Gei Herba is a traditional folk herbal medicine with a variety of functions such as replenishing Qi and invigorating spleen， tonifying blood and nourishing Yin， moistening lung and resolving phlegm， activating blood and alleviating edema， moving Qi， and activating blood. The reports about the pharmacological effects of this herbal medicine have been increasing in recent years. By reviewing the ancient and modern literature about Gei Herba， we systematically organized the name， original plants， nature， taste， and functions of this herbal medicine， and summarized the modern pharmacological studies and clinical applications of Gei Herba in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Gei Herba was first recorded in the name of "Dijiao" in the Geng Xin Yu Ce（《庚辛玉册》） written in the Ming Dynasty. It is derived from Geum japonicum var. chinense （Rosaceae） and sometimes confused with Adina rubella （Rubiaceae）. This medicine had numerous synonyms in the local materia medica books. Gei Herba is widely distributed and harvested in summer and autumn， with the dried whole grass used as medicine. The historical records of the nature， taste， meridian tropism， main functions， and indications of Gei Herba are not consistent. It is generally believed that Gei Herba is pungent， bitter， sweet， cool， and has tropism to the liver， spleen， and lung meridians. Based on the effects of tonifying Qi， activating blood， and nourishing Yin， modern pharmacological studies have reported that the extracts of Gei Herba and the tannin phenolic acid compounds and triterpenoids isolated from Gei Herba have therapeutic effects on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as hypertension， myocardial ischemia， cerebral ischemia， and vascular dementia. This study provides a reference for discovering the clinical advantages of Gei Herba and developing new drugs.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the therapeutic effect of stewed Polygoni Multiflori Radix on androgenic alopecia （AGA） and study the treatment mechanism. MethodNinety-nine SPF-grade male C57BL/6J mice were randomized into control， model， positive drug （finasteride， 0.65 mg·kg^-1）， low （0.78 g·kg^-1）， medium （1.56 g·kg^-1）， and high （3.12 g·kg^-1）-dose stewed Polygoni Multiflori Radix， and Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata groups by the random number table method. The mouse model of AGA was constructed by subcutaneous multi-point injection of testosterone propionate diluent for 60 days， and the mice were administrated with corresponding drugs by gavage from day 11. The therapeutic effects of stewed Polygoni Multiflori Radix and Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata on AGA were evaluated by newly hair area， hair length， hair weight in the hair removal area， and hematoxylin-eosin staining. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to determine the levels of testosterone （T）， dihydrotestosterone （DHT）， and 5α-reductase （5-AR） in the skin tissue of mice. Western blot was employed to determine the expression levels of key proteins in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. ResultCompared with the control group， the model group （after 60 days of modeling） showed reductions in the newly hair area， hair length and weight in the back hair removal area， and ratio of hair follicles containing melanin to total hair follicles （P<0.05， P<0.01）， elevated levels of T， DHT， and 5-AR， up-regulated expression level of glycogen synthase kinase-3β （GSK-3β） （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and down-regulated expression levels of β-catenin， phospho-glycogen synthase kinase-3β （p-GSK-3β）， and p-GSK-3β/GSK-3β （P<0.05， P<0.01） in the skin tissue. Compared with the model group， the positive drug， low-， medium-， and high-dose stewed Polygoni Multiflori Radix， and low-， medium-， and high-dose Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata improved the newly hair area and hair length of mice （P<0.01）， and stewed Polygoni Multiflori Radix and Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata at low and medium doses improved the weight of newly formed hair in mice （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The positive drug， low-， medium-， and high-dose stewed Polygoni Multiflori Radix， and low- and high-dose Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata increased the ratio of hair follicles containing melanin to total hair follicles in the skin tissue （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata at the same doses， the medium and high doses of stewed Polygoni Multiflori Radix increased the ratio of melanin-containing hair follicles to total hair follicles （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， stewed Polygoni Multiflori Radix lowered the levels of T and DHT， down-regulated the expression level of GSK-3β （P<0.01）， and up-regulated the expression levels of β-catenin， p-GSK-3β， and p-GSK-3β/GSK-3β （P<0.05， P<0.01） in the skin tissue of the mice. ConclusionStewed Polygoni Multiflori Radix can ameliorate androgenic alopecia in mice by reducing the androgen level and promoting Wnt/β-catenin signaling.