Brain ; metabolism ; pathology ; Child, Preschool ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Folate Receptor 1 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Folic Acid ; blood ; cerebrospinal fluid ; metabolism ; Folic Acid Deficiency ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Humans ; Infant ; Leucovorin ; therapeutic use ; Malnutrition ; complications ; diagnosis ; Tetrahydrofolates ; cerebrospinal fluid ; metabolism

Multi-target drugs can simultaneously adjust multiple links of the disease network. Despite the higher efficacy and lower toxicity caused by single targets, multi-target drugs become ideal drugs for treating complicated diseases as well the main direction of drug R & D. By virtue of their structural diversity, higher multi-target activity and lower toxicity, natural products become an important source for developing multi-target drugs. Computer-aided drug design (CADD) is a commonly used multi-target drug R&D method, which mainly includes virtual screening and pharmacophore design. In this paper, the authors made a systematical analysis and discussed the prospects and advantages of various methods for multi-target drug R&D with natural products.
Biological Products ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology ; Biomedical Research ; instrumentation ; Computer-Aided Design ; Drug Design ; Humans ; Molecular Targeted Therapy

OBJECTIVEMedicinal properties are the basic attribute of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM), while the medicinal property theory is the core theoretical foundation of TCM formula combination. In this particle, authors studied the characteristics of pharmacological effects of property combination of traditional Chinese medicines distributing along meridians, with the aim to introduce the medicinal property combination regularity into the design and optimization process of compound TCMs, and bring the medicinal property theory into full play in guiding the formula combination.

METHODIn this paper, TCMs distributing along "the lung meridian" was taken for example. The medicinal property combinations of TCMs distributing along "the lung meridian" recorded in Pharmacopeia (2010) was collected and processed. Besides, Chinese journal full-text database (CNKI) was used to collect all of pharmacological study literatures concerning the above TCMs that have been published since 1980. The pharmacological information was also supplemented by reference to Science of Chinese Materia Medica and Clinical Science of Chinese Materia Medica.

RESULTTCMs distributing along the lung meridian with different properties and tastes showed significant differences in pharmacological effects. For example, mild-sweet-lung medicines could lower blood sugar levels, decrease anoxia and enhance immunity; Mild-bitter-lung medicines showed anti-bacterial, anti-hypertension, anti-oxidation effects; Hot-sweet-lung medicines showed antibechic and anti-bacterial effects. And Hot-bitter-lung medicines showed phlegm eliminating and anti-inflammatory effects. Meanwhile, TCMs distributing along the lung meridian had similar pharmacological characteristics, such as anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, which is consistent with lung's feature in susceptibility to exogenous pathogenic factors.

CONCLUSIONIn this study, authors discovered pharmacological characteristics of different TCMs distributing along the lung meridian, which links TCM theory with modern study achievements and lays a foundation for establishing a TCM property formula combination system.

Databases, Factual ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Humans ; Lung ; drug effects ; Lung Diseases ; drug therapy ; Meridians

Studies on the prescription combination regularity based on medicinal tastes focus on the internal relations between the structure and hierarchy of the prescription combination system. In this paper, with the systematic and scientific self-similarity theory as the core ideology, authors systematically interpreted the self-similarity theory of medicinal properties, defined the self-similarity of prescriptions with identical or similar medicinal properties, and built the systematic view of medicinal property theory based on the prescription combination based on the entity grammar system. As a result, the system was conducive to integrating traditional Chinese medicinal knowledge of syndromes, therapeutic principles, efficacies, medicinal properties and tastes and achieving the automatic design and optimization process from symptoms to prescriptions, and providing scientific and feasible methods and technical systems for the application of the medicinal property theory, with a guiding significance to the technology, methodology and theory of decoction pieces compatibility, component compatibility and compound medicine design.
Drug Combinations ; Drug Prescriptions ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Aortic Aneurysm ; diagnosis ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic ; diagnosis ; Carotid Body Tumor ; diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo establish a characterization system of traditional Chinese medicinal properties in line with modern scientific cognition regularity, in order to reveal properties of traditional Chinese medicines distributed along liver meridian and relations of effects of medicinal properties.

METHODBy collecting data about traditional Chinese medicinal properties recorded in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China (2005 Edition), literature and data about pharmacological effects of traditional Chinese medicines recorded in the Chinese Materia Medica, by using the method of association rules, the authors dug pharmacological effect rules corresponds to relevant medicinal property combinations, with the medicinal property combination of traditional Chinese medicines distributed along liver meridian as the target.

RESULTIt was found that either obvious different pharmacological effects or identical pharmacological characteristics existed in traditional Chinese medicines distributed along liver meridian.

CONCLUSIONWith the aim to explore the correlations between traditional Chinese medicine medicinal properties and pharmacological effects, the authors linked the traditional Chinese medicine theory with modern research achievements, in order to provide the ideas and methods for interpreting mechanisms of medicinal properties.

Databases, Factual ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Liver ; drug effects ; Liver Diseases ; drug therapy ; Meridians

To study the quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) between the stuctures of 29 flavonoids and the inhibitory activity of their multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) 1 and 2 by using the comparative molecular similarity index analysis (CoMSIA). By studying the impact of the combination of different molecular force fields, researchers obtained the molecular force fields that played an important role in inhibiting the activity of MRP1 and MRP2, built the optimized QSAR model, and discussed the structural modification method for flavonoids' multidrug resistance-associated protein inhibitor. The results of the study could not only provide the guidance for new drug R&D, but also help partially discuss the synergy mechanism between MRP1 and MRP2 receptors and traditional Chinese medicines containing flavonoids.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Flavonoids ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Models, Molecular ; Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; chemistry ; Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship

The combination of medicinal properties refers to expression forms of elements with active properties combined according to a specific sequence. The mode of medicinal property combination refers to the compatible relationship multiple medicinal property combinations. In this paper, based on the mode, safflower, Taohong Siwu decoction, Xuefu Zhuyu decoction and Buyang Huanwu decoction were taken for example to study the characteristics of the compatibility among single herb, herbal pairs and prescriptions. The authors discovered the similarities and differences among them, interpreted the self-similarity in medicinal property combinations of traditional Chinese medicines, and analyzed the compatible relationship among multiple medicinal property combinations, so as to bring forth new ideas in discovering the correlation between the compatibility study mode of traditional Chinese medicines based medicinal property combinations and the efficient compatibility of medicinal property combination.
Drug Combinations ; Drug Prescriptions ; Drug Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Dalbergiae Odoriferae Lignum as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Flavonoid compounds are main chemical constituents of Dalbergiae Odoriferae Lignum, which exert anti-inflammatory property. However, the underlying anti-inflammatory mechanisms of flavonoid compounds are incompletely understood. It has been reported that isoliquiritigenin, liquiritigenin, naringenin and butein possess anti-inflammatory property. The purpose of this study is to illuminate the anti-inflammatory mechanism of flavonoid compounds based on the protein interaction network (PIN) analysis on molecular network level. 130 targets of the main medicinal ingredients of flavonoid compounds were gained though database retrieval. A protein interaction network of flavonoid compounds was constructed with 589 nodes and 216 interactions. By a graph theoretic clustering algorithm Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE), 26 modules were identified and analyzed by Gene ontology (GO) enrichment. Two modules were associated with anti-inflammatory actions. The most interesting finding of this study was that the anti-inflammatory effect of flavonoid compounds may be partly attributable to inhibite FOS, PTGS2 expression, inhibite of IL-1beta release, and block the MAPK pathway and toll-like receptor pathway.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Dalbergia ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Flavonoids ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Protein Binding ; drug effects ; Protein Interaction Maps ; drug effects ; Proteins ; metabolism

The five-flavor theory of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) and the flavor efficacy generation mechanism has long been focuses and difficulties in studies on traditional Chinese medicinal properties. In this paper, by using the pharmacophore-based virtual screening technique, the authors discussed the relations between the pungent property and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) by studying the TCM components' role in regulating TRPV1 ion channel. The results showed that the matching relationship between TRPV1 agonist pharmacophore model and TCM chemical components could identify the active ingredients from pungent herbs. Therefore, the authors proposed that TRPV1 is one of the potential targets for efficient pungent herbs. The pungent property of TCMs is decided by its chemical components, and consistent with the inherited and additive characteristics.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Smell ; TRPV Cation Channels ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Taste