Articles

An investigation of fungal contamination on the surface of medicinal herbs in China

The dried parts of medicinal herbs are susceptible to the infection of fungi during pre- or post-harvest procedure. This study aimed to investigate the presence of fungi and their metabolites mycotoxins on the...

Authors: Run-sheng Zheng, Wen-li Wang, Jing Tan, Hui Xu, Ruo-ting Zhan and Wei-wen Chen

Comparison of chemical profiles and effectiveness between Erxian decoction and mixtures of decoctions of its individual herbs: a novel approach for identification of the standard chemicals

Identification of bioactive standard chemicals is a major challenge in the study of the Chinese medicinal formula. In particular, the chemical components may interact differently depending on the preparative m...

Authors: H. P. Cheung, S. W. Wang, T. B. Ng, Y. B. Zhang, L. X. Lao, Z. J. Zhang, Y. Tong, F. W. S. Chung and S. C. W. Sze

Acupuncture as an intervention to reduce alcohol dependency: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Acupuncture has been widely used as a treatment for alcohol dependence. An updated and rigorously conducted systematic review is needed to establish the extent and quality of the evidence on the effectiveness ...

Authors: Charlotte Southern, Charlie Lloyd, Jianping Liu, Congcong Wang, Tingting Zhang, Martin Bland and Hugh MacPherson

Rapid differentiation of Xihuangcao from the three Isodon species by UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS and chemometrics analysis

Isodon lophanthoides, I. lophanthoides var. graciliflorus and I. serra are the three botanical sources of Xihuangcao, which are often used indiscriminately in herbal products. The aim ...

Authors: Lai Lai Wong, Zhitao Liang, Hubiao Chen and Zhongzhen Zhao

Ameliorating effect of Erxian decoction combined with Fructus Schisandrae chinensis (Wu Wei Zi) on menopausal sweating and serum hormone profiles in a rat model

Modified Erxian decoction (MEXD), i.e., Erxian decoction (EXD) with Fructus Schisandrae chinensis (Wu Wei Zi) added, has been used to alleviate menopausal symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the effects of...

Authors: Shi Wei Wang, Fei Hua Wu, Yan Bo Zhang, Liang Zhang, Jing Su, Hei Kei Wong, Ai Hua Liu, Ho Pan Cheung, Tzi Bun Ng, Yao Tong and Stephen Cho Wing Sze

Combination of cisplatin and bromelain exerts synergistic cytotoxic effects against breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 in vitro

Bromelain, which is a cysteine endopeptidase commonly found in pineapple stems, has been investigated as a potential anti-cancer agent for the treatment of breast cancer. However, information pertaining to the...

Authors: Ahmad Zaim Mat Pauzi, Swee Keong Yeap, Nadiah Abu, Kian Lam Lim, Abdul Rahman Omar, Suraini Abdul Aziz, Adam Leow Thean Chow, Tamilselvan Subramani, Soon Guan Tan and Noorjahan Banu Alitheen

Inhibitory effect of trans-ferulic acid on proliferation and migration of human lung cancer cells accompanied with increased endogenous reactive oxygen species and β-catenin instability

Trans-ferulic (FA) acid exhibits antioxidant effects in vitro. However, the underlying mechanism of trans-FA activity in cellular physiology, especially cancer physiology, remains larg...

Authors: Yao Fong, Chia-Chun Tang, Huei-Ting Hu, Hsin-Yu Fang, Bing-Hung Chen, Chang-Yi Wu, Shyng-Shiou Yuan, Hui-Min David Wang, Yen-Chun Chen, Yen-Ni Teng and Chien-Chih Chiu

Full component analysis of Tianma-Gouteng-Yin

Tianma-Gouteng-Yin (TGY), which is common Chinese medicine formulation consisting of 11 different herbs and being used in China for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, inflammatory c...

Authors: Ying-Yu Huang, Liang-Feng Liu, Rui-Qi Yue, Jun Xu, Alan Ho, Min Li and Quan-Bin Han

Anti-cancer effects of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino (Jiaogulan)

Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino (GpM) (Jiaogulan) has been widely used in Chinese medicine for the treatment of several diseases, including hepatitis, diabetes and cardiovascular ...

Authors: Yantao Li, Wanjun Lin, Jiajun Huang, Ying Xie and Wenzhe Ma

In silico profiling for secondary metabolites from Lepidium meyenii (maca) by the pharmacophore and ligand-shape-based joint approach

Lepidium meyenii Walpers (maca) is an herb known as a traditional nutritional supplement and widely used in Peru, North America, and Europe to enhance human fertility and treat osteopo...

Authors: Fan Yi, Xiao-lei Tan, Xin Yan and Hai-bo Liu

Authentication of Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma (Shi Chang Pu) and its adulterants by morphological distinction, chemical composition and ITS sequencing

Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma (ATR; rhizome of Acorus tatarinowii Schott) (Shi Chang Pu) is widely used in Chinese medicine (CM) to resuscitate, calm the mind, resolve shi (dampness) and harmonize the wei (stomach). ...

Authors: Kelly Yin-Ching Lam, Chuen-Fai Ku, Huai-You Wang, Gallant Kar-Lun Chan, Ping Yao, Huang-Quan Lin, Tina Ting-Xia Dong, Hong-Jie Zhang and Karl Wah-Keung Tsim

Adjunctive use of modified Yunu-Jian in the non-surgical treatment of male smokers with chronic periodontitis: a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Yunu-Jian (YJ) is a Chinese medicine (CM) heat purging formula, which is used to reduce wei huo (stomach-heat, SH) and enrich shen yin (kidney-yin, KY). This formula is also commonly u...

Authors: Kwan-Yat Zee, Pui Sze Chan, Johnson Chun Sing Ho, Stanley Man Lung Lai, Esmonde Francis Corbet and Wai Keung Leung

Chi-Ju-Di-Huang-Wan protects rats against retinal ischemia by downregulating matrix metalloproteinase-9 and inhibiting p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase

Retinal ischemia is a retinal disorder related to retinal vascular occlusion, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. The study aimed to evaluate the protective effects and underly...

Authors: Ji-Min Cheng, Xiao-Qian Liu, Jorn-Hon Liu, Wynn Hwai-Tzong Pan, Xiu-Mei Zhang, Lei Hu and Hsiao-Ming Chao

Attenuation of blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats by acupuncture was associated with reduction oxidative stress and improvement from endothelial dysfunction

Hypertension can be treated effectively by acupuncture; however, the association between acupuncture and endothelial function remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture on endo...

Authors: Sin Bond Leung, Hongwei Zhang, Chi Wai Lau and Zhi-Xiu Lin

Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants: problems, progress, and prospects

Medicinal plants are globally valuable sources of herbal products, and they are disappearing at a high speed. This article reviews global trends, developments and prospects for the strategies and methodologies...

Authors: Shi-Lin Chen, Hua Yu, Hong-Mei Luo, Qiong Wu, Chun-Fang Li and André Steinmetz

Phytochemicals and potential health effects of Sambucus williamsii Hance (Jiegumu)

Sambucus williamsii Hance (Jiegumu) is traditionally used in Chinese medicine to treat bone and joint diseases. The major phytochemicals in S. williamsii are lignans, terpenoids, and phen...

Authors: Hui-Hui Xiao, Yan Zhang, Raymond Cooper, Xin-Sheng Yao and Man-Sau Wong

Evaluation of the accuracy of diagnostic scales for a syndrome in Chinese medicine in the absence of a gold standard

The concept of syndromes (zhengs) is unique to Chinese medicine (CM) and difficult to measure. Expert consensus is used as a gold standard to identify zhengs and evaluate the accuracy of existing diagnostic scale...

Authors: Xiao Nan Wang, Vanessa Zhou, Qiang Liu, Ying Gao and Xiao-Hua Zhou

Indication of nerve growth factor binding components from herbal extracts by HerboChip: a platform for drug screening on a chip

HerboChip is an array of different fractions deriving from herbal extracts. This study aimed to identify effective components from Chinese medicine (CM) that interact with nerve growth factor (NGF) as a target...

Authors: Pinky Sum Chi Lee, Laura Minglu Zhang, Artemis Lu Yan, Kelly Yin Ching Lam, Tina Tingxia Dong, Huangquan Lin, Gallant Kar Lun Chan and Karl Wah Keung Tsim

Assessing the quality of Smilacis Glabrae Rhizoma (Tufuling) by colormetrics and UPLC-Q-TOF-MS

The quality of the materials used in Chinese medicine (CM) is generally assessed based on an analysis of their chemical components (e.g., chromatographic fingerprint analysis). However, there is a growing inte...

Authors: Xicheng He, Tao Yi, Yina Tang, Jun Xu, Jianye Zhang, Yazhou Zhang, Lisha Dong and Hubiao Chen

Influence of sulfur fumigation on glycoside profile in Platycodonis Radix (Jiegeng)

Over recent decades, sulfur fumigation is becoming abused in processing some freshly harvested herbs used as both medicine and food, although it has been questioned whether sulfur fumigation will change the ef...

Authors: Xiao-Qing Ma, Su-Mei Li, Chi Leung Chan, Tao Su, Wei-Dong Li, Hui Cao, Wang-Fun Fong and Zhi-Ling Yu

Aikeqing decreases viral loads in SHIV89.6-infected Chinese rhesus macaques

Aikeqing (AKQ) has been shown in clinical studies to improve quality of life of HIV/AIDS patients, but anti-HIV activity has not been determined. The SHIV-infected macaque is an import...

Authors: Gao-Hong Zhang, Jian-Bao Han, Lin Zhu, Rong-Hua Luo, Xi-He Zhang, Xin Chen, Ying-Jie Hu, Lin-Chun Fu and Yong-Tang Zheng

Antioxidant and physiological effects of Si-Wu-Tang on skin and liver: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Si-Wu-Tang (SWT) is used to treat various gynecological disorders in Chinese medicine. This study investigated the antioxidant and physiological effects of SWT on the skin and liver in...

Authors: Hui-Fang Chiu, Ying-Hua Wu, You-Cheng Shen, Shing-Jung Wang, Kamesh Venkatakrishnan and Chin-Kun Wang

Synergistic effects of melphalan and Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon (Simaosong) extracts on apoptosis induction in human cancer cells

This study aims to determine the synergistic effects of the chemotherapeutic drug melphalan and the phytoconstituents extracted from Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon (Simaosong) in human cancer cells.

Authors: Natthida Weerapreeyakul, Sasipawan Machana and Sahapat Barusrux

Chinese herbal medicine for constipation: zheng-based associations among herbs, formulae, proprietary medicines, and herb–drug interactions

As current symptomatic treatments of constipation are still unsatisfactory, an increasing number of patients seek help from Chinese medicine (CM), particularly Chinese herbal medicine (CHM). This study aimed t...

Authors: Linda L. D. Zhong, Guang Zheng, Li Da Ge, Cheng Yuan Lin, Tao Huang, Ling Zhao, Cheng Lu, Ai Ping Lu and Zhao Xiang Bian

Gastrodia and Uncaria (tianma gouteng) water extract exerts antioxidative and antiapoptotic effects against cerebral ischemia in vitro and in vivo

Gastrodia and Uncaria decoction (tianma gouteng yin) is commonly used in Chinese medicine to treat cerebral ischemia. The aim of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective effec...

Authors: Jia Wen Xian, Angus Yiu-Ting Choi, Clara Bik-San Lau, Wing Nang Leung, Chun Fai Ng and Chun Wai Chan

The variation in the major constituents of the dried rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong (Chuanxiong) after herbal processing

Rhizoma Chuanxiong (RC; Chuanxiong), which is the dried rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong (Umbelliferae), is commonly used in Chinese medicine (CM) for improving blood circulation and dispersing blood stasis. RC i...

Authors: Tao Yi, Jia-Yan Fang, Lin Zhu, Yi-Na Tang, Hong Ji, Ya-Zhou Zhang, Ju-Cheng Yu, Xiao-Jun Zhang, Zhi-Ling Yu, Zhong-Zhen Zhao and Hu-Biao Chen

Antidiabetic and antioxidant effects of catalpol extracted from Rehmannia glutinosa (Di Huang) on rat diabetes induced by streptozotocin and high-fat, high-sugar feed

Diabetes, associated with hyperlipidemia and oxidative stress, would lead to an increased production of reactive oxygen species. Rehmannia glutinosa (Di Huang) is widely used to nourish yin, invigorate the kidney

Authors: Huifeng Zhu, Yuan Wang, Zhiqiang Liu, Jinghuan Wang, Dong Wan, Shan Feng, Xian Yang and Tao Wang

Validation of the qi blood yin yang deficiency questionnaire on chronic fatigue

Chronic fatigue (CF) reflects an imbalance of inter-organ functions or of the four essential physiological components qi, blood (xue), yin, and yang. CF can be subdivided into different patterns. However, there a...

Authors: Jihye Kim, Boncho Ku and Keun Ho Kim

Anti-inflammatory activities of Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi) and San-Miao-San supplements in MRL/lpr mice for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus

Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi; LZ) and San-Miao-San (SMS) are Chinese medicines (CMs) used to treat inflammatory ailments and numbing syndrome/arthralgia syndrome (Bi Zheng), respectively...

Authors: Zhe Cai, Chun Kwok Wong, Jie Dong, Delong Jiao, Man Chu, Ping Chung Leung, Clara Bik San Lau, Ching Po Lau, Lai Shan Tam and Christopher Wai Kei Lam

Loki zupa (Luooukezupa) decoction reduced airway inflammation in an OVA-induced asthma mouse model

Loki zupa (Luooukezupa) decoction, consisting of the roots of Hyssopuscuspidatus Boriss (Shenxiangcao) and Irishalophila Pall root (Yuanweigen), is commonly used in Uygur medicine to t...

Authors: Ying Wei, Muhammadjan Abduwaki, Mihui Li, Qingli Luo, Jing Sun, Yubao Lv, Mammat Nurahmat and Jingcheng Dong

Discriminating from species of Curcumae Radix (Yujin) by a UHPLC/Q-TOFMS-based metabolomics approach

Chinese medicinal herbs may use more than one species of Curcumae Radix (Yujin) is the tuberous roots of Curcumae wenyujin, C. kwangsiensis, C. phaeocaulis and C. longa. This study aimed to characterize the chemi...

Authors: Fang Liu, Xu Bai, Feng-Qing Yang, Xiao-Jing Zhang, Yuanjia Hu, Peng Li and Jian-Bo Wan

Herb-partitioned moxibustion upregulated the expression of colonic epithelial tight junction-related proteins in Crohn’s disease model rats

Herb-partitioned moxibustion (HPM) at Tianshu (ST25) and Qihai (RN6) has been used to treat Crohn’s disease (CD). Injury to intestinal epithelial tight junctions (TJs) is the leading cause of CD onset with under ...

Authors: Rong Ji, Anqi Wang, Haixia Shang, Liu Chen, Chunhui Bao, Luyi Wu, Huangan Wu and Yin Shi

Induction of apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by extracts of Lannea coromandelica (Houtt.) Merr. and Diospyros castanea (Craib) Fletcher

Herbal plants are a preferred source of anticancer agents. This study aims to screen the anticancer activity of a crude extract of twigs of (a) Bombax anceps Pierre var. anceps (BA); (b) Catunaregam tomentosa (Bl...

Authors: Natthida Weerapreeyakul, Cholpajsorn Junhom, Sahapat Barusrux and Thaweesak Thitimetharoch

Integrated chemometric fingerprints of antioxidant activities and HPLC–DAD–CL for assessing the quality of the processed roots of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. (Heshouwu)

The processed roots of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. (Heshouwu; processed HSW) are commonly used in anti-aging medicine. Few reports have combined chemical profiles with bioactivity to evaluate the quality of the ...

Authors: Hai Fang Chen, You Hua Chen, Chun Hua Liu, Lu Wang, Xi Chen, Bo Yang Yu and Jin Qi

Effects of intra-articular SHINBARO treatment on monosodium iodoacetate-induced osteoarthritis in rats

SHINBARO is a refined herbal formulation used to treat inflamed lesions and bone diseases. This study aimed to investigate the anti-osteoarthritic activities of intra-articular administration of SHINBARO and d...

Authors: Won Kyung Kim, Hwa-Jin Chung, Yuna Pyee, Tae Jun Choi, Hyen Joo Park, Ji-Young Hong, Joon-Shik Shin, Jin Ho Lee, In-Hyuk Ha and Sang Kook Lee

Acupuncture therapy for drug addiction

Acupuncture therapy has been used to treat substance abuse. This study aims to review experimental studies examining the effects of acupuncture on addiction. Research and review articles on acupuncture treatme...

Authors: Farid Esmaeili Motlagh, Fatimah Ibrahim, Rusdi Abd Rashid, Tahereh Seghatoleslam and Hussain Habil

Apoptosis-inducing effects of jujube (Zǎo) seed extracts on human Jurkat leukemia T cells

Jujube (Zǎo) seeds exhibited anticancer effects and used in Chinese medicine for many years. This study aims to investigate the apoptosis-inducing effects of seed extracts from eight different cultivated species ...

Authors: Natthanan Taechakulwanijya, Natthida Weerapreeyakul, Sahapat Barusrux and Sirithorn Siriamornpun

Chinese Medicine reviewer acknowledgement 2015

Authors: Siu-wai Leung

Analyzing the Chinese landscape in anti-diabetic drug research: leading knowledge production institutions and thematic communities

The discovery of anti-diabetic drugs is an active Chinese medicine research area. This study aims to map out anti-diabetic drug research in China using a network-based systemic approach based on co-authorship ...

Authors: Junling Deng, Kaweng Sitou, Yongping Zhang, Ru Yan and Yuanjia Hu

Patterns of Chinese medicine use in prescriptions for treating Alzheimer’s disease in Taiwan

Certain Chinese medicine (CM) herbs and acupuncture may protect against Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, there is a lack of research regarding the use of CM in patients with AD. The aim of this study was to ...

Authors: Shun-Ku Lin, Sui-Hing Yan, Jung-Nien Lai and Tung-Hu Tsai

Kinetics of cytochrome P450 enzymes for metabolism of sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate in vitro

Sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS) is a water-soluble derivative of tanshinone IIA for treating cardiovascular disorders. The roles of cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) in the metabolism of STS have remained u...

Authors: Dong-sheng Ouyang, Wei-hua Huang, Dan Chen, Wei Zhang, Zhi-rong Tan, Jing-bo Peng, Yi-cheng Wang, Ying Guo, Dong-li Hu, Jian Xiao and Yao Chen

Novel phthalide derivatives identified from Ligusticum chuanxiong (Chuanxiong)

Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. (Chuanxiong) is a well-known Chinese medicine, and studies on its chemical constituents are important for explaining its mechanism of action and quality con...

Authors: Jun Yang, Xiao-Lin Feng, Yang Yu, Qi Wang, Jian Zou, Chuan-Xi Wang, Zhen-Qiang Mu, Xin-Sheng Yao and Hao Gao

Inhibition of IKK-β by epidioxysterols from the flowers of Calotropis gigantea (Niu jiao gua)

Calotropis gigantea (Asclepiadaceae) (Niu jiao gua) has been used as a poultice in Chinese medicine for treating inflammatory skin diseases, e.g., neurodermatitis. This study aims to i...

Authors: Supawadee Parhira, Guo-Yuan Zhu, Ting Li, Liang Liu, Li-Ping Bai and Zhi-Hong Jiang

Selection and validation of reference genes for normalization of quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR analysis in Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf (Fuling)

Quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) requires a stable internal control to avoid misinterpretation of data or errors for gene expression normalization. However, there are still no validat...

Authors: Xin Zhang, Zhi-Chao Xu, Jiang Xu, Ai-Jia Ji, Hong-Mei Luo, Jing-Yuan Song, Chao Sun, Yuan-Lei Hu and Shi-Lin Chen

Radix Puerariae lobatae (Gegen) suppresses the anticoagulation effect of warfarin: a pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics study

Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen) and Radix Puerariae lobatae (Gegen) are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat cardiovascular diseases. However, adverse herb-drug interactions were observed between war...

Authors: Beikang Ge, Zhen Zhang and Zhong Zuo

Chinese medicines in the treatment of experimental diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a severe micro vascular complication accompanying diabetes mellitus that affects millions of people worldwide. End-stage renal disease occurs in nearly half of all DN patients, res...

Authors: Jing-Yi Liu, Xiao-Xin Chen, Sydney Chi-Wai Tang, Stephen Cho-Wing Sze, Yi-Bin Feng, Kai-Fai Lee and Kalin Yan-Bo Zhang

A novel coumarin, (+)-3′-angeloxyloxy-4′-keto-3′,4′-dihydroseselin, isolated from Bupleurum malconense (Chaihu) inhibited NF-κB activity

This study aims to identify the major anti-inflammatory components in the petroleum ether extract of Bupleurum malconense (Chaihu), by bioassay-guided fractionation, and to investigate...

Authors: Huai-Xue Mu, Cheng-Yuan Lin, Lin-Fang Huang, Da-Jian Yang, Ai-Ping Lu, Quan-Bin Han and Zhao-Xiang Bian

Identification of Chinese medicine syndromes in persistent insomnia associated with major depressive disorder: a latent tree analysis

Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome (zheng) differentiation is based on the co-occurrence of CM manifestation profiles, such as signs and symptoms, and pulse and tongue features. Insomnia is a symptom that frequently ...

Authors: Wing-Fai Yeung, Ka-Fai Chung, Nevin Lian-Wen Zhang, Shi Ping Zhang, Kam-Ping Yung, Pei-Xian Chen and Yan-Yee Ho

Molecular identification of Uncaria (Gouteng) through DNA barcoding

While DNA barcoding is an important technology for the authentication of the botanical origins of Chinese medicines, the suitable markers for DNA barcoding of the genus Uncaria have not been reported yet. This st...

Authors: Yin-lin Tang, Yao-sheng Wu, Rui-song Huang, Nai-xia Chao, Yong Liu, Peng Xu, Ke-zhi Li, Dan-zhao Cai and Yu Luo

Chinese herbal medicines as a source of molecules with anti-enterovirus 71 activity

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is one of the causative agents of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), which sometimes leads to severe neurological disease and death in the Asia–Pacific region. In Chinese medicine, HFM...

Authors: Mengjie Wang, Ling Tao and Hongxi Xu