Acupunct Electrother Res. 1999;24(1):11-28.
Effect of Kampo formulations (traditional Chinese medicine) on circulatory parameters.
International Traditional Medicine Research Center of the Toyama Prefecture International Health Complex, Japan.
The pharmacological action of 6 main Kampo formulations (1.Mao -to: [Japanese pictograph see text] MA HUANG TANG; 2.Shimbu -to: [Japanese pictograph see text]: ZHEN WU TANG; 3.Ninjin -to: [Japanese pictograph see text] : REN SHEN TANG; 4.Shigyaku-san: [Japanese pictograph see text] : SI NI SAN; 5.Keishi-to: Japanese pictograph see text] : GUI ZHI TANG; 6.Shimotsu – to: [Japanese pictograph see text] : SI WU TANG) on circulatory and autonomic nervous system were studied. 7 healthy adult males( age, 22.3 +/- 1.8 years old ) had 6 basic Kampo formulations, followed by noninvasive measurement of systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean blood pressure (MBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO ), cardiacindex (CI), total peripheral resistance (TPR) by means of systolic area method of brachialsphygmography, every 30 minutes for 2 hours. As results, Mao – to induced an increase of BP,HR,SV,CO and CI, but a decrease of TPR. Keishi – to induced an increase of SBP and SV, and Shimotsu-to induced an increase of DBP and MBP, HR was slowed during former period after oral administration of Shigyaku – san, and later period after oral administration of Shimbu-to and Shimotsu-to. Regarding autonomic activity, Mao-to(former period of experiment ), Shimbu – to and Shimotsu-to induced supression of sympathetic activity, on the other hand, Mao-to (later period of experiment ) and Shiyaku – san showed a tendency of parasympathomimetic action. Mao -to induced the strongest activation of circulatory system of 6 main farmulations, and showed change of autonomic nervous activity, however, the change of circulatory and automonic nervous activity were not coincident each other. It was speculated that comprehensive mechanism of Mao-to were not only dependent of ephedrin, main active constituent of Mao, but also dependent on Keishi’s vasodilatory action in it. Ninjin -to showed no actions on circulatory or autonomic system. This is indicated that there are difference of actions on circulatory and autonomic nervous system among 6 main Kampo fromulations.
Phytomedicine. 2009 Oct 1.
Tanshinone II A attenuates inflammatory responses of rats with myocardial infarction by reducing MCP-1 expression.
Ren ZH, Tong YH, Xu W, Ma J, Chen Y.
College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, 310058 Hangzhou, China.
The root of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, has been used effectively for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases for a long time. The mechanisms underlying this therapeutic effect are not, however, fully understood. Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) is one of the major active components of this Chinese medicine. Therefore, the present study was performed to investigate whether Tan IIA, which has shown a cardio-protective capacity in myocardial ischemia, has an inhibitory effect on the inflammatory responses following myocardial infarction (MI) and its potential mechanisms. In an in vivo study, rat MI model was induced by permanent left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) ligation. After the operation rats were divided into three groups (sham, MI and Tan IIA). Tan IIA was administered intragastrically at a dose of 60mg/kg body wt./day. One week later, rats were sacrificed and the hemodynamic, pathological and molecular biological indices were examined. In an in vitro study, the inflammatory model was established by TNF-alpha stimuli on cardiacmyocyte and cardiac fibroblasts. Tan IIA attenuates the MI pathological changes and improves heart function, and reduces expression of MCP-1, TGF-beta(1) and macrophage infiltration. Furthermore, Tan IIA could also decrease the expression of TNF-alpha and activation of nuclear transcription factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB). In vitro, Tan IIA could reduce MCP-1 and TGF-beta(1)secretion of cardiac fibroblasts. The present study demonstrated that the cardioprotective effects of Tan IIA might be attributed to its capacity for inhibiting inflammatory responses.