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There are conflicting records on the identity of Chinese medical herbs, and it is known that different plant materials are used under the same common names in different regions in China. However, there is no study on the genetic heterogeneity of medical herbs in any market outside of China. In this report, Chinese medical herbs under common names Radix Quinquefolii (American Ginseng or Xiyangshen), Radix Astragali (Huangqi), Radix Notoginseng (Tianqi), Coxtex Cinnamomum (Guipi), Radix Isatidis (Banlangen), Radix Codonopsis (Dangshen) and Radix Rehmannia (Shengdi) were collected from three independent herbal shops in Singapore and their DNAs were isolated and subjected to fluorescence Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) analysis. While samples for Radix Quinquefolii and Radix Astragali were homogenous genetically [similarity index (SI) = 0.85 – 1.00] across the three shops, genetic heterogeneity was found for the other herbs (SI < 0.7). For example, four samples of Radix Codonopsis were of three distinct patterns (SI < 0.6). Our results highlight the situation that genetically distinct herbal materials are labeled and marketed under the same common names in an international market of Chinese medical herbs, which may contribute to inconsistency in quality and efficacy.

At the peak of the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong, hospital workers were under high risks of contraction of the infection. Herbal preparations had been used historically in China to treat influenza-like diseases. During the SARS outbreak, herbal preparations had been used jointly with standard modern treatment in China. As a means to protect the at-risk hospital workers, an innovative herbal formula was created and consumed by 3160 of them in two weeks. During the two weeks, symptoms and adverse effects were close monitored; 37 of them had their serum checked for immunological responses.

The results showed that none of the herb consumers contracted the infection, compared to 0.4% among the non-consumers. Adverse effects had been infrequent and mild. There were hardly any influenza-like symptoms and the quality of life improved. In the group who volunteered to have their immunological state checked, significant boosting effects were found. It was concluded that there might be a good indication for using suitable herbal preparations as a means of preventing influenza-like infection. The mode of preventive effect could be treatment of the infection at its very early stage instead of producing a period of higher immunological ability, as in the case of vaccination.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used for prevention and treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong during the outbreak in spring 2003. We investigated the immunomodulating effects of an innovative TCM regimen derived from two herbal formulas (Sang Ju Yin and Yu Ping Feng San) for treating febrile diseases. Thirty-seven healthy volunteers were given the oral TCM regimen daily for 14 days. Peripheral venous blood samples were taken on days 0, 15 and 29 for hematology, biochemistry and immunology tests, including the measurement of blood lymphocyte subsets and plasma T-helper lymphocyte types 1 and 2 cytokines and receptor. After 3 months, 23 of the volunteers participated in a control study without TCM treatment for the same time course of blood tests. Two volunteers withdrew on day 2, due to headache and dizziness. All others remained well without any side effects. No participants showed significant changes in their blood test results, except that the T-lymphocyte CD4/CD8 ratio increased significantly from 1.31 ± 0.50 (mean ± SD) on day 0 to 1.41 ± 0.63 on day 15 (p < 0.02), and reduced to 1.32 ± 0.47 on day 29 (p < 0.05). In the control study, there were no changes in the CD4/CD8 ratio. The transient increase in CD4/CD8 ratio was likely due to the TCM intake. We postulate that the administration of the innovative TCM may have beneficial immunomodulatory effects for preventing viral infections including SARS.

By using λ-lysogen as a model, the inhibitory effects of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) prescription I on the UV irradiation were investigated in this present study. It was found that the prescription I possessed obvious inhibitory effects on the UV induction of λ-lysogen, the inhibitory rate reaching 83.87%. Among five medicinal herbs prescribed in that formula, Herba Patriniae, Radix Astragali and Radix Glycyrrhizae played important roles. When these three herbs were eliminated from the recipe separately, the inhibitory effects were prominently decreased. If only one of these five medicinal herbs was added into the medium of λ-lysogen, the inhibitory rates ranged from 27.0% ~ 45.0%. By electron spin resonance (ESR) detection, we found that the prescription I, Herba Patriniae and other main herbs in that recipe, could quench effectively the free radicals generated in the process of λ-lysogenic cells by UV. These results provide a novel idea for further studying the pharmacology of TCM and exploring the mechanism of SARS virus infection.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) often accompanies liver dysfunction. Astragali Radix is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that is widely administrated to ameliorate the symptoms of diabetes as well as liver dysfunction, but its acting mechanism is still not yet fully recognized. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) play a key role in promoting diabetic organ dysfunction. Both hyperglycemia and AGEs can induce insulin resistance, hepatocyte damage and liver dysfunction. We designed this study to explore the effects of the phytoestrogen Calycosin, a major active component of Astragali Radix, on AGEs-induced glucose uptake dysfunction in the hepatocyte cell line and relevant mechanisms. MTT and BrdU methods were applied to evaluate cell viability. 2-NBDG was used to observe glucose uptake by a live cell imaging system. Immunofluorescence method was carried out to investigate GLUT1, GLUT4, and RAGE protein expressions on cell membrane. cAMP content was determined by an EIA method. We found Calycosin concentration-dependently ameliorated AGEs-induced hepatocyte viability damage. AGEs dramatically reduced basal glucose uptake in hepatocytes, and this reduction could be reversed by Calycosin administration. By immunofluorescence detection, we observed that Calycosin could inhibit AGEs-induced GLUT1 expression down-regulation via estrogen receptor (ER). Furthermore, Calycosin decreased AGEs-promoted RAGE and cAMP elevation in hepatocytes. These findings strongly suggest that Calycosin can ameliorate AGEs-promoted glucose uptake dysfunction in hepatocytes; the protection of cell viability and ER-RAGE and GLUT1 pathways play a significant role in this modulation.

Radix Astragali is one of the most widely used medicinal herbs in Asian traditional medicine, and polysaccharides had been identified as the mainly bioactive ingredient in it. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hypoglycemic effects of polysaccharides from Radix Astragali (RAP) on alloxan-induced diabetic mice. Diabetic mice were randomly divided into five groups: diabetic control, positive drug control, low, moderate, and high-dose RAP treated group. Meanwhile, normal mice were used as the control. RAP treated group received different doses of RAP (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) via oral gavage once a day for 4 weeks. The effects of RAP on body weight, blood glucose, glucose tolerance and serum insulin were investigated. The results showed that RAP significantly increased body weights, glucose tolerance, and serum insulin levels, while decreasing blood glucose levels of diabetic mice. These findings suggest that RAP possesses hypoglycemic effects.