Aged ; Female ; Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease ; chemically induced ; Humans ; Male ; Panax notoginseng ; adverse effects

Animals ; Cyclophosphamide ; adverse effects ; Female ; Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease ; chemically induced ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred Strains ; Monocrotaline ; adverse effects ; Panax notoginseng ; adverse effects ; Random Allocation

AIMTo investigate the preventive effects of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) and Ginkgo biloba extracts (GbE) on acute oxygen toxicity and the possible mechanisms.

METHODSMice were injected intraperitoneally with PNS and GbE for 5 days, then were exposed to 500 kPa hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) for 60 min, the convulsion latency, times and interval were observed. Moreover, reactive oxygen (RO) unit, MDA, NO, GSH levels and GSH-Px, CAT, MAO activities of mice brain were determined after they were exposed to HBO for 15 min.

RESULTSPNS and GbE could markedly prolong the convulsion latency and interval, reduce convulsion times, decrease contents of MDA and NO in mice brain, keep RO unit, GSH and GSH-Px at higher levels, but had no effects on CAT and MAO activities.

CONCLUSIONPNS and GbE could effectively prevent acute oxygen toxicity, which were related to their antioxidant activities.

Animals ; Antioxidants ; pharmacology ; Diving ; adverse effects ; Ginkgo biloba ; Hyperbaric Oxygenation ; adverse effects ; Male ; Mice ; Oxygen ; poisoning ; Panax notoginseng ; Phytotherapy ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Saponins ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of Korean red ginseng (KRG) on semen parameters in male infertility patients in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

METHODSA total of 80 male infertility patients with varicocele were recruited from April 2011 to February 2012. The subjects were then divided into the following four groups: non-varicocelectomy (V)+placebo (P) group, V+P group, non-V+KRG group (1.5-g KRG daily), and V+KGR group (1.5-g KRG daily). Semen analysis was performed and hormonal levels were measured in each treatment arm after 12 weeks.

RESULTSAll groups but not the non-V+P group, showed significant improvements in sperm concentrations, motility, morphology, and viability at the end of the study. However, there were no significant differences in serum follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and testosterone among groups. The incidence of adverse events was low, and all events were assumed to be unrelated to the treatments administered.

CONCLUSIONSAlthough the exact mechanism by which KRG improves spermatogenesis remains unclear, KRG may be a useful agent for the treatment of male infertility. Nevertheless, additional studies to evaluate the optimal dose and duration of treatment are needed.

Adult ; Double-Blind Method ; Hormones ; metabolism ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; drug therapy ; Male ; Panax ; chemistry ; Placebos ; Plant Extracts ; adverse effects ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Semen ; drug effects ; metabolism

Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Eye ; innervation ; Female ; Herpes Zoster ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Humans ; Panax ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Trigeminal Nerve ; drug effects ; physiopathology

The experiment is designed to explore pathological festures and material basis of pseadoanaphylactoid reaction induced by notoginseng total saponin preparation. Mouse pseadoanaphylactoid reaction was used, 50 ICR mice were randomly assigned to control group, positive medicine group, notoginseng total saponin preparation low-dose group, notoginseng total saponin preparation middle-dose group, notoginseng total saponin preparation high-dose group on average. They are treated by intravenous injection of test substance solutions containing 0.4% Evans blue (EB). 30 min later, scores of ear blue staining and quantitation of ear EB exudation were recorded. Another two experiment were repeated in the same way excluding EB, just to. detect the related cytokines in serum using ELISA. We found that the scores of pseudoanaphylactoid reaction in notoginseng total saponin preparation injection middle-dose group and high-dose group was evidently higher than that in control group, suggesting that notoginseng total saponin preparation injection may be can lead to pseadoanaphylactoid reaction. HE staining showed that pseadoanaphylactoid reaction induced by notoginseng total saponin preparation injection is related to inflammation. Histamine, VEGF and TNF-α levels in notoginseng total saponin preparation middle-dose group and high-dose group significantly increased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) than control group and showed a dose-dependent manner as well as consistent with the degree of ear blue dye. While IL-6 and IL-10 content did not increase significantly in notoginseng total saponin preparation low-dose group and middle-dose group, but they significantly higher than control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) when it increased to quadrupe clinical concentrations, eight times of the clinical dose. So pseadoanaphylactoid reaction caused by notoginseng total saponin preparation may be related to histamine, VEGF, TNF-α, and it is possible that IL-6 and IL-10 can play a role when pseadoanaphylactoid reaction achieve a certain high degree.
Anaphylaxis ; chemically induced ; Animals ; Capillary Permeability ; drug effects ; Cytokines ; blood ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drug Hypersensitivity ; etiology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Panax notoginseng ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Saponins ; adverse effects

OBJECTIVERed ginseng (RG, Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) is one of the widely used herbs for treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). However, no systematic review of the effectiveness of RG for type 2 DM is available. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the current evidence for the effectiveness of RG in patients with type 2 DM.

METHODSElectronic searches of 14 electronic databases were conducted without language restrictions. All randomized clinical trials (RCTs) with RG as a treatment for type 2 DM were considered for inclusion. Their methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane criteria.

RESULTSFour RCTs met our inclusion criteria. Their methodological quality was variable. Three of the RCTs compared the effectiveness of RG with placebo. The meta-analysis of these data failed to favor RG over placebo for fasting plasma glucose (FPG) [n =76, weighted mean difference (WMD): -0.43 mmol/L; 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.16 to 0.30, =0.25] and fasting plasma insulin (FPI) (n =76, WMD: -8.43 pmol/L; 95% CI: -19.54 to 2.68, P =0.14) for 12 weeks of treatment. One RCT compared the effects of RG with no treatment. The results did not suggest favorable effects of RG on FPG, hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) or 2-h blood glucose after a meal (PP2h).

CONCLUSIONSThe evidence for the effectiveness of RG in controlling glucose in type 2 DM is not convincing. Few included studies with various treatment regimens prohibit definitive conclusions. More rigorous studies are needed to clarify the effects of RG on this condition.

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Panax ; chemistry ; Phytotherapy ; Plant Extracts ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Publication Bias ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Risk Factors ; Treatment Outcome

The inhibitory effects of ginseng on the development of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the colon were investigated in rats. Male, 6-week-old rats were injected with DMH once a week for 4 weeks. Rats in Groups 1 and 2 were fed diets containing red and white ginseng, rerspectively, at a dose of 1% for 5 weeks, starting one week before the first treatment of DMH. Animals in Groups 3 and 4 received red or white ginseng for 8 weeks starting after DMH treatment. Group 5 served as a carcinogen control group. Numbers of ACF with at least four crypts were significantly reduced in the colon of Group 2 treated with red ginseng combined with DMH. Moreover, rats were injected with DMH 4 times at one-week intervals. They were also fed diets containing 1% red or white ginseng or the control diet throughout 30 days of the experiment. Treatment with red ginseng resulted in a significant decrease of 5- bromo-2'-deoxyuridine labeling indices in colonic crypts comprising ACF. These findings suggest that dietary administration of red ginseng in combination with DMH suppresses colon carcinogenesis in rats, and the inhibition may be associated, in part, with inhibition of cell proliferation, acting on ACF in the colonic mucosa.
1,2-Dimethylhydrazine/adverse effects ; Animal ; Anticarcinogenic Agents/*pharmacology ; Carcinogenicity Tests ; Carcinogens/adverse effects ; Colonic Neoplasms/pathology/*prevention & control ; Male ; *Panax ; Plant Roots ; Precancerous Conditions/pathology/*prevention & control ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred F344

BACKGROUNDFatigue is a common symptom both in diseases status and in healthy subjects. Various supplements and nutraceuticals for relieving of fatigue have been used. However, there are a few studies to evaluate the efficacy and the safety of the drug for fatigue alleviation, we conducted using URSA Complex to evaluate the efficacy on physical fatigue via score changes in the checklist individual strength (CIS).

METHODSThe study was designed as a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, with subjects randomized to one of the two arms, receiving either placebo or URSA Complex administered as identical capsules. The primary efficacy endpoints of this clinical trials are the ratio of improving CIS scores < 76 points in patients at the end (4 weeks). Secondary efficacy variables are as follows one is an improvement of fatigue and the other is an improvement of the liver enzyme.

RESULTSThe fatigue recovery rate in who had improved CIS scores of < 76 points were 70.0%, 50.9% in the therapy group and placebo group, respectively (P = 0.019). The fatigue recovery rate in CIS score was higher in URSA Complex therapy group than placebo group. The difference between therapy group and placebo group was statistically significant at 4 weeks later, but not 2 weeks.

CONCLUSIONSOur results provided that the URSA Complex was effective in alleviating physical fatigue. The adverse event frequency in the therapy groups was similar to that in the placebo group.

Adult ; Double-Blind Method ; Fatigue ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Inositol ; therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Panax ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; Taurine ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Thiamine ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome ; Ursodeoxycholic Acid ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVETo investigate the potential efficacy of panaxadiol saponins component (PDS-C), a biologically active fraction isolated from total ginsenosides, to reverse chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression and pancytopenia caused by cyclophamide (CTX).

METHODSMice with myelosuppression induced by CTX were treated with PDS-C at a low- (20 mg/kg), moderate- (40 mg/kg), or high-dose (80 mg/kg) for 7 consecutive days. The level of peripheral white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil (NEU) and platelet (PLT) were measured, the histopathology and colony formation were observed, the protein kinase and transcription factors in hematopoietic cells were determined by immunohistochemical staining and Western blot.

RESULTSIn response to PDS-C therapy, the peripheral WBC, NEU and PLT counts of CTX-induced myelosuppressed mice were significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner. Similarly, bone marrow histopathology examination showed reversal of CTX-induced myelosuppression with increase in overall bone marrow cellularity and the number of hematopoietic cells (P<0.01). PDS-C also promoted proliferation of granulocytic and megakaryocyte progenitor cells in CTX-treated mice, as evidenced by significantly increase in colony formation units-granulocytes/monocytes and -megakaryocytes (P<0.01). The enhancement of hematopoiesis by PDS-C appears to be mediated by an intracellular signaling pathway, this was evidenced by the up-regulation of phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinase (p-MEK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinases (p-ERK), and receptor tyrosine kinase (C-kit) and globin transcription factor 1 (GATA-1) in hematopoietic cells of CTX-treated mice (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSPDS-C possesses hematopoietic growth factor-like activities that promote proliferation and also possibly differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells in myelosuppressed mice, probably mediated by a mechanism involving MEK and ERK protein kinases, and C-kit and GATA-1 transcription factors. PDS-C may potentially be a novel treatment of myelosuppression and pancytopenia caused by chemotherapy.

Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; adverse effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cyclophosphamide ; adverse effects ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ; metabolism ; GATA1 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; Ginsenosides ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Hematopoiesis ; drug effects ; Mice ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases ; metabolism ; Myeloid Cells ; drug effects ; pathology ; Panax ; chemistry ; Pancytopenia ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Phosphorylation ; drug effects ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit ; metabolism ; Saponins ; pharmacology ; Up-Regulation ; drug effects