Tag: Chinese herbal medicine

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Assessing the Effectiveness of Chinese Traditional Medicine for Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Source: Pixabay CC0

Chinese traditional medicine based on combinations of typically 5 to ten plants, usually boiled and administered as a decoction or tea, has long been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but few clinical trials have tested its potential. A review in the Journal of Internal Medicine outlines a strategy to analyse the ability of different mixtures of plants used in Chinese medicine to combat RA.

One fundamental of traditional medicine is to prevent disease. RA is an autoimmune, inflammatory and chronic disease that primarily affects the joints of 0.5%–1% of the population. In two out of three of the cases, the patients are characterised by the presence of autoantibodies such as the rheumatoid factor and the more disease-specific autoantibody against citrullinated proteins, so-called ‘ACPA’ (anticitrullinated protein/peptide antibodies). ACPA positivity is also strongly associated with specific variations in the HLA-DRB1 gene, the shared epitope alleles. Together with smoking, these factors account for the major risks of developing RA. 

The researchers’ strategy involves isolating the active components of individual plants and testing them alone or in combinations against key pathways of disease pathology, followed by experiments conducted in animal models of RA.

“A substantial number of our current drugs are natural products or derivatives thereof, and without doubt nature will continue to be a source of future discoveries,” the authors wrote. “Therefore continuous research based on the traditional use of plants is highly motivated. In our opinion, the strategy of starting from knowledge in traditional medicine, followed by the combination of in vivo evidence of efficacy and bioassay-guided isolation to understand the chemistry and pathways involved, is one effective way forward.”

Source: Wiley

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Compound in Chinese Herbal Medicine May Prevent Colon Cancer

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Colon cancer cells
Colon cancer cells. Source: National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Emodin, an active compound found in Chinese herbal medicine, can prevent colon cancer in mice, according to researchers, and may be applicable in humans as well, a study has found. The mechanism behind this is likely emodin’s ability to reduce the number of pro-tumour macrophages.

The study is published in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.

Emodin, a major bioactive anthraquinone derivative extracted from rhubarb, represents multiple health benefits in the treatment of a host of diseases, such as immune-inflammatory abnormality, tumor progression, bacterial or viral infections, and metabolic syndrome. Emerging evidence has made great strides in clarifying the multi-targeting therapeutic mechanisms underlying the therapeutic efficacy of emodin, including anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-fibrosis, anti-tumor, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-diabetic properties.

Besides investigating if emodin could prevent colon cancer, the study’s researchers especially wanted to know whether its anti-cancer properties “could be attributed to its actions on immune cells and particularly macrophages,” said Angela Murphy, PhD, co-author of the study. In this murine model, emodin was shown to reduce both polyp count and size. Also, mice treated with emodin “exhibited lower protumorigenic M2-like macrophages in the colon,” researchers wrote in the study.

Roughly 70% of colon cancer cases can be attributed to diet or other lifestyle factors, said Dr Murphy. Because emodin is also found in some fresh fruits and vegetables, it is hoped that consuming these emodin-containing foods could prevent colon cancer in humans.

Source: American Physiological Society