Sho-saiko-to Research Articles

18 Natural medicines to treat liver problems

Objectives Liver disease, especially the chronic diseases, is a serious health problem worldwide. Natural medicines have been used for thousands of years to treat liver problems. Patients with liver problems sometimes try natural medicines, especially medicinal herbs, and some natural agents. This study aims to discuss several aspects of natural medicines for treating liver problems. Methods Electronic databases including Web of Science and PubMed were searched for in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies on the effects of natural medicines on liver problems. Results Nearly half of the natural medicines used in treatment of liver diseasestoday are natural products and their derivatives. Sho-saiko-to is effective on hepatitis, liver fibrosis, and HCC. But long-term consumption of this herb drug may lead to interstitial pneumonia and even acute respiratory failure. Silybum marianum is a hepatoprotective agent and long-term use of this herb was considered to be safe. Some other natural medication, such as long pepper, holy basil, coffee, apple, and citrus, for example, have hepatoprotective effect, but more in-depth studies are required to confirm the dosages of each agent to avoid side effects when using them to treat liver problems. Conclusions Naturopathy is becoming more popular worldwide and provides benefits to many patients with liver diseases such as hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. The integration of conventional and naturopathic medicine will produce a practice style that provides excellent medical care for the liver. Acknowledgements This research was financially supported by Sichuan University (Grant No. 2016SCU11033).

Five cases of pneumonitis induced by sho-saiko-to

We report five cases of pneumonitis induced by sho-saiko-to. The patients complained of coughing (4/5), dyspnea (4/5), and pyrexia (3/5). The duration of sho-saiko-to treatment ranged from 4 to 1155 days. Abnormal laboratory findings included high levels of C-reactive protein (4/5), leucocytosis (4/5), severe hypoxemia (4/5), low vital capacity (3/5), and low diffusing capacity (5/5). Chest X-ray and CT films revealed diffuse reticulonodular or ground-glass shadows in both lung fields (4/5). Bronchoalveolar lavage was done in three cases, and revealed lymphocytosis in two cases and abnormally low CD4/8 ratios in three cases. The results of lymphocyte stimulation tests against sho-saiko-to and its component were positive in 3 of 5 cases. After discontinuation of sho-saiko-to, corticosteroids were given in all cases. Symptoms were relieved, and laboratory data and chest X-ray findings returned forward normal. Sho-saiko-to toxicity should be included in the differential diagnosis of pneumonitis. If drug-induced pneumonitis is suspected, administration of sho-saiko-to should be stopped and corticosteroid therapy should be given immediately.

Analysis of the clinicaleffect of she-saiko-to combined with silymarin on liver fibrosis due to chronic hepafitisB

：Objective To evaluatethe therapeutic effect of sho-saiko-to silymarin on liver fibrosis due to chronichepatitis B.Methods 90 patients with liver fibrosis due to chronic hepatitis B virus(HBV)were randomly divided into therapy group and control group.50 patients in therapy groupwere given sho-saoko-to and silymarin;While 40 patients in control group were givensilymarin only,they were all treated for 6 months.The changes were observed includingliver function,serum liver fibrosis and virology indexes before and after treatment in twogroups.Resuits Indexes of liver function and serum liver fibrosis in therapy group wereimproved obviously(P<0.05 or P<0.01),while better clearance to HBV is comparable tocontrol group(P<0.05).Conclusion The treatment with sho-saiko-to combined silymarin onliver fibrosis due to chronic hepatitis B had explicit clinical effect.

Antiulcer properties of shosaiko-to

Recently it has been reported that Shosaiko-to (SHO), a traditional Chinese medicine used for treating gastritis and hepatitis, also has been found useful for treating gastric ulcers, although no pharmacological study has yet investigated the precise antiulcer properties of SHO. Herein, the authors report on the results of a rat study in which the effects of SHO on gastric ulcers, acid secretions and potential difference of gastric mucosa (PD) were studied. SHO (100, 250 or 500 mg /kg, p.o.) significantly inhibited the development of ethanol-induced gastric lesions in a dose-dependent manner. SHO (500 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly inhibited the development of aspirin-,indomethacin- or water-immersion-stress induced gastric lesions. Sucralfate (500 mg/kg, p.o.) inhibited both ethanol- and aspirin-induced gastric lesions, and cimetidine (10 mg/kg, p.o.) inhibited aspirin-, indomethacin- or stress-induced gastric lesions. SHO (10, 30 and 100 mg/kg, i.p.) also significantly inhibited pentagastrin- and 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG)-induced gastric acid secretions in a dose-dependent manner, whereas cimetidine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) inhibited a pentagastrin-induced secretion and atropine (0.05 mg/kg, i.p.) inhibited pentagastrin- or 2-DG-induced acid secretions. SHO (250, 500 or 1000 mg/kg, i.g.) significantly inhibited ethanol-induced PD reduction. Sucralfate (500 mg/kg, i.g.) inhibited the reduction, and cimetidine (250 mg/kg, i.g.) didn't inhibit it. These results indicate that SHO not only possesses the capability of protecting the rat gastric mucosa as well as sucralfate, but also is able to inhibit gastric acid secretions like cimetidine or atropine.

小柴胡湯による間質性肺炎について

小柴胡湯による間質性肺炎について

Interferon-??/Sho-Saiko-to

Interferon-??/Sho-Saiko-to

Sho-Saiko-to

Sho-Saiko-to

Preventive effect of traditional herbal medicine, shosaiko-to, on danazol-induced hepatic damage

The incidence of the hepatic damage during treatment with danazol (D), indicated by increased serum GOT, GPT and LDH levels, has been shown to be high especially in Japan. Thus, the preventive effect of the traditional herbal medicine, shosaiko-to (SS) was investigated in the administration of D and SS for 16 weeks (D + SS group, N = 9) and the pre-administration of SS for about 4 weeks followed by D and SS for 16 weeks (SS → D + SS group, N = 15). The incidence of serum GOT, GPT and LDH levels of more than normal range during the administration of danazol in the D + SS group was similar to that in the previous study of the administration of D alone. But it was significantly lower in the SS → D + SS group than the D + SS group. The mean levels of serum GOT and GPT were much lower in the SS → D + SS group than the D + SS group throughout the administration of danazol and the difference was significant at 8, 10 and 12 weeks in serum GOT levels and at 4 weeks in serum GPT levels. These results indicate that the pre-administration of SS has great efficacy in the prevention of danazol-induced hepatic damage.