No abstract available.
Phytotherapy*

Integrative Medicine ; Phytotherapy

Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Phytotherapy

There is a folkloric claim that Pausinystalia yohimbe,Cassia sieberiana and Cissus populnearoots can be used to enhance sexual behaviour in male rats. However, there is still dearth of scientific evidence that substantiated the acclaimed efficacy of separate and combined use of the plant as sex enhancer. Therefore, the aims of this study were to compare the separate and combined effects of aqueous extracts of Pausinystalia yohimbe, Cassia sieberiena and Cissus populnearoots in paroxetine-induced sexually impaired male rats.Thirty five male rats were assigned into seven groups (A-G) such that rats in group A received orally 1.0 ml of distilled water for 7 days, while those in groups B -G which were induced into sexual dysfunction (administration of 10 mg/kg of paroxetine) also received equal volume of distilled water, 7.14 mg/kg body weight of PowmaxM (a reference drug), 50 mg/kg body weight of P. yohimbe, 50 mg/kg body weight of C. sieberiana, 50 mg/kg body weight of C. populneaand 50 mg/kg body weight of 1:1:1 mixture of the three extracts, once daily for seven days respectively. The sexual behavior indices of the male rats and the levels of their reproductive hormones were evaluated by standard procedures. The paroxetine-treatment related reductions (P<0.05) in the sexual behaviour indices of Mount Frequency, Intromission Frequency and Ejaculatory Frequency, levels of serum reproductive hormones of testosterone, luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone were progressively attenuated by the separate administration of the plant extracts. Furthermore, the increases in the Mount Latency, Intromission Latency, Ejaculatory Latency and Post-ejaculatory Interval were also gradually reduced, following the administration of the plant extracts. The male rat sexual behaviour indices and the levels of the male reproductive hormones following the administration of the 1:1:1 mixture of the extracts were not significantly different (P>0.05) from the effects of the separate extracts. All these changes compared favourably (P>0.05) well with those of the sexual dysfunction rats that received PowmaxM (Group G). The results obtained in the present study indicate that the extracts of these plants may have the potentialfor the management of sexual dysfunction in male rats. The combined use of the plants was not significantly better than the individual use of the plants thereby, each and any of the three plants readily available might be used for this purpose.
Aphrodisiacs ; Animals ; Phytotherapy

China ; Haplopappus ; Humans ; Phytotherapy ; Sesquiterpenes

Lancang Lahu autonomous county, where the Lancang-Mekong River flows by, was selected as the case site to investigate the traditional medicinal knowledge(TMK). A comparison of TMK between Lancang county and other places in the Lancang-Mekong sub-region was conducted. Research on TMK has been seldom reported although there are abundant medicinal resources in this sub-region. The key informant interview and other methods have been adopted in the field surveys in the past six years. The investigation revealed that there was rich TMK and various herbal medicine resources in Lancang county. A total of 220 folk prescriptions have been collected, which were normally simple with easy processing methods and usages, and most raw materials were freshly used. As for medicinal plants, 121 species in 67 families have been documented. Other findings included that TMK in Lancang county was remained at the level of medication based on experience only. The processing methods of herbal medicines were simple and the bioactive ingredients were not clear. Without text and cultural support for self-teaching, coupled with conservative inheritance, it resulted in massive losses of TMK. The folk doctors have accumulated their factions based on self-study or ancestral experience. There was different treatment experience among folk doctors, but the safety and effectiveness should be paid attention to. The folk doctors used various herbal medicines, but there was a lack of standards or specifications for quality control. Given the problems existing in inheritance and development, conservation strategies were proposed in the present study.
Ethnicity ; Humans ; Knowledge ; Phytotherapy ; Plants, Medicinal ; Rivers

Berberine Alkaloids ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Phytotherapy ; Tachycardia ; drug therapy

Complementation of different effects of acupuncture and Chinese drugs generalizes not only the objective interrelations between acupuncture and Chinese drugs with varied actions when the two therapies are applied simultaneously but also the clinical therapeutic efficacy produced either by acupuncture or Chinese drugs singly. This view of complementation has been promoted on the basis of the understanding of the mechanism and efficacy of acupuncture and Chinese drugs as well as their interrelations concerning the different actions complementary most appropriately to one another in treatment of diseases. The presented view will be of theoretical value in working out the efficacy and mechanism of acupuncture and Chinese drugs applied at the same time and help the clinical doctors understand further the properties of actions of acupuncture and Chinese drugs so as to strengthen more specifically the integration of acupuncture with Chinese drugs and improve the clinical therapeutic effect.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Phytotherapy

OBJECTIVETo systematically review the efficacy and safety of sodium ferulate (SF) for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.

METHODSBy computerized retrieving the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CNKI, VIP, CBM (theses, conference and internet materials), as well as data from internet materials regarding randomized controlled clinical trials of sodium ferulate for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy were collected completely. Data were strictly extracted using the simple evaluation method recommended in Cochrane Handbook and Meta-analysis was performed using Revman 5.0 software.

RESULTSFourteen randomized controlled trials involving 906 patients met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed that as compared with the control group, the effects in SF group were superior in terms of reducing urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) at early stage [WMD = 16.08, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 11.01 to 21.15] and clinical stage (WMD = 82.66, 95% CI: 66.95 to 98.37), urinary endothelin/endothelin-1 (ET/ET-1, WMD = 10.78, 95% CI: 8.18 to 13.39), levels of serum creatinine (SCr, WMD = 6.42, 95% CI: 1.83 to 11.01), blood urea nitrogen (BUN, SMD = 1.45, 95% CI: 0.19 to 2.71) and total cholesterol (TC, WMD = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.56 to 1.21, as well as in increasing high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C, WMD = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.26), showing significant difference between groups. However, the effects of SF were insignificantly different to those of control in reducing fasting blood glucose (FBG, WMD = 0.17, 95% CI: -0.03 to 0.37) and triglyceride (TG, SMD = -0.13, 95% CI -0.49 to 0.23).

CONCLUSIONSAt present the evidences show that SF is superior to the conventional treatment in reducing UAER, ET, SCr, BUN, TC and increasing HDL-C, but there is no evidence to show that SF is superior in reducing FBG and TG. However, the evidence is not strong enough due to the low quality of included literature. More large-scale, multi-center, randomized trials are needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of SF in treating diabetic nephropathy.

The research advances based on the related references were summarized in the last thirty years. Bauhinia contained many kinds of chemical constituents, primarily including flavanoids, steroids, terpenoid and so on, some of them were firstly obtained from the nature. Many plants of the Bauhinia are used in traditional medicine for their interesting biological activities such as antidiabetic, antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, analgesic, astringent and diuretic effects. This paper gives an overview of phytochemical and pharmacological research in Bauhinia, and it has been classified accordding to the chemical structure characteristics. To provide more material to draw on for further development and utilization resources of Bauhinia.
Bauhinia ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy