule of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of Premenstrual Syndrome/Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common disorder that affects women of reproductive age. It is characterized by periodic mental and somatic symptoms such as irritability, depression, and breast pain during the luteal phase. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is the most severe form of PMS. In recent years, the incidence of PMS/PMDD has been increasing year after year. However, due to the complex symptoms and ambiguous classification of PMS/PMDD, the limitations of present treatments, such as their poor efficacy rate, have become increasingly apparent. With its unique benefits such as syndrome differentiation and high cure rate, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has sparked new diagnosing and treating of PMS/PMDD. This study uses data mining methods, and statistical analysis revealed that Xiaoyao San and Chaihu Shugan San were the commonly used TCM to treat PMS/PMDD. A detailed investigation of regularly used single herbs revealed that most TCM is used as cold herbs that penetrate the liver meridian, with predominant bitter, sweet, and pungent flavors. The network pharmacology method analyzes the interactions between diseases, targets, and herbs. Meanwhile, the deep action targets and molecular mechanisms of 10 commonly used herbs for the treatment of PMS/PMDD are studied, revealing that it involves several ingredients, many targets, and different pathways. This interaction provides insight into the mechanism of action of TCM in the synergistic treatment of PMS/PMDD. It is now clear that we can begin treating PMS/PMDD with TCM using the target and mechanism revealed by the abovementioned findings in the future. This serves as an essential reference for future research and clinical application of TCM in the treatment of PMS/PMDD.

Systematic Analysis of the Molecular Mechanisms of Cold and Hot Properties of Herbal Medicines.

Effective treatments for patients experiencing temperature-related symptoms are limited. The hot and cold effects of traditional herbal medicines have been utilized to treat and manage these symptoms, but their molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Previous studies with arbitrarily selected herbs and ingredients may have produced biased results. Here, we aim to systematically elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the hot and cold properties of herbal medicines through an unbiased large-scale investigation of herbal ingredients, their target genes, and the transcriptome signatures induced by them. Using data regarding 243 herbs retrieved from two herbal medicine databases, we statistically identify (R)-Linalool, (-)-alpha-pinene, peruviol, (L)-alpha-terpineol, and cymol as five new hot-specific ingredients that share a common target, a norepinephrine transporter. However, no significant ingredients are cold-specific. We also statistically identify 14 hot- and 8 cold-specific new target genes. Pathway enrichment analysis of hot-specific target genes reveals the associated pathways including neurotransmitter reuptake, cold-induced thermogenesis, blood pressure regulation, adrenergic receptor signaling, and cation symporter activity. Cold-specific target genes are associated with the steroid pathway. Transcriptome analysis also shows that hot herbs are more strongly associated with coagulation and synaptic transmission than cold herbs. Our results, obtained from novel connections between herbal ingredients, target genes, and pathways, may contribute to the development of pharmacological treatment strategies for temperature-related pain using medicinal plants.

Identification of Pathways and Genes Associated with Cold and Hot Properties of Chinese Materia Medica Based on Bioinformatics Analysis

Footnote：herb 1, Scutellaria baicalensis ；herb 2, Coptis chinensis ；herb 3, Gardenia jasminoides ；herb 4, Forsythia suspensa ；herb 5, Sophora affinis ；herb 6, Gentiana scabra ；herb 7, Aconitum napellus ；herb 8, Ephedra altissima ；herb 9, Cinnamomum cassia ；herb 10, Zingiber officinale ；herb 11, Epimedium brevicornu ；herb 12, Citrus reticulata . • The microarray data of six hot herbs and six cold herbs showed significant difference. • The difference between hot and cold herbs was mainly reflected in metabolism, the immune system, the nervous system, the endocrine system, cell proliferation and apoptosis, and hemorheology. • PRKACA, PRKACB, PRKCA, ADCY7, PIK3R1 and MAPK1 are the core genes related with cold and hot properties of Chinese Materia Medica. The Chinese Materia Medica can be divided into four classes: cold, cool, warm, and hot, which mainly exhibits two opposite properties: cold and hot. This study aimed to explore the scientific essence involved in the cold and hot features of Chinese Materia Medica. The microarray data of twelve cold/hot herbs with typical cold and hot properties (six for each group) were analyzed on the Gene-Cloud of Biotechnology Information. First, we compared the differences in total gene expression profiles and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between two classes of herbs. Subsequently, gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, pathway analysis, and gene signal network analysis were performed to screen out related pathways and core genes. This study reveals that the upregulated genes in cold herbs are downregulated in hot herbs, and the genes downregulated in cold herbs were upregulated in hot herbs. The gene expression of the two types of herbs has apparent differences, and the DEGs enrich in six systems, including metabolism, immune system, nervous system, endocrine system, cell proliferation and apoptosis, and hemorheology. PRKACA, PRKACB, PRKCA, ADCY7, PIK3R1, and MAPK1 are the core genes. These results elucidated the objectivity of the differences between cold and hot herbs at a genetic level, and identified related pathways and core genes, which may be a feasible approach for solving the qualitative and even quantitative problems of the cold and hot properties of herbs.

The Influence of Brand Image, Brand Trust and Product Packaging Information on Purchasing Decisions

Consumer health awareness has increased recently, this is evidenced by the desire to consume herbal products. Today’s packaged colds jamu become a practical alternative for consumers to continue taking herbal medicines that are easy to obtain. This study aims to examine the influence of brand image, brand trust and product packaging information on the purchase decision of packaged cold herbs. This quantitative study applied purposive random sampling by using PLS-SEM 3.0 as statistic tools with questionnaire filled by 100 respondents. This article delivers a substantial effect to significant variables in purchasing decision. The results show that brand image does not directly influence purchasing decisions, but is fully mediated by brand trust. On the other hand, packaging information has a positive and significant effect on purchasing decisions.

Characterization of the hot and cold medicinal properties of traditional Chinese herbs by spontaneous photon emission ratio of mice

Ethnopharmacological relevanceOne important therapeutic characteristic of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for its properly-guided clinical prescription is considering the cold and hot medicinal properties of traditional Chinese herbs. According to the TCM theory, the hot and cold medicinal properties are defined by the general responses of a human body to a given herbal medicine. This definition is subjective and ambiguous which attenuates the modernization of TCM. Biological spontaneous photon emission (SE) is a normal phenomenon reflecting the transition of the quantum state of molecules inside an organism. The alteration of its level can indicate the changes of many aspects of the organism including metabolism. Thus, we can exploit this feature to develop a novel and scientific approach to quantitively and objectively characterize the hot and cold medicinal properties of traditional Chinese herbs. ObjectiveTo determine whether SE can be used to characterize the hot and cold medicinal properties of traditional Chinese herbs, this study took advantage of the ultra-weak luminescence detection technology to examine the effects of traditional Chinese herbs with hot or cold medicinal property to the level of SE in mice. Materials and methodsMice were intragastrically administered with twenty traditional Chinese herbs harboring cold or hot property for ten consecutive days respectively. During the course of treatment, SE intensity of the abdomen and the back of each individual mouse were measured and recorded. At the end of the treatment, the total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase activity, Na+-K+-ATPase activity and Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase activity in the liver of all mice were examined. ResultsRatio between the SE intensity of the abdomen and back of mice (defined as SE ratio) was able to distinguish the cold and hot medicinal properties of traditional Chinese herbs. Mice treated with hot herbs and cold herbs have higher and lower SE ratios respectively compared with control mice. Furthermore, levels of selected biochemical indexes in the liver were correlated with most of the SE ratio changes induced by herbal treatment. ConclusionsWe have developed a novel and promising approach to quantitatively investigate herbal properties and we propose that SE ratio defined in this study can serve as a sensitive parameter to characterize the cold and hot medicinal properties of traditional Chinese herbs.

Integrating strategies of chemistry, biochemistry and metabolomics for characterization of the medication principle of “treating cold/heat syndrome with hot/cold herbs”

Ethnopharmacological relevance“Treating cold syndrome with hot herbs & treating heat syndrome with cold herbs” is a fundamental medication principle of Chinese medicine. Scientists have been working hard to explore the scientific essence of this medication principle. However, researchers only focused on the herbs or syndrome individually, the intrinsic relationship between the cold/hot herbs and cold/heat syndrome received little attention. Consequently, the medication principle still lacked a scientific explanation. Aim of the studyThe aim of present study was to explore the scientific essence involved in the medication principle. Materials and methodsFirst, extracts of cold and hot herb1-7 were analyzed using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS to research the chemical composition. Second, expression of enzymes relating glucose aerobic oxidation and respiratory chain were detected to assess the metabolic state of rats in cold herb, hot herb, cold syndrome and heat syndrome groups. Lastly, metabolomic approach was utilized to screen out biomarkers and related pathways shared between the cold and hot herb groups, the cold and heat syndrome groups, as well as the herb and syndrome groups. ResultsThe integrated results of chemistry, biochemistry and metabolomics study indicated that the cold (hot) herbs could remedy heat (cold) syndrome through inhibiting (promoting) arginine and proline metabolism and tryptophan metabolism, and the associated excessive (sluggish) material metabolism, ATP storage and generation in heat (cold) syndrome. The fundamental reason behind the differential efficacies of cold and hot herbs was the chemical composition and different contents of shared components. ConclusionsThe medication principle was scientifically elucidated from perspective of material and energy metabolism. Moreover, this integrated novel strategy provides a feasible approach for future research of Chinese medicinal herb.

Fructus Gardeniae-induced gastrointestinal injury was associated with the inflammatory response mediated by the disturbance of vitamin B6, phenylalanine, arachidonic acid, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism

Ethnopharmacological relevanceFructus Gardenia (FG) is a widely used bitter and cold herb for clearing heat and detoxicating. Currently, toxicity of FG and its relative formula has been reported in many clinical and animal studies. However, no systematic research has been carried out on FG-related gastrointestinal (GI) injury which has been emphasized in China since the Ming Dynasty. Aim of the studyThe purpose of this article is to investigate whether FG could damage GI and explore the mechanisms involved. Material and methodsFG was given to male mice by 7-day intragastric administration at average doses of 0.90 g (L group), 1.50 g (M group), and 3.00 g (H group) crude drug/kg FG. Comprehensive understanding of changes in weight, diarrhea degree, stool routine, histomorphology and inflammatory factors of stomach, small intestine, and colon for evaluating the effect of different doses of FG on GI injury. Moreover, metabolomics-based mechanisms exploration of FG on GI injury was carried out via HPLC-Q-TOF/MS analysis on mice urine. ResultsHigh dose FG caused GI injury with serious diarrhea, decreased weight, abnormal stool routine, sever alteration in histomorphology of small intestine and colon (mild change in stomach), and significant change in inflammatory factors. The results of metabolomics suggested that 55 endogenous metabolites dispersed in 21 significantly altered metabolic pathways in 3.00 g/kg crude FG treated mice. The hub metabolites of GI injury were mainly related with vitamin B6 metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and taurine and hypotaurine metabolism via correlated network analysis. ConclusionFG affected the normal functions of GI via the regulating a variety of metabolic pathways to an abnormal state, and our results provided a research paradigm for the GI-injury of the relative bitter and cold traditional Chinese medicines.

Exploratory Compatibility Regularity of Chinese Medicinal Prescription in Treating Osteoarthritis

Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is increasingly widely used as a complementary approach for the treatment of osteoarthritis. In this paper, we examined the implicit prescription patterns behind the Chinese medicinal formulae by using association rules mining and clustering analysis, so as to explore the compatibility regularity of Chinese medicinal prescription in the treatment or control of osteoarthritis. Methods: This study was based on a participant survey conducted in First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine. The Chinese medicinal prescriptions of inpatients with osteoarthritis were from June 2012 to June 2016. TCM was listed according to the selected medicinal formulae and the added information was organized to establish a database. The association rules and clustering are conducted on SPSS Modeler 14.2. An initial statistical analysis was carried out to categorize the herbs according to their medicinal types, dosage, natures, flavors, channel tropism, and functions. Based on the categorization, the frequencies of occurrences were computed. At the same time, the relationship between TCM and immune and inflammatory markers was analyzed. Results: The main features from the formulae data are: (1) Warm or cold herbs in the Five Properties category are the most frequently prescribed in the 3609 medicinal formulae. Sweet or bitter herbs in the Five Flavors category in which affinity to the Spleen meridian also are the most frequently prescribed in the 3609 medicinal formulae. (2) Herbs with blood-activating and stasis-resolving, tonifying and replenishing medicinal, water-disinhibiting damppercolating, heat-clearing and detoxicating or expelling wind-damp functions that are frequently prescribed; (3) Association rule analysis extracted three frequently used pairs of herbs, which are Red flower and Tao Ren, Pu Gong Ying and Bai Hua She She Cao, Fu Ling and Ze Xie. (4) Association rule between TCM and Immunoinflammation Index showed that Du Huo and Chen Pi was associated with increased super oxide dismutase enzyme. Mai Ya and Dan Shen was associated with decreased high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, complement C3, complement C4, and Ig(A). Mai Ya and Fu Ling were associated with decreased IgM. Conclusions: The results indicate that there is a close relationship between osteoarthritis and spleen dysfunctions. These prescriptions focus on herbs that replenishing qi and fortifying the spleen and blood-activating and stasis-resolving. It can also dry dampness to fortify the spleen and clear heat and detoxicating. Meanwhile, he use of tonifying and replenishing herbs and spleen-strengthening herbs also forms a basic pattern of the prescriptions.

문헌, 병증(病證)과 방제(方劑)에 근거한 반치법(反治法)에 대한 고찰

Objectives Based on related literature, cold and heat, deficiency and excess, true and false, and actually used formulas, paradoxical treatments presented in the 『Plain Questions of Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor』 including ‘treating pseudo-heat symptoms and real cold syndrome with cold herbs, treating pseudo-heat symptoms and real cold syndrome with cold herbs’ were analyzed.Methods Out of literature, paradoxical treatment related classics and papers were investigated and analyzed. Among diseases and syndromes, real cold syndrome with pseudo-heat symptoms, real heat syndrome with pseudo-cold symptoms, real deficiency syndrome with pseudo-excess symptoms, and real excess syndrome with pseudo-deficiency symptoms were reviewed. Among formulas, typical examples of the above mentioned paradoxical treatments were used as examples to analyze paradoxical treatments.Results Treating pseudo-heat symptoms and real cold syndrome with cold herbs is a method that uses herbs with cool and cold nature to treat real cold syndrome with pseudo-heat symptoms and Tongmaeksayeokgajeodamjeuptang is suitable for this method. Treating pseudo-cold symptoms and real heat syndrome with hot herbs is a method that uses herbs with warm and hot nature to treat real heat syndrome with pseudo-cold symptoms and Baekhogainsamtang is suitable for this method.Conclusions Based on the related literature, cold and heat, deficiency and excess, true and false, and actually used formulas examined as mentioned above, the paradoxical treatments presented in the 『Plain Questions of Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor』 are thought to be reasonable paradoxical treatments that fit the diseases and syndromes that actually appeared in our bodies.

Using association rules mining to explore pattern of Chinese medicinal formulae (prescription) in treating and preventing breast cancer recurrence and metastasis

BackgroundChinese herbal medicine is increasingly widely used as a complementary approach for control of breast cancer recurrence and metastasis. In this paper, we examined the implicit prescription patterns behind the Chinese medicinal formulae, so as to explore the Chinese medicinal compatibility patterns or rules in the treatment or control of breast cancer recurrence and metastasis.MethodsThis study was based on the herbs recorded in Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China, and the literature sources from Chinese Journal Net and China Master Dissertations Full-text Database (1990 – 2010) to analyze the compatibility rule of the prescription. Each Chinese herb was listed according to the selected medicinal formulae and the added information was organized to establish a database. The frequency and the association rules of the prescription patterns were analyzed using the SPSS Clenmentine Data Mining System. An initial statistical analysis was carried out to categorize the herbs according to their medicinal types and dosage, natures, flavors, channel tropism, and functions. Based on the categorization, the frequencies of occurrence were computed.ResultsThe main prescriptive features from the selected formulae of the mining data are: (1) warm or cold herbs in the Five Properties category; sweet or bitter herbs in the Five Flavors category and with affinity to the liver meridian are the most frequently prescribed in the 96 medicinal formulae; (2) herbs with tonifying and replenishing, blood-activating and stasis-resolving, spleen-strengthening and dampness-resolving or heat-clearing and detoxicating functions that are frequently prescribed; (3) herbs with blood-tonifying, yin-tonifying, spleen-strengthening and dampness-resolving, heat-clearing and detoxicating, and blood-activating with stasis-resolving functions that are interrelated and prescribed in combination with qi-tonifying herbs.ConclusionsThe results indicate that there is a close relationship between recurrence and metastasis of breast cancer with liver dysfunctions. These prescriptions focus on the herbs for nourishing the yin-blood, and emolliating and regulating the liver which seems to be the key element in the treatment process. Meanwhile, the use of qi-tonifying and spleen-strengthening herbs also forms the basis of prescription patterns.

Wang Ji's theory of 'Ying-Wei deficiency and excess' and 'Renshen-Huangqi nourishment'

WANG Ji, the famous doctor in the Ming dynasty, devoted all his life to writing books and had completed 14 books in his lifetime. He established the academic thought of Ying-Wei (Yingqi and Weiqi) deficiency and excess and Renshe-Huangqi which was that both have the function of nourishment. This had a positive influence on correcting some scholars' opinion in the Ming dynasty, which was if using bitter and cold herbs to nourish Yin, it usually damaged the Qi of spleen and stomach; and influence on formation of the Gubenpeiyuan School (consolidating Yuanqi to enhance body resistance). The formation of the thought was related to the background of some iatrogenic illness whereby Yang deficiency of spleen and stomach was caused by excess use of bitter and cold medicine. WANG Ji's academic thought was mainly refined from Ying-Wei theory in the Neijing, spleen-stomach theory of LI Dongyuan and excess of Yang and deficiency of Yin theory of ZHU Danxi, and was also influenced by the thought of other doctors at the same time.

Effect of High Pressure Pasteurization on Bacterial Load and Bioactivity of Echinacea Purpurea

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) technology was applied to organic Echinacea purpurea (E. purpurea) roots and flowers to determine the feasibility of using this technology for cold herb pasteurization, to produce microbiologically safe and shelf-stable products for the natural health products (NHPs) industry. HHP significantly (P < 0.01) reduced microbial contamination in both roots and flowers without affecting the phytochemical retention of chicoric and chlorogenic acids, and total alkamide contents. The antioxidant activity of E. purpurea methanol-derived extracts, evaluated in both chemical (2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) [ABTS] and oxygen radical absorption capacity [ORAC] assay) and in cell culture models (RAW264, 7 macrophage, H(2)O(2)-induced intracellular oxidation, and lipopolysaccharide [LPS]-induced nitric oxide production), was not adversely affected by the application of HHP at both 2 and 5 min at 600 mPa. Furthermore, HHP did not affect the capacity of E. purpurea extracts to suppress nitric oxide production in LPS-activated macrophage cells. Therefore, our results show that HHP is an effective pasteurization process treatment to reduce microbial-contamination load while not adversely altering chemical and bioactive function of active constituents present in organic E. purpurea. Our study reports for the first time, the effectiveness of using high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) technology pressure to pasteurize E. purpurea root and flower, and the comparative retention of bioactive phytochemicals. Therefore, this technique can be used in food and natural health product industries to produce high-quality, microbiologically safe, and shelf-stable products.

Study on Relationship between Sugar Content and Cold–Hot Nature of 20 Kinds of Herbs by Fisher Analysis

Abstract Twenty kinds of herbs were studied for the relationship between sugar content and Cold–Hot nature. The Fehling method was used for determining the total sugar content, the sulfuric acid-anthraquinone colorimetric method for measuring the total polysaccharides content, and the alkaline copper sulfate method for testing the monosaccharide content. After that, the obtained data were analyzed by the Fisher method. The 10 kinds of Hot herbs showed significantly higher total sugar content and monosaccharide content than the 10 kinds of Cold herbs, with P P >0.05. A discriminant function was established by the Fisher method, with the group back substitution result of the Fisher analysis reaching 85%. The results demonstrate that there exists a certain relationship between the sugar content and the Cold–Hot nature of the 20 kinds of herbs. The Fisher analysis can be used to distinguish the Cold–Hot nature, and sugar is one of the material bases of Cold–Hot nature.